Special 356C Found and Restored After 42 Years

Warehouse Find

These days, lots of people call lots of things "barn finds." But in reality, those discoveries could have been sitting anywhere from a garage to a field, but most typically not a barn. So we'll just call this special Porsche 356C a "warehouse find," because it was found in one, sitting by a stack of tires, after resting there for 42 years. Two years later, it was returned to better-than-new condition and nice enough to receive a little recognition from Porsche itself.

Photos: Porsche

Forgotten Relic

Claus Meirich found the 356C back in 2017 in Essen, Germany, and spent 20,000 Euros ($23,560) to bring it home. That money spent also came with a story of how it got there in the first place. "The last owner, a tire dealer from Essen, was an alcoholic and had to der-egister the car he had purchased just one year before with a mileage of 79,000 kilometers shortly before Christmas in 1975. He put in the garage, where it was promptly forgotten," Meirich said.

Photos: Porsche

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Living the Dream

Meirich himself is a retired engineer who has spent his idle time playing with classic cars, which sounds like living the dream to us. He's owned a couple of vintage 911s over the years, but the 356C was his first that needed a restoration when he purchased it. In this case, the car was certainly deserving of that treatment given its condition and rare options.

Photos: Porsche

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All There

The combination of an Enamel Blue exterior and red interior is a rare one, for certain. The Porsche also had 67,000 kilometers (around 41,000 miles) on the clock, which is pretty amazing given its age. Pretty much everything was there as well, though a team of mice had been feasting on the seats and carpet. So like any car that's been sitting for decades, the old Porsche clearly needed some work.

Photos: Porsche

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Nuts and Bolts

As is typically the case with any restoration, the most expensive parts of this job were the engine and body/paintwork. The latter took a full year to complete, as Munich winters had rusted away from the entire underbody. The engine needed a complete overhaul as well, and in the meantime, every single nut and bolt was removed, replaced, or restored.

Photos: Porsche

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Attention to Detail

During the process, special care was taken to ensure the car remained as original as possible. The paintwork was completed in accordance with the work's specifications of Porsche Classic, done in a single coat without clear. And nothing was welded, but rather tacked and sealed, just like Porsche would have done back in 1964.

Photos: Porsche

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It's a Keeper

After two years and 2,000 hours, the old forgotten 356C was once again ready to hit the road. Only around 300 of these cars are estimated to still exist in Germany today, and ones in this sort of condition trade for hefty prices. Meirich has been driving and enjoying his special find a bit too much to part ways with it, however, and who can blame him?

Photos: Porsche

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