Hello out there. Perry Spyder Owners.

Hey guys, where are the Perry Spyder Owners. I have one but cannot find anyone else to speak to about them. I know the Beck-heads and Thunder-lovers are out in full force. Where's the rest of you Perry people? Don't be ashamed, speak up. Talk to me. I have one, let's chat and swap photos.
David Clark

I'm with Dave, I know of one other Perry owner, Jimmy D. We may not be as authentic as the all the others but our hearts are in the right place and all admire each others rides.

Thanks man for the support. Now, where's the rest?

Well I got one a few years ago to add to my stable,fun car, quick,no
door hinges,just climb in,fasten your harness and goooo!! Gets a lot
of looks, had some bugs to work out but it looks great next to my other
Porsche's, Robert,La Verne,Calif

There is a friend of mine in Maryville, TN, Sean Howley, who owns a home-built Perry that he brought to Carlisle in 2005. It is a nice job and we did a run together a while back with another fellow from Nashville, a fellow Speedster owner. I don't know if he is active on this site or not.
Hoss

I have a perry of sorts-a highly modified perry body sitting on a custom chassis with Northstar mid engine in the rear. I think one reason there is not much perry enthusiasm is the kit is relatively poor quality. Of the few parts I used in my project,there was virtually nothing that did not require my redesign. The perry guys are hard core as building one takes a real motorhead. Just one example of the frustrating parts are the door hinges-did anyone actually use what is provided? Also there is not a clue as to what to use for the door latches. Any of you perry guys know what you used for the latches,and are you happy with them.john

John, you mentioned "I think one reason there is not much perry enthusiasm is the kit is relatively poor quality."


Yes, that is one reason but based on several years of research, I've come to discover that those prospective Spyder buyers that do their homework prior to making an impulsive purchase eventually compare the 3 largest builders of tube frame/mid engine Spyders against the VW chassis rear engine Perry. Once they do the comparison, they quickly see the vast differences not only in workmanship but in authenticity true to the Porsche factory originals.

To each his own, that's why they make so many different brands of cars.

John - how's your car coming along? I mention it to ALOT of people (being a Northstar fan). Don't be shy about the pics! angela

Angela,thanks for remembering my project.Progress has been slower than I would like for several reasons-other car projects(I have 8 vehicles and 5 are either engine swaps or kit),weather(I live in a resort town in southern NM and right now we have beautiful snow),and finally I am working hard to try and make a VERY large real estate deal come true.Right now I am in the process of switching the 2.8 v6 in my sprite from a carburated motor to a fuel injected efi motor. I hope to work on the Spyder soon.I need to search the wrecking yards for an appropriate latch for the rear of the doors and after that I will work towards paint.To keep myself out of trouble,I blocked the accelerator pedal at 25% throttle initially.Everything worked fine so now I've changed it to 50% but have not driven it since the change.As progress continues I will post pics. BTW, your road trip postings were awesome.john

Going to do some REAL wandering this summer. I'm considering driving from Oregon, through Colorado (visit the engine builder), then head to Amarillo, TX. From Amarillo, drive as much of Route 66 as practical into CA, then hang a right and head home. The odometer rolled over 9,000 miles a few drives ago. angela

I am in Ruidoso NM,if you get this far south stop by and I'll treat for some great mexican food.john

Ah, gracias mi amigo! angela

Hey John.

I have what I think may be a Perry or similar. I too am having trouble with door hinges. Did you actually get some ??. My kit needs them and I am trying to figure out what to use. It's a pretty small space to fit, looks almost like you need to use old Willys hinges for it. Otherwise I am going to have to fabricate something. What do the ones you got with the kit look like. Any assistance in getting some hinges, latches etcc.. from anyone here would be much appreciated

Rodger

Roger,I fabbed my own and posted pics. They should be with the pics of my car-hope there is enough detail to help you. john

Hello, I too have been trying to figure out a way to hinge up my doors. I guess I never really thought of fabricating my own, being as I don't have a machine shop. How did you brace up behind the door on the sill side?

Nice looking couple of Perrys in the latest issue of Kit Car.

Matt,not sure what you are asking but if you notice the hinge I made attaches to the body with a fairly large plate. The plate allows the attach fasteners to be spread over a reasonable large area which decreases the local stress. Also on the door side the inside came with plywood glassed in where the hinge attaches,however that side also has an aluminum backup plate for added strength. Understand that on lightweight performance cars,doors should be treated with care(no vertical loads applied when open). john

OK, so im lookin at a NEW Perry 55, seems REALLY nice except for a few things:

The doors suck! the hinges are too week, anyone have a fix for this?

The rear shell seems too flexable, not sure abou tthe road noise?

It does NOT have an egine or exhaust and it is rear mounted, not mid.

Any advide on what you guys thing would be appreciated. Aldo tell me what it is worth? How much is it to get it to rolling cahhie, int and everything but ngine? Its being offered at %15, what would you pay?

Thanks Spyder's :)

Al