Considering buying, want to pick some brains.

Not at all. I enjoyed the test drive Saturday, and since I'm not in a hurry will keep looking to see what comes available.

Rack and pinion steering is the way to go with these cars, and a larger engine.  You need disc brakes and a good suspension, if you really want to drive them well.

Bob, I agree with everything you say, but rack and pinion isn't the only way to go. A regular VW box can be quite tight and not vague at all. Drive mine.

Here is an original D for 185K.  

http://www.hemmings.com/classi...he/356a/1534930.html

Hey Keith - it seems you're doing the right research in your Speedster endeavor and more power to ya. This site offers a wealth of information and experience-based recommendations. As with any internet discussion, there is never a shortage of experts. You just have to take it all with a grain of salt (as you apparently have) and sort out the stuff that's useful to your specific need and budget. Best of luck to you!

Welcome to the Madness, my brutha! 

I drove an IM with R&P and couldn't really tell the difference.  Mind you, it was a short drive.  One thing I wish my IM had is power brakes. (yes, I'm getting old and soft).

Some time back I asked Joe Soltis to critique R&P vs the VW box.

Being center mounted there's some complicated and safety critical modifications to be made adapting an R&P, including slicing through the gas tank for two 90degree turns of the steering column. And, repair or replacing a R&P is exspen$ive.

Basically it's his experience that there's no R&P advantage over a 'tight' VW box on a street machine.

I understand that Soltis is prone to flashing triple digits on his speedometer...His opinion is good 'nuf for me.

I have to disagree with the rack and pinion assessment here.  From my experience, it is much more direct than the VW worm gear steering.  After having driven George Brown's speedster with R&P, it was so much more direct than mine with the standard VW steering box.

That's why I wanted R&P.  Maybe the standard VW box can be tightened up, but I still don't think it will match a R&P set up.

Anyway, YRMV.

You're not the only one who's fond of coupes, Keith.  My dermatologist keeps telling me that I'm not someone that should own a convertible.

My VA counselor tells me I'm not someone who should be out in public!

Yeah, Hawaiian Tropic SPF 50 is my daily ritual during driving season.

Sorry Bob, I drove a 2002 IM with a rack(22,000 miles). I have driven quite a few Speedsters with ball joint VW/steering box, plus 2 Spyders with the same. Although the rack that Henry uses is good, I can't say it is "it" for steering, or any better than a well-set-up steering box. My mileage doesn't vary on this one. I am in no way knocking IM! They are great cars! Henry does a great job!

Hey, I'm just going on my experience.  Whatever works for anyone is good.

Ditto.

I have the IM-spec R/P steering. It's better than a box, but marginally so. The bigger advantage is an increase in trunk-space. I'm seriously considering hacking up my trunk next winter, building my own gas-tank out of sheet AL, getting a dry-cell battery, and utilizing a bunch of oddly-shaped nooks and crannies for the fire-supression bottle, etc-- and still having enough trunk-space to take along a week's worth of clothes and spares.

That kind of stuff would be impossible without the rack.

Stan,  You probably know already about fuelsafedotcom.  They build racing tanks/cells/bladders in all shapes and sizes.  They also build 10, 12, and 20 gal tanks for Speedster frames, and offer some very cool through-hood gas caps.

I can't imagine Stan buying a sports car that didn't need any upgrades. 

In 1990 I bought a new 1990 Nissan 300 ZX. 

I sold it three years later.

Why?

I couldn't work on it.  Everything was new and worked perfectly.

At the time no one made performance parts for it.

I got really, really, bored.

Sound familiar, Stan?

Sound familiar, Stan?

Busted.

Any chance to get back on-thread??

You've heard an awful lot here, and the best advice given so far is to come to Carlisle and speak with these knuckleheads in person, drive several cars, meet the builders, and see for yourself.  It is a long way to come, but in the face of parting with or borrowing upwards of $30K, that plane ticket is going to seem pretty cheap.  A few personal notes:  I agree that IMs are, as a whole, the best builds, and the most expensive.  They also come in a wide range of fitments, if I can use that term, including a custom job all fit out w/ Porsche running gear head to toe, 911 power (and Subby too, I think).  Such cars are definitely NOT a VW in any way.  JPS makes a good car (Speedy and Coupe too) for a pretty reasonable $$.  Likewise Beck and VS.  If you get one new, you get to have it built YOUR way wrt trim, power, handling, color, etc.  Would you be able to know what you'd like to have along these lines? This is how I went at it w/ JPS:  found out about all the options available, made my choices, had it built. And I can attest that it is possible to get such a car with good brakes that will clamp you down in a hurry.  This should never be an issue w/ such a light car.

As many have said, there is a lot of variation in all of these things, and you can end up w/ what amounts to an odd looking VW (is, feels and runs like a Beetle) all the way up to a condition that I think is better than the original: faster, modern (i.e. new) components, and gorgeous.  I'd steer away from the used market, espec'y at a dealer w/ little to no knowledge of what he is dealing with.  Lots of good cars have traded on e-bay, as I hear it.

I sure hope you scratch your itch w/ a Speedy, as there is no better fun car, IMHO. But please know this: as a daily driver, you might find a few things lacking.  Water tightness is one, also the heat thing (unless you install a separate heater system, which is possible).  IM would claim that these deficiencies have been addressed and solved.  But there is no way around this: The cars are small, and this means they are hard for some folks to see -- folks in SUVs for example.  If you opt for tight handling, when running on all sorts of roads on an everyday commute might get a little tough on your joints. And let's just say it: these cars are not safe.  No matter how well built, there is not a lot of material between you and all the things that can hurt you. No air bags (so far as I have heard), for example. Roll bars can be added, but these are hard to do right, and change the look of the car rather much, I'd say.  There are some here that have daily driver Speedsters (not too many, I think), but for most, me included, the Speedster is a toy car.  Just the most fun ever, except when its raining, or cold, or snowy, or I have a long way to go.  They really are not made to run at 80 mph down the interstate, although you will have to do that some.  They are built for back country two lane twisty roads, and none do that better.  IMHO.

PS: Have any such twisty roads in Kansas, or wherever you hang out??

Thanks, this did get a bit off topic. I was going to recommend starting a new thread for that topic in a more appropriate forum. That was an interesting discussion that won't be easily found if someone searches on the topic, or would be available for anyone to read if they had just been cruising historical forum threads.

All good advise though, thank you. I hadn't thought about going to the Kit Car National event, but it's a great idea. Unfortunately it will have to wait until next year, as I will be convalescing from back surgery (my 4th) at that time this year.

My commute to work is actually about 5 miles, all of it city streets with a max speed limit of 35. I live in San Antonio TX, and we don't have particularly cold or lengthy winters, but it will get down into the teens occasionally. Summers on the other hand, can be brutally hot, at least they have been these last few years; and when we do get rain, it can come down heavy, and the streets on my short commute are known for poor drainage that results in some fairly deep "puddles". Fortunately the city is in the middle of an improvement project for the majority of those streets or areas that have historically been problematic when it rains.

We also have many "twisty" roads, and the Texas Hill Country is a great place to spend a day cruising with the top down. My wife and I love to go to what is known here as "Market Days" where each weekend a Hill Country community has an area established for people to sell antiques, art, fruits/vegetables, and other misc. stuff. These have been worked out so within our area, south/central Texas, they don't compete with each other,for example the first Saturday of each month is Wimberley, second weekend is Fredericksburg, etc. So it would also be a nice opportunity to put the top down and enjoy a nice cruise.

Anyway, thanks again for the suggestion, and all the information on Speedsters in general. Fortunately I'm not in a hurry to find and purchase one, so sifting through all the historical forums/threads/conversations, and comments from you and others all helps me to make a more informed decision when the time comes.

V/R

Keith

2 Bolts.  Get yer butt up here and bring Geraldine with you this time !