Just bought a CMC speedster yesterday.

WELCOME

Welcome to the madness. I am just north of Yorkville in Geneva and there are several of others in the area. 

From your picture, it appears you need to push the seat forward, Chris. Welcome and tell us about your 914 back there while you're at it. The Speedster looks nice. Spyder seats look nice, but are a little on the shy side of comfy.

I'll trade you my red CMC OEM Style Speedster seats for your VS ones.  If your waist size is over 36" - they are a tight fit.  I'm looking for comfy vs authenticity.

I had a similar problem with the seat when I bought my Speedster 10 years ago. I went to the scrap yard and found a car (can't remember which model) with an electric drivers seat and bought the entire seat with the motor and switches for $50. I removed the entire assembly from the bottom of the seat and fabricated a plate to mount it to the Speedsters driver seat. It has enough travel for me to slide the seat all the way into the rear seat cushion and also has enough travel to move forward enough so my wife can comfortably drive the car as well. The seat moves forward, backward, up, down and tilts as well. The control switch is mounted under the front side of the seat and as Van Halen sang it best " I reach down between my legs n' ease the seat back ". Took about 6 hours to complete and has been working great for almost 10 years now.

Thanks for the replys and info;     I will certainly consider swapping seats with you wolfgang...   But first I'm going to move both seats back and see how this goes.

Some cocoa mats look like they "go" with these cars well.     I'm a 36" waist but I still like the "look" of the speedster seat?

Someone asked about my 914:   it's a 74'  1.8     I've owned the car since 84' and the car is original,  I bought it from a used car lot in Hampton Roads VA. 

       Also have a 67' 912  soft window,  same color as this speedster!

These pix are from Elkhart Lake WI.  SCCA regional.      My neighbor races his BMW 320 in ITB.    I end up being his pit crew.

From the pic i see a driver in training.. OHHH dear Thats gonna be fun in 15 years..  I also would suggest  2x2x12 block under the seat cusson right at the front  to improve your leg room if you have long granddaddy legs ? It will help

Starleaf - Very cool vehicle choices! Welcome to the Madness known as Speedster replica ownership.

Thanx for the replies;

          I spent the day going about moving the seats back as far as I could.

Sorta thought this would take me an hour or so...    But it ended up being a real project and took most of the day.

The seat rails installed in the car looked like that had be roughly assembled from salvage yard parts.     They seemed to be sturdy enough...    But the fiberglass shell of the seat was only secured with 3 screws!      And the seat belts were pop riveted to the seat bracket?

I redrilled the seat holes 4 inches aft in the cockpit,   I figured this would allow me to move the seat back as far as possible against the 'rear seat'.      Also I cut away some of the rear seat mount structure to allow the seats to angle, or lay back, a bit more.          Then I drilled holes to allow the seat and seat belts to be secured with six bolts.          After drilling all the holes and checking the fit I sprayed the seat brackets with indoor/outdoor Krylon.

I also discovered a   "Intermeccanica copyright 1977"   Plaque inside the door jamb,  so this car is an early Pre CMC model (as I've since learned)

As soon as I had my seats repositioned I spent the rest of the day driving!     The seat comfort is 99% better now...     I wouldn't mind if I could still sit a bit lower in the chassis.     As I'm 6 ft tall and my eye level is now right even with the upper bar of the windshied.

However,  I drove the car nearly 60 miles this evening and there were NO bad issues!

       I've owned the car 3 days

brakes are great,  motor is strong and idles well...    Shifter is still kinda sloppy, but I'm getting used to it.          Car is super fun and she is looking like a real keeper so far!

Look up posts under "shifter bushing." That'll get some of the slop out. Then go to an aftermarket shifter & you'll have something like a sports car.

Nice work on the seats!

There is a bit a snobbery in owning an IM over a CMC as majority of CMC were home built. Frank Reisner (Henry's dad) built the early IMs (suspect kits were available but unsure).  If your's has an original IM plaque I'd think it would rightfully be called an IM. According to Wiki -  

1976–1979 Automobili Intermeccanica was formed in partnership between Frank Reisner and Tony Baumgartner in Santa Ana, California, to build Speedsters. About 600 Speedsters were constructed. Tony Baumgartner bought out Frank Reisner's 50% share of Automobili Intermeccanica and later sold the Speedster project and equipment to Classic Motor Carriages (CMC) in Florida. Wiki shows Frank still building Speedsters in '81 with addition of a Roadster model. They moved from Calif to Vancouver in '82 time frame. Not sure how accurate this is - since I thought FiberFab (FF) started in 1964 was out with Speedsters before CMC even existed. CMC bought FF in 1983 and eliminated the vast majority of their product line (gone were FF Aztek, Jamacian, Avenger GT, Scarab, Liberty, Bonito, etc). Unable to determine when CMC actually started up (1980?).  Does your have the hood handle with center badge? Does it say CLASSIC SPEEDSTER or have the prancing IM bull (most owners replace with a PORSCHE one though).  CMC (and guess FF) seem to all have a cast aluminum Hibachi looking rear grill - does your?  A real Porsche grill is larger and not easily fitted. Not that it matter its origins - they are all fun to drive!

Your seats look like the current VS seats - could you remove "the lift" in front of the mounting rail to get extra 2" of head room?  Jack Crosby pulled foam on his VS seats and replaced it with thinner foam (from a 914 seat) to sit lower in the seat.  Look at seating rail assembly in your 914 - it could be used and you could incorporate the tilt feature.  

What a great stable of Porsche cars!

WOW!     replica speedster snobbery!

          Thanks alot for the info....   I guess I will start referring to my new toy as an IM speedster?      The dealership gave me a "box of stuff"  that the previous owner supplied;    There was alot of good stuff in the box,  one of the things that baffled me (until now) is the Intermeccanica "bull" badge that was in a can of nuts and bolts.

        The car came with a bunch of CMC reciepts and paper work...   And now I think this is how one of the past owners ordered spare parts.

Inside the door jamb, under the IM badge is a wisconsin Vin # badge??    So I still have now idea if this car was assembled at the IM factory...    Or by a person in Wisconsin?        I need to write the previous owner a nice letter and try to put together a history of the car.

The car was given a less than terrific paint job years ago and then lots of the trim (door jamb trim) and rubber seals were never replaced.

Incidently...   Several years ago I bought a FiberFab Jamacian!         It was just a rough roller...    And I ended up eventually just selling it on, as it was a sort of project that was WAY over my head. 

Thank you for the Link!      The shifter linkage is on my list of projects that need to be addressed.

regards

Chris

Chris, a $300 CSP shifter is a great improvement. Just a month or so back there was a sale that a few of the guys took advantage of.

I can attest this made a huge difference in my Beck and removed the slop. 

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDe...ode=C31-711-120-202K

I'm fascinated by the number of cars that FiberFab produced in such a short period.  "Bud" Goodwin was a true motor head.  Didn't care if he got rich or not, he just like to produce unique cars.  From what I read they were very challenging to build - lots of custom fabrication required.  Not that the CMC is easy - print off the build manual for reference.  Wish I had a big enough garage (and long enough left to live) to own one of each.  Avenger GT is my favorite but its very, very low to the ground with horrible outward vision.  Jamacian is second - and more practical most likely. And the 3 wheel Scarab is original mile-master car.

Amazing that PO kept all the pieces -- I'd definitely replace that crappy PORSCHE emblem with the IM prancing bull.  Plan to make one of the SOC get-to-gethers in Carlisle PA --- meet and talk to Henry Reisner.  Great, interesting standup guy. Wonder if there is a serial number molded into the fiberglass somewhere?  The Wisconsin VIN plate is most likely where it was first registered - vs built there. 

There is still a guy in FL (MG Magic) that sells left over CMC 1994 NOS bits.  Also a partner in CA too. VS is source of new stuff though - and good company to deal with.

Nice to see another newbie with other Porsche badges Love the teener and the soft window.

Those seats look super plush! I agree, look 914 modded, gauges are 914/911 too?

Hey guys;

         Sorry I've been away for a few weeks;      However I did alot of basic maintenence.    Rebuilt the Solex 34 PICT3,  adjusted the valves, timing & new spark plugs.     Car runs like a sewing machine!    super happy so far.

Still need to order the Cocoa Mats.

regards

Chris 

Great pic Chris! My car is headed back to Bremen next month would be great to find time to meet up for a drive before then. 

Joe

Great pic, Chris! Looks like SOC Calendar material!

Sunday look's like it's going to be a decent day Joe...    let me know if this works and we can meet somewhere scenic

Thanx MUSBJIM...   I took that image with my Samsung phone (!) Anyone is free to use it.   And I can send a larger format as well.

thanx again

Chris

Joe & Chris, give me a ring if you guys decide to take a cruise.  630-205-9616.

Marty

I am free unitl 1 on Sunday, how about hitting a spot for breakfast then a cruise.

Marty I am in NY and will call you tomorrow.

Chris are you up for a Sunday morning cruise? Not many good days left to enjoy top down motoring. 

Joe

Sure Joe;

          I spent alot of today on an 81' Honda CB 750K..     Tomorrow is supposed to be 10 degrees warmer.

   I can meet you where ever you want?,  maybe Marty too?,  I live in the Far Southwest Burbs.    It kinda works good for me to be done by mid afternoon to spend more time with the wife.          I did Starved Rock today...    It's a pretty drive.

Let me know

Chris 815-685-0481

I am in Geneva and Marty is in St. Charles. Since you purchased your tub in Yorkville maybe somewhere down 47 in that area. 

Marty??