Vehicle Description
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Same owner for over 52 years
Southern California car since new, 2 owners
Original interior
Matching numbers engine and transmission
Porsche Certificate of Authenticity
Large collection of maintenance receipts
Includes original owner's manual, tools, jack, and spare
Often times the visual that comes to people's minds when "early
Porsches" are mentioned is the classic and iconic Porsche 356. With
its timeless styling that evolved over the course of its 10+ year
production run, increasingly gaining power and handling
improvements during that time, it became a well-known and
well-liked sports car. With space for two front passengers and 2
slightly smaller passengers in the back, it became a sports car
that could be argued as "practical." No doubt helping with its
popularity, the 356 would cement itself as one of the all-time
greats of early sports car design and still reflects that today
with its enthusiast base and strong values.
This numbers matching 356B coupe completed production at the
Porsche factory on July 25th, 1962 according to its Porsche
Certificate of Authenticity. Painted in Signal Red with a black
leatherette interior, it was optioned with two headrests, chrome
wheels and continental tires. Its first owner was based in Southern
California who purchased it new, although the real story begins Dan
Wier, the second owner who purchased the car in 1967, and kept the
car for over 52 years. In the large collection of receipts that he
saved he has one of his earliest recorded services dating August
11th, 1969. Included with the car is an expansive stack of invoices
for maintenance done over the past 50 years. For the first 10 years
of ownership Dan drove the car daily to and from work then
approximately for 10 years Dan used the car intermittently, taking
it for weekend drives in Southern California. Then, around 1987,
Dan decided to store the car in his garage under a cover where it
would remain until 2006.
Deciding that it was time for the 356 to come out of storage, the
Porsche began a lengthy process of restoring the exterior and
mechanicals. In October of 2006 he had Markham Motor Works rebuild
the engine and transmission as well as a few other items. After the
mechanical parts were completed, he brought his beloved Porsche to
Jim East Auto Painting in Orange, California. There he had the car
disassembled and completely stripped down to bare metal, making
small dent repairs, and gave it a fresh paint finish in its
original color of Signal Red. Now that the car looked like it was
new, Dan began to use his 356 for short weekend drives to enjoy and
relive what it was like when he first got the car some 40 years
prior. From then on Dan used Markham Motor Works in Burbank, CA
exclusively as his repair shop towards the tail end of his
ownership of the car. Keeping the car in running order even if it
stayed inside his garage was important to him, having the mechanics
visit him every few months to check on it.
After owning his 356 for 52 years, Dan decided that it was time for
him to let the 356 move on to another happy driver. Understanding
that at the age of 78 it was becoming increasingly difficult to
drive, he spoke with Bruce Canepa about his Signal Red Porsche and
asked what was the best course of action. A few weeks later, the
356 arrived through Canepa's doors and rolled onto the shop floor.
It was inspected inside and out, cosmetically and mechanically. As
part of the "Canepa Difference" process it was mechanically
inspected and serviced as needed. It was then brought into our
detailing department. The entire car was washed, foam pads used to
polish the paint to perfection, and the original interior was given
a delicate cleaning in order to preserve the factory finishes. The
original owner's manual, tools, jack and spare are included as well
as the large stack of service documents. Now after the extensive
Canepa Difference process, this 356 is ready for a new owner to
enjoy its original charm and style that Porsche was able to instill
into each of its car so well.