Hey, I'm a Newbie - help me do some 'man maths'...

[Si]

I hope i'm not breaking some kind of taboo here, but i'm interested in getting my hands on a pre-73 porsche and i'm trying to get an idea of how much these things really cost! Ideally I’d be interested in a 356B T5 coupe (as I think they look great), C coupe (as they’ve got discs) or a 911 – which I’m sure is way out of my rather limited price range.

I've read several forums and websites which seem to suggest you can get a project 356 for about £4k. Obviously this is one huge can of worms, and is very dependant on condition and completeness etc, but how bad would a car at that price be, and what sort of amount of cash would have to spent on replacement components to rebuild it?

I realise it’s pretty much impossible to answer that question – but what the hell, throw some numbers at me!

Thanks in advance,

Si

[Nic B-C]

One for around £5k on volkszone at the minute

[Helen]

is this post for real.? OK i'll presume it is a serious question..

reality check


think you need to do yourself some homework on porsche prices. i am in the process of restoring a 356c at the moment. so far not including buying the car in the first place i have spent over £15k and there is still the engine to be done.

to buy a 356 in reasonable working (MOTed) condition you have got to be looking at over £20k and could be as much as £35 for a good example RHD.

much the same can be said for a pre 1973 911 these days.


try 912 their prices are on the rise. but there are still a few bargins to be found out there.

[Helen]

forgot to say Hi Si and welcome to ddk.

love to know where to buy reasonable 356s at under £6k in the UK

[Si]

Thanks for your replies. I'm really just trying to get a handle on the sort of cost i should expect of a car like this. It's easy enough to see how much the cars themselves go for and how much odd replacement panels/seals/engine bits etc go for, but i'm interested in approximate values of the total cost of restoring a project car to a good condition. Hence, I'm after other people's experiences.

Helen - How much of the work are you doing yourself on the 356C, do you know the rough proportion of the money that has been spent on parts (i.e. not labour)?

Apologies if i worded my post badly, however it is for real and yes, this is my homework

[Hendrik Moulds]

You want numbers, no problem.
I have owned my coupe for nearly seven years. It was bought as a "solid" driver which turned out not to be the case.
Since buying it I have spent approx. £25k just on the bodywork and the car isn't finished yet. At the end of it all the car still won't be concours perfect.
Of this about £6.5k was in parts and panels and yes I did shop around as well.
Remember I have not included any engine, gearbox, suspension or interior parts or an mechanical work to keep the car running.
If you want to restore a project car and have to find parts for it then this is always going to be expensive. Look for one that is as complete as possible.
Oh and welcome to ddk.

[Si]

Thanks 356ist, that's exactly the sort of information i'm after. I've spent many hours trawling through lists of spares and their prices on what seems like hundreds of sites both here and in the US/Germany, but without having a restoration job in front of me, it's hard to get a broad idea of how many of the parts i'd likely need!

Thanks also to those that have PM'd me. I fully appreciate that people may prefer not to post details of how much they've spent (see the first line of my first post!) but i'm keen to have a good understanding of what i'd be letting myself in for if i bought one of these cars.

Thanks, Si

[Rustbucket]

HI AND WELCOME!
Heres my story-hope it helps

1x 356b coupe, '61. Bought in South London about 6 years ago.
Vw engine.
No rear arches
needed new floor pan, sills, longitudinals, etc, full of filler, door skins and bottoms very poor/shot. Matching body numbers though..
Interior 'ok', nardi dated wheel, no guages, half of dash metalwork missing. No door locks....other numerous small stuff missing.

Cost: £ 2,500.

Roll on six years- during which:
912 engine- £850 - not heard running yet
all new metal, probable cost: £800- £1200 max inc postage etc.
Ebay- life saver for annoying bits second hand- £1000 or so tops.
I have done all the work myself so far, Id like to afford to pay someone to finish it just to get it done, but can't afford to.

I think if you want a car for yourself, it depends on how much you value the 'Porsche' name - (that will determine your price level. Look at the difference between the cost of a vw floorpan, and a porsche one, and you see the difference.)
my car itself was beat enough to never really be in the high price range upon finishing-too much missing, not commercially viable, so there is not enough reason to throw real money at it. I think I was the third or fourth to look at it !!!
There are far nicer cars out there which would deserve it more - they arent that rare, they just rarely change hands.........

I would say, from experience, that my time would have been better spent saving my money and getting a better example to begin with. Still, I am hands on, so its a labour of love !

[Hendrik Moulds]

I definitely agree. You are always better off saving up and paying more money for a better car.
Otherwise you could end up spending the same if not more money getting a project to the same condition. never mind the time spent getting it there.
Just think about how many hours you've been working on the car and the cost of that Rustbucket!
In fact it would probably be better if you didn't think about it, far too scary.

[higs356]

Again Welcome


SO I can see both sides

Yes best to save up if you know the history of the resto of the car . So many cars can look good even to experts but then hit you with problems after a couple of years.

On the other hand some people prefer the journey to the arrival

I found a '59 car that had been parked since 1966 ...It had all of its original bits .I have a 1961 picture of it with the original owner ... that picture shows a rust hole in the front LH closing panel which was still there when I got it . In fact between 61 and 66 it did about 5000 miles.

I have spent a small fortune restoring original bits which I probably should have chucked in favour of replacement repro but I'd know they were different. The interior is going back in now

Its taken 6 years sofar ,throwing any spare cash and effort at it that I had. It might hae been shorter but I got married and have 3 kids.

With all that said If I had not done a thing to it and just stored it it would be worth about twice what I paid for it ...such has ben the growth in 356 prices. So even if you save up the car you are saving for might be more expensive when you have the readies...
Difficult to say
Best of luck and rest assured this forum will offer the support you need ...and you will need it

[Rustbucket]

hell yeh.....................
If I saved 1k for every year I have owned the car-

[Hendrik Moulds]

You've got a point.
I know that if I'd just have saved up money rather than throwing time and money at the car like I have done then I would never have had enough money to buy a good enough one.
You never really know what is under that paint.

[speedysimon]

At the risk of being shouted at, the main reason I love my 'retro' SC is simply the galvinised body - i.e. no rust!. Porsche bodywork is hard work to re build as it should be, and then it still needs looking after. So, I think your real dilema is, do you want to enjoy driving or building?
regards
Simon

[Rustbucket]

I wouldnt know- never driven a Porsche !!!

But yeh, at the start- you are either a polisher or a builder !

[58A - 71E]

I dont mind sharing my experience:
Car purchased October 2002 for £16,500 - ex South African RHD '58 A 1600 (Damen) Coupe. Had been imported into this country in '88 and 4 previous owners who all threw various amounts of money at it from a couple of grand to many many thousands. During this time it lost its original numbers engine and gearbox but was replaced with other porsche items ('56 gearbox and a different '58 engine).

Condition was 'fair' but still had loads of bits missing - the first four and a half years were spent trying to get it to a complete car replacing all the missing parts, (American suppliers like Stoddard used extensively and FleaBay) whilst keeping it a runner - so normal wear and tear / service items, bits of paintwork to keep it tidy etc. I reckon total spend about £6k ish.

Then it failed its MOT last year on corrosion so I took the drastic step of stripping it and having it bead blasted back to a bare metal shell (£1650!). So far I reckon it will need at least £2k worth of metal plus labour for a welder ?budget £2-3K (amazing how well it hid the extent of the rust). All suspension parts/engine tin etc powder coated £600, chrome £700, gearbox rebuild so far £700 (luckily not too much to do inside), engine still to do (don't even want to think about that yet but estimating up to £5k) paint probably £2.5k, interior needs some bits doing quoted £1500 then various other electrical / braking / fuel bits I reckon another £1500.
So total about £25kish... (better not let my wife see this thread!) on top of the purchase price i.e. best part of £42k