On headlight lenses....

[Jan Kolm]

No.

Looks like a '60-'65 asymmetric assembly with a Hella 4475 lens.

Porsche normally sourced their non-sealed beam headlight assemblies from Bosch. The Bosch and Hella buckets from this period are very similar in appearance. Single-rivet, Hella chromed rings from this period have a squared-off tab--not sure about Bosch.

[Dan Kalinski]

No.

Looks like a '60-'65 asymmetric assembly with a Hella 4475 lens.

Porsche normally sourced their non-sealed beam headlight assemblies from Bosch. The Bosch and Hella buckets from this period are very similar in appearance. Single-rivet, Hella chromed rings from this period have a squared-off tab--not sure about Bosch.

Yes. Thank you. Would you (or anyone) have pictures of the correct lenses for the '53?

[Jan Kolm]

P1010044 (2).JPG (301.6 KiB) Viewed 3591 times

No.

Looks like a '60-'65 asymmetric assembly with a Hella 4475 lens.

Porsche normally sourced their non-sealed beam headlight assemblies from Bosch. The Bosch and Hella buckets from this period are very similar in appearance. Single-rivet, Hella chromed rings from this period have a squared-off tab--not sure about Bosch.

Yes. Thank you. Would you (or anyone) have pictures of the correct lenses for the '53?

This is the correct lens for a U.S. market '53 with sealed beams. It has the "vestigial oval" in the center of the lens.

Rainer Cooney (Spyder Factory) had a run of high-quality reproductions recently made and were sold out in advance. Unfortunately, several were broken in shipping, so an additional run is being made--he may have a few "insurance" spares available for purchase, once the pre-ordered lenses are mailed out and received in good shape. Contact him directly through the Registry.

There is some debate about the correct Bosch symmetric lens for a '53. They will have a "script" logo and (most likely) no "A" and "NL" markings. Original Bosch lenses may be date-coded at 12 o'clock with a Roman numeral and letter code for quarter and year.

[Dan Kalinski]

P1010044 (2).JPG

No.

Looks like a '60-'65 asymmetric assembly with a Hella 4475 lens.

Porsche normally sourced their non-sealed beam headlight assemblies from Bosch. The Bosch and Hella buckets from this period are very similar in appearance. Single-rivet, Hella chromed rings from this period have a squared-off tab--not sure about Bosch.

Yes. Thank you. Would you (or anyone) have pictures of the correct lenses for the '53?

This is the correct lens for a U.S. market '53 with sealed beams. It has the "vestigial oval" in the center of the lens.

Rainer Cooney (Spyder Factory) had a run of high-quality reproductions recently made and were sold out in advance. Unfortunately, several were broken in shipping, so an additional run is being made--he may have a few "insurance" spares available for purchase, once the pre-ordered lenses are mailed out and received in good shape. Contact him directly through the Registry.

There is some debate about the correct Bosch symmetric lens for a '53. They will have a "script" logo and (most likely) no "A" and "NL" markings. Original Bosch lenses may be date-coded at 12 o'clock with a Roman numeral and letter code for quarter and year.

Greatly appreciated. Thank you Sir.

Dan K.

[Ian Delroy]

Help.....

So I have a 1959 356A RHD Australian delivered. Its Kardex lists Bosch-Lampen 45/40W. It currently has Hella headlights, the buckets don't even match.

I was trying to sources what I understand to be the correct headlights. From my novice research I thought the part number was 644.631.101.00 "Headlight compl. Bosch".

I am looking a some currently for sale. One lens is a Hella which is easy enough to replace. The other lens is a Bosch and the buckets look correct to my untrained eye.

Can anyone provide advice if these are in fact period correct for my car?

Thanks in advance.

[Martin Benade]

Is the mounting tab at the bottom chromed? If so that may not be correct.

[Jan Kolm]

The buckets and reflectors are correct Bosch and the reflectors are dated Sep 1958 (9P).

It looks like the Hella lens and chrome ring were replaced at some point.

Does the Bosch lens have a date code cast into the lip at 12 o'clock (e.g., IIP or IIIP)?

The Hella lens is correct for a ~1959-60 VW Beetle and possibly later for RHD markets.

[Ian Delroy]

Thank you both. I have gone back to the seller with an offer. Headlights are certainly not simple!

[DaveErickson]

Can anyone help identify this headlight assembly? I am looking for a headlight for a Conv. D. The date code shows it is from mid 1958, but the part number on the bucket is one digit off from others I have seen: 180 E 25-5-SB-2 instead of 180 E 25-4-SB-2. The body of the light also has two tabs, shown circled below, which would be easy to remove for a 356 or VW, but I hate to damage an unusual part without knowing what it is for. Which vehicles besides VW and Porsche used the Hella headlight assemblies?

Interesting to me is that both Hella numbers, 180 E 25-4-SB-2 and 180 E 25-5-SB-2, appear on the lens. Indicating that the same lens fits both bodies. Somewhere in Hella literature there must be an explanation.

[Jan Kolm]

AU = Auto-Union or Audi?

[James Davies]

Dan, no those headlights are from a decade or more later.

[DaveErickson]

AU = Auto-Union or Audi?

Jan, thanks for the information. I think it is correct, here are some 59 AutoUnion pictures I found on the web, and they clearly use the same headlight assemblies as 356 and VW, although the first one has European headlights with 1:00 7:00 adjusters:

However that leads to another question. The headlight assembly in my 59 Convertible D that I am trying to match is the one on the right in this photo. It has an "n" after the Hella model number. What does the n stand for? The VW assembly next to it has no letter after the model number, but it is labeled VW so no need. If you click on the photo you will see a larger image.