Chris’ Beck Speedster Build

Yeah, I know.  Still am sorry you and Michelle won't be there.

Trying to get the bumper trim on. Special editions says to remove the rubber center to remove the bolts and center and mark the holes. Any suggestions as to how to remove the rubber center?  It came out of the side molding fairly easily but the bumper molding is narrower and very tight.
Temp here is about 65F.  

Gently massage the rubber a few inches at a time with a heat gun on low.  A hair dryer on high might get it to move but it'll take a looong time.  Don't get too aggressive with the heat or the rubber will blister - you just want to warm it up about a foot at a time and then pull it straight away, rather than trying to slide it along the length of the aluminum piece.

Yeah, what he said.  If it was warmer I'd recommend just putting it out in the sun for a while, but not this weekend.

Gordon & Lane, thanks for the advice.  I managed to get the two rocker rub strips installed as well as the rear bumper trim. Not fun. Though I did have able help from my wife, Angela. She want to know when I will be “finished”…

Finished??? it will never be "finished"

Oh, I know…

Nice work, Chris!

Some pics from two weeks ago when my brother flew in from California to help me get it started.  He is the guy without the white hair…

Chris: Were you able to get the bumper aluminum deco ends to lay flat against the FG bumper?  In past builds, I've used a block of wood and a C' clamp to draw the aluminum down, occasionally a small gap would remain. My fix, a self-tap 5/15" hex head screws every 2" ( do a small pilot hole ) it draws down and the heads are hidden by the rubber deco strip. I used a cut off wheel to remove the screws extending through the back side of the bumper.

Excellent pics and what great help you have there.  Two peas in a pod, looks like.  You just could not bring yourself to drill into that great paint, eh??  Had to lay that off on the help.  Tell me about the CV half shafts.  Who mfr?

Saranac -- they make a very fine beer.

@El Frazoo, yes, my brother was a great help.  And yes, I did give him the task of drilling into beautiful paint on new fiberglass.  In my earlier life, I was a big air cooled guy, but he was much more serious.  He spent three and a half years in Zuffenhausen in the late eighties, early nineties as an apprentice at Porsche.  But he could only be here one weekend so now I’m drilling holes in my rocker panels and bumper.   The CV joints and axles are EMPI, came in the hardware kit from Carey at Special Editions.  And yes, Saranac is a great NY beer.  Unfortunately I cannot find it in SC.

@Alan_Merklin, the bumper aluminum strip had hard bends at the end which meant straightening it with some scrap 1x4s and channel lock pliers.  Then used some rubber strips and wood blocks to bend it to match the curve of the bumper.  I like your fix of the small screws every two inches.  I will try that on the front bumper.   Thank you for the advice!

I recently had "some issue" with my left-side drive line, documented in another thread.  Long sad story having to do with loose castle nut.  Anyway, "while I was at it" I decided the CV joints needed to be replaced. I was not sure that the ones there (EMPI) were OK or not, but upon removal, it seemed to me not everything was kosher.  I shopped around and found a pair (Chinese made, but AB-SO-LUTELY, gauran-fking-teed to be better than OEM, finest possible materials used, exceeding all specs, and etc. etc.)  And a very favorable price where some other suppliers cost more and were "out of stock". Upon receipt, I had to admit they looked pretty good and I can say they turned very smoothly by hand vs. the EMPIs I took off.  So that was a hard lesson learned: those damn castle nuts need to be tight as can be, plus another 25 ft-lbs -- 250 is not too much, they say.  And retourqued from time to time as a maintenance item.  Just so you know.

PS and BTW: your car is gorgeous.

Hey, wait a minute. Are you a NY transplant to SC? I see NY plate, and yes, Saranac is a good beer. But more importantly, the Adirondacks are a GREAT area. Where were you from? I'm in the Hudson Valley, somewhat near Newburgh and Middletown, just south of New Paltz.

Car is looking great!

@DannyP yes, we are transplants from NY to SC.  I grew up in Duchess county, we raised our kids in Orange County in Cornwall, NY.  We love the Adirondacks, spent many Summers camping up there. We still visit on a regular basis as one of our daughters lives outside Albany.

Down here we spend a lot of time on the “upstate” of SC, that is the Northwest corner of the state.  Great driving roads there and into Western NC.

Chris, PM me if you come up to Albany, I'm in Ulster County Wallkill, about 15 minutes off I-87. That is, unless you fly to Albany, then umm, that's a bit(90 minutes) further...

You are correct, western NC and northern SC are gorgeous! Ditto for north Georgia.

Another update.  Followed Alan’s advice and the front bumper trim went on much easier.

Installed a floor jack in the spare tie well with leather straps to hold the tool kit.  Also added bracket and belt for spare tire.

Major milestone today, it is now registered and on the road in SC!

I would like to thank everyone on this site who offered great advice and support, it is much appreciated.  Special thanks to Carey and the team at Special Edition for the great support.  And last but not least, thanks to @Lane Anderson with all of the assistance getting the engine installed.  

Gorgeous, Chris.  Sorry I missed you at Ale and Octane last weekend.

I plan to start on the updated Speedster owners' manual in the next week or so and will probably need to schedule some time with you for a photo shoot with your car, if that's ok.  I know @chines1 will be glad to see some progress there.