1955 356A #001
“$15 and it’s all yours”
While shopping for cars online, I came across a very rare 1956 356A sunroof car listed just outside Atlanta in Peach Tree City, GA. Of all places, the car was actually listed on Facebook Marketplace with one terrible photo. The listing looked like it could be some sort of fake listing or a scam, but you never know so I sent them a message with my phone number anyways. To my surprise the owner called me later that night.
I've had my fair share of experiences dealing with scammers online, and it was very clear to me that this was a real person with a real car. We hit it off well and talked shop for about 45 minutes. The seller agreed to let me come down and check the car out. Just before we got off the phone, he said, "Oh, I have another 356A, too. It's in the basement and it was wrecked in the early 70's." I expressed my interest in viewing it too, and a few days later, my older brother Ian and I drove down to Peach Tree City.
Both cars had been sitting since 1974. The 56' 356A sunroof was in the garage, and the other 356A was in the basement, just like he had said. After inspecting both cars, and the large parts stashed in the basement, we worked out a deal and I purchased everything.
We loaded the 56' Sunroof and as many parts as we could, then made arrangements for me to come back the following week for the other car and parts.
After getting the first load home to Bon Aqua, I started doing some research on both chassis numbers and made an unbelievable discovery… the 356A in the basement was chassis number ONE! I couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't know what chassis number they started the 356A's with, but all the literature I found said the 356A started with chassis #55001… which is exactly what the car was!
A few days later my brother and I made the second trip back down to Peach Tree City to collect 55001. This time I had many more questions regarding its history. I asked the owner how he acquired it. He told me that he and his dad were driving past a service station near the Atlanta Airport when they spotted a car on jack-stands. They had purchased the 56' Sunroof car a few year prior and it was in need of a starter. The car on jack-stands, 55001, was missing it's engine and a few other parts but it still had a transmission installed in the car with a starter still in the bell housing.
They asked the man at the station if he would sell the starter, and he said he would only sell the car as a whole. They asked how much, and the man replied, "$15 and its all yours." They paid the service station owner and towed the car back to their home where they parked it in the basement… in 1974. It sat in that basement on jack-stands until the day we drug it out– July 8th, 2024 (50 years after it was parked!)
After we got the car back to our shop, we did a bunch of research and made several amazing discoveries. The car is in need of a restoration and is still missing some key parts, but it's the real McCoy. It is Porsche 356A chassis number one!
It's currently sitting in our shop, relatively untouched. We are debating whether to restore it, sell to a new caretaker, or leave as-is.
