Vic and Barbara Skirmants of 356 Enterprises

Bring a Trailer Podcast

Alex and Randy sat down back in February with legends (there's really no other way to put it) of the vintage Porsche world, Vic and Barbara Skirmants of 356 Enterprises. They discussed the reasoning behind buying the same car three times, all for more money than the last; Vic starting out with a '58 coupe in 1963; getting into racing via flag duty at Waterford Hills in Michigan; "meeting" each other at Mid-Ohio in 1988; their mutual lengthy histories driving and crewing at races for decades; the 2022 repurchasing of Barbara's Sunbeam Tiger, first bought by her in 1969; matching owners with the long-lost original transmissions for their cars; the dying art of ring and pinion setup; sticking with what matters in listing photos and videos; the advantages of a country life with everything paid for; the highs and lows of paddock setup at the race track; two cents, or possibly more, about Rennsport; remaking vintage transaxle parts to keep special cars on the road; owning not one, but two Gmund coupes in the '70s, one of which was sold to Miles Collier; and Vic's early days as a refugee from World War II Latvia.

Please excuse the audio quality in this episode; we experienced some technical difficulties which have since been resolved.

Links for titles/listings discussed in this episode:

0:21 356 Enterprises website
0:48 Vic Skirmants’ 1964 Porsche 356C Coupe, May 2018
4:26 Skirmants Racing history
11:30 VicSkirmants and BarbaraSkirmants member pages
13:20 1958 Porsche 356A T2 Cabriolet
16:40 1965 Porsche 356SC Sunroof Coupe, the one Randy should have bought

Got questions for the BaT staff or suggestions for our next guest? Don’t hesitate to let us know! Write in to [e-mail] and we’ll do our best to address them.