The Official 356Talk Forum

Hello to all Porsche fans,
In my Pre A speedster of March 1955 the engine number is: star (*) P 34 ... star(*)
It is normal that the * (star) is ahead of the P?
Thanks.
Ciao.
Enry

Enry,
This has been discussed in several posts over the years. You might look through some of these posts, but I don't recall that there was a definitive standard by the factory.
search.php?keywords=engine+numbering&te ... mit=Search

My '55 1500N engine, May 10, 1955 only had the star at the end of the number.

I have a 55 normal engine without stars.

This was discussed a few years ago:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35969&hilit=1955+engine trivia
hope that works.

Post a photo Enry. Photos are the only way to tell. =)

Thank you all for the answers.
My case is particular.
Normally the star is after the "P".
In my engine the star is before the "P"
Only in a carrera engine I found the star before the "P".
I will send photos.
Enry

Enry Altoe wrote:Thank you all for the answers.
My case is particular.
Normally the star is after the "P".
In my engine the star is before the "P"
Only in a carrera engine I found the star before the "P".
I will send photos.
Enry

The photos is not my 1500 normal engine!

Hello ,
This is my number engine?
What think?
Enry

Enry, what is the number stamped on the bolt boss underneath the oil filter canister. One side will have a 4-digit number, the other side with have "546/2". What is the 4-digit number?

James Davies wrote:Enry, what is the number stamped on the bolt boss underneath the oil filter canister. One side will have a 4-digit number, the other side with have "546/2". What is the 4-digit number?

Hello James,
The 4-digit number is: 8139
Enry

Thanks for sharing Enry. Interesting! And the 3-digit case matching numbers all match? That would be the 3-digit number on top of the cam gear cover matching the two 3-digit numbers on the two case halves, located on the rear bolt boss behind the fan shroud? All 3 case numbers should match, as this indicates the 3 pieces were machined together at the Porsche factory.

The reason I ask is that the internal number (8139) is a bit early compared the engine number (34576). I say this because engine with internal number 8195 is numbered 34406, which fits into the overall trend. It's possible that is just how Porsche did it, but only Porsche has this information to confirm. See plot below to see how much of an outlier your engine number is relative to the internal number. Interpolating the rest of the data, engine 34576 should have an internal number close to 8457, over 300 engines off, which represents a over a month of Porsche production.

Anyway, your case has that extra star, which is unusual, but everything else looks very normal. Is this the matching numbers engine to your car?

I ask about these numbers because at least for the 2-piece pre-A engines, a significant fraction of them in cars today are forged - made up from later VW engine blocks that have been restamped, or Porsche engines that have had the number changed. This was and is common, as VW engine blocks are common. Much less common on the early 3-piece engines like yours as these blocks are rare.

James

Hello James,
Thanks for your reply.
The 3-digit case are all match ( number 750).
Yes the engine is the matching number for my car.
The transmission is 5462 but I don't know if is matching number because, in my COA, there is not the number.
Ciao.
Enry

James Davies wrote:Thanks for sharing Enry. Interesting! And the 3-digit case matching numbers all match? That would be the 3-digit number on top of the cam gear cover matching the two 3-digit numbers on the two case halves, located on the rear bolt boss behind the fan shroud? All 3 case numbers should match, as this indicates the 3 pieces were machined together at the Porsche factory.

The reason I ask is that the internal number (8139) is a bit early compared the engine number (34576). I say this because engine with internal number 8195 is numbered 34406, which fits into the overall trend. It's possible that is just how Porsche did it, but only Porsche has this information to confirm. See plot below to see how much of an outlier your engine number is relative to the internal number. Interpolating the rest of the data, engine 34576 should have an internal number close to 8457, over 300 engines off, which represents a over a month of Porsche production.

Anyway, your case has that extra star, which is unusual, but everything else looks very normal. Is this the matching numbers engine to your car?

I ask about these numbers because at least for the 2-piece pre-A engines, a significant fraction of them in cars today are forged - made up from later VW engine blocks that have been restamped, or Porsche engines that have had the number changed. This was and is common, as VW engine blocks are common. Much less common on the early 3-piece engines like yours as these blocks are rare.

James

Enry Altoe wrote:

James Davies wrote:Enry, what is the number stamped on the bolt boss underneath the oil filter canister. One side will have a 4-digit number, the other side with have "546/2". What is the 4-digit number?

Hello James,
The 4-digit number is: 8139
Enry

Enry, can you post a clear photo of this number please. It could be that the 1 is actually a poorly stamped 4 in which case it could fit the data pattern much better. Actually, photos of the mating # 750 on the 3 parts would help as well. The first star on your engine is very unusual, and the P looks to be a little large. In situations like this it is very helpful to fully document the engine.
If you can provide the VIN, then we can compare the trans # to see if the fit is at least close to the VIN. You can send it privately if you wish.
Dave