Ignition key to the right of the wheel?

Every real Speedster I’ve seen has the ignition  to the right of the wheel, while other 356s had it to the left.  The dashboards are completely different between the two.

"The idea supposedly was that they would be using their right hand to throw the car into gear as soon as the left hand fired it up."

That's a myth.  The car was parked leaving it in first gear.  The driver jumps in, slams the clutch while hitting the ignition with either hand and immediately takes off.

Original 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster dash, marked with functions.  Please note ignition on the right:

Followed by an original 1958 356 A Speedster dash - Sorry, no functions (that stickie-out knob at 2:30 on the steering wheel is the hand throttle, if you're wondering), but you can see the ignition key fob on the right, partially covered by the steering wheel, same position as the Pre-A:

Both of these cars live in my town and both are National Concours winners, so they are accurate.

Lane may be right, though....   I'll try to find some dash photos of original 356 Coupes to see if they're different.  I doubt it, but'cha never know.

Yup.  Lane, that Ol' Southern Gentleman, is right and my doubts have been dashed.

The 356 coupes have the ignition on the left side of the steering wheel.  This looks like an original A coupe belonging to one of the members of the TYP356ne club in New England:

Good Call, Lane!

Spyders had 'em on the right as well. 

Spyders had 'em on the right as well. 

Thanks guys! Appreciate getting straightened out on the key location. Also heard years ago from an oldtimer that prior to use of 'instrument panel', 'dashboard' was a carryover term from the days of the sleigh & horse & buggy. When the horse would pick up speed & go into a dash, mud would get thrown up at the driver via the hooves. The original curved dashboard was designed to protect the driver & front seat passenger from debris coming towards them. 

Ah, now there’s s bit of trivia I didn’t know.  I’ve wondered where “dashboard” came from. 👍

Another tidbit of automotive history centers on the development of the rearview mirror. It was traditional in the early 1900's to have both a driver & a mechanic/spotter in the cockpit, though it added extra weight. At the inaugural Indy 500 in 1911, Ray Harroun entered a new racecar... the Marmon Wasp, listing no sidekick on his application. Other competitors protested that allowing him to drive alone would not only give him a weight advantage, it would be unsafe for everyone because Harroun  would have no spotter to warn him of a passer approaching. Because there was no firm rule in racing- only tradition- that required a spotter, he was permitted to enter. When he drove to the starting line, his new mirror invention appeared. Harroun handily won the race & the rearview mirror soon became a permanent piece of the automobile.

We had one horse and one mule on the farm I grew up on.  Believe me, neither of those were young enough to even think about breaking into a trot, much less a gallop!

Marvn's got the dashboard exactly right, and very cool info on the mirror.  I remember a Marmon being shown at one of the Amelia Island Concours shows and it was a real beast.  Never knew that about the mirror, but someone had to do that sometime, right? 

Hey!  Did you know that Westfield, Massachusetts (roughly mid-state) was once the Buggy Whip Capital of America?  Literally had dozens of companies turning out buggy whips until the turn of the 19'th century when there was only one left, the American Buggy Whip Co.  They still have signs up as you enter town, welcoming you to "Whip City".

Other than that, the only notable thing about Westfield is that Al Gallo grew up there....

How bout where "pliers" (as we know them) came from ?

I love drifting  so where did the lane markings on the road come from?

The Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway referenced (yes those are real pictures of it) is about 30 minutes from here. It's so twisty it'll break a snakes back. Can hardly wait to get the coupe out there. 

Tru dat Gordo. (except I never really grew up) Also the home of the Pope Co. which produced a car and bikes.  It later became the factory that produced Columbia Bicycles for a very long time.  At one time or another almost every family in town had a member working there.  My brother worked there for while and I had at least 4 uncles that retired from "The Pope", as it was called.  I have a zillion cousins and we all rode the newest version of Columbia bikes.

I believe that they now produce school furniture and retro bikes, if they haven't moved to China.

I think that Le Mans BS came from early Porsche Dealers. My understanding it was put on the left to save wiring costs. Before Le Mans the company was in poor financial condition. 

Could be. I originally heard it at a PCA meeting where Al Holbert was speaking. His family owned the local dealership for many years & held regional events in the showroom on a regular basis. He had just come from Germany after testing the new 928 & was so impressed with it, he predicted that it was all but over for the 911. Guess maybe he was wrong on both counts.

majorkahuna posted:

I think that Le Mans BS came from early Porsche Dealers. My understanding it was put on the left to save wiring costs. Before Le Mans the company was in poor financial condition. 

 

BS is right.  To save one or two seconds at the start of a 24 hour race?  It's a great story that gets re-told over and over, but I doubt its veracity.  More likely it was some engineering decision, as above.  I read somewhere that some of the early Porsches had a hand choke on the dash, that was operated by the right hand, so maybe that was the reason for the left hand ignition key...