[overrestored]

overall it looks like a very nice car. Fixing a few minor issues would help you get top dollar... take into account that I have won more than a dozen best of show awards with 356 cars and am stupidly obsessive about 356A cars in particular... (ignore me as you see fit is probably what I should say!)

1)
THE WHEELS. If they are original chrome German Lemmerz or KPZ and were ordered with the car then keep them as that is kinda rare. I suspect though, that they are Brazilian aftermarket because they look too wide and too deep dished. They look like 5x15 rather than 4.5x15. Find a set of original German KPZ or Lemmerz 4.5jx15 (date coded on the face of the rim under the hubcap area)to match the month of the car or one month earlier and a matched set is best... but just set of KPZ or Lemmerz even without being correct is better than brazilian chrome. Don't mix and match brands as they look different from each other. Get this set of german wheels painted the correct very FINE metallic silver finish. if you can see the metallic... it is too big. research the CORRECT silver finish. Add the little wire valve stem retainer clips. This wheel change alone will really help the car look like it did in 1957.


2) DASH
The Tach looks wrong ( I could be wrong)... but I'm not familiar with a tach where the green starts at 2500 and goes to 5500 . The correct 356A normal 1600 tach should have the green going from 2500 to 4500... and the red going from 4500 to 5000. I suspect that perhaps the tach was rebuilt and the face changed. this isn't a big deal... it just stuck out to me because I've paid attention to stupidly fine detail on these cars for the past several decades. It only makes a difference when selling for absolute top dollar... or at a national concours. of any of my remarks... this is the one you can ignore first as it is pretty obsessive.

Take off the steering wheel cover so people can see the wheel. Steering wheel covers... in combination with the chrome wheels...and the weber carb/chrome air cleaners looks too 1980's.. top dollar 356 people don't want that.



3 THE ENGINE
Wrong engine obviously... but the engine appears to have an incorrect distributor for a super 90.
It looks like a VW unit... maybe an 009. Should be a Bosch VJ/VJR BR 18 I'm pretty sure... Carbs should be Solex 40P11's with knecht painted silver wire mesh aircleaners on a super 90. These look like Webers and those chrome air cleaners... well... not right on a 356 and REALLY start setting alarms off in my mind.

Paint the blue coil black... get the correct decal from Brad Ripley. Better yet... find an OG coil... they are a tiny bit bigger diameter... but that again is pretty anal and only the most obsessive 356 buyers at the very top of the food chain will know this.

The long spark plug connectors on the car are nice... they are rare now.


THE TRIM
License light looks like an early repo and a bit too wavy on top. There is a beautiful repro made now... with correct stampings etc.... It could be that I am just seeing something weird in the reflections... of the bottom of the engine lid... if the chrome on top is nice and flat with no waviness or polishing grooves under the chrome you are probably ok and it is just an odd photo.

Check to see that all the light lenses are orig not repo. The car has the correct bumper rubber inside the aluminum trim... great!... this is often wrong now on a lot of cars... nice to see that the ends are formed correctly (by hand)

side mirrors are wrong... and in the wrong location... not much you can do about that though... but it does affect value when searching for top dollar


The car looks like a fantastic specimen... easy to dial in to being perfect. The engine being wrong is bad... but the fact that it is a super 90 is good... so kinda balances a bit especially if it is a CORRECTLY detailed super 90. Europeans won't be your top dollar buyer because of the missing engine though... pretty much an american buyer I suspect.

Details separate the men from the boys on these cars lately... like corvettes. This car has a ton of potential though with just the most minor of fixes. That effort would be paid off in spades.

at the end of the day.. you just want to eliminate things that are wrong... you want the car to have the features and details it came with when new. if a buyer can find something incorrect... they will challenge your price for each little incorrect issue. so the more things you correct... the less likely they are to knock your top dollar price down. Most high dollar buyers will bring an expert 356 guy with them to inspect the car... and all flaws will be pointed out.

the only things I see that can't be easily fixed... are the missing engine and the side mirrors. the rest will be less than 2500-3000 bucks to get right... and add a ton of authenticity to the car.

Cant see the nose of the car in the photos... so didn't make any comments about that or under the car or the trunk etc... but same general message applies to these areas. perfection gets really anal and one person's perfect is another person's average.

Needs correct for 1957 tools for top dollar... and correct jack... and date matched spare... and well... you get the idea!

average speedsters are valued at 208 to 246k according to Hagerty insurance. fixing things moves a car upward very fast pending bondo, gaps, etc.... but missing engine holds back a lot. This car looks a lot better than average if the details are corrected

Wait for the auctions this month before deciding anything a out price... as there are a few 356's for sale in AZ and you will need current information. Speedsters have leveled off in appreciation... and or dropped about 40k in value in the past 6 months (also according to Hagerty insurance.... and depending on year)....so I don't know what the near future holds.

Good luck with the sale.