COVID BOREDOM = SPEEDSTER PURCHASE

Brave move! Good luck and put up more pics when you take delivery. Have you identified an air cooled mechanic in your area?

Congrats! I just recently put in an order but have a long wait ahead. I’m going with Ivory as well. Just fell in love with the color from the various pics VM has posted. 

@iczer34 Our site administrator @Theron lives in San Jose and @Ryan (formerly) in NorCal and @Kevin - Bay Area should be close enough to go on drives with you and help you locate a local air-cooled mechanic to help out when you need it.

congrats. Beautiful speedster. 
I messaged you on Instagram as well. 

My Instagram (for my car) is: lil_pickle356

Thank you guys! 

@Robert M awesome!  Hopefully soon, we can all get together. 

WTTM!

Good on ya, @iczer34. We only get to do this once, might as well do what you want.

Very cool! I recently put in an order through Greg’s other dealer, Cloud 9, located in Atlanta. I also had a very smooth experience. I haven’t personally spoke with Greg at VM, as I selected all of my build options through Roy at Cloud 9. Might have to check in with Greg at some point though just to say hello. 

Unfortunately, I live in Minnesota. I am probably pretty far from most of you! I will also have a short driving season lol. 

  I also purchased thru Mark at Hubbard , was in scottsdale on a business trip last year , stopped by , drove it , bought it , shipped in a couple days was at my home in  new York . Have been enjoying it ever since .  

@TwinCitiesSpeedster posted:

Very cool! I recently put in an order through Greg’s other dealer, Cloud 9, located in Atlanta. I also had a very smooth experience. I haven’t personally spoke with Greg at VM, as I selected all of my build options through Roy at Cloud 9. Might have to check in with Greg at some point though just to say hello. 

Unfortunately, I live in Minnesota. I am probably pretty far from most of you! I will also have a short driving season lol. 

Awesome!  Spoke to Greg briefly regarding his assembly process, parts, and engine.  Very  knowledgeable and actually recommended I go through his dealer.  

Minnesota eh? My family lived in Mankato back in the late 70s for a short period.  We actually have quite an interesting connection with Glen Taylor.

Enjoy your Speedster in good health! Post pics too.  

@CAPTAIN posted:

  I also purchased thru Mark at Hubbard , was in scottsdale on a business trip last year , stopped by , drove it , bought it , shipped in a couple days was at my home in  new York . Have been enjoying it ever since .  

Nice! Mark at Hubbard has an excellent collection at his dealership.  Many out of my price range for sure.

Hi All - my Speedster was recently delivered and have had it for a few days now (60 miles in).  This thing is such a blast to drive and definitely a head turner.   Slowly getting acclimated to the driving dynamics of this little car.  So far, so good.

A couple of things perhaps you folks can help me point me in the right direction...

1) After a spirited drive, the car emanates some pretty intense engine/gas fumes.  Parking the car in the garage doesn't seem to be a good idea, as I'm airing it out from time to time.  Is this normal?  I checked the fuel tank, vapor line, fuel line and don't see any leaks.  I keep the frunk and trunk lid open sometimes to help it air out.  Is this just an engine break-in period?

2) Attempted to put the top up and i'm about an inch away from snapping it in place. Kept it down for now.

3) Blew a 15A fuse when I switched on the high-beams.  The headlights and retro radio seems to be using the same circuit and somehow overloaded.  I've since replaced the 15A fuse and all is fine so far.  Thoughts?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Below are a couple of photos I took on my short drive. 

cheers

jason

Is this you first twin carbed, air cooled engined car?

These cars tend to have a certain smell when parked in the garage after a run. I personally love it. Part gas part oil on a hot air cooled motor.

The fuel bowl in the carbs are also open to the atmosphere, so your going to get a tinge of fuel smell, even when it's cooled off.

If you've checked everywhere for any unusual leaking or seeping, I'd say your good. I'd check around the carbs and inspect the fuel line and fuel filters back as far as you can. Also look under the front of the car to see if there is a leak there from the line going into the tank. This is where your fuel pump might reside too. These are hand made cars and take a certain amount of sorting after receiving it. Your carbs could also being running super rich.

My not so mechanical brother in-law was visiting from that side of the country. He ran into the house alarmed that he smelled gas in the garage. I just laughed at him and told him that's the smell of performance. That, and there are 3 chainsaws, a weed wacker, and generator sitting next to a car with twin carbs. Your going to get the sweet smell of gasoline.

If, after a thorough inspection, with no leaks, you can't stand the smell, then maybe letting it cool off with the engine lid open and the garage door open might be what's called for.

Good luck.

@Carlos G Thanks for the reply! 

Yes, this is my first twin carb'd air-cooled engine.  I'll check again around the carbs and fuel lines by the engine. 

It's not so much that I can't stand the smell, it's the spouse and children!  I do wish I had a detached garage then I wouldn't have to be 'alarmed' all the time by these sweet voices

Let's see how long they can stand it, otherwise i'll need a car cover to leave it outside

Welcome to the Madness. Once this Covid thing is done we have the annual West Coast Event in San Luis Obispo in June. And a less formal event know as the Tour d' Hoe that usually occurs after Labor Day at Lake Tahoe. The founder of the event recently left the fold (only in car but not in reality)  but I acquired his license plate so I will have to assume some of the responsibility for this event. Stay tuned for fall next year.

"2) Attempted to put the top up and i'm about an inch away from snapping it in place. Kept it down for now." - @iczer34

Jason, the problem may be the tensioners used to tighten the convertible top once its up.

These are just inside the each door at the bottom of the convertible top bows.

Here is the tensioner in the 'Off' position. Essentially, the levers must be in the 'off' position to allow you to pull the header bow onto the windshield to be attached.

Once you have the header bow attached to the windshield (chrome header-bow latches attached to windshield frame and snapped closed), you pull the tensioner levers up into the (locked) or 'On' position. This will tighten up the fit of the convertible top.

Hope you find this info useful. Wishing you many miles of top-down driving enjoyment in your new Speedster.

As Jim said tension flippers need to be down, then fasten the top to the header bow before beginning to snap the top onto the body starting with the center snap and alternating left to right , as you snap it into place if needed you to, you can stretch the top with the palm of your hand by pushing down on the top material to stretch it a bit , Lastly more the flippers to the up position.

@iczer34 posted:

Hi All!

I was working from home on a rainy spring day and like many, bored from 'sheltering in-place.'  Decided to peruse Youtube and stumbled upon a couple of Speedster videos.  Watching the pure joy on the driver's face hooked me and thus began my research.

From that day, i've been lurking on this very informative Speedster forum.  I realized from reading all the wonderful threads/stories that this was something I wanted to experience.  So...I ordered one!

Initially I had wanted to order directly through Greg at Vintage Motorcars Inc. but he had a 4 month lead-time.  Instead, I reached out to one of his dealers (Hubbard Auto Center in Scottsdale, AZ) and was able to take one of their upcoming build slots.  In addition, I was able to make any custom changes I wanted with the car being delivered in 6-8 weeks!  Dealing with Greg (at VM) and Mark (at Hubbard) was one of my smoothest experiences, highly recommend.

My Speedster should be arriving  in the new few days and i'm anxious to take it out for a spin.  Honestly, i'm a pure newbie as I've actually never even driven one - which should be quite interesting.

I'm located in San Jose, CA...looking to meet up with some NorCal Speedster owners as well.  With the recent fires and smokes, driving top down with the bad air quality could be challenging.  I do have some young children, so safety is a top priority of mine.  Any mods I should consider?

Build:  Ivory / Tan / 1915cc

CAN'T WAIT!

best - Jason

Instagram:  P356XY

@iczer34 Welcome to the madness. A few folks are up by San Jose. might see you in one of your cruise at Woodside by Alice restaurant.

@MusbJim and @Alan Merklin thank you for the feedback!  I'll try it with the tensioners down.  Saw a thread where another SOCer damaged his windshield, so I was apprehensive about putting up the top.

Car is so much fun to drive, just added a third brake light.  These also have amber turn signals which I wired as well

Will be installing some new Hella Supertone Horns, Fire Extinguisher, and Blazecut Suppression system in the coming weekends.

@iczer34 posted:

@MusbJim and @Alan Merklin thank you for the feedback!  I'll try it with the tensioners down.  Saw a thread where another SOCer damaged his windshield, so I was apprehensive about putting up the top.

Car is so much fun to drive, just added a third brake light.  These also have amber turn signals which I wired as well

Will be installing some new Hella Supertone Horns, Fire Extinguisher, and Blazecut Suppression system in the coming weekends.

@iczer34 The madness have begun. Nice 👍 3rd brake light. How does the horn sound like. I was looking for a good one.

Good idea to have a high brake light.  These little cars need all the visibility we can give them.

@calmotion posted:

@iczer34 The madness have begun. Nice 👍 3rd brake light. How does the horn sound like. I was looking for a good one.

Haven't installed the tones just yet, I purchased the pair with high (500 hz) & low (300 hz) tone frequencies.  Debating if I should install both or just one.  If I install both, i'll probably have to run a relay which I'd rather not do all the wiring (lazy!).

I'll post a YT clip once installed

@iczer34 posted:

Haven't installed the tones just yet, I purchased the pair with high (500 hz) & low (300 hz) tone frequencies.  Debating if I should install both or just one.  If I install both, i'll probably have to run a relay which I'd rather not do all the wiring (lazy!).

I'll post a YT clip once installed

You need to install both. Separately, they sound like kiddy kar horns. It's the dissonance between to two frequencies that create the "attention grabbing" effect.

FWIW, I installed my Hella horns without a relay and they are plenty loud.

Jason, glad you are enjoying your new beauty. Regarding the gas smell, I found that the source in my car was a bad gas cap that wasn't fully sealing. When the tank was full and I made a left turn (ok, maybe a spirited left turn) a bit of gas would leak out around the cap.

I have the larger 12.5 gallon tank so it uses a 60mm cap. After trying a couple, I ended up with a Stant radiator cap that's a perfect, fully sealing fit. Check around your gas cap...

@iczer34 posted:

Haven't installed the tones just yet, I purchased the pair with high (500 hz) & low (300 hz) tone frequencies.  Debating if I should install both or just one.  If I install both, i'll probably have to run a relay which I'd rather not do all the wiring (lazy!).

Your Speedster is beautiful, congrats. I recently installed a set of Bosch SuperTones and found this little guy to be just what was needed.

www.amazon.com/iJDMTOY-Wiring-...cluded/dp/B00XM107FC

.

@dlearl476 posted:

You need to install both. Separately, they sound like kiddy kar horns. It's the dissonance between to two frequencies that create the "attention grabbing" effect.

FWIW, I installed my Hella horns without a relay and they are plenty loud.

Same here. I also plugged in Hella horns where the old single horn had been (without a relay) and no worries.

Night and day difference in sound volume (and quality).

These are the ones I used.

.

@Sacto Mitch posted:

.

Same here. I also plugged in Hella horns where the old single horn had been (without a relay) and no worries.

Night and day difference in sound volume (and quality).

These are the ones I used.

.

I used the Supertone version, which I suspect is what the OP has, as they're 300Hz and 500Hz.

@JR_1979 posted:

Your Speedster is beautiful, congrats. I recently installed a set of Bosch SuperTones and found this little guy to be just what was needed.

www.amazon.com/iJDMTOY-Wiring-...cluded/dp/B00XM107FC

Excellent. I'm going to get one, break out my db meter and do an A-B test.

+1 on the Hella Supertones. I think they are perfect.

@Michael Pickett posted:

+1 on the Hella Supertones. I think they are perfect.

Jason,

I am also a new Speedster owner. Acquired mine much the same way you did. Mine is a JPS. I have experienced the same issues you have. Gas smell and difficult to put up. This site has done great members and they have a wealth of information and extremely helpful. I am pleased to learn the issues we both have are normal.

Thanks Paul

I'm glad this thread popped up. I was thinking this morning about how I've spaced out getting this relay installed.

Just remember, the VW way is a switch to GROUND to trigger the horn.

@DannyP posted:

Just remember, the VW way is a switch to GROUND to trigger the horn.

Jason please send the link for the third brake light. As someone else said we need all the visibility we can get. I installed a brake light flasher on my Harley. Wonder if something like that is available for the speedsters?

@Phisaac posted:

Jason please send the link for the third brake light. As someone else said we need all the visibility we can get. I installed a brake light flasher on my Harley. Wonder if something like that is available for the speedsters?

Yes. Same concept but for a 12V system. http://www.3rdbrakeflasher.com...-m1-model-p-181.html

The little black box that says STROBE is the flasher.  I installed one on my MX-5 Miata.  A Ford 250 engine drain plug is clearly visible when I look in the rear view mirror!

hey guys! sorry, been away from the computer for a few weeks decompressing... 

Here's the links to the LED and Strobe that I bought off of Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Wiipro-...rcycle/dp/B01GJGCR9U

https://www.amazon.com/WINOMO-...utomotive&sr=1-1

Please note that the wires fro the LED strip is 28awg and the strobe is 24awg, so i ended using these to connect them:

https://www.amazon.com/Kuject-...motive/dp/B073RMRCC3

I was able to wire the driving lights, brake light, left and right turn signals to the LED strip.  Works wonderfully, you just need additional wires to extend to your connection points.

Hope this helps!

@iczer34 posted:

Hi All!

I was working from home on a rainy spring day and like many, bored from 'sheltering in-place.'  Decided to peruse Youtube and stumbled upon a couple of Speedster videos.  Watching the pure joy on the driver's face hooked me and thus began my research.

From that day, i've been lurking on this very informative Speedster forum.  I realized from reading all the wonderful threads/stories that this was something I wanted to experience.  So...I ordered one!

Initially I had wanted to order directly through Greg at Vintage Motorcars Inc. but he had a 4 month lead-time.  Instead, I reached out to one of his dealers (Hubbard Auto Center in Scottsdale, AZ) and was able to take one of their upcoming build slots.  In addition, I was able to make any custom changes I wanted with the car being delivered in 6-8 weeks!  Dealing with Greg (at VM) and Mark (at Hubbard) was one of my smoothest experiences, highly recommend.

My Speedster should be arriving  in the new few days and i'm anxious to take it out for a spin.  Honestly, i'm a pure newbie as I've actually never even driven one - which should be quite interesting.

I'm located in San Jose, CA...looking to meet up with some NorCal Speedster owners as well.  With the recent fires and smokes, driving top down with the bad air quality could be challenging.  I do have some young children, so safety is a top priority of mine.  Any mods I should consider?

Build:  Ivory / Tan / 1915cc

CAN'T WAIT!

best - Jason

Instagram:  P356XY

beautiful build. can you post more pics?

@iczer34 posted:

@Carlos G Thanks for the reply!

Yes, this is my first twin carb'd air-cooled engine.  I'll check again around the carbs and fuel lines by the engine.

It's not so much that I can't stand the smell, it's the spouse and children!  I do wish I had a detached garage then I wouldn't have to be 'alarmed' all the time by these sweet voices

Let's see how long they can stand it, otherwise i'll need a car cover to leave it outside

I advise against leaving it outside. You car looks identical to mine, which is also ivory. I ordered it back in 2004. I also added the dual horns many years ago; the Hella horns I got were from Sierra Madre Collection way back. I added the relay (cheap one from Advance if I remember correctly). I also made the horn brackets on both sides out of some left over metal I had hanging around the house. The system worked well and is still alive and kicking.