[blau911]

Ditto on G450X said.
IMHO the notches are an acquired taste. The only thing good about them that might make them more valuable is that the body is the same as the cab, and therefore, the top could be chopped and the car could be made into a cab. At the current cost of a good cab, that could be a bargain. Then again converting to a cab would not be a cheap prospect, and the car would no longer be original. $40k should buy you a good running driving, mostly rust and accident free driver quality 356 coupe. In this case, it would only be buying you a restoration prospect with no pleasure up front except the prospects of future driver and potentially nice restoration after many more hours and thousands are spent. Also, considering it has been sitting so long, the mechanics are a total wildcard. If the appraiser is telling the owner that the car is worth $80k, and she is willing to sell for $40-45k, then tell her to sell it to the appraiser for $40k - and he can fix it and flip it...
It's easy to talk. It's an entirely different thing to come up with $40k knowing that another $20-30k will be necessary to make a car nice.