Remember when Speedsters were worthless?

[Unobtanium-inc]

Hope everyone enjoys my new article on PCA.

https://www.pca.org/news/2018-04-13/barnfinding-when-porsche-356-speedsters-were-borderline-worthless

---Adam

[frankie08033]

I remember since I had a 1960 Convertible D and a 61 roadster.
The 60 was so rusty I thought it was going to split in half when I drove it!
61 was a bit nicer but didn't get much when I sold them and thought I hit a home run on the 61.

[techweenie]

Yes, I regret passing on the $4000 58 Carrera Speedster I was offered (the engine had been sold off but was available for just another $38000).

[faapgar]

My 1st Speedster was a 59 Carrera.Original motor was gone replaced with a Super 90.I paid $500 for it and it was a race car and no rust.I drove it two years and sold it for $1800 to help make the down payment on my 1st house in 1972.

[Catorce]

No Joke: Bruce Watson (a huge Porsche parts collector in Oregon) says they used to cut rusty speedster tubs up and put them in the dumpster when they were too far gone. Of course, the definition of too far gone was different then than it is now....

[patina]

A good friend of mine who recently passed away owned many Porsches throughout the years and had a ton of great stories. My favorite was when he bought a 56 Carrera Speedster with a spare 4-cam engine for $14k and had to think about it. I believe this was early 80's.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by Catorce

No Joke: Bruce Watson (a huge Porsche parts collector in Oregon) says they used to cut rusty speedster tubs up and put them in the dumpster when they were too far gone. Of course, the definition of too far gone was different then than it is now....

Last time I was at Bruce's he was aghast that I had found a S90 Roadster in Eugene.

---Adam

[Catorce]

^ I have heard him tell that story many times.....

[pmax]

Except for the current high valuation and perceived investment potential, I don't get what else is the big deal with this drop top.
Is it really worth whatever it is now ?

They were borderline worthless at one point.

[nathanbs]

When I sold my dads restored ‘55 speedster approx 10-12 years ago for $171k on eBay it was a record amount for one. We thought they would never be worth more. How wrong we were.

[NYNick]

Originally Posted by pmax

Except for the current high valuation and perceived investment potential, I don't get what else is the big deal with this drop top.
Is it really worth whatever it is now ?

They were borderline worthless at one point.

You can say that about just about anything. Just substitute the asset of your choice for the words "drop top".

[pmax]

Originally Posted by NYNick

You can say that about just about anything. Just substitute the asset of your choice for the words "drop top".

The hours of hobby fun provided by our toys is one measure.

It's worth something independent of what the investment potential is.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by pmax

Except for the current high valuation and perceived investment potential, I don't get what else is the big deal with this drop top.
Is it really worth whatever it is now ?

They were borderline worthless at one point.

The reason Speedster's have reached the heaven like heights in price is because they have become iconic. No real car collection is complete without one. Go into any large collection of varied cars, like a Leno collection and you will find a Shelby, a Speedster, and probably a red Ferrari. Anytime you have multiple groups vying for the same car, the price goes crazy. Why can you buy a 59 Convertible D for half the price of a 58 Speedster, because the D is not iconic, James Dean didn't own a D. It's like the 64 Impala in the 90's, the muscle car guys wanted it, the lowrider guys wanted it, next thing you know a 64 was worth twice what a 62 was worth and four times what a Biscayne was worth.
This is why I drive a Roadster, I've bought and sold many a Speedster, but when I can sell one for twice what my Roadster is worth, well, decision's like that are why I can drive my 356 to my lakehouse in NH.

---Adam

[righteousrags88]

Hey does anybody know if Bruce is still around? I have his numbers saved but seems like the are disconnected now.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by righteousrags88

Hey does anybody know if Bruce is still around? I have his numbers saved but seems like the are disconnected now.

Last I heard he was in poor health, his son was trying to liquidate his stuff.

---Adam