Dear Stich,
Yes, good to hear from you again.
Please post it. That is very well interesting.
In fact there is a lot of information vague on the very early ones.
The car (of your friend) you described has some very untypical features that the ... sorry to say so ... "
usual late 230ies - 280ies owners" (don't want to hurt anyone here, of course) just don't see and don't recognize because they have never heard of.
Very early 230ies are indeed very special and have tons of little details different even from late 1963 or early '64 cars. I have seen in the flesh a bunch of these cars including VIN 000001, 000004, 000020, 000024 and pictures of others and all of these had very little things different from each other. Of course, seeing these differences makes it mandatory to exclude these "all new" parts of these cars which turn them today into "as new" or otherwise "better items for sale".
Most differences match with what the "Engelen" (our Pagoda's bible) lists and what (the same good reference) the early parts book can tell (and confirm to) you.
For instance, the pics of the fuel injection pump indicates it is in fact quite different from the usual serial production type, the PES6KL70/12R11. However, your pics match perfectly with some very rare factory (prototype) M127II engine's FI pump
; the details there and with your friend's car are identical.
As to the dipstick differences Dan mentioned (seven) years ago. Yes, that's true as well.
Theoretically, it could have been something was replaced here - either the oil pan alone or perhaps the whole engine.... and only the "early-number-tag" was moved over to the "later" engine.
All of that is theory of course, but nobody of us knows what - perhaps happened in 1969 or 1974 to this unique car...
So, please keep up with the stories and period artefacts; they are all extremely helpful and - basically very slowly fill up a puzzle on which many pieces are still missing or forgotten of a car (or cars) almost half a century old.
And ah, by the way (to the sceptics here).... VIN 000001 has engine number 000002 - in real _and_ on its data card.
But, in order to finish up here: a ton of more information of this special car is necessary! At least 70 - 100 pictures of the details. Then we can tell you here already muuuuch more ...!
Achim
(earliest 230 admirer)
