I yield to the Sage of Sacramento. As usual, his knowledge of Americana is spot on.
Regardless, I wouldn't do it.
See above. Not gonna...
Wise move 
@IaM-Ray posted:Here is one of the nicest wheels, and it comes with gloves too
The only way it can be driven without leaving smears all over it.
Kids like me shouldn't have nice things.
The latest from the busy Mr. Hines. Floor lateral braces are in and shifter is being fabricated. He's also making Delrin bushings for the shifter. He's still struggling with the side window frames, which have turned out to be the most vexing part of the build.
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Coming along very nicely Lane.
That shifter/linkage fabrication looks like extreme rigmarole.
I spy, with my little eye, Vredestein Sportrac 5 tires!
I toggled over to tirerack.com when I saw them... and sure enough, 195/60R15s are in stock and available for purchase. Well done, Carey!
Back to suggestions-- I know you really like body-colored wheels, @Lane Anderson-- but have you ever considered nickle plating the wheels, or perhaps powder-coating them in a "chrome" powder? A polished/aluminum/"dull chrome" shine would really make the color on the car "pop". It's just a thought, and something that could be done down the road, but around here a guy can get a wheel powdered in such a way for about $100/wheel.
The stuff that's going on right now is pretty cool.
I'm not at all surprised that the window frame are giving Mr. Hines fits. Everybody's casual attitude about them belies the fact that most people aren't super interested in getting a good, water-tight seal around the glass (which would be/is extremely hard), and that Carey is interested in making this car functional as well as beautiful. I have no doubt that once he figures out a process, he'll be able to knock these out on a steady stream.
Thanks for the update!
The door frames and the seals will be a big challenge for sure on a coupe hence the ease of doing a speedster with only one front window.
@edsnova posted:That shifter/linkage fabrication looks like extreme rigmarole.
Disagree. Not much different than a Jamar rod linkage, but the U-joints and the whole affair will be better quality.
@Stan Galat posted:I spy, with my little eye, Vredestein Sportrac 5 tires!
I toggled over to tirerack.com when I saw them... and sure enough, 195/60R15s are in stock and available for purchase. Well done, Carey!
Hands, off, Dear Leader! Four sets of two are spoken for: Lenny, Chris, Carlos, and I are all waiting for the 185/65R15 fronts that we all need to come fresh from the factory. There are none available yet, we're waiting for them to be made and shipped.
I kind-of spearheaded this effort to get them. Hopefully they'll get more than 4 sets and Carey and Greg can start offering them on new cars(other than Lane's).
Looking good, Lane!
"He's still struggling with the side window frames, which have turned out to be the most vexing part of the build."
That's exactly the kind of thing that we were referencing on the "Where are all the coupes?" thread. I'll bet the lengthening of this car played into some of that difficulty. As Stan identified Carey is making a real car. It takes time to build a real car from scratch. No point in having a coupe if it's going to leak on your string-backed driving gloves.
I'll also bet that Carey can fabricate a rod shifter that will shift better than stock Subaru.
Carey has always said that it's all of the little things, like trim bits and window frames that make the coupes particularly difficult to build.
It might be fun to see what the feasibility is of 3-D printing difficult things like the window frames, door and window handles, hood handles, sunroof cranks and so forth - Even the inside trim for the windows. Make the base frame out of resin and then 3D print Nickel and Chrome over that.
Design changes would be easy and quick and it would be repeatable. I'm not saying this will automatically be cost effective in the volume SE would be seeing, but it would be interesting to look into, just to see it done. Guys around here are laser-scanning antique parts into CAD and then 3D printing exact copies. Fascinating stuff.
@Gordon Nichols posted:Carey has always said that it's all of the little things, like trim bits and window frames that make the coupes particularly difficult to build.
It might be fun to see what the feasibility is of 3-D printing difficult things like the window frames, door and window handles, hood handles, sunroof cranks and so forth - Even the inside trim for the windows. Make the base frame out of resin and then 3D print Nickel and Chrome over that.
Design changes would be easy and quick and it would be repeatable. I'm not saying this will automatically be cost effective in the volume SE would be seeing, but it would be interesting to look into, just to see it done. Guys around here are laser-scanning antique parts into CAD and then 3D printing exact copies. Fascinating stuff.
On an episode of Wheeler Dealers they did just that. They needed a plastic part for a sunroof that is no longer manufactured. They took it to a place in Los Angeles and handed them the broken bits. They glue the broken bits back together, scanned the part, and printed it out. Charged them like $15.00 which was probably way cheaper than the OEM part would have been if it was in stock.
Kinda hard to 3D print aluminum.
And what was the very first thing produced by the new 3D printer on the International Space Station?
A wrench. But you can be assured that a 3D printer will find lots of uses up there.
Think of it as a (very) primitive version of a "Replicator" from Star Trek, Next Generation.
https://www.space.com/33166-sp...rst-tool-photos.html
And Lane - au contrare: There are a couple of ways to 3D print aluminum, but the most popular is hitting sintered (powdered) aluminum with a laser as it comes out of a nozzle under pressure to make it molten for an instant and fuse together - kind of like soldering with a powder. The resolution, according to a friend who deals with this stuff, is really tight, I think .25mm (lasers are pretty precise).
The other way is similar, but instead of powdered aluminum they use an aluminum filament wire so it's like a MIG welder using a laser instead of an electrical arc. You still need an X-Y-Z table to move the part, ut that's pretty minor, these days.
Pretty cool stuff, for sure.
Lane, are you running the VREDS inside out on purpose? Maybe you don't want to see the glossy Giugiaro lettering?
I think if you look closely you’ll see they’re mounted like yours. They just need cleaning and detailing.
I'm not a fan on how busy those sidewalls are. I'm more of a smooth sidewall kinda guy, but for stickier tires, I'll deal with it.
Lanester. look here, maybe Carey did on purpose. This is the inside.
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The printing is much more precise and refined on the outside. it's not blocky like a raised stencil like the inside.
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All all ready for this.
Regarding the window frames. Why not just adapt a pair of originals like these. Even if They need rechroming it seem hours of labor to fabricate can Saved.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/PORSC...c:g:8awAAOSwtmNb32j4
@PaulEnvemo, The wheelbase on the Beck SC is 2" longer that on the original to provide more legroom when fitted with a mid-engine as well as to increase stability, I think spread between the fenders and the doors. This would make adapting the originals a little tough. I'm not sure what they did on the first two prototypes, but they didn't have vent windows, which is incorrect for a C body.
Hey Carey (@chines1), please see Marty's comment on the tires.
As a bit of an aside, a friend of mine brought the newest of his 3 real 356Cs to Cars & Coffee yesterday. The other two are Bali Blue coupes, one is a 100-point concours car and the other is probably 90+ points but is in the process of being mildly "outlawed. This one was found for him by Bruce Canepa, who apparently is a personal friend. The previous owner of the car was Bruce Meyers or Meyers Manx fame, and a previous guest speaker at our Carlisle banquet. Enjoy!
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I've never met a guy who worried more about how tires looked than my friend Marty (unless it was my friend Anand). They see stuff I don't, and I'm glad we've got people like them here. I bought my Vreds because they were the only pure "summer" tire available in the right size (195/60R15). I love them because of how they ride, and how they stick.
I care not about the markings on the sidewall, if they bulge correctly, etc. Tires are black and round, and (hopefully) sticky. I'm also happy if they've got a treadwear rating near 300, which these do. This means that they're suitable for a fast GT car, able to move across time-zones with speed and comfort.
I'm hoping this is Lane's intended use for this car. It's got a trunk up front, and trunk out back, and a drivetrain set up to be fast and reliable.
I can't imagine how it must have been to wait for all of the R&D and now production details to get sorted on this car-- but the build is entering the home stretch now. Buying something with a shelf-life (like Dutch tires, more rare than shards of the true cross) proves it won't be much longer. The fact that Carey cared enough about what Lane wanted to work with Tire Rack to get these tires in stock shows his dedication to his craft, and to this hobby.
Well done, Lane and Carey. Well done indeed.
@Lane Anderson posted:Kinda hard to 3D print aluminum.
Konissegg prints a lot of parts Out of titanium. There’s a YouTube video. X-Y lasers intersect in a vat of titanium powder, print/welding the part. When the process is complete, they reach into the powder and pull out a completed part.
They said it was cheaper to invent the process than to continually run one-off parts for their limited production runs.
The technology of additive manufacturing of metal parts is a game changer, but it is way too expensive for a small operation like Special Edition. Someday perhaps...
Carey tells me that the side window frames are (thankfully!) finished as is the shifter. Reportedly the shift action is fantastic.
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I still have hours and hours of wet sanding and polishing on the window frames, but the hard part is done...
So this car is full subie and in the standard setup without a reversed R&P. What setup are you planning for the shifter? Cable or Rod, and the actual shifting box that holds the shifter any special touches, everyone seems to like Vintage shifters.
Ray, if you’ll reread the post it says the shifter is complete. As you can see it is a rod-based design. No cables.
And on the gas tank, the one in my car (prototype 1) sucks. Period. Back to the drawing board. It’s pretty, but it sits too high and the shape just doesn’t work well. Changed for Lanes car.
Funny story: last time I was at the gas station I unbolted the sending unit and filled the car through it vs. using the gas cap. But that’s why we prototype...
Very nice shifter, Carey.
@chines1 posted:I still have hours and hours of wet sanding and polishing on the window frames, but the hard part is done...
Carey Have you ever used White Diamond metal polish ? I swear by the stuff...I wipe a bit on a dull windshield frame wait a couple of minutes and lightly work it with a 3" buffing wheel in a cordless drill, wipe away the excess then buff with a clean wheel.
Alan. I have not but I am starting with raw extrusions that are also milled afterwards, plus we’re welding and grinding the seams, so no matter what polish I finish with, there’s a lot of work/sanding prior to that step. I’ll look into it.
@chines1 Thanks for the info, I was also wondering if the shifter itself would be a Vintage.
BTW, regarding your tank, I did the research for my car and found a custom gas tank fabricator who made us a tank to our specs. We put it low and in front protected by a metal cage.
After we were done, I found out that we could even get a bigger gas cap so you can see in the tank as you fill and so as you get close to the top rather than be surprised by overflow you could stop and not make a mess. (California gaz guns were the worse)
Also found out that this tank maker, could injection mold a plastic tank to your specs, and the quantity was quite reasonable, which would make it even safer for the driver and the car. Have not done it yet but I often think about it.
Eternal upgrades=madness
@Lane Anderson posted:Ray, if you’ll reread the post it says the shifter is complete. As you can see it is a rod-based design. No cables.
My Bad Lane ... sorry sometimes you read and your not reading... must be a 60's thing
At this point, if I ever did have a point, was that VIntage or Empi shifters seem to have some spring loaded components in them to make them feel a lot tighter and not so loose, and act like a short shifter.
I don't know if I am making myself clear, but that is what I was trying to get across.
No worries, Ray. Regarding the shift action, when I moved from the VW-style shifter to the CSP in my Speedster the change in crispness and the lack of play was amazing. The reason is that the stock shifter has a spring under it so that you can push it down to get into reverse. That spring makes it feel floppy. The CSP, along with Vintage shifters and EMPI trigger shifters removes that spring under the shifter and uses a moving trigger of some sort as the reverse lockout. The trigger also includes a spring, but it's not in the same place.