Just got my new baby and couldn’t be happier. I have a question about the placement of the speedo. On original Speedsters the speedo is on the right of the tach for obvious reasons. On my V M car the speedo is on the left, Is there some reason for this? Please advise.
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Most builders use the shorter Beetle speedo cable which won’t reach to the right side.
My speedo is GPS
I was out enjoying a drive and noticed I had to move my hand off the wheel to see the left half or the speedo, the zero to sixty part. I thought if the speedo was moved to the right hand hole one could see the tach and speedo much better. When I returned home I checked about 20 pictures of original speedsters and low and behold the speedo is on the right, those Germans do nothing without thinking about it, gotta love them. The right hand side is a lot better place to “read” the speedo and tach together. A lot better. Cheers.
Richard
Rich, if you have a GPS driven speedo then the only thing preventing you from moving it to the other side is the length of the wires in the dash harness. Greg Leach should be able to tell you if there’s enough slack in there to reach. Give him a call.
Gordon,
Greg is on a well earned vacation and apart from the wheels coming off I’m not going to bother him. It’s very odd that the speedo is on that side. I looked under the dash and I would have to spend some time labeling wires to reattach them after the move. Greg has to make some adjustments and add a spare tire his supplier didn’t have when I picked up the car so I hope one of his techs can make the switch then.
Curiously on Greg’s website under Speedster parts MPH gauges the photo shows the speedo on the correct side.
In a majority of the photos on his website and social media the speedo is on the left side. I referenced this in your question about authenticity of speedster replicas as a “knock” against the authenticity of VM speedsters. As mentioned by others, it should be an easy enough fix if it bothers you.
Congrats on picking it up. How is the 2332cc motor and 3.44 trans?
I won't repost what was just here and deleted, but the author needs to know that doesn't fly herein . Nuff said ~
Nuff said is correct
Wow, way to show your true colors. You hope I don’t enjoy my car and I don’t deserve it? Geeze, that’s harsh man. What did I ever do to you? How would you know what I do or don’t deserve based on some internet posts?
You totally misread my response. I am the one who made a comment on your other post about the Speedo being on the left one of the things that is not accurate on VM replicas - many replicas for that matter. I wasn’t putting words in your mouth. I know you have never knocked Greg, VM speedsters, or their product. How could anyone? He clearly does great work.
Not sure what made you snap. Hope you enjoy the new car though.
The left side placement of the speedo may have more to do with habit than anything else. Since the beginning of Speedster replicas the length of the speedo cable had more to do with placement than an attempt at accuracy. The continuing placement of the speedometer on the left is likely just habit. Very easy to move which is what I did when I replaced my gauges with the new set from Carey.
Robert,
I thought as much, my enjoyment came as I found out the practical reason for the right side speedo, it only makes sense the 0 to 60 half of the speedo is closer to the tach and not blocked by your left hand in the 10/2 steering wheel positions. So practical. I meant no slight to any builder I was just wondering if there were some, unknown to me, reason for putting the speedo on that side. Cheers.
I believe that in most old race photos I've seen, the speedo is on the left in SPYDERS.
I've no idea where they should be mounted in a Speedster.
I prefer it there, that way it's harder for the passenger to see how fast you're going!
I can put mine wherever I want due to Speedhut gauges w/GPS. It's on the left.
For me it was a simple way to make it better and realize the was a method at Porsche. All the cars I’ve owned from Porsche had the speedo in the right for now an obvious, to me, reason.
I would like to clarify I meant no slight to any builder, nor did I try to imply any one else was slighting any builders. I would agree with Robert M that the placement is more out of habit. Lots of speedster replicas have speedos on the left which is technically not authentic. Fortunately, it is an easy change to make! I almost wonder if the placement is due to the fact we Americans are used to the Speedo’s typically being on the left.
@DannyP posted:I believe that in most old race photos I've seen, the speedo is on the left in SPYDERS.
I've no idea where they should be mounted in a Speedster.
I prefer it there, that way it's harder for the passenger to see how fast you're going!
I can put mine wherever I want due to Speedhut gauges w/GPS. It's on the left.
True, but there are a some on 550.com with them on the right, which confused me when I bought mine and it was on the right. I expected it on the left which is what I'd seen in most Speedsters, kits and originals.
Some of you might be interested to know that where the Speedo and Multi gauges were placed in the dash was a dealer option on the originals. You could have it on either side - just ask. Same thing applied to RHD cars, too, so there is no "Right versus wrong" side
Just like the transaxle gearing, where you could "have it your way" from the factory if you ordered far enough in advance. You ordered each gear ratio by letter; A-B-C with the gears getting taller as the letters went up. Later "B" models had a D & E for third for racing, but I would have to look those up. Here's a quick chart:
1'st gear
A = 3.18
B = 3.09
C = 2.54
2'ND GEAR
A = 1.94
B = 1.76
C = 1.61
3'RD GEAR
A =1.23
B = 1.13
C = 1.04
4'TH GEAR
A = .960
B = .885
C = .815
FINAL R&P ratios offered:
4.37, 4.42 = Coupe/Convertible
4.85 = Speedster
5.18 (sometimes Speedster/Spyder), 6.31* = Carrera
*(Carrera Race only)
The most popular ratios were:
Coupes and Convertibles: B B B C
Speedsters: B B A B
Gordon,
Always interesing posts. I believe to this day you can get almost anything you want from Porsche including any color, paint to sample. I would love to try the "Speedster" gears and R&P in my car.
Excellent, there is no WRONG speedo placement!
Awesome transaxle info too, Gordon. Thanks!
Rich, Speedsters were typically 1500 normal cars (except for the '55 which might have been even smaller displacement, not sure, like a 1,200?). With the shorter gearing they moved out quicker than the heavier Cabs and Coupes (especially of you keep the revs over 4 grand), but they were all done around 85 mph. They got up there fast and then ran out of breath, but they weren't designed for Autobahn/highway driving. They were designed for weekend racing where you spent most of your time stroking between 2'nd and 3'rd (that's why they added a 3'rd gear D and E gear selection later on).
What many of us have in our current cars is more like "convertible gearing", especially with the 3.88 or 3.44 rear end, because we all spend lots more time on highways, don't like to have the engine cranking that high for hours on end and often have flatter torque curves. Still, with a bigger, torquier engine, a BBAB stack and a 3.88 final you end up with a peppy car that's driveable on today's roads. If you wanted to sacrifice revs for power/acceleration you could go with the 4.12 rear end for a bit more "snap" taking off, but your 1'st gear becomes more of a stump puller and a 4.12 rear gave me a 104mph top end.
All this has been discussed ad nauseam on here in the past. If you want enough info to put you to sleep, do a search on here for "gear ratios".
Love this rabbit hole we call the Madness...
if you enjoy reading about the details offered by dealers, options, etc. on 356. derWhites will transport you back in time... you can dig up the original sales brochures, options manuals, etc... ;-)
dashboard layouts included ( with pictures). https://derwhites356literature...ittleKnownFacts.html
- prior to October 1956, the 356/356As had the speedo mostly installed on the left... with customers having the option to move it.
- by September 1957 the location was standardized on the left, and the option to move it was no longer available.
Welcome to the Madness ;-)
Gordon.
I got the 344 R&P and as far as I know the normal gears. I've had the car less than a week just toodling around not on the freeway at all so anything I say is just a first impression and keeping the revs down on my 2332. 1st is for pulling stumps and getting going, 2nd is very short I spend most time in 3rd and have only been in 4th once. I would like a taller 2nd if I were to choose now, This may change as I get her broken in.
Who know, when I got home yesterday I looked at 6 speedsters on the Erropean Collectibles site and 8 on the BaT site just to check, all the speedos are on the right, a popular option 
@R Thorpe posted:Who know, when I got home yesterday I looked at 6 speedsters on the Erropean Collectibles site and 8 on the BaT site just to check, all the speedos are on the right, a popular option
Speaking of which, you said you took delivery of your Speedster yet, I don't believe, you've posted any photos. That my friend is a bit of a foul. We need pictures, lots of pictures. If you posted one I don't remember seeing it so post some more. Lol
Very nice. What color is that?
Looks like Meissen Blue. Lovely!
Meissen Blue an original 1958 Porsche color
Looks like my brother's Speedster when I was a kid. He had the "Fawn" colored interior (I don't know what Porsche called that). Really pretty cars.
Thanks, the red is a domestic vinyl avaliable anywhere.
Thank you, she is cute
@Gordon Nichols posted:Some of you might be interested to know that where the Speedo and Multi gauges were placed in the dash was a dealer option on the originals. You could have it on either side - just ask. Same thing applied to RHD cars, too, so there is no "Right versus wrong" side
Just like the transaxle gearing, where you could "have it your way" from the factory if you ordered far enough in advance. You ordered each gear ratio by letter; A-B-C with the gears getting taller as the letters went up. Later "B" models had a D & E for third for racing, but I would have to look those up. Here's a quick chart:
1'st gear
A = 3.18
B = 3.09
C = 2.542'ND GEAR
A = 1.94
B = 1.76
C = 1.613'RD GEAR
A =1.23
B = 1.13
C = 1.044'TH GEAR
A = .960
B = .885
C = .815FINAL R&P ratios offered:
4.37, 4.42 = Coupe/Convertible
4.85 = Speedster
5.18 (sometimes Speedster/Spyder), 6.31* = Carrera
*(Carrera Race only)The most popular ratios were:
Coupes and Convertibles: B B B C
Speedsters: B B A B
I found this info on the 356 Registry back when I really started driving my car and was dismayed by the extremely short first gear. My plan was to build a BBAB for my Spyder, until I priced it out on Weddle's website. But, TBH, it's not all that different from the "option" ratios I got from Greg that I posted in a thread wrt trans ratios someone asked about during their order process.
From Greg:
3:88 R&P
310. 1st
193. 2nd
121. 3rd
082. 4th
Aside from the 1.93 second gear (vs 1.76 Porsche "B" ratio) it's almost identical.
I don't like the ratios but I've only had the car a week and not even exercised the engine so I'm hoping that the ratios I have work better.
speedo on the right
@dlearl476 posted:An imaginary internet friend on another forum just posted a picture of his 356B.
This cracked me up. For 10 years or so, my wife didn't think any of you were real.
What?!?!?!?!!?
We're REAL?????
Gordon.
I would like to try BBAA with a 4.43 R&P if only it were easy to try different ratios and combinations.
As a "factory standard" Porsche installed the speedo on the left, and then later moved it to the right in mid 1957 along with the T2 body changes, it remained on the right through the end of the T6 356's. So to be "factory correct" if you have a beehive car it should be on the left and if you have a teardrop car it should be on the right... I don't know where it was installed on the "changeover" cars that were a hodgepodge of parts...
As for the replicas, yes, we chose the left initially because it was the best route for a stock VW speedo cable, and often times they stay there out of habit. With our integration of the GPS speedo, we moved them to the right to be more "authentic" but people like to spec every detail and Ive had more than one person ask for it on the left in a teardrop car.
Sound like politics left or right
@R Thorpe posted:Gordon.
I would like to try BBAA with a 4.43 R&P if only it were easy to try different ratios and combinations.
Go to weddle.com and their gear calculator. Punch in the numbers you like, then scroll down a little. There is a chart that shows what ratios to use with a different ring and pinion to get the same ratios in the end.
@chines1 posted:As a "factory standard" Porsche installed the speedo on the left, and then later moved it to the right in mid 1957 along with the T2 body changes, it remained on the right through the end of the T6 356's. So to be "factory correct" if you have a beehive car it should be on the left and if you have a teardrop car it should be on the right... I don't know where it was installed on the "changeover" cars that were a hodgepodge of parts...
As for the replicas, yes, we chose the left initially because it was the best route for a stock VW speedo cable, and often times they stay there out of habit. With our integration of the GPS speedo, we moved them to the right to be more "authentic" but people like to spec every detail and Ive had more than one person ask for it on the left in a teardrop car.
Once again, we learn something from someone who knows the real cars as well as the ones he builds...
Good idea. I use the Spicer calculator but it can never give you the feeling of driving a car with various gears.
Great info and interesting. Since my car is a teardrop impression I hope Greg and the boys will move the speedo for me. My brain and vision would prefer it there.
Geesh 45 posts addressing if the speedo should dress left or right, ask your Tailor too :~)
As long as the tailor isn't Joey's uncle on Friends, then, ok.
The only time I look at the speedo is when I see a cop running radar. Other than that, I drive back roads and drive by the big fat tack in the middle. I rarely get over 60 mph unless I get off the sand bar, which is also rare.
On the 996, the speedo is off to the left and is about a third of the size of the tack. I think that's about right...or left.
I am sure that more than one of our cars were sold and there was remorse after it, on the other hand sometimes they are driven as a chariot to get to the other side and others get to enjoy them, so far though none have been buried to my knowledge.
Selling a car you claim to love always struck me as silliness. Selling it "because you don't drive it" always seemed to me to have a more obvious solution.
"Same as on the Cayman, and the Spyder, gauge layout symmetry."
That, or the Sainted German Designers got in a rut for a coupla decades.....
I've noticed that its the water-porsches that have the gauges on the left and as we all know they are not real Porsches
@Stan Galat posted:Selling a car you claim to love always struck me as silliness. Selling it "because you don't drive it" always seemed to me to have a more obvious solution.
IN the case if my friend, he firmly believes "variety is the spice of life." He's owned 5 Porsche's and a steel-bumpered Fiat 124 Spider in the four years I've known him.
He also has somewhat of a Midas touch. He's profited on every sale/purchase he's made. He's currently driving a 79SC that he bought with half the proceeds from the sale of his 356C.
@R Thorpe posted:I've noticed that its the water-porsches that have the gauges on the left and as we all know they are not real Porsches
Oh boy.
@Gordon Nichols posted:"Same as on the Cayman, and the Spyder, gauge layout symmetry."
That, or the Sainted German Designers got in a rut for a coupla decades.....
Seven decades. Is that Mass-speak for "coupla"? 
Yeah.
Let's just not remember the "Sainted Seventies".
