So I bought a Porsche 356 at auction
Discussion
Having left Dubai, sold off my Karmann Ghia and Lotus Esprit and moved my life, family and worldly goods to Dallas… 6 months later I find myself back in Dubai, car-less.
Well not entirely true, a nice Cayenne turbo for my wife and a Raptor for me, replicating the Cayenne and Raptor we briefly had in Dallas, took care of the daily drives, but with the Interceptor being worked on in the US for the foreseeable there was a gaping hole in the garage. A nice sizeable garage too, not the glorified shed we left behind in Dubai before.
And so my mind wandered to Emirates Auctions – I’d heard horror stories, but thought it can’t be that bad and to be honest it wasn’t. What it also isn’t is ‘just like ebay’ but more of that later. There is usually a long list of non-descript modern cars in there – ex-fleet and ex-bank, but often tucked away at the end of an age based search there are a few more interesting cars, well interesting to masochists like me.
That is where I stumbled across the listing of a nice looking 1976 Porsche 356 with AC… yes I know. A quick VIN check and it is of course a 1963 356B-T6, and clearly no AC from the pics. Not a lot of interest and a low price, I duly lodged a deposit so I could bid – upto AED100k (you lodge 10%) and waited for the end of the auction to bid at the last minute, a la ebay. Well imagine my surprise then with 20 seconds to go and priced at around 60k I throw in my 75k bid… only to see the price jump to my 75k and 4 extra minutes added to the auction. More bids and more minutes saw my 100k limit tested so I lodged another 100k to cover myself if I had a rush of blood to the head. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to play in an auction and watch someone outbid you by AED100, about £20, and add another 4 minutes to the auction, over and over again. So about 35 minutes later, at 130k and 312 bids in, I decided I’d had enough and to end it… tap, tap, tap - bang 170k, I won.
Sight unseen – 53 year old car of unknown origins, for about $45,000. One of my smartest moves, probably not, but it did look nice and shiny in the pictures and there was that gaping hole in my garage. The advert did mention something about there being no key too, but who’d let a mere technicality like that deter them.
The next phase was the paperwork – on winning the auction, you receive no email or confirmation, the website doesn’t even acknowledge you’ve won. The next day I chased on the phone and was told it was subject to providers approval… it was a bank I believe and luckily it did come through in a few days and with some chasing (it doesn’t always but that’s another car and another story). As an aside, the previous owner was an Al Thani Sheikh who’d recently bought a Spanish football club, so I’m not sure how it ended up in the auction, loss of interest I guess.
So there I was, armed with a possession certificate, albeit one that says 1976, I’ll deal with that later, and one 356 on a low loader arriving at the villa.
Next chapter is all about inspection and discovery – probably something most of you do before you buy!
Well not entirely true, a nice Cayenne turbo for my wife and a Raptor for me, replicating the Cayenne and Raptor we briefly had in Dallas, took care of the daily drives, but with the Interceptor being worked on in the US for the foreseeable there was a gaping hole in the garage. A nice sizeable garage too, not the glorified shed we left behind in Dubai before.
And so my mind wandered to Emirates Auctions – I’d heard horror stories, but thought it can’t be that bad and to be honest it wasn’t. What it also isn’t is ‘just like ebay’ but more of that later. There is usually a long list of non-descript modern cars in there – ex-fleet and ex-bank, but often tucked away at the end of an age based search there are a few more interesting cars, well interesting to masochists like me.
That is where I stumbled across the listing of a nice looking 1976 Porsche 356 with AC… yes I know. A quick VIN check and it is of course a 1963 356B-T6, and clearly no AC from the pics. Not a lot of interest and a low price, I duly lodged a deposit so I could bid – upto AED100k (you lodge 10%) and waited for the end of the auction to bid at the last minute, a la ebay. Well imagine my surprise then with 20 seconds to go and priced at around 60k I throw in my 75k bid… only to see the price jump to my 75k and 4 extra minutes added to the auction. More bids and more minutes saw my 100k limit tested so I lodged another 100k to cover myself if I had a rush of blood to the head. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to play in an auction and watch someone outbid you by AED100, about £20, and add another 4 minutes to the auction, over and over again. So about 35 minutes later, at 130k and 312 bids in, I decided I’d had enough and to end it… tap, tap, tap - bang 170k, I won.
Sight unseen – 53 year old car of unknown origins, for about $45,000. One of my smartest moves, probably not, but it did look nice and shiny in the pictures and there was that gaping hole in my garage. The advert did mention something about there being no key too, but who’d let a mere technicality like that deter them.
The next phase was the paperwork – on winning the auction, you receive no email or confirmation, the website doesn’t even acknowledge you’ve won. The next day I chased on the phone and was told it was subject to providers approval… it was a bank I believe and luckily it did come through in a few days and with some chasing (it doesn’t always but that’s another car and another story). As an aside, the previous owner was an Al Thani Sheikh who’d recently bought a Spanish football club, so I’m not sure how it ended up in the auction, loss of interest I guess.
So there I was, armed with a possession certificate, albeit one that says 1976, I’ll deal with that later, and one 356 on a low loader arriving at the villa.
Next chapter is all about inspection and discovery – probably something most of you do before you buy!
Edited by mattrsd on Wednesday 31st August 19:31
Edited by mattrsd on Wednesday 31st August 19:31
Let’s have a look at what we’ve got then.
VIN 212760 - is 1963 356B T6 Karmann Coupe – check, that works.
Engine 601416 - is a 1600 Type 616/1 T5, 1960 built in 1959 – hmmm not original then.
Exterior paint code 6212 – is Bali Blue – I do quite like the red and it looks fresh.
Well that was easy and of course only involved checking some numbers and a bit of googling. What was not so easy was being in that spacious garage in Feb/March in Dubai, and the garage, like the car having no AC. To be honest Feb/Mar/Apr and a bit of May are fine. I added a portable AC unit into the garage but if you can imagine it was like having my two year old son attempt to blow a raspberry at me from 5 metres away. Useless. More recently I’ve got a big evaporative cooler to try, but I’m waiting for Summer to end.
Anyway back to the car – 6v of course, I ordered and dropped in an Optima battery, it had none, and tested the wiring. Lights, headlights, brake, indicators, all switches had random effects, it did turn over though. I looked around, sweated some more, amused myself with the birds nest of wiring and over spray under the hood and decided that like my Karmann Ghia and Interceptor, wiring is best started again. Luckily there are many places that will relieve you of a not insubstantial amount of money for a full factory style harness for your specific model. I chose YnZ in the States, because of good recommendations and a great walkthrough on the 356 Owners Club board.
I got lucky too – sometimes there is a fair leadtime as they wait for a few orders or scheduled runs to build specific harnesses – I enquired just as they were starting a similar one so got mine turned around and in Dubai within a fortnight. Great service. Of course this was back in February, it is now almost September and the harness is still in the box.
I’ve got lots of other boxes too. Indeed, Evelyn at SierraMadre Collection may not know it but she is my new best friend. 2 pages of parts, from consumables through cosmetics to carpets and $4k later I have quite the collection – who’d have thought 356 brake shoes were so hard to come by!
Whilst all these boxes were winging their way across the Atlantic the 356 (I need to give it a name) took a trip to the ever reliable AAA in Rashidya for a once over from Ben and the guys.
Actually thinking about this I must have done this before I checked the wiring and turned it over as whilst changing the locks and the ignition barrel we also had a poke around that cemented the decision for the rewiring and also revealed a set of disk brakes up front and some nice dents on the underbody where the previously keyless car had obviously been moved via a fork lift.
Back home for the summer, I decided to strip out the interior and the old harness ready for the new install. Word to the wise, high temperatures, nasty itchy over-glued aftermarket carpet and litres of sweat should never be mixed, it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience but not without rewards…
I found the keys!
Tucked away underneath the ashtray were the missing keys – the ones that would have prevented the use of the forklift and the ones that would have saved me the $400 replacement set and fitting. Oh well, I’ll always check the ashtray in future, retrospect does make it the obvious place to keep them!
So there the 356 sat for most of the Summer stripped and waiting, baking on dust, next to its Zundapp compatriots.
In the next chapter I’m not entirely sure how various decisions were reached, but things are moving forward… and there are more pictures
VIN 212760 - is 1963 356B T6 Karmann Coupe – check, that works.
Engine 601416 - is a 1600 Type 616/1 T5, 1960 built in 1959 – hmmm not original then.
Exterior paint code 6212 – is Bali Blue – I do quite like the red and it looks fresh.
Well that was easy and of course only involved checking some numbers and a bit of googling. What was not so easy was being in that spacious garage in Feb/March in Dubai, and the garage, like the car having no AC. To be honest Feb/Mar/Apr and a bit of May are fine. I added a portable AC unit into the garage but if you can imagine it was like having my two year old son attempt to blow a raspberry at me from 5 metres away. Useless. More recently I’ve got a big evaporative cooler to try, but I’m waiting for Summer to end.
Anyway back to the car – 6v of course, I ordered and dropped in an Optima battery, it had none, and tested the wiring. Lights, headlights, brake, indicators, all switches had random effects, it did turn over though. I looked around, sweated some more, amused myself with the birds nest of wiring and over spray under the hood and decided that like my Karmann Ghia and Interceptor, wiring is best started again. Luckily there are many places that will relieve you of a not insubstantial amount of money for a full factory style harness for your specific model. I chose YnZ in the States, because of good recommendations and a great walkthrough on the 356 Owners Club board.
I got lucky too – sometimes there is a fair leadtime as they wait for a few orders or scheduled runs to build specific harnesses – I enquired just as they were starting a similar one so got mine turned around and in Dubai within a fortnight. Great service. Of course this was back in February, it is now almost September and the harness is still in the box.
I’ve got lots of other boxes too. Indeed, Evelyn at SierraMadre Collection may not know it but she is my new best friend. 2 pages of parts, from consumables through cosmetics to carpets and $4k later I have quite the collection – who’d have thought 356 brake shoes were so hard to come by!
Whilst all these boxes were winging their way across the Atlantic the 356 (I need to give it a name) took a trip to the ever reliable AAA in Rashidya for a once over from Ben and the guys.
Actually thinking about this I must have done this before I checked the wiring and turned it over as whilst changing the locks and the ignition barrel we also had a poke around that cemented the decision for the rewiring and also revealed a set of disk brakes up front and some nice dents on the underbody where the previously keyless car had obviously been moved via a fork lift.
Back home for the summer, I decided to strip out the interior and the old harness ready for the new install. Word to the wise, high temperatures, nasty itchy over-glued aftermarket carpet and litres of sweat should never be mixed, it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience but not without rewards…
I found the keys!
Tucked away underneath the ashtray were the missing keys – the ones that would have prevented the use of the forklift and the ones that would have saved me the $400 replacement set and fitting. Oh well, I’ll always check the ashtray in future, retrospect does make it the obvious place to keep them!
So there the 356 sat for most of the Summer stripped and waiting, baking on dust, next to its Zundapp compatriots.
In the next chapter I’m not entirely sure how various decisions were reached, but things are moving forward… and there are more pictures
Edited by mattrsd on Thursday 1st September 13:50
AWG said:
10/10 for bravery (I think!) Lovely looking car, will keep an eye on this thread.
I hate the fact that auctions are adding time to the closing stage, this is all wrong. Going...Going Gone! Not Going..Going..Goooooooing.....
Look forward to the next status.
Andy
Thanks I hate the fact that auctions are adding time to the closing stage, this is all wrong. Going...Going Gone! Not Going..Going..Goooooooing.....
Look forward to the next status.
Andy
I guess the idea is for the auction to emulate a real one where if you are in the room it keeps going until you want to pay more than the next person. Probably best for the buyer, but really flawed and frustrating. I'll write about it another day but I went through an hour long process of extensions for a car a few weeks ago, again at painful 100dhs increments - I did thousands... only to win but for the buyer to reject the next day - no published reserve.
Hi Matt,
Brilliant story - very brave, I hope it pans out, the car sure looks pretty in the pics, but I have no doubt there is a fair bit to do as well.
Very admirable work. Will watch this with interest. I believe you are the Matt that I bought my cayenne tow bar from? That cant have been many Matts with a esprit and ghia. :-)
cheers
hugh
Brilliant story - very brave, I hope it pans out, the car sure looks pretty in the pics, but I have no doubt there is a fair bit to do as well.
Very admirable work. Will watch this with interest. I believe you are the Matt that I bought my cayenne tow bar from? That cant have been many Matts with a esprit and ghia. :-)
cheers
hugh
shirt said:
Great start to the thread!
Iirc your esprit was silver and the ghia blue with a white top? Esprit was sold way too cheaply, did it stay in Dubai? Great taste in cars btw.
obviously I'm typing this whilst sat in the tree opposite your house, give us a wave!
Iirc your esprit was silver and the ghia blue with a white top? Esprit was sold way too cheaply, did it stay in Dubai? Great taste in cars btw.
obviously I'm typing this whilst sat in the tree opposite your house, give us a wave!
There is a long story about both those cars, but they ended the same way - sold too cheaply and quickly. Although I made money on the Esprit, yes the silver V8, with just 2k on the clocks. The Ghia was never going to make a return, the 2.1L litre engine, rewire, ac and new interior made sure of that. All blue, no white roof
I moved the States, the intention was permanently, and try as I might they just wouldn't let me bring them with me. The Ghia had left Cali earlier in its life on a Salvage Cert so was an absolute no. The Esprit was more frustrating - US Spec, even with US Fed plates, but from Europe. They wouldn't accept it. I even got a letter from Lotus UK stating it was federal spec... but they wanted a letter from Lotus US instead and expensive inspection. Bizarre! In the end I gave in and sold it just before I left.
The Esprit went to a collector and was later shipped to the UK
The Ghia I believe went to Germany for a full rest.
Pistom said:
The coolest thread which is uncool. How are you planning on using a none AC car in Dubai?
That's a great question and one I often ask myself. Truth is that Dubai for a lot of the year is good temperature-wise, so for some months it won't be an issue. That said I don't remember driving any of my every day cars with the AC off!I'm fortunate and the 356 is a 4th car so for holidays and high-days. I'll soon have my Jensen Interceptor resto-mod here with custom AC so between them all I think I've got those days covered.
I'm toying with the option of a Swamp Cooler too - love the look, but appreciate with humidity they are pretty useless, but apart from this time of year, Dubai isn't too humid.
Edited by mattrsd on Thursday 1st September 18:47
Pistom said:
Yes I was being a bit flippant.
How long do you intend to stay in Dubai and what will you do with it when you leave.
It would be painful to leave something like this behind.
Ha, apologies, being far too literal! It is a concern though and if I could find a good AC system I would consider it! The one I put in the Ghia was okay, 6/10, but the fitting was a whole other saga!How long do you intend to stay in Dubai and what will you do with it when you leave.
It would be painful to leave something like this behind.
What lurks beneath... Back to AAA
The wiring harness on a 356 at the headlights goes through a front fender brace and into the lamp bowls. One of mine was so decrepit and twisted from a previous hit that I couldn’t withdraw the wiring and to be honest it needed throwing away and replacing, the bumper bracket mounts were also a bit worse for wear. So with a bit of welding needed it went back to AAA. Welding is something I promise myself I will learn one day, I even bought a Haynes guide once!
Now I trust Ben at AAA, he’s worked on a few cars for me and it is safe to say that he knows me quite well. So when he called to say the front mounts are rotten he knew I’d say cut ‘em out and get on with it. He was equally comfortable when his guys chased some rust around the car that the response would be the same. And it was, so that’s what they did. Not too much, but a fair amount. There was some serious work in the engine bay. Seriously good too – one picture I saw of a part I thought was a pattern panel, but it had been hand fabricated. They also did some extensive work on a door frame. Anything suspect was cut out and replaced.
6212… Clearly with being patched and welded in places it needed some respraying, and with no loom and no interior what better opportunity than now for a colour change back to the original 6212 and Bali Blue. So that is where we are heading… complete strip to shell, bodywork underway, in primer soon, the colour matching swatches have arrived from Willhoit in the US and I’m looking forward to some great pics soon.
The wiring harness on a 356 at the headlights goes through a front fender brace and into the lamp bowls. One of mine was so decrepit and twisted from a previous hit that I couldn’t withdraw the wiring and to be honest it needed throwing away and replacing, the bumper bracket mounts were also a bit worse for wear. So with a bit of welding needed it went back to AAA. Welding is something I promise myself I will learn one day, I even bought a Haynes guide once!
Now I trust Ben at AAA, he’s worked on a few cars for me and it is safe to say that he knows me quite well. So when he called to say the front mounts are rotten he knew I’d say cut ‘em out and get on with it. He was equally comfortable when his guys chased some rust around the car that the response would be the same. And it was, so that’s what they did. Not too much, but a fair amount. There was some serious work in the engine bay. Seriously good too – one picture I saw of a part I thought was a pattern panel, but it had been hand fabricated. They also did some extensive work on a door frame. Anything suspect was cut out and replaced.
6212… Clearly with being patched and welded in places it needed some respraying, and with no loom and no interior what better opportunity than now for a colour change back to the original 6212 and Bali Blue. So that is where we are heading… complete strip to shell, bodywork underway, in primer soon, the colour matching swatches have arrived from Willhoit in the US and I’m looking forward to some great pics soon.
Edited by mattrsd on Sunday 4th September 06:57
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