Hello

Keep the build photos coming. We like other projects too so feel free to post those as well.

@Derrek Johnson posted:

Long time lurker, first time posting.  I see a few car friends here that I know and looking forward to learning more about this community and Speedsters. I built an old CMC 356 Speedster about 15 years ago. Had a lot of fun with that car. I have been restoring vintage Porsches for the last 10 years as a living, plus building a few crazy one off customs. I have been bothering Jonathan for a few years now about building one of their coupes and that time is getting closer. I have to finish my 1933 VW Truck first and the progress on it has been slow due to a 1969 BMW E9 2800cs Coupe that has been bounced off guard rail and nailed all 4 corners of the little BMW.

Derrick - Stan Galat here. Welcome, my man.

Welcome to the Madness, Derrick.  I'd reeeeeeally love to see pictures of the restoration of the E9.  That's always been one of my favorites.

Welcome to the Madness, Derrek, from the Great Wet Coast of Canada!  We'd all love to see pics and things like what's in your Speedster- what you did for brakes, is it irs or swingaxle, engine and trans details (if you have a list of engine specs and what r&p was used and any comments/observations I'm all ears) and even tire sizes on your flared beast.                                                                                                                                      And just call me Al _{(come on- you know the tune!)}

PS- 1933 VW truck- is that a typo?  Regardless, tell us more!

We are certifiable car nuts welcome !

Huzzah. Welcome aboard!

@Stan Galat posted:

Derrick - Stan Galat here. Welcome, my man.

Great to see that you are already here and have paved a way for me.

@ALB posted:

Welcome to the Madness, Derrek, from the Great Wet Coast of Canada!  We'd all love to see pics and things like what's in your Speedster- what you did for brakes, is it irs or swingaxle, engine and trans details (if you have a list of engine specs and what r&p was used and any comments/observations I'm all ears) and even tire sizes on your flared beast.                                                                                                                                      And just call me Al _{(come on- you know the tune!)}

PS- 1933 VW truck- is that a typo?  Regardless, tell us more!

That lamborghini orange pearl CMC cal speedster was years ago but it was on a 66 pan, so a swing axle. It did have disc brakes on all 4 corners and was motorvated by a 1835 with dual 44 webers. The 1933 VW truck is a one off that I up and decided one day that the world needs a 1933 VW hotrod truck that never existed as VW didnt arrive until a few years later. I bought up 6 sheets of 18 gauge steel a bunch of 1'x2' square tubing and began forming my truck on a 1967 VW beetle pan that I stretched 11". It has power 4 wheel disc brakes an hopped up 914 2liter engine, trans by Rancho, a ton of one off handcrafted items like the flying vw cog wheel.Fabbed up my own intake manifold to house 3 inline 40mm downdraft carbs with 6" tall velocity stacks. Its in the bodywork stage and should be in primer by the end of the month, then paint and final assembly.

@Derrek Johnson posted:

Great to see that you are already here and have paved a way for me.

Brother, I've been here for 22 years. It's where all the cool kids hang out.

Forget FB, this is where the action is.

_{PS- You'll like it - but please no politics, and pretty-please no Covid. We've got jar-heads, we've got lefties. It's a big tent. Feel free to share with the class the details on your many, many projects}

@Robert M posted:

Keep the build photos coming. We like other projects too so feel free to post those as well.

Thanks Robert. Here is a few shots of Das Speedster a 1962 beetle that I sectioned 4'',shortened 12",narrowed 3",channeled 4" and made into a two seat VW roadster

@Lane Anderson posted:

Welcome to the Madness, Derrick.  I'd reeeeeeally love to see pictures of the restoration of the E9.  That's always been one of my favorites.

Thank You. My E9 customer has asked that I dont post any pictures until after its finished but here is a few shots from before the restoration.

@Stan Galat posted:

Brother, i've been here for 22 years. It's where all the cool kids hang out.

Forget FB, this is where the action is.

_{PS- You'll like it - but please no politics, and pretty-please no Covid. We've got jar-heads, we've got lefties. It's a big tent. Feel free to share with the class the details on your many, many projects}

I have been reading and looking at pictures on here like a kid that just had the best Christmas ever. Jonathan is the one that lead me here.

... For the class:

@Derrek Johnson is one of the most creative, multi-talented custom car builders I've ever met. Like most everybody in this part of the world, he cut his teeth on 'murican iron, and built magazine-featured hotrods before making an interesting toggle into the weird and wonderful air-cooled world. The root beer colored "Heinz '67" Beetle was stupid-cool and gorgeous. He's a serial innovator, and doesn't like to follow the orthodoxy in any genre.

He lives in Peoria, and has a one-man shop in a quiet unmarked building in a small town 10 minutes from my front door. He's brilliant, and more than a little crazy.

He'll fit right in.

@Robert M posted:

Keep the build photos coming. We like other projects too so feel free to post those as well.

Thank You. I will do that. Probably not all of them as there have been a ton of builds come thru my garage.

@Stan Galat posted:

... For the class:

@Derrek Johnson is one of the most creative, multi-talented custom car builders I've ever met. Like most everybody in this part of the world, he cut his teeth on 'murican iron, and built magazine-featured hotrods before making an interesting toggle into the weird and wonderful air-cooled world. The root beer colored "Heinz '67" Beetle was stupid-cool and gorgeous. He's a serial innovator, and doesn't like to follow the orthodoxy in any genre.

He lives in Peoria, and has a one-man shop in a quiet unmarked building in a small town 10 minutes from my front door. He's brilliant, and more than a little crazy.

He'll fit right in.

LOL  Thanks Stan,I think.

@IaM-Ray posted:

We are certifiable car nuts welcome !

Outstanding.In that case I have found a new home, Thanks

@Michael Pickett posted:

Huzzah. Welcome aboard!

Thank You

Your skills are quite apparent and other than friendly banter I seriously doubt I could ever offer advice to you on how to get anything done. Those are some very very cool builds. I like the truck and the Das Speedster beetle. I read what you did to get there but that’s something I doubt I could do. But I know I like it when I see it. And I like it.

@Derrek Johnson posted:

That lamborghini orange pearl CMC cal speedster was years ago but it was on a 66 pan, so a swing axle. It did have disc brakes on all 4 corners and was motorvated by a 1835 with dual 44 webers. The 1933 VW truck is a one off that I up and decided one day that the world needs a 1933 VW hotrod truck that never existed as VW didnt arrive until a few years later. I bought up 6 sheets of 18 gauge steel a bunch of 1'x2' square tubing and began forming my truck on a 1967 VW beetle pan that I stretched 11". It has power 4 wheel disc brakes an hopped up 914 2liter engine, trans by Rancho, a ton of one off handcrafted items like the flying vw cog wheel.Fabbed up my own intake manifold to house 3 inline 40mm downdraft carbs with 6" tall velocity stacks. Its in the bodywork stage and should be in primer by the end of the month, then paint and final assembly.

Cool build. I love those wheels. Every time I see them I check the manufacturer to see if they’re building 4.5” wide ones. No love.

Welcome to the madness.

@Derrek Johnson-  I'm a VW guy from waayyy back, Derrek, and would love to see pics of the 'root beer colored "Heinz '67" Beetle' Stan referred to if you have 'em _{(and anything else you think we might be interested in, which you'll find is quite a lot).  A lot of us are not just Speedster owners, but real car guys, and appreciate a wide variety of stuff!}

This picture does the paint zero justice, but you get the idea.

@ALB posted:

@Derrek Johnson-  I'm a VW guy from waayyy back, Derrek, and would love to see pics of the 'root beer colored "Heinz '67" Beetle' Stan referred to if you have 'em _{(and anything else you think we might be interested in, which you'll find is quite a lot).  A lot of us are not just Speedster owners, but real car guys, and appreciate a wide variety of stuff!}

I named it Heinz67 as it has many different years of VW parts,Porsche bits and even 1970 Subaru 360 parts. Suspension was completely redesigned for the air ride as ride height is set at 45psi so the best riding VW beetle that I have ever owned. Color is a custom mixed HOK KBC rootbeer Kandy over a black base so the depth and shade flips depending upon the sunlight. interior is chocolate leatherette with cream piping. Every square inch was slathered in dynamatt and the firewall and parcel tray was covered in 1inch thick hushmat. You could carry a conversation easily at 80mph. rear bumper is moved in against the body via a fabricated stainless tube system that is swedged on one end to hold it in place and also has hidden pins for those long road trips. Split bumpers up front that are moved in close to the body. Rebel Wire custom built me a wiring harness so the fuse box is under the rear seat and that enabled me to hide every single wire. We actually miss this VW as it was super comfortable.

Here is a unusual full blown custom that no one will ever really recognize what all we did to it. Its a 1971 Subaru 360. There are 22 full body modifications done to it. Its just my Dad and I and we do everything in house. Just having fun. My Dad does all of the sewing of the interiors and helps with final assembly.

Incredible!

I have been wanting to start building 356 Coupes and Speedsters but with all new chassis. I have been bugging Jonathan at Kitman for a few years now and am moving in that direction. I need to finish The Vodge and my 67 911first. I have been discussing and designing a new chassis with Midwest Chassis that builds 7 second 1/4mile chassis cars. Granted Midwest Chassis cars go in a straight line but this chassis will be for daily driving and canyon fun. I imagine the route that we are taking, one could add additional bars and go road racing with it if they so desired.

It looks very reminiscent of a 1960 Fiat 600.   Suicide doors, rear engine, small frunk, rag top, 4 passenger, and probably over 50 mpg......Bruce

@aircooled posted:

It looks very reminiscent of a 1960 Fiat 600.   Suicide doors, rear engine, small frunk, rag top, 4 passenger, and probably over 50 mpg......Bruce

Japanese have always been good at copying. Ragtop on the Subaru was a challenge as it came with a fiberglass roof panel. in order to support the sliding ragtop, we had to fabricate a entire new roof,loft and supports. Crazy little car weighed 600lbs and was formed out of 22 gauge steel. You could dent it with your thumb.

@Derrek Johnson thank you for posting such spectacular work. I like and admire everyone on this site but I reserve a special affection for dudes who make stuff. Welcome to the madness!

milestone day for me. All of the fabrication on the 1933 VW Vodge is done and slathered it in House of Kolors KD3000 epoxy primer. This also let me know that Audi Nardo Grey is not the color for the Vodge. Now on to bodywork and sending parts out to the chrome plater and powder coat. I put it back together as we are having our shrimp boil on Labor Day.

Love it...

I'm stopping by tomorrow, @Derrek Johnson. You going to be around?

@Stan Galat posted:

I'm stopping by tomorrow, @Derrek Johnson. You going to be around?

Please do,Its been a while. I still go to lunch around 1300 to 1400.

People of Earth!

I've seen the Vodge. It's as cool as it looks in the pictures. I also had a peek at the bagged 240D 5 speed, all hunkered down and ridiculous.

Stupid-cool stuff, @Derrek Johnson.

@Stan Galat posted:

P

Thanks Stan, It was awesome to see you as well. Its been too long. Cars n Coffee this saturday.