There’s a strong (suggested) opening bid for this 1962 Porsche 356, which is said to wear its original colors of Slate Gray with a light gray interior. The car presents well enough with no massive corrosion to report and the engine is a freshened up 1600S mill that’s installed but not hooked up. A lot to like here but the opening bid may scare some folks away – what do you think? Find it here on eBay and located somewhere in Texas.
The seller obviously has some experience buying and selling 356s based on this photo. The 356 was sold new in Washington State but perhaps didn’t spend too much time there considering the 356’s largely rust-free condition and current Texas location. The seller mentions a new floor has been welded in, “…which included new pans correctly spot welded in place with new toe board mounts, new seat mounts, both longitudinals new and new jack spurs.”
The interior looks a bit tired but certainly hasn’t been trashed by the Texas sun . The light gray leatherette really is a nice look against the slightly darker exterior, and the seller notes the original Blaupunkt Frankfurt radio is still present as well. Obviously, some work is needed here despite being complete as everything just looks a bit disheveled, but that’s a minor complaint considering how many of these we’ve seen without floors.
As noted, the engine has been installed but isn’t hooked up. Per the seller: “This 356 comes with a completely rebuilt 1600S 616/2 engine, #88912, done by a quality builder in Phoenix and not run since.” The engine isn’t numbers matching which definitely limits some of the appeal of this particular example, despite the high levels of preservation on display. While the ultra limited production models can pull a big number while being non-matching, it’s a lot harder to do with a more commonplace 356.
“This 356 comes with a completely rebuilt 1600S 616/2 engine, #88912, done by a quality builder in Phoenix and not run since.”
Dropping some major coin for that and not getting it running seems illogical to me, but maybe there are extenuating circumstances involved.
My thought also…why would someone have a “qualified builder” re-do a motor, install it then not take the time to make certain it was done correctly and it runs well…seems sketchy…its a few hook=ups, fuel, electrical etc and vroom vroom, hopefully…
It looks to be a Karmann bodied 356 Normal. The Reutter bodies had a
smaller rear glass. Nice a 356S engine installed.
Concerns: new floors welded in…who, how…how good?
Chrome wheels not original, likely Brazil manufactured, some with runout.
Interior needs work
The fuel gauge senders on the ’62’s were installed underneath the tank…worked, BUT easy to leak. Most upgraded to a ’63 or newer tank.
How pedestrian…dare I say as common as a 914 or 944?
356 with tires and not completely rusted out?? How refreshing, even if he can’t figure out the engine install
He’s just a flipper in a state of Texas where many cars got complete baths in past and we’re sold for cheap …
I sure hope this was not one required to re vinned 😳
Somethin’ screwy here. Washington car. Tennessee seller. Texas location. Photos look like no part o’ Texas that I know of. 6 volt non sunroof car now with sunroof & 12 volt sunroof motor. Yeah sure, nuthin’ t’ worry ’bout here . . . an mebbe the Brooklyn Bridge is included too.
I see the parts car next to it.
NOM and many parts swapped out .
I wonder what the vin is or was in parts car ?
Over priced for a non orig car undocumented.
FYI: professional welders are by what definition ? Show the work up close.
I like the car but to many hinky things saying hmmmm…..
The price is at a point to find an original and spend more money but resale is key once your done with it after shelling money 💰….
I can think of lots better ways to blow $45K.
new kitchen or better yet. new garage
Yes, like a brand new sports car that would leave this in the dust and have a warranty, etc. Or, if you just got to have a 356 why not get a replica, 45K would give a shiny new one with a great motor and reliability that no one would know the difference from an original. (except the original would have old wiring, hidden rust, mechanical problems, and a huge price tag) If you truly love these cars and are not just after a quick pay day, then that has to be the way to go. It would even have the snob appeal, if you didn’t talk too much about it to the boys at the country club. (Just as the guys who have Shelby Cobra replicas are able to drive and enjoy them, this to me is far superior to an original.)
Yup. Having owned both (genuine and replica speedsters), I fully agree.
Can we define the word survivor here?
Prob’ly not . . .
PS Miguel – you at least should see the humor in the name I choose to use here.
Poor heater, no power anything, hard ride, drab paint; what’s not to love? $4500; tops.
Sorry to say that is NOT slate grey. It is Dove grey. Not sure the owner knows as much as you would think.
When will BF stop posting Porsche’s? It is obvious that this forum does not like them.
I wouldn’t say BF readers don’t like Porsches. Heck, I do, even though I’d rather have an Austin-Healey…. Even if 356s remind me a little too much of VWs — once drove a 550 and couldn’t get over how closely it seemed to resemble a Beetle — they were fascinating cars when new, and still are.
What I think BF readers object to — and I’m generalizing, of course — is the aggressive pricing of anything that still bears a slight resemblance to a 356. Or a 911. At $45K, chances are better than good that this will require the next owner to put twice as much into it to get a car he can show to other Porsche owners. If you aren’t a Porsche-phile, complete with reference books at the ready to verify every tiny detail, that seems like a whole lot of money.
But I’ll read about them here, and read the comments of fans and detractors alike. It’s always entertaining, sometimes educational and, on occasion, good for a chuckle!
I think that most people look at the prices these Porsche’s are listed at and wonder how it is other cars values have not significantly appreciated, and even in some cases have gone down in value. It’s hard for me to get my head around a rusted out hulk (not this example but others previously listed) being worth any money let alone thousands of dollars when my all original MGBGT would be only worth about $10k and I can hop in this at any time and drive it anywhere
It’s very easy to figure out, collector car prices are driven by emotion, perceptions and fad mentality. You cannot apply logic as it does not work.
Because the name Porsche like Ferrari spells money to those that don’t have it and those that do like to show off to those that don’t. Simple selfish childish behavior. The people driving these prices have enough money that price means nothing to them. Oh, I could care less if they won Lemans in 1966 or other junk like that, that is what they will tell you drives the prices, and it might be some of it, but in the end, it is a rich mans game and we are not invited. You own your MG for all the right reasons, love of the car, not snobbish bragging rights. Enjoy it and do not worry what it is worth. Could I buy a Porsche? Nope. Would I want one if I could? Nope. I want the cars that were around when I was young, and in my neighborhood, the Germans never showed up. Maybe these buyers grew up with them, fine, keep spending Grandpa’s money, but you can never tell me they are worth more then a similar, yet more modest valued ride.
In the early to mid 1980s you could buy the best Ferrari 250 GTE or 330 GT for about $15,000. You could also buy the best 1953 Bentley R Type Saloon for $15,000 or for $25,000 – $30,000 you could buy a Bentley Continental R Fastback or Mercedes 300SL Gullwing. Today both the Bentley Continental and the Gullwing are million dollar cars, the two Ferrari’s I’ve noted above are $300,000 – $500,000 cars yet the best 1953 Bentley R Type Saloon is just a $50,000 car.
What happened? Did the cars change. No, they didn’t. Just the perceptions of them changed. The Ferrari price jump was predicted so much that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy when old man Ferrari croaked, yet the cars themselves did not change. The fastback Bentley and gull-wing Mercedes didn’t change, but people decided to value their history and heritage more than they did before and suddenly a whole lot more people wanted to own them than there were cars available so that’s how those prices jumped – they simply became super trendy. When we look at it rationally, an “ordinary” 1953 Bentley R Type drives very nearly the same as the fast back coupe but is only worth a small fraction of the coupe, and a gullwing is actually a very uncomfortable car to drive or ride in – ventilation is terrible, the gearbox whine incessant etc etc etc but that’s not why people longed for them, hence we now have the values that we do. The same factors are at work on old 356 Porsches – more people want them now (for whatever reason, good or bad) than there are cars available so the prices have to go up. However, I’ve heard from more than one person more versed in the Porsche market than I, that the market has softened considerably and the “bubble” may burst. For the Gullwing and the Bentley Continental (and Ferrari) that will never happen for the simple reason that to buy one now you have to be stinkin’ rich, so rich that mere economics will never force you to sell one, the same way that a much less rich person might be forced to sell their $100,000 Porsche so if it happens to more than a few at the same time, the prices have to go down! But the million dollar cars will never ever need to be sold, and so they likely never will, except at the current price levels.
Somebody stepped on a Beetle .
I always thought the Porche thing took off after the movie 48 Hrs. It did for me, I think it was the first Porche I had seen.
Was it a front Porche or back Porche? But regarding Porsche cars, I guess growing up in California I was always aware of them, even though the family home didn’t have a front or back porche.
LOL! Oooops.