Does anyone have a list of what VW parts were used on the original speedsters? Like steering columns, headlight buckets etc... Just curious.
Jeff
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It is said that a book called The Secrets of The Inner Circle contains such a listing. If you don't want to spend $400 for a copy, old Porsche forums and wiki is our friend.
(as found):
VW-Porsche Parts Interchange
From Wiki
Front Suspension
Rubber steering cookie that fits between steering shaft and steering box
Tie rods
Tie rod clamps, bolts, and washers
Tie rod ends - VW tie rod ends do not have the grease fittings [check size of tapered stud - Porsche wnet to larger ones with "A" types]
Rubber grease cups that fit under the rod ends
Steering knuckle (spindle) [only up to about '55, maybe some '56]
King pins and bushings
Link pins, bushings and shims (The only part that does not come in the VW link pin kit that you will need in rebuilding your Porsche front end is the specially shaped retainer bushings that fit in the eye of the suspension arm. They serve to hold the rubber O-ring in place to keep in grease and keep out dirt and water. You may be able to use your own retainer bushings, but if not, they are still available through the dealer.)
Bolt, nut and washer used to adjust link pins.
Steering damper - VW bus
Rubber bumper between front trailing arms for 1950-55 Porsches
Front wheel ball bearings for 1950-58 Porsches
Steering gear box for pre 1958 Porsches
Front drum seals for 1950-63 Porsches
Front trailing arms and link pin carriers 1950-55 Porsches
Some front torsion bars
Rear Suspension
Large and small rear axle O-rings
Rear axle seal and outer bearing [and bearing inner and outer spacers, bearing retainer for 1950-63 -- 356C uses the bearing and inner spacer]
Rear axle tubes and shafts
axle boot
36mm rear axle retaining nut
some torsion bars and trailing arms
Brakes
Master cylinder resevoir for all 356's through 1963 - VW bus through 1967. Plastic resevoir that fits the Porsche master cylinder with no alterations. I am a purist, but this is definitely an improvement over the Porsche aluminum resevoir that has a tendency to sprout holes after several years of use. The cost is about 1/2 of the Porsche replacement part.
Backing plate retaining bolts
19mm wheel cylinder overhaul kits [3/4" cups available at auto supply stores which is all you usually need]
Almost all nuts, bolts and washers used on the VW front suspension are interchangeable with Porsche
Interior
Hella interior lights mounted on roof are the same as those used on early model Karmann Ghia
Interior door handles are VW parts
Window crank will fit - they have white knobs which would be fine for most "A" models and earlier
The accelerator pedal rubber is an Opel part
Clutch and brake pedal rubber are 914 and 911 parts
Light bulbs
Speedometer cable (VW sedan)- check length as some VW cables are a bit short when suspension is fully extended
Some windshield wiper motors for early 356's
Rear window latch knobs on 911's on the same as those used on 356's
Shifting lever boot same as the 914
Exterior
Headlight assembly early VW - If you specify that you want the lens that says Hella instead of VW. It is still available and is the original and authentic Porsche lens [editor's note: Remember, this article was written in 1996!]
The front directional lens and lens gaskets on 1960-65 are available through Mercedes Benz. They were used on the 190 and 220 series
The rubber window washer spraying units on 356C and late "B" mounted by the windshield wipers are 914 parts
Windshield wiper blades
The license plate light assemblies for 1960-65 are the same as those used on the early Mercedes 190 and 220 series
The backup light assembly for 1960-65 is the same as those used on 1967-72 VW bus (change bulb to 6-volt)
The rear reflectors are the same as those used on the Mercedes 190 series
In case you are short a spare tire wheel, the VW 5 lug wheel will fit until a Porsche wheel can be located
Early fuel tank cap ("A" and early "B")
Older VW jack
Engine (36hp VW Only)
Generators brushes and bearings (from 40hp VW also)
Cooling fan, generator and pulley (from 40hp VW also)
Starter and solenoid (from 40hp VW also)
Distributor cap, points, rotor and drive mechanism
Oil pressure relief valves and sprin, for pre-1958 356's
Oil pressure sending unit (all VW)
Flywheel seal
Crank shaft end play spacers
Dowel pins for main bearing location
Some oil pumps and gears for pre-1960 Porsches
Some oil pump housing for pre-1958 Porsches
Crankshaft timing gear, key, spacer, distributor drive gear and clip
Crankshaft timing gear - will have to drill dowel pin holes
Some gaskets on 1500 Porsches except valve covers
Some fuel pumps on early model Porsche
Throw out bearing (ball bearing type - any VW)
Clutch disk and pressure plate assembly (VW transporter. Rigid center and spring center disks available for 180mm and 200mm. Coil spring pressue plates available for 180mm. 200mm pressure plate not usable)
Dipstick, only on 1500 Porsches
Spark plug connector
O-ring on distributor shaft
Valve adjusting nut
Oil cooler seals pre-1958
Camshaft end-plug
Oil drain screw
Lock washer for flywheel bolt
Spring washer for crankshaft pulley bolt
Cooling fan hub
Gasket for small oil pump cover
Drive pinion for distributor
Washer for pinion
Spacer spring for pinion
Camshaft for 2-piece Normal engines
Transaxle
Spring for gear lock (reverse gear). Also detent balls, maybe interlock plungers
Shaft for differential pinion
Lock pin for differential pinion shaft
Differential carrier
Differential side gears and spider gears
Differential bearing opposite ring gear - also availabe at local bearing supply houses
Transmission input shaft rear bearing - also available local supply houses
Differential fulcrum plates
Transmission rear rubber mounts for 1950-55 Porsche
VW has a rubber gasket (Porsche is cork) for the fuel gauge sender that can be used on the 1962 BT6 with the flat gas tank and bottom sender and the 1963-65 gas tanks with top senders (VW part #113.919.133)
The overhead courtesy light in the BMW 2002 is the same as the dash courtesy light in the "C"
A standard VW spark plug wire harness will work on a 356, but the #1 wire is a tight fit.
Retrieved from https://forum.porsche356regist...viewtopic.php?t=6973
I was fortunate, once, to go to a 356 “tech session” where they had a 1955 and 1958 Speedster up on side-by-side lifts and the master, Rich Mackoul, pointed out, for the Porsche purists, all of the VW parts (many of them stamped “VW”, like the front trailing arms) used in each. There were a lot more in the ‘55 and Rich missed a few from Ed’s list, but there are a lot of them.
That is a big part of the 911 owners thinking that 356 cars aren’t real Porsches. After all, they have all of those VW parts in them….
@Gordon Nichols posted:That is a big part of the 911 owners thinking that 356 cars aren’t real Porsches. After all, they have all of those VW parts in them….
IIRC, there was a non-zero number of VW parts on my 78 911SC. Morris on my 69 912.
Very cool!!!
@Gordon Nichols posted:That is a big part of the 911 owners thinking that 356 cars aren’t real Porsches. After all, they have all of those VW parts in them….
It really shouldn't be. They are all the same "family", and mass production usually dictates parts-bin stealing in order to make things cheaper to manufacture.
I ran into a former boss a few weeks ago. Michelle and I were driving the Cayman. Ex-boss made a comment about the Cayman being the "cheap Porsche", I'm guessing out of jealousy. He obviously thought it was a Boxster which is the lowest priced model, although certainly none of them are cheap. The Cayman is next, then the 911 in pricing.
The amount of parts that fit all three models is staggering for the 987 and 997 models. It's even MORE joint content in the 986/996 series.
@DannyP posted:Ex-boss made a comment about the Cayman being the "cheap Porsche"
What (one wonders) was he driving that day?
Ex-bosses are the best kind.
That ex-boss is kind of like the guy telling his girlfriend, at a car show while she’s admiring my Speedster:
“That’s nuthin’….. It’s just one-a them kit cars”!
Then she turns to him with sparks in her eyes and says, “Yeah? Well, YOU drive a Focus!”
Another question: did the vw and porsche wheels ( 14 x 4.5) have the same offset? When I look at a real vs replica, it always seems that the real ones the wheels are more tucked in.
I had a few bosses along the way besides my dad, who was my first. Dad expected a lot of himself and anybody he worked with - but he was exceptionally honest and unfailingly fair. Almost everything worth knowing I learned from Pop.
I worked for a man who called me "shiest for brains", only he didn't speak German. What a peach of a man. Worked me 56-1/2 hours a week on the lousiest jobs in the shop. Made me pay for my own medical care and time off when a radiator blew up and sprayed me with superheated antifreeze. Drank himself to death a few years later. I'm not a bitter guy, but I didn't go to the funeral.
The next boss that sticks out as being "special" was a second shift warehouse foreman who dealt speed out of his desk drawer to any and all takers. Roughly 85% of the workforce were his customers. I felt lucky to make it out of there alive.
The last boss was a bonafide Gulf War (1) fighter pilot, and still in the air guard while I was working for him. He made all the others look pretty good. The dude was either Dr. Jeckyll or Mr. Hyde. I chalked it up to PTSD, but I think his imbalances went a lot deeper than that (like "a lot" a lot). He was cycling through service-department scapegoats the entire time I directly reported to him. He hadn't gotten around to me yet when I had my opportunity to buy out my not-to-compete and get out from under his psycho thumb.
I left and hung out my shingle without a second thought. He was the last boss I ever had.
He quit a few years later and went to the Air National Guard full time. He once told me, "When I walk into the room at the guard, 200 pilots salute me. When I walk into a room full of you service apes, nobody seems to care". He was right - I didn't care.
Things are a bit softer now out in the workforce now, and for the better, at least in my opinion.
My last boss ( before I got into my own trucking business) "Dale" a 6' string bean management dispatcher. I got tired of the BS and lies that cost me and others some earnings hence, I confronted him. " Are YOU calling me a Liar " ? ..." Clearly " was my response.... Then the fool decides to tell me.... In Advance ( and I quote) he's going to knock me out as he takes a swing, I returned the volley needless to say; gravity called out and down he went. Cops came he was lead away in very Chic looking lockable wrist hardware . Epilog: the following day he was told to clean out his desk. ...........Thread drift and then some
Yup, my last ex-boss was very publicly fired a few months ago. Newspapers, TV, and everything. What a jerk. Time wounds all heels...
Not going into two of my former bosses. Don't have time to type it and don't need to repeat it.
Everybody, and I mean everybody, has had bad ex-bosses.
The question is, what did you learn from them? Did you learn how NOT to be a bad boss/leader and vow not to treat people that way? Did you learn how to value other employees (whether they work directly for you or not) and provide help to them to do their job better and advance in their career? Did you vow to treat people with compassion and be as helpful as possible, be honest and not be a back-stabber?
Bad bosses/leaders only see what's in it for them and goad their people to perform to reflect back on the boss (who takes the credit for their good work, while blaming the workers for things that went wrong). Those bosses/leaders seldom provide their workers with the skills they need to succeed so, of course, they don't do well.
Good bosses/leaders, the ones that people want to work for based on the boss's reputation, protect and groom their people in their jobs to enable them to do well and take on more challenges as they grow. That reflects back on the boss/leader who grows with his/her group and they all get a reputation for being great at what they do. Good bosses also groom their people to take over a manager's job as part of normal career growth.
In some companies, bad leaders can last a long time, polluting their people as they churn through them. Often, in newer, fast growing companies, bad bosses can be hired in at any level from outside the company (we called that "Promote from Outside"). I've seen bad leaders all the way from low, entry levels up to Vice President. At the VP level it takes a concerted effort across functions with some strong fellow VPs to oust a bad VP, but I've seen it done.
If you make it to a leader position, I think that the greatest complement you can receive is for someone you had on your teams along the way to make it to an executive or business owner position and when they later see you, tell you that YOU were one of the role models that they learned from. That's worth more than any accolades along the way.
OTOH, If you were a bad leader, people were just happy to get the hell away from you.
I taught college classes for 20 years. One of the #1 things I found to do was listen to my students!
I'm not familiar with any 14" rims on 356 cars. 16" X 4" (T-1 or pre-1956) and 15" X 4.5" (T-2 or late 1956) and that's about it. I'm not familiar with what their off-sets were, but the T-1 Pre-A models (1952 - 1955) had rims with that mysterious stamping on them that looked like "VW" 
Other interesting comparisons: T-1: had a 1,500cc "normal" engine redlined at 4,500 producing 50hp (With a cruising speed of about 60mph at 4,000 due to gearing). T-1 had a VW steering box and a VW transaxle (swingarm).
T-2 had a 1,600cc redlined at 5,000 and producing 60hp with cruising speed around 75-80 mph (also 4,000 rpm) and had bigger brakes (all drums). T-2 had a ZF steering box and a Porsche transaxle (swingarm).
This stuff and more is published here on the SOC, here:
Yeah, meant 15"
I've had two bad bosses(there were more) but that guy I spoke about above was the 2nd worst. He "fired" me from Toyota parts, but the dealership owner told me I was laid off(I did collect unemployment so I wasn't fired) and that they couldn't afford me(I got paid commission, it was great money). They hired a kid for just over minimum wage to take my job. The parts boss was a bully, plain and simple. He had low self-esteem and was badgered by his now ex-wife. Lives in an apartment in the city of Newburgh NY, by himself.
Best thing ever happened to me, 6 weeks later I was hired by NY Telephone! Got almost 29 years and a great retirement out of it.
I'm not gonna bore you with the WORST boss, he's better forgotten.
Back to interchangeability. Early VWs had 4 x 15 wheels, 4.5" came later. Porsche used 16" AFAIK.
And those VW transmissions that Porsche sometimes used? They were split-case, pre-61 I believe.
.
The ex-boss’ remark about the Cayman speaks more about him than about the Cayman. Maybe it tells us all we need to know about him.
I’m usually eager to talk with strangers about the Speedy, but when their first question is, “How much did it cost?”, it’s usually a short conversation.
I've been the A.H. boss since 1990. Half of that time I've been a one man show, BUT sometime I just have to give myself a good talking to myself (thank you Dr. John).
Even the guy who sweeps the floor has a good idea occasionally. Management needs to think about that and remember.
Still working.
Bugs used 16 rims until 1952 , then 15 inch rims until the end
356 used 16s until 1955 , then 15 inch rims until the end
14 inch rims with the 205mm bolt pattern were used on 1964 and newer VW buses and also the VW things that were sold in the USA 1973-74.
Did the vw and 356 have the same offset for the 15x4.5?
Super post!
Thanks
I do not believe VW ever used 15x4.5 rims in the big 205mm pattern ,
the “smoothie” rims were late 1952 until 1965 , 1966-67 used the slotted rims and no hubcap clips.
I'd had enough bad bosses by 26 that I decided to be self employed. You're always working for someone, though, and bad bosses can be replaced by bad customers.
I tried to follow my father's advice and hire people that were smater than me, train them to do a better job than I did, and then get the hell out of their way. That last part is harder than you'd think.
If I've learned anything it's that I'm not nearly as good at anything as I think I am and that luck will have as much to say about my successes as anything I managed to add.
A lot of good versus bad managers, at least when I was working and we were hiring a lot of people, was often reflected by the places we got them from. Some companies had a reputation as really good places to work (and prime places to poach good people from) and others were bordering on FUBAR. We all knew the good and bad ones, but sometimes you got a refugee from a bad place who just couldn't stand it any more.
I knew a guy who had worked for an early computer company (WANG labs - Remember them?) who was there towards the end of their reign as the king of scientific calculators. He was trying to get them to move into a different part of the market in an effort to ressurect the company (he was the Marketing father of the "Wang Personal Computer", that eventually went no-where) when the senior staff turned on him and killed his product line. He described it like,
"It was like going out on an el Cheapo, no-frills, Boston Harbor Booze Cruise and at the height of the cruise my "friends" turned on me and threw me overboard. Then, while I was flailing in the water, a much bigger and flashier boat came along, scooped me up, handed me a Scotch and said: 'We've been looking for a guy like you!"
I got that story as I was part of the interviewing process and we've been friends ever since. He signed up, vastly improved our Marketing group and left a lasting impression on a lot of people.
@imperial posted:I do not believe VW ever used 15x4.5 rims in the big 205mm pattern ,
the “smoothie” rims were late 1952 until 1965 , 1966-67 used the slotted rims and no hubcap clips.
It specifically states 15 x 4.5 in the 66-69 Bentley VW manual, in BOTH 4 and 5 bolt patterns. 66-67 were exclusively 5 lug, 68 was 5 lug except the Beetle which was 4 lug.
I am sure that 1961-1964(which the 1200cc Formula Vee is based on) used 4" rims.
Then in 1966 VW started using 4.5" rims.
I am not 100% sure if the backspacing is the same for both rims, but I do know that the Formula Vee rules allow both rims and the track width rules were adjusted due to the extra 1/2" of rim width. So I'd guess the backspace is the same and the rim is wider to the outside.
Torque specs are 87-94 ft.-lbs. for the 4 bolts, and 72 ft.-lbs. for wide5.
Interesting also is inflation: 16F, 24R for a half-loaded Beetle with 2 people.
17F, 26R for a full load. 3 psi all-around increase for sustained highway driving.
It's pretty close to the low-20s F and high-20s R that most guys are running.
@Sacto Mitch posted:.
I’m usually eager to talk with strangers about the Speedy, but when their first question is, “How much did it cost?”, it’s usually a short conversation.
My answer for that Mitch is, "It cost enough that I like to take good care of it but not so much I won't drive it.". Then I get back to what I'm doing.
@Jeff Hicks posted:Another question: did the vw and porsche wheels ( 14 x 4.5) have the same offset? When I look at a real vs replica, it always seems that the real ones the wheels are more tucked in.
Actually there were no 14" diameter wheels; 16" on the really early ones (VW and Porsche) and then mostly 15" and yes, they were 4.5" wide. IF you install 4.5"s they will look more tucked in. These are photos of my car with chrome plated 5.5's which I later switched to gray painted 4.5's for a more vintage look.
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I know, I typed that wrong.
There was a 14” wheel that was part of a “Comfort Package” that was available on 911-912, up to 77, IIRC, but I don’t think it was ever available on 356.
Plus, I don’t think it was ever steel wheels. AFAIK, it was only standard Fuchs that were available in 14”. And the OEM 4-bolt 924 wheel.
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I just found this informative blurb on wheels, thought it could be helpful.
What @dlearl476 said- Porsche had the 14" Fuchs wheel as part of their 'Comfort Package". I know it was available until sometime into the mid(?) '70's- I'll take his word for it they were an option until '77, and I believe he's right that there were no 14" factory 356 wheels.
Dechromed earlier Cal Look bugs look REALLY good on 14" Fuchs!
I’m pretty sure it was available up until the SC came out. I know it was available on the 76 912E with the TypeIV motor in it.
My guess is the 1 year 1976 Porsche 912E used the 14x5.5" Fuchs to gain a little acceleration speed.