I'm more active on the water cooled side of the house but have always wanted to get into an air-cooled Porsche as well so with that said...

I've been informed that a body shop owner here in OKC has a 1962 (?) S-90 that he is willing to part with some time down the road. What I'm trying to get a grasp on is what are these cars worth/sold for and what is all needed to get these cars up and running? The current state of the car is basically pieces as I've been told by the owner. Motor is being rebuilt and the body has been stored after it was sandblasted. Have not seen the car nor does he have pics and no chance to take a look at it for a month or so yet because of the recent wave of storms we've had here in Oklahoma City. He's willing to sell car in 'un-assembled' or put back together. Just a random quote he said would be roughly $15K...

What does this sound like to the more familiar 356 crowd? What things are notable items to look for especially for something like a S-90. Should I avoid this all together and get something that is already up and running or the 356 easier to get put together and up and running?

Lastly are there any specific forums for 356's that are worth me reading into?

Any information is appreciated!

 

So many variables its hard to say - might be a decent deal, maybe not. A good engine rebuild might run $8-12K, depending. Paint, interior, lots and lots and lots of bits and pieces can really add up. I assume the car is a coupe (open cars go for a big premium). In any case, its a "project" and would take a lot of time and probably lots of money to get her on the road. Even if its "worth" it, you need to decide if that's how you want to spend a lot of time.

The best, by far, resource on 356's is The 356 Registry. If you have an interest in 356s, JOIN! It's only $35/year, they have a fantastic magazine. Meanwhile, for free, the 356 Registry forum is here: http://www.356registry.com/forum/

And the Registry website (not all of which is accessible to non-members) is here: http://www.356registry.com/

Lots of books available, but as a start I would definitely pick up "Buying, Driving & Enjoying the Porsche 356", by James Schrager (here: http://www.rpmautobooks.com/book1.html, and I think Amazon has it).

 

Thanks, Jim for the information. No idea if it's a coupe but assuming as such and hoping so as well! Also, not sure who is doing his motor rebuild but that's already being taken care of and hopefully done so correctly.

I will look into the 356registry forums as I may or may not get this one I will always be on the search and have interest in owning a 356 some day!

 

The really important aspect of these cars is the body. Rust is extremely common: in the floor pan, battery box, door bottoms, longitudinals, and so on. It can be very expensive to fix. All of the panels, i.e. doors, hood, and rear decklid, were hand fitted to the bodies with lead at the seams, so making sure they are right is important. It is at the body shop for a reason. Best case just for a paint job, but rust or accident damage is very likely.

The mechanicals are much easier and cheaper to deal with. Be careful about the engine rebuild. Many people think because the engines are similar to VW's that they are easy to redo. That's wrong; there is so much to mess up.

It is a good idea to have someone knowledgeable help you evaluate the car. 356's can be so much fun or a money-pit nightmare.

 

Thanks for your input. And the car isn't at the body shop it's the owner who owns a body shop he also owns another 356 so it's not just some very random guy with a rust bucket of a 356!

 

It could be a bodyshop owner with a rust bucket of a 356. The good news is that its sand blasted and bare, and you can see exactly where the rust was. The bad news is that its sand blasted and bare, and been stored that way. Now every nook and cranny could have a layer of surface rust on it and be pitting away.

For a price reference, we paid $22k for ours in disassembled but supposedly complete state, BUT with the body and paint done. After that, there's been many many more thousands spent on it.

If I were you and the car looked good rust wise I'd negotiate for the seller to complete the body work and paint as part of the purchase price. $20k with body and paint complete with your approvals along the way.

Good Luck.