1955 Porsche Speedster Wide Body Finished. CMC kit was about 15 years old, completed by www.ontariokitcarconsultants.com January 2013.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Let me be the first to say, "You did an excellent job." I hope it gives you as much fun driving it, as to justify all the pain of assembley....
Nice work! It won't matter for a while, but before you do much driving in hot weather you'll want to seal up the engine compartment. That gap between the engine tins and the bodywork should be closed to prevent the exhaust heat from coming back up in the engine compartment. A large piece of flat rubber sheet or something like that would work.
Hey Theron! Can we move this thread to Speedsters/General non-technical? He'll get more views there probably.
Slick ride!
I second the motion on sealing up the engine, while you're at it, put a great big honkin' motor in there...just a suggestion. Beautiful and I'll bet you can't wait for the snow to melt.
Beautiful color, Ed!
Looks great! And what Lane said; all that open area around the back and sides of the motor is going to give you serious trouble come summer. And let us know when you're in the market for more power; we can advise you...
congratulations. she looks very nice (albeit out of place in a pile of snow)
tell us more about the Trex and GTM! 
Can you send me a photo or two of how you sealed up the engine bay, please and thank you?
Veloss trike includes Ninja engine, Ford headlights, running lights, some Corvette parts, reverse gear, lots of hand made parts. Goes a bit fast...
The GTM's, best to go to our website at www.ontariokitcarconsultants.com or look us up on Face Book for more info. We have built four of them, one will be in a major motion picture later this year. 3 second super cars.
I can take a picture later on, but it's quite simple. On my car (a Beck) there is a piece of rubber sheet that is cut to lay over that gap, although the gap is not as wide as I see in yours. It is riveted to the fiberglass on the "shelf" thingie in the body and gravity keeps it in place (it's pretty think) against the metal of the engine tin. Doesn't have to be truly air tight, just block most of the air exchange.
The engine cooling fan draws in air in the engine compartment. If the air under the car, heated by the exhaust and by having already been blown over the cylinders by the fan, is drawn bak into the fan, the cooling will be compromised. I would think that it would be particularly bad sitting in traffic on a hot day.
There is also a foam piece shaped like an H that you can use. Look up foam engine seal for bug or bus on google or call any vw shop. I had the same issue on my first car and 50 bucks and ten minutes later it was sealed. That gap is fairly big so make sure of size before you buy.
I suspect you will also have to fill in the big gaps (around the heads) with pieces of aluminum sheeting (or something similar). Mine was filled in with pieces of thin fiberglass.
Ed:
First let me say, that they did a terrific job on that car. Not only is the color combination stunning (LOVE, LOVE those wheels!), but the fit and finish are very well done with some thoughtful and classy touches all over the car. Very nice! It's also the only CMC I've seen with the very same Nerf Bar bumpers that I have, so it must have shipped from CMC sometime around 1993 or so (they changed parts on the basis of the weather, as far as I can tell).
Sealing the engine compartment is very important, but relatively easily done. CMC provided a pair or fiberglass compartment sealing pieces that fit horizontally to the frame rails in the engine compartment, one to the front half of the engine, and another to the rear half. It looks like you may have a rear one in there, but the fit is poor (it should be closer to the engine tin to allow a VW Bus "H" seal to fit between the engine and the sealing piece all around the engine, plus they left big gaps at the rear of the compartment). It is also missing the front piece, hence you have a squared-off edge about mid-engine that looks like something else should go there.
I used to have some full-size paper templates for making those pieces out of HVAC sheet metal, but have moved a couple of times in the past ten years and will have to look to see if I still have them. If I can find them, I'll mail them to you, or maybe someone else on here has a set that I provided to them and can share them. Anyway, it's a minor job to cut them out and then they install from the bottom of the car in about 30 minutes and you'll be free of the fear of overheating (which probably won't be the case with that snow all over your yard!)
Gordon
The Speedstah Guy from Grafton
Ed.
Are you in Severn Bridge where the company is located?
Very nice. They did a great job reworking the fenders.
Who makes those wheels?
Originally Posted by Ed:
....best to go to our website at www.ontariokitcarconsultants.com or look us up on Face Book for more info...
I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but I think Ed is part of the company..
If he is Al, I hope he makes a decent living at it, because it would be a crying shame to have to find another source of income by punching somebody's time clock!!
In answer to some of the questions, yes I am in Severn Bridge, Ontario Canada. Wheels are from Pro Wheels in California, http://www.prowheels.net/. I retired from managing an aerospace company, now I play at exotic builds, all on my time...
Good to know you're close to home, Ed. What Aeropace company were you with ?
Ed,
What did you do to modify the fenders?
Nicely done Ed,
I see you applied pressure while the glass was curing...How long did the curing take?...and how thick was the inner wheel well bonding?
Cool car, Ed!
Originally Posted by carl berry Connecticut:
Nicely done Ed,
I see you applied pressure while the glass was curing...How long did the curing take?...and how thick was the inner wheel well bonding?
I was not applying pressure, I was trying to hold 1/4 inch fiberglass in place to create a round wheel well. The patched in areas are at least 1.4 inch thick.
You have a good eye for detail, Ed! Nicely done modification. 
Nice car, Ed!
Nicely done !
Well, the engine is out and a 2110cc engine is on the way. I have hand-made tin seals and rubber for sealing the area, will post pictures when the conversion is done. Oh, I am adding heat as well.
Ed,
If it's not too late, you might consider routing your heat vents directly to the rear bulkheads next to each seat.
There is way too much heat loss on the way up front.
Carey changed mine from the front to the back last winter and Natalie now heats up faster than my daily drivers.
It's an inexpensive way to get great heat. I don't know why more folks don't try it before resorting to adding gas-fired heaters.
Originally Posted by Ed:
Well, the engine is out and a 2110cc engine is on the way. I have hand-made tin seals and rubber for sealing the area, will post pictures when the conversion is done. Oh, I am adding heat as well.
Tom,
I assume that your heat plumbing is now via flexible, insulating wrapped, tubing.
Where exactly in the bulkheads does it exit? and are there 'open/closed' vanes or flaps at that opening?
Ed, If you need a couple of good heater boxes, I have a pair that will never get used and you can have them for the shipping cost. I'm in Ottawa.
Giday, Carl....my heater / scat tubing attach to the bulkheads like this. Great heat but no defrost in my case.
Attachments
Images (1)
Ed,
Mine are similar to David's. I stole the idea from him, in the first place :-)
My car is wintering with Carey and I don't have any photos. I will alert him to this post and maybe he can post some photos.
The heat vent is standard Beck. It's a round, black, plastic vent with moveable vanes. I'm sure he would sell you a pair.
Yes, you lose defrost, but, frankly, not much, since due to the losses, it doesn't work well anyway. I carry a chamois sponge in the car and use Fog X, but really don't need it with my driving habits.
Another added benefit is appearance. The original heater tubes were visible in the wheel well from behind. In the new location, they are hidden from view.
Another unexpected benefit is that it's easy to operate both vents from the driver's seat. Before, I would have to stop to open and close the passenger side.
I covered up the hold holes with some trick cup holders that are well placed in that location.
Originally Posted by David Stroud Ottawa Canada '83 IM Soob:
Ed, If you need a couple of good heater boxes, I have a pair that will never get used and you can have them for the shipping cost. I'm in Ottawa.
Giday, Carl....my heater / scat tubing attach to the bulkheads like this. Great heat but no defrost in my case.
I have already fabricated the tubes and cabling with a nice lever on the tunnel. I have ceramic coated exhaust with heater pipes, but thanks for the offer.
I am using the steel tube frame for heat transfer, two pipes out the back, all openings welded shut. The cabin heat will be either side just under the dash, blowing toward the floor.
Earlier, I installed an electric heater with a vent for the drivers window. It works great for keeping fog off the windshield.