thf944

Anyone know where I can find information on pricing for 356 models? I came across a 1955 356 coupe that may be for sale. It is owned by a friend of my mom. It has been sitting in a garage for 30 years. Its been in colorado for 30+ years so there is a chance it is rust free. It will need to be restored, but it is complete. I haven't seen it yet, but I hope to soon and get more information. I just don't know how much its worth.

I know Excellence magazine has it Market Reports, but is there another place to look?

hoffman912

contact the 356 registry

www.356registry.org

contact them, they should be able to tell you anything you want to know about 356s, this model of 356, everything you wouldnt immagine knowing about 356's.

a 1955 356 coupe? thats quite a find.. a pre A 356, depending on its condition, will be pretty valuable, collectable, and cost $$ to have it restored right. it might even be valuable in any condition (to be honest i dont know). id give my right ehem.. youve got the idea... to have a pre A 356. hopfuly someday i can afford one. best of luck!

RJT

Harry......I just got the new issue of the registry mag today. There's an article about a 55 Speedster that was in a barn outside Columbus OH!!! Owned by a veterinarian for over 40 years and was in the barn quite a few of those years. Ed Pimm of EPR Automotive in Dublin OH towed it to his garage, drained and refilled the gas tank and started her up!!! The Speedster was bought for 10K.
I think you can access the article on the web site.

thf944.......There's a couple of early 356 coupes listed for sale in this months issue of the Registry. A 53 restored, sounds really nice, $32,500. A 57 coupe also sounds nice but needing work, $12,000. The car your looking at could be anywhere between these two numbers. Take some pictures and post them here. We could better estimate what you have found.

Good Luck!

thf944

Thanks for the information. I hope to find out more soon. I'll let you know what I find.

Thanks,
Thad

Brett Matthews

When you go to look at the car, besides the pics you'll be taking, do be certain to get the VIN #, and if you can manage it, the engine # as well. People on the Registry site, and in the magazine, as well as on line, should be able to give you some idea about what you have found, with help from these #'s.
Know where to look for these #'s?

thf944

Yeah, on a 944.....

...but I have no idea where to look on a 356. Any information would be appreciated. I'm glad I posted here, didn't think about checking numbers. I guess I should ask for any receipts as well.

Another reason why I love Rennlist, everyone is very helpful.

Brett Matthews

I've no idea for certain, about pre-A's, but my '56 A has VIN #'s on the front driver's door jam(?), and the data plate on the passenger side, beside the fuel tank. The engine #, on my A, is below the generator stand.
Don't quote me on this, I am not the final person on these "facts", in any sense! These will be clues as to where to start to look, anyway.....

hoffman912

Robert,

my friend who was having major engine troubles here in cow town, just took his baby to Pimm, to find out whats wrong.

a month ago, we did a compression test and thought for sure #4 was gone, as the compression was about 60.

anyways, we thought a rebuild was surely needed, but luckily, the head was loose, and it needed new carbs. i think im gonna have to go to him too, and get mine fine tuned and perfect in spring. evidently this guy knows his ****!!

thf944

sorry to bring up an old post, but i finally found out about this car. been busy and so have the owners. here's the details:

1955 356 coupe (he called it a continental coupe) it has the v-shaped window, but its not a split window. the motor in it now is a super 90. he has the original motor as well. the interior is in good shape, but may need some work to bring it up to par, has the wood floor boards with no rot. the body has been painted several times, but there is no rust. he said it needs some bodywork and a repaint. it has been garaged since 1974.

a little interesting history, he used to drive it daily in the early seventies from longmont to denver. he got flagged down one day on the highway, so he plulled over thinking there was something wrong with the car. the other driver offered to buy the car on the spot. of course he said no, but gave the guy his number. well, he called several times and offered as much as $10,000 for it, in the early seventies. so he parked it shortly after that, because he was afraid it would get damaged as a daily driver.

if anyone is interested in it or knows someone who is let me know. they plan on selling the house soon and don't want to move the car. i'm going to help them come up with a price, so that'll come soon.

RJT

thf944......No need to be sorry about bringing back an interesting thread!
Does the car have a "Continental" badge across the front fenders on each side? Continental badged coupes were sold in the US at the same time European badged coupes were sold in (duh!) Europe. 1955 is a pre A car, which can be alot like driving the Flinstonemobile. In original stock form, it's pretty slow compared to A, B and C cars. And give yourself lots of room to stop! Being the oldest version of 356s, not considering Gmund cars that were produced in Austria before Porsche moved to Germany (very $$$), pre As are collectible but not really enjoyable drivers like later cars. There are people that would not own a later car than an A though!
Post some pics if you can and let us know what kind of price you come up with.

thf944

thanks for the info on the badge. i haven't seen the car yet, but will try to soon. i'll take pictures. he said he also has several 356 motors around, one from a speedster. he'd like to sell those as well.

does anyone know how to go about getting a certificate of authenticity from porsche? does the car need to be restored to get one?

Cupcar#12

You can get a Cert from Porsche just by writing them and enclosing 15.00. although this is not the old COA - it's pretty plane jane now days with the german privacy laws in effect.
That is a Bend Windscreen Pre-A - interesting but as stated earlier, it falls in the middle of the very intersting cars. The Gmund cars are a bit more collectable but figure on a 4x cost in restoration. the contiental was a US only badged model as stated above - basically a normal 356 for the time (there was not a S at this time). It was a bit of Max hoffman marketing for the US market. It's neat.
The Pre-A can be a fun car to drive - a little crude but totally enjoyable. They are easily upgraded with A bits (or even C parts - brakes, tranny, etc)
if you have the chance buy the orignal motor with the car - this is worth a lot and i cannot emphasis this enough - i am still looking for mine. That way you can drive it now and maybe do a total concour restoration later or sell it with both motors later. I would figure on it adding a few thousand to the sale price alone.
If your serious about these cars i would join the 356 registry pronto and join the email list - there are a lot of wise souls on it willing to share. it's pretty active with a hundred or so mails a day.
you might even get some one to go with you to check it out.
Have Fun
Keep the 356 faith
Rob

Brett Matthews

A bit of warning here....

Uh, not trying to step on any toes, but last I knew, the cost was $30, and I'd heard it was being raised to $45, to get a copy of the Kardex from Porsche, and it was a bennefit to you, to supply as much info as possible; engine #, tranny # and type, options or deletions you could identify, etc. Demonstrated you actually own the car???? ( Need to do this for my car as well.... )


IF the car has the actual "Continental" script on the fenders, this is rare and sought after. Ford hadda tiff with Porsche when that came out! Didn't last long....

Get the extra engine #'s, take pics of each as well. I know of someone looking for parts for those earlier engines, especially the 1100cc, and 1300cc engines. Not counting on there being any of those, but a possible parts supply is to be chased down!

Myself, I'm looking for engine # 80226. Doubt this one will be in Colorado, but you never know where something turns up. This one was put into a dune buggy, and may be destroyed, I have no idea. That is as far as I was able to trace it.....

And Yes, thanks for bringing back an interesting thread! Too little activity here, but I can't keep up with the activity on the Registry's list....

RJT

Brett.... you are so right! I wish the 356 gang would come over to Rennlist and see what a great format this is. 356 talk can be very informative but with everything in Email it just gets overwhelming if you go away for a day or two and forget to "unsubscribe".
btw....You do have to provide proof of ownership to get a C of A from Porsche. We had to send a copy of our registration and title to get ours.
It's worth the price though, you get to see what the car had in options when it rolled off the assembly line. Ours shows the exact date the car was made. Our 356 is a factory 12 volt and it's nice to have proof that it wasn't just a conversion. It also came with a very rare option, the inside/outside air temp gauge mounted above the radio next to the clock. It required a completely different dash configuration. It wasn't just another hole drilled in the dash, it meant moving the clock over and putting the headlight switch between the clock and temp gauge.

Keepn' the Faith!

Cupcar#12

it's been a while since i got one - just looked at the registry website and it looks like it is now $100.00 but may include new info compaired to the old COA.
here is the link
http://www.356registry.org/Tech/kardex.html#Update

Hope that helps

On the Continental script question - It does denote the tamer 1500cc engine and was a model that was only advailable in the US - From what i can tell there were only some 1691 coupes produced (all series not just contintial) This begs and interesting question i.e. how many 1500 normals were exported to the US? - how many actually recieved the contiential badge? I don't know? To me it's neat, and it is a transitional model year as well so there could be more questions on it as well.
The car's serial numbers should be between
#52532- 54223 (this represents the October through July Builds of the Pre-A)
and the engine serial number should fall in the
34120-35790 range (1500 normal engine)
There was an S model durring this year as well (i was wrong here in my earlier post)
Good Luck...