89826

Some conflicting information here:

20-year old average but good restoration
Garaged show car with original paint

I would not paint the car if the paint is original. Lots can be done to recondition paint: the results can be surprising. Original paint can boost the value by many thousands.

black944 turbo

89826, I agree. However most original 356s are in some serious need of restoration (heavy rust, rear end damage, etc) not to mention just plain deteriated paint. That is what I meant by my commonent. If you can find a survivor with enough paint to bring back to life it most certainly will be worth more than the average "driver" restoration.

wiggy

Well I got one of em.

rgs944

Very nice Wiggy. What are the rust problems to look for on a 356? Is some rust to be expected even on a low miliage car of this age? It has a rust hole near the battery.

RJT

longitudinals!

wiggy

They rust everywhere, from the day they are built. The cars are very susceptible to rust, mainly because of how they are welded together. Doors/floors/longitudinals/battery box. Also, lots of these cars are put together with Bondo. Check for consistency of gaps to see if the car was in an accident and take a magnet with you!

ked

"... take a magnet with you!"

better yet, take an expert with you - not any ol' one, but someone who's a sme on 356 chassis restoration. good luck!

check out these dismantling & bodywork photos (looked ok to start with - didn't it?)
http://www.porsche.com/international.../?gtabindex=1#

Kahdmus

"erm, honey.....you know how I said I wasn't going to sell anything else from our portfolio.....?"

rgs944

Will finally be inspecting the car on Fri. I would welcome any 356 guys to PM me your # if I could ask some questions after for during the inspection. I will also post what I find afterwards.

rgs944

OK, finally got a good lookover of the car. Not what described to me. The will need almost a complete restoration. It is a runner and driver but will at the very least need body work and new paint. To do it right obviously would need a complete teardown. In addition to a rust hole by the battery there is rust hanging down from the very center of the car underneath. The rust of the undercarriage looks normal. The seats and carpet are nice. The front hood did blow up during driving and is damaged. All panel lines look OK except for the door. The gap is consistant all around except for the back of the door and rear quarter has a larger gap(both sides). Is the weight of the engine causing some stress that is creating that? Chrome seems to be average and is complete. Front chrome is pited from stones. Glass and top are in good shape. Engine compartment seems to be complete and it suppose to be a good runner and driver. With the new information what do you guys think this is worth?

wiggy

Need pics.

rgs944

Will try to get a few pics of the problem areas on Sat. for evaluation. A 10 ft picture from the side makes the car look really good but it is not nearly that good in person.

ked

rgs, it seems that the closer you get & the more you uncover about this example, the worse the news. a question occurs; how close do you need to get & how much do you need to know to start backing away? {I couldn't recommend the car you describe to ANYONE w/o a comprehensive, professional inspection. for instance, is there proof it hasn't been clipped?}

khadmus, how 'bout trying this line...
"erm, honey, you know our last remaining savings you were about to dump into Glen Beck's Gold Bug collection? well, I found something even better..."

rgs944

I do not think the car has been wrecked other than the hood flying up, at some point the car is worth buying, I am just trying to figure out that point. I am starting to think my original 10k to 15k might be still be a very good buy but not great.

Kahdmus

As a value proposition I think it sounds like a great buy at $15k regardless of what you describe. I think the question is if its a good buy for you, knowing the time, effort and investment that may be required to get the car to where you want it.