Backyard Treasure: 1957 Porsche 356A Speedster
During the 1950s, foreign manufacturers were beginning to infiltrate the American market with small, sporty cars, designed to look good as well as win races. After a Porsche 356 won its class at the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hours, motorsports enthusiasts began to take note. Initially introduced for the 1948 model year, the Porsche 356 was offered in a variety of body styles, until the end of production in 1965. One of the most popular among collectors has been the second generation, known as the 356A, produced from 1955 to 1959. Our feature car could be described as a little worse for wear, as it hasn’t moved in over 40 years from the back yard in which it is currently taking up residence. Located in Richmond, VA, and found here on eBay, it may prove that looks can be deceiving, with a current bid of $105,001.
While the ad doesn’t say much regarding the engine or its operational status, it is likely the 1582cc (1.6L) four-cylinder, capable of producing 59hp when new. Beginning with the 356A, buyers could also select a high-performance Carrera engine as an option. While heavily oxidized, the good news is that all major components appear to be present and everything is still fully assembled. Missing pieces and/or a half-finished rebuild would likely mean a more difficult restoration for the next owner.
The interior is very much the same story as the engine bay, as most parts appear to be present and accounted for. While not visible above, the seats are included, and like the door panels, they will provide an excellent pattern for reupholstery. Another key component is the convertible top frame, currently exposed and in the top-up position.
With only 76,000 units produced over its seventeen-year model run, only half of all 356s are estimated to survive today. Most popular with collectors is the Speedster version, with excellent examples recently selling at auction for nearly $300,000. The more common cabriolet model, such as our feature car, can sell for around $200,000 in fully restored condition. Porsche experts are, of course, the most knowledgeable on their subject of interest, but can also be quite vocal on any impurities an example may exhibit. So Porschephiles, what can you tell us about this car? Is it worth the cost of restoration, or would you consider it too far gone?
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Comments
I think this actually might be a Speedster, not a “regular” convertible.
That said…holy hell. What an absolute shambles this car is—looking at the photos in the Ebay listing is like looking at photos of a murder scene. While I’m sure it will be restored, very little of the original car will likely make it into the final result.
You are right. The “regular’ convertible was the Cabriolet which had the full windshield frame of the coupe with the edge trimmed to take the folding top.
Needs to be a buried treasure.
A verifiable piece of junk.
Albeit very expensive and clearly desired junk.
One (poor) man’s junk is another (rich) man’s project car.
That is a Speedster, not a cabriolet.. hence the price
Pretty roached, but it will be restored. All the sheet metal is available for these
If you replace the metal and all other bits & pieces, is that a restoration?
Or are you just building a replacement car to attach the VIN plate to. Maybe the VIN plate is only the restoration.
Market is not that bothered if the result looks new and this will. People wanting preserved cars and provenance will look elsewhere and pay more but any 356 Speedster will find its owner.
There is profit in this car. Everything available and speedster is the simplest of all 356 Porsches.
Referencing that other site – Bring an Excavator.
Or the other site Bring a Backhoe
A good friend had one, he completely restored it and it looked like you could hang it on a wall at a museum. I joked that when he parked in my garage the value of my house doubled! Sold it for north of 350k…
How much of the original will be the restoration?? Bring a dumpster
Doesn’t matter. ALL the sheet metal will be brand new, I bet most of the frame new too, so how can you call this an original car and sell it for 200 grand? That is fraud, no better then a new reproduction at a quarter of the price. (which would be a much better car BTW) It all goes to show that too few people have too much money. This craziness proves that.
No separate frame on these, which makes it even more expensive and time consuming. Craziness personified.
It is a shame that some rich guy with too much money is going to pay people a decent living price to restore this car. Just a total waste giving away that money for no good use.
Jim S
Excellent point my friend.
I have the top bid so far,,,please, please, and caution, I have more money than you can think of,,,,,,apparently. All they really need is the script on the back,,,well worth it.
Hey, you gonna post this foolishness, I’M having some fun with it,,,I think about that,,what it would be like to spend 9 years worth of social security payments on an item like this. Puts it in a different perspective, huh?
I dunno about you, Howard, but 9 months of SSA will buy us a 50gallon tank of diesel if we shop around…!
Boy howdy, Nev, got that right. I sold my semi when fuel went over $1.49/gal.( ’93) and haven’t missed it one bit.
Howard A
I just sold my wife. I figure with no more trips to the beauty salon, the supermarket, the mother-in-law’s or her girlfriends, my fuel bill will be far more reasonable. I will shop for beer and pizza once a month. All good here. ;-)
So, Ward William,
as Henny Youngman said “Take my wife-Please!” ?
Owned two. Restored one and sold it for a healthy profit. Junked the other one. Want to guess what I think of my decision on the “other one” now?
Bobhess
U Owned two wives or rusted out used to be Porsches LOL
How many years has it been sitting? 30? 40? Why wasn’t this pulled out its hole when the prices started going through the roof? The worst shape/highest price ratio is off the charts.
Someone at BHCC just snapped a pencil not being able to snag this horribly neglected pot of gold.
Whoever restores it will end up basically building a new shell out of new sheet metal parts. The suspension and mechanical parts can all probably be restored/rebuilt, and it look like even the side curtains are laying in the car. But what a disaster this thing is! Every moving part and every part that can be disassembled will be welded solid by rust. And that’s aside from whatever horrors were wreaked on it before it was parked there in the mud during the Reagan administration.
what.a.piece.of.crap.
fill a swimming pool with EVAPO-RUST and let it soak for a couple weeks. It will be fine!
Yeah, I can hear it now,,”oh, oh, what happened to the Porsche?”
Something strange is happening in the car world lately, I can’t put my finger on it… People online are trying to sell worn 1980’s Chevy Suburbans for $70,000, Ford Mavericks for $80,000, and 1970’s Ford Broncos for $450,000…. I really wonder if people are actually buying these vehicles… And why???…
Well, it might have something to do with that in Spring 2020 there was about $4 trillion in circulation and now there is in excess of $21 trillion…Now, if only there were 5 times as many interesting cars.
Hey Tom, fear not, I think it’s all a crock of baloney. Whilst I agree with you about something happening, my mom, may she rest in peace, said, “believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see”, I believe an old carnival midway thing, and that was even before the innernet[sic]. We rarely see the final selling price, the number of bidders can easily be fudged, and many times, is a fraction of the asking price, they’re just too embarrassed to say what it REALLY was.
I also read, people with money today have run out of things to spend it on,( can you imagine?) and no more evident than here in Colorado,,coming from Wisconsin, anyway. These auctions on TV are nothing more than giant “shills” for the aging car hobby, and all dramatics, IT’S HOLLYWOOD, BABY!!! And that’s fine,,except, the general public now thinks all relics that vastly resemble the auction cars are suddenly worth a ton of money. THAT’S what’s “happening” in the classic car hobby. If we live long enough, it will fizzle, like all the “get rich quick” schemes we’ve seen over the years.
Oh I hear you buddy — I’m a screenwriter and my partner is pretty seasoned at knowing how Hollywood works — except look at BaT prices themselves…. that’s all real and getting really ridiculous.
The high bid may seem nuts to some of you but please try to remember that Speedsters go for big bucks. Hagerty values a base ’57 Speedster at $182k (#4) up to $422k (#1). This is an amazing vehicle to find in someone’s backyard regardless of the condition. Imagine spotting this while peeking over your neighbor’s fence! They are still out there guys…
Makes the $ 70,000 non runner almost look like a deal:-)
Did I read the current bid right??
I doubt the bid is verifiable
Will take a lot to restore but I sort of understand why someone will do so, nostalgia for our misspent youth. These cars have always been desirable.The price kills it for me however, no way am I giving up that much for a rusty basket case.
We restored these in the 1970s at the Paddock in Knightstown Indiana. At that time parts were scarce and we hand made all our panels. Metal brakes, tin snips, a variety of hammers and sand bags, and an English Wheel. Took a lot of time but we did it. I was 19. If any of you recall the THE PADDOCK, Muscle Cars Parts House, this was before Jim had the brain child to sell the parts instead of restoring cars. Jim was a Master Craftsman and a genius! Me I became a school teacher!
we drove thru Knightstown about every other weekend visiting my dads parents and brothers in dublin, and cambridge city. where was the Paddock, I seem to remember seeing a sign some where.
The original where I worked and the later became the parts house was two blocks north of US40 on the he corner of Harrison and Warrick. Later it moved to US 40 on the West side of town next to the Railroad Tracks. A new owner put up a new facility on SR 109 and the overhead caused it to close.
Another very expensive German Shale Mine! I always thought the cars were made of steel not platinum!😱
C’mon, guys, its a Speedster!, even has the original side curtains laying inside. It’s not for everyone, but if you have a great shop connection and some bucks this could be an exciting project!
It’s not fair we readers criticize other’s reasons why they sell or buy. It’s their choice . All most all of us when sell something we try to sell high and when buy, we buy at the best low price. The value is in the buyer’s eye as is in the seller’s perception. I would make a bet all of us have made purchases that we regret deeply; yet, on the other hand we have made purchases that we thought that we hit the lottery. Be mindful of your comments, they impact everyone in different ways who read them. What I see as a pure art form and you see it pure junk, be respectful .
C’mon guys! It’s a Speedster! Even has the original side curtains laying inside. If you have a good experienced shop and some bucks to keep it going it could be a really fun build!
14 bids from the same bidder in 2 days? I smell a rat!
Seller has 0 feedback, just became an EBay member this year.
When the city fathers cite the owner for this eyesore.
“But it’s a TREASURE!”
What kind of family would leave this outdoors? It’s like chaining your dog and moving away!
As has been implied, there’s no such thing as “cabriolet” Speedster. Short story- I bought one from a friend in the 60s for $400- well rotted underneath- drove the hell out of it for a year, and sold it back to the same friend for $400.
Those were the days…
Bought a Speedster from a friend in the 60s for $400, drove the hell out of it for a year, sold it back to the same guy for $400.
Those were the days.
“While heavily oxidized, the good news is that all major components appear to be present and everything is still fully assembled.” The same can be said about the wooly mammoth they found in Siberia!!!
Jesse Mortensen I’d like to know what articles get the most response at years end … maybe the top 10 =]
It does seem that when the “rusty” Porsche’s are on display, the comments fly!!!
As the owner of a not rusty 97′ 986 & a rusty 63 Parisienne convertible, I like ALL drop tops!
Even old rusty ones too expensive for my pocket book!!
For what a restoration would cost and three plus years of your time you could buy one built ready to go. Check out labor and materials cost at todays over priced rates.
We had a sign in the restoration shop where we did 356s
THEY RUST WHILE YOU SLEEP!
The Paddock
Didn’t the supposed “James Dean Porsche” transaxle recently sell for upwards of 400 grand?
You could buy this, claim it was Dean’s clutch pedal, and retire.
I’ll take Duster 340 for $11000 please Alex….
I’d rather have the red one. Thank you very much. At my age I don’t have the time (or money) to wait for this kind of restoration and I could care less about profit. I come from a time when cars were about the fun and not so very much about making the big bucks.
Speedster ! Someone will buy it !
Just another pile of rust!!!
Reminds me of a Cheddar Cheese.
Dust in the wind you sand blast that thing it would be gone
funny why someone would even think about restoring it
This reminds me of an XK120 that I guy I knew bought out of a yard in New England and trailered back to central Virginia thirty-five years ago. When he got home, there was little left on the trailer beyond an engine, a transmission, a battery and a back axle housing. The rest had disintegrated and blown away with the wind.
Seller pulled the auction. Looks like their “advertisement” on E-Bay worked.
Bought a 1955 356 model in about 1982 for around $1500.00. At the time I rebuilt VW’s and considered it the ultimate VW. Removed and detailed the motor, replaced the interior and went at the underneath surfaces with a hand wire brush and rattle cans. Finally got tired of doing that every 3 months,and was glad to sell it. Not sorry cause it was a time and money pit, and just an old car which I had several of at that time.
Listing ended with no actual bids.
@mike – Most likely a deal was made offline.
Either Wayne Carini or Gullwing Motors bought it
Sorry to see in this condition.You would have to pick this up extremely carefully. Looks like a tattered tarp on the ground. Good luck and happy motoring.
Cheers
GPC
We never like your car no matter how much you pay us to massage it! It can always be lower,louder,faster, a differrent shade of your favorite color! AND, we treat everyone’s car like its a Deusie or a Delage! Your dream is priceless!$$$$$$$$$$