Intermeccanica Tour March 22-24th

Look out Mike, I'm a big Broadway Musical fan, and I'm from Oklahoma//// hmmmm. Should I put a Surrey on top of my Speedster? I could get the soundtrack on my MP3 player and sing "Ohhhhhh what a beautiful dayyyyyyyyyy!!!! over and over and over all the way to Knotts. That and maybe wear some Ruby Red Chaps and a pair of Spurs made out of SOC Grille Emblems. I think it might play well in Bakersfield, but I might get stoned (with rocks) on the central coast highways.

Jim, your color. Not bad!
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So Jim, it looks like my Intermeccanica build saga is about to come to a close, I know you are not too far behind.

Henry sent me his final pictures of my car, including the ones of my car being loaded onto a Wells Cargo auto hauler for its ride south to San Francisco (see below).

The car has become everything I could want in such a car. Many say that when you buy a real 356 Porsche, you are not really an owner, but merely a caretaker. I believe this is the case with such a car.

That is why, for me, owning this car is so much sweeter than any

Bill, thanks for posting the pics. It looks incredible, my friend. You are so right on the work Henry's team puts into these builds. I have had the fortune of following the details of your and Brooks' builds and have been excited as each detail was added or modified.

I recall your color selection phase, and then the interior pick. It was like chess, as we did not want the same colors.. you went from Ruby to Black, I went from Black/Stone/Slate to Ruby. We swapped interiors, and then you refined your interior with the help of Bob and Dale. The results........? Well I have been admiring your pic this morning. That is a beautiful Roadster.. and what makes it better is knowing that it runs as good as it looks.

You mentioned GB and Dale.. and I know what you mean. It really takes input from others to get it "right".

I like what you did with the coating, and the super caps look primo. The fog light mounts really look sweet.

Do you have any other shots to share? It wont be there when I fly up on Thursday and so I would like to get another look at it. Thanks. Jim

Hey, when Dale wakes up, tell him I want to know more about that bumperless pic he posted. He's such a tease. I'll bet those babies are off for a polish. Dale! Wake up.

See you guys at the Dixon BBQ.

Jim (Oh here's a pic of my car Friday before they installed the engine. I have others I'll post with it installed, but need to do some errands now.)

Jim, I will post a few more pics in the coming days as I get them downsized. Your car looks fabulous, I can't wait to see the center exit exhaust. Thanks again for catching the muffler item.

Jim, I have to say, I thought Black was the most showy color for a beautiful car. I now belive that it is Ruby Red. That color has a depth that is difficult to duplicate. Please don't park close to my black, gravel pock't mess. Driving hard, fast and making close passes has left me with a 50:50 paint job on the front.

Gee Bill, I went with a side exhaust.. look below! That is actually a water heater with the exhaust running through it... the water runs though lines in my floor board... radiant heating in my Speedster! It's something Canadians have been using for years.

OK, guys, thanks for the compliments... Dale, I think those over-riders off look a bit chin. Are you going with the Empi Nerf Bars I showed you on the Samba? Cool.. very outlaw. BTW I finally figured out why the riders are/were off... doh!

Bill, when you get tired of staring at your pics will you post one of the rear view.. I want to see how those tires ended up filing the wells.

I am leaving the overiders/bumpers on due to some comments by others with more taste than I have. Here is a picture sans bumpers, in front of the house.

Jim, here is the latest from Mike Cochrane on my car. Mike even got the subtle color of the Fogs...pretty good no?

I am going to have a tee shirt made out of it for Knott's

I will get some pics up later as soon as I get them downsized, also will have some hopefully of it coming off the truck later today or tomorrow.

Dale, it looks good that way, but, the over-riders just seem to go with your car. It's an opinion... but! What did you do for mats?

Bill, that's cool! Mike sure has all of the cars pictured perfects! Bill, your mats too? I am trying to decide and time is short.

Hey Bill, that's the mats I am going with.... here's an interior shot... as you can see it's getting close!

I went with mats from Cocomats.com. Quick (3 weeks) and custom fit to the IM Frame floor size. Only complaint is the rubber foot mat needs to be about 2" further forward. Black with Red Highlights to match my eyes. I post a picture later. I am at work and dont have my photo library here.

Hi Dale! Thanks, I want to see them, I think they will look great with your seats. Bill, I saw some pics of your car being lodaed today.. mixed in with my pics.... very cool looking. I may send you some. What kind of backing do you have on the mats you ordered?

Henry drove my car today... that's a sign that we are getting closer!

Jim, I got a custom set of mats made to fit the foot wells of my car using the same square weave and binding as the carpet. After Henry had it made up (about the same time the bare chassis was complete), I decided I liked Dale's CoCo Mats. I think if I had it to do over, I would go CoCo Mats, Black w/Red highlights.

Jim,
Beautiful interior. I really wish I'd gone with a dark trim on my carpet. Better get some mats soon. That Oklahomie Red dirt is going to raise hell with that light color.

Dale, I am copying the mats you ordered. HR has them, plus the tonneaus ready to go. Kevin has it today with a list for the crew to do. Henry said it drove beauifully and he liked those Bridgestone 950s. I think the exhaust comes in today too!

Jim, my Cocomats.com mats. The dark grey around the mats are the rubber mats I made a couple of years ago.

Dale,
A compass in a speedster????????????????????
Troy

Simple logic... fixing one's elbow at a 90 degree angle greatly enhances the speed at which one can drink beer because it forces the head to tilt back thus creating a direct path down the gullet. Trust me on this one, I did a lot of ergonomics research on this subject when I was in college.

It is really very simple, When I drive fast, I cannot always tell where the sun is. I also work nights when the sun is down and cannot depend on Solar positioning to determine East or West, and therefore North and South. It is also a way of providing "directional stability".

Also when you pullin that much acceleration getting close to 3G's you can pass exits rather quickly. Also while banking around corners on cloudy days you can lose perspective of up and down. I hear ya about the directional finder.

Jim, when you get to the Q, maybe we can talk Dale into installing his 90 degree elbow fix for your heater ducting. It really helps with the bend in the heater hose. I will bring the flat black paint (along with your lawn chair).

Maybe Dale can post a picture of his heater duct elbow. I will post a picture.

My black and red coco mats have fadded a bit, the red is now orange. I'll be at Dale Bates Wednesday, for all to see.

Hey Michael, it will be good to meet you! Orange and black, eh. Were they from Cocomats?

Hey Jim,
Would you happen to have a picture of your Derrington and where you bought it? I searched through but couldn't find it.
Thanks! Stunning ride! We should throw GB a party...he knew all along the meaning of Speedster Paragon.~R

Hi Rick... here it is! Look up Classico on the web. They are the US dealer for Nardi. etc. (I think they may be Nardi USA, based in Florida)

Thanks Jim!

Jim, that flat Derrington looks great, OK, I will put one on my Christmas list.

I have always liked that steering wheel. I believe that the Featherstone car has one. I have considered getting one to use on weekends.

Ok, I am busy as I can be, and was not going to answer or comment on forums/p-mail until tonight. (I leave in the early a.m.) Then I read this post (Dale). I am laughing my ash off. You EP. I have a Derrington for every day of the week,. and my shift knob has a mood stone in it, hard wired to my Rev limiter. Phhhhht!

EPOK
Jim

You can get the Derrington Wheel @ Pmotion out of Florida,the gentlemans name is Jeff,I bought one for my Speedster with the Hub and Horn Button,and it looks exactly like the ones shown.His phone numbers are 866-868- 0808 or 941-921-2624.He also goes by Nardiusa as mentioned before.He was very easy to deal with and a good guy....Good luck,Mark Kurzius

That's the number... thanks for posting Mark. I am packing to start my trip to Knotts tomorrow at 6am.... so did not have time to look it up. Hope to see you at Knotts.

Mark, thanks for the post, I will give him a call.

Mark,
Before I asked Jim specifically about his Derrington I was in contact with Jeff, regarding his Moto Lita line. He has quality product and has taken the time to answer all of my 1001 questions.Really great to deal with and highly recommended.~R

Bill,this gentleman has an abundance of reproduction wheels besides the Derrington and Moto Lita Lines in both 15 and 16 inch diameters.Mark

Mark, thanks again.

Jim, my car arrived today and is safely down in the garage. Henry's Knott's show car arrived as well. He is selling it for a client. The car has less than 500 miles total on it. It is beautiful, have a look below.

Hola Bill,after a six month incubation what the hell is your car in the garage for!!!You should be out driving that sucker.Glad it arrived safely.Jim is out driving his new speedy with a huge grin on his face.Can't say that I blame him.The engine goes in my car Sat.I may sneek away on Monday and check it out.Looks like I take delivery when Henry gets back from Knotts.Brooks soon to be new IM Sdeedster owner!!

Brooks, I am just sitting here staring at it. I can't believe the wait is over, tomorrow will be a nice day for a good long drive.

Please take some pictures and post them as your rig gets closer, looking at all the super fine scratches in the black under direct sunlight, I am thinking your beautiful Silver is going to be really nice, regardless of how much Zaino it has on it.

Brooks,

I guess I panicked a little too quickly. I put 3 coats of Zaino on last night and under the Florescent Lights, the lights scratches seemed to fade but were still somewhat evident.

I took the car out today in the sunshine and the paint looked great. I guess Florescent light is the least becoming light for a black car.

Jim

you were just pulling out from Henry's as I arrived via cab to pick my roadster with the new 2332 engine. While I am still in the shake out phase I will say wow -- the engine has a great pull to it.

Hope your trip goes well.

Dean