New Speedster

The pin has finally been pulled! After a long and fruitless search for a used Speedster I've just gotten back to the office from giving Kirk at Vintage a deposit for my car. He tells me it will be 4 weeks or so,my only question is can I go without sleep for 4 weeks or so! If some Sunday in mid-November you see a black Speedster with a tan interior parked on Main Street in Huntington Beach near The Sugar Shack Cafe it's mine all mine!!!

Wooo-HOOOOOOOOOO! Congratulations!
Welcome aboard!

Ken, what size engine? wheels?? stock or lowered??? doner chassis what year???? I live in H.B. Cabanaboy ~ lets have a loook ~

Congratulations!

Mike

It's a stock 1600 motor,chrome wheels with nipple hub cabs. I'm going to have Kirk lower it just a bit. In my mis-spent youth I drove a 72 Volkswagen for 9 years,put well over 150,000 miles on it. The odometer broke at 135,000 miles. To go full circle,so to speak,I've asked Kirk to put her on a 1972 chassis.

Ken , While the speerster is lighter and quicker than the Beetle , I would suggest that you upgrade to at least a 1776cc motor so as not to be less than content with the performance and have to change the motor out in the future. ~Alan

Alan,I pondered that one for quite awhile. All the used Speedsters I looked at had the 1600 motor and none of the owners had any complaints. This is going to be a PCH cruiser as they say. If in the future I want more power I'll deal with it then. Right now I'm so stoked to be getting this car I can't hardly stand it. Even my dog is getting sick of me talking about it!

Ken, you're gonna be sorry...... NOT!
Cheers!

Ken - Way to Go (black & tan is my favorite combo)!! So, welcome to the madness. Now all you have to do is survive the next few weeks on little sleep until that bad-boy is in your driveway!

Give a shout out when you get it and we'll scare up a few of the locals (Desi, Me, Darren S., and a few others) to meet for breakfast at Sugar Shack HB and go for an inaugural cruise down Pacific Coast Hwy afterwards.

Peace - Out!

I wish I had a bigger motor. The 1600cc is o.k., but merging onto the highway takes a little extra caution. I'm thinking about upgrading in the future. I would suspect that the people you talked to about the 1600cc told you that it was fine because they were trying to sell it. $1000 extra for the 1915cc is a lot of money but buying a new engine in the future will cost alot more. Ernie ... what did you do with your old 1915cc?

Congrats on your decision!!

ross...
The 1915 went to a fellow thru Sacto. Craig's list. I got $1500 for it.

Personally, I think you guys are well ahead to go with the 1600. Just putting the big jugs on an otherwise stock motor is pretty much courting trouble (IMHO).

$0.02: bigger is better; listen to your wife: size matters.

Also heard here: torque is addictive, and you can't have too much. there are reliable ways to get more performance out of these ACVW engines, and at this juncture (you're only waiting FOUR!!!!! weeks -- that's nothing) I'd say do it now. If Kirk can't do it, there are a few engine builders that will ship anywhere, I'm thinking. Way better now than later, IMHO.

And WAY TO GO!! Always nice to have another inmate in this insane asylum. Too bad you're just another face in the crowd out there in fun, sunny So. Cal, where Speedsters (real and imagined) are almost a dime a dozen, and you can gather up and enjoy the company just about any week end. Be sure to take MUSBJIM up on his offer. He is a 1st class dude, and has many hours (should I say years???) of experience to share w/ you.

You're gonna love it.

PS: And what else are the guys who have 1600s they want to sell to you gonna say: Buy my car, I hate it because it has too small an engine? Not.

I know guys who are selling cars will tell you anything. I've sold cars before myself."That oil on the ground?. Naw it's from the car that was parked here before. Don't worry about a thing." But the key was Kirk telling me that a 1600 for my needs would be fine. I've had go-fast cars before,that's not really what I'm looking for now. I just want a cool looking car that the lovely and oh so tan Mrs. Martin and I can use to cruise around Southern California.

Ken -

Sounds like we may be on the same page WRT cruise mode. My 1835cc/Dual Kadron powerplant does fine on the highway (75-80mph cruising speed) but is perfect for cruising along Pacific Coast Highway and throwing out some major cool vibes. Hope you can join one of our local SOC cruises!

Peace - Out!

Ken, welcome to this mad house and I just wanted to say ... NICE color choice my NEW Friend... Looking forward to the meet and greet at the shack in HB. Jimbo (My Brutha from a diff. Mother) will make sure we all get together for this event and cruz.. Again welcome and TRY to get some sleep.. oh yeah post the pix that Kirk sends you on this build.. that should be cool too!

Speedster "D"

Ken, don't listen to them. I had a speedster for a few years with a 1600cc. I drove in California, NY, CT. 1600cc was more than enough power (highway included) & reliable as could be. I also drove a 1776. If I were to get another speedster, I would hands down go 1600cc again. Ciao Bella!

Ken,
I sold my 2004 VS (1914 motor) and had Kirk build a widebody for me.
There were several reasons for the change. One of the reasons was: I wanted more power.
I opted for a 2110 Motor with Weber's.
One other consideration is: resale
If you every need to sell, the 1915 option will always make the car more saleable.
Also, you are getting the 3:88 Trans Option aren't you?
This should be almost a given.
Good luck with your new VS; I Love mine.

hopefully the T4 2.1L should be enough for me.

It's a pretty easy swap (so far) albeit a bit expensive

Les,We were in Hawaii when your car went up for sale. Otherwise you would have found me camped on your front lawn!