Reproductions

In the world of restorations and speedster kits,who produces the best , high quality bits and pieces. Chrome trim, lights, grills, tailights, knobs...., all the stuff beyond the main parts of a build. Ive heard people complain about trim being "substandard" from a well known builders. Early "pitting", gaps, poorly fitted and just plain junk seems to be pervasive throughout the industry. Are original parts truly better? Appearance and longevity and function are what Im looking for.

The OEM chromed German stuff is by far superior to the new stuff. See you are on the East coast too - try Jim at Klasse356 in Allentown, PA. I've been happy with quality and even price of his stuff - great to deal with and prompt shipper. His online catalog has some burps - If you can't fins what you want, email him and you'll get a propt reply.

Hey Howard,
I agree with Wolfgang. I have always been pleased when I go with Stoddards and or Klasse 356 when it came to emblems. I got the repro side moulding from JPS and it was pretty good, I think he mixed and matched as the two pieces that go over the rear wheel were of higher quality. If they are any reflection of the difference when and if I ever redo the moulding I'll go with original stuff. Not the the repro is bad, there is just a noticable difference. John did mention that when I bought it. I've also found that when it comes to emblems the prices are all about the same so I would suggest spending the little extra if there is any. I hope this helps, Mickey

Howard, I agree with what is mentioned above and would like to add another source for small bits.

We bought quite a few switches, knobs etc., from Germany. They show up on Ebay. Buy German NOS, look under Porsche and VW to find them. Very good quality switches/knobs. Shipping from Germany via USPS seems to only take a week or so to get here (west coast).

Just one more idea. angela

I like Klasse and Stoddards....I think Klasse actually gets some stuff from Stoddard and Stoddards gets some from Klasse. You can see a difference between their stuff and some of the aftermarket stuff when you have parts side by side, but otherwise might not even notice. NLA also has some nice stuff, but can be more of a pain to deal with then Stoddards or Klasse. Look in the shops tab and you can find info on them.

How can you be sure that the stuff you buy will fit the builders car, ie Horn button, steering wheel, (Banjo) Derrington? Knobs, switch gear, is it all generic? Mirrors, speedster, Talbot or GT? Beehives or teardrop, bicolor? Trim rings, will they pit and corrode over the short term. Will OEM fit a custom made car? I know Im advertising my ignorance here, but this is THE only time Im going to do this, no do-overs for me. Id like to get it right the first time. That being said, once I get this little beast in my hands, I'll replace anything and everything to makeit "right" for me

Howard,
I'll give you my view of the things you addressed - Steering wheels and horn buttons: Size Matters here! I had a banjo wheel and found it to be a little big for my liking so I went back to my Grant "Carrera" style which is smaller. Horn Buttons: I had a bitch of a time trying to get the correct button. When I went the Samba/Ebay route I had difficulty getting needed info to insure proper fit and when I gave up and decided to buy an original "P" button no one had them in stock. For my banjo I bought a Golden Lady from flat 4, painted it and epoxyed a porsche crest to it (looked nice). Steering wheel adapters: KNOW what steering column is on your car! If I was having a car built I would try to get an original porsche column so I could put and original wheel on it (a la Dale Bates, etc..) but I think they are big $$$! Knobs and switches: there is a place on the Samba that makes repros of all porsche knobs, they're a little pricey but I think they would be worth it. I have to standard retro VW knobs painted glossy almond color. I would imagine any knob would be fairly easy to modify for proper fit. Mirrors: Make sure you are positive of the one you want before you mount it. I'm not sure but I would imagine the mounting bolt patterns vary from mirror to mirror so if you decide to switch you may have to drill new holes. Lights: Teardrops (all red or red and amber) are for a mid 57, 58, 59 look. Beehives are for earlier models. They can be switched but not without body and paint work so again, be sure before you commit. Emblems: I shard my opinion on quality earlier but something to consider is that mounting with original hardware, or any for that matter, was impossible, for me a least. The fiberglass is too thick to use the clips so I had to drill holes and super glue the posts into the holes. Be very careful when doing the curved emblem up front! As far as pitting or finish wear and tear: This stuff is like everything else - if you take care of it and keep it clean and polished you probably won't have much trouble. I hope all of this gives you a little more help. Feel free to ask anymore questions.

Mickey, Thank you for the input. Its exactly the kind of stuff I need to know going foward. Like I said, I want to be happy with the car at delivery (Summer 07) Inter mecannica has a wonderful rep within the industry. They get a premium for their cars, and from what I've seen, rightly so.... I still worry about what I CAN DO TO MAKE IT BETTER.

Howard,
You're getting an IM and from what I've seen of them and what I've read here you're getting one of the best! I can't say from personal experience, being my IM is an antique, but I'm pretty sure Henry will do just about anything you want to the car. If he is building it than have him do it all, I can't imagine there would be much left after delivery? If you are looking to embelish your car once you get it then I suggest looking at every picture you can and picking the car you're after. I finally settled on a 57 speedster carrera GS. Short of a few dash knobs I'm almost there ( as close as I can get with what I have). I've redone just about everything on my car aside from engine and tranny, and a few suspension modifications. All of which I'll address when needed as my car runs and handles pretty well for now. I got my "inspiration" from a photo (below) from the pebble beach concourse. Anyway, that would be my suggestion. As I said, any more questions I can help with let me know. I'm not sure what you mean when you say "What YOU can do to make it better?" Henry seems to be pretty good at what he does, if you can be more specific in regard to the things you're thinking about I'll give you everything I know.

Mickey, I appreciate the advice. Im looking at many cars, trying to get to a destination. Ive already raided many thoughtful sages who've done this before. Im ssure you'll be hearing from me this winter.

Howard, that's a pretty good bit of advice from Mickey.
I've got a couple ideas ...
(lol)

As the others have said, my experience with Klasse 356's merchandise as well as Tweeks has been very good. Their gold plating is very good as compared to what I got in my car originally.

With regards to chrome plated items such as license plate lights or tailight lens surrounds you're more restricted as what you can find today for replacement parts is mostly Oriental with very shoddy chrome plating from what I gather. Hell, those items on my newly ordered turnkey car were already pitted when I took delivery! Maybe you can try and be on the lookout on Ebay or on classifieds to find German OEM replacement parts but they're very hard to come by and very expensive when they do. You're better off rechroming your items which is what I've done, and keeping them waxed whenever possible.

Howard, one more thing to think about -- keys. Would IM be able to use ignition and lock cylinders that work with original Porsche keys? These have changed quite a bit over the years, but you can see different key blanks sold at www.tweeks.com. You may also want to check Pelican Parts and Performance Products for samples of different Porsche key blanks.