Introducing "Black Betty"

I want to introduce my newest foster child, "Black Betty." BB has a cardiac defect that causes her to be a pale shade of blue. It's a beautiful shade of blue, but deep down inside, she knows "she be black."

BB is in the OR and being preped for her total make over by the world renowned Dr. Kirk who will be performing the surgery.

Oh, she also has a bit of a gitch in her hitch, but it's nothing that a new clutch won't resolve.

After her recovery, I will be forced to place BB up for adoption. I will keep you all posted on her progress.
Troy

troy, i think u been hangin with the dr. too much.

Are you becoming a Speedster dealer Troy?

So, you bought Teri's beautiful blue phatboy and you're painting it black? Why?
Unless you sold the orange crate, it seems to me you've got quite a collection of jelly bellys there...;)

Score!

Oooooo that girl's got a big azz!

Yes Terry, the Orange Crate has been sold. It's new owner lives in Alhambra, which is in southern Calif. Yes, the blue is a VERY pretty color but, in my opinion, it just doesn't have the mass appeal that many of the other colors have.

Bob. Alan has been a great mentor, but he is light years ahead of me in his skills. I know some basics and how to find (and pay)others to do the more complicated work. For me, it's more about fun than making money. In fact, after all was said and done, I barely broke even on the Orange Crate, but it was a great learning experience.
Troy

Wasn't that an old "Ram Jam" song?

Whoa, black betty (bam-A-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-A-lam)
Black betty had a child (bam-A-lam)
The damn thing gone wild (bam-A-lam)
She said it weren't in er mind (bam-A-lam)
The damn thing gone blind (bam-A-lam)
Said whoa, black betty (bam-A-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-A-lam)

-Guitar Break- and on and on......

Still hear it on Boston's Classic Rock!

gn

Gordon, i thought the same thing when I saw the thread....love that song....

Troy, congrats on both the selling of the orange crate and the new blue wonder...I am in total agreement on changing the color, it will forever be labeled "Black Betty" from now on....

No Gordon, it wasn't "an" old "Ram Jam" song" it was THE ONLY "Ram Jam" song- and it was a ginormous, monster hit the summer of my Freshman year in high-school. Look up "one hit wonder" in Wikipedia, and there'll be a picture of "Ram Jam" next to the entry.

Bam-a-Lam!

You got it Gordon Bam - A - Lam.

Troy's gonna see his car in a whole new light, now.

STAN! You're just a KID! Just a HS Freshman in '77, huh?

Geez.....The Yardbirds were big when I graduated (and starting to disentegrate), Grand Funk (the rockin-est Bar Band on Cape Cod in the '60's, this side of Rare Earth) was just takin off, The Beatles were still climbing, Blind Faith was yet to be (but Ginger Baker was already with Cream). Saw the Yard Birds here in "Woo-stah", Mass, in '67 or '68 and they turned "Smokestack Lightning" alone into a 30 minute set with dueling guitars between Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.

Stan was probably listening to the Anita Kerr Singers with his folks in the mid-'60's! (You and I will travel far....together. We'll persue our little star....together. bleayh!)

Damn! Time to hit iTunes again!!!!!

Whoa, Black Betty, Bam-a-lam!

gn

Geez, I hate to admit that "bam-a-lam" was the first thing I thought of too. Now I feel almost as old as Gordon ;-)

Gordon-

In the mid-60s, I was a pre-schooler. Sorry, old timer.

Bam-a-Lam!

Too funny, Stan. I'm right there with you! But I do remeber that song, and now you guys have got it repeating over and over in my head!!!!

In 1977, I was six. I'm just sayin' ...

Troy, I like the blue. Is there some way to keep it partially intact? Rallye stripe, maybe?

Naaahhh, You guys don't make me feel old....

I joined a computer start-up company in 1984, where I was the "upper tier" of age folks amongst a bunch of kids - like those from 18 - 25 or so and I was in my mid-thirties (but rode a bicycle to work). We had this HUGE picnic table outside where a lot of us would have lunch when the weather was nice.

Along about 1987 or 88, we were having lunch and some of the younger kids were getting all excited because the Rolling Stones were coming to Boston on one of their US tours. "Wow! That's Cool!" I said, "I saw them the first time they came to Boston....Sat five rows back from the bumpers, screamed my head off and was deaf for three days after!"

They all looked at me with blank expressions and then one of them said: "Uh....The 'Stones have never been to Boston before..."

"Of COURSE they were!" I replied......They were at the Boston Garden on their first US Tour in 1969! Their final song was 'Street Fighting Man' and it brought the house down! That was around 1:30 in the morning!"

They all looked at me even blanker than before.

"Geez!" Said one kid...."I wasn't even born until 1970!"

Damn kids.........BAM A LAM!

I like this version . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1VfYYKMDk&feature=av2e

'cause it's got a car in it, I don't like those lame kids in the boat though.


HEY !! I remember 1984. That was one of the really fun years.


Oh, and I love this Yardbirds video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kWexhbYaOY

Something about the bouncing brunette camera hog . . . . reminds me of someone, from somewhere.

Thank you, I enjoyed both those numbers...

OK. The "Black Betty" marketing wheels are starting to turn here. I can see a video production coming up. Jim. We need to talk. Can I call you?

Cory.
I know, it's a shame about the blue, because it really is very nice. Actually, Kirk also suggested that I put two black stripes down the center. I agree it would look very cool, but I can't afford to take a chances on getting my money back out of this car. It's all about mass appeal and I think an all black speedster with the blacked out wheel centers will appeal to more potential buyers than the striped version. I could be wrong, but I can't take the risk.

Troy - e-mail me some of your favorite pics (or videos) of Black Betty and I will piece together a short video with Bam A Lam music background for you (and your marketing process).

BTW - I think a black racing stripe, something along the line of Eddy (fstedyray) Tudor's red Speedster in Bakersfied). I think that would tie-in the black wheels a little better to the car's color.

Man, Troy ... you could do black for the majority of the car, but go with a simple blue stripe down the driver's side. It would be tres chic, I think. A blue variation on Paul's "Butch."
It's already tubbed. You're looking for a different market segment than most.
What color is the fan shroud? If it and the dash were both Mexico Blue, you'd be sold before paint -- I'm sure of it.
Get one of these PhotoShop geniuses here -- LeMarteau comes to mind -- to mock it electronically.
I'd slap my mother for that combination.

I say all black with the blue pearl stripe that highlights the car not over doing it! Hey was it just me or does the lead singer for the yard birds look like Owen Wilson? LOL I was cracking up and I loved all the tunes posted thanks guys...

If it matters, my vote is for all black, high gloss DEAD black.

Black wheel centers (or the entire wheel if you have the guts, with a red 0.25 line around the outer rim and red calipers with silver "Porsche" lettering on them.) Black interior and black canvas top, Keep the chromed items as they are, add some headlamp stone guard/baskets for the classic touch against the high gloss black.

Stripes, unless on an SS Camaro or Malibu, get a little dicey. Maybe a Cobra or Shelby 'Stang, if you roll that way, but NEVER on a Speedster.

Looks like a VERY sweet canvas to start painting on though.

It does matter and all of these are great suggestions. Keep it coming!

http://www.aceautosports.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/jj-63-356-outlaw-1-medium.jpg

Troy, these guys are trying to pimp your ride.....Ghetto boys do not drive speedsters, they drive Bagged Chevy's...
All black as originally planned.....

Troy has it right, a once over and out the door. Me, I have to play Monet' and be overly creative :)
Super wide body in a deep Onyx black, black wheel centers (TC !) and a nice Stayfast black top. Billet interior accents and you get eye appeal which in mathmatical terms equates to the bottom line of being in the black~ ~Alan

This is the look and stance and especially ATTITUDE that the black speedster needs to have:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AHP233A2OA

Even if it IS a video of a Ford Truck . . . it's a rounded body truck and everything that you see will translate beautifully to the Speedster body shape. Black, sinister, sexy. Just not that engine I'm afraid.



PLEASE remember. NO STRIPES ! ! ! ! NONE ! ! ! ! ! !

I couldn't disagree more. He's got the flared fenders, the right wheels, a smooth body surface -- it doesn't need a hard top to look good in stripes. AND, he lives in Kalifornia, not Bahston.
No offense in either direction, but no stripes on a tubbed black car speaks "boring" to me, or "Bad Boys" 911. Speedsters in black should have a not-black interior to offset the black on the body, and in the case of this car ... we're too late to the party to change that.
Since you're already talking about a shape that wants to be purchased by a slick-haired SoCal guy with moderately deep pockets and snappy shoes -- or why else would a flared replica exist in the first place -- why not paint it like it's ready to be bought and taken to the track?
Black is overdone, IMHO. Black paint, particularly black-on-black-on-black puts me to sleep on ANYTHING but the aforementioned 911. (I'll make an exception for the Lanes' 550A-6 Spyder, which has a very nicely done tan and ballglove-leather interior combination.)

Live a little:

http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200511/1951-porsche-356-speedste-1_1280x0w.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/porsche%20356%20stripes/Ferdinand31/Porsche356cOutlawFrontNSTop.jpg

http://bringatrailer.com/2008/10/01/1954-porsche-pre-a-bent-window-projectdriver/

http://image7.autorevo.com/2455/pics/2675001_869c2c6f-7042-4651-8bb8-0490ff6eb5b9.jpg

http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/1963-Porsche-356-racer3.jpg

http://www.tunersgroup.com/images/large/large576.jpg

http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/1965_Porsche_356_SC_Race_Car_Front_1.jpg

or any one of these:

http://jalopnik.com/5158281/invasion-of-the-porsche-356-racers

I think a very nicely executed paint job actually raises the bar across the board. If you can walk out into the garage and elect to drive the car that looks exciting, versus walking out into the garage and taking the black car for a spin, I'm guessing the one that looks like it WANTS to go to the track will get driven more often.
And the majority of folks here don't actually NEED their cars for day-to-day transportation. They just wanted them when they bought. It's a shame that resale is driving the bus on so many of them nowadays. We could have such a variety here that red, silver and black would become the oddity, rather than the rule.

More food for thought; an old guy who used to be a mechanic for Porsche back in the day once told me, "Those 356s looked good in just about any color you'd find in the m&m bag. They look lousy in shades of licorice."

You guys are going to give Black Betty a complex! Is she black or not? Does she wan't to be a painted lady or not? Even my wife has chimed in with what she wants, silver with a black stripe and she even Photoshoped it out for me below. There is even a dark slate grey Nissan color that I think would look good with the black interior and wheels. BB has until Tuesday to make up her mind.

Now you're on to something. Keep it in that vein ...

Vince, were you the dancer in that Yardbirds video in the striped shirt? Great call on the tune Gordon, now I will be hummin' that in my head for a week. BAM-A-LAM!

Cory.
I appreciate what you're saying, but I don't think it will end up with a stripe.
Like I mentioned earlier, it has to appeal to the masses and I'm afraid we are a little jaded from being around these cars as much as we have been.
I don't think the masses would consider a black on black super wide body Speedster boring. In fact, a striped Speedster, that would appeal to a lot of us, might just be a little over the edge for most new owners.
If I was building this car for myself, stipes would be a distinct possibility. In fact, there was a beautiful one at Morro Bay that had the entire hood and back end painted black. It was VERY nice!
You can see it from behind in this video at 2:45.
And it has bee hives Vince!

Cory, you either have weird taste or perhaps you spent to much time in the desert when you were activated last year....

Troy, I hear you on the demands of the market versus what looks appealing to those of us already in the hobby. I think it's a shame. There are so few cars out there with the Mexico Blue paint that I really hate to see it go.

Vince, I know you're driving a red widebody -- for now. I know it has curb appeal, just like Wild Bill's Blackie does out here. I guess I should explain a little of where the opinion comes from.
There are shows in Manassas, Va., a couple times a year (BugOuts) that specifically cater to VeeDubs. There are always a billion Bugs and Ghias, a few Things and the occasional Kubel (some of which are probably Henry's folks' work). There are a ton of dragsters, Combis and Manxes there, too. Dale takes his TD -- as do several others -- and there are always a couple Speedsters.
A few years ago, one of the guys I ran with out here took his purple Ghia. Cool frigging car. To his right were about ten red Ghias, and to the left were a couple more. The others were either silver or black.
The HotVWs guy walked right up to my buddy, and asked him why he had chosen purple. He looked to both sides of his parking spot, and simply answered, "Duh."
I think that comment has stuck with me throughout my re-do on the Hoopty. I want to paint it some outlandish scheme, but I also like the ordinary silver against the orange.
A solid color on a widebody just screams 80s 911 to me.

I dunno. Maybe it's just the flared fenders. That makes for a lot of the same color. It should be broken up somehow.

Troy,
I like the photo shopped car with the black stripe. It reminds me of a "landing strip" I used to know.

Leave it to Dale to take things down a notch.........too funny!

BTW I remember the late 60's fondly.......all about high school. I was more into Creedence. In 71 Ike & Tina played at a Miri Loma High school dance. El Camino Eagles class of 72 here!

"Oh lord I hope I don't get stuck in Lodi Again"

Cory, I'm just busting your balls.....I need to get even for not bringing home some pirate bootie....