Original gas tank colors + luggage comp.

[vricardo]

As I really didn't want to hijack the other thread on "Trunk Compartment Paint?" I decided to be more specific and start this one on what should be the original color on the gas tanks + luggage compartment color.
So... after seeing so many astonishing pictures in here (http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ght=show+trunk), I must say I'm now pretty sure that... well, I know the same as before...


In my library research I've found the following:

-Peter Morgan (on "Original Porsche 911", page 36) shows a red 2,2 car with a Grey tank, with no texture paint and with a red luggage compartment.

-Brett Johnson (on "A Restorer's Guide to Authenticity", page 36) writes "Fuel tanks on all 911 and 912 models were fundamentally the same (...) They were painted in gray. In mid-1965 the finish was changed to a textured coating, also grey in color. A larger black painted 100-liter (26.4 gallon) tank was optional starting in October 1966 (1967 model year)." There's no reference to the color of the luggage compartment...

So, what I'd like to know is this:

-From your own experience, what color were the gas tanks on (normal - not racing) LWB cars, in 1969/1970?
-What color should the luggage compartment be?

Thanks in advance!

[vricardo]

...hello?!...

...anybody out there...?!

[Scott Clarke]

Some of the confusion is due to what seems to be a difference in Karmann and Reuter built cars. Reuter started using body color in the trunks while Karmann used black trunk paint through their pruduction run. My '70 Karmann built E never had body color in the trunk, as verified by sanding and stripping paint down to bare metal. The tanks were finished as described by Johnson. Although some constest this, it seems that the textured coating can darken over time. My tank, that I stripped to bare metal, was black in appearance, but the material seemed to be Wurth SKS, and was still grey just below the surface. The dark outer layer seemed to be discolored material, and not paint. It was just too think and too consistent to have been paint.

[mike curnow]

Is this a serious question or am I missing something?

[Soterik]

Is this a serious question or am I missing something?

Mike,

It's a legit question, with cars getting incorrect restorations, and the disintegration of the tank surfaces/finishes over time (69 to 73), it's sometimes hard to tell what exactly what was initially started with.

Are you back to questioning questions again? BTW, hows that rare car of yours?

cheers,
Eric

[mike curnow]

what is BTW, which rare car, who is this?

[merbesfield]

I know this thread is old, but I wanted to add my info to it. My car is a 68 912, which was built at the Porsche plant, not Karmann. I personally stripped the interior and made sure to note layers and colors. I have noticed some differences. The trunk and engine compartment are definitely black, the only color was just a small amount of over spray at some edges. However, the black stone guard went over this and then there was a black paint, like a Wurth trim paint that was used to detail the edges. The fender screws were also covered in black stone guard and paint. Not sure about the suspension plates, they Gold Cadmium covered with black, but this could have been from a PO? I still have to work on these for more detective work. As for the gas tank it was gray stone guard for sure. The interior is a little confusing and I am not 100% positive as to the steps they used, but I will report on this later when I am 100% sure what the steps were used.

[VintageExcellen]

I have cut up, restored, and admired cars and their original finishes for many years now. I have a pretty good grasp on the colors in the trunks. There can always be variants from different years, different factories, and different versions.

All gas tanks were shot with Wurth SKS grey, a PVC based material not paint at all. This is the same undercoat used on most of the undersides of Porsches for most of the years. There was a different undercoat used in the Porsche factory built bodies on short wheel base cars. For a low cost resto you could paint the old coating on your tank with grey spraypaint. Correct would be to strip the tank down to bare metal and buy Wurth SKS in Grey, NOTE: that there is a stone guard product for rockers and bottom of front bumpers but this material is different than SKS. SKS comes in a tall bottle and you need a "Shultz" gun to apply it properly (a $18 gun that needs compressed air). SKS does change to a very dark grey sometimes black over many many years in certain conditions.

Front trunks were initially painted in body color while going through the paint department but the the front trunks were sprayed black for all short wheel base cars. I am working on a 66 Karmann trunk right now and I found original body color in the trunk under the black paint. In general for long wheel base cars the trunks usually got painted body color although there may be variants from coachbuilders like mentioned above.

The factory also slobbered on a helping of tar to the tops of the strut towers which was ugly but correct circa 1970-73 maybe 69 or more years.

The underside of the car was generally black up until 1972 when body color was sprayed under the car and in the wheel wells.

The engine bay was black on all short wheel base cars. The engine bay was also black on 69-71 cars. In 72-73 everything got painted body color including the engine bay.

[boxster03]

Here are some pictures from my 70E showing original paint and finish. I hope it helps.

[VintageExcellen]

That is a very original purple trunk, shows the way it should be for a long wheel base car. Don't forget to spray glue all over your freshly detailed trunk to be correct, oh and cosmoline all over the bottom of the car.

I think those Weltmeister hood struts fail faster than OEM ones, at least they do on all the cars I have had.