904

Now here is an interesting replica. Are there others?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Beck-Porsche-904-replica-/260720217457?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3cb422cd71

i've seen that car at carlisle.
as the kids would say;
"it's all that, and a bag of chips!"

I saw this at Sun and Fun Air Show in Lakeland, Florida last April what a car !

3.2! Sweet!

angela

I want of those sooooo badly!

I actually had a dream the other night that Chuck Beck came to my house with one of those and we went for a looooong ride in it. Sweet!

There are several guys producing replicas of these cars but none quickly or in large quantities. Chuck Beck has produced the most (maybe 15 or 20) but also offers the car in a kit or partially built without drivetrain. Thunder Ranch has completed the first one and maybe has more cars working now. Martin & Walker in England builds perhaps the most authentic version. There are also several homebuilt varieties.

The website for the 904 real/replica blogsite is www.carreragtsclub.com .

The Kelmark GT is a pretty close replica too (with a taste of Ferrari styling) - they come up for sale fairly frequently for not a lot of $. The Porsche 914 mid-engine running gear is very popular in them.

http://bugoholics.com/kelmarkhistory.html

and one for sale for only $1k
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1009068

Here's an ebay link to a V8 powered Kelmark.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1978-Kelmark-Gt-F-rrari-Dino-246-Gt-Cali-car-RareV8-/120668827850?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c186c30ca

Pretty well made kits. Windows work well, doors seal decently, decent seating position.

This:

http://www.autoatlanta.com/detail.php?PartNumber=B9014&serial_number=12768

ALWAYS intrigued me. A pretty decent representation with the option for a Porsche six or a GM/Ford six or eight with a Kennedy or Renegades adapter kit.

Gents

Carey at Special Edition is now offering a true Beck 904. I plan on discussing the possibilities with him after my knee replacement surgery. They go like H<>

They're sweet for sure. But how are they in the real world. In a coupe on a hot sunny day. Do they have a/c. Seems to me they would be hotter than heck inside.

~WB

As best I can tell, none of the cars presently offered have any 'creature comfort' amenities to speak of. They seem to be built very similar to the originals, which were introduced at Nurburgring in 1964 specifically for racing. No heat, no A/C, not much muffling, and noisy. There have been few attempts over the years to make them anything different, although I suspect they could be easily made more roadworthy and comfortable. Again, this goes to the issue of what the builder/owner wants - visual authenticity versus absolute configuration authenticity.

Chuck tooled the car with heat and AC in mind, and in 19 cars now, not one has been ordered with either... Most clients want POWER and fun and that's about it. I'm sure as production continues and as we play with different powerplants (read Caymen/Boxster/H6 Suby) we will see a few with heat at least, and maybe even one with AC. There is one spyder running around LA with AC.. and I may never understand that one... :)

Got to keep the "stugats" chilled:)

Some like it hot! Or so I'm told ......

It was at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix last year also.

Hey Carey, ask Chuck to please bring the one we drove in my dream back by the house. He said I could have it. really.

Did they let it run? (In Pittsburgh, I mean)

No, it did not race. It was on display at the PCA area.

Interesting that the PCA would seem to promote a replica. Maybe some are more acceptible than others.

I guess they feel that if you put REALLY expensive lipstick on a pig, it's no longer a pig! 8-)

I've seen Spyder replicas in vintage races........as well as Cobra Daytona Coupe replicas.
It might come down to rarity, and how well they are done.

Might be who you know? Maybe a guy with a "real" something or other and he brings his plastic one day & everyone knows him & he's in the club and so it gets to go on the track?

You got it. I have been a member for wayyyy long. And I can show up in pretty much anything and get the "free pass." I am certain the situation above is most likely simular.

the real 904s were plastic anyway, so whats the diff. bill

The "who you know" certainly doesn't hurt. Last time I was at Road Atlanta with Chuck I watched every car in front of us stop in the main paddock area and sign papers... Chuck rolled through and waved "good morning" like he owned the place.
At Road America it was actually discussed and the general consensus was the car is made of the same materials as the original and had a Porsche drivetrain, so why not.
I have mixed feedback from clients who are also PCA members. Some areas of the country have replicas at the shows, drives and running DE, while others turn their noses up. Funniest thing is that in my experience it is usually the guy with the $500K Carrera GT that is so pissed off when a crowd has gathered around a replica and no one paying his car any attention.

Lane- I asked Chuck but he didn't remember your dream. Sorry. ;)

Without going into our usual debate on real vs. replica, I think Chuck got some kind of authorization to reproduce the 904. Obviously, he's not Porsche (so the car will never be one, any more than the Hoopty will), but putting real cool parts together in a desirable shape makes his projects a whole lot more appealing to me than a Kelmark.
I have no doubt Chuck's car is better designed than the one from the 70s, but it's also way out of range for me at the price he's asking, which makes the Kelmark a more likely prospect for a guy on my budget.
I wonder if it's possible to use Beck's headlight covers on a Kelmark. I've never seen one before this thread, BTW. Very cool that they're out there.

. . . . THREAD DRIFT ALERT . . . THREAD DRIFT ALERT . . . THREAD DRIFT ALERT . . . .

Hey Cory,

I was poking through some of my Father's old military stuff left over from the 2nd World War.
Found his entire flight kit including the flight suit, leather jacket, leather flight helmet, A Sten,
an assortment of goggles, his flight logs listing his kills, and these:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/2.jpg

Tell me that I wouldn't look Bat Shit Cool wearing these and driving this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/3.jpg

To Carlisle . . .



. . . . END ALERT . . . END ALERT . . . END ALERT . . . END ALERT . . . END ALERT . . . .

We'll see you there?

TC - those are uber cool specs. You would be way too-cool-for-school wearing those while driving your outlaw into a Porsche event.

TC, you with those glasses and in that car, would be a piece of performance art certain to pi$$ off any stuffed shirts in attendance. C'mon, you can't pass up an opportunity like that, can you?

I think that combination is AWESOME!
I really like the glasses. Are you going to finish the car?

Those glasses are da bomb. Hope to see 'em on ya at Carlisle.

Hi,
I'm surprised nobody mentioned that SAS are getting ready to introduce a 4 or 6 cyl. Suby powered 904GTS with creature comforts!
http://www.specialtyauto.com/porsche_904_gts.htm
The Suby parts will work well with the mid engined configuration.
Their 356 replicas can be quite authentic looking hopefuly the 904 will be too.
Please no wise cracks about the delivery times or deposit required!
Greetings
Nick

No pics of the car yet and a season late in debuting it already. 2010 has become 2011; off to a good start.

And then there's that hefty deposit and long delivery time . . . probably why nobody bothered mentioning it.
Nothing but a pipe dream with a little history and a photo of the real thing thrown in to flesh out the ad copy.

That Beck 904 bid up to $35,100 then stalled unsold. I guess the market has spoken?

Carey,

Any chance of picking up a 904 as a kit or roller? Steve was just bugging me tonight about this again. We have a real engine set aside for it. Bat$hit crazy horsepower turbo 3.2.

angelac