Older IM's okay?

There is a Intermeccania Speedster, built in 1977, for sale locally and I was wondering if the old IM's were any good. I've heard some makers older designs are not that great, and should be stayed away from...and was wondering if IM was one of them?

The older IM's are troopers, from what I understand. I have not heard anything negative about them. A few people here have them & they would be the best people to answer this.

Older IMs are variable builds. The early IMs were usually kits, not factory builds. Also, the age of the car leaves a lot to be determined. The bodies were well made, but the rest is unknown. Where are you? I know a guy who has a nice older IM in the San Diego area that I would highly recommend as a good older car.

Kevin,
I have an older IM. It was built in 81 or 82. I bought it 3 yrs ago and I'm teh 4th owner. I have no idea of it was a kit or built by Frank Reisner. Anyway, what is it you want to know about them? I'm in the process of completely redoing mine, just short of a frame off resto. The car seemed pretty solid when I bought it. I flew to Fla and drove it the whole way back without a problem. Structurally it seems to be solid, though I'm going to be doing some reinforeing of the frame for a little more integrity. That is for no ther reason than I'm putting a more powerful engine in it and that it's nearly 30 years old.
Feel free to ask any specific questions you like.

Well like I said, it is a 1977 build. the guy just emailed me back with answers to a few questions I had. He says the odometer reads 11000 miles on it. He's not the original owner...he JUST bought it in May. I'm thinking of calling him to see why he is selling it soooooo soon.

He says it is "great" condition with the only blems being a couple small chips in the paint. He thinks the motor is a 1500 and he has no idea if anything has been upgraded or if it has any special options in it. Kind of odd he doesn't know anything about it really...and he is selling it so soon.

Ayway's, he wants $15,000 for it. Seems a bit high for a car that was built in 1977 (no mention of restoration ever being done). What do you think?

Don't expect a good running/looking speedster to go for under 11-12K regardless of age or Manufacturer......if that were the case there would be a few only worth about 5K

Kevin, we need more information to really give advice. From the vague description, offer him $10,000 and hope he refuses. Keep us posted.

That might be one of the 600 first original IMs! Not sure when they were first splashed but moved to Canada in 81-82 timeframe.

Kevin,

I have an old '77 or '78....the sticker on the door jam says it's number 115 so i assume it is one of the first ones manufactured...it's registered as a '78 VW....while the body is rock solid with no 'flexing' to speak of, i wasn't happy with or trusted the 30 year old mechanicals of the car so I have spent the last 3 years replacing everything....motor, trans, lights, wiring, steering box, adjustable front beam, changed the brakes to AC discs at all 4 corners...doing the paint next year as it is about 10 years old according to the recepts that came with the car...a lot of work, money and time...but i knew going in that this would be a 'project' car...in other words...unless you know that the old IM has been 'rebuilt' or 'restored' recently, expect to spend some money, time and work....30 years old is still 30 years old

Can you post a photo of the door sticker?

I'll try to get over to see it this weekend. He guy is not to far from me.

the pics that i took of the door sticker are kind of a silver blurry thing....barely legible....it's pretty worn....i'll try again with different camera in the daytime....the sticker has a date of 'January 1978' ....the first letter/digit of the number is pretty worn and hard to read but then it goes A0115
Frank

Kevin, Henry at Intermeccanica is always willing to chat about their older cars. The company turns 50 next year and they are justifiably proud of their past as well as their current product.
That said, if you ask Henry which IM is the best one they ever built, he'll say "The next one". That in itself speaks volumes about a product that is under constant improvement.
I have owned and driven an early '78 pan based car (about 6000 miles per summer) thus can say that these cars hold up very well if they have been maintained. Obviously mechanical maintenance can vary but the core body construction is very solid. Our car was "as delivered" with no paint, just colored Gelcoat and the fit is excellent even after 30+ years and over 70,000 miles.
As others have said, you either need to post more detailed information for better feedback from this forum or have someone who really knows AC VW to check out the car before you step up and buy.