Nice article in 356 Registry September/October 2021 issue by Dr. Bruce Smith about building a Beck/Special Edition 550 Spyder with a Porsche "C" engine. Hopefully, quality Speedster replicas will eventually get some coverage.
Jim Ruiz
Westchester, CA 90045
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Is it online?
Not sure if you can access if you are not a 356 Registry member.
Definitely a well written article....much thought given to being up front that it is a "Replica" car and the rest is time and money....
I'd like to read it, if somebody has a link.
Just tried to get into the article and it won't let you get in unless you are a member....
I find it interesting but in reality a real car guy appreciates handbuilt quality and cars of all types those who are in two cars as a status symbol or as a boys club are in it for different reasons such as status as if a vehicle brings you that or anything else but that is a never ending game, That does not lead to much satisfaction if things are a measure of who you are so for those no matter how much you explain it’s a replica the word replica is thrown at the replica owners as a pejorative.
It is difficult to fully elucidate this to a non car guy. BTW many car owners of high end cars are not car guys 
"It is difficult to fully elucidate this to a non car guy. BTW many car owners of high end cars are not car guys "
Amen, Ray.
@jprpdr posted:Not sure if you can access if you are not a 356 Registry member.
Can you copy and paste it here?
Nick Cage in Gone in 60 Seconds summed it up nicely (in reference to those with high end exotics:
"There are too many self indulgent weiners in this city with too much bloody money. Now if I was driving a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 cam..............."
-"You would not be a self-indulgent Weiner, sir; you'd be a connoisseur."
-"Precisely!"
@IaM-Ray posted:I find it interesting but in reality a real car guy appreciates handbuilt quality and cars of all types those who are in two cars as a status symbol or as a boys club are in it for different reasons such as status as if a vehicle brings you that or anything else but that is a never ending game, That does not lead to much satisfaction if things are a measure of who you are so for those no matter how much you explain it’s a replica the word replica is thrown at the replica owners as a pejorative.
It is difficult to fully elucidate this to a non car guy. BTW many car owners of high end cars are not car guys
Every single bit of THAT^^^^^
At Lime Rock Vintage festival a few weeks ago(Labor Day weekend) I pulled in right behind a real 356. It was a 1958 Carrera, four cam 547 and all. Crankshaft-mounted distributors. Sweet car. Really, really nice.
We pull in to the PORSCHE car corral, and his first words: "I thought I had the most expensive car here until you were behind me. Now I see it's just a kit car".
What a total butthole. He then went on to say "I don't buy a car unless it's seven figures". Yup, there's your sign...I walked away saying nothing. He clearly is NOT a car guy, he's a I-have-more-money-than-you guy.
He came alone, left alone. I'm not surprised, even a little bit.
I came and met Lenny and Mike there, and had a great day WITH FRIENDS. Also met David Fuhrer(Speedster now) and Al Baran(TR 550), which some of you may know from Spyderclub. I'd rather have friends. Car guys all.
I have a Porsche engine in my replica and also I am a member of 356 Registry, so I sort of feel only like half a snob😂
It's all in how you act, Bob. I don't think you're a snob at all.
yeah we wont tell anyone ur not a true replicant.
@DannyP posted:Every single bit of THAT^^^^^
At Lime Rock Vintage festival a few weeks ago(Labor Day weekend) I pulled in right behind a real 356. It was a 1958 Carrera, four cam 547 and all. Crankshaft-mounted distributors. Sweet car. Really, really nice.
We pull in to the PORSCHE car corral, and his first words: "I thought I had the most expensive car here until you were behind me. Now I see it's just a kit car".
What a total butthole. He then went on to say "I don't buy a car unless it's seven figures". Yup, there's your sign...I walked away saying nothing. He clearly is NOT a car guy, he's a I-have-more-money-than-you guy.
He came alone, left alone. I'm not surprised, even a little bit.
I came and met Lenny and Mike there, and had a great day WITH FRIENDS. Also met David Fuhrer(Speedster now) and Al Baran(TR 550), which some of you may know from Spyderclub. I'd rather have friends. Car guys all.
How does that old saying go? “The price of everything and the value of nothing?”
@IndianBob posted:I have a Porsche engine in my replica and also I am a member of 356 Registry, so I sort of feel only like half a snob😂
I’ve used the 356Registry for research extensively since I bought my Spyder, but I’ve never tried to join. (I’d like to, just to support them) From day one, I’ve sensed a definite anti “kit car” vibe from them. Kind of like the PCA Social Club and Drama School Las Vegas region that permanently soured me on the PCA. (I guess my 1 of 59 968 didn’t stack up against the run-of-the-mill 993’s and 996’s)
Maybe they’re changing.
I’ve gone head to head against a real 356 speedster, and to the dismay of the owner, my Beck was faster and hugged the road just fine. This was during my ritual Saturday morning running of Mulholland in the Hollywood Hills, before I moved to the open farm roads of Idaho. I jokingly consoled him by telling him not to worry much, because his day of winning will definitely come when he sells it.
@dlearl476 posted:I’ve used the 356Registry for research extensively since I bought my Spyder, but I’ve never tried to join. (I’d like to, just to support them) From day one, I’ve sensed a definite anti “kit car” vibe from them. Kind of like the PCA Social Club and Drama School Las Vegas region that permanently soured me on the PCA. (I guess my 1 of 59 968 didn’t stack up against the run-of-the-mill 993’s and 996’s)
Maybe they’re changing.
I doubt it. IMHO the 356 Registry is even more snobby than the regular old PCA.
A reminder for those in the back and the new folks, re "Real Classic Porsche" performance: Squeezing the 150 horsepower of a typical CB Performance 2110cc Type 1 from a legit 50s-era S90 engine is nigh-impossible (in part because those engines were based on the 36hp VW case hot-rodders and racers rejected decades ago), and doing it from a [checks notes] Top o' The Line $300,000 4-Cam 547 requires another $100,000 or so (prices available on request).
I cast no shade on those who aim to do it. Just sayin'.
Yeah, a 356 motor is difficult to get a lot of power out of.
I was talking with a guy with an independent Porsche repair shop at Lime Rock. He punched out a 912 motor to 78mm stroke and 91mm cylinders. I suspect that they're really 90.5mm, which yields 2007cc. Or 2029cc if they are indeed 91mm.
Either way, it's a max 2.0 liter and difficult to get 150 aircooled hp out of 2.0 liters given the head design.
It's kinda funny to me that a replica with a 2110 will spank just about any OE 356.
I got lots of dirty looks in the pits after my Spyder trounced a LOT of new P cars at Lime Rock DE(driver education). 170-180 hp and 1500 pounds. It's all about power-to-weight.
I finally just read the Spyder replica article in the September/October Porsche Registry magazine and I got the strong feeling after reading it that the engineer Smith who built it was trying very hard to keep from stepping on toes by making sure he let everybody know it was a ‘replica’ including adding no Porsche badging other than ‘Spyder’ & a 356 Registry badge on the back grill and a small PCA sticker on the windscreen, even though he had a Porsche 356 engine in it. As opposed to me, who has Porsche badging all over my FiberFab/CMC because I figure that, since I have a ‘66 Porsche 912 engine which, according to the official PCA magazine, is a leftover ‘65 356SC engine, so I don’t care if I step on someone’s toes with my Porsche badging.
And if people ask me if my car’s real, I just answer: “Do you think I would be driving a real $400,000 Porsche Speedster to Safeway and leaving it in the parking lot while while I grocery shop?😂
One more thing, my wife & I went to the Porsche Werks Reunion during 2018 Monterey Car Week and in the Porsche Corral, which is the non-judged part of the show, there were a couple of speedster replicas parked next to other real speedsters, and I wish I had gotten there early enough to park mine there instead of the way off on the golf course fairway!
