purchased older IM - check'n in

Excellent! Looking forward to having you join this band of knuckleheads and the shenanigans at Carlisle! 

Here's a trailer for our SOC gathering at last year's Carlisle...

NOTE: When video starts, click 'Gear' icon and adjust video quality to 720HD...

Ahoy, welcome aboard !!!

What an awesome car, you are going to have so much fun !!!

Peace 

That's a very nice looking older IM and I'll bet Henry would be very happy to see it at Carlisle. It's fun to see that the older IM's still exist. Mine is just a bit older with ser. no 223 or so and built in '77. Looking forward to meeting you at Carlisle. Where are you from and ....gotta name ?

My name is Rowan.  I need to put it in my profile info for the forums.  I am located on Kent Island in Maryland near Annapolis.  I had looked at the kits many years ago but ended up with a fiat 2000 for a while.  There were half a dozen speedsters at a local show here a couple of years ago and the bug bit harder.

Welcome, Rowan. There's a pretty active East Coast group centered not far from where you are. 

That looks almost identical to my first IM.  VW pan, 1600 c.c. engine.

Looks like a great car.

Rowan,

It sounds like you got a great car.  I am also new to this site and located on Kent Island in Maryland.  I have been in the market for a speedster for some time and have found this association to be a wealth of good information.  I just recently took the plunge and became the proud owner of a great speedster that is currently in transit from California.  If I am lucky it will arrive in a couple of days and the fun will begin.  I look forward to making a trip to Carlisle this spring and maybe we will cross paths at some point.

Alan Hais is on Kent Island in MD and ownes a black speedster I built~

Cool!

Rowan, you are right in the thick of things.  Bruce Stump, Cory Drake, Todd El-Taher, Dale Schumacher, Ed Ericsson, and others are all nearby.  You are gonna have a blast!  See you at Carlisle next year.  Resistance is futile!

Well, good to have such quick responses. I guess lousy weather drives us all in.  Glowman let me know when your speedster shows up, maybe Alan and I can get a first look.  

Lane, those were probably the guys I saw at the show I mentioned.  Great cars!

Alan, the black speedster you did for him looks great.  Mine isn't up to that standard.  At this point its more of a nice running driver with a dull finish.  I was told it was a 1776cc engine, maybe had a cam with dual kadrons and monza pipes. The carbs both leaked.  One leaked air the other, gas. The front end was a surprise.  Ball joints yes, but one side has the older spindle.  Ouch.  Cheech and Chong must have been on that shift.  Hope the disc kit goes on OK. We'll see.  I'll move into the tech forum when I go to crack that nut.  

Ease in when you get a chance, Rowan....take it slow at first. Then go straight for a Soob....:-)  ask Ed how...

David and Rowan, where are you finding your IM build number? Would you please post a picture of your's (I'm guessing it's the black and silver label. Mine's so worn out it's difficult, maybe impossible, to read). I'm wondering which box that number should be in on the IM label (or elsewhere!). Thanks, and Rowan, welcome!

Rowan,

That would be great.  I'll let you know.

when did henry start building the reps

Here is a picture of an IM ID label. My question is, is your IM build number reflected on this label, or someplace else? If on this label, is it the "Code" or the "Serial" box? Thanks !

Gerddddd, according to IM, Story of the Prancing Bull, Henry was involved in making the first IM Speedster when he was 13 (1976)

Not too late to add the book: Intermeccanica - The Story of the Prancing Bull by Andrew McCredie to your Christmas List. ($27 at Amazon and $60 elsewhere - $79.95 list).  It confirms the 1976 year and that Henry then 13 helped.  Says when assembled, Frank and son Henry fired it up and took off on the CA 405 freeway in the black car. "Wind caught the front hood and ripped it off its hinges."  Hood was never seen again!  Wife Paula set up mold to make a replacement hood and Frank replaced the VW single action hood latch with the later VW double action one.

I just happen to have that black hood in my attic!  Looking for offers that respect its provenance and rarity.

Doug, I believe the serial number in the upper right reflects where the car is in the build sequence from 1 to 608.  In the couple of months of reading tech forums and posts I've come across, but can't remember exactly, that the markings changed around number 277?  Yours looks like the later type.

Henry of IM Canada now, was nice enough to respond to my inquiries about my car.  But basically, the old US records aren't available.  Didn't mean to blame them for the mix up on the front end.  It obviously could have happened in the 34 years since it left their hands in California.

I can't seem to upload pics but my data plate is on the driver's side below the door latch. The date is May, year is 1978 and the serial is 8B0223. The code is blank. Same format as Doug has pictured above.

I just went to amazon. They sell it for $59 but other sellers on the site have it as low as 23.23 plus shipping.

Rowan--another welcome to the madness!   And you scored the best iof all worlds, an IM plus pan based!  Hope to see you at Carlisle next spring!

Rowan,

Arrived last night.  Intercity Lines did a great job shipping it across the country.  Despite the 38 deg weather today, I had to take it for a quick spin.  The fun has begun!

Oooo, I like the colors.  Welcome to the Madness!

Welcome to the Madness!! The initial symptoms were manifested by your drive in 38 degree weather! 

What MUSBJIM is trying to say is... your nuts like the rest here :~)

Did it again today!

Resistance is futile!

no focken nuts

Glow man.. Looks great. Laid up in hospital for a couple of days. Bad wheel/knee. May have to try the feeling above the waist gag.

Good luck!

Grammar:

The difference between feeling you're nuts and feeling your nuts.

HA!! 

Thanks, Mike.  I always have to read it twice when folks confuse the two.

Punctuation:

The difference between "Let's eat, Grandma" and "Let's eat Grandma!"

Capitalization:

The difference between "Help uncle Jack off the horse" and "Help uncle jack off the horse"