Appraise this car.....

You won't buy a new one for $26k - maybe $31k.  Looks like a $22k car - it's Spring time and the west coast.

Nice VS with basic VS appointments & 1915, 7 years old = $18-20K

Great look and obviously well loved. A new one would cost that and more. I agree with you Jim in and around the $20K range but if it's your dream car with everything you want why let it go for a few dollars. We probably overpaid by $3K or $4K just because ours was well sorted had basically everything my wife was looking for. I wasn't aware that the 356 Registry admitted replicas? 

356 Registry decals and badges can be purchased without proof of egotistical vehicle snobbery.

I've noticed a couple of legitimate frowns and raised eye brows because of the Registry badge on my VS...but it's actually displayed as a solemn memorial to the '59 coupe that rotted out from under me...and later adorned the grille on my '61 roadster.

This badge was issued in 1975 along with a note from Jerry Keyser that my coupe was the 92nd 356 to be registered!...Some day I'll auction the badge and note to somebody with a lot of $$ who's 'madder' than I am...and relocate to Florida.

I notice that there is no cooling hole in the firewall, which is found on most Vintage cars with 1915cc engines and is not typically there on cars with 1600cc engines.  Could be that:

• it's an older Vintage built before he started adding the hole.
• it was a home built roller and the builder put a 1915cc engine in it.
• it isn't a 1915cc engine.

No easy way to tell for sure, but sometimes Vintage writes the engine size on the back of the fan shroud.  Use a mirror to view the back of the engine and you may see the size written there.  Below is a picture of the back of the shroud on the 1915cc in my blue car to use an an example.

All the clubs (that I know of) are of the opinion "if it doesn't have a Porsche vin # then it isn't a Porsche" and I understand that. A lot of Porsche owners look down on these cars and really don't get what they're about, and that's fine with me too. We celebrate them for the little plastic abortions that they are, and have much more fun with our cars than they ever do, customizing each to his/her taste, level of authenticity in design and badging, performance and handling. Imagine the stress of driving an authentic 4 cam car (or some other early rarity) on the street and worrying about it getting hit; there would be parts damaged that are irreplaceable. They could be custom machined, but now it's not factory correct. And what would that do to the value of your car? No wonder so many of these cars aren't driven any more. Yoda out...

My bad....I forgot to mention the owner stated it was originally a 1600 and when the engine died it was rebuilt as a 1900. That could explant the lack of the air hole in the firewall. It was rebuilt by a Sacramento bug performance shops, so that is probably a good thing. In a very hot climate like Sacramento the missing air hole could be a problem. Thanks for catching that.

I don't think the price is off by much, considering what I see in the photos. Besides, if the owner thinks he can get it, why not? It's spring, tax refunds are in the mail...

I'll be working in the area in a week. If your friend is still interested and the car is still available, I could take a look at it.

Thanks for the offer Terry. We talked before, I live at Lake Tahoe so I will head down to check it out. Please join us if you can. i will let you know if it happens.

Having only enough mechanical knowledge to be dangerous, can someone explain how the carb set up works without the crossbar connection? 

My take from this discussion is an offer of 19k is fair if it checks out mechanically. If it leaks, bad compression etc. 15k. 

Carb cross bar linkage is there - it's down low under the alternator. If I were offering the car for sale, 25% off asking price "if as advertised" would be considered a waste of both my and your time.  It's going to leak rain water and oil - nature of an air cooled engine.

There is a "crossbar" connection, it's just not the hexbar type that you see on larger Webers.  Look down below the alternator in the engine photo and you will see the silver rod that spans between the carbs and the connection lever near the center.

I googled "Porsche 356 Club of North America" and could find no such organization.  What other less than factual quotes have been made?

The is a 356 Registry Club. I believe this sticker is from that club. I do not believe this car is registered. I looked at the site and they ask for VIN's.

Art---It's "Porsche Club of America"  or PCA for short.

I have a nice PCA badge and a PCA windshield sticker on my VS.  Got 'em off ebay for $50.

The seller says and here it is, copy and paste..." Registered with the Porsche 356 Club of North America."  I believe he did  this way, to try and slide one by on unsuspecting buyers. I do noticed the 356 Registry sticker on the car. When you join the 356 Registry, you can say your in the market to buy, pay your money and get the sticker/badge

BTW I have been a member of PCA, since 1992

The local club in the area is 356CAR:  http://356car.org/

Good group, accepting of replicas. Dave Mitchell, Dale Bates and I have been members. Quite possible that this guy could be a member as well.

Here is the final deal.....I swapped a couple of emails with the seller. He refused to provide any details whatsoever on repairs or upgrades. He claims he has already turned down 3 offers of $25k and is holding out for the $26k. Given the age and associated general wear and tear and bad attitude on the sellers part my advice to my friend is RUN. 

Good advice. There'll always be another.

At that price point, there will be many others.

Keep lookin'

Ted