There are not many things we love more than a Porsche 356 barn find. The only problem is that most 356s which have been stored in a barn for any length of time will have major rust problems. Luckily, this one had its floor replaced 30 years ago and has been in the hands of the same enthusiast for the past 42 years. He has decided that it is time to let another person enjoy the car. If you think you are up to the task, take a look at the eBay auction here. A special thanks goes to Michael M. for the submission.
The current owner purchased the car from the first owner with the intention of driving it and that’s just what he did for the last 42 years! On one outing during his early years of ownership, the fan belt went and the engine overheated. Not wanting to stay off the road for long, he pulled it out and had another engine put in its place. Don’t worry though, he kept the original block and it is included. While he was at it, he had a new floor pan welded in place and the exterior was resprayed.
We normally don’t focus on restored cars here, but seeing as this one was done some 30 years ago, we think we can make an exception. 356As don’t come along everyday and especially not in cabriolet form. The best part is that this one even runs, so besides some mechanical re-freshening there isn’t much left to do before this Porsche can be enjoyed.
The first owner ordered this 356 with just a removable hardtop, no folding cloth top. Throw the hardtop on in the winter months and then enjoy true roadster motoring all summer long. Sounds like the first owner was all about driving too. Lets just hope that the next caretaker is just as enthusiast about the open road as the last two were because that is where this classic deserves to be. By the way, the last one of these we featured went for $80k, so it will be interesting to see where this one ends up.
VERY NICE FIND AND GREAT MARKETING TOOL WITH THE VIDEO. I HOPE IT FINDS A HOME WITH SOMEBODY WHO ENJOYS THOSE THINGS.
Another nice one this morning, dreadful color, I like the side ways gas pedal.
For a car that was supposedly driven, the barn that it is in, doesn’t seem to have much in the way of a driveway, or tire tracks leading into it, just saying.
The car is already up to 60K………guess I am clueless.
I reckon I would rather have two Lotus Elan Plus 2’s and 10k left in the pockets
Just because it was stored in a barn doesn’t mean it’s a “barn find”, I wish people would stop that nonsense, I’ve seen so many cars posed for “barn find” shots, it really dilutes what the whole thing is. Onto the car: dreadful color or not, these have become almost unobtanium price-wise in the past 15 years. My dad regales me with stories of his $500 speedster way back in the day and I just shake my head. Where’s a time machine when you need one?
Every time I see this post something doesn’t smell right, the guy is a slob, he has owned the car 42 years, had it painted 30 years ago, so if the guy lives like that, you would think a rake or shovel or something would have fallen against it in the 30 years it was painted, so the car doesn’t have a scratch or ding nothing & it buffed up perfect, a 30 year old paint job, the car is driven but the driveway to the barn looks as though it was never driven on. I don’t know maybe it’s me.
He might have just staged the ‘barn thing’ (??)
What if this is his handyman’s barn and he lives across town, in one of those fancy gated communities with a HOA that’l tell you what color you can paint your house.
Would you bid higher for ‘A’ or ‘B’ ??
I get your point but I think their is a group of people who would drop their pants for the “rare barn find” while the guy selling a classic in a gated community is a dime a dozen, something like a car at say Barret Jackson might bring more $’s then the same car sitting in a driveway.
I’m as sceptical as the next guy about posed barn finds, but what’s important if you are a potential buyer is to focus on the car and its history. This 356 Cabrio is well presented by a dealer, it’s in decent condition because of apparently low miles and work done years ago, and so far it’s still under the going price for this kind of 356. Like Rancho and probably most other viewers of this listing, I can think of other cars—probably 2 or 3 of them—that I would rather have for the money, but if you need a 356 Cabrio with low miles and some known history, this could be OK.
The downside is the paint, both color and poor application, but new paint won’t cost that much when you measure it against the resale value of a nicely repainted Cabrio, so someone buying this could justify the extra cost of a repaint.
The upside is the work that was done on the car, the original disassembled engine that comes with the car, the car’s known history, and maybe even the barn find story to help sell the car when you want to cash out for your retirement when these are selling for 3 or more times the eBay sale price 9 days from now.
As a 35 year member of Porsche Club Of America and owner of four Porsches thru the years, I find one story here hard to believe. He claims the motor was damaged due to a broken fan belt, resulting in engine over-heating. Yes, that would happen. BUT as just about any good Porsche owner would tell you……IF the fan belt breaks a very bright and unmistakeable RED LIGHT on the dash comes on immediately to let the driver know. Any Porsche owner even with the smallest amount of engine smarts would pull over right away and shut down. To continue driving until the engine self-destructs is hard to believe. BTW, speaking of fan belts….the first thing I would do with this car is to tighten OR replace this fan belt, as it is way too loose!!
@ Dolphn, yes lets focus on the car, suppose the car was painted 30 years ago & they have a bill proving it, now lets suppose they also got a repaint 6 months ago but you don’t get to see that bill & suppose the car had lots of rust but you can’t see it because it was all redone.
All I’m saying is a guy can’t be that much of a pig & have a 30 year old repaint that buffs right up & nothing just happened to fall against it in all that time.
[Somehow I managed to misspell my ID the other day….should be Dolphin]
The color and the paint application are so bad (= obvious from the photos) that I think anyone who would want this car and who would pay the high cost to buy it will probably want to spend another 5 or 10% and get it repainted properly in a better color, no matter when it was painted in the past. A repaint would likely increase its value as much as the repaint would cost.
The underside looks good in the photos, probably because the floors were replaced, as indicated in the listing. But no serious buyer of one of these will want to spend the money that will required to buy it without a thorough PPI, which should answer the rust question.
Those two points are what I mean by focusing on the car.
“Barn I knew it was in there Find”.
Other than painted the incorrect color and the engine being in pieces whats not to like?
The color is Porsche original for 1958 only and is called “Meissen Blue”. As a one year only color and very rare, it is also one of the most desirable Porsche colors and will only increase the value of this car.
I never knew what the ‘Big Deal’ was for these.
I guess I could have bought a couple of these 30 years ago, but they seemed overpriced then, forget about today’s prices.
The fun of driving one IS GONE.
Interesting to watch, though, how far it’ll go, what would happen to it (restoration ?).
Ultimately some filthy rich over the hill banker/financier will park it in his garage, thinking he’ll be young again.
So sad.
now that I watched the video…..
I like the guy.
He did ONE thing right : he bought it when he did and is selling it now.
Good luck with the sale !
BTW : were there convertibles in 1972 ? Besides the Targa.
He must mean a ’62 engine or a 912 ?
Like a ’56 T-Bird, they just have timeless beauty and still reek of class. Just something about these beauty’s right down to the smell. I’m really kind of perplexed why Porche got away from these “small” sports cars. The Boxter is just well…….a Boxter. Not anything like this. Not anywhere near the class of these little gems.
75K……….oh please………
For all the criticism, true as it may be – this is still beyond the widest dreams of some of us.
LOVE LOVE LOVE. So thrilled for the current owner and all future ones who have the privilege to cherish this piece of automotive history.
Please continue to share your pride and joy with the rest of to admire from afar!