I was reading an article on a beautiful 53' outlaw here: http://autoeclectic.com/august

Article starts on page 60

The question came to mind:

What is better to restore a 356 to the original glory or to make a few mild upgrades for the purpose of enjoyment?

Read the article as this outlaw is awesome.

Post you thoughts below

 

There are so few restoreable cars from that era that I would restore any that are left.

There are at least two good reproduction 356 companies out there that can provide you a 356-look alike that is visually indistinguishable from the original unless you want it to differ. One uses rebuild VW Beetle (original pans and engines and makes something very close to the original, but offers upgraded VW brakes and suspension and engine for a much more driveable car by modern standards.
The other uses a custom frame and a Suburu boxer engine and puts down 250 HP easy. I looked into buying one (or a restored original) about a year ago before deciding to stuck with only old English sports cars. the repros are impressive, fitted out well the two repros can't be told from the original at even 10 feet away. Yet if you want, you can have AC and stereo, and more important, better brakes and no snap oversteer.