356 horn evolution

For those who obsess about exactly how their 356 left the factory!
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James Davies
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#16 Post by James Davies »

Matt, yes. These were used at least through early 1957. See below for an original-paint '57 coupe with these horns.
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Matt Kreeve
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Tag: truckin' on
Location: Cape Town, SA

Re: 356 horn evolution

#17 Post by Matt Kreeve »

^^^ thanks James!
Currently working on two nut+bolt resto's in Cape Town
'56 A RHD 5606 Silver Met) over Green - delivered Nairobi (Cooper Motor Corp)
'64 C RHD 6406 (Irisgrun) w Fawn (rehbraun) - delivered Johannesburg (Lindsay Saker)

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Joris Koning
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#18 Post by Joris Koning »

Reviving this thread. Working on some early '56 horns. Google search so far has not resulted in a source for the correct data plates. If required I will have some made. Any people out there who also need some?
'56 Coupe
'57 Coupe
'59 Cab 
'60 Coupe

Jim Wayman
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#19 Post by Jim Wayman »

My early '55 was originally delivered with the fan fare horns. I have been trying to find someone who could make new data plates with no sucess. In addition to being bi-level on the surface, they are slightly convex.
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Jim Wayman

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James Davies
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#20 Post by James Davies »

Jim, those horn tags look nice and original. Use them. =)

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Joris Koning
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#21 Post by Joris Koning »

JIm, PM me
'56 Coupe
'57 Coupe
'59 Cab 
'60 Coupe

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Victor Ingram
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#22 Post by Victor Ingram »

Fanfare horn
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#23 Post by Jim Wayman »

Victor

There is a red dot showing in your picture in the second horn grille opening from the bottom. What is that?
Jim Wayman

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Victor Ingram
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#24 Post by Victor Ingram »

Reflection of the photographer

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Tom Wavrin
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#25 Post by Tom Wavrin »

My 11/1955 manufactured '56A Coupe's single hole data plate looked like the one on the left:

download/file.php?id=29913&mode=view

Tim Goodrich showed me how to restore the tags. He had just finished restoring a set for the car he was working on. Tedious, time consuming.
Tom, Reg # 10576, Oregon
'62 1600S Karmann HT

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James Davies
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#26 Post by James Davies »

Tom tell us more about tag restoration. I suspect it would be useful also for Reutter chassis tag restoration as well, as the process that made these tags is the same.

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Tom Wavrin
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356 horn evolution

#27 Post by Tom Wavrin »

It's been 20 years and I wasn't as successful, or as patient, or derived as much satisfaction as Tim did. It is difficult to describe the process and one has only 1 chance to get it right because the horn badge aluminum is so soft. I cleaned the badges with Simple Green and Q-tips with special attention to the pitted areas of the bare aluminum. Most important observation is the smallest printing is the least embossed and most prone to sanding down to the painted surface and ruination of the badge. Use the finest emory available in a single layer applied to a narrow, somewhat flexible piece of plastic. You have to be able to see what you are doing; Tim used a bench top, lighted magnifying glass. I used shaker can satin black enamel applied in the lightest coat possible. The more paint applied, the higher the chance you'll ruin the badge. All you want is the contrast of clear aluminum against the black background. You may end up having to use a very small detail brush for touch up. I didn't finish with a clear coat but that might be a consideration. There will most likely be defects - resist the urge to make it perfect.
Tom, Reg # 10576, Oregon
'62 1600S Karmann HT

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Harlan Halsey
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#28 Post by Harlan Halsey »

Where is the horn relay mounted on a 1955 Cabriolet? And what does it look like? I assume that because of the current draw, all 346s had a horn relay.

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James Davies
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#29 Post by James Davies »

Horn relays were only used on cars with 2 horns, which became standard for the 1954 model year. The relay is mounted under the dash on passenger side. It's the standard Bosch SH/SE 11/1 relay. There should be 2 holes for it already there for mounting.
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Harlan Halsey
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Re: 356 horn evolution

#30 Post by Harlan Halsey »

Thank you, James,
Perfect answer.

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