Questions about upcoming Speedster rental on Turo....

@Lane Anderson posted:

Hey @Mozza, by now you have probably realized that this site is a bit unusual.  The amount of comradery is very high.  We get together a lot and mess with each other.  We also help each other frequently.  We may occasionally have a tiff but it blows over.  When I first got into this hobby I checked out a lot of site and a lot of types of cars, and was not particularly drawn to Speedsters in the beginning.  That changed when I met some of these folks at Carlisle in '05.  If you join our little corner of madness, you will find that the cars are only a small part of the hobby.  While I no longer have a replica I still hang out here and attend events.  Great bunch of folks.

I love the site, and I’m totally ready and looking forward to the camaraderie. That’s part of what makes me want to buy a proper sports car

@Mozza posted:

I am from Ireland originally but I’m “black Irish”, meaning I have Spanish sallow skin. I’ll burn slightly day one and then go brown, so not particularly worried about sun exposure. My wife is Israeli, so similar. Lol

Love Tel Aviv shemesh the beach is awesome !!!

Where are you from in Ireland?  I used to get to Ovens/West Cork a lot when I was working.  I married a girl whose family came from County Antrim in the North.

Welcome to this Speedster Madness!!

@Stan Galat, I've had a couple of pretty big deal nasty types (melanoma) removed, so that tends to get your attention.  Along with a recurring 4 month regimen.  Always some freezies. And I ALWAYS wear a hat.  And sunscreen.

NWH says wear yo hat!

@Mozza posted:

Haha! Appreciate both sides lads. Fortunately I'm going to be on the interstate(101) for all of less than 40 miles (between Santa Barbara and Oxnard) the entire day. Not a chance in hell I'll be putting the top up. :-)

I put the top up. LOL. Ended up staying in Santa Barbara later than expected (till after dark) so ended up putting it up for the trip back down the 101. Had a great day in general, it's just a super fun experience. Looking forward to Cars and Coffee tomorrow and spending another day with the car.

Skin cancer is no joke.

I had about a third of my nose removed via mohs surgery last summer and had the area covered with a skin graft from my clavicle area.

In my case the cancer was pretty deep and it took 3 passes to get it all.

There goes my modeling career.

Good that you could joke about it…. Scary thing life is at times… thank G-d when he delivers you out of it.

@Panhandle Bob posted:

Skin cancer is no joke.

I had about a third of my nose removed via mohs surgery last summer and had the area covered with a skin graft from my clavicle area.

In my case the cancer was pretty deep and it took 3 passes to get it all.

There goes my modeling career.

I also remember the guy in Hawaii with the black IM6 whose nose was messed up with cancer. My own father eventually had a ton of cancer spots on his bald head that got pretty gross/crusty/horns but by that time he was in his 90's. My doctor says pretty much everyone 40+ will have skin cancer at some point. I love the sun but NEVER sit in it. I wear a hat but hate sunscreen, what to do, what to do.

Yeah I think he got his nose out of joint and left.  No just kidding, but he had posted at one time the artistic work that was done for removal of the lesions on his nose…. well it wasn’t nice.

IM -6 Banzai …. car and sun damage on ….

His car was really awesome.  

@wngd, I had to try a lot of sunscreens before I found one I was comfortable with.

There are chemical and physical sunscreens. I prefer physical.  It seems like they don't have the need to reapply like chemical.

Currently, I am using a Korean sunscreen.  After I rub it in I don't notice that it is there.

I apply it every morning regardless if I think I am going outside or not.

I think it’s all in the genes. Twice in my life I got sunburned so severely I blistered up. A red flag for skin cancer later in life. I get checked regularly but so far all benign. I wear a hat when I’m outside, but it’s more for my eyes than my skin. Arms and ears are nearly always exposed. Legs, too, in summer. (I rarely wear long pants April-October)

So far, so good.

@Michael McKelvey What brand do you use?
-=theron

What a weekend guys. It was so nice meeting those of you who were at Cars and Coffee on Sunday. Beautiful cars. Now to figure out which builder I'm going to go with, what exact spec I want (I've flip flopped several times already), and more importantly how I'm going to pay for it all!

Saturday we picked up the car in Bakersfield and drove back down 33 (FREEZING cold for the first hour or so at elevation) to Ojai, stopped for lunch, then continued on to Santa Barbara via the 150 and 192. We elected to put the top up for our final leg down the 101 to home. Sunday woke up early and went to meet the aforementioned fine folk at Cars and Coffee. After that I picked up wifey and we set off into Malibu Canyon where we stopped at our favourite place, Old Place, at which there was a really cool collection of cars, including a lime green Porsche (pics attached). After that we took Yerba Buena back to the PCH and made our way back exactly the way we'd come the day before. The last hour or so after the sun went down was pretty brutal as far as the temperature went, even with the top up, but I wouldn't have changed a minute of it. Can't wait to join the club for real.

Attached are a few pics from what can only be described as an epic weekend...

Fan-damn-tastic!!!  Keep us apprised of you decisions.  As is often said here, we love helping spending other people spend their money.

@Mozza -- you're MILES ahead of where most of us started. You didn't just "do your research" (which is a meaningless exercise until you've driven one), you went out and spent a weekend rolling one

... and now you're doomed.

You're not just a casual prospective buyer with 14 other cars, thinking this would be a "neat addition to the collection". Guys like that bump up on the limitations of the thing, and bail after a year and 500 miles. Guys who have it bad push right through all the discomfort, imperfection in the platform, and 1930s technology.

It's BY FAR the coolest thing you'll ever own, and I've owned some pretty fun stuff along the way. We've all got opinions about builders and options (which will all come out soon enough), but let me be among the first to say,

Welcome to the Madness.

Um, yeah, what he said

Um, yeah, what he said he said. 

"and now you're doomed"                                                                                                             And Stan, that's so funny (and right on!) I almost sprayed the keyboard with oatmeal!

Not too many go out and try one before succumbing to their illusion oh I mean dream…

@Theron: Round Iab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen, SPF 50+, PA++++, 1.69 fl oz

There are multiple sellers on Amazon.  Here is one - Round Iab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen, SPF 50+, PA++++, 1.69 fl oz.

I wonder if some are counterfeit. There is slightly different printing on the tube.

@IaM-Ray posted:

Not too many go out and try one before succumbing to their illusion oh I mean dream…

Yeah that was a very smart move , you had a fun weekend and some seat time ,

@Mozza Well done !! There is nothing like being with the car for a weekend to feel what it's like. I did the same thing when I rented a speedster in Maui. I only had it for a day, but the hours I drove it gave me a good Idea of the feel. I have owned and driven opened cars for over 25 years. So the wind, chill or heat was nothing new. The experience helped me make some choices when ordering my new speedster. It turned out just like I wanted. Good luck in your search.

Here is an example of what Stan said...... just sold,,, the last owner put 400 miles on it.

https://bringatrailer.com/list...1967-porsche-911s-7/

I had what I think to be an advantage when considering the VW based 356 Speedster replica.  Despite some 35+ years between ownerships, I did own and drive the snot out of two 356 coupes, "back in the day"  Took one across country and back on a six week sabbatical way way back when.  I was in my 20s then, and in my 60s when the Speedster was bought.  Any way, my point is the VW machinery and the general feel and personality of the replica was very familiar to me right from the start.  I learned to drive quickly in those 356 coupes (one was an S90, very nice car) and that is something you just don't forget.  In retrospect, if there was anything I might have done differently it would have been to learn more about the various quality builders.  If I had, I might have chosen differently.  There would be more to say about all of that, but I'll save it for another time.  Most here have already heard it several times. My car needed a fair amount of "sorting" before I had what I figured was a sound set up.  My car is now very nice, gives all I ask for in terms of performance and miles of smiles.

Welcome to the madness!!