Oversized or Overstated?

I think the increased footwell is primarily the difference in comfort

If it's a Spyder they are talking about, yes- most replicas are longer.

I’ve owned both a pan based speedster, and currently a Beck. The Beck is definitely wider inside and appears to have more leg room with a low profile tunnel. I believe it’s shallower though. I am tall, and wish I had more depth. I believe Beck can modify the pan for extra depth as part of the build.

My Beck front wheels are centered perfectly in the wheel opening with no “overbite” like was said in the comments. However, I have seen many a speedster with poor offset front wheel placement to the rear.

@LeadPedal posted:

My Beck front wheels are centered perfectly in the wheel opening with no “overbite” like was said in the comments. However, I have seen many a speedster with poor offset front wheel placement to the rear.

Isn’t that a trait of FF/CMC bodies?

Beck doesn't use a VW pan - they use a custom tube frame.  The center tunnel is lower and there aren't the side ledges by the doors.  A VW pan restricts space where pedals and your big shoes go. VS seemed to have offset front wheels. A lot is due to angle of photos - I've seen real Speedsters that appear offset.  FF/CMC's trait seems to be less rear wheel clearance to fenders in the rear.

@wrkinprogress  not sure what that person is talking about re: speedster, but our speedster is not larger than the original.  The body shape at the bottom of the nose and rear are different, as are virtually all replicas, and this was done for manufacturing reasons, which also requires the bumper curve be a little more relaxed at the ends, so maybe that is what led the poster to their false conclusion...

If they were talking about a Spyder, then yes, Chuck made the spyder larger than the original, and it was later copied by pretty much everyone.  Hell, some of these companies "think" their Spyder is 100% original dimensions because they aren't familiar with the changes that Chuck made originally.  Its actually comical these days...

Anyway, I digress.  Most of what you read on the net re: Beck (Speedster) is regurgitated and outdated info from several years ago.  Nothing wrong with our old round tube chassis, and I believe JPS is using a form of that platform currently, but it had so many limitations when it came to drivetrain choices that we needed a change, and also took that opportunity to update suspension completely, as well as steering.  I had to move away from the round tubes in order to do this, which wasn't my first choice to be honest (only because Beck has been synonymous with round tube chassis), but we achieved it without losing strength and only picking up a small amount of weight.  As noted above, the round tube chassis did allow for more leg room left of the pedals, but also resulted in a more shallow floor.  For taller clients we did offer a dropped pan under the driver seat, but this is not something I'd leave to a shade tree mechanic as it does require cutting and reinforcing 2 frame rails to do so.  The new chassis inherently has 1.5" more room in terms of seating height, and the loss of leg room (left of the pedal) was minimal.