dated Wheels

For those who obsess about exactly how their 356 left the factory!
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Edwin Ek
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Re: dated Wheels

#31 Post by Edwin Ek »

Doug McDonnell wrote:3 months is probably not long enough. My 5 original wheels are dated 3/64 and my cars Production Completion date is 7/14/1964.
That is a surprisingly long spread. I wonder if the wheels were switched at the dealer-- maybe painted for chrome or vice versa. Have you seen your Kardex or CoA?
There were roughly 700 cars a month being manufactured. That's 3,500 wheels per month. They (cars and wheels) were flying out of there.
Last edited by Edwin Ek on Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Richard Milstead
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Re: dated Wheels

#32 Post by Richard Milstead »

Edwin,
I don't debate any of the points made by others in this thread relative to the time interval typically encountered between the date on wheels and the Kardex date of cars. But to your point, certainly at the latter C production era when the numbers you quote were likely valid, the interval on specific cars was probably less and I don't doubt that wheels dated the same month as the car was produced did, in fact, happen - perhaps somewhat frequently.

Case in point. The 4 chrome wheels on my '65 C Cabriolet were all dated 9/64 (KPZ) and the spare was missing when the car was found. Since chrome wheels were listed as accessories on the Kardex and the car was only on the road for approximately 10 years after manufacture before being "mothballed" I have always believed that they are most likely original to the car. Basically, as found, it was pretty much all original otherwise except for a few "modifications" made by the last owner and a lot of rust, so original wheels would have been consistent. Of course, while I cannot prove that they are for certain, I can say, for sure, that when the car was last "in service" nobody cared about date matching wheels to the car so I seriously doubt that a previous owner would have sought them out for "authenticity reasons". The Kardex date was 25 Sept. 1964. Others can draw whatever conclusions they wish but I believe they are original to the car. "Never say Always" or "Never say Never"

My $0.02

Dick Milstead
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Edwin Ek
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Re: dated Wheels

#33 Post by Edwin Ek »

Dick, I think we are agreeing about this one from the get go :)

At the beginning of the 356 era, when production was small, who knows how parts were stored and used. But by the end, the place was a factory.
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Richard Milstead
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Re: dated Wheels

#34 Post by Richard Milstead »

Edwin,
Wow we agree at last!!

In a related point, my car was a European (Germany) delivery. All of the gauges save two were dated 9/64 as well. The two with different dates were the speedometer which was the MPH version when the car was found and the O/I thermometer. On the speedometer, I am sure that it (along with the headlights) got changed when it was imported. For various reasons I believe that the thermometer was likely installed by the dealership for the original owner after delivery and was dated 6/64. The tachometer, multi-gauge, and clock all were dated 9/64. Again a sign that with increased production the supply chain was operating on more of a "just in time" basis probably for the obvious reason to reduce inventory turns. Porsche was, after all, running a business which sometimes is lost to the enthusiast.

Dick Milstead
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Doug McDonnell
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Re: dated Wheels

#35 Post by Doug McDonnell »

Edwin All 5 of my 3/64 wheels are chrome. Chrome wheels listed on my COA.
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

Edwin Ek
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Re: dated Wheels

#36 Post by Edwin Ek »

Doug McDonnell wrote:Edwin All 5 of my 3/64 wheels are chrome. Chrome wheels listed on my COA.
Shoots my theory, eh? Was there anything noted about the brand of tire?
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Doug McDonnell
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Re: dated Wheels

#37 Post by Doug McDonnell »

Yes Tires were noted as Michelin 165x15
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

Ian Butt
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Re: dated Wheels

#38 Post by Ian Butt »

My 1964 356C manufactured April 1964 has four chrome wheels dated 1/65. Who knows why. Maybe the cars weren't selling well by the time the C's came out and inventory backed up? Maybe the car sat around in Germany or elsewhere with some kind of problem? But I think the more likely scenario is a dealership swap. Dealers swapped wheels, engines, and even interiors to make sales, or they could have been mixed up during service at some point. I do have optional chrome ventilated wheels on my COA so they're the correct type of wheel, but produced 9 months after my car.

Norm Miller
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Re: dated Wheels

#39 Post by Norm Miller »

Mike, Smith and others.

I think it was back in 1904 on the 4th day of April that someone decided to abbreviate the date.
April became 04, 1904 became 04 and it was Wednesday the 4th.
At 4:00 AM someone likely a govt. worker typed a letter dated:

04/04/04
0400

Dear Sirs,

I believe we should make 01/04 All fools day. No one wanted a January fools day so it was reversed.

Sincerely,

sig. ben franklin
 

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Mike Smith
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Re: dated Wheels

#40 Post by Mike Smith »

Dear Sirs,

I believe we should make 01/04 All fools day. No one wanted a January fools day so it was reversed.

Sincerely - sig. ben franklin

Interesting how we got from Dated 356 Wheels to Ben. Franklin
Mike Smith (Essex - UK)

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Pascal Zundel
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Re: dated Wheels

#41 Post by Pascal Zundel »

:wink:
Date before month: for once that the UK and France are aligned, this must definitely be right.
Sorry!

Norm Miller
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Re: dated Wheels

#42 Post by Norm Miller »

Mike Smith wrote:


Will someone please tell me why Americans us a different date layout ?


Ben Franklin was part of my reply as to why we use an orphan layout for the date.

Norm
 

Edwin Ek
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Re: dated Wheels

#43 Post by Edwin Ek »

Ian Butt wrote:My 1964 356C manufactured April 1964 has four chrome wheels dated 1/65. Who knows why. Maybe the cars weren't selling well by the time the C's came out and inventory backed up? Maybe the car sat around in Germany or elsewhere with some kind of problem? But I think the more likely scenario is a dealership swap. Dealers swapped wheels, engines, and even interiors to make sales, or they could have been mixed up during service at some point. I do have optional chrome ventilated wheels on my COA so they're the correct type of wheel, but produced 9 months after my car.
Ian, a possibility is that the dealer switched the set of wheels because the buyer wanted a different kind of tire ...
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gary haddad
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Re: dated Wheels

#44 Post by gary haddad »

Thanks for your response.
Best Regards
Gary

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