Want to buy Spyder

Which is the best brand? I have researched Chuck Beck and Vintage. Both have nice websites and good info. Vintage claims to have a better suspension setup. Is this true? Are there any other companies out there?

Regards,

Tony Amalio

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-=theron

try and drive both and then you can pick the one that is right for you

In my humble opinion, neither has good suspension, the design is 50 years+ old, both suffer from camber problems associated with a swing axle. The Beck car uses VW torsion bars and spring plates. The Vintage uses trailing arms and coil over shocks. Both have the same problem and the design should be changed to the IRS. Vintage takes about a year to make and deliver a car, Beck can do it in 8 weeks. Vintage claims that their frame is more sturdy and probably is however, as many have stated, neither Vintage or Beck will hold up in a T-bone crash. Both are considered to have just a little more protection than a motorcycle. I drove both cars and didn't really see a big difference in suspension. Remember, both have VW front ends and both have swing axels. I subsequently decided to buy a used Beck from a former member who lives in Alabama and I'm having the car transported back to California. Back in the 60's many aftermarket producers had such items as camber compensators, axel limit straps, (keeps the axels from tucking under and rolling the tires on their outside edges) All of these items work but IRS is really the answer.

Both Beck and Vintage are located in Calif. Beck is in Baldwin Park and Vintage in Orange.

I wonder why one of the manufacturers does not go ahead and offer an IRS as an option? I realize that the 550 is a replicar and based on a very famous sports racer from the mid 50's, but some concession could be made to those who would like a more modern suspension and transaxle and engine.

If I were to design my ultimate 550 spyder it would have IRS, 5 speed transaxle with sequential shifter like a motorcycle, 4 wheel disk brakes, larger front and rear tires, around 1400 pounds, 250 HP, fuel injection. I would gear it for a top speed of about 130 mph. I might have to study the VW front suspension, but I suspect that an unequal length A arm front suspension with coil over adjustable shocks would work well. Just a nice quick street machine.

George, just the mere fact that the car is a replica says it all. For many reasons, the car can not exactly duplicate the original 550 and quite frankly, I doubt anyone would be truly happy driving such a car on today's roads. It took a team of mechanics to time a 4 cam engine and then, it wasn't always correct. Great on the track but hell on the road. Why not develop a modern engine/suspension car with a rustic/classic body. As you said, a little heavier, maybe a little more aeromatically designed to prevent front end lift, a modern trans and engine combo and with out a doubt, modern suspension. sounds great, sign me up

I didn't mean aeromatically, (that means smelly) meant Aerodynamically) but you knew that

Yes, a MGTC replicar with an old MG engine/transmission would not be nearly as nice as one with a more modern Toyota twin OHC engine and modern suspension. The Lotus 7 kits that use more modern engines and transmissions are also available. Even the Cobra replicars use more modern pieces. I saw an original 50's Corvette at a car show that had side windows ( a true roadster without roll up windows ). The Vette was nice but it was basically made up of 50's Chevy parts. I also saw on the Discovery Channel a test of a 30's Auto Union Gran Prix Car that had been restored. It had a V16 I believe. Anyway, the restorer had to make some aluminum replacement parts and did some metuligurical tests on the original aluminum parts in the engine and found the quality of the aluminum metal was about what was used in today's lawn furniture.

With all the advances made in electronics for the engine management systems, I see no problem with using them to make the kitcars more drivable than the originals. My belief is that most people are more comfortable with bolting a carb on a manafold and firing up the engine and living with the poor drivability and fuel economy. I have not looked around much, but someone is bound to make an EFI control module for the kit car industry.

I really like the 550 Spyder body shape, and one of them with modern parts would be great. I could live with the front end lift at speeds over 100mph, since I rarely drive that fast anymore. I had my Norton Commando 750 up to 105mph on the freeway once and I had a friends Honda 750 Interceptor up to 120mph but that was many years ago when I was young and invincible.