1953 Porsche 356 Coupe

The first Stuttgart-built Porsches (with bodies by the Reutter 'coachworks') were launched in 1950, prior to that they were, of course, built at Gmund in Austria. Colloquially known as the 'Pre-A' model, the succeeding model was indeed the 356A arriving in 1955. This car has a 1300cc Type 506 motor installed with about 44 horsepower, a one-piece bent-in-the-middle windshield, 16-inch wheelbase and, importantly, the bumpers are 'molded' in the front and rear panel: in June of 1952 the 'bumpers were moved away from the bodywork and fitted with alloy moldings with rubber inserts.' These Pre-As were assembled using many Volkswagen sourced or based parts.

1953 coupe production reached 1,547 with 394 cabriolets, an increase with both models over the previous year. In 1954 there would be three models with the launch of the Speedster. By the 1953 model year Porsche in cahoots with Getrag had designed and built an all-synchromesh 4-speed to supersede the Volkswagen unit with a cranked gear shift lever. Couple this to the 1500cc type 546 engine in this car and it could carry some real performance. The Type 546 pushrod, plain bearing engine was actually 1488cc with a 7 to 1 compression ratio and a quoted 55 horsepower at 4400 RPM complete with Porsche specified forged crankshaft and a pair of Solex 32 PBI carburetors. In 1953 these cars were almost entirely hand built.

This Porsche was discovered in an old chicken coop in San Diego in 2010. The car had been in the same family since the 1950s, purchased by the father, and later passing to his son. It was partially disassembled in the 1980s for a restoration that never occurred. Thankfully, most of the removed parts were stored in the chicken coop with the car.

A restoration began in 2014. Media blasting revealed a solid and accident-free body. Present were the original doors, hood and engine lid. There was a minimal amount of rust, resulting in new fender edges, floors and longitudinals.

The car was restored with authenticity in mind. The Adria Blue Metallic paint is a factory correct color for 1953. The gray interior with vinyl and cord inserts was matched to original samples. The numbers correct 1500 motor and transaxle were each rebuilt with original parts. 16-inch wheels sport aluminum anodized 'turbo' cooling rings.

The restoration was completed in July of 2018. Chassis 50813 debuted at the 63rd Porsche Parade in 2018 where it won First Place in its class, and the overall Restoration Group Award, the highest award for a restored car, scoring 299.8 out of a possible 300 points.