You may be unaware that Hagerty, the enthusiast-led collector car insurance company, owns and operates an online auction platform in addition to its live auction business. Hagerty Marketplace is the company’s bid (nyuk, nyuk) to compete against dominant players like Bring a Trailer and Cars and Bids. While there have been some successes, the site struggles to compete in terms of consignments, sales, and audience, meaning some cars might get overlooked — cars like today’s Good Find Friday car, a 1964 Porsche 356C Cabriolet Project.

The 356C was the final iteration of Porsche’s first sports car and was produced for model years 1964 and 1965. Major improvements over the previous generation T6 356B were few, but significant, and included disc brakes on all four corners and the introduction of the most powerful pushrod engine put into a Porsche car. As before, the 356C was offered in Coupe and Cabriolet variants. About 17,000 356C cars were produced, with 1964 being the most productive year for the model. For a time, the 356 was built and sold at the same time as the new 6-cylinder Porsche car—the 911.

Today’s Good Find Friday car is this 356C Cabriolet located just a stone’s throw from me in Manassas, Virginia. It’s currently listed on Hagerty Marketplace with 7 days left before the auction ends on Friday, January 17.

This car, being built in 1963, would technically be a 1964 model year car as the 356C was for 1964 and 1965 only. These very early 1964 cars can be identified by some unique features, including a flat hood slam panel with no reinforcing stamping and flat hubcaps with no applied crests. Currently white over a tan interior, the car was painted Signal Red from the factory and featured a black leather interior. Visible on the exterior are a large dent on the driver’s side front fender, a droopy front bumper, mismatched panel gaps and rough bodywork on the lower doors.

Chrome trim on the car appears to be complete, but pitted and corroded. The convertible roof looks mostly intact aside from a missing rear window and interior handle with no mention as to whether they’re included with the car. To be used as intended it will, of course, need to be replaced.

One aspect of this car I love is the Department of Defense sticker on the top center of the windshield. My first car had that same sticker since my father worked for the DOD for quite a few years. I vividly remember the gate guards craning their necks to spot the sticker on the way into the base. If I were to restore this car, I’d try to preserve that awesome piece of history.

The interior is in pretty good and usable condition, actually, though the carpet is not correct for a 356 and is in a two-tone color that was not available from the factory. The dash is black, but not original as it has a french seam whereas there was no such seam on the original dash pad. As with the exterior, it doesn’t look like you’ll need to be searching for parts.

Peeking in the open doors, some rubber is missing and one can see several layers of paint on the car, with a red base layer that appears to have been painted over in blue and then the final poorly done white finish. The door hinge areas show a strange texture, perhaps some kind of undercoating applied in the past, that should not be present.

For a car that’s been sitting a long time, rust is always a concern. The battery box floor on this Porsche 356C Cabriolet has a typical rust hole from acid corrosion. The rear frame rail on the driver’s side has a visible hole that will need to be addressed. The floor looks solid, but the front of the pan would appear to be flat metal instead of the appropriately stamped panel. The longitudinals, which provide most of the support for a Cabriolet along with the center tunnel, look solid enough but exhibit numerous dents.

The numbers-matching engine is said to be non-operational, with no indication of the condition overall or whether the engine turns over. The underside of the engine and transmission is completely covered in dirt and grease.

Given the car’s condition, it is being sold as a project car and includes a copy of the Kardex documenting its build configuration and factory numbers.

When it comes to drop-top Porsches, the 356 bucks the trend of coupes being worth more than the equivalent convertible. For the first Porsche, it’s said that “if the top comes down the price goes up” and average values prove this mantra out. A “Good” Porsche 356 Coupe is around $84,000, while the same condition Cabriolet would over $140,000.

A “Fair” condition 356 Cabriolet, or a car with visible flaws, averages $75,000. What about a rougher Cab like this one? One recent comp is this 1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet which sold on Hemmings in July for $59,850.

This car is listed with a reserve, so Hagerty and the seller have arrived at an agreed price floor for the car. Even so, with the car’s condition and its listing on a marketplace that is struggling it could be a bargain. At least one dealer who has placed multiple bids seems to be in agreement.

It certainly looks as though a few spot repairs and mechanical recommissioning over the winter months could net you a cool patina Porsche just in time for top-down driving this Spring.

How would you approach this project? Fix ‘er up and drive it, or commission a $200,000+ restoration? 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!