Parked Since ’80: 1960 Porsche 356B Roadster
If I were in the market for a 356 project, I probably wouldn’t buy this one. I wouldn’t mind dealing with the seller though. He purchased the car in 1977 and is the third owner. He is very upfront about all the issues in his auction listing and even states because of the limited auction timeframe he has set the reserve and buy-it-now prices high for the first go around and will then relist the car with more realistic numbers on the second. He might not have to do that though because there appears to be some serious interest in this roadster. That’s understandable though considering that this is as close to a Speedster as you are going to get for under a $100k. The car is located in Washington, D.C. and is listed here on eBay.
This Porsche was supposedly parked in 1980 because of a bad master cylinder. The engine may have run then, but the body was already rusty. A new floor pan had been put under the car and some body work had already done at that point. The seller is realistic about the quality of the work though and mentions that some of it will need to be redone because the door gaps are not right on one side. We have seen much worse brought back from the dead though so that is definitely not a deal breaker for the hardcore Porsche guys. Personally, I’d want something without potentially botched rust repairs, but I suppose that living on the western side of the States has spoiled me.
Back in the engine room you will find a later 1600C, but the original 1600 Super is included as well as a 90 horsepower S-90! The extra engines add a lot of value here because they are worth a pretty penny by themselves. There are also two transmissions included. The original one is out of the car, but is said to be rebuilt. So, you will have lots of options when it comes time to put this car back together. You could return everything to stock spec or you could put the original drivetrain in storage and build yourself a mild hot rod. That’s probably what I would do, but I also buy cars to drive them, not for their investment potential.
Anyway, I wish this seller luck. He seems like a straight shooter and this is obviously a highly desirable offering, so there is no doubt in my mind that he will get top dollar for it. I only wish that every car listed for sale online was presented this well. Sellers would get full market value and there would be more happy buyers out there. Some of the mystic of a barn find is the mystery of the unknown, but when you are spending this kind of money, it’s probably wise to know everything you can about the car.
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Comments
This does look like a worthwhile car, and the seller is, as you say, commendably honest about it. For a non-fanatic like myself, his BIN price is baying at the moon, though I suspect some Porsche fan will make an offer close enough to get his attention.
Lots of work, but at least the majority of the pieces seem to be there and, for the diehard purist the matching numbers on engine and transaxle are a major plus. If one had the time and money, this seems like a good restoration candidate. And these are quite nice to drive.
For me, it makes me gravitate back toward the K-G below. Same principles — and origins! — for a LOT less money!
A 356B Super Roadster with 2 more part-engines thrown in, one a Super-90, is going to be a very tempting lot for many Porsche people, and with 61 bids and 471 watching there’s lots of interest.
The seller points out the limitations in where the car came from (MA.) and how he replaced the floors decades ago and that the work wouldn’t meet the high standards of today. It doesn’t get much more honest than that.
Also lots of large detailed pics and how his reserve is very high but if it doesn’t sell he will relist it “with a much lower reserve price, but without a buy-it-now price.”
He’s giving away his strategy, but with the red hot 356 market being what it is I doubt he will get anything but the top of the market anyway, especially with those two extra engines. If I had this lot and was looking for the maximum retirement nest egg I think I would sell the extra engines separately, which is what the buyer will likely do anyway.
Unfortunately for him the 356Bs are at the bottom of the desirability list among the 356s. But if I were going to have a 356 it would be this car or a 356C, which have better technology and performance than the early ones that people want so much.
With only 1,529 Drauz bodied super roadsters built this is a highly desirable car. Drauz was not as good at rust proofing as Reuter. But Reuter was not by any means the best. I wish I had the time and money to take this on!