I’m Officially In the Queue!

Congratulations!

I'm an aircooled guy, 2110 stroker, mild cam, dual Dells etc. I don't think you can go wrong with one of Greg Leaches cars no matter how you decide to propel it.

I'd make the drive, but pay close attention to whatever Greg and his team say about break in speed and initial oil change. Maybe have them put a couple of hundred miles on it before you pick it up. Whatever they suggest, I'd go with it.

In any event, welcome aboard. You're going to have a great time.

Congrats , when is your “due date” ?

driving it up 101 would be a great drive , but I would make sure I had my AAA card with 100 mile tow , just in case

This would get you to a good shop if anything was needed ,

does Vintage put any shakedown miles on the new builds before they hand them over to the customer ?

@imperial Thank you sir. I do not have an actual due date.  Anna informed me they are currently running 20-24 months for completion of new orders.

I labored over whether to go w Vintage or Beck for quite awhile prior to ordering. The folks at Beck were fantastic to speak with but I decided to go with Vintage for a few reasons.

im not sure on the shakedown miles, but that was something I was going to speak to them about prior to attempting the trip.

@Panhandle Bob Much appreciated. I’m confident I’ll receive a great car, especially after reading so many horror stories of other builders.

as an aside- since Oregon doesn’t have sales tax, I’m trying to avoid paying it from California. I know picking up the car in CA may cause some issues in this regard, does anyone know a way around this? Like creating a faux BOL or something?

Also- I’m 6’1 with long legs & a shorter torso, how cramped am I going to be in the seat. Does anyone know if it’s possible to have the seat pan adjusted further back to accommodate?

Widebody or Super Widebody?

cool color.

@Troy Sloan Anna informed me they were only offering a Wide Body, not super wide. She sent me a reference pic of a recent build and it’s plenty wide for my tastes. Though ideally I would’ve liked it to be wide enough to upgrade the wheel and tire size but seems it’ll  be the standard 185/65/15

Chappy

Again, let Greg and his guys guide you on seat placement etc. They have lots of experience in getting theses cars to fit the driver. There will be critical touchpoints and decisions to be made as the car moves through the process.

IMHO you should get 150 - 200 miles on it before the long haul home, this way if there are any adjustments etc it can be done there instead of trying to deal with it on the trip.

Shakedown miles - typically you want to change the engine oil and filter at 300 miles, then again at 1,000 miles and at 3,000 mile intervals after that.  Greg will know better if he wants to see the transaxle oil changed at the 300 or 1,000 mile marks so just plan accordingly.  

Talk to Greg or Anna about your height and they may have deeper floor pans available to lower the seat.  Fore/aft adjustment shouldn’t be a problem.  Waist to head height is just as important as leg length so know both before you call them.

@Gordon Nichols that was my thinking. The trip itself is right around 1k miles D2D. I was hoping/planning on having the oil changed once I got back into Portland. But if they can put on some shakedown miles that may complicate things.

my head says making the drive isn’t the prudent thing, but my 16 yr old self that first laid eyes on a 356 says- this is what you’ve been waiting for your entire life…

I can't believe that nobody's said this yet, but "Welcome to the Madness!"

Plenty of places to get the oil changed along the way.

You have a long time to figure out the details ,

As far as driving , it really matters what time of year you pick up your car  ,  it can be very hot or cold and wet !

Do they  put a heater in ?  You might check out the small diesel  gas heaters that are on EBay ,  and seat heaters too

@imperial I’m not a details kinda guy, but if all goes according to plan the drive will happen in July 2024 (according to build quote) so I’m only making the drive if the weather is warm/dry all the way. Not planning on driving straight through at night, and thinking of stopping in like Reno maybe. Went with heated seats, not hvac. This car will never see the rain.

That timeframe would be the full 24 months to build and perhaps allow some shakedown mikes prior to PU. But like you said, I have plenty of time to obsess prior to that sigh…

Hey @Chappy welcome to the madness. I took delivery of my VM 2332 a few months ago. I’ve had zero problems or even quirks during this time. Recommended first oil change and I think valve adjustment at 300 miles. I’m just about there. You ok probably could get that done in Central California  

Also I am over 6’2” and the car is perfectly comfortable for me. I think I’m one notch from fully back.

Greg built me a great car. I’m sure you’ll love yours as well.

PS. I had a Subie before this. Pluses and minuses. The Subie was a little race car while the 2332 winds a little over 4,000. I like the tranny on the 2332 (I have the 3:88 but frankly don’t see much advantage over the 3:44 I had on the Subie). The air cooled engine is great and I really like it. Unless you want 0-60 in 6 seconds I think I like the 2332 better.  The Subie ran cool enough in Southern California but I would hesitate driving it in my Tucson weather for more than 30 minutes. The 2332 seems to run very cool, even here.

Mike

@MikeM I saw your car on the VM IG and was drooling over that color combo. Absolutely beautiful car. Congrats! I’m glad to hear it’s been running flawless this far. As mentioned I’ve been reading this forum and doing my own research for prob 2 years now prior to putting down a deposit. Which in hindsight I wish I would’ve done sooner as the current 2 year delivery is daunting to my instant gratification tendencies lol.

Thank you for the info, much appreciated, it’s exactly what I was looking for. I’m not overly concerned about hot weather here in Portland as this car will be a 3-4 month a year driver and mostly around town and quick jaunts to the coast/wine country. I’ll be just about 50 yrs old at delivery and I’m not looking to drive like a younger me, but I would like to have some get up & go when the mood strikes. People seem to enjoy/like the 2332 so all things considered, I think it’ll suit me just fine.

Just be advised that an air-cooled engine is likely to require more maintenance and tinkering, especially if it is carbureted and not fuel-injected.

@Lane Anderson my pops had a Ghia growing up. He loved to tinker, and seemed to always be doing it. I know just enough to prob get myself in trouble but also enough to find a good air cooled mechanic. Luckily we have quite a few options here in town.

Hello @Chappy and WTTM!

I took delivery of my VMC in March.  First oil change and valve adjustment is at 300 miles, so if you drove from Hawaiian Gardens to Portland you would certainly need to plan to stop for service.  I now have just under 800 miles.  I have had a few minor issues, but nothing that would have interfered with a long trip.  

As a suggestion, if this is something you really wanted to do, plan to take some time off.   Pick up your car and spend 3 or 4 days locally and drive 300 miles.  There are a few VMC owners not too far away from Hawaiian Gardens that you might be able to meet and cruise with.  Then have Greg perform the 300 mile service (prescheduled of course, if he agrees), and off you go with time in the seat before making your grand adventure.

But before you plan any of that, talk to Greg about methods of delivery for tax purposes.  He’s done this a bunch and should have advice for you.   If you can (legally) avoid Ca sales tax then that’s what you should do, even if that robs you of a long maiden voyage.

I too have a 2332cc engine with a 3:88 R&P.  Or at least I think I do - based on my low RPM at freeway speeds some believe I have a 3:44.  I have enough pep/torque to make driving pleasurable, but it is far from a screamer.  It is perfect for me.

I am 6’0” with a 32” inseam.   I sit tall in the seat (butt schooched all the way back) due to low back issues.  I sat in two other Vintage speedsters and found them a bit tight for me and I didn’t like how high my head and eyes were compared to the windshield frame.  I then sat in a VMC speedster owned by someone who is 6’3” who had his seat pans lowered 1”.  I loved it so that’s what I asked for in my build.  Entrance and egress is much easier for me.  Coupled with the standard Nardi steering wheel my right leg easily swings underneath the wheel as I enter and exit.  When seated my eyeballs are a few inches below the windshield frame and I can see the gages on the dash.  My wife however sits lower than she would like.  Have you sat in a VMC speedster?  If not, you certainly should.   If you plan a trip down to VMC early enough in your process you are welcome to check out my car, but I am about 70 miles north of VMC so not super convenient.

I’m a bit surprised Greg only offers wide body, not super-wide.  Have you seen a wide body in person?  Some people - me included - would say if you’re gonna go wide, go super-wide.  This is a personal choice so you do what you want.

Your color will be epic. That yellow with black out?  I can’t wait to see it.  

Jon

@Chappy posted:

as an aside- since Oregon doesn’t have sales tax, I’m trying to avoid paying it from California. I know picking up the car in CA may cause some issues in this regard, does anyone know a way around this? Like creating a faux BOL or something?

I don’t know what the specific “challenges” are for registering a replica are in Oregon, but every time I’ve done what you’re planning. It’s gone like this:

Get sales docs from Greg @ Vintage

Get insurance

Take paperwork to DMV and get a temporary tag.

Fly/Drive.

Whether or not you should do this depends on your level of mechanical skill. Chances are you’ll have a trouble free trip, but it would suck to be dead in the water and incurring towing/repair bills for something easily repaired like a distributor lead coming off or a loose battery connection.

I did the above when I bought my Spyder and flew from NYC to Chicagoland with a smsll bag of tools to pick up the car. Stopped in at Special Editions for a quick check up and a few mods before driving home. It really would have sucked had I not had the tools and the experience to repair my shift rod at 10:00 pm 20 miles from home.

ps: There’s a comprehensive “Delivery Checklist” that Gordon compiled in the Knowledge Base section of the forum.

@Jon T thank you for the thoughtful reply.

im going to plan on getting down there at some point prior/during the build. Hopefully early(ish) in the process. Which as I was told will be 5-6 month to even have a body/first payment.

I have not sat in a VMC speedster yet, I’m 6’1 36” inseam so I’m hoping/planning on a bit of an adjustment for seating but not anything they can’t accommodate.

I did just follow up w Anna RE: wide body/super wide. This is the reference pic they sent me for what they’re offering attached.

I want to go as wide as possible so I’ll plan on speaking with Greg prior to body fab. I actually went with my color combo specifically with the super wide, outlaw style in mind. Otherwise it would’ve been a more traditional color combo.

I genuinely appreciate the info and welcome.

Others will chime in whether this falls into what is commonly called wide vs. super wide.  I can’t quite tell, but it looks a bit more flared than a wide body.  Do you have any other photos from different angles, or a shot directly from the rear?

The photo shows VMC wide body, Kirks VS super wide body had larger pronounced fender flares .  Note the rear wheel off set to get the wheel placement correct.

https://www.speedsterowners.co...0#697982243224013550

@Jon T

i just spoke with Anna again, who spoke with Greg (I’m assuming)  and she confirmed that they can and will do a super wide for me! She said they haven’t done one in quite awhile so she was a bit confused initially. Now I’m stoked and I’m glad we got it squared. I’m just a big booty kinda guy I suppose.

Now she’s checking on possibly adding bigger wheels & tires. And that offset looks amazing to my eyes.

Excellent.

Take a look at the super wide body Vintage Speedster (Hawaiian Gardens before the name VS moved to Az) in the BAT link below.  This car was originally owned by @Marty Grzynkowicz and was sold on BAT last year by @ford356outlaw (Raffi).   I’ve seen it, rode in it and drove it.  It is all kinds of bad-assery.  What a lovely booty.

There are lots of photos from many angles to really show off the body.

https://bringatrailer.com/list...speedster-replica-5/

The superwides ride a bit stiff I’m told, so you may want to consider your own comfort before embarking on a very long first drive.  

At 6’1” with a 36” inseam I picture you long legged and shortish in the torso.  You may not need to worry about lowering the seat pans, but your seat will need to be all the way back.  Depending on your wing span, reaching first and third gears could be a challenge.  A trip to VMC to have Greg observe how you fit into what he has on the shop floor could be well worth a trip.

Jon

@Jon T

literally just got off the phone w VMC again. Here are the specs on the super wide-

275/45/17 in the back and 215/45/17 in the front

I’m familiar with that listing as it was a bit of inspo for my build! Just beautiful.

I haven’t even started day drinking but I also just added gold plating to the door pulls and billet pedals.

this gentleman builds some sweet cars and has worked with VMC. I almost pulled the trigger on his SL kit before the 356 but it got too pricey unfortunately. I’m hoping to take a bit of his stylings and add it to my build. The purests prob won’t like it, but different strokes and all..

https://instagram.com/slang500?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

A ride down memory lane

@Chappy what kind of money are we talking on the SL replicas? Roadster and Gullwing?

Thanks

@MikeM  Turnkey SL Gullwing starts @ 550k plus options.

rough estimate on the kit-

The body is 35k with all of its parts, hood trunk interior dash and doors.
Remainder of the parts ~40k

Donor car 5-15k dependent on how clean you want it to be.

then labor etc… so YMMV

@Chappy I just can’t spend that much on fun. Maybe my heirs will do it with their inheritance 🥸.

@Chappy Congrats I love my Superwide!! I run 225/45/17 on the front and 255/40/17 on the rear.

@Former Member that car is straight gorgeous. I love the profile. Did you have it lowered? Any issues with clearance? Assuming it’s not adjustable ride/suspension…

@Chappy The rear is adjustable but if you lower to much it puts to much camber on the rear tires and wears the inside of the tire too much.

I have a car with a Subaru transplant and one with an air cooled. I installed both engines and built neither, though I have had the Suby apart.

My advice re Suby vs 2332: If you're the kind of guy who likes to maintain your car hands-on, and doesn't mind a little oil and grease on ya, get the T1 engine. It's not a lot of maintenance and it's closer to the feel of what a 356 was and (imho) should be. If you're not so psyched to be popping valve covers off and messing with a feeler gauge, or tuning carbs with a snail or maybe replacing Pertronix modules when they mysteriously go bad, etc., pick the Subaru. You get way more power (not on paper, but in real life) and, for most folks they're nearly maintenance-free. No valve adjustments, no jetting of carbs: change the oil and filters (and coolant) every now and again and (fingers crossed) that's all there is to it.

Good luck either way. There's nothing else on the road like these things.

The pedal foot room is tight. I wear size 11 shoes. Finally found a narrow Puma driving shoe that works pretty well. The left side of the right shoe can get hung up on the right side of the brake pedal.

Jim Ruiz

Westchester, CA

At first I wasn't a fan of your description of the color and blacked-out trim, but then Marty G-2-the-Z posted that picture of the 911 Turbo and I changed my mind.  yeah, that'll be sweetly badass (two words never put together before, I'll bet ).

@Chappy posted:

@Jon T

literally just got off the phone w VMC again. Here are the specs on the super wide-

275/45/17 in the back and 215/45/17 in the front

Another thing to know about the wheels typically used on a Widebody are that they are a Chevy pattern and 8" wide on all 4 corners.  The Super Widebody is also a Chevy pattern, but has 10" wheels on the rear and 8" on the front.