One of the things that sellers occasionally do that really impresses me is to track down the correct engine for a car missing its numbers-matching unit. This 1964 Porsche 356 is a genuine SC, one of the more desirable variants of an early air-cooled, but it’s lacking that sweet 95 b.h.p. pushrod engine that made it so special. Well, it’s lacking the matching engine, as the seller has found an SC-correct engine case that is just 160 away from the original unit. Find the 356 here on eBay with bids approaching $20K and the reserve unmet.
The seller is a familiar face around here, as Unobtanium Inc. tends to smoke out every hidden 356 there is. This one is a nicely preserved car, even if it has rust and lots of primer sprayed onto the body. The car is at least complete, even if the 912-sourced mill out back is incorrect (again, the SC case will be included assuming the next owner wants to build up a period-correct engine, which they absolutely should.) The engine lid-mounted luggage rack is a treat.
The 356 has a complete interior, even if it is a bit tattered. The floors are where the rust resides, and the eBay listing photos reveal that large sections of the floor will need to be replaced. However, the seller has featured far rustier examples in the past, and this one looks like a relative cakewalk compared to those. The original color combination featured Signal Red exterior paint, and according to the included COA, the interior featured the black leatherette trim seen here.
Another appealing aspect of this particular SC is the inclusion of the original books and workshop manuals, along with some documentation showing the 356’s paper trail from when it was first sold. I’m surprised the bidding is so low at the moment, as the SCs are generally desirable specimens and especially rust is under control, as with this car. Perhaps it’s still early in the auction or the lack of an original engine is curbing interest, but building a hot-rod SC seems like a worthwhile project to me.
The 912 engines do wonders for the A,B,C series cars if you don’t have the original engine. Had one in one of our race cars and it was fast.
Jeff-
The deal was actually a three-fer, guy drove all the cars into his basement in the 70s, where they say until last week. This SC, another C, and a 56 A Coupe.
The A was my favorite.
How much for the lawn mower?
Well all of the literature, etc is cool. But the non-numbers matching engine, especially on 356’s, is such a deal buster. Even if it’s 160 numbers off. What a shame! Yeah still fun to drive. But value plunges like a lead balloon.
When did all this #’s matching BS get so important? I guess it was when people stopped loving the cars more than their money. But it’s a Porsche. I get it.
For most P Car buyers, isn’t that the whole point? Oh sure, there are some purists (God bless them) as noted on this sight, but the majority of the people I have observed in my experience are snooty rich boys trying to show off. They (luckily) are the ones most likely to get maimed in a crash by having too much car for their feeble driving skills, and I guess that is God’s way of cleaning out the gene pool. I do make some Porsche comments that are sometimes a little snotty (childish really) and except for my heartfelt anger towards the companies horrific war record, I really do feel they are often nice cars. My pain with them is the awful costs that unfortunately comes from the high prices related to the prestige involved in owning them. If the costs were 1/10 of what they are, we all could indulge and then it would be a much happier world. When money and status gets into the equation, all else takes a far back seat.
Well, you’re talking to someone who’s believes the Volkswagen and it’s iterations the 356 and 911 play the major role in the evolution of the automobile. Second only to the Model T Ford. But yes I dislike the Gucci crowd, over restoring cars, VW’s selling for $200k, 356’s $500k plus, Ad infinitum. But that’s Capitalism at it’s worst. .1% controlling 99% of the wealth. Supply and demand. There’s your economics lesson, my friend.
I’ll tip my hat to you Doug. Lol I like your sutble imagery and suggestive commentary with regards to the hazards of owning Pinto. Conversely expressing Darwin’s theory of weeding out the weak, less desirables. Many on this site would agree with the idea you’re mentioning. Even figuratively.
I would rather have the nice yellow Pinto listed here a few days back. The BIN price was less then half of this (and who knows how crazy the price will go?) and it ran, had low miles, original low mile engine. From ten feet away that car looked almost brand new, this car? If these are so wonderful and the seller has some Porsche business, why not complete it themselves and make big bucks? Something sounds kind of fishy to me. Buyer beware.
Sandy, I don’t think you understand by business, it’s finding cars and selling them, not restoring them. It takes about 5 years to fully restore a car like this, so if you take what I normally have in my yard, not counting inbound cars, I would have to live to be about 200 years old just to restore them. My business is me, my brother, and one employee. I hope this clears it up for you.
Fine, do you have any good deals on Pintos?
Well, I want to comment about Santa Claus, but I’m trying to follow the rules. But, Santa I do have a gorgeous Pinto for you. The best thing about them is when anyone gets killed in a rear end collision , they get a free cremation.
I need one.
Doug, when you want to drive the best you have to deal with the consequences. The great Pinto had its flaws, but were they any greater then the handling nightmares of a rear engine widow maker? I would rather be vaporized in a rear ended inferno then to linger slowly and painfully wrapped around a tree near a sharp bend in the road. Besides, did you ever know of anyone who roasted in a Pinto? I have known two people from my area that crashed around corners in 911s, one spent the rest of his “happy” life in a nursing home. Say what you want about Pintos, but the infamous fire scenario is much less of a statistical problem then the infamous Porsche handling horrors. Mile per mile driven,( as there were so many more Pintos then P Cars) , you are far safer in a Pinto. By the way Mr Farsighted, da name is Sandy, not Santa.
To each his own..
Some readers can’t find the sense in buying anything that requires more effort than fixing a windshield wiper; others will take a beat down ‘80’s Ford Ranger pickup, make it useful again and repeat the process many times over while enjoying what they’re doing each time.
IMHO Adam has a great gig-he and his team find new homes for cars that other people enjoy for whatever reason they enjoy them for, and his team appear to have a good time placing all the puzzle pieces together.
It’s been an interesting dialog. Sandy, Porsche’s are high performance automobiles. Novices have no business driving them. And there are plenty of them with deep enough pockets to get in seriously over their head. I doubt that most even have a clue what understeer is, much less how to handle it effectively. That’s their fault in my opinion. On the other hand, a middle class individual that is struggling to make ends meet. He makes the choice to buy a Pinto out of necessity. Not to feed his ego. That is real. While they both have cost many lives, there is simply no comparison. Wrapping a 911 (or Carrera GT) around a tree is just plain stupid.
Ya know, some people might actually prefer a Pinto. Some people are bland by nature and they like it that way. Take me for instance. My wife likes to listen to nasty loud three chord hard rock (crazy old gray haired lady) while I prefer the likes of Mancini and Percy Faith. Does that make her or I wrong? Live and let live brother. Oh, and for Chris M. Money has distorted natural selection. An alpha male no longer is the strongest or smartest, they are the richest. If they became that way on their own, well, maybe that is okay, but the majority of rich dudes I know of earned it the old fashioned way, they inherited it. I will never forget years back seeing maybe the dumbest kid in my high school class. Dumb as a box of rocks, and even homelier then me (if that is possible). I saw him with the prettiest girl I have ever seen. How is this possible you ask dear reader? Yep, that is correct. Daddio owned the local factory. Of note, after Daddy Dearest gave it to him, he ran it into the ground, then sold it off to a Bain Capital type thingie who promptly ruined the whole town by sending all those jobs over seas. And Mr Brilliant? Last heard, he lives on the beach in FLA with his third trophy wife who is about half his age. Is life fair? ahh, no. Did Darwinism show its true colors with the 11 (!!!) children he sired? Ahh, no again. So, before you say again that a Porsche buyer is higher on the evolutionary scale, think again.
Sold for $23,200.