OUNATE

So this weekend I'm taking a trip to a friend of the families house in Ohio to look at a 61,63 356 that's in pieces at the moment. He can't remember wether it's a 61 with a 63 motor in it or the other way around. I remember seeing the car 10-15 years ago ( in pieces at that time) and it had a new floor pan put in and sat ever sense. It still has some corrosion issues but all the parts are there, drive train, suspension, interior, etc... I'm new to the 356 scene but I was thinking of this car as either a 10-15 year project or a possible investment (turning and parting it out). As of now $2500 has been mentioned for everything and that didn't seem to me like a bad investment. Any words of wisdom from those of you that have done this? I will go investigate on the registry as well. I realize that the 356b is the least desirable but in 30 years when I'm approaching retirement I can only imagine the worth if it's restored.

jcnesq

You should try very hard to find a 356 wrench or expert to go with you. Only someone with experience (a lot more than I have) can tell if this is a worthy restoration project or something that will end up a total disaster.

Get the VIN number (6 digits) and the engine number, then you can verify the years.

matt777

For $2500 just buy it. I'll give you double that or more (really) An engine in pieces is worth $2000.

jainbaby

Agree with Matt777, for $2500 just buy it...really tough for it to NOT be worth multiples of $2500 even if you don't restore it.

OUNATE

I'll take multiple photos of it and get the numbers off the car. Hopefully I'll be hauling it home sunday

ECS Tuning

We look forward to it Good luck.

OUNATE

Here are some of the photos that I took today, the weather was nice so I popped over and took some of this horribly neglected 356.

Copied from 356 registry if you want to follow the progress of this car and it's future I'll probably post more often over there.

Just stopped over today and got some numbers and photos from the car the chassis number is 113910 which is coming up as a 1960 and the title says 1961 I believe and there were a few numbers on the motor. 12206 and a 61532 (coming up as a 1956 motor) as well as a 3 digit number that I don't believe was a serial number. Overall the car is in pretty rough shape the body work that has been done years ago was I would say at an inexperienced home shop level with numerous sections being cut out. The corrosion on the car is pretty bad the undercarriage is suffering from a good amount of rust to the point that if the wheels don't turn to move the car It may not come out in one piece. Transaxle mounting points are almost gone and the trunk floor is just about rotted completely out. I'm looking forward to getting the car home it's not a numbers matching car obviously but to at least find one in any shape that hasn't been touched in years I think is pretty cool. Anyway here are a few photos of the car it was hard to get descent pictures with the light and where the car was sitting. I'm going to get in touch with some local guys here once I get the car home to get their opinion on what direction to take with it.

Thanks,

Nate

matt777

It looks pretty tough. You're going to have to be more than handy to restore that. Its still worth flipping or parting out but not worth it if you are going to pay somebody to do the work. Just my $0.02 of course. Darn East Coast cars.

OUNATE

It is indeed in very rough shape, I haven't decided what to do with the car as of yet. I'll take more photos when I pull it out of it's resting place and load her up on the trailer. My metal fabrication skills are very basic using either a mig or arc (stick) welder. I'm afraid the body restoration is beyond my abilities but i would love to restore the car.

matt777

I did the metal work on my 356 last winter. Floors, longs, front struts, etc. are no problem. The difficulty goes way up when you have to start fabricating parts that aren't available. Obviously the work on the outer panels takes substantial skills to get properly fitted, welded and finished. Check out Restoration Design for a good selection of replacement metal.

bobt4945

from what i can see of the pictures if you gave $2500 for it you didn't get hurt at all, if nothing else put it on the bay and "cut a fat hog a new backside". great buy.

OUNATE

Will be on a trailer home on friday. Stopping by a local 356 enthusiasts house to get his opinion on the way home. I hope to set it in the corner of the garage till P2O in the summer and then get it out for that show after that same fellow thought it would be cool for the public to see where these cars start as a restoration project. Then after the show I hope begin the long multi year project.

doublecabmel

Well, I'll give you $2,000 if you get tired of it

ECS Tuning

You'll have to start a thread then I look forward to this, it looks like you'll have some decent weather for the trip home tomorrow too finally.

ECS Tuning

Have to started working on this project yet ?