1961 Porsche 356

Coupe

4 - Cyl.

Manual

113338

Clear

Gasoline

This car is a 1961 Porsche 356 B with T5 body. I have owned it for about 4 months now, and the previous owner was my grandfather, a machinist who bought the car sometime in the early 80s. When he bought it, the car had close to a hundred thousand miles, and wore the same paint it does now. In the thirty years he owned the car, he drove only 30,000 miles, since it was mostly used for weekend cruising. I am selling now because I am a student, and I don't have the time to take care of this car at this point in my life. I suspect that my grandfather bought the car from its original owner, but I can't be sure. The original paint code is desirable silver, but yellow paint can be seen in chips in the red, so the car is on it's third paint job. The paint looks passable in most areas, but near the rear windows there is bubbling ( I was told this is due to the original lead paint underneath.), and the bottom of the car had many chips. In the left front of the car there is a patch of discolored paint. The rear bumper also has paint cracking. The body panels fit well, other than the hood gap, which is a bit larger in the front, and the driver's door, which has a bottom that slightly protrudes from the body. There is absolutely zero rust on the car. I think the car has had damage to the left front in the past, but my grandfather knew nothing about this. When I was taking pictures for this posting, I noticed for the first time a small indentation in the floor pan near the left front wheel well, which probably indicates this. However, the car has been this way for nearly forty years and the first time I noticed it was today. All the glass is in good condition. All hubcaps are included, but the two front wheels are missing some mounting clips so only rears are attached. The interior is in fair condition, but the driver's door has an abrasion on the panel, and a similar one is hidden by a strip of tape on the dash covering (my grandfather did this). The driver's seat has a split in it, which is covered by tape as well. The headliner is in good condition, and all the gauges work well. The steering wheel horn cover is included, but I have not figured out how to attach it. The doors open and close easily, and the windows roll freely. The lights work, and the blinkers work, as well as the radio. The wooden cover for the footwells is missing. The fuel valve works, but my grandfather said that it leaks in the reserve position. The gear lever is original, but when the end broke my grandfather cut it slightly. It works well, but should be replaced. The carpet is non-original. The porsche has its original 1600 super engine, and it runs well and is in good condition. My grandfather had it rebuilt about ten years ago. However, it is not perfect. While my grandfather owned it, the fuel pump screws became stripped out. He drilled through the edges of the pump housing in order to fasten the pump together with nuts and bolts. I took the car to The Parts Shop, a shop in Huntington beach which specializes in Porsche 356 models, in order to get an assessment of what should be done. I was told that the distributor on the car is not a porsche model, but is actually designed for the VW beetle engine. The owner of the shop, Bill, also agreed that the car had had front left damage in the past, and helped me find out the original color. He test drove the car, and said that the transmission is in very good condition. It is the original unit on this numbers-matching car, and has not been rebuilt. I had previously noticed that the clutch release bearing squeals when the car is cold, and the clutch is being released,but it operates fine and is silent once it is warm. I asked Bill about this, and he said that I need not worry, and to replace it only if I already had removed the engine from the car. I'm not sure when the clutch was replaced last, but my grandfather kept a book in the car that logs every time it was serviced in his ownership, and the miles it had at those services. He still refers to the clutch as "new" and it works well. The car brakes fine, but pulls to the right under hard braking. This was the largest problem that Bill had with the car, and said that, ideally, the entire brake system should be replaced to remove the pull. My grandfather replaced the master cylinder and rebuilt the wheel cylinders at one point, but I cannot remember exactly, and it should be in his book. The most recent maintenance done on the car was a valve adjustment and oil change in December of last year, and a clutch cable replacement in January. This entire car is rust free, and numbers matching with the original transmission and 1600 Super engine. Original 6 volt system. More pictures here: http://s723.photobucket.com/albums/ww240/sfpartnership/356B/ I have done my best to accurately describe the car. The car is sold as is, with no warranty. On Mar-08-11 at 06:50:27 PST, seller added the following information: I reserve the right to end the auction early as the car is also for sale locally.