Ron,
Say it with me: Dell. Or. Toe. Dell-or-toe.
Dellorto!
Sing it with me Suby guys:
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through the mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected, and steppin' out over the line
I think it goes a little more like this:
We are spewing rice everywhere we go people thinking it my be a wedding show.
We drive rice rockets from the rising sun like Kamikaze pilots intent on none.
Drinking Sake like salary man
Plastic cars deserving more from their heritage of lore.
私は少し日本の使いやすさを話す
Hartwell, I really enjoyed your story and just read it to my wife. I hope to have a similar adventure in a little more than a year, when I retire. I've loved these little cars since I was a kid and plan on purchasing one in the near future.
I've been watching the ads and keeping my eye out for the right car. I don't want to violate your privacy or ask questions that shouldn't be asked but I'm really curious about what kind of money you ended up spending on your beautiful little 356. I'm sure having Beck re-work it wasn't cheap. Did you end up spending less than if you had them build a car from scratch? I certainly understand if you prefer not to divulge this information.
Again, your car is a beauty.
Paul
Paul, describe "the right car" you're looking for.
crhemi (Bill) posted:
What carb issues are plaguing you now?
Something is causing a slight stumble at part throttle. The engine runs fine from a cold start, but then the stumble starts once the engine warms up a bit.
My idea of the right car changes day to day. I like bright colors, but I also like the original colors these cars came with back in the day. I saw one for sale in England that was brown and it was really beautiful.
I like the idea of a tube frame like Beck. I drove over to California and drove a new Vintage with a 1915 cc engine and honestly, I wasn't impressed with the power at all. I've been building my own vw engines for several years. The last one was a 2332 blow through turbo. I race a Super Beetle with a 2276 naturally aspirated that runs low 12s. Point is I should probably get a car without an engine and build it myself.
I would like to have a car I can drive anywhere, without concern of over heating or major malfunction. I'd like to keep the price under 30K. There are so many variables. It seems logical to get a car from someone who has sorted it all out but lost interest and wants to move on not expecting to recover their investment.
I'm all over the map. I should stop looking at the ads because I don't want to finance whatever car I decide on. My fun money won't be available until 2017.
Paul,
The price I paid for the car is pretty much public record (see classified section of this site); $30K. And then I put a stack of bills down to change it to what I wanted. I think I ultimately paid less than a new car; not sure by how much; probably not much less. But, everything was gone through except the engine insides. From the photos of the car when I bought it, I liked the car from the start; color, engine, a few other features.
Less than 3 months after I bought my car there was one posted on this site that was almost identical for $23K. There will always be a better deal; I can't dwell on that; I just love the car I have.
Went for a 4 hour drive today around the Hood Canal; lots of twisty roads, amazing views of the water and mountains; had a great time; getting more accustomed to how it handles; kind of likes to be thrown into the curves; I love it !!
Hartwell
The thing to remember about a rear engine'd car, Hartwell is to brake before the corner and then power through it. Braking in the corner allows the rear to come around, and then it just gets plain ugly...
ALB posted:The thing to remember about a rear engine'd car, Hartwell is to brake before the corner and then power through it. Braking in the corner allows the rear to come around, and then it just gets plain ugly...
Al, where's the fun in that? 
Yeah, Ron, spinning through the corners does make it more interesting...
Hartwell, thanks for your reply. And don't loose sleep over the price of a different car. You'll never know for sure but you may have ended up with the better of the two. I'm glad you are having so much fun driving it, that's what it's all about.