I’ve been collecting information on the history of Porsche’s air bottles. My owner’s manual of a 1972 911T pictures the same kind of bottle. My car features the collapsable spare tire, but no original compressor or bottle.
Getting older I tried to detail my car as good as possible with the missing items.
General found information is that Porsche used red air bottles on their 2.7 RS. In case you used it to inflate a tire, you could swap the empty unit for a new one at your dealer. BF Goodrich seems to have been the supplier of those bottles.
However Going through images, posts and literature, I get more pieces of the puzzle in order to clear out the history of the bottle.
- very early bottles have the nozzle on top and pointed bottom (only used in 1971?). Later bottles (as of 1972?) have the nozzle on the side and more rounded bottom. Also 2 styles seems to appear. Does somebody know when which style was used? When did they definitely switched for all models to the compressor?
- in case of usage, you needed to re-order a new bottle at your Porsche dealer. Does somebody know if Porsche just sold new units? In that case, you would have your ‘original’ bottle replaced with a later styled version? Or was it a swap system, where old units were collected, refilled and sold again? In that case, you could get an earlier version? Or was this dealer or country-specific? I see pictures of bottles in a white square box (2 styles of boxes, with ‘newer’ bottles in ‘old version’ boxes, perhaps Porsche using up inventory of old boxes?) and pictures of plastic sealed bottles in a thicker cardboard packaging. On some pictures of these plastic sealed bottles, the bottles are have paint damage and rust. Were these then re-filled bottles?
- Latest date stamps I have seen is 79, when the compressor would have become already the default inflating system. How long did Porsche provided new bottles as spare parts? What is the maximum original date you can find?
Is it true that Porsche even in the late 70s still supplied cars with bottles due to shortage of compressors? If so, was this worldwide the case or region specific?
- Some bottles have a red plastic cap and some not. The red cap seems to be for the latest version. In case of re-filling these cap was to be removed and replaced - or did it become obsolete after re-filling?
- Many different hoses I see on pictures.In literature there is reference to 2 different detachable hoses (with minor differences). Many bottles seen for sale do not have this hose. Was in the 1970s the hose supplied when your ordered a new bottle, or did you just replaced the bottle, re-using your original hose? Anybody knows where to find replacement braided hoses, close to the original?
- On pictures I see different position of the decal on the bottle. Is this also period relevant (with different decal?) or where they randomly placed? Sometimes there is also a small decal under the large decal, is this also linked to a specific type or date?
- Which cars did initially the bottle supplied as inflating device and when it was switched to the compressor? Would a bottle have been original for a 911T in 1972?
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