The actual driving experience.

That's a loaded question, get ready...

Best if can find a member nearby.

356 replicas for the most part retains the 1950's - 1960's mechanicals and it rides that way too. There are many upgrades that will improve it but you will no compare to the 996 ride and handling.  A speedster is a throw back to a simpler driving experience and when they are set up right the wind, road and exhaust noise are all part of the fun.

And rear vision with top up is about same as the Mini Conv - but the top is not really for driving.

They're loud, low and rough, assaulting your ears and nose. They whip you at speed and you feel like a rotisserie chicken while driving during the summer months. They're cold and wet on those rare occasions when you take a drive on those questionable winter days. They're finicky and temperamental. And they are definitely not for everyone.

But, if you're worthy, they are second only to sex.

Drive one and then see if you crave a cigarette...

Priceless quote !

Anyone in Maryland that can help him out??

Kelly is and has a well sorted speedster...but I think he is replacing alternator? 

Cory's there as well but after driving Hoopty you'd probably want a cigar...and a stiff drink.

Thanks for the replies so far folks. Just moved to Vermont last month and could use a contact in the New England area. I have Beck with well done larger engine or a tasty VA outlaw in mind.  Just wondering at 74 years of age (but with the mind of a 12 year old) if I will be beat up by the car. Not expecting cushy perfection in the ride.  have that in the 996 911.

steve

You will be beat up by the car. Some people like that sort of thing.

Steve,

If you're old enough to have a 40-year marriage, you're old enough to remember driving those long decades ago.  Lots of nostalgia in thinking back.  Cars were different in that era, just as we were different.  Many of us feel a kind of "do-over" when we drive our replicas.  Pretty cool connection to those days when we were better at everything, eh?

And don't forget: the more time passes, the better we were.

Steve, getting in an out of the car is a challenge if you have any articulation issues... that is issues with your joints.   I should mention that my wife says I have a lot of linguistic articulation issues   My response, I'm a guy !

It does put a smile on my face every time I drive it, and I try to every day!

...drive one and see if you crave a cigarette...classic!

Not trying to side  track  my question for the input on the driving experience, which has really become quite helpful but what do you folks think of this relist? Would you keep or swap the engine?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/112158...e=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I think one of the list members has 17inch wheels with low profile he could give you more info on the drive quality.

 IF you look on the other post request on which company or builder to buy from you'll get more info on Beck, IM, VS etc. I have had torsion bar from end and 911 front end and well 911 in these cars makes it a very nice car... Ray 

Beautiful car, Steve. You like the wide hips, eh? That's a decent sized engine but you're going to be pushing a lot of extra weight with those wide tires and wheels.

I'd want at least a 2110. But if you already get your speed fix with your 996 then you'll probably be okay with the smaller displacement...for now.

I call driving my speedster a "Flash From The Past" and that what its all about with these cars; going back into the 50's.

As a man of few words, I offer this 1-minute video demonstrating why I drive a Speedster!

P.S - So far have logged 120,000 miles in the two I've owned...

That Coast line breathtakingly is out of this world

MusbJim posted:

As a man of few words, I offer this 1-minute video demonstrating why I drive a Speedster!

P.S - So far have logged 120,000 miles in the two I've owned...

 

PCH and JJ Cale, hard to beat.

Steve, even if you don't smoke, you can still imagine what driving a Speedster is like.

You find yourself hanging out in the garage when there's no real reason to be there.

You find yourself constantly buying new things for your Speedster that you really can't afford.

You think about driving your Speedster when you're in meetings at work.

You can't handle someone else driving your Speedster.

You ask your Speedster's friends if she talks about you when you're not around.

You think back fondly to when you were younger and could drive a Speedster two or three times in the same day.

Steve:  I have had a:

Bugeye Sprite, MGTD, TR3, two early MGBs, a TR6, an early Miata, and four Speedster replicas (I am on my latest, and it's the best). I've also had a few VW bugs, two Karmann Ghias, and two Corvairs (the aircooled branch of my hobby).  All these have been over a fifty plus year span.

In brief, I have enjoyed my Speedster replicas to the same degree as every other sports car I have had.  I don't mind a little wetness;  cold (just dress appropriately); or wind buffeting or noise.

After all these cars, I think my current Speedster gives me everything I need.  They are fun cars to drive, and recreate the 1950, early 1960 driving experience.  Bare bones, no ABS, no electronics, sparse safety features, but lots of real driving fun for both short and long trips.

But, don't buy one until you drive a couple to see what you feel like in one.  Do a lot of research, as you would for any car purchase.  You really need to sit in one and take it for a good drive.

How's the driving experience?

I bought my first speedster on an ebay auction in November of 2000. A guy in CA had put one together like a GC: he farmed out this and that to various places. It had a Vintage Speedster stay-fast to and vinyl interior, but no side-curtains, etc.

I knew nothing about these cars, and had mine shipped by the lowest price carrier I could find ($600) back to the midwest. It was open, but what did I know. The car took three weeks to arrive, after sitting with no side-curtains in every freight yard in the SW US. It spent a week or so riding around in the Rockies, dodging blizzards (somewhat unsuccessfully).

I received the car in a dimly lit parking lot, with the sky spitting sleet. The driver of the day had a 15 year old 1 ton Ford, and was pulling what looked to be about a 25 ft flat-bed with my car and one other. He dropped it off the ramps backing off. Somehow the car was undamaged, but we had to put it back on with a floor jack from my garage pushing off the gravel of the lot.

When I had it sitting on all fours, the guy drove off, and I jumped in. I was soaked to the bone. The sleet was changing to snow. I had to wipe 3 weeks worth of salt off the inside of the windshield to see out. I had my first plugged idle jet, and was hitting on 3. The headlights were a cruel joke, Illuminating the parking lot 5 ft in front of the driver's side, and every squirrel that might be wintering over in the trees beside the parking lot on the passenger's. There was not a seal on the body. The shifter was more vague than anything I'd ever driven, and I came of age driving anything with wheels. I found what I thought to be first, but which was really third, feathered the clutch and was underway.

I got half a block and started laughing like a maniac. It was ridiculous. This thing was no more a "car" in the commonly accepted way, than I am a "businessman". Yes, I own a small business, and yes, this thing had 4 wheels and a licence plate. But I always felt like I was a interloper in the marketplace (being a high-school educated pipefitter), and it seemed like this thing was more fun that ought to be legal on the street. It was rough as a cob, and more fun an a barrel of monkeys.

My car now is infinitely better than that first one. But the guts of the thing is really the same. It's raw and the very definition of visceral. But when the weather is just right, and the road is unrolling in front of me, it's pretty hard to beat. There are hundreds of faster cars for sure, and almost every other car built in the last 75 years rides better. But I've never been in a vehicle that makes my wife throw up her arms in the wind like she's on a roller-coaster whenever we get to an open stretch of road.

It's pretty close to perfect.

In early Sept 2010 I bought my  older IM "driver" in Boise, Idaho for $6,500 with a bone stock 1600 VW engine and my Wife and I drove it across America to New York State and up to Ottawa, Canada. You couldn't knock the smile off my face with a crowbar. 

Not much has changed other than experimenting with four different engines over the last 60,000 miles constantly improving little things and adding a hardtop and finally the Soob Frankenmotor.

The weather is still unseasonably warm up here and I'll put another 200 miles on it today with the top down. I'm still smiling. 

Those super-widebody cars have very heavy wheels, and I am told that the ride is pretty punishing.  The classic Speedster style with taller, narrower tires has a good ride in my book.  It is certainly much smoother than the MGs I used to have, and in some ways it is smoother than my current daily driver (2011 BMW 1-series).

Steve:

Where are you in Vermont?  I still have some relatives there, near Killington and Stratton.  Jamaica/West Wardsboro, VT, was like a second home to us.  I might be persuaded to do some leaf-peeping up that way with my CMC widebody, but would probably go no farther north than Stratton (3 hours from home).

Anyway, depending on tires (and their pressure), shocks, heaviness of anti-sway bars and torsion bar configuration, these cars can go from relatively soft to pretty stiff.  I have a pretty well set up CMC, but I went for a back-road burner - 205X50X16 tires, Koni shocks, 3/4" sway bars (front and rear) and the stiffest front torsion bar set-up along with a pretty stout 2,110 (150hp or so).  Just got back from 30 miles around the area and it rides nice for what it is, but it corners like it's part of you.  I built it in the '90's and have been "finishing" it ever since.  This morning's ride was my first top-up shake-down for a gas heater installed late last Spring.....

Anyway, "Speedster" seats are good for about an hour - that's it.  Roadster or Cabriolet seats are good for 3 hours, which about matches gas stops with an 8 gallon tank.

If you're away from the Lake Champlain (relatively flat) area and on side roads, a Speedster with a 2,110 is just about perfect for roads like RT 100 down to Brattleboro or RT 7 down to Stockbridge.

My local club (covers all of New England) does a pig roast at Unobtanium in Ravena, NY, in the late summer every year where a few (couple) replicas usually show up, along with a bunch of originals.  Our season is winding down, but check the schedule here:  

http://www.typ356ne.org/schedule.htm

Gordon  -  BTW:  quite a few of us on here are retired.  I took the leap a while back  

X2 what lane said.  You need at least a 2110 with Super Wide body car.  I know because I had one with a  Mexi-crate 1915 and it just felt underwhelming .   The custom 2275cc I had  built was a huge improvement.  

"How do you feel about the comparative ride experience parameters, amount of wind blast in your face, too much or too little, wind noise, seat comfort  especially on longer trips, and anything else that you really enjoy or irritates you about the actual 356 kit riding experience. What is it like to drive the 356 . . ."

You have a lot of input here, and it all boils down to something like "You can get anything you want at Alice's . . ."  These cars come in a dizzying array of set ups.  My car is a bit like Gordon's, if I may say so: sorta stiff shocks, large size anti-sway bars front and back, IRS, stiff-ish torsion bars, and as such is a bit on the hard-ride side, but it corners flat as a pancake.  It is what I wanted.  That said, I have spent a couple of days cruising around in an old IM, and that car was very smooth and quiet -- a great free-way car.  And the wind with top down sort of blasts you in the back of the head vs. in your face, depending on where your seats are placed and how tall you are.  Speedster seats are cool looking (authentic) but not as comfy as they might be.  I have hybrids: look like Speedster buckets, but have a little rolled and pleated padding added.  The riding experience: depends  A LOT on the weather.  wet and chilly is the pits, as you tend to fog up and might not be very dry inside.  And yes, on the free-way: not what these cars are all about.  They will go down those roads pretty well, but be prepared to listen to the engine cranking at 3500 or more. Also you will be thinking about how small you are vs, how big the semi rigs are.  you look to your left right at the hub of a 16-wheeler's wheel.  And you are nothing but plastic.  So safety is pretty much non-existant; only a smidge better  than a motorcylcle.  But get off the interstate and take on a few twisties, and the SEG will be hard to miss.  About as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.

Gordon, Thank you for your wonderful offer. I am in the heart of leaf peeper Vermont, in Woodstock, Vt. You are absolutely welcome to come down and visit. Lot going on but I am sure we can set something up so you can enjoy the glorious neighborhood and all it offers this time of year. I am tied up with family visiting for the next few weeks but we can certainly set up a nice day visit with lunch. My daughter has a couple upscale rental apartments here if you want to really do a little holiday here.  Really would like to meet you and your car. Steve

My phone direct is:240-217-8964

Stan,

Love your story. Kinda crazy raw like my first Lotus 7 replica.

Which engine did you end up with in your current replica?

Again, appreciate all the input.

Our off the truck car stories are gems.

Steve

Steve,

The engine, you ask?

It's a 2276. Dry sumped, twin-plug Revmaster 049 CNC ported heads (42x 35). Right now, I'm running an .040 deck, and 10.6:1 C/R-- it's a bridge too far, even twin-plugged. I need to be about .5 to 1 point lower. I'm running 911 oil squirters to spray the under-side of the pistons (for cooling), Hoover mods, tool steel lifters, and an Engle FK8. I'm just using Cima/Mahle pistons/cylinders, but I'd love Nickies and J/Es (perhaps next tear-down).  The rest is just "normal" hi-po stuff (I-beam con-rods, etc.), but I am running a helical-cut gearset, as the whine of straight-cuts was getting old. I've got a 1-5/8" A1 sidewinder with a muffler bypass valve and two center outlets.

It's been a 2332 in past guise. I've tried Chinese nickasil cylinders and had them split. I've run a 1-3/4" sidewinder and 48 Dellorto Tri-Jets. I didn't care for the WOT only nature of either, and stepped back to 1-5/8" and 44 Dells. 

Ignition uses a locked out 009, modified by Awesome Powdercoat with an early '80s Datsun twin-plug cap and rotor. A Mario Velotta modified CB black box controls the curve. I'm using a Pertonix pick-up, but it's garbage. I'd love crank-fire, but I really wanted that bundle-o-snakes distributor. Perhaps I'll try a Comp-u-Fire.

I'm pretty happy with the way it sits, but there are lots of things I'd like to try (alcohol injection, etc.).

I can tell you this: all this nonsense and goo-gawery add not one bit of quantifiable value to the operation of car. I did it, and am doing it, because it's cool to me. Other things are cool to other guys. That's OK with me.

MusbJim posted:

As a man of few words, I offer this 1-minute video demonstrating why I drive a Speedster!

P.S - So far have logged 120,000 miles in the two I've owned...

 

Your wheels roll backwards, you got spinners on that 

mine...er...ours, reminds me/us of when we were first married (1973) and had a '59 coupe and a '58 (removable hardtop) cabriolet.

It makes me giggle when I hammer it around 3 grand and it blasts up to 5 grand like a scalded cat.

I also love the smiles my/our car elicits wherever we go. From old to young, folks love our car, I think it reminds the old ones of their glory days and the young ones-that some old stuff is pretty darn cool.

I'm taking off in a couple minutes to pick up some water-jet cut parts for one of our products in Paso Robles, a 10 minute drive in the Prius down Hwy 101 at 69 mph. I'm taking White Cloud on my Vespa short-cut, Morro Road to South River Road, to Lupine Lane to El Pomar to Neil Springs to Spanish Camp Road to Creston Road to Niblick Road, 15 miles of back-road paradise where I'll have plenty of opportunities to shift from 4th to 3rd and back, laugh at the horses at the Rolling A Ranch, marvel at the view at the top of Spanish Camp and ultimately answer a bunch of questions from the guys at Motive Systems where I will load up a bunch of aluminum pieces into my beautiful car and then repeat the drive, in reverse order back home.

I think my Vespa's getting jealous.

Stan wrote: " I'd love crank-fire, but I really wanted that bundle-o-snakes distributor."

Why not do both?  That's what the Spyder Factory is doing on their new 4-cam engines. Crank fire to hit the spark pulse, old-style distributors to distribute the spark to where it belongs.  Their 4-cams start very easily, idle smoothly and fire accurately to well over 7 grand with no spark bounce.  Something the original 4-cam engines never did.  None of them ran worth a damn under 4K.

Has anybody ever stopped to consider what level of madness would ensue from Gordon and Stan living next door to each other?  Holy carp!!

I reckon it's like riding a really big quad.