I have seen this car in person as well.Eric Lenius wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:37 pmAaah,Mike Smith wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:14 pm Here is my recap and take on what has been said and suggested
1. Quoted Year of Car – 1954
2. The car is a Coupe
3. Stamped Chassis No. in Front Boot – 23792 (looks original although it is a little straight and clinical)
4. The Chassis No. is stamped onto what appears to be an original 2-Hole VIN. There is no `Made in Western Germany` Badge (below the plate) – (the Plate certainly looks old, original and part of the surrounding patina) – (The image does not show enough of the L/H portion to determine anything else)
5. The Owner says that 356/10 is stamped into the L/H portion of the Plate
6. The Stamped No. on the Front Hood - 66
7. The Engine No. – Not Quoted
8. The Transmission No. – 6842 H3
The only assessments that we can make are
1. That it is not a correct Porsche Chassis Number
2. The number on the hinge plate is 66 – (may be the 2 x last 2 -digits of the real chassis number, although there could have been a hood change
3. It is not a Replacement Body (there are no replacement body numbers in this range - I have them ALL)
4. It is not a car built in South Africa (It does not fit the range of Knock-down cars supplied to S.A. - I have them ALL)
5. It is not a car built in Australia (they did not build any cars in AUS)
6. The VIN Plate appears to be a 1954 or later Plate (Brett states that the Vin Plate changed from 4 x rivets to 2 x rivets in or around July /August 1954) – (We need more of the l/H VIN. Plate to determine more information)
7. It is not an Engine Number (there were no 5-digit) Engine Numbers commencing 23 – the last number in the 20 series run of engines was 22999 – this number was used in 1957) – (Porsche did, on occasions, build engines after the end of a series but it is stretching things too far to assume that they built another 792 and if they did it would have been in 1957/58)
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From my records I have the following Transmission Numbers and Build Dates (not a selling date)
10th August 1955 - 6825 H2
12th August 1955 - 6897 H5
Our friends Transmission fits between the two dates but Porsche did not build the cars in sequence so the only thing that we can deduce is that it was a car built between July 1955 and September 1955 - (This assumes that the transmission is original to the car) If it is (?) - it is a 55 car not a 54)
Bill Block has posted a record of transmission 6859 fitted in a Continental dated the 13th September 1955(probably a selling Date) – Note that it is a 55 Car
Just for information - the Summer Holidays in 1955 were - Close down Friday evening on the 12th August and opening Monday morning on the 29th August.
An engine number may help, assuming that it is original to the car and all 3 pieces match.
Happy to be shot down
The VIN stamp in the trunk floor does not appear to be original.
356/10 was stamped on another plate. This car is stamped 356/1500
No engine number has been provided. as an assist, I can tell you that it is a later engine (I've seen the car when it was parked in front of a local repair shop. at least it was described to me as being a later engine.).
Wasn't 66 on the hood rather than the hinge plate?
My observations were that the front hood was A era, engine lid is A or later(dished rain tray) the 2 digit numbers on the doors and hood do not match each other or the "VIN" stampings. The hinge cover plates are missing. I was not able to find numbers on the dash or seat frames. We have some theories about the re-stamped VIN but nothing conclusive. I believe there were some old registration slips with transposed VIN numbers as well, they might be a good clue to work from? I believe the engine is from a 912. This car is a bent window coupe without question but I do suspect that it did not leave the factory with a sunroof.