1953 Reutter coupe rebuild

[szorti]

Hello everyone!

My name is Marcin and I work for cars restoration company in Poland.
Privately I own a 1967 beetle. I used to have 1974 beetle also but a cab driver crashed into it.

Long story short we're working on a 356 from 1953. Unfortunately the car came disassembled. Everything is covered in some kind of protective paint which is hard to remove.

The car is not complete though, few parts are missing, engine is from 1959, wheels are 15" (should be 16"?).

Body works are almost done. Could you take a look at these pictures https://photos.app.goo.gl/DOUaSsXKYikEAqME2
Any idea what is the purpose of small holes on each wing?

I decided to register on thesamba to gain straight information about few things:

1. Is it possible that wheels were chrome coated from stock?
2. Underneath the odd paint I can see remains of chrome on the steering column. Could it be stock?
3. Steering wheel provided with the car looks like this
https://classicvirus.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/p22.jpg?w=640
Is this correct? Mostly I have seen wheel without ring or with half ring in cars labeled as 1953.
4. There is a problem with horn button removal. Is it possible that it was wrongly assembled?
5. Should the dash knobs be exactly the same color as steering wheel?

More questions are to come

Thanks in advance
szorti

[alanhall]

Hello Marcin,
1. Possible chrome but most likely wheels painted to match car.
2. Steering column would have been painted black in 1953.
3. Steering wheel is from a newer car, original had no horn ring and probably painted ivory.
4. Horn buttons are very hard to remove without damage. Some people have made pullers to grip under chrome ring and pull them out. They tend to get some corrosion and stick, although they should just pull out or be pushed out through a hole in the back of the steering wheel, but be careful not to push too hard and break the back of the horn button.
5. Dash knobs should match steering wheel, most likely ivory in 1953.

Good luck with the car and hope to see more pictures!

[Starbucket]

Big hole probably where a rear view mirror was mounted. Smaller holes maybe club badge or rally, but not stock.

[szorti]

I thought that larger hole is for antenna isn't it?

About the horn button... Yep, it cracked in half. But it's released eventually...

I have some information from previous owner about the car, which I try to confront if they are somehow true.

He states that wheels and steering column originally were chrome coated, car seats were released with head rests. Car came to us with Phillips Paladin 372 radio which as far as I know is closer to A's and B's years than PreA.

Despite the engine we would like to stick with original look of the car and details.

Although our boss has last word and it's up to him how this car will finally look.
If it's up to me, I would stay with originality as close as I could because you know... It's PreA, even if the engine doesn't match.
Few more questions below pics.

Windshield came broken. Shame.

What should be the right tone of red upholstery?
Oh and headliner - I have no idea what should be there and what color.
On the floor rubber mat? Carpets on sides and bulkhead?

BTW. Do you know the european specs of preA? I mean like turn signals front and rear, amber or white/redish? I know interior for US market could be corduroy but european? Leather/leatherette only?

[alanhall]

Large hole for antenna, small hole probably for exterior rear view mirror. In '53 the cars were generally delivered without exterior mirrors and the mirrors were installed by dealers or owners and type and location varied a great deal. I doubt seats came with headrests, but it could be, what type of headrest is it? Does the car have the original "fat back" seats? Also looking at the photos. The rear seat back should not have the extended carpet piece, that was something used only in 1959.

Car looks like it will come out very nice, either not much rust or you have done a great job in replacing rusty panels!

It is possible to get a report from folks in Europe that have the Reutter build records that will give you the full information on the colors and materials used for the interior and exterior of the car, I believe it costs around 400 Euros for them to prepare.

[szorti]

Well it hadn't much rust. Floor pan was replaced, our tinsmith who is a true artisan made sills and jack points mostly by himself. As soon as he come back from sick leave I'll ask him for pics from his private camera with his job on the 356.

Front seats turns out to be pobably "C" seats...

Alan, what do you mean by "extended carpet piece"?

Does anybody know which parts of the engine/gearbox/starter came in (what)colors and which were zinc(?) plated?

[alanhall]

Engine tin would have been semi-gloss black; coil flat black; throttle linkage cad or zinc plated; air cleaners matte silver paint (by the way the aircleaners currently on the engine are not stock); in'53 probably no oil filter installed; engine case in '53 was a magnesium alloy with a Dow coating protectant, later engine like currently with the car would be bare aluminum. Generator would have been plated, with brush cover semi-gloos black, and generator pulley semi-gloss black and the crank pully in '53 would be also painted black.

Gear box also magnesium with the Dow protectant coating (gives the magnesium a slightly goldish appearance), caps, covers, side plates etc would have been semi-gloss black.

Starter semi-gloss black.

Curious what the serial number is of this car, if you can say.

[saddlesore1]

Good Luck.
This is very reminiscent of how my car looked when I bought it. Except for the Guy/Company in Costa Mesa now Newport beach that stole many of the hard to find parts just before I showed up with my trailer.

Good Luck. It will be fun and an adventure.

[szorti]

Hand made sill

Hand made panel

Another hand made panel

I have emailed erlkoenig-classic.de for Reutter Certificate. Waiting for answer.

[PD41]

Looks good. Keep the pics coming.
Thanks, Martin

[James Davies]

Hi Marcin,

A very nice 1953 coupe you have there!

Yes, 16" wheels could have been chrome plated in 1953. The coupe at the Geneva Auto Show in March 1953 had chrome wheels. They were a rare option. Do you have the Kardex or Porsche Certificate of Authenticity. Sometimes this option was listed there. But you said it has 15" wheels? If so, then these are not original to the car. It would have had 16" wheels. All wheels are date stamped, as are most other parts on the car made by Bosch, SWF and Hella. And even some of the other internal bits such as the window winding structure is date stamped too. This way, you can see what is original and what is not. =)

As Alan suggests, you should also get the Reutter certificate for this car to learn about the original interior colors and fabrics. Do you know the original colors?

Headliner would have been a napped cotton twill. Like mouse fur on the front side. Sometimes this is also called moleskin. It would have been tan or grey depending on the other interior colors. Again, the Reutter certificate will indicate this.

As for the chrome on the steering column, could this be an industrial chrome to harden the surface? I have not seen this myself, but I have not looked closely. Regardless, the column on all pre-As was semi-gloss black, like most of the other running gear. Some pre-A wheel nuts had industrial chrome on them to harden the surface. Anyway, I suspect a previous owner chrome plated it for some, unknown reason.

Based on the rear wheel openings, your car is from April 1953 or later? What chassis number? I have 50960, a '53 Super coupe.

The black battery box floor in the first picture you posted looks to be the correct type. The orange one you welded in, and the orange side panels of the battery box are not correct. Simonsen makes incorrect panels for these areas for many years unfortunately. The ribs on the battery box floor should wrap up the front (the 2nd ones for the ends less than the others). And the sides of the battery box should have two layers of metal where the bumper brackets mount. The orange Simonsen panels only have a single layer.

As Alan says, all the interior knobs on your '53 would be ivory color and would match the Ivory steering wheel. A half horn ring was an option in 1953, but almost all cars had no horn ring.

Your fabricated sills are a thing of beauty! Your tinsmith is very talented.

Turn signals - at the rear these are dark red. Good reproductions have been made and are available from Stoddard. At the front, the turn signals are clear - not frosted. Again, there are some reproduction available, but with frosted lenses. Clear lenses have been reproduced for the Mercedes Benz market and are available on ebay.

If the car was delivered originally to Switzerland, then the car would have had orange front turn signals. If not delivered to France or USA, the car would have Bosch headlights. Marchal in France. Hella sealed beam in USA. Do you know the origin of your car?

As for specs of interior, 1953 was the "year of corduroy" for both USA and Europe. I think it was only in the USA that the whole interior was corduroy for "USA Standard" cars. But even the de Luxe cars had lots of corduroy on the side panels and rear firewall panel. This was true of European cars as well, as you can see period photos of 1953 cars with corduroy in the Mille Miglia and other races 1953-54. The rear firewall panel is always the most obvious. Sometime in early 1954 they started replacing corduroy on the side and rear panels with leatherette. Again, your Reutter certificate will help you here. =)

Hope this helps, and please as more questions. There is also a pre-A Facebook group that is very helpful.