Green Coupe is born

Well, still "no promises" from John and the Carlisle show. My guess is there is too much left to do to make it, but he thinks it may be possible. It was in paint last week, and don't know if it's back yet. The basics, which I think are in my profile, run roughly as follows: Carmona Red Metallic (a current Porsche color) with Cork leather rolled and pleated seats and trim/ w/ dark red piping and accents. A new tan synthetic (vs. German wool) square weave carpet. If you look in John's Gallery at "btbuckets" picture, you will have some idea about the interior color scheme. Frame is w/ the welded tube chassis, IRS, 4X disk brakes and the 2332 cc engine, and Pro-street tranny. You only live once, my friends, so why back off? Life is too short to drink cheap beer and run 1600 cc. Add in driving lights and grills over the lamps, and that is about it. Dark red tonneau, I think.

Well, I just got the bad news. NO GREEN COUPE for Carlisle. :( We are officially delayed. Can't say I'm surprised. Was getting way to close with much to do and a number of glitches with the silver coupe have slowed things down. (I think the silver coupe is still slated to be there but I am not sure of that.)I would rather wait and have it right so I'm dissappointed but ok with it. OH wel. Now waiting for the updated ETA. Good news is I am still going to Carlisle with my Speedy (all 1600ccs) and I don't have to deal with getting the green machine home. Thanks to all those who offered assistance it was greatly appreciated!

Tom,
I'm bummed! I was really looking forward to seeing your car. I admire your outlook, you're right about not rushing things, you'll be better off in the long run.

Tom,
John is very deliberate in his creations. Trust me the wait will be well worth it. John does not rush things that would sacrafice the quality and looks of your car.

Dang! I was gonna christen it by bashing a can of beer over the bumper.

Lane -

We thought you were going to christen the car by bashing your head against the bumper with a MOUTHFUL of beer!

Either way, it's a waste of good beer. JMHO.

Didn't say I was gonna use GOOD beer.

If you promise to break it all. I will buy you a case of Rolling Rock and Yuengling. That is beer made for a gutter. ARFFFFF

'Olde Frothing Slosh"?

Rolling Rock USED to be good IMHO . . . When it was brewed in Latrobe using Laurel Mountain spring water "from the Glass-lined tanks of old Latrobe" but Anheiser Busch bought the company, closed the brewery and now it comes from NEWARK! I just hate how they think they can take a cool company with a long tenured staff, a great heritage and the "33" mystique and turn it into a marketing brand to sell more BUD in a green bottle. Its the end of a legend in these parts. Oh well. A proper pint o' Guinness is my preference anyway, not that I'm really that fussy.

Oh by the way John Steele has confirmed the Silver Coupe WILL be at Carlisle. At least I get a glimpse of what's to come. ETA is now shipping by end of May for the Greenie.

I think I have a can of Olde Frothing Slosh somewhere, which BTW was a product put forward by the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. (Iron City) around Christmas time. Maybe they still do. Reported to be the only beer with its head on the bottom. Very cool, in a western PA, Pittsburgh steel worker sort of way. And as to Rolling Rock, I gues I missed where it went Budweiser/NJ. Eeewwww. Used to love those pony bottles.

Other news: go to JPS website and see the latest, and numersous, shots of the "Silver Coupe". John says its going out for its 100 mile run this week-end, and he'll let all know how it works after. Also confesses he can't stay out of it, and is driving it everywhere.

As reported in another thread, John drove the silver one to Knott's last weekend. It was the only car he had there (well, mine was there too). The coupe is a beauty!

Green Coupe Update:

John says next week things will really start coming together and pics will be coming almost daily. I hope he is true to that statement as "next week" has been going on since March.

Still, the Silver Coupe at Carlisle really has me jazzed for the final outcome and confident it will be well worth the wait. John says he is more excited to do this car than any since John Leader's gray 58 GT. WOW . . . I guess if he's having a lot of fun this may just turn out to be one fantastic build. (I'm sure hopin' so). Stay tuned. I'll post pics as I get them.

Hey I still need a name for the green machine and my once creative mind is drawing a blank. We had a few . . . Any more help out there? It needs to work on a Pennsyvania vanity plate. C'mon and thow out some more ideas for me. Please and thank you.

One of the things I find so great about this site is sharing the excitement, input and ideas of the combined experience building, tweaking and personalizing cars here. Turnkey or homebuilt. New or used. From the Hoopty to Mickey's new Kart. It's all great fun and I can tell you all that both the SOC and Speedstershop are already a big part of my speedy and this forthcoming coupe. So don't stop now - kick in your 2 cents (or more).

Thanks.

Hey Tom,

Your baby is getting closer to birth, super! No names yet but we'll start thinking. It was great meeting you in Carlisle. Good luck with the coupe, we're anxious to see pics and we'll have to road trip up to see it after arrival.

ECB

Kermit?

Most of the common vanity names will have been taken.

0GRNLFT "no money left" OBKSLFT "no bucks left"

Alan, I think those are "right on the money"!

I'm going to use "MTWALET" on my next ride.

...MTWALET (Meat Wallet)?!!

...oh, Empty Wallet! Nevermind..

Tom,

See other posts recently made elsewhere. I have also been getting the "next week" mantra from John on my build for quite a while now. Believe he's having trouble at his paint shop. Or, he has a lot of builds in progress, and the shop is only so big. Or, he is really in Hawaii spending all the down payment cash, and has bailed out completely -- I hope I am just kidding on that one. Once, I was sure my car was getting behind because John was spending too much time building yours. Likewise, I bet you thought your car was being held up because he was spending to much time working on mine. Probably, he was spending too much time on the Silver Coupe, so it would be at the Carisle Show, and we have both suffered. I have no idea what the truth is. Patience is a virtue, or so I am told . . .

Kelly-

Been there, done that. I hope the car is all you expected. It's the 7th of June, and we're burning daylight.....

WELL . . . some pictures . . . not much. The base chassis, and a Nardi wheel. Not near as much as I had hoped for but at least something is happening. Not sure if these are current or a week old.

Going with a leather Nardi. Will be Cork instead of black and have baseball stitching. Should look cool. Still DESPERATE for a look at that green body.

Well at least I can go take a spin in the speedy . . . Sorry Kelly!

Hey Gerd, maybe you can get some pics????? ;>)

Kelly, I have been enjoying my new Speedster for a little over a week now. I wondered who the anonymous benefactor was.
You don't mind I'm gonna give it to you next week with bald tires and no shift knob, do you?

First, though, let's observe standard lost-and-found protocols. Can you describe the missing car?

Tom,

Ain't that a beautiful seat? Looks like mine: Cork w/ dark red piping. And as for chassis: if you see one you've seen them all. If John sends me the exact same picture (he promised to send me some shots last night) then we'll know.

Cory: I know how to hot wire. It's 11:29, PM. Do you KNOW where the Hoopty is?

Uh ...

Lemme tell ya, it'll do some great donuts on the beach (until the beach patrol comes to run you off). Woohoo!!!

Cory should be able to wash off the sand.

Every time this thread rotates up to the top, I click and expect to read something, ANYTHING, about delivery or forward progress.

NOTHING. Oh, OK, a couple of brackets . . . a seven minute job to weld in place, but otherwise, nothing.

Quit teasing us. Bury this thread until there's some exciting, genuine news. Please! Or AT LEAST, make something up.

You're KILLIN' us . . .

I think it's ironic that you just rotated it back to the top.
Oops. Me, too.
Might as well make this entertaining, since I've gone and bumped it. Here's a shot of a green coupe to appease the masses:

. . . . Just got pics of the finished car ready to ship: Oh ya caught me . . . the pic is titled green ORIGINAL . . .


Cory, That is the same green coupe I took home from Carlisle. The ONLY green coupe I took home from Carlisle. And STILL the only green coupe I own.

TC . . . You really think it's any better for me???? I'm dyin' here. I think John HAS been making stuff up.

"...I'm dyin' here. I think John HAS been making stuff up. "

I have known John along time, There is absolutely, positively, unequivocally, just wouldn't happen, unimaginably, no way John would do that! Not ever! Nope!

and his cars don't leak. ;)

Dale, My apologies. I Didn't mean to jump on John or impune his integrity. My post above was unfair and untrue. I was only venting some frustration. I know John to be honorable and I TRUST HIM. After all he has a pile of my cash and I gave him a lot of it before I ever saw a real JPS Coupe - all based on his very strong rep.

I just get a bit frustrated by the "next week" that never seems to come. Maybe he just gets a bit overly optimistic in what he thinks he can get done by when. I don't know, but I am not the only one with this complaint. My car was supposed to be painted March 9th, and every week thereafter and now is due to be back from paint "next week" yet again. This time I think it might actually happen as he is promising actual photos MONDAY instead of "next week". I understand there has been a paint shop issue and he has space contraints and so on. All understandable stuff. Plus this IS a brand new product, not a speedster he has built numerous iterations of. I Understand all that.

HOWEVER, John could help his clients a lot by coming up with some way to keep them up to date with regular reports of actual status and progress or lack thereof and the estimated date to finish (even if there is no change). My complaint is simply what is promised and what actually happens. I would much rather get the real story BEFORE I have to prod for answers. Just a weekly email would be good and I have told him directly all of this.

That said, I would still recommend him. In the end I have faith I am going to get a great finished result, and that it WILL be well worth waiting for. I still believe in John and JPS and am very confident my JPS coupe will be a very special car.

There is also nothing that makes waiting any easier. THAT IS THE HARDEST PART. Fortunately I have a Beck I CAN drive unlike poor Kelly with nothing but normal transportation to deal with . . . or maybe a hot-wired HOOPTY. Hey Cory, have you checked the garage?

Hey Kelly That IS your seat, not mine. I have no red piping. Just cork. All cork.

Nice seat! I like it for your red car!

Okay. Now I'm officially in love with a car we can't prove exists.
SOMEBODY (Tom) had better plan on making a celebration out of the arrival of said coupe. And he had better plan on inviting all the people he told at Carlisle and here on the site that it was coming.
And we had better all go.
Whaddya say we plan on a dart-at-a-map location to drive to, hmmm? Take a map of the mid-Atlantic, agree on a date, lt Tom throw the dart and call that his shakedown cruise?
BYO lunch?

All in, say AYE. (Those opposed, eat a sock until after the vote.)

Tom,

You do not need to apologize to me. I was being just a little bit sarcastic. Just a little.

Cory, you betcha. I think its a great idea to cruise somewhere so I can drool all over the Hoopty and you can check out the green coupe that does not yet exist. I just have NO CLUE when to plan it. Regardless, I think we need some more midatlantic events to enjoy our cars.

TOM AND KELLY
DOUBT IF JOHN HAS BEEN TO HAWAII. I WOULD WORRY IF PARIS HILTON SHOWS UP TO COURT IN A GREEN COUP. :)
GUYS IF YOU HAVE READ MY PRIOR POSTS I HAVE SAID JOHN IS LIKE AN ARTIST.
IF IT ISN'T UP TO HIS EXPECTATIONS ITS NOT GETTING DONE. I TOO HAVE A PAINT ISSUE CAUSE SOME IDIOT DROPPED THEIR CAMERA ON MY CAR AT THE PASO SHOW AND I NEED A RETOUCH ON THE DOOR. JOHN HASNT BEEN ABLE TO DO THE TOUCH UP CAUSE HE IS TO BUSY WORKING ON TWO COUPS. NOW IF I COULD JUST SLAP MYSELF FOR DROPPING MY CAMERA!!!!

Tom, Cory, et al.,

I can ditto Tom's sentiments about the frustration on the one hand about endless, baseless promises and the still strong belief that JPS will produce a very right product -- sooner or later. Tom and I keep the faith, stretched thin as it is. As to the Mid-Atlantic Tour/Celebration/Shake-down I am WAY in on that one, only how about we make that a double? My feeling (based, as I have said, on little to no actual information) is that my car and Tom's will be out the door rather close to one another. If that is what ends up -- hey, maybe they will come east together on the same truck and save a little $$ ? -- then we can have both cars in the touring group. Can we aim at that?

See, Kelly ... If you'd have ordered the car when you were a young man, you'd have it by now!
:

There are many variables when assembling a speedster constant set backs, revisions, adjustments and upgrades.... no matter how many times you do the same basic car over and over, then just about when you begin to pull out what remaining hair we have, it all seems to come together.