A little polish and ya got yourself a driver! (59 Coupe)

I can't imagine what the cost of restoration will be.  Perhaps it's worth the price to have the VIN and the engine/transmission, but from the looks of it and how much metal will have to be cut out and replaced I wouldn't want to be representing it as an original car.  Then again the whole ethics of original/restored/replica cars is a can of worms I probably shouldn't have opened.

 

It's kinda like George Washington's axe.  The head's been replaced a few times and the handle has too, but it's still his axe.

Drop $15k on the vin/tranny/engine as represented here and plaster them all on a fiberglass body.

What would that be called?

Replica? Restoration? Custom?

 

hmmmm

 

On another note, how on earth does that even happen to the front end?

It's at a junk yard, so I assume someone asked for a front clip which was then cut from the car but they never bothered to pick it up. Or they saw it, laughed and walked away.

I bet Rod Emory could turn that into a mean Emory outlaw. 

God himself couldn't save this hunk of ****.

 

Unless this lump of rust has some unique history, who'd waste the time, effort, and huge stacks of money trying to work with the 2% of leftover salvageable parts when you can buy a complete, drivable 59 coupe for $50-60k?

Good point... what a shame

THAT'S SWEET!!  wish I had it hear for a week or 2. I would love to make a glass coupe top for my speedster. hmm think itt'll buff out?
better use a high speed buffer and some super cut 3M compound

OMG...

What a rip off!

 

I just bought a 1956 356A coupe two week ago, garaged it's whole life, runs well. Has been painted an awful light grey color (not a Porsche color) -- and I paid $33,500. 

 

I hope nobody buys this car with the expectation that a cheaper starter car is going to save them some money in the long run! 

 

Cheers

What will most likely happen.. Is  they will build a new cab from  aftermarket sheet metal parts That are out there and only save the K and the beam and the vin plates and  anything they can salvage and restore.  I would then take the leftovers and have a burial and a head stone put up  with Rusty on it (may he rust in peace)

I don't know if all that would be cost effective for a coupe, but for any of the 356 open cars it would probably be worth doing.  I have often wondered if those speedsters that were on the carrier hit by the train north of L.A .a few years back were rebuilt.

Whoaa full credit to person who put the car up on the hoist..

 

An operational safety issue to then risk all to get under it and then take photos ...

Well, if you ever come to sell it, please give ma a call. That was a complete gift and you've been very lucky. 

I looked for something like that for around six months and the best I could find was a $40k car that needed floors and crossmember replaced. 

 

Seriously, get in touch if you decide to sell it. 

 

Project 356As sell for around $20-$25k these days. The reason the front has been cut like that is to make complete resto easier and also you can now buy the front end section that has been cut off the car As a new replacement part.  

 

I agree with most that there would probably be little saved other than the roof and numbers. I inquired what it would cost for European collectibles to restore something like this - around $100k and to be honest, you probably would get your money back with the current state of madness in the 356A market and knowing the quality of their work.  

 

However, they could do anything for at least a year and a a half as they are backed up with ten or more projects on the books. 

If you're looking for a possible convertible project, this has huge possibilities and you would get your $$$ back (depending on how much it goest for...)

http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/3791000171.html

An IRS auction of a '60 convertible. 

356 prices (all of them) have officially rounded the bend into the surreal. When I started with my toy plastic copy in 2000, real speedsters were in the $40K neighborhood, and replicas were about 1/2 that. Now, good replicas are about 1/5- 1/10th the cost of originals, just as the supply of really nice A/C flat 4 parts, etc. is drying up.

 

There's a void here, waiting for somebody to fill-- the world needs an off-the-shelf, 2L+, air-cooled, flat-four with a reliable stand-alone injection/ignition system. Something cool-- dual plug or something similar.

 

Next up for insane pricing: 911s. Long hoods have already jumped the shark.

And 21 window VW vans.

http://www.oldbug.com/jdavis21.htm

$110,000 OBO

Yeah. I've got a '64 panel with deluxe trim. I'm hoping that (just this once) I guessed right.

Stan,

I've met Jeanie. You've already guessed right once.

Terry, you're 100% correct, but finding Jeanie was just sheer dumb luck. Getting her to agree to marry the 22 y/o version of myself (you know, the one who knew everything and was going to change the world) was the real coup. God was merciful to me.

Pre901,

Thanks! I was trying to explain to my wife that the car was a good deal!! Even after showing her your post, she looks at me quizically

 

I'm actually going to have the car restored, but will be putting in a 210-hp 911 4 cylinder motor and likely doing an independent rear suspension with 911 trailing arms. Far from a purist's car, but I think it will be fun. Externally, I'm going to make it look like a Carrera GT -- including speedster seats, GT deco, louvered engine lid, etc.

 

I'll be sure to post photos.

 

Regards,

Anand

Anand-

 

I'd love to climb under, in, and around that Polo 911/4 when you get it done. At least post pictures. That's my ultimate power-plant choice.

Stan,

I forgot to mention in my last post, but the way you write is incredible. I loved your description of 356 prices -- to be able to write that way is a gift!

 

You should definitely come visit and drive the car for yourself -- always happy to share with a fellow SOC member! I've always maintained that there's no point having something nice if you can't share it with your friends!

 

There's an elaborate story to the 911/4 motor -- I'll send you a dialogue with the details :-)

 

Cheers,

Anand

 

Anand-

 

I'd welcome the chance to even be in the same zip-code as a Polo 911/4. Where are you located?

 

I've been in touch with Dean Polopolus regarding an engine, so I'm keyed in on the finer points of what this is. "Special" doesn't cover it.

 

In the end, for me it didn't seem to make sense for me (at least at the time). The prices Dean was shooting me were perilously close to the cost of an entire (and really nice) 911, at least at the time I was checking-- so I chickened out and did a "nice" Type 1. That was two engines ago, and I could've bought the Polo for what I've got in the Type 1 stuff. Hindsight is 20/20, and all that.

 

There'll be people howling about cutting up a perfect "A" coupe, and all that: ignore them. What you are talking about is a full-on, Emory-style outlaw that will be cool the day you finish it, and remain cool 30 years from now when your grandkids are sitting in the seat.

A Polo 911 4 would be the ultimate! And I know what you mean Stan; with what a big type 1 costs (done right with Nickies, dual plugs and a dry sump), one of these isn't that far off...Al

Speaking of dual plugs, Al...

 

Ultimate Powdercoat has a converted aftermarket distributor using the Nissan cap and rotor on their site. However, I contacted Cliff, and he isn't doing them any more. There's some 912 guys doing converted Bosch distributors (with two caps, and a gear set-up, etc) which cost north of $2500, and interest me not in the slightest.

 

I know crank-fire is the way to go, but it just leaves me flat. Everybody draws their line in a different spot-- mine is with a solid-state ignition module inside a distributor. I don't want EFI, I don't want crank-fired ignition, and I don't want anything water-cooled on my speedster.

 

I'm a retro-grouch.

 

So... while we're talking about what the world needs-- MY little world could use a nice 356/Type 1/Type 4 dual-plug distributor with an adjustable curve.

 

Do you know of anything?

Stan- I talked to him a couple of years ago about his dual plug distributor and while he didn't come out and say as such, I got the feeling there were "issues". He had a motor supposedly all ready to fire up (they just had to bolt it into his son's car, iIrc), and was supposed to get back to me once it was running as I was interested, but I never heard from him, and he didn't return my emails. Al