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Hi everyone,

I am a new member who has just (for better or worse) purchased a CMC wide body 356 from a guy who started it and then lost interest.    The motor is suppose to be rebuilt and the trans is suppose to be new/rebuilt??     The car has front and rear disk brakes and dual Webber carbs.     I got the package for $1,700.  I have attached a picture of the car.    The car needs, wheels/tires, exhaust, paint, interior, new windshield, bumpers and general going thru to assure all is sound.   He was going to use pop locks and filled in the door panels with bondo.    I will be removing the bondo and installing the correct door handles.     I am sure I will be buying much, much more than I originally anticipated.     I am quickly finding out how much I will be spending on parts.  image1image2Porsche 356 Gun Metal Grey   Good thing I can work on my own car!!!    (Obviously my car is the Red one.)    

I seem to keep purchasing projects and I have always finished them with a good outcome.   I call it "Vision", but it may be 'Crazy"!!!     It's definitely an mental lapse in judgement.

 

If anyone can let me know what size wheels are on the Grey 356 picture, I would appreciate it.    I think they may be 17" x 8" on front and 17" x 10" on the rear, but I am not sure.

I live in the Clear Lake/Houston Texas area.    If anyone is also going thru the build process in Houston and would like to share notes and lessons learned, please email me at Steve.Vacker@korteco.com.     I have never worked on a VW before, only 67 Ford Mustangs.

I would appreciate any recommendations for good upholstery and paint shops in the Clear Lake/Houston Texas area. 

Thank you for any help.

Regards,

Steve Vacker

 

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Those wheels are custom made for Vintage Speedsters. You are correct those are 17x8's.  I think those are the same size on all four corners.   I think the car they are on is a 'widebody' not a super widebody which usually gets the 17 x 10's.

Troy Sloan would know. He's the resident expert on fat bottom girls of the speedster variety. 

Welcome to the "Madness", Steve.   Plenty of folks on here who have built their cars - some more than one (or ten!).  You might do a search on "Mangosmoothie" to see the build history of his car for ideas or search out Dr. Clock or Troy Sloan.  Lots of people here can answer your questions, but sometimes you'll get more answers than questions (but it's all good stuff!)

As Alan said - you stole it, especially as a partially completed roller.  That's $6k - $7k right there.  Finish it up and enjoy it during the cooler months in Houston.  Every time I've been there over the years it's been wicked hot and humid!

Gordon

The Speedstah Guy from Massachusetts

Yes, the grey car is the "red haired stepchild" of the widebody cars, not a super widebody.  The tell is the shard edge to the front flares. 

I can't tell from the picture if the wheels are both the same size or not.

FYI  They use a Chevy bolt pattern.  The only place you can buy them is directly from Vintage.

TRP posted:

Those wheels are custom made for Vintage Speedsters. You are correct those are 17x8's.  I think those are the same size on all four corners.   I think the car they are on is a 'widebody' not a super widebody which usually gets the 17 x 10's.

Troy Sloan would know. He's the resident expert on fat bottom girls of the speedster variety. 

 

You've found the right place man. You'll get all your questions answered here and then some. For $1700 bucks you certainly have an opportunity to do something really nice with that car. Take your time on this site first and get a clear idea of the caveats associated with a build like this.

@theron ...

In the resources section you will find a huge amount of documentation on CMC cars but I believe in order to access it you have to donate $50 bucks to the site. Worth every penny though especially for someone who is building one.

So, you will want to start a build thread on here, take lots of pictures, ask lot of questions. It will be a documenting of your build and lots of fun for the rest of us! Take a look at @*LongFella 's thread. It turned out to be 43 pages long and he has a beautiful car. Here's the link to his thread: 

https://www.speedsterowners.com...ust-saying-hi?page=1     

Good luck!

Last edited by Rusty S

Steve,

Welcome to the madness!  I am about 100 miles NE of you in Lumberton and in the process of completing my build.  I have a standard body CMC.  It's been a long, slow build, but that's the part I enjoy.  Building is my hobby.  I have a thread with pictures that I need to update.  I actually have the car running but still have a list of items to complete and need to register/title the car.  I will be glad to answer questions and help however I can.  Maybe we can meet up in Kemah one of these days!

https://www.speedsterowners.com...ress-on-my-cmc-build

James

Yes welcome to the madness. Seems every car needs some sorting. I have a mostly Beck 2005 and have been sorting it for 6 months and still have a few gremlins with a car less than 10K. Good luck with your build. This group is amazing. I have been pleased with the help and support (a little sarcasms) here and there but a great community. 

 

Speedy Steve, welcome!

You'll be getting plenty of advice here. If you don't like what someone tells you, wait a while and someone else is bound to offer exactly the opposite point of view. We value truthiness far more than actual facts, which can be a lot of work to track down.

There are many approaches to tackling a project like yours, but one thing almost everyone agrees upon is to NOT keep a running tab of your expenses.

Knowing the total amount you're spending serves almost no useful purpose. At best, it's depressing. At worst, it will force you to apply logic and reason to your expenditures. If you do that, you'll reach the same unavoidable conclusion as the guy you bought your project from and you'll never finish it. The only project cars that ever make it onto the road are done by folks who are completely delusional and have almost no regard for the value of their own time.

And, years from now, a detailed accounting of your expenses could cost you even more money should it fall into the hands of your wife's attorneys.

You may have already noticed that some folks here call their delusional state 'madness'. You're about to learn why.

And oh, isn't it great to be among like-minded friends?

 

Sacto Mitch,

That's excellent advice!     I rebuilt a rental pontoon boat a few years ago and came to the same conclusion, "Do not add up the receipts".     I appreciate the legal advice as well.      I'm not worried about loosing the car in a divorce, but good advice all the same.    The wife did crash her 2016 Beamer 4 times last year and I did want to trade her in on a new wifee for a few days.   But I got over it.     I think it was the sex.     You know that driving thing gets in the way of talking on her phone, texting, playing games on the phone, doing makeup, looking for things in her purse, fiddling with the stereo......, Important Stuff.      But she is a good woman who has a job, likes to cook, likes to fish, and doesn't bitch about my motorcycle, boat and project car addiction. 

I am one of those people who have the "Vision" of what the finished project will be and I am just dumb enough to throw logic and math to wind and complete what I start.   

I think we are very much alike.

Regards,

Steve

 

Steve, in a sense, all of our cars are 'project' cars.

My Speedster was a 'turnkey' car from one of the major replica builders, but even so, you often have to do more than just 'turn the key' before you're motoring happily down the road.

And there are so many options for improving performance and appearance that most of us, whether we want to admit it or not, drive 'project' cars.

I do have a folder where I save the receipts, but I would never make the mistake of adding it all up.

 

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