Pre A Opinion Please

[HYWELRSVR]

Hello I'm looking at Pre A's and would appreciate the DDK learned view on this one in New York.

http://www.aventuramotors.com/site/inde ... uct_id=603

It looks great to me but then I don't know much about them (yet) what do you think?

Whilst here, if there are better ones for sale out there then please let me know.

Thanks
[img]file:///Users/rhe/Desktop/IMG_5160%20(1)-700x466.JPG[/img]

[KS]

If you're seriously thinking about buying a Pre-A then you'll know already that they command top prices these days. If you're not familiar with the minutiae of them, then it is imperative you enlist the help of somebody who knows them inside out. Don't even think about buying one blind from across the ocean. Just my opinion, of course, but many US restos look fantastic from a distance, and photos always flatter...

[Hendrik Moulds]

I agree with Keith, you need to use someone over there to assess the car as PreAs are complicated, every year is different with changes even happening mid model year. Why not go there yourself, especially with the amount of money at stake, there a lot that can be wrong that can cost a lot of money to sort out.

A few observations:

Firstly, in PreA world a '54 isn't that rare even though it is compared to later models. It's also the case that the earlier the model the more desirable (and rare) it becomes. So '54s will crop up more often than earlier cars. So you need to ask yourself if this is really the model you want.

Obviously from photos it's hard to assess the car and I may be wrong, but here goes.

In photo 8 the drivers door looks off, it may be the angle of course.
Also the front bumper looks pretty tight on the ends.
The seat hinges look wrong (photo 19), they look like later ones. The rubber mating isn't there.
The dynamo looks wrong to me.
Not sure about the chassis stamp in photo 35.
The wing mirror is later.

[HYWELRSVR]

Thanks Keith and Hendrick,

That's exactly the sort of advice I was looking for.

I wasn't just mailing him the $$'s. I have booked to go to the US in 3 weeks time to view as many as possible, and then get anything that passes my initial viewing inspected.

Thanks also Hendrick for the view on the '54 year; yes this search could take some time for the right car.

Best

Richard

I agree with Keith, you need to use someone over there to assess the car as PreAs are complicated, every year is different with changes even happening mid model year. Why not go there yourself, especially with the amount of money at stake, there a lot that can be wrong that can cost a lot of money to sort out.

A few observations:

Firstly, in PreA world a '54 isn't that rare even though it is compared to later models. It's also the case that the earlier the model the more desirable (and rare) it becomes. So '54s will crop up more often than earlier cars. So you need to ask yourself if this is really the model you want.

Obviously from photos it's hard to assess the car and I may be wrong, but here goes.

In photo 8 the drivers door looks off, it may be the angle of course.
Also the front bumper looks pretty tight on the ends.
The seat hinges look wrong (photo 19), they look like later ones. The rubber mating isn't there.
The dynamo looks wrong to me.
Not sure about the chassis stamp in photo 35.
The wing mirror is later.

[KS]

I posted about it on the Pre-A group on Facebook, where there are some very knowledgeable people, and these were the responses:

Oystein Asphjell : Wonderful car - but I am not sure that the fonts/size for the VIN (punched on the steel in front of the gas tank) is as original?

James Davies: The main chassis ID does look odd, though I don't know if it has been restamped. Don't know why they would do that. The other areas (hood, Porsche chassis data tag and Reutter tag) are all original and match up though. Hopefully the restoration was well-documented with photos. Here is was when found.




Edwin Jespers: they probably changed the entire plate because the plate under the fuel tank sometimes is completely gone or from a accident the spare tire bended the plate

[Hendrik Moulds]

I feel validated now regarding the chassis number stamping, thanks Keith. The font looks too small compared to the plate and I'm sure could be better done, especially as it's something everyone will look at.

Richard, if you're not already a member I would join the 356 Registry. There are some great resources there. You can look at the different model years here:

https://porsche356registry.org/cars

Just type in the year and members cars will pop up. It will give you an idea of all the differences. Also worth looking at the photo gallery here:

https://porsche356registry.org/categories

If you want any more help just ask.

[oldtimer]

Hi Richard , I was looking at pre As back in 2013 after seeing a car that up for sale at Coys ( from DSD)
Prices then were 100-150k for something that had been restored
After a long while spent acclimatising to the details of what to loook for , it was 2016 and prices were up !
I liked the car that was recently for sale at Robert Gants , but 170k . There were some other cars on the market at 200k and over.
The problem is originality , if you have to have it matching numbers and real not repro parts then it becomes something that is too valuable to park on the streets and gets put in storage like artwork. Very few cars were regarded as worth keeping original in the day , and if you want one of those you need a grapevine as rarely advertised for sale.

Have ended up with an outlaw preA , much more affordable but looks Ok to the unpracticed eye , with a mishmash of old and new parts , but happy to drive it !

Good luck with your search !

[HYWELRSVR]

Thanks for all the help everyone above, much appreciated.

I was fishing for that 'grapevine' and will see what is about. I won't be rushing this.

I hope that I will be asking for opinion again soon..!

Best,

Richard

Hi Richard , I was looking at pre As back in 2013 after seeing a car that up for sale at Coys ( from DSD)
Prices then were 100-150k for something that had been restored
After a long while spent acclimatising to the details of what to loook for , it was 2016 and prices were up !
I liked the car that was recently for sale at Robert Gants , but 170k . There were some other cars on the market at 200k and over.
The problem is originality , if you have to have it matching numbers and real not repro parts then it becomes something that is too valuable to park on the streets and gets put in storage like artwork. Very few cars were regarded as worth keeping original in the day , and if you want one of those you need a grapevine as rarely advertised for sale.

Have ended up with an outlaw preA , much more affordable but looks Ok to the unpracticed eye , with a mishmash of old and new parts , but happy to drive it !

Good luck with your search !

[Hendrik Moulds]

If you want to see the PreA grapevine then you need to be in Sion, Switzerland on the weekend of the 26th August.
That's when and where the PreA International will be this year and I for one can't wait.

[jondev356]

l am selling my 1952 body bumper coupe. email me for details. the car is in UK on the south coast