OK, I know this is sheer heresy, but due to a disability I'm unable to drive a standard. Does anyone know of a builder of 356s that offers an automatic trans? Appreciate any info!
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I imagine either of the reputable builders (Beck/Special Edition and Vintage Motorcars) would be able to help you out, particularly if you went with a water-cooled drivetrain.
@Lane Anderson posted:I imagine either of the reputable builders (Beck/Special Edition and Vintage Motorcars) would be able to help you out, particularly if you went with a water-cooled drivetrain.
I doubt Vintage Motorcars would entertain this idea. I say this based on the fact that Greg has tried to streamline his business and is no longer taking on Suby builds. These one off style builds derail his production.
I forgot about that. I know Beck builds an automatic version of their Super Coupe. They can probably figure something out for a Speedster if you want an open car.
if i remember correctly.....when i first put down my 1st down payment with Dr. Jekyll in 2016....he had a automatic speedster at his north hollywood shop where my car began it's construction .....been a while....i could be mistaken ..not that in ANY way am i steering business to the lair of Mr. Hyde 
It's not heresy. You do what works for you!
@Panhandle Bob posted:It's not heresy. You do what works for you!
X2. Giving up is the only heresy I can think of here. As long as you're still wanting to mix it up, it's 100% cool.
The Transmission to use is a VW bus , late bay window or Vanagon .
I think there is some offroad series that uses them ,
But like everything custom its not cheap.
Henry form Intermeccanica could have done it for you, but that's in the past. He has been sharpening his cooking skills these days. Molto Bene.
@Marty Grzynkowicz posted:Henry form Intermeccanica could have done it for you, but that's in the past. He has been sharpening his cooking skills these days. Molto Bene.
Nice, U10 scallops with lemon, garlic, butter risotto !! Killer !!!
Oh dang!!! Now I'm hungry again.
Probably not the best transmission to use, but wouldn’t an AutoStick go right in? Kind of rare but they’re out there.
I know Carey is doing Subaru 5 speed manual transmissions in his Subaru powered cars. I’m not sure he’s ever done an auto but maybe that’s because no one has asked. I bet he’d do it. Call Carey at Beck.
@dlearl476 posted:Probably not the best transmission to use, but wouldn’t an AutoStick go right in? Kind of rare but they’re out there.
An autostick will not support 100 hp. Years ago some guys were running VW 003 automatic transmissions from type 3’s in drag cars. These transmissions used a borg Warner design and could hold a lot of power.
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Yes an automatic from a Fastback or Squarebqck from 1968 to 70 would work well. They were made by Borg Warner. They are scarce and expensive. A shop out in Socal in the LA area services them.
Next would be a Subaru trans. Coupled with a Subaru motor, you would have a superior set-up. Plus all the inputs to and from the ECU would be available and working. This would make a really nice daily driver.........Bruce
I don't remember anybody ever producing anything to beef up the autostick, and as @LI-Rick mentioned, they didn't last under much power at all. These days, if you can find an autostick, all people want them for is the 2.25 2nd gear, and only some of them have it.
And I remember in the late '70's and into the '80's the Type 3 auto being used in drag racing. I couldn't tell you who figured out/did the modifications to make them live with big power, but being designed (and built?) by Borg Warner, I wasn't surprised they could be re-worked.
I've done it in our coupe, 4EAT Subaru, not a big deal, and we are watching the reversed 4EAT development and sorting of the teething issues to see what happens for rear engine applications. As of right now there have been several reversed Suby failures that have me leery of them, BUT they have also been in heavily modded Busses ant 3-4x the weight of a Speedster.
I have not found anyone confident in rebuilding the T3 autos, including Rancho, siting no parts availability at all. There is a shop that advertises they rebuild the 090 aircooled Bus auto, so in theory that its a possibility but they do not supply boxes, just rebuild, and I'm certain there'd be a heavy amount of fab work from chassis mods to make it fit, down to custom axles, vacuum system, etc...
Porsche used Sportomatics in the 911 , which is basically the same as the VW Auto Stickshift from a Bug or Ghia,
Both these are basically stick shift gearboxes with a torque converter ,
@chines1 posted:I've done it in our coupe, 4EAT Subaru, not a big deal, and we are watching the reversed 4EAT development and sorting of the teething issues to see what happens for rear engine applications. As of right now there have been several reversed Suby failures that have me leery of them, BUT they have also been in heavily modded Busses ant 3-4x the weight of a Speedster.
I have not found anyone confident in rebuilding the T3 autos, including Rancho, siting no parts availability at all. There is a shop that advertises they rebuild the 090 aircooled Bus auto, so in theory that its a possibility but they do not supply boxes, just rebuild, and I'm certain there'd be a heavy amount of fab work from chassis mods to make it fit, down to custom axles, vacuum system, etc...
The failures you speak about in the suby are they all automatics ?
I know IM had used bus trannies in a few cars, but hey what do I know. 
Yes, the early Subaru manuals had their share of failures too, and they still have a few issues "here and there", but have largely been sorted out. There is a lot of debate about the ring gear hardness, but we've found that in our light weight cars it has been a non-issue, and it seems to be isolated to either super high HP builds, off road, and heavy busses.
The failures I was speaking of above are in the automatics and the 2 different ways they have been designed. Neither of them is perfected yet and I'm juts not confident in them enough to "pull the trigger" but wait with baited breath...
There was a SOC member @Nolan-Tennessee who had a beautiful SAS (Specialty Auto Sport) Cabriolet with an automatic. He eventually sold due to health issues. He may respond to this notice with more details. NOTE: SAS has a rather notorious reputation (may even be out of business) that you can review through a 'Search' on the tool bar above.
There was also another SOC member (a long time ago) who had a Speedster with an automatic (VW I assume). I can't remember his name but he also had a disability that prevented his ability to drive a manual transmission. IIRC he had an 1835cc motor and had that car for quite a while without transmission issues. Some other SOC members with better memory may chime in.
So, yes, there have been Speedster replicas built with automatic transmissions, but they are a rare breed.
IM built a few and there is one in CANADA. for sale right now using a bus auto trans.
@chines1 posted:Yes, the early Subaru manuals had their share of failures too, and they still have a few issues "here and there", but have largely been sorted out. There is a lot of debate about the ring gear hardness, but we've found that in our light weight cars it has been a non-issue, and it seems to be isolated to either super high HP builds, off road, and heavy busses.
The failures I was speaking of above are in the automatics and the 2 different ways they have been designed. Neither of them is perfected yet and I'm juts not confident in them enough to "pull the trigger" but wait with baited breath...
Thanks for this Carey. Venting was an issue in the tranny originally, they had an elegant vent, not my words, but theirs, that leaked.
Version two came with a vent oil can, which is what I have on my 5MT that seems to work well, it is positioned on the back fire wall and they seal up the tranny oil level stick due to it’s reverse position as the R&P kicks up the fluid in the direction of the tranny dip stick hole, Since they remove the tranny dip stick, they seal it with a locking cover. Make sure the locking seal on the dip stick hole stays put to prevent running out of tranny fluid
Let me tell you that I check my visual inspection window every time I do an oil change on the car as with no more dip stick YOU need to make sure the tranny dip stick plug cover is well locked in… loss of enough fluid will give you a rear lock up that could be catastrophic … don’t ask how I know. Thank God that was 10 years ago and there have been no issues since.
Having said all this, It is a very good combo IMO using like with like technology. engine/tranny with VSS, etc etc, I even got cruise with the ECU and tranny thanks to Kevin at IM for the help to wire that one up and to an EE friend who worked up the schematic for my switches.
Finally, I know that For the last few years they have now used a hidden vent hole but I have no experience with that one and cannot comment on it.
IM automatic for sale here is one.
Doing Suby auto mid engine, like SAS and like my coupe, is easy. It sits in the same orientation as it does in a Subaru and while there are still internal modification to convert it from AWD to 2WD, we were able to figure that out on our own, plus my wiring guy figured out how to incorporate the trans control module and integrate it via CANBus to the ECU, retaining all of the stock features of the transmission.
Rear engine Suby is where it gets tricky and the "motion" has to be reversed in the tail of the trans. It has been done with a chain to replace one of the gears, and it has been done with all gears. In short, chains have broken and in such a tight space, they have no where to go and the failures I have heard of then locked them up. The gear version has other issues, which I can't get into, because as far as I know that product is not yet public and the testing is still just between a few people.
@IaM-Ray Yes, all of those oiling and splashing/leaking issues, plus the starved 5th gear and reverse have been addressed both with filler plugs as well as with additional machining inside the case. Between 2 or 3 builders, they have come a long way in a short time. In addition, we run our own "special concoction" of trans fluid mixes which vastly improved shifting and wear resistance, and the fluid level, especially in the later boxes with additional machining, has increased from 2.5 qts to 4.
@chines1 posted:Doing Suby auto mid engine, like SAS and like my coupe, is easy. It sits in the same orientation as it does in a Subaru and while there are still internal modification to convert it from AWD to 2WD, we were able to figure that out on our own, plus my wiring guy figured out how to incorporate the trans control module and integrate it via CANBus to the ECU, retaining all of the stock features of the transmission.
Rear engine Suby is where it gets tricky and the "motion" has to be reversed in the tail of the trans. It has been done with a chain to replace one of the gears, and it has been done with all gears. In short, chains have broken and in such a tight space, they have no where to go and the failures I have heard of then locked them up. The gear version has other issues, which I can't get into, because as far as I know that product is not yet public and the testing is still just between a few people.
@IaM-Ray Yes, all of those oiling and splashing/leaking issues, plus the starved 5th gear and reverse have been addressed both with filler plugs as well as with additional machining inside the case. Between 2 or 3 builders, they have come a long way in a short time. In addition, we run our own "special concoction" of trans fluid mixes which vastly improved shifting and wear resistance, and the fluid level, especially in the later boxes with additional machining, has increased from 2.5 qts to 4.
Interesting Carey, I would be interested in knowing your trans fluid mix if you care to PM me. .. I have added for the last 20K miles Archoil 5700 to Swepco (can’t remember No) mix and it shifts less notchy than before, I did not find the semi-synthetic they suggested was any better and Redline full synthetic was no better. I have used 4L since the beginning.
these guys build VW bus auto transmissions for off road use ,
Interesting post.
Honestly, if I was commited to an automatic transmission I'd go electric. Greg is doing one with a Tesla motor for a client. Just one gear. And it would be fast as snot.
@550 Phil posted:Honestly, if I was commited to an automatic transmission I'd go electric. Greg is doing one with a Tesla motor for a client. Just one gear. And it would be fast as snot.
... and not really a usable car for anything but around town. And not really the essence of the car. And probably about $100,000.
Other than that, fabulous.
Can you imagine the weight and size of the battery for that?
Or have they found a smaller application?
Not sure how sporty one wants to be if they want an automatic transmission. Greg took me for a ride in an electric speedster yesterday. Fastest replica I’ve ever been in including my Spyder and Bob’s IM6. Greg builds the car without engine and transmission and sends it to Texas (I think) for installation of engine and batteries. I’m sure it’s very heavy. It’s about $120-130k when it’s done. But it is the fastest speedster on the planet in a straight line. BTW the pink speedster out the door was $100k. So it’s not much more than that.
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Yes, Moment Motors in Austin is finishing VM EV builds. They've also done one of my Spyders for a client, and helped me with converting CANBus to Analog so we could retain the stock gauges and have them display battery perimeter, etc... They do nice work.
We've completed a couple now, all 4 speed manuals, and they came in at 2000 and 2100 lbs, the later with an extra Tesla cell and a few more options. We're painting another one now that will get started with assembly over the winter and have the Tesla SDU, like an automatic. I'm still not 100% sure on the battery pack, but we're shooting to bump range another 50 miles from the previous 100 and 150, and looking at some lighter battery alternatives to Tesla cells.
And Stan is correct, 100-120k ballpark. They can be VERY quick, but at the cost of range, so we've de-tuned them a ton, which added some range, and they're still quicker than a 200hp Suby build.
Still not my cup of tea personally, but the clients have been happy.
While I do understand disability/automatic transmission applications, they aren't for me.
You know when you see a Honda with a fart-can muffler on it, and it goes by and you HEAR it shift the slushbox? And inside you cringe?
An automatic(or electric) Speedster or Spyder is JUST like that. Cringy.
"Greg took me for a ride in an electric speedster yesterday. Fastest replica I’ve ever been in including my Spyder and Bob’s IM6. Greg builds the car without engine and transmission and sends it to Texas (I think) for installation of engine and batteries. I’m sure it’s very heavy. It’s about $120-130k when it’s done. But it is the fastest speedster on the planet in a straight line."
Re the electric speedster:
What's the exhaust sound like when you do a nice rev matching downshift as you're approaching a corner?
Just wondering...
Seriously, I guess electric cars have their place, but they just lack that certain something that makes driving gut satisfying.
lol. Malheureusement je peux seulement vous donner un étoile .
@550 Phil posted:Greg builds the car without engine and transmission and sends it to Texas (I think) for installation of engine and batteries. I’m sure it’s very heavy. It’s about $120-130k when it’s done. But it is the fastest speedster on the planet in a straight line.
Tesla guy, overheard at C&C:
"Yeah, I got the gonzo-insane, plaid double stripe, limited edition, tighty-whitey, two-pump, double-caff Type-S -- you know, 'cause I'm a car guy.
It'll hit 300 mph by the stop sign at the end of my street, fast as John Force's Top Fuel dragster. I've never gone faster than 80 mph in it, though. Kills the range, see?
The car steers itself too. Brakes if it senses trouble. It's got autopilot for if my mind wanders.
Yep. I'm a real car guy."
.
@Stan Galat posted:Tesla guy, overheard at C&C:
" ...I've never gone faster than 80 mph in it, though. Kills the range, see?..."
Not to mention what a burnout would do to his carbon footprint.
.
He forgot to mention the Tesla X Party Mode where it goes into a production of classical music on the sound system, all while blinking every light inside and out in patterns while it opens and closes the doors, windows and rear hatch, all in sync with the music.
First time I saw all that I thought, "WTF? Someone actually took a lot of time to program all that $#!+ on the CAN-Bus for someone else to impress (not...) their girlfriend?"