The car is pretty complete but disassembled by my father in the 1980s. It has never been restored, though it has had some spot rust repair done on the lower extremities back in the 1970s. It still has most of its original upholstery (lousy shape) and some of its original paint in several places.
The specs of this car:
1953 Porsche 356/10 1500 Super coupe
Chassis 50960
Finished July 27, 1953
Fish silver grey exterior color, R505 CS
Mushroom grey corduroy upholstery trimmed in leather (seat sides and backs)
Dark blue wool square weave carpet, light grey brushed twill headliner
USA 'de Luxe' model, Hoffman, which is 1953 model year shorthand for the following:
- Type 528 engine (originally P-40513 which is no longer with the car)
- SWF windshield washer setup
- Turbo rings
- Leather trim on the upholstery
- radio, a Blaupunkt A51EM for this car, not common
- Hirschmann antenna
I don't know the history of the car. It ended up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in the early 1970s. It no longer had its type 528 1500 Super engine at that point, probably thanks to the Hirth jump rope crankshaft vibrating the case until it cracked or punched a rod through the side. Two out of three 528 engines in '53 failed catastrophically. Perhaps engine failure was what kept it off the road and preserved it.
It may have been weekend raced in the 1950s given corner markings on the original 16-inch wheels. It was certainly rolled at one point, as some dings and creases in the roof and C pillar indicate. The nose was damaged in an accident (perhaps the same roll), and the front nose was replaced, poorly. While the body men used lead to fill in, they lap welded the nose on. The nose on it right now is from a '54 or '55 car. Paint archaeology indicates this happened very early in its life. The inner front nose and nose itself is pretty ugly from the accident, and the battery box needs serious work. I hope to salvage the nose, but it will have to come off to repair the inner parts.
It has rust in the usual places, but not bad for a car suffering through Wisconsin winters and salty roads. Longitudinals and sills need work, as do the front closing panels and the lip around the floors, but the floors themselves are quite solid. From the B pillar back, the car is in really nice shape.
My father, brother and I will do as much of the work as we can ourselves, and farm out to experts whatever we can't do. Should be a fun father/son project. My dad passed this car on to me 15 years ago. Wish I had started getting it together back in the late 90s, but better now than never. We hope to get it back to original condition by doing a careful, sympathetic restoration over the next ~5 years with an eye towards authenticity and preserving as many original parts and patina as we can.
More photos to come.