WCSTA -24- 1957 T1 Speedster 83511

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Carey Hines
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Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:06 pm

WCSTA -24- 1957 T1 Speedster 83511

#1 Post by Carey Hines »

True barn find about 2 years ago in Northern Michigan. COA #s matching engine and gearbox, original colors were 5707 Aquamarine, Oatmeal carpet, Red leatherette.
The story;
We got a call from a gentlemen who owned one of our Beck Spyders, bought in kit form in 1983 and never completed. In fact it had never even been started... after doing some digging and and sharing a few photos with Chuck (Beck) we determined that it was the #001P body, which was the first one ever built and sold to General Motors in mid 1983. The current owner was a former employee of GM and wound up with this body/chassis when he retired. Upon picking up the Spyder my father asked the simple question; "got anything else neat for sale?"
The reply was something to the effect of "just a few old Porsches buried out back". Long story short we wound up with the Spyder body, a '65 911 basket case , a '66 911 basket case, and a '57 356A Speedster that had been torn down in 1980 and was being used as storage rack for insulation and vinyl siding.
To date:
We gathered all of the original 356 parts that were on the property and wound up with about 90-95% of this Speedster. We found the original bumpers, one of the seats, a few top frames, hood, deck lid, all the mechanicals, one seat and about 1/2 of the brightwork. There were also several boxes with new parts and some sheet metal with Stoddards stickers that the PO remembered ordering "sometime in the early 80s).

Other than that, the car is untouched since we got it.


The plan:
The car needs some metal work in the nose. It had been bumped in the right front and never repaired. The left lower rear fender section had rotted away and was cut out and the closing panel is pretty beat up.
The floors and one door from the PO's sacrificed '57 Fjord Green 356 were partially fit and are solid.
The battery tray and gas floor are original and solid
The rear seems to be all original, accident free and in good shape.
The dash was still complete.
There had been a roll bar welded in at one point and the PO stated he raced the car in the 60s and 70s before it was retired to replace the floors and repaint (which is where the project was left off).

We use the paint and body facility (for our Beck products) to do small volume restoration for ourselves and a few select clients.
We are just finishing up the metal work on a clients '56 A coupe and on my '68 911L, and once those projects are out of the metal shop (60 days) the Speedster will be rolling in. Engine rebuild and transaxle rebuild will be outsourced. Everything else will be handled in house.
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And two more just for fun...
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William Block
356 Fan
Posts: 273
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:45 pm
Tag: blocklab
Location: West Bloomfield, MI

Re: WCSTA -24- 1957 T1 Speedster 83511

#2 Post by William Block »

Fascinating Certificate of Authentiicty -- I have never seen one specify the carpet before. Unfortunately, I am not convinced it is correct in that 1957 is early for oatmeal carpet; which is usually associated with 1959 cars and some 1958.

bill
Bill Block
BLOCKS-BOOKS.COM
248/672-2637 blocklab@gmail.com
1500N coupe #11994
S tractor #133/7622
1600N S/R #106072
356C cab #161564
911 #303269
914/6 2.8 #9140432388 (for sale)
Freda’s Boxster WPOCA2983WS621230

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Steve Raucher
356 Fan
Posts: 770
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 9:58 am
Location: Seaside CA 93955

Re: WCSTA -24- 1957 T1 Speedster 83511

#3 Post by Steve Raucher »

Yes I agree on that carpet comment. My '58 Speedster #84832 was finished 5/3/58 and my COA only says Black Leatherette/B for interior. Does the B mean black carpet?
I'd like to replace the carpet to Oatmeal but unsure if this was used and available in the time period the car was done. Anyone know how to verify this?
Great find Carey, good luck with the restoration,send pics and updates as you go. Hope the price was right.
Steve
 

Carey Hines
356 Fan
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:06 pm

Re: WCSTA -24- 1957 T1 Speedster 83511

#4 Post by Carey Hines »

When I sold the 2 911s (65 and 66) to an old friend in Germany he offered to get me the COA on the Speedster. It looks a bit different from the one I received for my '68 911L and has no signature at the bottom. He also sent a copy of the Kardex and copies of the e-mail correspondences regarding the color codes and options codes for my Speedster. In one of the e-mails they refer to the carpet color as tan/beige and in another they call it Oatmeal. I'll have to see if I can find a carpet scrap in the parts bin...
Would you guys suggest ordering a COA directly from Porsche NA to see what it says?

William Block
356 Fan
Posts: 273
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:45 pm
Tag: blocklab
Location: West Bloomfield, MI

Re: WCSTA -24- 1957 T1 Speedster 83511

#5 Post by William Block »

Prior to 1960 and the 356B when the letter upholstery color codes were standardized -- in the sense that B always meant black -- the meaning of the appended letter varied depending upon the cars's paint code. In your case, if your Speedster was originally ruby red Porsche 5702 (Reutter 702) or black Porsche 5701 (Reutter 701) the B meant blackout if your car were originally silver metallic, Porsche 5706 (Reutter 608) the B was green. Unfortunately this does not address the carpet color which was generally, but certainly not always keyed to the upholstery -- with the most common exceptions be the "random" appearance of charcoal carpet with any upholstery color and tan carpet with black upholstery. All of this means the B does not necessarily mean black upholstery prior to 1960 model year and it does not necessarily mean black (charcoal in current parlance) carpet. Carpet color is not usually on either the Kardex or Certificate of Authenticity -- but that's where I came in.
bill
Bill Block
BLOCKS-BOOKS.COM
248/672-2637 blocklab@gmail.com
1500N coupe #11994
S tractor #133/7622
1600N S/R #106072
356C cab #161564
911 #303269
914/6 2.8 #9140432388 (for sale)
Freda’s Boxster WPOCA2983WS621230

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