1955 Porsche 356 Pre A Continental 1500 coupe. Exceptional example of an exceedingly rare Bent Window 356 that has been a Tucson AZ car since 1962.
Purchased new on 4-7-1956 by a Canadian GI overseas or at least shipped to Canada originally as noted on the cars Kardex from Porsche records. The car made its way to Houston and was owned by a Submarine Commander who while on his way from Houston to Los Angeles broke down in Benson , Arizona. The car was towed to nearby "Precision Motors" in Tucson Arizona. The parts needed to fix the Porsche were not on hand so the owner traded in the car for an E-Type Jaguar to complete his journey. Jack Rowe, the owner of Precision Motors sold the car shortly after to Carl Nelson, the owner of "Silver Star Motors," a Mercedes Benz repair shop also located in Tucson. He owned the car until his passing in 1997. A local Porsche restorer / technician Chuck Croteau of Redline Service had always known the car and acquired it after Carls passing. Chuck underwent a complete restoration of the vehicle to original in 1998 and finished the car around 2000. He cared for the car until he sold it to a local collector in 2005 whom I purchased the car from in March of 2022.
Chuck noted that when he received the car it was still in original paint. He confirmed that all of the body panels and floors were never replaced and are original to the car. When he restored it he removed all of the undercoating and opted not to replace it because he did not want to cover up the unmolested factory floors with undercoating. The car was stripped to bare metal and repainted in its original color of "Turkish Red." The paint and body are show quality with only minor chip touch ups from use over the years. Excellent panel alignment as can be expected from a car that retains all of its original hand crafted panels all stamped with a "35", the last two numbers of the cars VIN, standard practice by the coachbuilder Reutter at the time. The panels are laser straight and the paint is fully sanded and buffed to a mirror finish.
The interior was restored in its original color code "B" , "Acella Bast" Leatherette. The wool carpets are all finished in correct patterns. The Wool headliner is tight and unwrinkled. The fold up rear seat has Leather Luggage Straps fitted. All of the gauges were restored and work properly. The Telefunken radio turns on and makes noise but I cannot get it to tune in to a station. Wipers work fine as do the turn signals. All of the glass is original with only minor blemishes and all retain correct factory markings. All weatherstripping was replaced with new . All of the chrome and brightwork were restored to show quality. It has its complete tool Kit with tire gauge.
The original 1500cc Engine as confirmed by the Porsche Kardex was removed from the car in 2015 and replaced with a correct year engine with slight performance upgrades. Although the original engine was in great running shape the previous owner opted to remove it in fears of damage and was carefully shelved for future use. It is complete from the heater boxes to the air cleaners. It will accompany the car of course. Alternatively, we can arrange to have the original engine installed in the car if the new owner prefers. The current installed engine runs fantastic and sounds great through the Abarth style exhaust. The synchronised 4 speed transmission shifts great. The car handles amazing with brakes that do not pull when applied, the car stops quickly nice and straight. It rolls on Correct 16" rims with AVON tires.
This car was restored using all of its original parts with very few reproductions used. It is extremely rare to find such a nice example of Porsche's early history. There are not many Porsches of this era that have survived with all original Body panels and engine. This is truly one of the finest examples of a 1955 Continental available anywhere.
Vehicle is Listed Locally and in other advertising outlets and we reserve the right to end this listing at any time.
Worldwide shipping available, please email me for a Quote.
More Pictures and FINANCING available on my website www.TucsonClassics.com Thanks! Anthony
