Do you ever feel like it’s been ages since you’ve seen a particular vehicle offered up as a project? It’s almost as if the market runs out of projects, with every viable runner snatched up and under restoration. There was a time a few years ago when every Porsche 356 – carcass, roller, boxes of parts – was coming out of the woodwork and buyers were paying way too much. That’s all settled down now, so this 1964 Porsche 356 Cabriolet listed here on eBay as a recent Ohio barn find is a sight for sore eyes.
I say that as someone who truly enjoys projects, so seeing a special car in unrestored condition does my heart good. In addition, we haven’t seen a worthy 356 Cabriolet project come up for grabs in some time, at least that I can recall. This car may have come from a region of the country that uses road salt and other corrosive materials to help out when the roads get slippery, but it has survived surprisingly well, all things considered. The seller notes the 356 has been stored for 55 years, which has certainly helped in its preservation. Heck, look at the soft top – incredibly well preserved.
The interior maintains a lovely patina, and the dash board and upholstery combo is incredibly handsome. The seller does confirm the original exterior paint as being “Irish Green”, which is one of the best OEM Porsche colors, in my opinion. Hopefully, whoever purchases this 356 refinishes the exterior to its original paint scheme but otherwise keeps the restoration modest. I say “modest” because this 356 is so well preserved that it would be a shame to strip that all away in pursuit of a bare-metal restoration.
The engine is noted as being a “…NOS C Factory Case installed 1966 by Stoddard” with “…no number.” It would seem that this Porsche received a replacement engine case early in life, but what’s more curious is that it was last registered in 1966. What happened that this cabriolet gets a major shot of life with the replacement unit from Stoddard and then goes into hibernation for 55 years? The seller notes it comes with “…solid original floors, battery box, longitudinals, jack spurs, closing panels,” and numerous other original details. I’m sure this one will sell for a fair price and it looks like it deserves all the money.
If you mean ‘fair price’ as in ‘all the money’, then yes. Porsche has become a lifestyle accessory and not just a neat old car that goes to a good home. Sadly. Like with a puppy, the deepest pocket isn’t necessarily the best home.
Smart and thought provoking words Steveo.
Barn find, yes. Bank vault find, no. Hagerty says the #4 condition value on this car is $68k. Since there are no pics of the underside, which I assume, is mostly rust, I’d back off that price by $20k. So…
I took a pass on one over 40 years ago (into muscle cars then and not what I considered to be just a warmed-up Volkswagen, brilliant but who knew). It was older than this I’m sure because it didn’t have roll up windows it had snap-in side windows. $1500 and instead I bought a wore out Firebird 400 ragtop to rebuild.
Not an expert, but I believe Speedsters had side curtains and unlined tops and Cabrios had roll up windows and insulated and lined tops plus taller windshields.
If what you looked at was second generation 356 you were probably looking at a pre ’60 ’59 convertible ‘D or 356 A ‘Speedster. Top on this car isn’t original because the rear window was bigger and placed higher on the fabric.
As a kid, and the fasmily car “expert” my mother wanted to trade in her 1966 Ford Country Sedan (wagon) for something smaller, gets good gas mileage (gas was $0.32/gallon) and reliable. She just took a job that required her to drive 100 miles round trip every day. So, I pointed her in the direction of a new BMW 2002. She never heard of the brand (this was in 1969) but went ahead and found a dealership. Unfortunately, I didn’t accompany her to make the purchase because she came back with a brand new 1969 BMW 1600. Still a great car, but not a 2002. This was in NH and within a few years it started to rust. I begged her to let me buy it but she traded it instead for a new Pinto. Oh, I missed the point of this comment. When she brought the new BMW in for service which required a couple days, the loaner car was a 1964 Porsche 356 Cabriolet. It was the salesman’s personal car. Unfortunately this only happened in the dead of winter.
They’re asking $158,000? You can buy a very nicely restored one with matching numbers for under $140,000. This car won’t find a buyer until the price is around $70,000.
Beautiful little Porsche. I had a 1964 356SC in 1966, bought it from a friend of mine he turned around and got a VW square back… Mine was the exact same color combination as this barn find. Great little car, good performance and looks. Mine was a coupe with the electric sunroof. Regret selling it 18 years ago…
This 356 looks great but I cannot pick it up. It will make someone a great car, just get it running, clean up the engine and detail it and drive it, drive the wheels off of it.