From Beast to Beauty: Story of a Rare Porsche 356

With a Lot of Love, There Is Potential to Find Greatness in Almost Any Car

In 1977, Porsche lover and determined do-it-youself-er Kevin Murray, who was recently profiled by Chicago’s Daily Herald, purchased a rather ugly, unrestored Porsche 356. In his own words, the “baby-poop brown” color was appalling and the car needed many things done to it. However, with $1,000 in hand,  he made the deal and acquired the 1954 Porsche 356, which also came with a load of spare parts.

For years, Murray brought the car to various Porsche meet-ups in his area and almost always won the not-so coveted “ugliest Porsche” award with his rough new ride. However, that didn’t deter him from seeing the potential in it. Overtime, Murray began performing a self-prompted restoration–if you could call it that. He put in seats that didn’t match, random patches of carpeting and threw just about any sporadic part at the car to keep it running.

One day, a fire in the car’s carburetor started and Murray rushed to put it out with the only extinguisher he had, a can of Diet Coke. This incident Prompted him to start the process of an actual restoration, so he did.

Years later, his 356 is near-flawless with a gorgeous interior and proper exterior paint, among other things. Murray has also traded in his ugliest Porsche award for multiple showings at coveted events like the Geneva Concours dElegance. His car is noted as one of less than 25 examples of a 1954 356 world-wide, making it extraordinarily rare.

Another example of a determined owner and a workable canvas — even if it started in baby -poop brown.