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I'm in touch with a used speedster in Texas made by vintage speedsters. the car looks great with less than 10000miles 1915cc.ac.great looking car. when I call kirk at vintage to get some feed back on the car he basically offer the same brand new with warranty for cheaper and within 3 weeks !!!to good to be true?
just want feed back from anybody . thanks
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Welcome....i own a Vintage.....What was the price from your seller and what is the price Kirk quoted to you. I have found Kirk to be pretty straight forward. Does the other seller have a lot more options ?.......bruce
Resale's are always negotiable. Either way have a certified AC VW guy go over (new or used) it before taking delivery. Using Kirks quote will help you negotiate the price on the used one and you may get a well sorted car without the teething pains of the new build.
What's the wait time on a new one?
A month - then you spend next 3 months sorting it out (and pulling your hair out)! $36k for one with 10k miles (and how many years old?) is steep. Had to reupholster seats already? They do depreciate some --- not 20% when you drive off lot but still some depreciation unless owner has done upgrades. Easy to put big $ in a custom engine. If you are happy with color - make offer - seller can always say NO and possible keep it undercover all winter hoping for a better offer.
Mr. Feufeu,
I have a well sorted Beck for sale on this site, $32,000, lots of options.
Chuck Martin
Mr. Feufeu,
Have you driven one of these cars? I suggest you do before you go any further.
Art.
Chuck beat me to it. I have a very well sorted VS on this site for lots less than all these figures.
Check out out my classified.
Stephen
You're in Mass - Chuck is just down I95 in PA. A Beck has more interior room (a lot more) and a folding top plus a tube frame! Well worth the drive if ready to buy. Shipping cross country adds easily $2k to cost.
You're in Mass - Chuck is just down I95 in PA. A Beck has more interior room (a lot more) and a folding top plus a tube frame! Well worth the drive if ready to buy. Shipping cross country adds easily $2k to cost.
Ship it?????? You could drive mine...... That is how well sorted mine is.... Just saying
Mr. Feufeu,
If you would like more feedback on the Speedster you are looking at in Texas you would need to post a link to the seller's ad. Or post any photos the seller has sent you. Hard to give an opinion on something we can't see.
Regardless of anything the seller has told you, $35,000+ for a used Vintage Speedster built Speedster seems high. I own a VS built Speedster and would love to get that much for it when I decide to sell it, but I don't think I would.
Mr. Feufeu:
That's good. These cars are old school "technology", if you can even use that term. Creature comforts are at a minimum. But, when you came back from a drive, the last thing you'll do, is turn and look one more time, before you turn the garage lights out!.
Good luck to you. Art
Front bumper is off. First thing that stood out to me. Did he stand on it?
Some of what the ad states is pure hyperbole. The body shape on all of our replicas are pretty much the same between all the builders. You will certainly find differences in the finish work on the paint between the builders as well as fit/finish differences between all the builders.
The beehive tail lights are just a cosmetic difference that makes the car representative of a particular year. From 1953 to mid 1957 the cars had beehive tail lights. From mid 1957 on the car had tear drop tail lights or a single tail light. Everything else about the car is the same.
The shine down light for the license plate isn't anything special, just mounted different. More period correct but nothing special.
1915 cc engine is a pretty standard engine although an upgrade in all of VS built cars.
New upholstery is nice but because Sue from Gas Monkey did it doesn't make it any more special.
The A/C is nice but you may not need it or use it, only you will know.
Just about every car here is garaged year-round since it's an insurance requirement.
The ad doesn't have any photos of the engine so I can't comment on that.
A LOT of those photos were enhanced with Photoshop so don't get wooed by the colors.
Either way, that is an awful lot of money for a used Vintage. You might be WAY better off with Chuck's Beck or Stephen's Vintage (which BTW is black). Both are less money and just as nice if not nicer.
And you're right, Kirk could build that same car for less although you'd have to deal with the complexities of sorting out a newly built used car.
PS - Stephen is right, the bumper is low on the driver's side. Someone may have put a lot of pressure where it didn't belong and bent the bracket or it's just out of adjustment.
This makes it pretty unique though!
| Drive Train | Part-Time 4WD |
|---|
That really sounds like a crap-load of money for a used car all the way in Texas. If you are in Beverly you might want to drive up to Newburyport and have a look at mine. Might give you a little perspective and we can chat.
thank you all you give me some more thinking to do. All in a good way. I really want to get my hand on one and am stubborn so we'll see.im glad I found this blog will be back soon .... thanks again all for the feed back!
No way is that car worth $35,000. I reluctantly unloaded my Beck with an astronomical engine, custom transmission and many other upgrades for far less than that last winter. I see no mention of engine and drive train in the ad. Do yourself a big favor, take your time, listen to the voices of reason here on this site. Take a trip to see the cars in your general area, you'll thank us all later. A car like the attached can be had for far less than $35,000 if you are patient. Type 4 engine, custom exhaust, etc. etc. This car is sold, but just an example of deals that can be found.
"Your opportunity to own an extremely rare example of a Porsche 1955 Pre A Speedster"....."built by the coveted Vintage Speedsters"? Give me a break! It's a replica! As was mentioned, not much difference between the early and late cars, and I'll say this again- these are replicas! A real Pre A Speedster with a proper Porsche vin number is rare, yes, but you could have that car built for substantially less than what he's asking. And if you want to know more about the "coveted Vintage Speedsters", look up member Will Hesch and his trials and tribulations. Ask him what he thinks. Those guys sure know how to write ad copy.
Rich's car, otoh, was a steal at that price.
As people have said, don't jump in the first car you see. It will take a little time, but these things come up for sale often enough that in the next few months there will have been 8 or 10 to look at and one will be right for you. Yoda out.
Take a look a pic 7 (the close up of the Speedster script)- the paint could use a bit of a color sand and buff.
Hey, f you are still interested, I have a Thunder Ranch red Speedster 1915 cc with performance goodies on it that is for sale for $25,000 It has 8700 miles and recently renewed California registration. I am selling it because I am finishing building a mid engine Subaru Coupe
email or call for more info/ photos
chris@klebers.com 619-889-8337 ( San Diego , CA)
Hi Chris,
To my knowledge, there have only been 2 mid engine Subi coupes built, and I own one. Please tell us about your car.
The price is about $15k to high. You could justify the price if it was completely upgraded. I bought basically the same care new for $22k in 2010. $15k later I have the car I wanted. There are lots of VS cars around with almost no mileage for under $20k. Folks buy these toys and do not understand they are NOT new cars. They quickly get frustrated and have to dump them cheap. Those stock motors are nothing but Mexicrate POS. 7K miles till it needs a valve job.
If you're considering a car from as far away as Texas, why not look in California, too?
A two-minute Craigslist search turned up this clean, 2300-mile Beck with a 1915cc engine for $26,000.
http://losangeles.craigslist.o.../cto/5291290873.html
I don't know anything about this car and I'm NOT suggesting you buy it, only that, as a buyer new to the field, you look around a lot more at what's out there.
The marketplace seems to be filled with dealers looking for buyers who don't know anything about these cars. They typically rant on about how rare and valuable 'these' cars are - meaning the originals, not the replicas. They talk about 'expensive' upgrades that are actually very common on many cars. They talk about engine size as if that alone were significant - it's not. What counts is WHO built the engine, what kind of parts they used, and how it's been maintained.
This looks like the poster child for that kind of misleading dealer ad.
As everyone else is saying, take your time, do your homework (following the discussion threads here is a great way to do that), and make an educated choice.
UPDATE: Oops. I guess it helps to read the dates of comments on a recently-updated thread. Good luck with your new ride, feufeu. There's some good advice here, though, for any new buyer reading the thread.
Hi Jim and every other 356 lover!
I am finishing up a 356 Coupe with a mid engine 2.5L Subaru that is supercharged to 375hp. Engine work is being done by Steve Johnson of off roading fame in Alpine , CA. I am in San Diego , CA. Lots of folks have had their hands on this project and it is almost completed. A arm, IRS suspension, Wellwood big discs, Dual flowmaster, Lots of custom fab work ( and $$$ in this baby)
if you have other off line questions e mail me at kitmanmotors.c@gmail.com or 619-889-8337
Cheers, Mates!
Chris
Hi Chris,
You're car is a beauty! Color looks like stone grey, same as mine. I have a turbo in mine, and have had LOTS of cooling problems, especially when ambient temps are over 80. I would love to see how you handle the cooling on a supercharger. I have had to place a new rad in the rear compartment with Spal fans, ducting, shroud, etc. just to get my turbo engine to run within acceptable coolant temps. I now have 4 separate heat exchangers for engine cooling, air/water intercooler, and a/c condensor. If you ever find the time, I would LOVE to see pics.
Bill (chrome) just posted this pic under the Thread Name "Wow".
Bill,
Where did you get the picture from?
Bill, the photo was when the car was at my friend , Tony's shop. I hated to have it outside for awhile. It is a real "garage queenie" so far. Getting closer to being done.
Jim,
I read all the comments and they certainly are helping me understand. I think what I am doing on the cooling will work out. The jury is still out but I think Steve Johnson has built enough buggys and Subie offroaders that he knows what will work. We shall see.
I put a couple of photos below: The rad fits over the tranny and completely covers the size of the deck lid with mounting brackets on either side.It is a complete flow through radiator with two fans on top blowing out the grill and louvers. I hope that is enough cooling. If you see any problems with this set up, please let me know.
Chris
muflers are on the outside of the closeouts in the rear quarter panels.
Hi Chris,
If your rad does the job for you, then it's the right one. Mine didn't, when mounted in almost the same space. As I stated above, it got CLOSE to proper cooling with the deck lid removed, but blocked too much exhaust air with it mounted. If you have a single or dual fans, a shroud or fan housing is a must. My new configuration for the deck lid will be almost all open space with an open mesh grill.
Be aware that almost all fan manufacturers, including Spal, make different CFM fans for the same diameter, i.e., Spal will have a 12" pull or push fan with thin line motor that puts out 400 cfm, 12" medium sized motor that puts out 700 cfm, and a really large motor that puts out 1400 cfm. I am making up those outputs, but you get the idea. The thicker the motor, the greater the distance it protrudes from the rad. If you have the room on top of the rad, which I may with my new deck lid configuration, my suggestion is to install the highest cfm, largest motor that will fit. The large fan motor will protrude almost 4" from the fan shroud. Spal makes a LL motor, or long life, and also makes a VLL type of motor, very long life, that will be useful since mine will be exposed to weather. So, in addition to varying amounts of power for the same fan, you can get a better-sealed motor that will withstand weather better.
By the way, I had my car at Outfront for a while about a year ago. They were able to address some, but not all, of my cooling issues. Like many of the big names in the car game, your guy, Steve Johnson, has his fans and his detractors. As you may have discovered, it's hard to find a shop that will even look at one of our replicas, never mind do quality work in a timely manner.
As owners and/or wrenchers, we're allowed to make lots of mistakes, and spend lots of money, we're just not allowed to quit. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, eh?
My apolgies, feufeu. This now seems to complete a total hijack.
