FastCarNut

....but I don't have a 356. I love the looks of these cars and have been a fan of Porsche for as long as I can remember. I was wondering if my 6'2''-frame would comfortably fit into one of these rolling pieces of art?

RJT

I'm 6'4" and have plenty of headroom, legroom and drive with arms extended almost straight out. Actually more room in the 356 than in our (old) 993!

BTW this is not JoAnne!

Pedro356C

My former 356 was a way more roomier than my 993...pretty small from the outside but very comfortable from the inside...it's easy to ride 3 on the front...preferably you and two female!!!

N.Masco

I'm 6'5" and recently tried on a 356C with sunroof. It was a little tight, but do-able. Definitely do-able without the sunroof.

ToplessInSeattle

I'm 6'2 and as others have noted, I have more room in my Rdstr than my 993. I was amazed because I only drove the Rdstr top down prior to purchase and the windshield header seems to come right across my eye level. Low anad behold, with the top up, I have a surprising amount of headroom. I do nont brush the top with my head at all while I do at times in the 993.

Go for it!

ked

in an old Speedster, w/ the top up, you can't see a damn thing AND you'd best be a jockey... so... don't put the top up, which also means, don't drive in the rain (w/ the top up it gets pretty foggy in there - but it isn't much worse than the top up anytime, except for the water rising up to your socks - pull the body plugs!)
in a late speedster, you had slightly more headroom, but just that - they were slightly less bad.
in a roadster (inc D), you got more windshield (but not more de-fogging, so, net loss), roll-up windows AND more top - this made the interior water-carrying capacity even greater...
cabs were always "total cars" lotsa interior space, headroom & even functional in the wet & cold - that's why the Germans bought them & never understood why the Americans bought any other open car - until they visited CA.
coupes - now THESE had interior space - enough for a moderately tall dude wearing a Homberg! and great for racing & ralleying in Bad Weather (meaning, the Continent, mostly).

I have a friend 6'4" who's owned 2 '89 Speedsters. he has realized that the cut down windshield aimed the windstream right into the middle of his forehead. now, he has a '64 SC... Coupe.

RJT

6'4" Robert in our Speedster. His head is way above the windshield....

FastCarNut

...so a coupe seems to be a good choice. I would like to post a follow-up question to the obviously knowledgable visitors of this forum :

In an effort to get something resembling a handle on 356 pricing I came across the following : Click . I was thinking about the later model because I like the ability to stop that comes with disk brakes. Keeping in mind that 1 GBP is currently selling for about $1.90, how realistic is this price guide?

Pedro356C

You can get them cheaper in the US (the Carreras are more expensive than listed though!) but forget about price guides...go straight to the market in order to "feel reality"...in my opinion you can get an average almost trouble free 356C for around $15K...a very nice driver would cost you between 20 and $30k depending on originality, matching numbers and general condition...I'd say $25-$30K would buy you an excellent, well sorted driver that will make you proud...

hoffman912

Holy Sh*t -Roberts back!!!!!

ventoGT

I second what others have said about headroom--I'm almost 6'2 and have more than enough room in my 62 356 Coupe. Price wise, you really just have to keep up with what's goin on...join the 356 Registry, and get the book "Buying, Driving, and enjoying the Porsche 356" by [i think it's] Jim Schrager.

Sports Car Market magazine is a great tool for quick pricing guides as well, but condition is all over the place with these cars and as such, the spread between cars is huge. My recommendation to you is to join the Registry [www.356registry.org], keep an eye on their classifieds, look on Hemmings.com, follow some of the links on the Registry site for 356 Vendors and you'll get a rough idea of the market.

I would recommend getting a relatively rust-free, solid driver car and tinker with it for a while...mechanical and body condition good but not perfect, paint decent enough but not perfect, who cares about numbers matching, etc....and then decide if you want to move up and get a more serious car, or just spend some money on the one you have that runs and drives well. Top money cars will likely make you not drive it for fear of getting a scratch or some such nonsense, and these cars have very specific character; it's a sin not to drive these cars IMO. I love my tub, but they aren't for everyone...get a good driver and see if you like it, and if you want to spend more to get a really nice coupe or a cabrio, go for it

RJT

And JoAnne is gone..... Nah not from here!!!
Where the heck you been Harry?

J

hoffman912

working

after some issues in june, i parked her for a while. had a pin hole in the float, causing the right bank to overflow fuel everywhere (these are brand new Harry Bieker rebuilds too!).. i had another set of solexes that i stole a float from and was running well again. i was just so bummed that i didnt feel like driving it for a while.. well that on top of a heavy work schedule. i have been driving her more and more since i took her out of the garage again a few weeks back.. now i know what i was missing and am going to go head long into her pretty soon. Ive been lurking on the 'list but have been pretty quiet. now that i have the bug again, im really excited to do some suspension work, and some tastefull r-gruppeish stuff to her.

Brett Matthews

Menno,
I'm [only] 5' 6''. One of the first cars I learned to drive in, was my Dad's '56 A coupe. I still have that car, he passed in '92.

The problem I have, is being able to see well enough over the dash! I'm thinking about putting an inch to inch-and-a-half blocks under the seat rails! Lotsa space above my head.... Inches!

Dad was a couple inches taller than I, and I never heard him say anything bad about head room....

Now, the only problem I ever heard from him, was about how to put any passengers in the back seat.... With ANY level of comfort.....

Steve Jensen

Brett - nice to see another inherited 356! Dad bought mine new in '65