The Official 356Talk Forum

My 1959 Coupe (Oct. '58 build) was originally ruby red with a black interior. It has previously had a good bit of work done on it, but all of the knobs seem to match the age of the car and seem original (except for a couple of obvious repros). All knobs that are on or under the dash are beige (tan), as well as the rear quarter window knobs. However the knobs on the door and window handles (and their escrutcheons), as well as the knob on the engine lid pull, are black. (The doors, as well as other panels, are all original to the car.)

My question is whether this mix of beige and black knobs could be factory original. The alternative would be that the black knobs were substituted for original beige knobs at some point along the way. I've read a number of past threads on the color of plastic knobs in A models but still can't find an answer to this question. I know that some late A cars had black steering wheels and knobs, but my car is earlier in the '59 model year (my original steering wheel is long gone). It does make some sense that the black knobs are all next to the black vinyl. Can anyone (Dan Haden?) shed any light on this?

Beige (tan), not black.

Here is another data point. A photo of a '59 Carrera Coupe used by the factory as a test car and raced by von Hanstein shows a black escutcheon on the door handle (black vinyl interior) but with the customary beige knobs on the dash and rear quarter windows. The radio delete plate is also black. (I'd post the photo, but it's not working for me at the moment. You can see the photo on page 76 of the Meredith book, Original Porsche 356.)