This 1957 Porsche 356A Speedster left the factory in July 1957 as one of just 141 examples finished in black throughout Speedster production. It was delivered new in Germany and later spent four decades with a single family in the US, including several years in storage, prior to being purchased by the selling dealer in 2016. A subsequent mechanical refurbishment included rebuilding the numbers-matching 1.6L flat-four and original four-speed transaxle. The suspension and brake systems were also overhauled and the underside was refreshed, though the black exterior and red interior were not restored. Sold to its current owner in 2017, this Speedster was awarded first place in the People’s Choice Unrestored category at the 356 Club’s 2019 Southern California Concours in San Clemente, California. It is now offered on consignment in Cosa Mesa, California, with a copy of its Kardex, invoices for service over the last four years, and a clean Tennessee title.
The Reutter body is finished in the factory shade of black (5701), indicated as the original color on the Kardex. A repaint is said to have been carried out around 40 years ago, and aging across the finish includes crazing and areas of corrosion on metal where the paint has worn away. Closeups of the finish, trim, and lenses are presented in the photo gallery below. Paint meter readings on the outer panels were taken by the selling dealer and are presented on charts attached in the gallery, along with paint meter readings measuring finish depth in the door jambs and under the front hood and rear decklid.
Steel Lemmerz wheels measure 15″ by 4.5″ wear baby moon hubcaps and Nexen SB-80 tires. Date codes from 1957 are present on all four wheels, as well as the matching spare, and each is shown close up in the gallery below. Stopping is handled by four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, which were renewed during the mechanical freshening in 2017. The black soft top is pictured in its raised position above, and the top’s rear window can be seen in the gallery below.
The cabin features fixed-back steel Speedster bucket seats trimmed in red leatherette, along with matching upholstery on the doors and over top of the black painted dash. The seat backs are covered in oatmeal German squareweave carpeting, which also lines the footwells and sills, while black rubber mats cover the floors.
A factory ivory-colored two-spoke steering wheel frames green-letter VDO instrumentation, including a central 6k-rpm tachometer and a 120-mph speedometer. The five-digit odometer shows 71k miles, about 1k of which have been added since the mechanical refurbishment.
The 1.6-liter flat-four features twin 32 NDIX Zenith downdraft carburetors and produced 59 horsepower when new. The engine was rebuilt following the selling dealer’s acquisition, though the cosmetic appearance of the engine and ancillaries was left as-found. The Type 644 four-speed manual transaxle was also rebuilt.
Number *66377* is shown stamped on the engine case above, matching the number listed on the Kardex. Transaxle stamping number 15472 is shown in the gallery below and also matches the Kardex.
The suspension was rebuilt during the mechanical refurbishment, and the underside was stripped down to metal and resprayed with Wurth undercoating at that time. Additional lift photos are provided in the gallery below.
The Kardex lists original delivery information, as well as the component numbers and specification of black paint. The video below includes a walk around with the engine running followed by a ride along.
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