My 58 Porsche speedster T2 tribute

Nice job!

And LOVE that shift lever. Is there a similar shift lever that would fit my VS (type 1) for that great ‘original’ look? I’ve shopped around but haven’t seen any.

Thanks,

Brent

Great build ,

How did you do the E brake ?

Beautiful, nicely done.

Another work of art in the same approach as Ed's Spyder. Beautiful!

Double DANG!!  You may have moved on from "replica" to "restoration".  You and @edsnova must be drinking from the same challis.

@30West posted:

Nice job!

And LOVE that shift lever. Is there a similar shift lever that would fit my VS (type 1) for that great ‘original’ look? I’ve shopped around but haven’t seen any.

Thanks,

Brent

This is T1 shift lever I bent to fit with the 356A shape, coated in grey and added an original Porsche knob.

@imperial posted:

Great build ,

How did you do the E brake ?

Original umbrella Porsche e-brake and homemade lever fixed on the front beam

Finishing the rear cowl cover

I'm preparing the carpet installation , happy with how it starts to look.

This is acarpet for original speedster, using german squarewave. And it firt perfectly with the body.

Yes it was anticipated since the metal work, it's not a coincidence. ;-)

Simply amazing.  Again I say, you and Ed have a strong itch for the authentic, original business. Which is Clearly a labor of love, because as far as I can see the pay is really awful.

@El Frazoo posted:

Simply amazing.  Again I say, you and Ed have a strong itch for the authentic, original business. Which is Clearly a labor of love, because as far as I can see the pay is really awful.

Thank you for your comment, yes it is a titanic job to approach all the details.

I hope that the final result will be worthy of the efforts made, for the moment I'm quite confident. My goal is to drive it this spring and enjoy as much as possible even if there will always things to do on it.

... always.  It's a hobby.

I know I haven't commented here, but I have been following along with great interest- you've done some fine work!  It's always fascinating to see where people's imaginations take them, what they come up with, and the ideas we ourselves get when seeing other's solutions to common "build issues".

Which brings me to my question(s)- how much did you lower the center tunnel by? By looking at it I'm guessing close to 4½"?  Did you take any pics of how you did inside the tunnel before you closed it back up, and did you happen to note how thick the tunnel material was made of?  With the tunnel that low, how did you handle the front, where the clutch and accelerator cables hook up to the pedal cluster- they're halfway up the tunnel, are they not?  And what did you do in the back- how much were you able to lower the tunnel around the trans nose cone/shift lever?  Is the shift rod (from the nose cone to the shifter) still close to horizontal?  Pics of both ends would be invaluable as well, if you have them.

Looking at your shortened tunnel pics this morning I realized (after some quick calculations) there could be as much as 12 to almost 15 lbs at stake here...  _{(think big evil laugh- oh how I miss the old emojis!)}

Does anyone have any idea how long it would take to remove that much weight just drilling holes?   You'd have to re-work 60 or even 80 lbs of parts...

PS- Love the fender supports and the tubing for the headlight wiring!  And what do the 356 style transaxle/engine supports bolt to?  Have you put some steel or bracing up on the firewall?

Unfortunately I don't have picture inside the tunnel before closing, but some schemes I did to during my design.

The vw tunnel is cut at 70mm height horizontally, and it is reinforced with 2 pairs of square tubes welded inside (two on both side) and closed with a 3mm thickness steel sheet. The tubes are used to route the electrical wiring from front to rear, the tube for the clucth, accelerator cable and the gas line. The shift rod cannot be horizontal and an adaptator is used to connect it to the gearbox noze. The lever has beenrelocated to replicate the T2 correct location and centered on the tunnel.

For the gearbox, I wanted to reinforce the support in order to install a T4 engine. Behind the firewall is added a support which is bolted on the sub chassis.

Before the modification:

During the manufacturing

Pre assembly

Parts coated

Finishing with additionnal metal sheets replicating the 356 body

James, VERY sweet work!

Amazing effort. I mean, absolutely AMAZING! I am now living vicariously through James!

Thanks for the pics and detail. Please keep them coming!

Talk about doing it right!

Air vents are installed, coated to the correct color and the windshield can be now re installed.

Pillars has been rechromed,  so shinny 😀😎

and are installed at the maximum back on the body, it's a typical point how you can identify a replica, and it's still possible to put the screw under the dashboard.

The engine is installed

Some details

And now the car is on the wheels !

Now the interior looks like I want, just to finish the carpet installation

Beautiful work, James.

DANG! That’s tight.

Well done!

That'll fool a few purists...  :-)

Just reviewed the whole string of posts.

Great work!

Ooh baby. Nice work!

Applause to you, my brother.

You know, I go over the photos and each time I look at one I find some things that make me say, "Wow".

I just keep finding those little detail things and keep saying, "Wow".

Very, very well done, James!

Thank you for your comments

Next step is to install the seat rails, on side will be installed on the tunnel as the original 356. It is possible when lowering the tunnel and using original buckets which are different compared the fiber replica ones.

Rails and tilting frame

After seeing your post and picture on the South African Speedster FB page, I just KNEW that you had to have a build somewhere and it's no surprise that I found it here.

Loving the colour combinations. When I started the search for local versions everyone thought that I was nuts and that it can't work. My local supplier looked at the three together and just said ...............no.

Great attention to detail and all the right tweaks in all the right places that'll really set it apart. Kudos to you sir, Kudos..............

@James550 posted:

Rails and tilting frame

Explain?

@James550 posted:

What size are your pivot pins? Does the rear of the seat latch when closed?

@James550 posted:

If it's like the originals, then they don't lock into place when in the seating position.

yes you're right

The "lock in place" is the seatbelt you should be wearing, right?

@Lane Anderson posted:

The "lock in place" is the seatbelt you should be wearing, right?

Yeah, in theory, but what actually happens is the seat rotates up, forcing you to submarine under the seatbelt.  We all know these cars are only marginally safe as is, but would you put your grandkid in that situation?

Anyway it was designed by Dr Porsche and it works well. It is another era, but this is also the reason why we love these old things.

It would not be recommend for you to own a genuine Porsche equiped with sport seats if you have this concern.

@LI-Rick posted:

We all know these cars are only marginally safe as is, but would you put your grandkid in that situation?

Probably.

I rode in the back of my grandpa’s pickup…standing up, holding a refrigerator in place as he motored down the highway. It was implied that I’d be expected to go over the side with the appliance if it started to go.

One of my grandsons chipped a tooth on playground equipment earlier this week. Before he could get in for an assessment (it was a baby tooth), he did the same thing the next day and knocked the tooth completely out.

Life is about managing risk and return. Sometimes it takes a bit of risk to really reap a return.

I'm pretty sure the safety situation doesn't change much regardless of the seatbelt situation, but am confident enough to believe that they’ll be just fine over there, loving life just like their G-Pa is.