Every now and again, we miss a truly great barn find. It happens; we’re human. But when a car is special enough, we feel inclined to share it, even if you missed the chance to bid on it. We will say, however, given the hammer price of this particular car was £393,750, most of us are probably safe from the effects of FOMO. The car shown here on Iconic Auctioneers website is a 1955 Porsche 356 ‘Pre-A’ 1500 Speedster, in highly desirable barn find condition that is simply impossible to fake. Supposedly discovered in rural Ohio where it had been with the same family for 70 years, it goes to show you that barn find gold is still out there.
What is perhaps most incredible about this particular Speedster is how it was not only found but the subsequent efforts to preserve as much of it as possible. The California shop that discovered the car and arranged its retrieval took a surgical-grade approach to preserving as much of its original details as possible. Incredibly, the bodywork is almost entirely original: VIN tags and body stampings all correlate to the factory build sheets, revealing that aside from a respray by the selling dealer early in its life, this Speedster never underwent any significant bodywork repairs or replacement panels. The floorplans were replaced as part of its “light” refurbishment.
Inside, the restoration facility again did everything possible to preserve original details. The carpets were obviously trashed and not worth saving; however, while the sport seats that are unique to the Speedsters do not have original material, distressed and aged leather was intentionally used to preserve the overall vibe. I love attention to detail like this, along with choosing not to over-restore the car, which is what so often happens when these iconic vehicles are discovered. The painted dash still presents well with a pleasant patina, and the same goes for the steering wheel. According to the auction listing, “…the door cards, dashboard, steering wheel and gauges remain original.”
Even more fascinating is how the Speedster’s engine remains numbers-matching and supposedly was parked with just 60,000 miles on the clock. The engine and transmission were rebuilt using as many original components as possible, and the listing notes that it “…only required new piston rings before being fully inspected and reassembled.” That’s simply incredible, along with the fact that the Speedster has been driven and enjoyed ever since. The fuel system was rebuilt as well, but the shop in charge of the refurb also took great pains to re-use the original fuel tank. This level of obsession with originality is an approach we can get behind, and despite the auction having closed, it’s still a treat to explore this incredibly authentic Speedster barn find. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.
Great find Mitchell G. And a great write uo too Jeff. I’m not at all an expert on these, but Ive always thought the 356 is a beautiful design. I have had a huge privilege to drive one of these once. And I enjoyed every single second of it. I appreciate the approach they made with the restoration. This is not a fake patina. It has character. While I love seeing these all restored and shined up, this one just has an honest survial vibe to it I like.
I love it the way it is. Reminds me of something a cool guy like Kris Kristofferson would drive.
There’s a fine line between some patina and too much patina. I wonder if there’s a shop that can mellow out the trashed sections?
Patina should remain as a name for an overweight school girl with braces and pigtails, and not a car color.
A VW bug is still entitled to a complete restoration. Just don’t expect to get your money back, let alone make a profit…don’t ask me how I know…
The Patina treatment was great for presentation to give that “original” look and feel for the auction, and I do love the used leather on the seats, but I bet the new owner ends up doing a complete restoration before he does too much driving with it… then add it to his collection.
Back in ’63 my first car was a ’55 Speedster, in much better shape than this one. They were pretty inexpensive then — it was all I could afford as a 17yo kid. And boy, do I recognize those side curtains. When backing up you couldn’t see anything out them, or that small back window. Other than in the rain I usually ran with the top down. A lot of fun memories, but eventually moved on to more comfortable sports cars.
Each to their own, but I’d take a nut-and-bolt restoration using original parts and colors, to return it back to as-new spec over this any day. It’s cool to see it unrestored as a historical museum piece, but to pay over $400k for it, especially when it needs a new windshield and the steerimg wheel looks ready to crumble in the driver’s hands? Bit rich for my taste.
These things are still out there, waiting to be found. You can’t just go looking, you need serendipity!
“retaining the original fuel tank with its attractive patination.”
Ha ha ha- what a joke!
I can just hear this guy’s wife. YOU PAID $400,000 FOR THAT!!???
In this case beauty is ONLY in the eyes of the owner. (and a few others)
I appreciate it and what it went through to get it to driving condition and the why. But I would be hard pressed to be proud to show to anyone in my circle of family and friends. JMHO
Umm. Not $400k. Those are Pounds.
In American that equals $533k
Amazing price someone wringed out of this quirky little beast
I was right. Cars “Bob has owned” surfaces again. Owned 2 of these cars. Last one was a restoration that never got finished because of an offer I couldn’t refuse. They are fun and expensive.
In the 60s I bought a hard-used Speedster from a friend. He made me promise to sell it back to him if I ever decided to part with it.
I paid $400, drove the snot out of it for a year, and sold it back to him for $400.
Beat me on that one. Had to pay $500 for my first Porsche, a ’57 Cabriolet.