This site changed my mind

Take it from a former neighbor ( I worked in Davie FL in '72)... it's all in fun and since I have been called onto the carpet.... These wonderful little objects of mechanical lust are in fact, worth every nuance that arises. It's a rolling education at every outing and about the "bestest" fun you can have with your clothes on. I have wrenched and driven all kinds of speedsters with just about every size motor possible and in every condition imaginable including some that should have been taken away from the " builder " very early on and I still get excited with the next one I put my grubby mitts on.   With all this in mind do reconsider and continue in the Madness :~)

Thank you for reading my post, and for taking your time to PM me.
 
I have driven one and loved it....However, the owner built it as a kit
and mentioned the chip in his driveway concrete is where his brother
tried to commit suicide and the bullet meant for his head richotcheted
of the said driveway........
 
Ackward
 
My post was mostly in Jest as that I actualy appreciate all the words
of wisdom from owners. That being said, I love this forum as the people
are truly kind and helpfull.
 
As I stated, I am not totaly turned off, just more educated.
 
Regards
 
Edward

Edward:

LOOK INTO MY EYES..........................BUY ONE........ BUY ONE.........BUY ONE!!

Tebs

If you don't, you'll always regret it...

I did buy one and while regretting it now and then, like Alan said, it's hard to have more fun [at our age] with your close on.  Plus it gives some of us a reason to be in the garage.  I guess I didn't get the gist of your blog.

Was there a point to be taken?

Craig, I think the point is: There's more to these little PITA cars than what first glimpse reveals...there's joy and challenge and an education in every drive...or...something like that...

Bravo, Ed, for coming in with your eyes open. Surprises can be wonderful, but not all of them are. 

SoC will be your (dysfunctional) family when or if you finally put your money down. Or even in the meantime. Not everyone here has a Speedster.

Welcome to the (practically-attenuated) madness.

Sometimes it seems that we fall into at least a couple of groups. One being those who bought IM's and Becks, who don't seem to have much need for mechanical skills as their cars tend to be of higher quality (and cost). The other is everybody else who either are often repairing or replacing various mechanical doo-dads on their entry level vehicular mistresses.

I know that is an over simplification as there are some spectacular cars not from Canada or Bremen, but that seems to be because the owners have thrown a lot of blood, sweat, tears and cash at them, post purchase. Those activities occupy a lot of space on this site. 

It seems to me that once you understand the cars it is of even greater importance to understand your own personal tolerance for frustration, your wrenching capabilities, and your post purchase pocket book for tinkering/repairing/changing whatever you buy.

Your car is out there, you'll find it and I wish you the best.

When I purchased my VS in 2009, my eyes were not yet fully opened. I didn't expect my car to be perfect, but I also didn't understand the "sorting out" that would need to take place. 

But I don't regret that sorting out process: it gave me a chance to really get to know the car, to put some sweat equity into it and to make the car mine. 

I'm glad for that experience and have never regretted a single moment. Of all the bucket list items I've checked off so far in life, this is one of my favorites, and it's one that I get to keep enjoying every day. 

The members here talked me into buying now rather than waiting a year for my retirement. My car will arrive from Texas in just a few days. I've only seen pictures of it and never actually seen it up close let alone drove it. But it's a Beck with 13,000 miles on it, so that gave me confidence that it isn't a mess needing "sorting." Having said that, I'll never be satisfied with the little 90 HP 1915 CC engine it has. And, as luck has it, I have nearly all the parts to build a really nice.... I don't know 2276 or so, probably around 160 HP. I need heads and jugs.

I paid about $10k less than other Becks I've seen and this one even has A/C (which I think is a sin in an air cooled car). According to the seller, the car is nearly perfect. I'll find out in just a few days. I can hardly wait and I don't think I'll have any regrets. I've wanted one since I was a kid.

Paul

 

 

I guess I fall into the "buy the car and then turn it into what you want over time" bucket.  My car has completely changed its' personality over 20+ years, still remaining a fun car to drive - just that NOW I have nice seats and winter heat!.  

It ALWAYS pays to take the time to read as much as you can about these cars, as there is a LOT of variation out there regarding features, styles and build quality.  Some of the owner-built cars are of equal or better quality to any of the professional builders out there, and, of course, some are not - it all depends on who built it and what level their skills are at.  

Keep reading, keep lurking and someday you, too, can have one of these little PITA cars (on your own terms!)

I think the OP is a reasonable, intelligent man who made a good decision.

I agree 100% with Gordon on this. No matter what, a speedster replica is not a car in the way that most people think of them-- a devise used for conveyance from one place to another-- a kind of transportation appliance.

What they are is a hobby. They are paper-dolls for middle aged men. We can tinker with them, and futz with them, and improve them, and gain a skill-set that will likely be useless in any other arena. Even with a Subaru-powered car, there will be things to be navigated and worked with-- the intricacies of title law for your state, learning how to insure a car that falls outside of all traditional classifications, etc.

If you have an air-cooled car, you'll need to become something of a shade-tree mechanic at a minimum. In vast swaths of this nation, nobody works on these cars anymore. Expecting to find somebody who does is a bit like taking a Model T to a Ford dealer and expect them to do an oil change and tuneup. Engines get sent to far-away places to get rebuilt. Long conversations are had with "that one guru" who knows all about some bit of esoterica. Glen Ring for 010 distributors, Blackline Racing for carbs, Mario Vellota for EFI/crankfire, the rice-rocket shop in the next state over for chipping your 2.5 Subaru, etc.

It's a hobby, and a life-style. Guys from all over the place become your friends, because they have the same illness, and misery loves company. We commiserate on what header to buy, what carpet set works best, what shop is putting out good stuff or otherwise. It's fun, but it's not just buying a car. It's diving down the rabbit-hole to see what's on the other side. 

It's not for everybody.

7th -8th  grade I read a book entitled " Boy Gets Car " ( 629.228) and that folks, was the beginning of the lust to build...All blame goes to Mrs. Blumgrin, the Jr. High Librarian. 

As much as newer technology helps us... these cars are not turn key and drive away, always.  Sometimes it is turn key and wait ... I just got to fix XYZ... etc etc. 

I tell people these cars are not for the faint of heart... but then neither are older cars. 

AAA, CAA over here is a must or you could get a Large Towing fee.  

Ask me how I know  

..."misery loves company."...

but what a great bunch of miserable guys to hang out with!

in the past year I've depleted my bank account, am on a first-name basis with all 6 mechanics at our local VW shop, can take apart, re-jet, set float levels and tune a set of Weber carbs, adjust valves, find every Porsche part which will make my fake look less so, met (at least on the phone) scores of the most informed experts on every imaginable engine part, Porsche mechanics who are older than me and remember wading through a sea of broken 4-cam motors which were then just worthless junk, a Porsche overrider maker, oil cooler gurus, the sage Porsche parts collector who once in a while parts with something for what he paid for it 40 years ago, several famous Porsche outlaw builders, and met many helpful and humorous folks on this forum, what could be better?

I know, lots of things, but then, there's no accounting for what the madness does to one's ability to think rationally...

There is a diagnosis for that  

Sanity is boring.

 

Allan;

I can not even remember when I last saw a Dewey Decimal tag. Proof is I had to copy/paste and let google tell me what it is; 629.228

LOL

Paul;

Congrats. Great color, Fly Yellow.  The madness begins, already talking about swapping engines!!

Welcome to the Madness, Edward (and if I haven't done so yet, you too Paul)!

Yeah, it's a hobby, bordering on lifestyle (ok, let's call it what it is- obsession!), but unlike a lot of other older cars and hot rods, you don't just sit at show and shines, talking about what your car or the car next to you does or doesn't have. They are similar in that they are older and require more maintenance than newer cars (re-read what the boys have said above), but there's 1 important difference-

Speedsters were meant to be driven!

And that's where the fun lies.

Yoda out (for now, but back you know I will be, and sooner than you think probably!)

Nothing can be wrong with this car that I can't fix, or know someone that can.

Paul

I put some thought into this and here's what I came up with. "If you didn't own a Tinker Toy, Lincoln Logs and a Erector Set, built a fort out of scrap, engineered how to build a tree house and keep it from tumbling out of a tree, rigged a 2.5 HP  Clinton motor onto a 26" bike, anchoring a 5HP motor onto a mini bike with 4 vise grips, figured out how to make steering work on a go cart without killing yourself,  made homemade fireworks, fixed a garden hose, wired a table lamp, remodeled a bathrooms or kitchens or installed a 200 amp breaker panel  without having to call 911 you'll surely tear your hair out owning a Speedster....."

The vice grips comment along with the go-cart one rang true for me.

I've never wired in my own breaker box. . . . 

Surfing, skiing, skin diving. I like my speedster cause I can do it sitting down and don't need special shoes.