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Barn Cave In: 1963 Porsche 356B

When you’re on the hunt for a great barn find, you have to search every barn you can get into, even if it looks to be a lost cause. It doesn’t matter how dilapidated the barn looks, you just never know what you might find hiding in there. The seller of this barn find knows just how true this really is. Looking at this barn you might think that anything you would find in there would be ruined, but when the seller pulled the collapsed roof away from the barn they uncovered an undamaged 1963 Porsche 356 Coupe. The car can now be found here on eBay.

Now the seller of this car had an advantage that most of us don’t, as they’re father had owned this car at one point in time and they knew the following owner had stashed it somewhere on his property. This car was the one Porsche displayed in their booth at the 1963 New York Auto Show. At that point in time the car had been fitted with the very rare Rudge wheels, but sadly the seller’s father removed and sold them to another Porsche owner.

Even after having the roof cave in around it, this car is surprisingly intact. That isn’t saying it won’t need some serious work thought. Having spent its life in the New Hampshire area means it has rust issues that will need to be addressed. It also needs a new interior and mechanical work. It will likely be a major undertaking to get it back on the road someday.

Looking at the motor you might notice this isn’t the standard 1.6 liter that came in the base model 356B. That’s because it’s the slightly more powerful 1600 Super engine. This 1.6 liter boxer four only puts out 75 hp, but that’s plenty of power for this light weight rear engined coupe. Plus if you’re driving a 356, it probably isn’t for the power, but for the superb handling.

As you can see the interior is in need of some serious attention. It looks like most of the components are still with the car, but there are a few missing pieces. Thankfully, there is still a very dedicated following for the 356, so parts shouldn’t be too difficult to come by. Looking at the 356’s interior, it’s easy to see how this car influenced the 911’s interior design.

We are glad that the roof didn’t completely cave in on this 356 and crush it, but we are sad that it was left in such terrible conditions. It could be expensive to get this car running again, but given how desirable 356s are becoming it should be worth the work. The number of 356s remaining is a testament to what a great car these really are. Of the 76,000 built, it’s believed that 70,000 are still in existence. Those of you that have restored one of these cars, what do you think is a reasonable estimate of restoration costs? And remember to never underestimate what an old barn could be hiding.

Comments

  1. Avatar john b

    i think the bigger question is : Is that a German Kubelwagon next to the porsche?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Steffen

      John
      I think it’s a DKW Munga, that was used by German Bundeswehr in the 50s and 60s.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Tom Cotter Staff

    I like the 356, but I’d also like to know more about the Klubelwagen one stall over…

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Martin

    Im wondering if it might be a porsche K-Wagen. I thought all the VW versions had exterior fenders.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Chris

    Don’t think it’s a Kubelwagen, I think it’s a Horch

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Boris

    looks like a DKW Munga, not like a Kübelwagen ;-)

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Alex Tye

    Yes, more info on the car on the right!
    Inquiring minds want to know!
    :-)

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Dolphin Member

    I don’t get a good feeling from this listing, which seems too oriented to moving the car rather than giving a realistic idea of what the car is like as it sits. And then there is the problem that the seller wants to be paid $40/hour to cooperate in the shipping of a rare car to a car guy who will be paying him money for a rusty old car. How well will this work given that the car is in New Hampshire and the guy getting the $40/hour is 3,000 miles West of there?

    On the other hand, there is the honest line “This car will need floors, longs, closing panels,..the works as it has a lot of rust.”, but this would sure scare me off buying the car to restore, since with some effort and time you could find a decent driver for significantly less money and resto-headaches than you would have in this project when you add up the initial purchase and all the parts, repair, and paint costs and your time and effort.

    As for trying to get this to #1 condition, as opposed to driver quality, bring LOTS and LOTS of money. And when you finish, it will still be a 356B, and will have about the lowest relative valuation in the 356 world, no matter what (undocumented) claims are made for it being a NY Auto Show car.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar graham line

    why do collectors leave their valued cars in dilapidated barns with earth floors?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Barn Finds

      Good question Graham. Perhaps when they parked them in there, the cars didn’t seem as collectible? Or maybe people didn’t know about rust back then? Just be sure that when you are ready to hoard a few cars away that you park them in a nice climate controlled barn.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar Barn Finds

    The auction was ended early. It would have been interesting to know what the seller got for this one.

    Like 0

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