Old 356 on a trailer - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

78F350 · 06-11-2020, 09:08 PM

Taking the long way home from work a few days ago, I saw a rusty old car on a trailer. There were actually two and they were Porsche 356s.

I realized that they must belong to 'Hack', my son's wife's grandfather. We had only met a few times and when he talked about his old Porsches, I thought they were all gone. When I got home, I found the card with his phone number and gave him a call to see if he had time to show them to me. Today we met up and I helped him put new covers over them.
Cool old cars. They are in very rough shape now and were rough when he bought them. He sold several over the years, but still holds onto these two. They are not for sale. For now he is just trying to preserve what is left of them.

Maybe later this summer I can help him clean them up and see what can be done with them. One guy on the Grassroots Motorsports forum suggested that we take the worst one and "chop everything off of [my] least favorite Boxster and have it wear that body as a hat." That could be a fun project. I'm not sure Hack would approve ...but he was eyeing the Boxster that I drove over for the visit.

husker boxster · 06-11-2020, 11:28 PM

Cool cars! Always love the fact that during an era where everything was chrome, Porsche used body colored bumpers.

Hopefully you get to help Hack get these running. Waiting until 'you have some time' can be a lost cause (ask the previous owner of my 928, but you can't).

maytag · 06-12-2020, 05:45 AM

Gotta love the ol' boys with their ol' toys.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Racer Boy · 06-12-2020, 08:09 AM

It's a shame to let them rot away! Surely there is someone that would love to restore them.

78F350 · 06-12-2020, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racer Boy

It's a shame to let them rot away! Surely there is someone that would love to restore them.

I agree and Hack does not want them to rot away, but it's important to him to still have one. I'm trying to help him find a way to move forward with them without over-stepping. It's complicated. ...and who knows where I'll be in 20 years with my pile of Boxsters and moldy boxes of parts in a shed.

2ata · 06-12-2020, 10:48 AM

Honestly my dream car is a barn find 356. I'd take the silver one with the peeling paint, correct the wheels, make her run, and just drive.......

maytag · 06-12-2020, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2ata

Honestly my dream car is a barn find 356. I'd take the silver one with the peeling paint, correct the wheels, make her run, and just drive.......

yup. that'd be the COOLEST.... EVER.

BFeller · 06-18-2020, 08:23 AM

Road Scholars.... if he is serious and has the coin.... Cool cars.

BYprodriver · 06-21-2020, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 78F350

Taking the long way home from work a few days ago, I saw a rusty old car on a trailer. There were actually two and they were Porsche 356s.

I realized that they must belong to 'Hack', my son's wife's grandfather. We had only met a few times and when he talked about his old Porsches, I thought they were all gone. When I got home, I found the card with his phone number and gave him a call to see if he had time to show them to me. Today we met up and I helped him put new covers over them.
Cool old cars. They are in very rough shape now and were rough when he bought them. He sold several over the years, but still holds onto these two. They are not for sale. For now he is just trying to preserve what is left of them.

Maybe later this summer I can help him clean them up and see what can be done with them. One guy on the Grassroots Motorsports forum suggested that we take the worst one and "chop everything off of [my] least favorite Boxster and have it wear that body as a hat." That could be a fun project. I'm not sure Hack would approve ...but he was eyeing the Boxster that I drove over for the visit.

The 356's are worth good money regardless of condition, there is a shop in Long Beach CA that restores them exclusively.

78F350 · 06-22-2020, 10:42 AM

I connected him with a guy who knows these cars well and buys them. They talked for over an hour and may work a deal on some of Hack's stuff. Meanwhile I was exposed to a patient who tested positive for COVID-19, so I'm not heading back for another visit for a couple weeks.

Javi Cooper · 01-07-2021, 01:34 PM

Any updates on these cars?

At the 2019 DRT show in Miami there was a barn find 356 on display. The owner found it in Hialeah (if you knew South Florida you'd understand how weird that is) after it sat untouched for decades and fixed just enough to get it running. It was a total hit.

That's the owner in front of the car

To give you an idea how much people liked this car, look where the organizers decided to display it. Sometimes restoring a car is not the way to go.