Classic Speedsters

I just became aware of this site and have seen some commits about Classic Speedsters.
I would like any information about them.

Ask away.......... that is what we are here for !



Alan M

Please identify yourself. Are you in any way affiliated with Classic Speedsters?

Looks like, from the web site, that she's with the place out in Hyannis, MA on Cape Cod who sell (among other things) Speedster Replica's

Diane, your name is listed as a contact on the Classic Speedsters home page. Why would you need information about that company from us?

..and apparently the company won't tell her anything about the cars, so she's asking us (?). Diane, they are too small, uncomfortable, noisy, quirky, overpriced, no air conditioning (most of them anyway), no power steering, no power brakes, no door locks, no power windows, have plastic thingys that you stick into holes in the tops of the doors instead of roll-up windows, leaky when it rains, inadequate heating when its cold, require constant maintenance, many are built on used chassis' that are at least 35 yrs old ,,,, and somehow they sell themselves!

Because cars don't need all that power junk..

Especially if you want to just look at it and not actually drive it anywhere...LOL

I think she ment to say she read some negative "comments" about her company and would like to know why?

I'm guessing the negative comments or commits have to do with the general opinion expressed on this site that its better to buy, if buying 'new', directly from one of the makers rather than a middleman dealer, which is what I'm guessing Classic Speedsters is.

Out of curiosity I just used the forum search feature re: classic speedsters. All I can say is "No commit".

you guys are so bad.......I think you scared her off.......

Diane:

Please contact our forum moderator, Theron, at: theron@ididthat.com
(don't forget to remove the "antiviral" part of the address so it'll go through)

He has an email questionaire that you can fill out to provide us with pertinent information about your company.

From time to time, someone gets on here and asks about Classic Speedsters of Hyannis, MA, and no one really has any info about the company. None of the members of this forum, to my knowlege, have bought a car from your company, so we have not yet established any company background, other than the web site. Since very often we provide personal references to other people about the companies we know of providing Speedster replicas, this information can be quite important, for them AND you.

There are precious few Speedster providers here on the East Coast, and we would certainly welcome a company which proves to be competent and reputable and can offer good references to us. Please contact Theron to get the ball rolling for you and Classic of Hyannis.

There are several competent forum members within a couple of hours of Hyannis, and I'm sure some of us would be willing to come on over and pay you folks a visit if you would like to show off your shop.

Gordon - Good point about durth of Speedster manf/builders on east coast! Street Beasts in FL is about it (there is/was one in VA too - York Cars?) If she were to give Speedster Owners a 20% dicount on reasonably prices parts and accessories that too would drum up interest in her company. As would some knowledge tips from her builders.

Gordon, on the contrary, one of the N.J. club members purchased a car from this company.

John:

I hadn't heard that. I get asked occasionally about them, but to be honest, I have no data. Maybe I need to pack up the Jack Russells and take a ride on over there to check them out, and also if any of you folks (both regulars and "lurkers") have bought from Classic Speedsters, please give us some feedback.

Thanks, Gordon

I visited their facility two years ago. They had no speedsters at the shop. There was a beat up 914 racer. The owner was nice enough to have a client bring his wide body VS by, to show me. I was impressed with the car.

I was a little under whelmed with the ability to show me a copy of the car I was interested in. I was looking to purchase a classic body. I called weeks ahead to say I was going to be on Cape the week of 4th of July.

I expected the dealer to have some investment in the product he sold. He did not have a car on the lot. His establishment was not a car dealership. It looked more like a mechanics garage.

Well, in that case, looks like a field trip might be in order.

Team Evil! Want to take a ride out to the Cape? Lunch at the Daniel Webster Inn over in Sandwich?

gn

Last month I called them to make an appointment to see the car, called on tuesday and made arrangements with the owner "Bill" for late friday. When I got close to the shop I called to confirm I would be there soon but was told (after traveling 5 hours) that the car was gone until the next day. The person I spoke with on the phone at this time (name unknown) supposedly tried to call and get the car there but whoever had it refused to bring it in for me to see. When I got home, after not seeing the car, I emailed Classic to express my anger over the deal and also told them of this website. It seems others have had trouble dealing with them and could they explain. This is why she is now interested in this site. I am not sure why the car was not there or who actually owns it. All I do know is to be very careful when speaking with them and to be clear about your appointment. There seems to be some lack of communication between "Bill" and "Diane" for some reason so it is a good idea to speak with both. Diane has been friendly enough and has appologized so the verdict is still out as to whether or not I will travel another 5 hours in an attempt to see this car. There is a dealer in CT called Auto Turismo Sport, they do claim to have a car to see so that might be the next trip (still 5 hours.) Sorry for the long post.

Similar to my experience. When I called before I started my vacation a car was available. WHen I called while at the Cape it became an issue of finding a client willing to show their car.

I met the guy from Auto Tourismo at Lime Rock last fall. He has cars to see. He services and sells both Beck Spyders and VS Speedsters. Decent guy.

Actually I feel inclined to apologize to Diane for seeming like a smart-ass in my posts above. She did have the nerve to contact this group to try to begin to understand an apparent business problem. But it was confusing to figure out exactly what she was asking for in her vague request. If she is genuinely interested in better serving clients and prospective clients of Classic Speedsters, I wish her the best.

I think its obviously a mistake for companies, regardless of what business they are in, to establish an internet presence and then figure out how they should conduct their business later; putting the cart before the horse. The Speedster replica business is a very specialized, niche market. Its limited clientele thrives on word-of-mouth, and this site is perhaps the favorite means of communication for enthusiasts. It seems REPUTATION of suppliers, marketers, builders, etc means EVERYTHING in this business. A good reputation, once established, is hard to damage; a poor reputation is hard to overcome.

Not there to show you a car they are trying to sell? Where do you think they will be if you have issues with a car you bought from them?

I bought my car from Classic Speedsters! What a nightmare! No Bill was not there to help me with problems with the car but neither was Kirk. If it wasnt for Auto Turismo I would have been in a world of trouble. You will never go wrong dealing with Steve or John at Auto Turismo they are stand up guys. Between them and John Steele from JPS they helped me get my car straight. Form your own opinion!

Auto Turismo sounds like a good operation. How much of a mark up do they get on a Replica and which company are they reselling? If the mark up isn't too much above what shipping would be for a single car.. say 300-700 above shipping then they may be an alternative for someone who feels like they need some type of shop to go to and have a need to see what they are buying. Some are just more comfortable with a car lot I guess. Nothing wrong with that... different strokes.

I haven't dealt with Classic, but have read the posts. I wouldn't bother calling a second time...

My opinion remains... if you want a turnkey Speedster Replica, you are better off dealing straight with the builder. It uncomplicates who to go to when things aren't right. Besides, the price is right. I bought 'direct' from Kirk and have always been treated right by him, in fact better than "right'. Call it outstanding service and assistance from VS. My dealings with John Steele have been of the same high caliber. I absolutely know that Henry is a good man and would not hesitate to buy from him, in fact I may.

I know, SOS DD... but you can't go wrong with dealing with the builder, or building it yourself. There are three or four out there reselling VS... and I scratch my head in amazement when I see the mark up.. and with a major risk of having no one to go to when things go bad.

Just my opinion..
Jim

If you live on the East Coast Auto Turismo is in Conn. They sell VS cars. The advantage to this and I dont know what the mark up is they go over the car completely when they take delivery of it so that when you get the car there are no issues. That is worth it's weight in gold. Both owners Steve and John are stand up guys. Califonia is a long way for us East Coast guys. If I had to do it again for what I want JPS would be my choice. Henry is in a leauge all his own. He builds a great car just more than I would want to spend on a replica.

Not really in to defend Classic Speedsters, I've never had dealings with nor visited there, but I DO know Cape Codders and they are as onery as Down Easters and THEN some. I would imagine that it is near iIMPOSSIBLE to pin a one of their clients down for a show and tell. He/she might make the commitment just for the fun of braking it! And then watch the results from across the street! Even if they live Off-Cape, the smallest bit of bad blood and the slightest chance to 'get back at 'em" would foul the whole thing up.

I've worked for a couple of start-up businesses and garages who tried to become vendors/distributors and it's JUST SO HARD that I'm surprised that these folks have made it this far, NOT that I would recommend investing so very much money in an unproven venture company, but a contact/company/distributor on the Cape would be very welcome, if only for the occasional part. It would be pretty nice to know that you could pick up a new windshield locally. Or better yet. just contact the insurance company and set up a replacement/install through Classic. Drop of the car, have lunch on Cape Cod and pick it up in a couple of hours.

What's wrong with THAT scenario?

Gordon, YEAH a road trip-field trip-shop tour-hearty snack sounds like heaven. I have a few assignments that demand attention right now, but we HAVE to set this up for later in the Summer!! GREAT idea, man!!!!

TC

Well, it sounds like we've got several opinions and past experiences to draw from here, and I, for one, would like to see what this operation looks like but, based on what we've seen thus far, I don't think I want to make a dedicated trip (and can't get out there for a few weeks anyway). TC: I'll send you an email (have to get your bumpers over to you anyway) and we can set something up for mid-Summer as things get less hectic.

I'm glad that Auto Turismo in CT. seems like a stand-up kind of place, deserving of business. There really aren't any places around Eastern New England selling Speedsters (or 550's for that matter) so most are either home-built or bought from the West Coast, Thunder Ranch or Beck, but that still leaves us wanting for service. There are a few (like maybe, two, now, that I can recommend) aircooled engine mechanics left in the Boston area, and I'm always searching for others elsewhere in New England. Finding someone who knows the rest of a Speedster is impossible..... A high school friend has a classic and street rod dealership in central Massachusetts and he might be interested in re-selling Speedsters.......just for the heck of it I think I'll call him and find out......you never know, and he's been building rods and classics since high school so he knows his way around car building and service.

I get several inquiries about where to get a Speedster just about every time I take mine out so the market and demand is there in this area, and certainly the excess money is floating around. You can't, however, set up a web site with pretty pictures (taken from the VS web site, I might add) and expect to sell cars of this nature. You must have high quality examples of your work to show, treat potential customers with respect and dignity, have a clean, competent shop operation, be able to handle and correct any problem that may arise before and after the sale and have at least a dozen truly satisfied customers BEFORE you ever start advertising on the web. ESPECIALLY with a technically competent forum like this one evaluating just about everything and everyone out there.

It's OK to build and/or resell body kits from VS or Beck or anyone else - you just have to be very good at it, with a strong reputation for quality and service to match, BEFORE word-of-mouth will give you accolades.

Diane, are you listening to all these posts?

I think the balls she had in her first post, fell off and rolled across the floor. That is as soon as we found out she works for them. Lets see if this works. HELLO!

I love this site. 27 responses to a comment that hasn't been made yet!

Try a slow dance and ........whisper in her ear :)

Alan you sound like a man who knows the dance! And here the rest of us were more into the date rape angle.

I prefer a slow hand approach (appologies to Conway...RIP). Flowers, champagne, a simple seven course dinner in front of a crackling fire and plenty of conversation. If that doesn't do it, then F.H.E.O. anyhow.
jph

I'm wait'in for her to come back with ........

"You had me from hello"

Alan " Dance Man" Merklin :~)

For what it's worth, I've actually seen one of the cars (and it looked pretty good) at a recent Fathers day show in Hyannis MA.

No other experience with them, but they do exist, or at least they have 1 car to show.

Bob E aka Boston Bob

PS - to local MA or even CT/RI/NH area people - feel free to bring your car to the annual VolksVair Show in Shrewsbury, MA Saturday August 7th. Plenty of VW's and especially Dune Buggies, but a few Speedys make it also.

Open to any and all "air-cooled" VW or Corvair cars.

Go to www.the-bug-club.com for more info.

Boston Bob!

I used to live about 5 minutes from Hebert's Mansion and got over there a lot in the past, but only once with my Speedy. All of their shows are usually really good.

I'm trying to find time to install an external oil cooler and may have the car torn apart around Aug 7'th, but if not I will plan on attending.

Gee.......didn't know there was a Speedster in Hopedale - used to work over the hill in Hopkinton at the place on South Street and lived in Grafton for over 50 years. Moved to Rhode Island to be close to the water.

gn

Gordon,

There's very few around for sure, but I've seen a tan one in Bellingham, and a silver spyder in Medway over the years.

I understand the calling of the ocean, I'm down the cape as much as humanly possible on weekends, in Dennisport.

Hope we have good weather and that you can make it to Heberts on Aug 7th.

Boston Bob

I'm suprised how many MA posters are on here now. In the 3+ years I had my tub, I only saw one other replica on the road other than the few that Classic had on hand then.

As far as Classic goes, here's my comments from an earlier post on them. Jerry White can indeed provide a buying experience comment that's even worse than my perspective.

Prior post text:
Classic Speedsters = STAY AWAY unless you want a light wallet and a big headache!!!!

Bill S. resells Vintage cars. He is at best a mechanic that can work on big block, 60's iron. Most of his speedster mechanic work is done by other people. He has had three locations in three years - Wareham, Bourne, and now Hyannis. Call the Better Business Bureau and you'll get an very long dossier - none good. He claimed to "know the ropes" on getting a speedster registered in MA. After four months and no progress, I found this board and with the help of the members used US Title to do it myself. Send me an email if you want to know more.

Hey Brian!
Good to hear from you again & I still never forgot all the help & knowledge you provided me when I was a rookie.~R

Hi Brian! I'm over in Tiverton, RI, not far from Gray's Ice Cream. There's another Speedster in town (although a weekender) and also John Estes way down in Matunuck.

Will you be able to make the Hebert's Mansion Show in Shrewsbury, MA. on August 7'th? We're trying to get as many Speedy's there as we can find.

If not, I'm thinking of hosting a "Coastal Winery run" later in August - should be a good time.

See ya! Gordon