Original vs. Repro 901 Shift Knobs

[M_deJong]

My two. I'm pretty sure they are both original, although noticeably different. Flatter number one is in my '74 914, raised number in my '71 911T.

[210bhp]

Carry on boys, this is perhaps the most important thing in life...
A gear nob?

You have a point.

Yet again I use the term automotive archeology. I suppose it similar to forensics. Sadly, I have done quite a bit of study on 901 gear knobs. All I can say is it has kept me out of the pub.

There appears to be quite a noticeable difference in the face of the dial under high magnification (I use my slit-lamp at work). The black face, the outer ring and the numbers all have distinguishing features on an original face. Repros are quite different.
I have destroyed a few knobs to be absolutely sure of the construction of an original. I'm pretty sure I could tell if you had an original or repro but I would need to see it.

There, I've come out of the closet. I have a knob fetish. I feel better now.
(but I think it is marginally better than Indian curry paste ageing of plastic screws :-) )

Regards
Mike

[jaudette3]

As you say Mike, it's just interesting detective work. Not too much we do in our hobbies is going to change the world.

JohnA

[kentf14]

Absolutely agree. It's the detective work that's interesting for me even when the end result is something fairly insignificant. I then file away the results in my head with all of the other "useful" trivia.
I am still loving the idea of examining the knob anterior chamber with a slit-lamp. I think I once had a knob with Bechet's, it remained undiagnosed and ended up at the old Pomona swap meet.

Kent

[BOYER73S]

Also the '5' is completely different between the two... not that any of that confirms originality, of course...

Yep the 5 is the way to tell in my opinion it has a vertical line in early made originals and repros certainly have a slant on the same line as can be seen in the pics.

As Carl said original were bakerlite which browns later Porsche Classic and repros don't seem to brown although they may not be old enough yet!!!

I did break one at one stage and its not plastic in my opinion but don't know if its modern bakerlite

[BOYER73S]

Now on Pelican as NOS...

I'm astonished if that is/was true after the PM I got from Lemon

[210bhp]

Yep the 5 is the way to tell in my opinion it has a vertical line in early made originals and repros certainly have a slant on the same line as can be seen in the pics.

As Carl said original were bakerlite which browns later Porsche Classic and repros don't seem to brown although they may not be old enough yet!!!

I did break one at one stage and its not plastic in my opinion but don't know if its modern bakerlite

I was amazed at the colours of the fragments of Bakelite under 50x magnification in an original knob. This is obviously from the fabrics and resins used to make the material. It is quite different from a repro knob material which has a more uniform coloured appearance at that magnification. The position in the 'lens', height and surface quality of the silvered numbers, shift pattern and outer ring are also quite different in an original.

Regards
Mike

[andyjboy]

A point of clarification -l Bakelite is a form of plastic (it was the first thermosetting plastic produced).

One of the characteristics of Bakelite is the very distinctive smell when it gets hot - this may be a good way to tell an original from a modern repro ...

[andrea70]

Burn baby burn!
ahahahahahah!

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ok....
i'm here again...
please go on...

[mfitton]

I'm astonished if that is/was true after the PM I got from Lemon

I see OEM on Pelican but I do not see NOS? http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...pg4.htm#item23