same newbie ? Speedster replica

I've read the same questions/answers in various forums,so let me be more specific in hopes to get a more specific answer from all of you knowledgable ones.

I want a speedster for driving in the Seattle area (rain)
I am 5'8" no need for a lot of head room.
I do not have time to tinker with engine, need dependable driver.
new or used is fine, probably used to start.
Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks

1.Bring a towel. Seriously, I drive mine in the rain all
the time- there will be some water ingress but nothing
major. Make sure the car has working defroster vents.

2. You will have no problem with head-room, they're just
a bit tricky to see out of with the top up.

3. This one may be a problem for you. The cars are pretty
reliable, however, little things may pop up now and then
and you sound like you don't want to get your hands dirty.
If you buy one used, have your shop go through the whole
car before you start using it.

Hope this helps

Thanks, that helps.

I don't want to dissuade you, but from the criteria in your post, you shouldn't have any trouble getting a perfectly good car for about $5000- provided you forget the speedster part and buy a good used Miata. If I were you, I'd stop and ask myself some really tough questions about whether long term owners think your expectations are realistic for a speedster replica. Weather tight? No-work-on-it engine? Are you sure you don't want really good heat, too? It can all be done... for a LOT of money.

Do you notice all the ads here and on ebay for cars with less than 5K mi? All the reasons for selling (I'm buying a house... I've got a business opportunity... no child seat...)- really boil down to the fact that guys fall in love with a pretty face, but can't live with all the quirks that come along with it. Two years and about 4K mi, is about all about 50% of non-California buyer can take. The rest of us either drive the car when it's sunny only, or pay big (how big? if you have to ask....) bucks to get them reasonably usable for 9 months of the year.

A Vintage, or JPS, or any other pan based speedster is not rain tight. New, used, I don't care- it'll leak a lot of water. Do a site search for "leaks" and prepare to be amazed. We're not talking about drips from the side curtains here- we're talking about pools of water behind the seats from cracks at the pan/body junction above the transaxle. They leak.

As far as reliable engines? Mine runs like a watch. But.... half the fun for me is working on the engine, so keep in mind my expectations. If all you've ever driven is a car with EFI, then I'd really think about whether or not I had the ability to clean plugged idle jets, clear jelled fuel out of float bowls, sync a set of dual carburetors, or adjust the valves on an ACVW.

If you don't want to do that stuff, you have two options. Option One: Get out your check book. Option Two: Look at something else.

Sorry.

I only get a little bit of water in through the side
curtains. Maybe I'm the exception? Nothing on the floor
though.
I would agree that alot of these cars change hands
with little mileage on them. I'm on my second speedster,
purchased in 1997 to replace the first one that was
totaled from some "spirited" driving. It is not my
only car, but it was for a 5 year stint and I never
thought about selling it. My stock heater seems to
work fine. To be fair though, I live in northen CA.

Robert, I had been looking for 16 months before I pulled the trigger.. Obviously the more you look the better you get at reading that Speedie. You are not going to get a leak proof Speedie, OK we all understand that.. SO what.. You melt with water? It's no biggie even if you live in Oregon. If you have to go out then do it and have fun in your rain coat! The engine I have is a 1750, or 1775. I have not had one bit of trouble with it and it runs like MULE, just plain kicks ass.... So make a decision and buy one. You'll never for get it I promise you.. I still have my S.E.G. on my face... Just ask someone bro!

Later,

Speedster "D'

Everything that Stan says is true, but you can limit or even eliminate some of those issues by judicious selection. I have a Beck, which uses a tube frame to which the body is bonded. I have yet to drive it in the rain, but I expect no leaks in the frame/body joint. That said, I DO expect it to leak around the side curtains. That's just the nature of the beast. You can eliminate that problem with an Intermeccanica (IM) or Specialty Autoworks (SAW) with roll-up windows, but it'll cost ya. As for heat, if that's really important go watercooled. Either IM or SAW can build you a watercooled car with modern mechanicals including EFI. Again, it'll cost ya.

The more traditional Speedsters (ACVW) are a blast IF you want real involvement in your ride. That's part of why I got one. If you want a fun little ragtop for a little bit of money that you won't have to think about, a used Miata is a better choice. I for one hope you choose the road less travelled. Either way, you certainly have some nice roads up there to enjoy a sports can on.

I've had three speedsters: a CMC, a JPS, and my Intermeccanica. The first car didn't even have door seals or side curtains when I bought it- it was a sunny-day-only car. I loved the car, but wanted more weather protection. I sold the CMC and had a JPS with a removable hardtop built. The car was no where near weather tight, air leaks were abundant- door seals, up the tunnel and out the gear shift linkage, and out the e-brake, at the pan/body junction I mentioned in my last post, in around the wiring penetrations, even the hood hinges leaked air into the cabin. Water cam in around the top bow, the side curtains, etc. By far the worst air leak was at the rear of the side curtains, at the base by the door tops.

I modified the soft-top to greatly reduce the leaks around the side curtains- I believe I had the best sealing side curtain soft-top I've ever seen (do a search on this- I described in detail what I did). I pulled up the carpet, and ran two tubes of caulk into "the crack". But no matter what I did- it leaked, and never made enough heat to drive for 6 months of the year.

At that point, I made a decision. I wanted the kind of weather protection you are asking about. I ordered a new Intermeccanica, complete with a full frame (bonded directly into the fiberglass), rollup side windows, and an Espar gas heater.

It was worth every penny.

These cars are death traps in the rain. PERIOD. The rear end LOVES to slide out, the lines of sight with the top up are NON-EXISTENT, and you have no airbags and are inside a fiberglass coffin. Do you still want one?

appreciate all the feedback guys, keep it comming.
Dave, I am from Whittier also. How long have you been there?

Robert; all the previous posts are right on. Based on your expectations I believe the best choice for you is a SAW Cabrio (hit the banner at the top of the page). Steve O'Brien and Hoss (two of our most distinguished forum members) own them. They're based on modern watercooled Subaru drivetrains and are weathertight. Although I love Intermeccanicas I'm not recommending them to you because they use mostly air cooled VW drivetrains which although reliable are 70 year old technology and not maintenance free by any stretch of the imagination. In fact all of us who own VW based replicas love doing the maintenance work. The funny thing is that even original (and very expensive) Speedsters are as leaky as our pan based replicas. You could probably make do with a Covertible D replica with roll-up windows (they come up for sale used every once in a while) but based on your needs and expectations I believe the SAW is the car for you.

I personally think that you still have to enjoy tinkering with cars a little. Sure you can get what your asking for, but I'm a little leary of the "don't want to work on it" idea.

Especially in the beginning, little things are going to need to be fixed and going to a mechanic each time would get pretty old pretty fast. You can expect to have a couple of electrical connections loosen up and need retightened, a bolt here and a screw there will need tightening. You may want to upgrade something later that you decide isn't good enough, or that you can make better. In fact right now I'm thinking, "I wonder where I can get one of those wiper switches that have the built in Intermittent function on them", fall is coming and I would like to change mine out.

I think Stan is right, for 50% of the people they will be happier in the long run just buying a miata, or maybe a MR2.

Take it from someone who thought a new build would mean I would not have to work on the car.............. WRONG. I am learning, and it is becoming part of the joy and frustration of ownership.
While my car is brand new (just shy of a 1,000 miles) what Steve says is true. There are always things which need adjustment etc.
So from someone who had the buyer value of not wanting to work onthe car and just drive it.......... ain't gonna happen in this lifetime with a speedy (mine anyway).
As far as water tight, anything with side curtains will produce water. Stan covered other aspects of aquatic life depnding on the car via experince of living it.
All that said I love my car. It gives me a SEG everytime I get in it.