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HI,

I´d lke to know why original switches and buttons are not replicated in our recreations.

I usually see "headlights switch" in the left and "wipers in the right", same switch and button but pics I have from the original Speedster (58) has a "smaller switch and button for wipers or foglights" on the left and a bigger "headlight switch and button".

I have found both but are 6 volts... and a huge price (original bezels included).

I would like to recreate these combination small and big but I don´t find where can I buy it (with bezels and ivory buttons).

Any advice?

Thanks

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Before someone tells you otherwise, a 6v switch is perfectly fine in a 12v application. A switch is a switch, it doesn't really care what voltage goes through it. But current is another factor, and 6v switches are designed to handle TWICE the current of a similar 12v switch. It's simple math:

P(watts)= V(voltage)* I(current).

Say 60watts(typical headlight load)= 12v x 5amps.

Likewise 60watts= 6v x 10 amps(exactly double the current).

I've got an OE VW Bug 6v headlight switch in my 12v Spyder.

The knobs that Wolfgang shows, above, are all for VW sedans and while a lot of us use them (me included) they're not "Porsche" knobs, like these:

https://www.stoddard.com/porsc...dash-components.html

Those are available from Stoddard's, Sierra Madre and others, but Carey Hines at Special Edition (Beck) also sells them as parts.

Flipping the switches around on the dash is solely dependent upon how much slack there is in the current wiring harness.  You want to move the wiper and ignition/starter to the left of the steering column?  Sure - if the wires reach.  Want the headlights to the right of the column down close to the column like the originals?  Sure, but then you'll have to figure out what to do with the out-of-place switch holes now vacated that were installed by the builder.

So all this can be done, but there is more to it than just moving switches around.  

Just pick the year you like and have at it.

Also, with all of the Porsche sold in Europe over the decades, someone must be selling period-correct in Europe so you can avoid the VAT coming from the USA.

Last edited by Gordon Nichols
@DannyP posted:

Before someone tells you otherwise, a 6v switch is perfectly fine in a 12v application. A switch is a switch, it doesn't really care what voltage goes through it. But current is another factor, and 6v switches are designed to handle TWICE the current of a similar 12v switch. It's simple math:

P(watts)= V(voltage)* I(current).

Say 60watts(typical headlight load)= 12v x 5amps.

Likewise 60watts= 6v x 10 amps(exactly double the current).

I've got an OE VW Bug 6v headlight switch in my 12v Spyder.

Thanks 👌

The knobs that Wolfgang shows, above, are all for VW sedans and while a lot of us use them (me included) they're not "Porsche" knobs, like these:

https://www.stoddard.com/porsc...dash-components.html

Those are available from Stoddard's, Sierra Madre and others, but Carey Hines at Special Edition (Beck) also sells them as parts.

Flipping the switches around on the dash is solely dependent upon how much slack there is in the current wiring harness.  You want to move the wiper and ignition/starter to the left of the steering column?  Sure - if the wires reach.  Want the headlights to the right of the column down close to the column like the originals?  Sure, but then you'll have to figure out what to do with the out-of-place switch holes now vacated that were installed by the builder.

So all this can be done, but there is more to it than just moving switches around.  

Just pick the year you like and have at it.

Also, with all of the Porsche sold in Europe over the decades, someone must be selling period-correct in Europe so you can avoid the VAT coming from the USA.

Very good information @Gordon Nichols and @WOLFGANG

I would like to buy Porsche ones, from the estetic point of view I see big differences in buttons and bezels (chrome).

I've mounted a white Banjo Steering Wheel recently so I'll look for ivory buttons.

I'm going to look for differences in Hella and similar catalogs ...

Please correct me if I am wrong:

-4 poles switches are for headlighs only (short and high)

-2 poles switches are used in foglights or other on/off accesories. Can I use these switch in hazards light?

Thanks

Last edited by nesta

Wonderful information on dashes and gauges. There are some pleasing and startling things that come from this site.  Thank you.  Even if the switches and their correctness to our vehicles are not exact, we still own replicas.  The pros who know knock on the sides, look at some other "tells" and know they are not original.  We still have an emotional and enjoyable connection to our cars.  And we drive them, get wind-blown  and put bugs on the windshield, frunks and fenders. However, it's your personal car, and if that's what you want to do: measure the cost/effort/outcome in relation to your definition of satisfaction...and plow ahead!  I'm gratified to keep using this site.

The smaller switches used be sold as billet aluminum. I thought Vintage or Fibersteel had them but I can't find on their sites. I got three with my kit but no idea when the PO ordered or received. They were not standard OE for Thunder Ranch.

I scuffed them and painted ivory and they look, imho, exactly as they should.

Someone on here a few years ago did a few posts showing how they chucked their standard Beetle pull switches in a drill press and used a file to turn them down to something more like these small, early Porsche pulls. Seems like another option. There's also 3D printing, which would seem to be perfect for this sort of project.

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