To me, one of the most attractive features of any classic is how much of the original car remains. To survive decades with tiny details, little nuances about the vehicle unbroken or altered from new is downright impressive. This 1960 Porsche 356 Super 90 is one such vehicle, and as the seller tells it, someone who was clearly a P-car fanatic took it home from the famed Brumos Porsche when new. Find it here on eBay where bidding is over $20K.
The seller, unobtainium-inc., is well known for hunting down vintage 356s and 911s. This is probably one of their more interesting finds (to me, anyhow) as it retains a very rare electric sunroof. While Porsche was offering the sunroof options that year, this could be considered somewhat of a prototype as the motor is mounted in the engine bay and the button for the roof sits flat against the dash. The 356 comes with a Kardex verifying all of this equipment.
The seller points out that many enthusiasts have heard of this sunroof design but never seen it in the flesh – it’s that obscure. Now, the other feature worth getting excited about is the numbers-matching Super 90 mill. Obviously, it’s torn down here, but with the 4-cam being retired for mostly competition-use only, the Super 90 engine was your high-performance option in 1960. Oh, and did I mention this car retains the factory luggage it was ordered with?
The restoration work has already begun, with new floors welded in. The seller notes a fair amount of filler in the body, so perfectionists will likely have to pull back what’s been done to start from a clean baseline. The original red interior remains with the car, and the optional *one* headrest on the driver’s seat. The details are strong with this one, and to see bits like the sunroof and luggage survive with the car for this many years is borderline inspirational.
Looking at the way the front deck lid and doors fit, I’m guessing that this car has had some frontal damage sometime in its history. Anyone considering buying it should really have a close look at the body/chassis for hidden surprises. Hopefully, this one’s as solid as the pics look and the floors were done correctly.
The Super 90 transformed what would otherwise be a fairly mundane machine, and with regular service, would go just about forever. There were also a number of gearing options for the transaxle, depending on the car’s planned usage.
I noticed the ill fitting frunk lid, too. If someone not familiar with these cars was rooting around in the front, they sometimes attempted to forcefully slam the lid down. But you had to lift the lid before lowering it, so not a few of these cars had damaged frunk lids.
My two cents as a former Porsche 911 owner. Very fun car to drive, very high quality, reliable and durable…built to be hammered. The kind of driving they were built for will send lesser vehicles to the junk yard. They’re athletic, responsive and If you drive one and don’t get over 4K RPM, you’re not doing it right. Stop. Go to a different car or a casket. Singing and pulling strong right on into the redline, throttle oversteer on demand. It ain’t about being seen in one, it’s about driving one. With all that, I miss mine terribly and wish I could still afford to play with an old Porsche.
Whoever resprayed the car did a crappy job. Yow. One can see the
uneven surfaces hiding filler below. And the hood is bowed. Stripping it down
to bare metal and starting over is best. Shame about the gray color, navy gray.
not sure what they welded the new floors to, can you mig weld to rust? needs everything as most of what is there is toast, worth making a recreation using whatever is salvageable,
Given what these cars are selling for, 20K looks like a steal to me…
Only steal here would be your money!
I think the reason this car is being sold instead of finished by the seller, a very well known outfit in the vintage Porsche world, is that it needs a lot of highly skilled metalwork just to get it back to where the panels in the front half of the car will match up again. As Beatnick said, the front of the car looks like it must have taken a hit. The hood fit is awful, and it looks like some low end bodywork has been done to the front half of the car using bondo.
The seller says the car still needs plenty of rust repair, which is the kind of honest information that Unobtanium is known for. Good on them. But bring lots of time and metalworking skills to this job. Either that or lots of money.
These have been selling at auction in excellent condition for a median price of $85K for the basic coupe plus a premium of $7K if the car has the S-90 engine, so a total of about $92K.
Since the car needs everything except floors welded in, including the engine internals checked and R&R’d if required, then assembled, and perhaps transmission and systems work also, then paint, interior work, etc, it could be cutting it close unless you can do a lot of that yourself. Getting these engines rebuilt properly by a good shop can be very costly.
If I wanted a S-90 I would put out the ~ $90K now and be driving a lot sooner.
If I had 90K for a driver, I would use 10% of that figure, buy something more modern and better, pocket 81K and smile each time I was reminded that I drive for the pleasure, not as an investment, nor to show off what a rich dude I am. 81K would pay for an awful lot of awesome road trips to exotic locales, and isn’t that why we drive in the first place?
9K? A 2013 Hyundai sounds like every car lovers dream. Why wouldn’t you pocket 88K and take the bus instead?
@ Ike Onick, that 2013 Korean special would run circles around this thing. BTW, 10% minus 90K is 81K, not 88K, just saying.
Billo- It didn’t take much effort to sail that one right over your head. The point was keep $2000 for bus fare and don’t bother with the magic $9000 cars. But you got 5 thumbs, so hooray for you.
@ IKe the sensetive—-Sir, 2K seems like a mighty large bus fare, unless you want more then one ride, was that the intent of your post? If so, perhaps you could communicate more clearly in the future. Communication is the key to civilization along with those opposing thumbs you refereed to. (BTW, I adore my many thumbs) You aren’t overly sensitive to the idea of a Hyundai wiping Der Fuhrers car are you?
Hang on 007. I never said I would actually buy a 356….at any price. I was just trying to give P-car lovers with $90K burning a hole in their pocket some thoughts to consider.
I once wanted to own a Porsche way back when. That was until I test drove a few. They reminded me too much of the old VW Beetle I had when I couldn’t afford anything that had a decent heater in a very cold Northern city.
After all that I decided to let all the Porsche lovers out there own & drive them for me instead.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a cute little bug, but let us not forget, a bug is what it is…a very nice bug, but a bug just the same. There is much you could do to a VW to make it handle and respond like this, and it would be worlds cheaper then this car, but what would be missing? Thats right boys and girls, the prestige. When these were new, like all high end cars, they were bought primarily for that very reason, because cars that performed equally well were available at a fraction of the price. You buy a Porsche or a Ferrari (or the like) to brag and get girls,period. Oh, I am not saying they often aren’t styled well, have a few advantages here and there, but the law of diminishing returns is in full force here. I knew a guy in college with a Porsche, dumb as a rock, and even I was more handsome, but he had hot and cold running ladies at his beck and call. Daddy’s money was his call sign and the women flocked around him, the Porsche was the big shining beacon on the stormy ocean of life to tell the girls that he had what they all wanted. Money is the worlds oldest and most reliable aphrodisiac ya know. So I stand by my statement, 9K would buy me many sporty cars (a Miata for instance like the 2006 I have) and I would enjoy them to no end, and the 81K left in the bank, just a sign of my emotional stability and maturity.
I think the part of the equation that Billy 007 is missing is the provenance of the Porsche Marque. Generally when people say they are bugs, hopped up bugs but bugs nonetheless, I ask how many bugs have beat Ferrari on the track? How many bugs won the Targa Floria? How many bugs had the like of Sir Stirling Moss behind the wheel? Better yet, how many VW’s do you see on the track today? I don’t remember seeing any VW Le Man victories, while Porsche has 16. Generally when people compare 356’s to bugs 9 times out of 10, they never driven or owned a 356. It’s an easy trap to fall into because Dr. Porsche designed both cars so the similarities are numerous, but just because you can bolt the same wheel from one to the other, does not mean they are remotely the same in terms of driveability. Not to mention the fact that VW produced more Bugs in 1954 than the whole of 356 production means while one is plentiful, the other is not. There really is no comparison.
This racing provenance is what drives most guys to want to own a Porsche, especially a vintage one. When you can find great photos of the likes of James Dean tearing it up on the track, that gets the blood pumping. I doubt anyone buying a 356 today is doing it in hopes to get a girl. So Billy, you can go buy a Miata or a bug, but you won’t be buying into 70 years of racing history with either, so again, it isn’t a real comparison, other than you railing against not understanding why people pay big money for these cars, take my words and think about them, you will understand better why Porsche is the car to have for the normal dude.
Mr Wright, of course the racing heritage is there, I love that, but why did they not hop up the VWs to race? Because they wanted to create that image for the car that had the biggest profit margin. It is all dollars and cents, that is how the world works, you seem to be a successful business man, you understand that. If people truly have a warm spot in their heart for these, God bless them, and maybe today that is the majority of the buyers, I sure hope so, and not someone trying to make a quick buck. BTW, cheap cars have been embarrassing the exotics for years, ask the late Mr Shelby.
Adam Wright, the seller, is one of the most knowledgable 356 experts out there. He’s also a very fair, honest, businessman and one very hard working sob. The market will dictate the price, not the peanut gallery. To 007, I own a 356. I’d say 99% of the public doesn’t know or care what it is, it’s value, and I’m more than fine with that. In fact I prefer it that way. In my head if one wants to show off their wealth as you suggest, stick a price tag on the window of your Hyundai or Bus.
Let me clarify. People today may not know what a 356 is, but the general public did when it was sold new. They knew then that it was a high end car for the wealthy crowd, just like a new Mercedes does today. And when it was sold new, I guarantee that the salesmen strongly hinted at that as part of the sales push. Why would I want to drive a 50 year old status symbol when for, one, I can buy so much more of a car today and at mere fraction of the price, but most of all, why would I buy into the hype that sold the car in the first place? Is snobbery something to be cherished,, admired, and copied?
Billy 007! You mean like the kid in my school who’s daddy bought him a brand-new 1968 Road Runner or the kid who drove a brand new corvette to school the same year?
@Mag195455—Did that kid have enough girls to keep him happy? I know the RR or Vette kept them at least a little calm, but a young mans heart cries out for more. Money tends to spit in the face of natural selection, the brightest and healthiest are not necessarily going to get the chance to mate anymore. The future of the human race is in peril. Humanity would have been better off if those guys drove rusty Ramblers, well, maybe.
I’m not sure there were that many places selling Porsche 356’s in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. Their main visibility came through racing where they were quite popular.
Max Hoffman and Lake Underwood.
Factory sunroof is quite a rare option.
I’m not sure there were many stand-alone Porsche dealerships in the 50’s and 60’s ? Many sold alongside VW at a dealership.