1961 Porsche 356B Notchback

1961 Porsche 356b Notchback Front Corner

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From the front and to the untrained eye, this just looks like another run of the mill Porsche 356B Coupe. But if you compare this 356B to the one parked next to it you’d instantly recognize a very distinct difference with the roof line of this car. That’s because this Porsche is one of the rare 356B Karmann Notchback coupes. This 356 has spent most of its life in Florida, but is currently in Atlanta, Georgia and is being offered here on eBay. The bidding is already up to $12,000, but the reserve has yet to be met.

1961 Porsche 356b Notchback Side View

It’s much easier to identify the differences between the Notchback and the standard Coupe when they are sitting next to each other. When you look at the 356 parked behind this Notchback you can see how different the roof lines are. Porsche developed the Notchback after deciding they needed to broaden their production line, so they decided to create a new Coupe by adding a roof to the 356 Cabriolet. The Notchback was only built in ’61 and ’62 at Karmann’s manufacturing facility in Osnabruck. The ’61s were Cabriolets with hardtops simply welded into place, while the ’62s were manufactured from the start as hardtops.

1961 Porsche 356b Notchback Interior

This car has been well maintained over the years by all three of its owners and is ready to be driven. The interior looks nice, but could obviously use a good cleaning. The numbers matching 1600 cc boxer four is running, but needs a good tune up to run its best. This car’s exterior looks good, but we would go over the floors and bottom half of the body with a fine tooth comb. These cars are notorious for rusting out, even in dryer climates, so we would bring a magnet to inspect this one. This car was originally Aetna Blue and was repainted, so we wouldn’t be surprised if there is some rust and filler hiding under the paint.

1961 Porsche 356b Notchback Rear Corner

There were only 1650 Notchbacks built and it’s currently estimated that there are only about 100 or so of these still on the road. Many of these cars were used for Cabriolet conversions and some even made their way to the race track, mostly due to claims of being more aerodynamic than the standard Coupe. We aren’t sure what the seller is hoping to get for this car, but we hope the reserve isn’t set to high. Not many of these cars have been to market recently, but the last one we saw sell went for around $35,000. We would love to see this one put back to its original Aetna Blue, but the current paint job looks decent, so we would probably leave it and just enjoy it as is.

UPDATE: This Notchback ended up selling for $24,995 after being relisted. Seems like a fair price.

Comments

  1. Tom Andersen

    I kinda like it

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  2. John Buzoianu

    It’s very unique… i was wondering what they were rambling on about until i saw the pics… I’d buy one just to have one, but honestly its not that high on my list of cars…

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  3. jumpinjimmy

    He’ll take $22K but is cagey about the rust issues. Has “repaired damage” from a floor jack been used on the longitudinals. Could simply be a plugged rust hole. No photos of the underside or wheel wells available yet. Hmmmm.

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  4. Ron

    Added headroom for those rear seat passengers. You might be able to fit a five year old in it!

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  5. John Campbell

    “The car original Color was 6003 Aetna Blue but has now been painted white.” “The cars paint is original and has not been painted.”Which is it? It can’t be both.

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  6. Barn Finds

    Where did we say that is has not been repainted? It was originally blue, but has been repainted white. Sorry, but we dont see the confusion.

    Like 0
  7. John Campbell

    Sorry to confuse you, the text was taken from the sellers ad.

    Like 0

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