The Official 356Talk Forum

All, I am contemplating having authentic reproductions made of the sealed beam Headlight lenses offered by Hella on the later pre-A cars through early A's and the lenses used on the T2 A's through T6 cars. As far as I know these have not been available for years. Before anybody cries foul, we will only do this if we get explicit permission from Hella.

I know that slight variations exist so the types we are considering are:

- Early style with small Hella logo and elipse as posted by Chuck H. here viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33980
- "Smiley" style lenses as posted by Jim B. here viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33980

The million dollar question is how many of you out there would be interested in a set. Not doing this to get rich, just trying to help some of my own restorations and other out there. For the sake for discussion let's assume that the price would be in the $100-150 each range and cheaper if a lot of people express an interest.

I would be interested in the early style w/ the vestigial oval as posted by Chuck H.

I would be interested in a set of the early ones.

Those early ones were reproduced a few years ago by Rainer Cooney, FYI.

I would be interested in the later T5/T6 “Smiley” style lens.

Yes. For a C

All,

Thanks for those that responded to my post. It appears, a bit to my surprise, that there is no real interest out there for an accurate reproduction. As such, I will likely not pursue this project as the economics will not work.

Thanks,

Joris

What's wrong with these??

Eric Linden wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:10 pm What's wrong with these??

There's nothing wrong with them if you have a 356C built in 1964 or 65, don't care about originality, or don't feel like spending the $$ for originals or correct-looking repros.

What's wrong with them?

Can't seem to edit from my phone... So Jan, what's wrong with them as a repro?

Jan Kolm wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 12:17 am

Eric Linden wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:10 pm What's wrong with these??

There's nothing wrong with them if you have a 356C built in 1964 or 65, don't care about originality, or don't feel like spending the $$ for originals or correct-looking repros.

Why the insults???

Eric,

There is nothing wrong with your lenses. They are beautiful and I have some sets myself. They are however not authentic, in terms of markings etc. for 63 and earlier cars. Will they work on those cars, yes, are they a quality product at a very fair price, also yes.

I now realize a mistake in the title of the thread. It mentions through T6 should be to 63. As mentioned if you have a C car or early 911 series car Erics lenses are the ones to get. They are beautiful and very fairly priced

Eric Linden wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:10 am

Jan Kolm wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 12:17 am

Eric Linden wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:10 pm What's wrong with these??

There's nothing wrong with them if you have a 356C built in 1964 or 65, don't care about originality, or don't feel like spending the $$ for originals or correct-looking repros.

Why the insults???

It was not intended to be insulting. If it were, the entire Outlaw forum should be deleted.

Fact is, not all 356 owners are loaded with cash, and there are others who still drive their cars thousands of miles per year who are less concerned with originality than functionality, especially for an exposed piece of glass that could perish with the next rock kicked up by the car in front.

The SB19 SB20 SB21 lenses were produced into the 1980s and were installed on nearly every VW sold in the U.S. and Canada during the mid-1960s, so they are common. They are still available as new old stock and used ones in good condition can be found at VW swap meets with a little searching.

Joris Koning wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:23 am Eric,

There is nothing wrong with your lenses. They are beautiful and I have some sets myself. They are however not authentic, in terms of markings etc. for 63 and earlier cars. Will they work on those cars, yes, are they a quality product at a very fair price, also yes.

The real question is whether is there is any interest by you and Eric for the object pictured.
I'll see both of you in a little town north of LA, Ca pretty soon.

Ciao

Jim