They are still out there....58 speedster complete

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Lars Waldner
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#16 Post by Lars Waldner »

Vin location question. Tag on drivers hingepost near the paint code reads #58XXX. Looking to confirm this with the vin code behind the spare tire on the shelf in the front trunk, I find nothing...but 55 years of old paint. Also I believe there is another on the tunnel by the shift coupler cover. Would someone be so kind as to post pictures of the specific areas I should be looking?
TIA
Last edited by Lars Waldner on Thu Jun 04, 2015 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
58 Speedster
59 Convertible D

Jon Bunin
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#17 Post by Jon Bunin »

Lars Waldner wrote:Vin location question. Tag on drivers hingepost near the paint code reads #58XXX. Looking to confirm this with the vin code behind the spare tire on the shelf in the front trunk, I find nothing...but 55 years of old paint.
Lars, #58XXX is the chassis number for a Coupe, not a Speedster.
There are two other places to find the full chassis number of your car- stamped into the shelf in front of your fuel tank, and on a plaque riveted just to the RH side of your fuel tank.
If you can, post a photo of the shelf area where you say you cannot find a number.
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Lars Waldner
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#18 Post by Lars Waldner »

Thanks Jon,
Here are some pics of the trunk...and the plate on the hingepost
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58 Speedster
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Lars Waldner
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#19 Post by Lars Waldner »

We were also able using a penetrating fluid called Blaster, and a rubber mallet, to move the drums enough to back the cylinders off enough to rotate the wheels. With the plugs out and some penetrating fluid soaked for a couple days, the engine now turns...progress. I cleaned the floors of all the good and bad debris. Rear seats are better than I expected.
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Edwin Ek
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#20 Post by Edwin Ek »

Tom Scott is who I would call ...
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Vic Skirmants
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#21 Post by Vic Skirmants »

Look for the chassis number just above the bracket above the battery. Rear of tunnel for the chassis # is a VW thing.
I'm getting a little nervous about the number.

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Joris Koning
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#22 Post by Joris Koning »

Some interesting things, bracket for gas tank strap is being held on by two bolts. Chassis number area appears missing. Steering box cover appears to be in upside down.
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Lars Waldner
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#23 Post by Lars Waldner »

Do my pictures show the area for the plate? If so, can someone circle the area I am to look. I will get in there with a wire brush. Awfully dirty in the trunk. Is this a factory heater or aftermarket?
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Vic Skirmants
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#24 Post by Vic Skirmants »

The plate should be next to the fuel tank, on the passenger side.
The number should be stamped directly into the sheet metal behind the spare tire strap bracket; the large raised rectangular area.
Aftermarket gas heater; kind of a dangerous area; right next to the fuel tank.

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Joris Koning
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#25 Post by Joris Koning »

Just noted the interesting door hinge pin
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster...or not : )

#26 Post by Lars Waldner »

Thanks guys,
I appreciate the pointers...
Things are getting interesting. Here is what I have found...the driver side hinge-post cover looks to be from a different car. If someone can decipher the paint code, it might not be red. The piece looks to have not been repainted, but who knows. I removed it and yes Joris, the upper hinge bolt looks to be free-lance. Vic, with your directions, I found the vin plate on the side of the gas tank #5248 which corresponds to a 1950 pre-A Reutter coupe. That makes no sense. I took a wire brush and had at the shelf immediately behind the spare tie-down and bingo...#5248.
For some color on the history of the car from the owner...he said he purchased the car in Europe and drove it around for a while before it came back to the states. For some reason I remember he said it came into NJ and was subsequently last titled in PA, before landing in CO a few years later and being parked since.
With early 911s, there are some other hidden numbers on the chassis. Some of these numbers match, some are not intended to match, but they help us determine if a body is "correct". In many cases, early cars were re-bodied and we can tell that by finding non-conforming numbers scattered throughout the chassis. Can we do this with the early 356s?
I was looking closely at the chassis for any indication that it might have been a coupe at some point, and it doesn't look to have been a conversion....but, I am no expert.
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Vic Skirmants
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#27 Post by Vic Skirmants »

The plate next to the gas tank is not original.
There are no "hidden" chassis numbers on a 356; until around 1960.

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Joris Koning
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#28 Post by Joris Koning »

Lars,

Can you take some pictures of the under dash area?

Joris
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#29 Post by Joris Koning »

Strange, those numbers stamped near the tire strap do appear to a German font type
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Re: They are still out there....58 speedster complete

#30 Post by Lars Waldner »

So I opened the folder I received with the car, and there are some documents that look to relate to its journey here to the states from Germany and they show the vin as 5248. Also documentation that refers to it as a 1958 as far back as 1969. Which only tells us that if a mistake was made in the German documentation, it was carried on here in the states...no surprise.
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