1952 Gas tank strap felt?

[Victor Ingram]

All input is appreciated, 52 is out of my wheel house!
Assisting a friend who is going full on concours at this years parade.
Should the tank straps have the felt strips OR was this more original.
Looks like a horsehair??? The problem is this stuff sheds.

[Victor Ingram]

Jaimes I am coming to the well again, we have conflicting reports of brown or grey.
What say you? it is a July build 52

Thanks in advance
Victor

[James Davies]

Hi Victor, the felt was definitely not beige. More of a dark grey, charcoal color. It was a low-quality felted wool used for layering in upholstery. It included long strands of hair as well - possibly a mix of wool and other hair. Here's some photos.

Like everything on these cars, these felt strips eventually do turn brown due to oxidation and acid in the fibers, rust, etc. But you can see the original color is very dark.

More importantly in your photo above, the car is missing the felted, tar-impregnated material around the side walls to the side and the back of the fuel tank. And the side walls of the front compartment never got undercoating on pre-As. Always body color paint, as the felted sound deadening and carpet were glued there.

[Victor Ingram]

Thank you very much Jaimes,
also for picking up those missing pieces
Victor

[James Davies]

I wouldn't sweat too much about authenticity for a PCA concours. Judges don't really know what is authentic on Pre-As, and from what I gather, it's mostly about completeness and cleanliness at PCA.

[Victor Ingram]

James, I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge. We will surely do out best to compete at a high level.
I may have more questions as we proceed.
thanks again
Victor

[Tom Scott]

Gentlemen: PCA judging for full concours is: condition, cleanliness and authenticity. Don't knock the judges, most of them (me) are very knowledgeable. Furthermore, it is a matter of pride to restore a 356 as accurately as possible and the judging will take care of itself.
Tom Scott

[James Davies]

Sorry Tom, didn't mean to knock judges. Only to add some levity. My point was to first worry about the really obvious stuff - body shape, correct panels, correct lighting, correct interior (front seat shape, leather/upholstery materials), etc. Overall impression that one can see from 10 feet away. These big, obvious items are usually never done right on restored pre-A cars. And those should be priority for authenticity.

A hidden piece of felt below a strap is very, very low on the list I would say. That's my only point. As I mentioned above, having correct sound deadening would be higher on my list as well. All that said, I agree it is a point of pride to restore as accurately as possible. I like to sweat the details too.

[Ken Ito]

James Davies wrote:

"I wouldn't sweat too much about authenticity for a PCA concours. Judges don't really know what is authentic on Pre-As, and from what I gather, it's mostly about completeness and cleanliness at PCA."

That may be true for local PCA concours. However on the national level, the PCA Parades have the most qualified 356 judges around. At this year's Parade in Palm Springs, CA, you will have Tom Scott and John Paterak judging the full restoration 356 class. Similar to the "Another Not So Good Trend", as time marches on you will have fewer knowledgeable people to properly judge a 356.

Tom Scott wrote:

"Gentlemen: PCA judging for full concours is: condition, cleanliness and authenticity. Don't knock the judges, most of them (me) are very knowledgeable. Furthermore, it is a matter of pride to restore a 356 as accurately as possible and the judging will take care of itself."

Proof that Tom had to be knowledgeable is he won the Manhattan Trophy, best overall concours Porsche at the Great Lakes (Traverse City) 1989 PCA Parade. He had to win in his class & division to progress to the overall trophy and was against John's 1952 America Roadster. I would surmise to say Tom knows something about a 1952 fuel tank strap padding.

Ken