904

The SE website says they have one available as a roller around $65k, including some serious upgrades.

UPDATE: Oops. Looks like that one is sold.

Michael, I am not sure the market has spoken. I do not find eBay a particularly good venue for rare quality cars such as this. OTOH, eBay does serve to get the word out, post a few pictures and announce availability. According to Carey, Chuck has only delivered 19 of these kits/rollers/cars over several years so the market is not large. Niche cars are always a tough sale and are often impulse buys.

Angela,
A roller is no problem. We can work with you and make the proper gearbox and engine pick up points, and know where to terminate wires, dry sump and oil cooler plumbing, etc, as long as we know the details of what you are using. A few have left as rollers so far.
Chuck isn't allowing anything to leave as a kit at this stage of things.
That said, if you have some of your own specs/ideas that are different than our normal offerings we can work with you there too.

Regarding eBay. I have never sold a car on eBay, but I have sold many as a result of an eBay listing.

...but I have sold many as a result of an eBay listing.....
Has worked for me too. ~Alan

(Team Evil): I have been traveling so had not posted some progress pictures of the SAS904 that were sent to me. I think I can say that the progress on the car is a bit further than you indicated in your posting, although it has not moved as fast as originally envisioned. I did not mention it before because the prototype is in development and SAS has not yet offered to take commissions on the car.

I stand, and sit here at the computer, corrected. That is going to be one wicked car when you finish it up. The framing looks superb and that engine . . . ! ! !

Post pics as you go along, folks are gonna want to see more of it for sure. Very SWEET !

This particular car is using the 245 HP 3.0 6-cylinder Subaru Legacy engine - scary. So far, it seems to fit well in the 904 but does not fit into the SAS mid-engine 356A series. SAS has used the 4-cylinder turbo engines on the 356A's for similar power.

That 3.0 is a great engine. Often overlooked for swaps - absolutely a great engine.

Steve called Chuck Beck yesterday (yes, from Afghanistan) and talked 904 stuff. Steve may stay in sandland a little longer $$$.

angela

:)
Good to hear Angela. Chuck said Steve was planning a trip to Atlanta in April, it'll be a good time.

Atlanta is good!!

Angela, If you are considering a Subaru drive train, Steve might want to take a look at the 275 HP, 3.6L Tribeca 6-cylinder with 5-speed manual overdrive. It is about the same size as the Legacy 3.0 engine and the additional cost is modest.

At the moment, I have having difficulty posting pictures to my picture page but will post a couple of more SAS904 pictures as soon as I can figure out what

There may be a filter that sees water cooled engines as spam? ya think?

Charles, whereas the six subie is really cool, the engine for the 904 is already sitting in a crate at our house.

3.2 911 turbo, twin-plug air cooled badas$.

angela

Cool!!

Show off. Nobody likes you, Angela.
You big bully, running and gunning, smoking out Cobras and torching tires like you own the place. Geeez.

Hehehehe ... With the three-point-deuce, that 904 is going to kill.
I hope all is well with Steve, and that he really thinks about spending more time where he is in relation to the benefits.
As a hobbyist, I know which way I'd lean, but that's a few extra months of stress for both of you ... For a car. From a guy who did just that, you know?

You are right, Cory, all Angela will do is erase the tires! Perhaps they can set the governor at 150 MPH. CB and Carey may need to extend the length of the spoiler.

Meanwhile, Theron came to the rescue and I can post a couple of more thumbnails - frame, side, rear.

David, Tis really a burden that we water-cooled guys carry but ..... it's a dirty job. Now, let's see, where will we place that radiator? More later.

That's come quite a way since I saw it in October '09.

Very cool, Charles! It's gonna be hard to beat the looks of your bad-ass SAS Coupe though!

You are indeed correct. It has been difficult to follow up the 'outlaw' Creme Brule Coupe known affectionately as "The Colonel". I have felt honored and blessed to have the opportunity to own and care for this unique, mid-engine classic since Carlisle 2008.

I can report that The Colonel is running better than ever and still wows all the ladies at the local DQ. Thanks for posting the large picture on the forum.

Let's try one from your file...

Got here from Chuck's just before the snow hit. Its silver-blue sister is in the assembly shop getting some EV prep. This one has a tuned NA 3.6L and a 915. Can't wait for the snow to melt!!!

No kidding! Daddy like!

Woo hoo!!!

NICE!!!

The orange CB904 that went to Northern CA was indeed a stunning looking auto. There was some initial discussion on the 904 forum concerning an FIA trunk lid conversion and some authentic Hella tail lights but I have heard nothing more on the adding of a power train to the car in many months.

904 owners, unlike Speedster owners, seem somewhat reluctant to post pictures and info on their prize. A car is delivered, driven/pushed into the garage, and the garage doors close. Several 904 replicas seem to have ended up in The Netherlands. If the car is orange or even bears an orange stripe, it is usually attributed to the influence of Ben Pon - nice touch. I think it is interesting that when Mr. Pon traded his orange 904 for a 906, the Porsche factory repainted the car silver. Subsequent owners seem to like the orange color better - so do I.

While it is nice to see several assemblers in addition to CB are recreating the 904 (M&W, TR, RCR, SAS), I can only conclude that this is not the easiest car to assemble whether it is an authentically styled car or has some modern features and amenities. Wait times are lengthy and wallets are lightened. Several more seem to be nearing completion.

Perhaps now that this forum has embraced the 904 replicas in a limited fashion, we will see and learn more of these fabulous cars, now that the cost of an original has moved to over $600K.

I haven't heard much on the status of the Orange CA 904 either. This is the 2nd one painted that color. There is currently one yellow racecar in production and the rest are (and have been) silver, silver-blue and one flat silver.
I have not decided what color to paint my own car. I really wanted the "Ben Pon" orange, but the car pictured is for one of my local clients and I have to have something different. Been looking through the "904 Truth and Rumors" book for a race scheme to model after. Seen a few in BRG and a few in Guards red but neither of them do anything for me.

re: taillights, the last 2 I sent to the UK went with the split color Hella lights, but they are so hard to get anymore, and they are getting damn expensive, so most have stayed with the all red lights.

A couple of years back, I found a vendor in Germany that was willing to scour the terrain in Europe for some remaining Hella 904 tail lights based on some comments on the 904 forum. I must have come up with about seven complete sets in good condition and a bunch of miscellaneous pieces and parts. Based on what I paid plus posting, I was able to sell them for about $500/set without profit. Two complete sets went to SAS, a couple went to the West Coast (I presume for TR to use), one set to MA, and two to Auto Atlanta (one for an M&W; the other back to Europe). The remaining scraps and pieces went to The Netherlands. Nothing was wasted.

A Hella 904 tail light in good shape does not usually mean in the correct configuration in that these tail lights were used on European Caravans (RVs?), the Opel GT, and who knows what else. The earlier types had steel cans that were easy to re-socket. The later type had hard rubber cans which are a bit more difficult to work with. The current breed are all plastic chrome and lens that are pressed together and almost impossible to modify.

One option that I have not exercised is to visit the inquiry desk at U.S. national headquarters of Hella, Inc. USA in Peachtree City, GA which is about ten minutes from my house. Maybe someday?

Saab Sonnet as well, probably some others.
I got a few sets from you as well (I think it was you). Those went to the UK.
I am looking into making a "proper" lens that fits the base and bezel that are currently available. We are also working on making some 16" CNC 904 wheels as the 15" wheels available with the "proper" look won't clear the 911 brakes.

You are correct, Carey. You did buy a set from me as well. My memory is not always precise these days. The Saab Sonnet is the correct car and the Opel GT is slightly different. My point is that many of the remaining sources have probably been exhausted and perhaps there is room for someone to come up with a way to add the split lens to the present Hella product. Visual authenticity seems to be important for many replica owners. I have been offered sets for $3,000 or similar numbers from vendors around the world. I am not quite that eccentric yet. Given the alternatives, I thought my $500 or so was fairly reasonable.

BTW, you mentioned that you were presently powering up the latest silver-blue CB904. Are there photos of this car to share with the forum?

SAS reports they are fitting the side windows and doors this week to the car depicted above. Perhaps they too will send me additional photos when available.

FWIW - here is a pic of a 904 that frequently shows up at our local weekly Cars & Coffee gathering. The old-timer that drives here it is the original owner and it looks like a daily driver (patina, road rash, rust in several areas and faded paint)...




and a 'replica' 904 that shows up at the annual 'All Porsche Swap Meet' here in SoCal...

Hard to photograph on this side of the shop with the HPS lighting. We are just finishing the interior and mocking the DBW throttle and pulling some extra wires for the additional gauges required for the controller and DC/DC converter. The customer has an 11" monster motor that puts out the equivalent of 400hp and 450ft/lbs... should be interesting.

and here's one of the 3.6L and 915 in the orange car.

Lot of engine in a small space. Must be a fantastic power to weight ratio. At this stage, I always worry whether there is room for the clamshell with standard grill to close or if there are modifications required to accommodate the high profile of the engine.

When I must photograph in an unfavorable area, I tend to not worry too much about the ambient lighting and use a computer software to brighten and contrast the photo once it is in digital form. Even websites such as Photobucket provide this capability to adjust items in your album.

It is good to see some 904s moving along in assembly. Any of these cars showing up for Carlisle 2011?

I sure hope so. I volunteer to anoint them with my drooling.

Lane, you absolutely cannot smash a bottle of champagne across the bow (oops, hood) of the car to christen it. But then, it is not like you to waste good booze in this fashion.

That is not to say that a group of us cannot get wasted celebrating the return of the Porsche 904 (Carrera GTS) to prominence. ;-)

You are a wise man, Charles. I wonder if we could con Carey into letting us take it for a test drive?

Only before the wasting. I am not quite sure how to deal with the designated driver thing in a two-seater. Trail car?

Strange how it looks SO beautiful and classic in silver and so much like a cheezy 70's kit car in blue (two tone ? ! ? ! ? ) or orange.

I was thinking the same thing. Silver or charcoal...maybe white.