For you widebody boyzzz!

I was just surfin' around eBay and saw this car for sale ...not sure if these are our friends in AZ we like to critique or what, but this car has some nice touches, some interesting touches and I'm sure some stuff none of us would touch with a ten foot Polinski!
Item #
4500581100

That one caught my eye too,Not to sure about that plush carpet though.

The photo-settings sure look identical to where the AZ company shoots all their Speedster photos.
The car is actually kinda cool - in a really different segment. I'd like to see it in person.

Hydraulic parking brake may not be legal in some states.

Yep, AZ Specialties, dems da ones. I think the rimless windshield is kinda cool. Not sure about the carpet or robin egg blue engine tin/shroud. Could have used better looking instruments and trimmed the dash some. Top looks nice. They claim 40 large invested, a stretch there? The louvered engine cover should be flush IMO. Or they could have just used the grille and louvered the lid on the sides. I'd like to see the frame. I noticed the steering linkage going towards the hump, probably has rack/pinion. Nice car though.

BD

The wheels really don't go with this "street rod" configuration, the rears are too far inboard, the windshield is a $375 time bomb waiting to do the great divide on the first bump, rear louver looks like a last minute decision, the SW gauges get lost in the poor quality back painted dash. The speedo has been tinkered with (numbers are off and best not ask why I noticed that)...nice that we can all have opinions here, sorry to be so negative but it's just my .02

On the very positive side, I really like the Carson styled top...this would be a great take off for a hard top mold, the fit and look are great!

Some interesting details on this car although not traditional they work for a custom flared. Curious how the top attaches to the body, don't see brackets on the windshield or rear of interior.

Bruce,
Even though it can't be seen how it is attached in the front I'll asssume that it is done like the '53 Corvette replica I had.
The Vette had a tension "hook" on either side if the top, the bottom of the hook inserted into a drilled hole near top of the windshield post, then the hook was clasped into place under tension . The rear section can be done in a number of ways including a slot set up or a couple of pin type receivers into the rear body section..even a small bolt on either side of the inner body tub would work and still have a clean look........... Geesh I like the look!

Personally, I don't care for wide bodied Porsche 356 replicas (which they really aren't, since Porsche never made anything like them). Hard for me to understand why people would want to screw up Erwin Komenda's lovely classic Speedster body design.

George, It's a personal preference.The wide stance on the flare Speedster gives it more of an additude. It's true that most auto manufacturers did not make wide body cars. It was the real road racers that modified the chassis and bodies to accept wider tires for traction. Remember wider is better ! I guess you have to have that racing type of enthusiasm to really appreciate it. Now it most of the Speedster crowd had a choice of a basic 911 Porsche or a 911 Carrera Turbo .... the Carrera would win.

It kinda looks like they completed a CMC Speedster-C without having the rest of the kit, like door handles, grill, bumpers, windshield trim, turn indicators, tail lights, shine up tag light, etc... Now they did find a set of 67 Type 1 door handles and a Porsche tranny.

On widebodies, well some of us just appreciate the California Racer look. And, wider rubber is cheaper than taller rubber. But you can have it both ways 8).

How does the top differ from ours? I mean it has no snaps along the body and there doesn't appear to be anyway to hold it to the windshield frame because der ain't none?

I like the fact it has no door handles and that could be done like the low-rider guys with solenoids... in fact what if it were 'juiced' such that it could drop down a bit lower with the push of a button?

I sort of liked the engine grille but it does look lacking...what about a clear or smoke grey lexan scoop over it...you could still see the little louvres and direct air into the engine compartment.

Fuzzy dice yes, fuzzy carpet, NO!

Well I thought it was interesting and for about $15K-18K maybe a project to be further refined... and yeah, what was up with the blue engine innardzzz?

I'll say it for you Brian....PORSCHE 356 FLARED SPEEDSTER! Had the speedster continued production, it would have been the next logical progression. Oops, did I start something?

I used to be ambivelent ( no that's not a religion), but since george weighed in, my inclination is to always be 180 from him at any cost and every opportunity......So for the record.....I love wide bodied, flared fendered, lower the better, flat as a flounder, no chrome, billet city, frameless windsheild, speedster replicas. If "P" didn't make them that's their design loss , not ours. Remember they lost the war !


Gclarke "The vacaville Guy"

Boy... I miss my Phat-S VS )O:

The more I look at the black speedster on ebay # 4500581100 , it is growing on me a bit.
Some things I would refine would be the windshield posts , rear grill, wheels, headlights, tail lights, add Dakota digital Billet gauges

...And I miss this blue Phat "C" featured in the Carlisle '04 program

I too was revisiting this ebay item and this time noted the tail lights... I liked the idea, sort of Frenching them in but the lamps themselves look way to recreational vehicle surplus...and as small as they are, I hope they are really bright mothers!

No comments on how the top hooks to the front, huh? Today has been a day for wild ridezzz in the WideRidezzz machine...Got my top situated and up 'til 80 MPH pretty stable the balance of the day...

I too was revisiting this ebay item and this time noted the tail lights... I liked the idea, sort of Frenching them in but the lamps themselves look way to recreational vehicle surplus...and as small as they are, I hope they are really bright mothers!

No comments on how the top hooks to the front, huh? Today has been a day for wild ridezzz in the WideRidezzz machine...Got my top situated and up 'til 80 MPH pretty stable the balance of the day...

Hmmmmm Looks very familiar,I did similar tail lights, I used a aftermarket Chevy Frenched-steel housing mounted to the lower body section with a "New Beetle" bumper side marker lense. A lot of time to get the correct radius. It turned out to be no brighter that the stock speedster tail lights.

O.K. George,
You touched a nerve.
The genesis of the post was to get the attention of those of us with flared speedsters.(note that: I did not say the P-word or the 3-- number)
You chose to not only express your opinion...but to say that anyone with a flared speedster is driving a "screwed" up version of the P-car.

Interesting, that in later years p-car designers went more and more curvy with their fenders.
Kind of a Power trip though. You need the extra rubber for the extra HP. Safety-wise you need the extra rubber to come down from that extra HP velocity.
If memory serves, the ultimate power/testosterone trip P-turbos had dramatic flares.

Would I have the audacity to say that..

"Anybody who puts high dollars into a replica without safely reigning-in the power they've strapped into it...is still driving an unequally weight biased death-trap in desperate need of more contact patch and lower center of gravity..??"

Nope, I wouldn't say that..

George, I admire the research and execution of your car as well as John Leader's car and eventually Jim Ward's car. All of these cars are period correct. But, until someone drops a replica four-cam motor in one...we all fall short of 100% replica.

I'll ask that we all refrain from pissing on other peoples cornflakes and stick together as a group of owners that enjoys "the quest", "the execution" and "the drive".

Keep the shiny side up. Brian

As the driver of a lowered, flare-fendered, nerf-barred, largely chrome-less, wide-tired, big engined, loud-exhausted, Porsche 356 Speedster REPLICA, I find the more classic and true-to-the-original replica and original body designs, while interesting, they are kind of, I don't know, ORDINARY. Just like all the other "original" replica's out there.

I love the style for what it is, but I love the flared ones 'cause they make a statement.

Besides; from behind, mine looks like a Speedster on Steroids...

Hey Mike Cochrane! I got my new MAC (iBook G4) and have almost figured out how to use it! Wish it didn't have the "windows" shell over UNIX, though....would have been easier for me!!

Hey Gordon,

I know that you've probably mentioned it before, but where did you get the third brake light from? Fab it yourself, alter an existing part, bought "as is"? It just looks so PERFECT in that rear shot!

TC

Yeah, I wanted something to mimic the shape of the roll bar and it came pretty close, didn't it?

Late 80's thru mid 90's Chrysler convertible third brake light - all convertible body styles used the same light. Easily painted to match pretty much anything, has a nifty gasket 'tween the light and the body, has two bulbs and is pretty bright, too!

Found it in my arts bin, along with all my British lamp lenses...Naw, really I got it in a salvage yard....

I'm thinking of buying a widebody or flared fender replica,
can anyone suggest the best builders
Thanks
Bob in SC

George, can you help Bob out with this?

Dale,

Good one!

Bruce

Oh, sorry, I logged on and thought I was on the Cobra site

Ok, i found the right forum.

I like the Hot Rod look. Don't like all the peel on the dash. the windshield looks good, but may be a little scary. I dig the carson top, but the blue engine tin and mirror are lame. Carpet sucks, wheels too small. Spent a ton on the interior but forgot the dash pad, it just looks unfinished. But hey, for another $4000 you could have a neat car.

Everyone has an opinion, and mine is no better than anyones or the person selling the car.

I wanted to stay out of this conversation because i hate the whole wide-body vs. replica issue, but I checked it out. It is what it is-a HOT-ROD. It's not a replica, it's not a Porsche and it doesn't even look too much like either one. Some parts I like, some are just gouche (sp?). I'd rather drive a Speedster replica, but it's slow and handles like garbage. That said, they'll both get looks, they both won't rust, except for my frame because it's not a fiberglass tube frame.

It would be nice to get rid of the Harley logos on the mirrors. Nobody else seems to like the powder blue engine detailing, but it reminds me of old car shows where guys spend tons of money painting their powerplants the factory correct color when it just burns off anyway. (Is that the right color for an early 60's Chevy smallblock?) Whatever, as most have reiterated throughout this thread, different strokes for different folks.

But I'll conclude with my contentious point that it is not a Speedster replica. It's not even close, and that's not to say that some of you flared guyzz don't have flared replicas. This beast is just too different in too many areas. It's like comparing a shaved chopped, tubbed whatever to the original Detroit steel. I can appreciate it for what it is, an original design "inspired" or ruined from a "real" design of a car that actually existed.

The bottom line is, it's your money; do whatever makes you happy.

Bob:

Where are you in SC? We'll be down in Port Royal after Dec. 1st, so if you're close you can see my flared CMC.

CMC has been ressurected after chapter 11 as "Street Beasts" and still sell flared Speedster bodies - Jerome Smith on here built a nice one. There are still a LOT of CMC bodies kicking around that were never finished and can be had cheaply - check EBAY or the classifieds on here.

Vintage Speedsters offers a flared body with a slightly different curve to the fenders.

John Steel (JPS) sells a flared Speedster, using the VS body.

I'm not sure if Beck Speedsters offers a flared version body kit or not - Carey?

I do n ot believe that Intermeccanica sells a flared body kit.

That's about it for here in the states for the major producers, but, again, check the classifieds as flared Speedsters show up pretty often.

Gordon
One of the "Speedstah Guys" from Rhode Island

No flared from us... how about a Lister?

When looking at the blue engine tins that you can see the ground fairly well too. Looks like the tins around the lower engine pully have not been installed.

The wide vs. regular thing really is personal preference. Neither is really a Porsche anyway underneath no matter what the body shape is. I love the mean look of my CMC flared. It looks like a racing modification to a regular Porsche but if there is ever a "next" car it will be a slab sided one with wide fives. Still done up in competition style though but a bit more classic.

Tony

Brian, in my younger days I serviced a 4-cammer and what a pain in the ass it was to work on. And after all is said and done it only made 110 BHP (DIN).

Most Speedsters were pushrod engines, so why not have one with a pushrod engine that makes 220BHP? It handles very well indeed with the 901 IRS 5-speed, improved weight distribution, suspension upgrades, positive rack and pinion steering, and the brakes are far superior to those used on any 356 Speedster, so it's not exactly a death trap.

I did give very serious consideration to buying a rebuilt Carrera 2 engine for my IM (165 BHP) but decided I wanted more power and less service hassles. Now I still want more power (and with increased reliability) which is why the 911-4 engine is in process - with 2,500cc, dual ignition, twin Weber 48 IDA's, Jerry Woods GE60 cams, 10.5 to 1 compression, and a decent exhaust system it will probably make about 240 reliable BHP.

George,

Sounds great.

We all have different driving skills and styles. Mine currently requires more rubber and a wider stance to "tame" the beast during "spirited driving". I only have 120HP and a stock 4-speed.

With all of your "reliable" exotic power, wouldn't more contact patch and a wider track dimension make it more usable and sticky in the turns?

Do you autocross your car? Have you posted a 1/4 mile time?

Back to the topic.

At the races on Saturday there wasn't a single original speedster or coupe that didn't have something "non-traditional" or modified. Personally, the individual racing character of each of the cars was what this hobby is all about. Being different. If we all just wanted to be fast and sticky, we'd all be driving WRX's.

Enough typing...
'time to go drive my "screwed-up" tub around town and tell stories about my speedster buddy George and his East coast monster car.

Smiles.

Brian.

I like it... but would put my own twist on it. That engine color sux & I'd cut the fenders to meet the wheels (subtle flair), change the wheels &... boy I miss my X-VS garage furniture... I finally got a response form "Cliff" after a week & he answered one of my 4 questions. (Yeah!I want to do biz with him....) I thought it looked like a CMC body to me. He said it was a "Boyd" body. Hmmm.

Brian, the 195/65x15 Michelins stick very well due to the GT torque-biased limited slip differential in the 901 trans. It's pointless to have a lot of power unless you can put it to the ground without wheelspin, hop, etc.

George just touched on something... (in the privacy of his own garage, but that's another misdemeanor) Brian, remember the burn-out I did in the hotel parking lot at Knotts? Well now that the rest of the components are bolted in making the solid tranny/engine mounting, the flex seems to be gone. When I tippy-toed the clutch I got good bite and yesterday I did a near foolish clutch -dump and again, tire & wheels solid to the pavement... hardly any traction break in second, either. I was able to accelerate harder on the ramp from 680 south to Hwy 4 with relative inpunity; a little pitch but my 195's held fast. This car remains a VW on steroids afterall!

I'm continuing to learn that the car is more than the sum of its parts. I do believe that wider rubber would have prevented my loss of control and subsequent roll-over in my '60 356. I'm a product of power and want wide tires and fender flares where possible just because it looks powerful (in 2005 Porsche is returning the flaring to their 9-whatever they're called now! No more ode to Volvo)

Period-correct has its place, but not where the rubber meets the road!

Suspension engineering is a new subject I'm learning about. The best part of that subject is that it will accomodate both style bodiezzz!
...and many who have gone before me have left good info available.