OEM Black Door Handles Options

[pfreiburger]

I am now quite certain that the factory did install some black door handles. I came to this determination in a roundabout (and expensive) way, starting when my inner hammer mechanic escaped and broke the driver door handle.

As no black ones exist, I picked up a new chrome (Sierra Madre) handle and was surprised to find that my old lock cylinder (after removing the black paint) would not fit the chrome handle. The length was fine, but it fit so tight it could not be turned. At all. Measuring the ID of the handle bores confirmed that the black handle was larger, even with paint on it. The used chrome-handle lock cylinder I bought on line later fit and turned in the new chrome handle just fine. And that used chrome handle cylinder definitely had more clearance when inserted in the old black handle. Measuring the cap ends of the lock cylinder confirmed it – the cylinder from the black handle was larger in diameter.

Dissimilar sized handle components are almost certainly no customizer job, and damn sure no hot rod job. The only conclusion I can draw is that Porsche had a supplier make a run of black handles, and for whatever reason some components were made a little different. This fits with what I found when I scraped some black paint from the broken handle: no evidence of chrome ever being applied to the casting. Lastly, there are factory pictures (albeit poor ones) of black A pillar cars that look like they have black handles also.

Am I missing another explanation?

[wonkipop]

anyone ever noticed something about this photo before?

karmann factory.
model year 68 or 69 ghias coming down the line.
circular indicator lights. MY 70 had type 3 style wrap arounds.
photo likely taken sometime between fall 67 to summer 69?

in the background are 914s on stands.
914 production does not start until fall of 69?

early pre production shells or batch of prototypes being prepared?

couple of red ones there, but no tangerine/blood orange.
guess with mr. piech's car the trunk carpet and shot black paint in the front disguises brutal surgery done in "the cage" elsewhere.

[SirAndy]

anyone ever noticed something about this photo before?

karmann factory.
model year 68 or 69 ghias coming down the line.
circular indicator lights. MY 70 had type 3 style wrap arounds.
photo likely taken sometime between fall 67 to summer 69?

in the background are 914s on stands.
914 production does not start until fall of 69?

early pre production shells or batch of prototypes being prepared?

couple of red ones there, but no tangerine/blood orange.
guess with mr. piech's car the trunk carpet and shot black paint in the front disguises brutal surgery done in "the cage" elsewhere.

Yes, there are several threads somewhere on the site about the prototypes, how many where built when and shipped to Porsche etc.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)