As we left dinner, I was a little deflated. “How could I have missed the boat?, I wondered. “356s have gone up so much that it takes a small fortune to buy a project car? Really?

We had just left the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival, where I came across an outlaw Convertible D that I couldn’t get out of my head. My friend, Carl and I, were headed home. By the time we got to Atlanta, Carl had helped me concoct an initial plan to sell my 914-6 project car, and all of the unneeded Porsche parts in my garage to purchase a 356 convertible project. Plan A went out the window as we drove through Atlanta, when a quick search of the internet revealed that the $50,000 that I thought I could rustle together wasn’t even close the prices of project cars.

Macon, Georgia came and passed. “Should I just give up on a 356?,” I wondered. I began to consider a couple. “They seemed much more reasonably priced,” I thought. Carl wouldn’t hear any of it. Every time I mentioned buying a coupe, he put his fingers in his ears.

“You said you always wanted a 356 convertible,” he reminded me. “You need another plan. What else can you sell to get a green light from my wife, Julie?”

With 356 prices going up, I realized that I may soon be priced out of the market completely. Maybe it was time for me to make a larger sacrifice. I had never even considered selling my 912. But, as we travelled south, I began to wonder. “Would I be willing to sell Charlie, to move into a 356?” Maybe.

By the time we reached Valdosta, Georgia, we had a new plan.

After developing my “wife approval strategy,” I quickly called Julie to see if I could get a green light. As we barreled down I-75 southbound, I knew there were two strengths in my pocket when approaching her. First, she always wanted a 356. Over the years, she occasionally mentioned that she liked them, but I was pretty focused on the other cars we had and never gave it much thought. Second, Julie wanted the car parts in the garage gone. She didn’t like that we had so much money tied up in stuff that was unneeded and uninsurable. My strategy, I figured, needed to play to these two facts.

But there was still the problem of buying a 356 and possibly needing to sell Charlie. Plan B, which now had replaced Plan A completely, was based on one simple, twisted, fact: I didn’t have to actually make a decision whether I would be willing to sell Charlie to buy a 356 Cabriolet. At least not now. Hear me out here.

The plan I pitched to Julie went like this. I would sell the 914-6 project car, and all of the unneeded parts we had. That should bring in about $50,000. Then I could sell Charlie. Overall, the sale of the two cars and the parts would bring about $100,000, allowing me to find a 356 that I could afford. Julie is working on a masters degree in accounting. So I put it in terms I knew would resonate with her: I was basically changing assets from one form (914-6, parts, and a 912) into a different form (a 356). And clearing out the garage in the process. No more money would actually be spent on cars. How could she object?

And she didn’t. Although Julie was surprised I would consider selling Charlie, it was up to me whether I was willing to let it go, she said. She green lighted the plan, which set me up for the final ask.

“There is a problem with the plan,” I explained. “I’ve never even driven a 356, much less owned one.” I pointed out that I wasn’t really sure I would like the 356 more than Charlie. And, given how important to us that Charlie is, I would hate to sell the car, to buy a 356, and then wish I had the 912 back. This simply would not work. Therefore, “I need to buy the 356 before I sell Charlie,” I explained, with one eye closed. As I went through the logic with her, I have to admit that it sounded like a scam, even to myself. But, it was true. I needed to make sure the 356 was the right car before I let go of such an important car as Charlie.

She agreed! Buy the 356 first. And once I drive the 356 for a few months, and am sure that it is what I want, we would sell Charlie because I don’t need all of that money tied up in the garage. Everybody wins.

With a – Go – sign from Julie, and having doubled my budget, I was back to searching the internet for cars before we hit I-10.

Read the next part of the story HERE.