Hello all, my name is Dwight and I just joined today because this morning I bought what I think is a fairly rare 356 Speedster replica.
It is a Speedster widebody by CMC on a 911S floorpan with a 2.7 carburetted six with 5-speed 901 transaxle. As it is on a 911S pan it has 911 suspension front and rear with disc brakes and 5 bolt wheels. I'm in Canada but it was imported from the US several years ago. I have titles from Michigan and New York with it registered as a 1984 Porsche Speedster but with the CMC VIN.
Now here is the sketchy part. The seller produced 30 year old paperwork to indicate that this car was a one-off, turnkey car built in 1984, at the CMC plant, for the CEO of CMC as his personal car.
I have titles and registrations from previous owners (7) that go back to the 90s.
Regardless, this should prove to be a killer car. It was 24 degrees below this morning when I looked at the car in an unheated garage and it started up, albeit grudgingly. Even with oil the consistency of molasses the engine was quiet with no ticks or clatter. Within 2 minutes it idled fine with no smoke, rare for an aircooled engine that had sat for a while. I know the engine was stone cold because I felt it before he started it.
Pictures the owner showed me indicate the car was originally black, but is now Guards Red. The car however shows its age as a 30 year old build. The interior is worn and definitely needs replacing, the dash has been cut for a stereo (who needs a stereo when you can listen to a flat six?), the door panels and dash are showing their age. The chrome trim must have been oxidized because it is now painted red or black, around the windshield, headlight bezels, engine grille, and hood handle.
The entire front compartment is taken up by a 16 gallon fuel tank and battery. There is not much engine access through the engine cover but I'll probably drop the engine and transaxle to go over them. It has a 911 oil tank on the RH side if the engine compartment inside the rear fender that looks like it was made for it. There is a front mounted oil cooler because I can see the oil lines going to it through a thermostat, I just couldn't find it. It may be under the huge fuel tank. (Remember, it was 24 below).
All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase. I've wanted a Speedster for 40 years, when I found one with a six I had to have it. I've owned Porsche 914s in the past and love the ugly duckling, currently I own 72 914/6 and a 73 914 2.0 four.
I'm glad to be here and hope to learn a lot from you guys.
My first question is how much does a fiberglass Speedster weigh with a type 1 four cylinder?
My second question is am I going to kill myself with trailing throttle oversteer on a light car with rearward weight bias. I think I better keep the fuel tank full for weight.
Sorry, no pics yet because the owner deleted his ad once I gave him a deposit. I hope to pick it up next week.
