I’m writing today’s Good Find Friday post from my hotel room in Staunton, Virginia, where I’m about to spend two solid days driving twisty back roads in the mountainous countryside with almost 100 other aircooled Porsche cars. I’ll be one of just 2 Porsche 356 sports cars among a group made up mostly of G-body and newer 911s, so it seems fitting that today’s feature car is a 1959 Porsche 356A Race Car.

The Porsche 356 is a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car manufactured by Porsche from 1948 to 1965. It was the company’s first production automobile and was initially built using many Volkswagen components. The 356 was available in multiple body styles, including coupe, cabriolet, and Speedster, and underwent continual development over its production run. It was powered by air-cooled flat-four cylinder engines, with displacement and power output increasing over time.

The Porsche 356A was introduced in late 1955 as an updated version of the original 356. It featured a redesigned chassis with revised suspension geometry and improved ride quality. The 356A replaced the earlier two-piece or bent windshields with a single-piece curved windshield. Engine options expanded to include the 1600, 1600 Super, and the four-cam Carrera variants, offering higher performance levels. The 356A was produced until 1959, when it was succeeded by the 356B, which featured further mechanical and cosmetic changes.

Since the very beginning, Porsche has engaged in competition motorsports to demonstrate the performance built into each of their road cars. The 356, especially in its early years, was very competitive. One of the earliest Gmund-built 356 lightweights even won its class at Le Mans in 1951. Porsche 356 owners have been racing their own cars since the 1950s in various competitions, with many still participating in sanctioned vintage racing groups like the SVRA.

Today’s Good Find Friday car is one of those cars. Not much race history is included, but it’s said to have been raced in the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix multiple times. The car is listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace and is located in Washington, PA.

Painted in a color that appears similar to Signal Red, this Porsche 356 Race Car’s exterior features include a louvered single-grill rear decklid, plexiglass rear and side windows, deleted bumpers and color-matched steel wheels.

The body of the car, while modified to cover the holes left from removing the bumpers, appears to be in pretty good overall condition for a race car. Gaps in the movable panels appear reasonably tight if not perfect, and the sides of the car appear flat. There is no visible evidence of rust, but a potential buyer would be wise to measure the thickness of the paint and check for early signs of corrosion.

The interior is a mix of original-style fittings and race-spec modifications. The driver and passenger’s seat have been replaced with racing buckets, and the delicate original ivory steering wheel has been swapped for a smaller diameter racing wheel. 5-point harnesses are fitted, as is a roll bar just visible in some of the photographs. Some of the interior carpet still seems to be in place, and the door panels are the original style though the window cranks have been removed. A leather strap is used to position the plexiglass window, meaning the window regulators have been removed. The dash padding is worn and loose, and is oversized.

The underbody looks to be quite solid, with no obvious rust holes. Koni Red shocks appear to be installed, and it would appear the brake drums have Carrera-style backing plates fitted. These plates included a screened duct to direct cooling air to the drums. The rear suspension appears stock, aside from the shock absorbers.

The engine could be from a later car, based on the tall oil filter can and other features, however it still has a black fan shroud as on the earlier cars. The carbs appear to be stock Zeniths fitted with oversize tall air cleaners. A deeper oil sump was installed on the underside of the engine, presumably to limit oil starvation on-track. Based on the description, this is a replacement engine though the original block may be included. The numbers on this other powerplant have not been verified to be original to the car. The exhaust exits through a rather prominent “stinger” tailpipe.

A fuel cell replaces the original fuel tank under the front hood, and it would appear a dual master cylinder braking system was installed for more safety on the track. Some mechanical issues are noted, including a worn shift linkage and a leaking tire. The car is not currently registered for road use.

The average price of a 1959 Porsche 356A hovers around $130,000, with engine specification (normal or super) having a significant impact on price. Sunroof coupes are also highly prized, adding thousands to the value. Porsche 356As that have been converted to race cars can represent a bargain, as their modifications for racing mean they speak to a much smaller market of buyers seeking cars they can enter into vintage racing events.

Today’s car, priced at $85,000, would be a good price for a 356A Coupe in street trim in today’s market. This particular car, aside from the body modifications to remove the bumpers, has some rough edges but has the potential to be a decent driver-quality street car should the buyer choose.

Personally, if I were interested in putting this car back to its factory delivered configuration, I’d like to see this car priced in the high $70Ks — especially since a rougher, but street-spec 1956 Porsche 356A (with lovely beehive tail lamps) just sold on Bring a Trailer for $82,000. It will cost thousands of dollars to source original parts like bumpers, quarter windows, steering wheel, seats, etc. to bring this car back to stock.

Another possible avenue is to keep the racy look intact and go for a more “outlaw” style car. $5-10K spent on some new seats, a quieter street exhaust, and some interior work could spiff it up quite nicely.

What do you think? Take it back to the street, convert to an “outlaw,” or keep it in race trim? Let me know in the comments!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!