Converting a Porsche 911 Cab to a Backdated RS Tribute Coupe

What’s the value of all the work of converting a 1988 G-Series Porsche Carrera 3.2 cabriolet to a backdated Coupe? It was a lot of work to make the conversion, but what does the auction market think the value is?

We are about to find out as just such a project is on Bring-a-Trailer (BAT). TRE Motorsports converted a 1988 Porsche Carrera 3.2 Cab to a Coupe using a 1969 roof for the conversion from a cab to a coupe. The car originally went up for sale on ebay in 2015 for $79,500 so the work was done just prior to that date.

Making a Porsche 911 Cab a Coupe for a Porsche RS Tribute

During the coupe conversion process the 1988 Carrera was backdated to a 1973 RS Tribute. This includes a steel long hood, fiberglass flared fenders and a ducktail spoiler. It was reported the engine was rebuilt at the time. The interior retains many of the Carrera components, but the door cards feature RS-style door pulls and sport seats have been added.

The car is reported to be the 356 color Ossi Blue, but there some debate among the commentators as to whether it is actually Ossi Blue or is Oslo Blue.

Interior of the 1988 Porsche Backdate RS Tribute

The build passes the inspection of the commentators and the current owner as being high quality with no seams detected where the ’69 roof was mated to the cab body. It is an unusual build and was certainly a lot of work to convert a cab to a coupe and backdate the car.

To be honest, I am not sure why you would go to all this work. In 2014 when it appears this conversion was completed, it seems like affordable ’88 Coupes would have been available to start the backdate project without the effort and expense of a cabriolet conversion.

In 2015 the car was listed for sale at $79,500. It is hard to say what the final sale price was but it was probably not far off this price. The car is currently bid to $45,000 with three days left in the auction. I suspect the final sale price will be similar to the 2015 price of $79,500.

1988 Porsche 911 with G50 Backdate to a 1973 Porsche 911RS Tribute

Commentators are taken with the idea of such an ambitious build, but I look at it and say: “Why?” If I was spending the $80,000 plus that it will take to buy this car, I do not want to have it be such an “ambitious” conversion. I think there will always be questions about the build, and concerns about how it “ages.” That is a personal opinion, but I believe for $80,000 you can find a backdate car that started life as a coupe. Many top quality backdates can average in the $150,000 range so maybe the owner looks at this as an opportunity to have a G50 Carrera car backdated to a ’73 RS at half the price of other backdate projects.

The car will provide a lot of driving enjoyment and will show well at the local cars & coffee with the RS Tribute bodywork painted in the unique shade of blue (whether it is Ossi or Oslo, it is eye catching just the same.)

Final Porsche RS Tribute that Used a Cab Donor with a 1969 Roof for a Coupe RS Tribute

Bring-a-Trailer listing for 1988 Porsche 911 Backdate Cab to Coupe Conversion: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-porsche-911-carrera-87/

2015 ebay listing as commented on by BAT: https://bringatrailer.com/2015/02/20/backdated-hardtop-swap-former-cabrio-1988-porsche-911-rs-tribute/

Tags: Cab Conversion to Coupe, RS Tribute