@mhconley posted:Thanks for the information...
The seller sent me a link to the car on their website. Funny that they describe the car as follows, "...one of the first examples of Chuck Beck's 550 Spyder, Serial number 0011B. Beck Development hand laid the fiberglass bodies of these cars at their facility in Upland, CA and are considered much higher quality than the later cars where the bodies were sourced from Brazil. This car comes to us from a long hold in a private collection and to our knowledge, is the first time publicly offered for sale since completion."
I assume the B in this photo indicates it's a Brazilian body.
I'm going to wait until I've had the chance to see if I fit in one. Just browsing for now...
Martin
Yes, we see it all the time, people will try and "poo-poo" on a variation to make theirs seem better. The fact of the matter is that with each generational change there were large improvements. There are even improvements within each generation. I try and make the next car better than the last, everyday. The quality of our fiberglass has always been top notch, CA, Brazil, Indiana, same techniques and QC. The chassis has always been the same, except for on Gen 3 I got away form the aftermarket China/Brazil front beams and went to an Airkewld USA made front beam with full Delrin bushings.
Yes, the B denotes Brazil plant, and they did that since they started the numbering system over at #1, however they soon dropped the "B" so there are duplicate chassis numbers for the first 250 cars. Plus there are about 4 or 5 #1 cars. Chuck had several clients who HAD TO HAVE the very first car and he didn't have the heart to tell any of them no, so he told them all yes... and the funniest thing is I actually own the true #1 car, and always will.