I’m madly in love with Sabine, my Porsche 356 Speedster replica built from a VW Beetle. I love the simplicity of the air-cooled engine experience, the looks, the ride, everything. The only drawback has been constantly saying to admirers, “Yes, but it’s a replica.”
So I’ve had my eye out for a genuine 356 coupe for a while, something that I could drive in the winter when the open-air Speedster makes less sense. (The Speedster technically has a heater and a top, but you don’t wanna use either one.)
This mysterious 1964 356 coupe popped up on BringATrailer, and right from the start, it was likely to go for cheap because it had sat idle in a garage for 25 years.
Pretty quickly, the commenters pointed out that something really fishy was going on. The vehicle identification number (VIN) seemed to have been ground down and re-applied, a classic sign that a car has been stolen or rebuilt from a variety of parts. The Kardex (like a certification of authenticity for Porsches) said the car was originally light ivory, but the car’s hidden metal spots suggested that it was originally sky blue. The “SC” badge on the rear of the car implied that it was an high-performance version, but that wasn’t backed up by the Kardex either, and it was unlikely that the car’s current engine or transmission were original.
All the questions stopped serious collectors from bidding.
But me? I’m not a serious collector. I’m a driver. I don’t enter my cars in concours shows to showcase their originality. I drive them and get them dirty. I instantly thought to myself that I’d say the “SC” badge stands for Stolen Car.
So I rolled the dice and bought it. To get it running, I’m going to need to purge & rinse the fuel system, probably replace all of the hoses, lines, and tires that dried out over a couple of decades of inactivity, and redo the brakes. (Fortunately, the 64s have disc brakes all the way around, which is a nice upgrade from the Speedster’s drums.)
That’s it, though. I’m not going to fix the body or interior issues – I’d rather leave it original.
I do need to solve the mystery of what “original” means for this one, though, by getting pictures of all the real VINs, engine numbers, etc and then tracking those down with my mechanic and Porsche.
This does officially bring me to 7 cars, which is just a little too many: two Jag XKR-S’s, the Ferrari 328 (whose restoration is coming along), the Speedster replica, the VW Type 3, this new 356, and a Range Rover.
So I’ll be selling my 2016 Range Rover and my 2013 Jaguar XKR-S hardtop. If you’re looking for a 550 horsepower monster with incredible audio, radar, and laser upgrades, and has been on Doug DeMuro’s channel, email me at BrentO@BrentOzar.com.