Late to the party, as usual,. So DCM, we all anticipate being able to OFFICIALLY welcome you to the Madness, which process I guess requires you to have actually jumped the shark and bought one of these prizes. While you are "pregnant" with possibilities, so to speak, I think I see that you have what it may take to get on and down with one of the replicas. IMs are really nice, and the condition of others on the used market all depend, as stated, on who did what to them. that spectrum is wide indeed. You do sound able to navigate the shoals here and find something that works. The best advice given BY FAR is to come visit with us at Carlisle and get a more and better look and feel for The Madness than any amount of internet browsing will ever be able to provide. Not sure where you are, but sounds like within hailing distance of DC. I'm in northern MD suburbs, Highland, zip 20777. Could show you my car if that sounds useful to you.
@El Frazoo thank you. It would be great to see your car sometime - I'll PM you next time up in that area with time.
DCM- I love the feel of driving the car on the windy hilly roads of SoCal. I keep the car simple as MUSBJIM pointed out. There are two types of speedsters, show and drive- you decide. The feel is so close the real thing and for far less money. Yes, these old cars do need TLC, but what doesn't in a hobby of this kind.
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I think what ElGuapo really meant is don't make it a garage queen no matter what you are capable of driving (that means your budget) ....
His moto is simply, the kiss method, & .... drive it, drive it ... it's meant to be Over EnJOYED...
OVERJOYED.. 
@Michael B (aka bluespeedster SoCal) Awesome car and I completely agree with your philosophy!