Cobra guy looking to add a replica to stable

Hi, everyone, I own a Superformance Cobra. I know the Cobra builders really well and know which ones are good and bad. I am interested in doing a new replica of a porsche, but I have no idea who is the best and who I should be looking at. Any insight or suggestions would be appreciated. You can also email me if you want to be private.

Kirk, if you have not done so already, take a look at the "makers" tab to get an idea who is or has been in the 356 replica business. The members of this forum own cars from many of these builders and we are all very proud of our cars. We tend to try to avoid the best/worst kind of questions for what I hope are obvious reasons.

What it really boils down to is your expectations for your replica and the factors that make that plan a reality. (ie. budget, features, chassis, engine, fit and finish....etc). You may want to take some time to peruse the website and discover some of the answers from the vast expanse of knowledge and experience that is contained here.

In the meantime, good hunting.
Hoss
ps. quite a departure for a Cobra owner ;-)

You should check out SAW or IM. Saw is probably more advanced in terms of plant (engine drive train) and IM detail and cosmetics but still uses the VW style aircooled engine. There are a number of IM owners on the site and a few SAW owners on the site. I think one of them had about three breakdowns driving the car home from IM (the carhad the breakdowns).
It all depends on what you want. IM is top dollar, Saw is pretty expensive as well with Beck, Thunder Ranch, VS and a few others in different price ranges and levels of craftsmanship.
Depends upon what you want.

Hey, I don't want to be left out, but I don't have my car yet so I can't give you a lot of feedback. My car will be here soon and then I can give some updates!!!

Of course my SAW is the best SAW...LOL. I'm just kidding don't throw anything at me!!!!

Steve this is a friendly site unless you say something bad about IM.
All you have to do is have IM in your post and a certain moderator will edit it for you.
The truth (very philosohpical as What is truth is the heart of philosphy)or the truth as I see it is they are all good cars. Some fit a smaller budget perfectly, some allow you to tinker, some allow you to buy the most expensive but at the end of the day they are all replicas, toys for fun and laughs to be enjoyed.
So enough already about waxing on about IM.

Of course you haven't.

I think the gentleman in question should elaborate himself on the oil leaks, the pully issues and carb problems he had on a long drive with interuptions along the way.

Come on you can do it. You can say you had problems with you IM I know you can do it!! I have faith in you that you can fess up and elaborate that you have the same problems as others!!

For Petes sake, there isn't one of us who has not had a problem with his car. I had two going out of the garage. Faulty relay and 5th gear linkage adjustment.

Stuart, everyone has trouble with their cars, but you have made a "mystery" claim that slights one particular manufacturer, and not a general comment about all manufacturers, and it is unsubstantiated. It's not a big deal, but I am curious who had the breakdowns on their drive home. I've not heard about that.

Ron:

This is not a mystery claim. Nor am I slighting one manufacturer.
There is not one of us who has not had a problem(s) with his or her car not matter where they come from. Would you agree it is appriopriate to include IM in that catagory?
Hell I have had my own problems as stated.
But to call this a mystery suggests you are reading to many detective stories.
The car and owner of which I speak knows who he is. He is fully capable of responding.

OK, enough is enough. Let's keep our pants up and not show Kirk the skid marks on our unnerwear. This is a fun site, these are fun cars and let's keep it that way.

Hoss, you're still my choice as a moderator. I can understand why you don't want to be one. It's a shame that the ownership of a particular build Speedster makes some people experts that tend to look down on others. Keep us honest, quiet and someday we'll elect you Pope.

Hoss, Amen for your timely post!

Kirk,

As with the Cobras, you get what you pay for. As the former owner of a Vintage Speedster, I can say that they provide a very high fun per dollar experience. As the current owner of an IM, I can tell you that the level of execution and drivability is incomparable, as it should be for the price differential.
As far as mechanical woes go, ALL of these handbuilt vehicles by each manufacturer will experience "issues" regardless of price. The support that is offered by most of the builders is very respectable. In my opinion, the legacy created by IM is quite significant. Due to their innovation and quality they have been producing 356 replicas for 30 years. While I hope that SAW's genuinely innovative interpretation on the 356 theme will prove as long lived, the number of examples currently completed is a long way off of most of the other builders. JPS builds a very nicely finished format of the Vintage Speedster example of the 356 replica. Beck also has a nicely finished example.

Your decision as to which builder you want will likely be predicated on how much you are willing to spend. But the bottom line is, all of them will provide huge smiles per mile.

Stu,

Your postings used to be far more integrous only a month ago:

Stuart Eisenkraft
(stueis)
New York,NY US
Donating Member
2005 Specialty Autoworks posted 8/11/2005 8:41:10 AM
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John it would seem t me that a lot of info could be gotten from the OK sister SOC site which will be more Euro centric for research.
It would also be the like target to pick up a model in Europe.
That being said I reserched the manufactureres via this site.

"There are far more knowledgable people on this site to help you further than I."

Bon chance

Nolan, thanks for the compliment, but I'm not a Catholic.
Hoss
aka: the rope-a-dopin' pope from Tellico Village
or
red dirt bawl bagger #2

Ok Hoss, how about "Supreme Reverand Rabbinical Paster Elder Brother Shepard in Charge"? I know it's a mouthful but you really deserve it for your patience and ability to put up with all us mavricks.

I can not find integrous in the Merriam Webster Dictionary.
If it means pissed off that id what I was yesterday. It has passed.
IM SAW VS, JPS what ever floats your boat Dan and everyone else.
Enough already!

Thanks everyone, I have received several emails and it really helped having several insights and it has given me a great jump start on what I'm looking at and where different manufacturers fall in the scheme of things.

I have to admit, I don't know what "integrous" means either, but I'm guessing it is some form of the word integrity that people have changed with an ending that doesn't really exist. Of course I tried to look it up without success also, but thats ok.

Steve, when are you getting your car? And will you be taking it to Carlisle next year?

I'll sure be unhappy if he doesn't make it. It was hard being the "lone ranger" last spring ;-) I had hoped that Bill Re was going to make the trek from Boston, but he didn't, so I was the only SAW owner present. I'm hoping for a better turnout next year. Stu, how about you....ah, well maybe Idaho is too far?

But then there is the left coast event, right? You could meet the famous Vince Manto in person. He's really a nice guy. I liked him immediately when I met him.
So there Vince
Hoss

I am thinking of it albeit I might not be in my speedster. This would be a great oportunity for me to learn about these cars at the event!
It would be great if Steve was there and Kirk you could see all these cars from all the different manufacturers!
By the way Kirk Thanks for your support.

As we all know, we have some very tech oriented gearhead types on this website and others that just love their cars. While I have some mechanical background, service-related and self taught, I was pretty ignorant about VW engines when I first came on the scene. With the help and encouragement of the SOC board members and John Muir's book, I became a passable mechanic and not afraid to take on many tasks. I felt it was a case of "must do" unless I wanted my VS to continue to run like crap. I cured it.

With the SAW car, there really isn't much to do except change the oil and filter and watch the fluid levels. Pretty simple by comparison. That makes for a great car for somebody who is not car mechanics oriented and has no desire to be.

If it was not for sweet bride Sarah's new toy ('63 bug), I could go into permanent VW retirement. I just sent off an order for parts and supplies making many of the same choices that I did for the VS. So, once again the feckless tuner will be on his back adjusting valves. Life is forever beginning.
Hoss
RDBB #2

Hoss, as Muir says in his book, you need that hands-on LOVE thing between you and your ride (remember that book was written circa the swinging sixties, when flower power ruled). Amazingly, it's true. VW's and old Porsches tend to bring that in you and it's definitely therapeutic.

Thank you Hoss, you are a Gentleman, I also liked you upon our first meeting, I do, and will make fun of that gigantic hat of yours, but it is all in fun.....

Yes, I will be going to Carlisle this year. Of course, I have intended to go the last 2 years and ended up having to cancel. I'm afraid going to the west coast may have been a fluke as this seems to be a lot harder time to get vacation. Last year I flew out, and this year I could only get a couple of days. I just don't know if I could do the back to back 12 hour days it would take for me to go to knotts.

Kirk, my car is on the way, and I'm no expert either, in fact, you hardly hear from the folks on this site, that I think are the most knowledgeable people on these cars. I have enough experience with VW engines that I got a bad taste in my mouth, but lots of guys "seem" to have no problems. I think it has a lot to do with luck and the kind of luck you make for yourself by having a big engine built by only a top company, or having a small engine that doesn't really need a lot of care in its build.

I wonder where Jim G. ever went. Last we knew he posted some issues with his new Vintage and dissappeared???

Talkin' about Hoss' big hat, check this picture out; it's over 20 years old. That's all 5'-8-1/2" of me in college being the Guitar Hick with an old Harmony Guitar. I still play but with much less hair and much more weight; and hopefully have learned a lick or two...

Now Jim if you are going to continue being a blowhard please be accurate. I have to be exact 428 miles on my car prior to linkage peoblems. I turned back and I think wisely had the car fixed by the manufacturer. I was ignorant to have thought I could pick up a new build and drive 2,000 + miles.
Now you knowing so much should have known better when you picked up your IM. Didn't you have three or so break downs on the way home from Henry's including oil leaks on your $65,000 IM, You "Uptown guy" you????
Attacks from you make me laugh. You are so easy to spool up.

The Jerk!

This all makes me feel real good, I am picking up a new Beck in Boulder the end of Oct. and going to drive it to Phoenix, about 900 miles. You all make it sound like a horror show, but think I will do just fine.

And please boys, try to play nice.

Jerry

We all need to be out driving. I will be, soon.

Stuart. The fact that you are posting advice for newbies when you haven't driven your SAW except for a test drive (when it had glitches), and have never turned a wrench on one, well that's one of the reasons I and a few other folks have a problem with you. You don't know Jack about these cars. What in the heck gives you the nads to be giving advice on the different types.

Congratulations, Jerry. Have a fun trip and safe trip. I'll put money on your Beck making it in style. I admire your driving spirit.

Stu, I'm calling your BS. If you would like the facts on my trip ask the folks that I drove with: Scott Sloan, Dale Bates, Paul Harford, Henry Reisner, Eddie Janis, Terry Vallon, Angela Lane and others. You might want to check with John Leader, Mike McSween, Brian Bell, Bill Steele, and others that drove the car. I'll let any of them speak for me and the IM, my IM any day.

JW

If I may add a calming voice in the interest of the truth. Yes, Jim did have a problem with his car on the way south to Knotts. I had intended to post this earlier but I had to wok the dogs.

Jim and Scott showed up at my place for a pre-knotts BBQ and Jim's car was smokeing. When we lifted the engine lid to look for the problem we found the alternator pulley jambed and the belt mangled. We also found a service station window wash squeege with a wooden handle in there. Jim had stopped for gas many miles north of my place (Dixon, Ca) and checked his oil when he fueled up. He used the squeege to support the engine lid because he had a full suitcase on his luggage rack and the lid would not support that weight. He also checked the oil (before it had time to flow back into the case), found it low and added some. It looked like the squeege was left in the engine compartment and had bounced around, jambed the belt and f'd up the pulley. The added oil was not really needed (we later found his dipstick was marked incorrectly, so he really over filled it) and the oil blew out the sand seal, making a real mess.

Thanks to the guys at BugFormance in Sacramento, they put the necessary parts in their dumpster for me to pick up after they closed. No charge and said we could settle later.

We discovered the dip-stick issue the last day of Knott's. Jim and I were going to drive to CB and talk with Pat and Bob, but after finding the problem, Jim headed straight to Oklahoma, with now issues.

Yes, Jim had some issues with the car. Mostly caused by his over exuberance and "stealing" the squeegie (inadvertently for sure).

As to the Cost of Jim's IM. That is between him and Henry actually. I know about what he paid and the $65,000 mentioned above in speculation is WAY the heck off. Probably by at least 20K$. That is a lot to pay for a car, but it was Jim's money, not ours. I know for my car I paid just about half of that speculative amount about 4-5 years ago. I have never regretted or given pause to the cost of the car. If you have the bucks, they are your's to spend. Enjoy it, the kids would probably spend it on something stupid anyway.

Well I'm not telling what I spent, because it just isn't something you tell people when your from the midwest. But I have to say, I'm really good at spending money and some of the things I buy are down right crazy in price. The sunvisors have to be the craziest money I have ever spent in my life, but I do love them!!!!

Stuart,

You are really an increadable BORE. You just won't leave it alone will you? Get a life and start worrying about your car instead of what everybody else paid for their drive!

Bruce, 2003 JPS

Steve, I understand. Bruce, thanks buddy.

Dale, thanks for sharing the SqueeGee Story, my friend. I hoped a few months would make it go away, or at least be not such a PTSD loaded and Vivid memory..... FWIW, Dale just gave the story, and the only story there is on my IM... self induced. Murphy, 4 days of steady driving (breaking it in), my dumb-assed forgetfulness, and a thought of a cold beer about 80 miles of I-5 south are to blame. I've done worse things in life. His guesstimate is within +-5%, for those interested in such things.

JW

Whenever you are in a new car, especially something like these, you are bound to be distracted and do things you wouldn't normally do, its actually a good story for anyone getting a new car.

It points out how much more careful we need to be with all the distractions of having the new car. This is extremely true when you first start flying a different airplane. Of course, the bigger and faster they get the more time you spend in training before you get in the real thing which helps. But, I have seen really good pilots do some really dumb things in airplanes they weren't used to, in fact I had a guy in a Citation Jet not realize he was going away from the VOR and not towards it, and by the time he realized his mistake he had failed his checkride. I had flown with this guy hundreds of hours and he doesn't make mistakes like that, but in a new environment all sorts of crazy stuff happens.

Jim, the stories just make the trip that much more fun for sure, and I am sure you are not the only guy, myself included, to do something just a bit on the "dumb" side with a new toy. I am looking forward to the trip from Boulder to Phonenix, and not really worried to much about having any trouble. Talked to Bernie Bergman yesterday about the engine, and he insured me that there will be no trouble. Think I will take one day to tour the Denver area, just for a shake down, then over the rookies I go. Like you, I am a bit excited about the car, but will remember the squeegy incedent just to keep my head in what I am doing. lol.

Jerry,

My first speedster was a two year old JPS that I purchased in Orlando, FL. Put the car through a PPI which turned up no issues and flew down to FL and drove it home. 900 plus miles to Washington, DC with out incident. I was impressed and called John Steel to let him know that he built a great car. His response was that it's no big deal and happens all the time. Congratulations on your new car and have a fun ride home.

Karl