This Week on Hagerty Marketplace: An Early Porsche, a Rad Datsun, a Summer-Dream Pontiac
Welcome to This Week on Hagerty Marketplace, a recurring recap of the previous week’s most noteworthy cars and significant sales from the Hagerty Marketplace online auctions.
This week’s selection of sales has something for everyone—as long as they like two-doors. Welcome, fans of early Porsches, devotees of Japanese performance from the Radwood era, and those who love open-top cruising in classic Americana.
1965 Porsche 356 C 1600 Coupe
Sold for $91,062
Formed as a company in 1931, and making cars since 1948, by 1965 Porsche had solidified its reputation as a company that made serious (and seriously fun) sports cars. It earned that reputation in large part because of this car, the 356. The year 1965 marked the last year that Porsche offered this model—only two years before, it had unveiled the 911 at the Frankfurt motor show. The 356C was thoroughly refined: Disc brakes were standard (a Porsche first), the anti-roll bars were larger than those on its predecessor (the 356 B), and the spring rates of the torsion bars were softer.
The car before you has its original, air-cooled, 1600-cc engine and four-speed, fully synchronized manual transmission. The Dolphin Grey paint (which cost extra to order) is a repaint from 2001. Dry weight for these cars is just 2060 pounds, so, if you haven’t been in a Porsche of this vintage—yes, they’re a hoot to drive. Yes, the interior needs some love, but you know the time and labor will be worth the investment: These are firmly established in the pantheon of collector Porsches.
1984 Datsun 300ZX Turbo 50th Anniversary Edition
Sold for $34,240
If you’re a fan of Japanese performance from the ’80s, you are already jazzed about this 300ZX. As a 50th Anniversary Edition, it celebrates Nissan’s fifty years of making cars, and is one of only 5148 made for the U.S. market. They all looked like this: Two-tone Light Pewter and black paint over a black interior. Most, however, were manual, making this automatic-equipped example even less common (one of 1436). The engine was a turbocharged, 3.0-liter V-6 making 200 hp and 227 lb-ft of torque, tucked under a hood with a oh-so-cool, off-center scoop.
The only thing that Car and Driver complained about with the 1984 300ZX was the looks of the car. Its face may have been rather plain-Jane in the ’80s, but in 2024, the 300ZX has look-at-me factor once again, and the special badges, cool paint, and gold-accented wheels are the icing on the cake.
Two-Owner 1969 Pontiac LeMans Convertible
Sold for $28,000
The less ostentatious sibling to the GTO, America’s first muscle car, the Pontiac Le Mans is now a collectible in its own right. (Fun fact: The Le Mans name was originally a package on the Tempest and became its own model in 1963.) As in-period, it is generally more attainable than the GTO. However, one could argue that it is just as enjoyable as a cruiser, especially the iterations toward the end of the 1960s, like this car. Optioned with the J30 350-cubic-inch V-8, which made 265 hp, this drop-top Le Mans is good, clean, summer-time fun.
This third-gen Le Mans is a fully-restored example that has had only two owners in its life. It’s also rather highly optioned, boasting the Decor Group—a fancier steering wheel and pedal plates, wood-grain trim for the instrument panel, and concealed windshield wipers—along with power steering and power brakes. If you’re a fan of peak beak, you can do a whole lot worse than this green-over-black convertible.
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