boost feen

Myself and the guy that lives next door to me just got a white 1962 356 coupe with black interior no sunroof! He spotted it on his UPS route and we talked to this older Swedish couple and purchased it from them. It was running up until about 15 years ago. It was sitting here in Northern CA for the last 20 years un-registered under the overhang of a barn. Anyway the car is very clean for sitting no damage at all everything is pretty much there. The paint is very bad some surface rust here and there appears to be NO body rot anywhere. The motor turns over well with a new battery so were cleaning the fuel tank and lines and were going to get her fired up. It has dual carbs and the motor should start up later this week. I hope to be cruising it to work out the dust and cobwebbs from her this week. I think it is just below what excellence would call SO SO

What would this car bring us $$$$ as we want to sell it in a few weeks? I dont know much about 356's or values, only what Ive learned from reading excellence for the last 10 years!

boost feen

Heres a few pics of the car taken this afternnon. Let me know what you guys think?
Thanks - Shawn

Pedro356C

This is the kind of car I'd take the eBay route...

Just a tip...the "deluxe horn ring" if in good condition is worth about $400...

Good luck...hopefully some enthusiast will embrace this "love job"...

camchain

The drum brakes make it appear that the car is a T-6 356B. It could be 1962 or 1963 model year BUT...............The SC model designation on the rear and the dashboard arrangement (ashtray surround and glove box door) are definitely from a 356C(SC) of 1964 or 1965 model year. Either way it's a great car well worth saving. Do you want to sell the horn ring?

Leader

The car, once it's put into pretty good condition, should be worth around $40k. - maybe a little more, maybe a few grand less.
"Pretty good condition" would include a new interior and (gulp) an expensive paint job, not to mention a full mechanical overhaul (everything working as built).
"Restoring 356s for profit" is often an oxymoron, even when you can do most of the work yourself.
Unless, of course, you "stole" that little white tub from that nice old couple.

boost feen

From the interiors dash and condition I would say the ash tray arrangment are original, as well as the rear badge as I cant find any other holes or body work to cover old holes so I think it must be an SC and a little later than I thought. How can I find out for sure? Inside the drivers door there is 2 badges that have some #'s staped into them will this tell me? Or is there a vin code somewhere? Thanks

Leader

The top metal plaque inside the driver's door jamb will show the VIN. It's a simple six-digit number (no letters) that will tell us what year the car is.

jcnesq

Get us the 6 digit VIN (upper plate in the driver-side door jamb) and I can look it up quickly.

camchain

The VIN will be a six digit number that can be found on the id plate on the driver's door hinge plate, on the chassis plate under the plastic front compartment liner next to the spare tire "belt loop" and just above the "belt loop" stamped in the metal. Post the number and we can tell you just what it is.

ked

boost, if the car hasn't been run in 15-20 yrs, & you don't have 356 experience, I'd consider taking it as-is to a reputable expert (which you guys in CA are blessed w/) to evaluate, prep & test. lotsa items must be addressed... if issues arise at start-up, one could incure some costly repairs or damage the car (brakes!). + a good 356 shop can give you an idea of upcoming service & repair issues & confirm the condition for setting a price. if I was just going to flip it on ebay, that would be the way I'd go. indeed, it is an SC, perhaps w/ some non-oem (VW?) style hubcaps over the disc-brake type wheels. as to valuation (mileage?), I'd guess it needs a lot of work (given the door rust, there may be more hiding deep within & underneath) to make it worth $40K. as it sits, it may be worth around $7K, maybe $10K... maybe more if someone gets excited... good luck.

Pedro356C

Hi Ked...that's exactly how much I did guess...if I'm about to list this car on eBay...$7K would be my reserve price...I doubt it would go much beyond this point...I'd be glad with $8K...

PS. The horn ring would be in a separate auction and it will probably get close to $500

ked

Pedro (& all),
I sometimes wonder if most 356 Coupes accurately valued @ under $10K aren't worth more parted-out than complete. I'll reiterate my long-standing opinion that the key to happy 356 ownership is clearly understanding one's own capability, discretionary funds, available time, and intended use.

Schrager's column in the current (July/Aug) Registry issue is another great one (being a 356 restorer AND economist makes sense) - pointing out that one should beware of the market when more and more of the transactions are inter-dealer rather than to end-users. I would advise individuals to be circumspect about flipping-for-profit in the current environment. But I'm biased - I like driven 'em, the rest is gravy.

Pedro356C

Ked...a work of love rather than a profitable business...unless you are as gifted as Jim Kelloggs regarding restoration skills!

art

I'm not a 356 owner or buyer (yet), but I think it is immoral to separate things like the special horn ring just to make a few extra dollars. Not illegal, just not nice. I think keeping the car complete will maximize its value, your karma and your relationship to the next owner. I suppose the next owner could just ***** it out, so you take your chances that you leave money on the table by being nice. Try to sell to someone who will appreciate it for what it is.

boost feen

We have definately come up with the conclusion that we can sell it AS IS for a couple thousand more than we payed. We payed a little less than what it will go for on E-Bay. We will not be parting out this car at all so dont ask. I have new points and 6 volt battery and coil installed. Im going to use fresh oil and an external gas tank to get the dual carb motor to fire up tonight. I'll let you guys know what hapens and give you the stamped #'s that are on the badges. Thanks