Beck on eBay - price feedback

Based on what I've heard and seen, that's in the ballpark with a little negotiating room.

To me it's a little overpriced- 1915 cc engine isn't that big a deal, there's no mention of disc brakes and the wheels are 4x130mm VW instead of 5x205mm early VW/Porsche or 5x130mm later Porsche.

 

Welcome To The Madness! And your first name is....

Dennis?

All Becks have front disks and this particular 1915 is rated as 120hp and built by Pat Downs.  This is basically the same as my car minus some of the customization I've done.  I'd ask about the same for mine since I have a lot more miles on it, which offsets my modifications.

its on craigslist too...  

 

http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5293169066.html

 

Here's another one to consider. Looks to be in pretty nice shape.

 

http://losangeles.craigslist.o.../cto/5291290873.html

 

 

 

 

 

this Beck has been advertised for over 6++ months.

FWIW, That price isn't too far off from what I paid for my Beck Raby T1 with about 8000kms. Looks to be in good shape. The best thing is it should hold it's value pretty well. A new one would be much more....

Very much appreciate all the replies.  Jared - are you referring to the Nashville one or LA one?  Thanks.
Marc

The Nashville one.

LA one says $26000 in title and then $27500 FIRM in ad body.  So guess its not that firm.

 

If in CA - I'd want the SB100 smog exemption one.  Tenn one titled as a 1957 Porsche Speedster could be problematic in some states.

The one listed on Ebay went through the factory and not only got the upgraded carbs, new style exhaust, motor tuned, inspected, valves done, all fluids flushed and inspected, etc, etc... we also repair or replace anything we see errant or worn, plus it got the new style seats and a new Haartz cloth top/tonneau/side curtains.  I can speak for that car and tell yo it is a VETY nice car, left here damn near new,  and was well sorted.

The Craigslist car I don't know much about.  Nothing about tit rings any bells and I see enough things done "differently" that I would venture to say it was probably not a factory build, rather a kit or dealer built car.

Big question is why spend $8k on a refurb only to turn around and sell it. Probably would have noted more without the refurb costs. 

IMO a Special Edition refurb probably raises the value equal to the refurb, and definitely increases the confidence that the buyer should have. One can only surmise why the current owner put the money into it....

Not sure if you have an interest in my Merlot Beck (located in NJ) posted in classified section.  Pics are in the thread.  I am the 2nd owner and have had the car since 2009. 

Best of luck with your search.  You will get honest feedback on this site. 

Justin

Does any Speedster have drum brakes in the front??  Is it unusual for a Speedster replica to have discs up front?

 

I thought all Speedster had discs up front and that most all have drums in the rear.

 

There are sure more great cars available today than when I was searching for mine.

Jack, I think drum brakes all around is standard for Vintage Speedsters. More often than not, owners will upgrade to disc in front during the build or shortly after driving it for a bit.

I hope the Beck person that replied above can answer this. why do you think the LA car is a kit? Does Beck sell in a kit form for the buyer to build? Also, in reference to the TN car, why would a car with so few miles need 8k in repairs or upgrades?

 

The person that replied above is Carey Hines, owner of Beck - Special Edition, so if anyone knows anything about those cars it'd be him.  I'm guessing here, but some of the repairs were probably because the car sat unused for some time.  5200 miles in 9 years is not very many miles.  If the car sat around not getting used then all of the seals, rubber trim, and gaskets probably dried up.

 

The rest of the upgrades were just that, upgrades.The current owner opted to upgrade the carbs from a stock carb to something that gave it more horsepower. At 5200 miles the valves were due for an adjustment and an oil change. Fluid flush was again probably from sitting.  Fluids get gummy sitting around not being used. New style seat instead of the old style was an upgrade or the vinyl/leather was bad from drying out. The fabric on the tonneau and top probably were exposed maybe to the elements or just got in poor shape from being folded and not used and the plexiglass in the side curtains probably yellowed from poor storage.

 

As far as Carey knowing the other was built from a roller or finished at a dealer? Probably because some of the finish parts don't look like his or the fact that it's missing a Beck plate showing the build number. There could be other reasons and if Carey checks back he can chime in.

 

 

Jim--I learn something new almost every time I visit SOC.  4 wheel drums--I never knew that.  Thanks

Robert is correct.
The CA craigslist car has a handful of "tells" that aren't factory. The exhaust, the heater blower set-up, routing of engine wiring, placement of mirrors, to name just a few... While all of this can vary due to a wide variety of circumstances, I generally recall cars that were factory built with big changes. Of course I can verify all of this with a chassis number.
The TN car did have several items that were addressed due to age and sitting as suggested, seals, gaskets, fuel system, to name a few. We do our best to take the used cars we sell and bring them close to "as new" as possible. However much of what was done to it was updating from the older factory specs to current factory specs, such as ethanol specific fuel hose, new switches and bezels, new stock exhaust, new seats, new seat tracks, new inner door handles, etc. many items that we have improved upon/updated/upgraded over the years.
The example of the fuel hose is a simple matter of what is best for today is not always the same as it was 10 years ago. The German cloth braided fuel hose was my top recommendation, but unfortunately it doesn't hold up to ethanol as well as a modern fuel hose, like Barricade hose.

The other items were a matter of personal taste. There was nothing wrong with the stock top but the client wanted German Haartz, the engine ran great but the client wanted dual throat Webers and electronic ignition, the hubcaps were fine but he wanted OEM German 912 caps... Etc.

I also want to add that there isn't necessarily anything wrong with a car that was built as a kit or roller or home built or whatever. I've seen home built cars that are amazing. I've also seen home builds that were done by someone who shouldn't own tools.

You just have to look them over and know what you are looking at.

........builds that were done by someone who shouldn't own tools........

 

Boy "ain't that truth" ... I've seen some really scary stuff !

 

I'll add: wood shims, silicone, bread twist ties, zip cord, wood screws, coat hanger, old school friction tape, a wood dowel as a shift rod splice ...and the best to date a rusty C' clamp holding the steering box sorta in place.

 

 

Ain't that the truth...about 5yrs ago my brother-in-law bought a '30 'A' 2-dr sedan, it was a former '70's build street rod that the new owner had been re-building when Eddie bought it...The PO had installed an Ididit tilt column yet he never correctly tightened down the linkage collar to the steering box, among other things. When we went to unload it off the trailer at Eddies house the steering shaft came loose and the car darn near ran into the garage wall before we got it sorted out.

 

Will say though that on a 'glas car sometimes a screw will strip out and the choice is either filling in the screw hole, finish it out and re-drill(the proper way to repair it)or inserting a larger diameter screw...or, the way I did it on my Cobra when I had a tail light housing #10 screw strip out of the 'glas when re-assembling the car. I whittled down a piece of dowel to fit the hole applied a little bit of epoxy, let it sit until cured then redrilled the hole...can't complain it's lasted for over 14yrs now...LOL.

 

Oh yeah on Ed's Model A the radiator/grill shell was held on by oversize sheet metal screws rather than bolted on, and the passenger side motor mount was never properly bolted down the nuts and engine bolts were finger tight...YIKES! ....it took us longer to correct PO installations than most anything else...

Well, let me chime in since I'm the owner of the Nashville Beck. I bought the car from SE after the 8k in upgrades were done. All I've done was install different seat belts, put Porsche badges all around and change out the hubcaps. The reason I'm selling is because I've decided on buying a Beck Spyder. I take it to our local cars & coffee each Sat and get throngs of people and photographers snapping away. There are a couple guys who own Vintage made Speedsters that sometimes park next to mine so I can compare side by side the difference. I can tell you that the difference is nite and day as far as build quality and fit and finish. Sorry to all you guys who own other brands, just speaking the truth. Also, the customer service from SE is amazing. Carey goes above and beyond answering questions and directing me to different websites offering aftermarket parts, etc. I will stick with a Beck built car when I get a Spyder. 

Can't go wrong with Special Edition!