New SWB Taillights and Turn Signals from Porsche Classic

[Cliff]

So difficult to duplicate NOS. Regulations seem to be the obstacle. I certainly like what I see here, except the missing bulb fixtures & the sealing gaskets. Kinda makes all reasonable originals, keepers. Overall the newer editions look the part & are probably much safer for driving on public roads. And , they are currently readily available. Might be worth hoarding a few sets .....cliff

[LiveFromNY]

So difficult to duplicate NOS. Regulations seem to be the obstacle. I certainly like what I see here, except the missing bulb fixtures & the sealing gaskets. Kinda makes all reasonable originals, keepers. Overall the newer editions look the part & are probably much safer for driving on public roads. And , they are currently readily available. Might be worth hoarding a few sets.....cliff

I'm actually liking them less the longer I look at them. The chrome trim is weird on the fronts. Too precise if that makes sense. They look like modern versions of an old part and I think I prefer re-chromed housings like John A. uses. Gonna take some detailed comparison photos tomorrow after I gather the various parts in one place.

[raspy2point2]

Wont the weather take care of the "too precise" aspect? Chris

[frederik]

Let's not group all of "Europe" together as that's not the case. That said, are you quite sure that law pertains to vintage cars running original equipment? My 1972 911T passed inspection in Italy several years ago wearing original lenses with no modern markings and I have sold and traded numerous NOS lenses to friends in Europe whose cars are on the road. It seems likely to me that vintage cars wearing original equipment would be grandfathered? Am I wrong?

In the Netherlands, they just check whether the lights are working and if the low beam headlights give the correct pattern. For new cars, there may be all kinds of additional requirements but not for existing cars.

[Unobtanium-inc]

In the Netherlands, they just check whether the lights are working and if the low beam headlights give the correct pattern. For new cars, there may be all kinds of additional requirements but not for existing cars.

In NY we do have to have yearly inspections, even for classics, but they are pretty loose. And everything doesn't have to be working, for example, the reverse light on my 60 Roadster doesn't work, but a reverse light wasn't required equipment in 1960, Porsche was just ahead of it's time!

---Adam

[Cliff]

Hopefully, at inspection, the Tech is more interested in the car and not etchings on lights. Heaven forbid if the Tech spots that incorrect chrome tail pipe.....

“ I like what I see but not what I like “

[LiveFromNY]

Wont the weather take care of the "too precise" aspect? Chris

Some of it. The trim is certainly shinier on the new units and that may get better with time, but the real issue is they're formed differently. Eric is noticing the same thing on the rears and he's not 100% happy with how the seals fit either. Hard to photograph but I'll try later.

[LiveFromNY]

OK. Some detailed comparison photos as promised plus some bonus commentary. I know you're all thrilled.

I've now had a chance to really examine the turn signals closely and I've been exchanging texts with Eric so this is going to get pretty detailed. First of all, let me say that if you're not super-particular about the details, and you don't want to spend the $$ for NOS or wait for a set of lights to be restored, then you shouldn't be afraid of buying these. No, they're not the holy grail lights we were all hoping for but they appear to be well made and they're much nicer than the cheap repops already on the market.

Now. Details. Starting with color.

I'm afraid the color isn't very good. Definitely a low point. The following photo shows the Porsche Classic part in between 2 NOS units.



As you can see, they're not nearly orange enough. Eric called them "pumpkin" colored and I think that's about right. They're just not the right color for new lenses.

Because John Audette asked me to include his restored lights in this comparison, I took a photo of one of his turn signals next to an NOS unit. The NOS unit is up top and John's is on the bottom.



As you can see, the lenses that John installs in his units match vey nicely.

On to the markings.

Yes, the original BOSCH markings are on these lenses. And they're pretty good (NOS on the left and Porsche Classic on the right):



No, it's not perfect. The font is clearly off by some measure. But it's not terrible and it does say BOSCH which is what we've all been clamoring for.

More markings (NOS on the left and Porsche Classic on the right):



These look better to my eye. Some small differences but unless they're side-by-side, I think these pass muster for most of us.

But, boy, that orange isn't even close. Is it?

Of course, we have to put up with the extra modern lens markings as well which really defeats the purpose of having proper vintage marks (IMHO).



That's about it for the lenses. On to the housings.

The housings are probably my least favorite part of the Porsche Classic units. The difference is subtle but it's enough that it bothers me. Quite simply, they look almost too good, too uniform, too well made, too modern. They're VERY shiny (which I like) but the trim looks to be slightly squared or perhaps less rounded, less "soft". It's so consistent that it stands out. Am I making sense? Don't get me wrong, it looks beautiful. It just doesn't look 100% original.

This is very hard to photograph so bear with me. NOS on the left and Porsche Classic on the right:




More visible here. The pointy tip is way too pointy:



As for John Audette's housings, he uses original housings that have been restored and I think they look great. If I have any criticism of John's units, it's that the aftermarket lenses don't always fit 100% flush in the housings while the Porsche Classic lenses fit their units beautifully. Not a huge deal and, if I'm honest, I've seen some NOS units where the lens wasn't as flush as I'd like. A photo of one of John's lenses showing the fitment is below (photographed from the least flattering angle to make sure it's visible).



Now... on to the back sides... Yes, the back sides.

[LiveFromNY]

Yes, Back Sides Matter.

NOS up top and Porsche Classic on the bottom:



If you look closely, you can see one of the issues right away. For some reason, the entire back is covered with circles that are part of the casting. They're everywhere. Like these:



And these:



Why are they there? I can't see any reason for them. Of course, it quickly becomes obvious that Porsche didn't try all that hard to get the back sides right (NOS on the left and Porsche Classic on the right):



Lots of little differences. Can you spot the biggest one? How about in the photo below (NOS on the left and Porsche Classic on the right):



Yes, the oval is wrong, the "230" font is different, but look at the final digit of the part number. It appears to be screen-printed.

More screen printing on the 18W and the final digit of the Bosch part number:



Just very weird.

So, that's where we are.

Where are we?

For me, I'm back where I started. As much as I wanted these to be the answer, they're just not and, for my best cars at least, I'll continue to hunt/hoard NOS parts. As far as these new units vs John's restored lights? There are a lot of factors to consider. What I'd really like is John's housings with a perfect and correctly marked BOSCH lens. But that's not reality right now. Given the current options, I probably choose John's restored lights over these Porsche Classic units. As much as I want the original lens markings, having them combined with the modern markings isn't attractive to me at all. That, combined with the housing/color anomalies, and the fact that the price between John's units and the PC units is about the same (especially considering you need to buy seals/bulb holders/screws for the Porsche units), make John's lights a better option for me right now.

[Nicklasliljegren]

Porsche classic has gotten better, but they are not good enough yet

Best Nick