Hello! And Help!!

Pilot, so what is it, 6'3" or 6'4"? From my experience in my Beck, I'm 6' and 200lbs and I fit, but the leg room and driving position is not what I would call ideal nor very comfortable on long haul driving. My suggestion: find a Speedster somewhere and see if you can get in and feel comfortable.

Vintage has made some cars with the "tall guy" option.  I have one.  I'm 6" or so, but it is all in my legs.  I put the seat forward a notch or two to drive.  It was a major factor for my purchase as a standard V.S. is pretty tight for me.  You may be able to track one down, or have one made "new" with the option.

Great questions!

Everybody's going to have an opinion about the things you've asked. Here's mine:

1) The seats move, but at 6'3"-6'4", you're going to need some tailoring. Pan-based cars have "dropped pans" available to get the floor lower in the car. I'd be surprised if Carey didn't have that as an available customization for a new build. Regardless, you'll want to have the seats sitting lower in the car than on a standard build. In my experience, sitting as low as possible, with the seat pitched back a bit gets my big 'ol melon completely behind the windshield. This is a big deal, and worth a trip to Indiana to make sure the car "fits" before it's all trimmed out.

2) If you built a plane, you can surely put a VW engine and transaxle in a car.

3) Everybody's got a favorite, but I'd recommend CB Performance, Blackline Racing, or some other higher-end VW shop. I'd REALLY caution you about doing price-point shopping: These engines are not small block Chevys- there is a lot of difference between a quality build and a "price-point" build.

4) I'm not a Beck owner, and I don't live in Texas. But I am an IM owner (no pan), and I live in a SEMA state. Fortunately for you, Texas (like my state) is a "SEMA" state, with a registration specifically for replicas, allowing you to license a replica as a vehicle manufactured in the year the car replicates (1957, in your case). Here's a link to the Texas rules:

Texas SEMA replica registration.

Good luck, and welcome.

Rich--

Technically, I'm 6' 3" and a half, but quit counting that way when I stopped counting birthdays that way   

What do you consider "long haul"? 2 hours? 3?  More? I don't envision this car as a road-tripper, but more of a touring, out and back kind of adventure ride.

Carey had some good words to say about my options as a bigger guy...pans, pedals, seat mounting.  I guess I'm looking for somebody my size with actual experience. Probably a long shot.

I am actively looking for a local car with a friendly "you can try it on" owner!  

My favorite length of drive is to Stan's place in Stanistan, about a 4 hour drive with about 3 pit stops along the way. If Carey is offering a custom "dropped pan" and adjusted seats, I would think you need to explore those options fully. I Would think Carey might be able to identify a Beck owner in Dallas for you.

Pilot, listen to the advice from Stan and Rich on the custom fitting if its being offered.  Don't take this wrong but big guys sometimes look funny in these tiny cars.  Stan is a big dude and he pulled it off with Custom seat mods.  IM's already fit tallish guys but Stan took it another step.  My brother is 6' 2" 230(or more) and it was comical watching him trying to get in and out of my IM.   The ladies were laughing there buts off.  We had a few cocktails so maybe that added to the situation.  This may sound rude or blunt but it also helps if your in pretty good shape or at least flexible as a Speedster with regular seats can get tiring very fast.  It would be a good idea to look at custom seat option in addition to the Beck mods that may be available.  

Trust Carey.  There is no better authority on Becks.

You're going to get vastly different answers here; Rich's idea of a long haul is 3 or 4 hours, while Stan's is across the country in 3 days.

Ya, but Stan is nuts.

...and it's 4 hours, Al, 3 hours is a piece of cake 

I resemble that. 

Did you get the bugs off your teeth yet, Stan?

I'm 5'10" and I sat in Stan's car. I couldn't see over the steering wheel! 

I felt like I was five years old, sitting in the driver's seat of my dad's Cadillac Fleetwood.

I'm 5'6"; I won't be able to see over the dash...

Pilot - Definitely listen to Carey about the big-guy options.  I'm not one (5' 11'', 175-ish) but I have long legs and He moved the seat back an inch which makes a lot of difference.  You will probably want the dropped floor as well.

As for how difficult it is to install the drive train, my car was done in 16 hours at the '06 Carlisle car show by a team of guys who knew what hey were doing.  Your mileage may vary.  After 8 years of living with the car and exploring its nooks and crannies I think I could do it myself in a couple of weekends.  Then the sorting process begins.  If you like working on cars I would recommend it as it will get you intimately involved with the car without being a months-long process.

Or you could just let Carey build it.

LOL, me too.  

Joel Schlotz calls it the "touch-points" of a car-- where your body touches the car. Getting it right it more important than the engine, the gearing, or anything else. Seats, steering wheel, pedal-placement-- it all works together. It's how a middle aged guy with 5 (!) bad discs in his back can drive across the country and back in 2 weeks.

During my build, I took a trip to Vancouver to try to get it right... and failed. I had to redo it on my own to make it "just right" (for me). My advise to all pan-based car-guys would be to get the deep pans, no matter what. If you are less than 6' tall, you can put in a seat with a taller base, or build up the base on a speedster seat. There are some really neat seats that are out of the question because the base is too thick. A lower floor solves that. If you have a long torso (like a certain ape-man I know), you'll appreciate very fraction of an inch, even running speedster seats. 

Terrific feedback from all.  Thank you very much!  Private messages were very helpful as well!

Stan, how tall are you, if I may ask?

I have a VS. I am 6" and 220lbs. I have always been know as a "big guy." It is a tight fit and on a long drive 4 hrs the inability to fully stretch my legs can get quite uncomfortable. Since I can rarely go more than 200 miles on a tank I have to stop for gas and that makes it OK. I added a custom dead pedal foot rest and that helps my left leg cramping. If I had a couple of more inches it would be great. Driving on the freeway is not comfortable or fun. 

Stan, are the deep pans a specific vintage?

Art

Maybe you could add a bit more legroom if you played with moving your seat back---or even get those original Speedster seats that ate thinner.

I am about the same sise as you and also have a VS.  We commonly do 600 mile days on interstates and I have the same 8 gallon tank.  I agree with you that stopping frequently is actually a plus bercause it forces you to stretch as you get gas.  My rand is a little over 200 miles so I plan 175 miles between between stops which takes 2:20-2:30.

I rest my right knee on a pillow against the gear change stich and can get my left foot way up there almost against the front bulkhead.  Sometimes I slip my left shoe off for comfort.

If you have a problem like sciatica I can see how that would make long trips tough.

Driving the Speedster is a lot like when I flew  my airplanes on long trips, in one sense;unlike my other "real" cars, I NEVER get sleepy.  Too scarey, maybe?  Or it might be that it's so exciting that I am alert all the time.

I'm glad comfort hasn't been a problem to me and hope you can figure out some ways to get relief from the cramping.

You guys are so lucky. I'm 5'1" 275lbs. and I have to use a pillow to see over the dash. I find driving these cars absolutely terrifying at times but you people are so nice on here that's why I drive the car... so I can post on here about my experiences... as terrifying as they are.

It can easily be done on any pan based car.  Some of the low hard top kit cars like Avenger GT and Sterling do it for head room.  Here's picture of dropped section that gets welded or riveted in.  Just make sure your butt isn't the lowest point on the under chassis!

Nice try... You're 4'11", on a good day. 

4'11.5". Maybe just a pound or two heavier but I'm on a diet.

As to question 2: I'm thinking you can handle this.  These cars are really pretty simple, albeit with their own idiosyncrasies. I had an old 356 coupe at one point years ago, and got so I could do an engine remove or install, by myself, in about ten minutes.  Never took a trans in/out, but I think given a large enough wrench to turn the big nuts, it is pretty straight forward.

You have plenty of good advice here about how to accommodate your large size.  These cars are amazingly spacious inside, and can be made to give a bit more leg room.  Go visit the factory,, and try out some actual cars.  You gotta do this.  I paid a visit to my would-be builder in CA (I live in MD) and spent a day with him getting a grip on what was what.  would not have gone fwd without such a trip.  And reaching the shifter: do NOT use a std VW shifter.  Get a Berg or CSP (?).  These are pricey, but are very much better.

6', 220. Long arms and torso, short legs. I'm built a bit like a bald orangutan with a back that's going bad. I had a couple of speedsters built on standard pans prior to this one, and driving always felt like I was sitting in a clown car.

Your mileage may vary.

LOL, bonus points for honesty!  Forgive me if I refrain from describing myself using my animal doppelgänger.