A few years ago, a barn find Porsche 356 with a numbers-matching Super 90 engine would have been subject to an absolutely insane bidding war. These days, the market has settled down to more reasonable levels wherein a car like the one shown here is still expensive but not to the point of absurdity. The seller notes it was born with a desirable black paint job and that the 356 has been sitting for many years awaiting restoration. Find it here on eBay with a $62,500 Buy-It-Now and the option to submit a best offer.
The seller describes this 356 as a genuine black-plate California car that was repainted silver at some point in its past. The car looks good in silver, but it would be absolutely phenomenal in black over its red interior. The factory steel wheels are a great look for a 356, especially with the hubcaps deleted. The seller doesn’t say much about the condition of the body, but it’s obvious that the California climate has treated it well.
The interior is a mixed bag, only because I’m left wondering if the buckets were always black or if they at one time coordinated with the red carpeting and door panels. Regardless, assuming this 356 is repainted back to its original color scheme, this interior will look absolutely incredible against a black finish. The interior seems perfectly usable as-is, and hopefully the rough edges of the carpeting can be repaired instead of replaced.
Given the ease with which air-cooled engines can be swapped out and replaced, it’s incredible to find any project-grade Porsche from this era with a numbers-matching unit still installed. Combine that with this being a Super 90 and the desirability spikes even further. This 356 will undoubtedly be restored back to factory condition, but isn’t it nice knowing you could drive it as-is indefinitely with no penalty to the owner for actually using it?
Thought I knew 356s pretty well but someone needs to tell me what the tubes bolted to the intake manifolds are. The Super 90 engine that I had came with a pair of 40mm Solex PII-4 carbs. Anyone?
They may be heat risers.
Good question Bob. The carb linkages are hanging in mid-air with no sign of carburetion. The eBay listing is also silent????
Bob,
I suspect a former owner, not having any mechanical aptitude, decided to create a new dual exhaust system, and now the carbs are mounted to the exhaust ports and can’t be seen in the photo! No wonder it’s not a running car!
But seriously now . . . I seem to recall an EMPI catalog years ago that had a kit with similar pipes allowing for much larger carbs to be mounted, and like the Chrysler 300 letter cars with the long-ram manifolds, in theory the fuel/air mix was better. The kit probably didn’t do well, hence we don’t see them today.
Hopefully the new owner will do some research to find out what the pipes really are for or who made ’em, before throwing them in the scrap pile. Sometimes crazy things like this turn out to have been factory test engines or created by well-known speed shops. It might even have been equipped with a Judkins supercharger.
Where are the carbs? I see linkage but no carbs!
Maybe at the end of those pipes attached to the intake manifold? Turbo charged?
Keto diet!
Having had several of these. A black plate car is worth its weight in gold. These are rust magnets and the small stuff can cost you bazillions. So if its lived a proper California Lifestyle, this price is actually very fare. Dont restore the body. Get it running very well and enjoy the people wanting to restore it. Drive it and them crazy!
They’re only original once ,if those nuts and bolts where installed at Porsche Plant in 1961 leave alone
My 63 356B Super 90 had a pair of Solexes right where you would expect them on either side of the fan shroud so I am not sure what is going on here.
First off, color me astounded that this trip five six is not selling for well over six figures. For the entirety of the last decade any air cooled Porsche was selling for incredibly stupid money, regardless of the condition and need for restoration. And these extremely lightweight 356’s are probably one of a very few sports cars that are fast with only 90 horsepower, I bet this one is a joy to drive on a twisty road and I’d love to find out! I actually really like the current silver paint, but the black it originally came in makes the 356 stunning, especially with the silver steel wheels. If I were the owner I’d have a real problem figuring out if I wanted to restore the car to its original color or just enjoy driving it for many, many years exactly as it is. Beautiful car, and I’m kinda jealous of whoever gets to take this one home. I’d sit in my garage all winter, just admiring it and dreaming of the first nice spring day I get to drive it again!
When I was teenager I had Baja bug,had intake with tubes that came and meet in center of engine above the generator,ran a Ford 2 barrel it was a dual port engine.
When I was teenager I had Baja bug,had intake with tubes that came up and meet in center of engine above the generator,ran a Ford 2 barrel it was a dual port engine.
You can say that again!
I did,added up the second go around
Sold!
Ended without a Buyer.