Barn Find: 1962 Porsche 356B Super 90 coupe

Getting the dirt on a barn find Porsche 356. Brandon R. of Tyler, Texas sent junkyardlife the goods on this neglected 90 horsepower Porsche 356. For the better part of 30 years, this predecessor to the famed Porsche 911 has been forgotten. The owner, a recently retired surgeon in east Texas named Smith, didn’t have time to drive the car while he focused on his career. During holiday chit-chat, which soon turned into a bench racing session, Smith mentioned that he had a 50-year-old coupe that he hadn’t taken out since 1981. Brandon jumped at the offer to see the 1962 Porsche 356B Super 90 Coupe with 77,000 miles on the odometer.

Documented 1962 Porsche 356B uncovered in Texas.

Porsche on flat tires
  When the dust settled after the door was raised, Brandon saw a near perfect Porsche under layers of dirt. “There she was!,” said Brandon. “It was a mess. The car sat on four flats with an inch of dust covering the body but the interior was intact and decent looking.” After some digging, Brandon discovered all the original paperwork and that the car was in near perfect shape. “I found the original manuals and a bill that showed that the engine had been rebuilt just a couple of months prior to the Porsche being parked.” The Porsche 356B was originally red. When the engine work was done the car was repainted black. 

Driven your Porsche lately?   
  Smith admitted that a station wagon and a van were used as his daily drivers instead of the Porsche. The 1.6L, 90-horsepower engine was a bit less power than Smith was accustomed to driving. When new, the Super 90 engines propelled 356Bs from 0-60 in 10 seconds. Not a speed demon by today's standards. Smith decided against making the small coupe the family car. Parking the Porsche was the best way he could preserve it.

Porsche redesigned the 356A and included vent windows on the 356B.

1962 Porsche 356 by the numbers
   More than 30,000 Porsche 356Bs were built during their production run, 1959 to 1963. According to Smith, "the 1962 Porsche 356B Super 90 coupes are the rarest of all the 356 coupes." In 1962 the 356s were available in coupe, cabriolet, roadster and notchback (Karmann hardtop) body styles.


Really? A Porsche on junkyardlife?
  We generally rule out foreign cars at junkyardlife but this one was deemed acceptable JYL material because the owner’s wife wanted it sold, and fast. “Its just a piece of crap that’s going into the garage sale next weekend, for like $600,” said Smith’s wife. “You don’t want it.”
  Before Smith's wife gets her hands on the Porsche a few banzai runs to the golf course are in order before he decides what to do with it.

– Jody Potter, junkyardlife.com
 

77,000 miles on the clock of this Porsche 356Bs instrumentation.

Price guide for Porsche 356Bs

Source: vmrintl.com

Porsche 356 production numbers (Source: driverstalkradio.com)

• 356 model – 7,627
• 356A model –21,045
• 356B model – 30,963
• 356C model – 16,668

Would you leave your Porsche parked in a barn for 30 years?

Twin carburetors means more power on a high revving Porsche 356B Super 90 flat 4-cylinder, air-cooled engine.

The Porsche 356B T-6 body featured a twin grill rear lid.

Barn find Porsche 356B Super with synchromesh 4-speed manual transmission.

Smith rolled the Porsche 356B outside for its first wash in decades.

Spotters guide on Porsche 356 registry

More Porsche 356 Barn Finds at derwhite356literature.com

The Porsche 356 design evolved with the next generation (1963) 911 models.

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