Well if they're anything like the Chesil interpretation of roll ups even a night a heavy drinking couldn't make them look desireable.
They looked EXACTLY like Chesil's interpretation. It's a face only a mother could love.
Well if they're anything like the Chesil interpretation of roll ups even a night a heavy drinking couldn't make them look desireable.
They looked EXACTLY like Chesil's interpretation. It's a face only a mother could love.
well put Stan 
All good points made here however I must admit my excitement of the prospect of a water tight 356 is waning when I can't help read between the lines knowing how many coupes are offered for sale esp and knowing Dave Bash sold his in less than six months for a miata (no offense to miata) but also with two for sale on the west coast for a while and another recently sold in maryland just causing some pause is all.
What a LOT of valid, thought-provoking points by all. Funny, Jane, that you mention Dr. Bash and his VERY brief ownership of the silver JPS coupe. I did not know that he replaced it with a Miata. Full disclosure, here; After my '83 911 (used as a daily driver for ten years....in Seattle) was totaled by a texting teen in his mom's Iacocca-van, I tried a '07 Volvo V70R (HORRIBLE car!! Everything electric or electronic started going bad at 70K miles....way too complex of a car for its own good) and I finally ended up with a Miata! Found a 2003 Miata with 1,200 miles on it. Yep, 10 years old and 1,200 miles!! I love the car, and I do drive it daily (in Seattle). (After a year-and-a-half, it has over 41,000 on it) Now if I could just stop everyone from assuming I'm gay because of the Miata...... (Single, but not gay) Well, I am a fairly hardy soul (read functionally insane) so I could deal with quite a bit of um, "character" in my vehicle of choice, but I really started this thread because, well, having to scrape ice off the INSIDE of windshields just sucks, really! The occasional drip is bearable, a constant rain-forest for five months a year, not so much. But what I AM getting out of this discussion is that there ARE viable options. An IM Convertible D with Subie power and real heat and real AC sounds like the BEST solution, albeit most expensive, too. It sounds as though a JPS coupe with either Subie or air-cooled power of sufficient HP to run AC is not that far off either. Oh, yeah, and I really want that "back seat" area....it's not much, but it's a whole lot more than the Miata's!
By the way, Bart.....I'd love to stop by in Wenatchee for a visit and take a look at your JPS. I go there often, or at least as far as Leavenworth 3 or 4 times a year.
Finally, if ANY of you West Coasters ever decide to part with your 356 coupe or IM Roadster, PLEASE drop me a line. Trade ya for a Miata?
At Carlisle this year we experienced an early morning rain storm that flooding nearly isolated us at the Marriott parking lot...I recall a disgruntled (and greatly disappointed) Bash wiping and drying out the interior of his brand new Coupe!
And the memory of unflappable Joel Abraham chatting at the lobby coffee bar with his entire left side soaked from the knee to his neck!!! Love that guy.
My VS has windshield defrosting slots in the dash.
Outlet for an Eberspacher gas furnace can be selectively directed to these slots for defrost...plus the blower fan can be operated independent of heat input to simply clear the interior fog.
Well again to compare any of these cars to a modern car is probably not entirely fair. However full discloser sure would be (have been) nice. 
Four hours in a Cobra is a hour too long for me...
Same with my coupe...
It seldom rains in eastern Washington...when it does, we have the good sense to stay out of it....it will be sunny by tomorrow.
Yeah it is...like riding and driving a go-kart on steroids with the drivers side exhaust exiting about 2' below your left ear...lol . Even wearing custom racing ear plugs I always feel half deaf for awhile after when I've driven the car long distances.
I never willing took the Cobra out in bad weather, either...there was always going to be another day...but when you are on a trip rain can happen
and you just have to drive on.
Some of the comments about wanting roll up windows and things like A/C on a Speedster remind me of guys that build/buy Tri-Five Chevys...they want all the conveniences of a thoroughly modern car and then loudly complain when their car doesn't drive/handle and is not as ergonomically functional as their modern daily driver....makes me laugh.
You can make the replicas safer and faster with 4 wheel disc brakes and bigger rebuilt engines, run LED tail lights and even add a third brake light...yet over all these cars are based on a 50+ year old design with all the quirks and the good, bad and ugly that comes with them. I say enjoy it for what it is
...and don't wish it were something else. If you really want all the bells and whistles in a sports car there are several that will fit that criteria out there...yet you'll give up the panache of driving something very few drive. Just saying
