What to do, what to do? '62 356 S Cabriolet - Page 2

CountD · 03-21-2015, 06:31 AM

I would probably put the car up on stands and probe the underside. Get it super clean to see what you've got. Don't paint it. Leave it. But by inspecting the underside you'll get an idea. I'd take care of all the surface rust ASAP and treat it correctly. The 356 undercoating is really crude. I've heard you can clean it up really well and spray it down with WD40 or something similar and it may soften up a little.

ficke · ficke's Garage

Very cool car and what a fun experience to find it and get it running, thanks for sharing the story and pictures.

CountD · 03-21-2015, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porschenut66

Thanks for all the input guys. I've pretty much decided to just give her a good detail this weekend. I took her out on the road today for about 30 minutes, up to about 50mph...after putting new tires on her yesterday.

I forgot to mention that putting new tires on it was the super-intelligent, right thing to do. Make sure the brakes are up to snuff. Bleed them out with new ATE.

The more I look at this car the more I want to drive it. Put some photos up when you get it nice and clean.

porschenut66 · 03-22-2015, 05:26 AM

As of last night my wife wants me to sell it. I love it, and was such a cool find. I think she's crazy, but happy wife, happy life as the saying goes. I'm going to clean her up today and get her looking better. Anyone have an idea of true market value? Only one repaint (color change from ivory) in 53 years (done in '81) and new front seat covers and carpet done at that time. Paint job was done very well where car was disassembled and sprayed, then put back together...not a cheap mask & shoot. Motor and tranny are original and numbers matching, and engine was rebuilt in '93 and has about 23,000 miles since. Very little rust on underside, none (surface only where paint has chipped) on exterior body panels, doors, jambs, etc...top is the original and has a tear in the fabric below the window. She drives great and has tons of oomph. I know I will regret this but I guess I'm taking offers...will post pics after cleaning later today. Spread the word. Thx guys.

porschenut66 · 07:18 AM

Last owner owned from 1975 until now...

CountD · 03-22-2015, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porschenut66

As of last night my wife wants me to sell it. I love it, and was such a cool find. I think she's crazy, but happy wife, happy life as the saying goes. .

Man, can't you sell the Jag or something? Can't you sell the '76 S? I would part with the 911 first. Can't you convince her that you're going to drive it this summer? Sell in the winter of 2015?

There's gotta be something you can do.

porschenut66 · 03-22-2015, 06:02 AM

She sees it as paying off our river house...lol. She likes the 911...she doesn't "get" this one...said same thing when I had my 65 SC coupe too.

porschenut66 · 03-22-2015, 06:03 AM

CountD...what do you think she's worth (fair for everybody)?

vracer · vracer's Garage

[QUOTE=porschenut66;8541439she doesn't "get" this one[/QUOTE]

Wives don't get it. (See my original post about my Roadster.) If YOU want to keep it, you'll have to re-educate her on the prestige of owning a piece of art, time capsule like this. btw, it sounds like you have a "hand throttle" on the dash. They were fairly common on '50s and earlier cars.

porschenut66 · 03-22-2015, 08:36 AM

She's pretty stubborn...LOL. Any idea on value?

CountD · 03-22-2015, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porschenut66

She's pretty stubborn...LOL. Any idea on value?

Yeah, but that's a pretty sweet house. With mortgages at an all-time low the better investment is this car. Paying something off is overrated.

I would say this thing is a driver with a couple of known issues, ie. paint, interior, etc but as you said it runs strong and shifts well, moves quite well, etc. Could probably drive it all the time.

With that said I would say $78-$83K but that's me. You could get a lot more depending on where and when you sold it. The Hershey Porsche swap is only around 4 weeks away, so that would be a cool trip up and see what it gets.

Realistically, I would start high and see where it goes. Who knows in this market.

On second thought, I'd keep everything and sell the 'Vette.

porschenut66 · 03-22-2015, 12:43 PM

LOL...that's probably going up soon as well. We're semi retired and only owe a little on the house. I think her idea is to own everything outright and enjoy life. I own all my toys so there's some cash sitting there. I thought for sure the cabriolet would be worth closer to $125k, just seeing what's on the Market.

CountD · 03-22-2015, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porschenut66

LOL...that's probably going up soon as well. We're semi retired and only owe a little on the house. I think her idea is to own everything outright and enjoy life. I own all my toys so there's some cash sitting there. I thought for sure the cabriolet would be worth closer to $125k, just seeing what's on the Market.

Like I said, shoot high. Try to sell it for what you think it's going to bring. Things are crazy right now. I would shoot for $125K and see if it goes. Worse case is you get to keep it for months until you get what you want.

porschenut66 · 03-22-2015, 06:01 PM

Amen brother...I don't need to sell it, other than making wifey happy. LOL

periodr3 · periodr3's Garage

Could have seen this coming a mile away, first the tease then lift up the skirt to see the rust, finally what do you think I can get for it.... Nice car needs major $$$ worth of refreshing to make car right not worth anywhere near 125k. This is the part of the market will be the first to go as boomers die off. Cool cars but a ***** to drive and for the price many better cars out there (think 89 930 for $90k) that you can have fun with while not loosening your filings.

COLB · COLB's Garage

If it were mine, I would strip it down, deal with ALL the rust, repaint it ivory, and reassemble.

Don't do a concours restoration.

Would be an awesome DIY project, and you would end up with a solid car that would be good to go for decades.

If it was an original paint car, I would be more sympathetic to the "as is" option. But the rust is encroaching -- and if not dealt with, I think you will see the deterioration accelerate over the next few year.

If you don't want to deal with the cost and headache of dealing with the rust, your wife may have the right of it. The "drive the hell out it" crowd doesn't have to deal with the aftermath of the chassis/suspension coming apart at speed.

CountD · 03-23-2015, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by COLB

If it were mine, I would strip it down, deal with ALL the rust, repaint it ivory, and reassemble.

Don't do a concours restoration.

If it was an original paint car, I would be more sympathetic to the "as is" option. But the rust is encroaching -- and if not dealt with, I think you will see the deterioration accelerate over the next few year.

If you don't want to deal with the cost and headache of dealing with the rust, your wife may have the right of it. The "drive the hell out it" crowd doesn't have to deal with the aftermath of the chassis/suspension coming apart at speed.

I am not in the drive the hell out of it crowd. One of the first things I said was to get it up, poke around with an ice pick, see what's up underneath, do some blasting, some small cut-out and patch. First thing I do on a car is deal with the rust ASAP.

I think putting it back to original color would be OK if you weren't nuts about a concours job. Who knows what's under that paint? You would want to get all this done in a few months which I think is possible if you got focused, had an extra $10K around, etc.

TPorsche912 · 03-23-2015, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by periodr3;8542543[B

Nice car needs major $$$ worth of refreshing to make car right not worth anywhere near 125k.[/B]

I totally agree with this after seeing the pans and longitudinals on the car. Having dealt with rust issues on these cars, and seeing what appears to be copious amounts of roof coating spread around under the car, I would say that if you start probing this car you'll find way more damage than $10k would even begin to address.

My original statement about appraising what the car needs to do a proper respray has now been negated by the owners desire to sell the car. Doing anything to this car is going to result in major $$$$'s and is a money pit waiting to happen. My opinion thank you.

If selling the car is the chosen direction, then clean it up and make a few bucks "as is". It is not a gold mine for the owner, and could be far worse with too much investigation.

TPorsche912 · 03-23-2015, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by periodr3; [B

Cool cars but a ***** to drive and for the price many better cars out there (think 89 930 for $90k) that you can have fun with while not loosening your filings.[/B]

This I have to totally disagree with. After I upgraded my 930 to Bilstein Sports, that car was the harshest car to drive since my Lotus Super 7 racer.

The '57 Speedster I am currently driving is one of the sweetest drivers of any of the P-cars I have owned. It is just as capable as my 912 Coupe in the twisties, smooth as silk on good asphalt, and just a real joy to drive. Not sure you can improve much on an early open top Porsche. I'm sure it's due to the original condition of the chassis, and the years of proper maintenance including nearly new Koni's. I don't see the desire to own a proper 356 falling away anytime in the near future.

Look at how many younger folks are choosing to build a Speedster replica. These early Porsche's are timeless cars.

Matt Monson · 03-23-2015, 08:56 AM

Unless you are looking for a retirement restoration project, then I would sell. There's way more than $10k of tin worm and paint work to be done on this car. And given the spousal input, I'm thinking you would have to sell your 911 to finance this AND she would still be unhappy because you didn't pay down the river house.