The Official 356Talk Forum

Jerry,
There is no chirality (left or rightness) to the pre A door handles,the buttons and cylinders can be assembled for either right or left sides. One side is assembled Essentially upside down. There is a little "tang" on the cylinder that translated between the two shoulders or stops on the inside of the button. There is a "rod" with a section machined out the has the short end away from the "shoulders" of the inside of the button. The shoulders and tang allow for 180 degree rotation of the lock cylinder. The key should rotate clockwise to lock and counter clockwise to unlock. The slot should be vertical for either the locked or unlocked position. The orientations should be so that the teeth of the key should be down when inserted into an unlocked cylinder.

One other notable design change in pre A cylinders is with the change from thick to thin buttons there is also a change in where the cylinder interfaces with the button. Earlier buttons have a ridge at the bottom and the thrust of the rotation and operation of the lock is shared between the upper step of the cylinder and the bottom disc on the bottom ridge. The ridge is not present on newer cylinders and buttons. I think this was introduced with the 6000 series pre A lock cylinders.

Jerry if you need more help assembling the handles feel free to contact me.

Hey guys,

Apologies in advance if it's not appropriate to ask, but can anyone share Tony Euganeo's phone number with me? I sent him an email (to the address in the his membership record) but didn't receive a response.

I have Speedster 82759 and received only one ignition key with the car and no key for the doors, so I'd really like to get an original blank from which I could have a door key made. My car was built in November 1956 and delivered in January 1957. The Kardex lists the "Schlussel-Nr." as 7555, so it is actually very close to Dan Macdonald's car.

Thanks!

Dean
(408) 896-9140
deanmayer@gmail.com

Dean,
Tony goes in and out of circulation. You can see many posts on our groups frustrations in trying to reach him via phone or email and getting parts back after years in his shop.
He used to have a spot next to me at the Hershey Swap Meet but we have not seen him for a number of years.
I recently saw a post be Al Zim about his lock services. That could be a starting point.
Keep us advised.

Thanks Peter, yes, that is consistent with other responses I've received. I'll look for the post you cited.

I'll keep searching and post here if I'm ever able to find original key stock, or determine that it just no longer exists.

Best,

Dean

Dan,

The ignition key I have is identical to yours. My car is also a 1957 model, built in November 1956, VIN 82759.

If you're ever down in the South Bay, I'd love to have you take a look at it. It's my first 356, so I have a lot to learn, and I have a few "authenticity" questions that you might be able to shed light on given that our cars appear to have been produced pretty close together.

Dean

Another possible solution to your key issue may be Dan Roman of Tweets. He's in Florida.

Mike

Dean and others in the SF Bay Area. There are two locksmiths that can do keys for early Porsche All Safe in Santa Cruz and Baker's Locks in San Jose. Baker's just made keys for a 55 Speedster from scratch, the original keys were lost. I took the lock out and sent it to Baker's and they had the "C" style blank, and cut it to fit the existing switch, 12 hour turnaround. Also in the "VW World" there is Kevin Kilfoyl at Dormatic Lock and Key (925) 998-8418 he might have parts and keys that will fit. He made me a set for the 54 Bug and for my friends split, both from scratch.

Steve, that's great info.
Dean, I'll try to get to a 356CAR breakfast this Spring but also, do you get up to EASY for the event there?

Hi Dan I do go up to EASY now and then, when the weather is better, for sure, the past two have been a little wet. Maybe the February gathering? It's Ground Hogs Day, a reason to celebrate, maybe a trip to The Rare Barrell Brewing and Juan's Place for lunch? Weather permitting of course. We will be doing some drives after breakfast from Jack's at the Newark Mall, www.356CAR.org for updated info, and members will receive eMail blasts periodically, another reason to join the 356CAR.
In the planning is a Mt Tam drive. There was talk about doing it on a weekday, but knowing the bay area commute it would be hard to get to Marin, do the drive and find a way home without feeling threatened by the traffic driving a 356. Any thoughts???
Bought about a Friday, starting a little later than normal like 10:30, drive out Lucas Valley Rd, out to Valley Ford area, then back to Pt Reyes Station, Inverness or Bolinas for lunch, then tackle the Mt Tam Peak. Return on the Fairfax-Bolinas Rd and into San Rafael, avoiding the Mill Valley Junction. Maybe make it an overnight and Saturday drive too.

Steve,
Weekdays won't work for some folks, like me, who still are at the grinding stone.
How about organizing a Saturday breakfast in the North Bay then a drive afterwards? It's a loooong way to Newark from Marin!

Steve Douglas wrote:... Baker's and they had the "C" style blank, and cut it to fit the existing switch

Steve;
are you saying that they fit a C (K3XX) type key to a Bosch switch ? thanks for the references BTW.

Jerry , the "C" Key I was referring to was the "C" series for the Pre A, the Speedster is a 55 so had the round style headed key. The Later ones are K series, 100 and 300 series and the blanks are available from most key sources. Most of the aftermarket keys do not have the Porsche logo, and earlier ones had the lock/key manufacture 's logo.
Attached is a Sierra Madre's offering of the "C" blank. Baker's took the ignition lock and figured out the "cut" , and using the blank they had in stock made a key that works great. $40 for two keys.

Thanks Steve. It looks like Baker's is less than 5 miles from my house, so I'll plan to stop by there next week and see what they can do.

Dan: I'll join 356CAR and, weather permitting, will try to make it to the February breakfast in Newark. Is EASY still an event or has it moved to a new location? A Google search indicates they're no longer in business(?).

Dean,
EASY is actually closed, but the new owner of the building hosts a Porsche cars & coffee event the first Saturday of each month from about 9 to 1.

Got it, thanks! Some things to look forward to in February now. : )