The Official 356Talk Forum

Thank you gents. I figured the clock wasn't Porsche related. The font isn't like anything i have ever seen in a 356. I doubt it came from a period Opel, since it is a US spec 356 and Opel only sold GTs and Mantas in the usa in the late 60s and early 70s.

Anyway- the clock will go away when i paint the dash dark blue, and i will get rid of the hood over the temp gauge as well

Thank you for the info on the trans Vic! So a 519 is correct for the car if i read James' post correctly. And no, this car has been in Arizona with its 2 previous long term owners for a very long time, it did not come from Ibrahim.

Jules Dielen wrote:Thank you so much for the details James. I found nothing on the transmission on any early car. It seems they were not recorded. Mine has a 3 digit number, split case. Is that a 519?

And is this the dash area that is supposed to be shorter on my car?

Hi Jules,

Looks like whoever restored your dash plugged the 3rd hole. The knob is a dummy knob anyway, but it should be there. The area is the long version that fits the 3 knobs. So yeah, that dash is probably original to your car, but of course you can verify as Spencer showed, as it's stamped on the bottom.

As Vic said, the tranny is a 519, probably from a later March/April 1953 car. Several fiducial points, chassis/trans:

50199 / 719
50638 / 1392
50662 / 1421
50722 / 1493
50960 / 1781

Transmissions were certainly not installed in chassis number order, but there's a general correlation with some significant outliers.

Thank you for the feedback Gents. The hunt is on for an early single needle oil temp gauge... and the seat boomerang trim pieces!!

James Davies wrote:Hoffman's deluxe cars often had a recliner just on the passenger side in 1952 through early 1954. There's good documentation in Conradt's excellent book. Keipers were used in 1952 and earlier. The Reutter recliners came out in ~Nov 1952.

Jules,
Since yours is a US delivery the combination of non-recliner driver and Keiper recliner passenger would likely be correct for your car. Douglas Kim's German delivery 52 cab has Keiper recliners on both seats, but as James documents the US delivery Hoffman cars often had the combination.

Thank you for the info Spencer. I spent some time under the dash this weekend. it is the original dash to my car, last 2 digits of the vin are stamped in the metal under the radio. I also cannot find any signs the 'dummy switch' hole was ever there. it is nice and smooth in the back as well.

I found a radio delete plate that will take the spot of this home made radio. The dash and garnish rails will be removed and painted dark blue and the Opel clock will be sent to my obsolete parts shelf. Steering column and wiper switch housing will be color matched to the 'Victor Ingram' supplied 400mm steering wheel...

Hi Jules,

Yes, the previous owner must have welded that hole for the dummy knob shut. Here's a photo of the back side of the knob. It's the same nob as on the fresh air vents.

And yes, on the 1952 through mid-1953 cars, the turn signal housing is ivory. The little spring-loaded strap that attaches it to the steering column is nickel-plated I believe (silver color). The steering column on all pre-As is painted semi-gloss black.

I can give you a dark blue mix in Glasurit for the dash if you wish. I haven't tested it out, but you can see if you like it. It was matched to a 1954 car that had a very original dark blue dash. I hope to use that mix for the dark blue dash on my '53 coupe. =)

James

I found this one in Canada, near Vancouver in 2014...

Thank you for posting Pascal - is that vin 11141?

No idea, the shop was closed...