PORSCHE 356A DAILY DRIVER.

[Pierre Ducroit]

thanks Dick,but can tou explain to me waht is DIN?sorry for my bad english
thanks for all the infos,come on guys need more info i am a child a this.

[David Jones]

Pierre, my first 356 was a 63 B and I bought it in England in 1970. It was full of rust by then because the UK is a very wet place and I did not have a garage and obviously the previous owner did not either though even if we had it would only have meant that the car got put away wet. As far as the heater was concerned it was livable with because I was young and the climate was such that it never got really cold like here in the Northern half of the USA. It was a daily driver year round and it worked because I did the maintenance when it was due. What I could not do however was stay ahead of the rust. Do not drive the car when it is wet if you can avoid it and try and dry it out as much as you can unless you get the chassis and inside the longitudinals protected somehow. Buy a few books and read up about the car. find out if there is a gathering of 356 owners where you can go and see some and talk to owners.
Good luck finding the right car and I have no doubt you will enjoy it and keep asking questions, It is the only way to learn.

[Pierre Ducroit]

no problem here for salt or corrosion,i live in a city at an altitude of 2,400 mts above the sea level,dry climate all year round ,and mninmal temp can be 10 celsius.
i am more worried about the stupid people driving around

[Pierre Ducroit]

by the way o forgot to ask,what is the normal price for a 1956 356A matching number with COA in concours state?

[Tom Coughlin]

Pierre: Where do you live? I know our system does not require that you put that information in, but it should. I drove my C as a daily driver for several years and always enjoyed it. Since I live in an area with snow I didn't drive it with snow on the ground, I would change my registration to my Jeep.
Since there is always a big price difference between a concours car and a driver, buy a driver. If you buy the concours car it will turn into a driver in the first year (or sooner).
Tom

[Pierre Ducroit]

i actually live in Mexico City.what differnce in price for a concours and a drive 356A?
thanks for your reply.
regards.

[Doug McDonnell]

Hagerty insurance Valuation for a 56 356 Normal is 53K fair 70.3K good 104K excellent 141K Concours. Just one set of price points for you. Each individual car needs to be carefully inspected in order to see where it would be on the price spread. And maybe not to your liking but here is an A that sold on BAT 2 years ago: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-porsche-356a/ And NO 356 is safe to drive when compared to a modern car with built in crumple zones,3 point belts and airbags. Doesn't stop most of us though. DIN was the German way of measuring HP SAE the American way thus the different figures that Dick Weiss provided.

[Pierre Ducroit]

oh ok thanks for the advise i was not thinking about that thing of concours,at the end i will invest 100 gran.
now you made me think more about it
thanks

[Doug McDonnell]

Unless there are horrendous tariffs involved you might want to consider buying a nice C from California for a driver. That is what many Europeans do.

[Emil Wojcik]

If the seller is saying the car is concours make sure you have someone who knows these cars extremely well look it over to confirm the condition. A true concours car will not even have dust on a suspension piece or a bit of dirt hidden anywhere under or in the car and will have absolutely no wear. Owners of concours cars generally trailer them wherever they go and even clean the dirt from the tire treads after rolling it a few feet off the trailer. Many people who claim to have concours cars really have #2s, and some are even nice #3s. There's a large difference in price between these cars.

[Rhys and Karisa Haydon]

I know you are looking for 356A drivers, but I pretty much daily drive a 356C and it is a joy. I live in the city and have a 90 mile one way commute once a week. My car has the 75hp engine and cruises along at 70mph and about 4000RPM, or just under. This morning there was some dew and it took a little while to get the car warmed up and the windshield cleared, so remember that you will be waiting for the car to get warm, not just jump in and go.
I am hoping to get an A shortly, and don't expect that it will get the same daily treatment, but we will see!
Best of luck! I would say for a number 1 car the value is 100-140K USD.

[Richard Strahota]

Hagerty insurance Valuation for a 56 356 Normal is 53K fair 70.3K good 104K excellent 141K Concours. Just one set of price points for you. Each individual car needs to be carefully inspected in order to see where it would be on the price spread. And maybe not to your liking but here is an A that sold on BAT 2 years ago: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-porsche-356a/ And NO 356 is safe to drive when compared to a modern car with built in crumple zones,3 point belts and airbags. Doesn't stop most of us though. DIN was the German way of measuring HP SAE the American way thus the different figures that Dick Weiss provided.

+1 on the safety comments...
I live in an area where large SUVs driven by people preoccupied with their electronic devices rule the roads during prime commuting hours. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this is not a safe environment to use any 356 as a daily driver.
But in nearby backcountry roads during off-peak times, the 356 is perfect. So I suggest you carefully consider the safety impications of how you will use your 356 ...
Ds

[Jules Dielen]

go for the non-matching C if you plan on driving it every day. It will have much less of an impact on the value, and it put just as much of a grin on your face every day anyway.

[Doug McDonnell]

We think alike Jules. Here is my Grocery Getter. 65 C with 912 1720 big bore engine built by Vic for previous owner. I am unable to tell if it is numbers matching while driving it:>)

[Charles H Jacobus]

The 356 has no rust mitigation (zinc, proper sealing, etc.) like the later 911s. Driving a 356 in the rain (or snow) will greatly increase the speed in which you will be doing very expensive repairs if you want to maintain the value of your vehicle. These cars are not inexpensive and are best used during sunny beautiful days. Mine is said to have never seen rain since it was renovated in 1992 and that's the way I plan to keep it. Even under those conditions I would recommend as others, a non-number matching 356C "driver" if you want to use it routinely.

ChuckJ