Buyers beware; especially at auction

[JTR70]

I was thumbing through the latest Registry "market watch" and found an interesting photo. Its a convertible D that came up and is most likely being represented as "numbers matching". The case has most definitely been altered and re-stamped. Even the author stated it was "stamped weirdly.

The "P",the star and the numbers are questionable enough the real tell tale is the lighter band of alloy directly under and to the sides of the entire stamping. Its clearly been TIG welded, dressed down and re-stamped. This lighter band is caused from the alloy composition in the rod that was used not being exactly the same as the alloy that makes up the case. A lot of shady practices going on these days....

[bbspdstr]

Justin, I respectfully disagree with your wording and would like to suggest changing "even" to "especially."

I have seen a lot of sloppy engine stamping, I guess done by an apprentice or the mechanic being under time pressure, but never seen a mix-n-match font size. The Teutonic style is more vertical, the top of the '4' is usually open, the '8' is usually a stacked oval, not circles, etc. That numbering looks as if it was done 'in situ.' A shame that such weight is put on "numbers matching" that such attempts as you illustrate are seen, just in an attempt to gain added value. That's not a new wrinkle, either. Been going on for decades.

[JTR70]

Very true Bruce; I changed the title. Thanks! You high lighted several more short comings with the characters than I saw. This alteration could really cause problems for the owner if a sharp police officer ever saw that... Justin

[bbspdstr]

Justin, which is worse...changing an engine number to match a CofA or Kardex...or creating a false Kardex?

Either way, an owner (aware or unaware)need not fear 'the Law' at least with a bad engine number unless they are in a state that titles by engine number. The only real pressure that works in these situations is peer pressure and getting the word out that ANY exchange of ownership should include a REALLY good PPI by a REAL 'expert' who will be looking for (and noting) such discrepancies......much like the buyer's Home Inspector is doing in my home as I type this...(yikes, I hope he doesn't find Radon!)

My daughter-in-law (there's that 'law' word again) has an enviable job as curator of a serious art collection belonging to a seriously wealthy NYC family. One of her many duties is to oversee (and learn from) hired forensic experts to authenticate art that is being considered for purchase. Much of the collection is pre-Columbian, so if there is metal involved, it is carefully tested to see if that alloy was around at the time of the (alleged original) work. The pigments, the clay, whatever...where did it come from and when. Some really convincing fakes are out there from known brokers for trusting people with a lot of money.

Knowledge- It's all out there if people care to look, ask and know.
It just came to me that Porsche used to offer the authenticating information (Kardex) for free, yet now when it concerns more than just curiosity, they charge for a variant of the Kardex and occasionally an erroneous transcription. Hummm.

Counterfeits, scams, fakes and bogus 'proof' of originality abound. It's all over and not just in 356 engine numbers. If money is involved, some people will do ANYTHING to get as much of it as they can. It doesn't mean they do it well...it's hoped that no one will know or care.

Greed is evident in all aspects of our society and as I remember, that's one reason Steve Heinrichs began his book documentations of what number chassis and what color, equipment and produced when....good information to have as prices rise for our cars.

As I am fond of quoting Sy Sims, here it is again; "An educated consumer is our best customer."