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I mentioned in the "Wide Bodies" thread that I had an idea for a look that was not as radical as the flared look, but not straight traditional either. I'm sure "my idea" has been done before - nothing revolutionary here.

I really like the look of bumperless Speedsters, or any 356 for that matter. You really see the curve of the body. That's the way they were often run on the track back in the day. But on the street, you need *some* protection.

So how about this "semi-outlaw" look: Standard body style with nerf bars. I'm thinking silver car with chrome straight bars on the front and J bars on the rear.

What do you think? Anybody here have something like that? Any pictures?

Thanks.

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I mentioned in the "Wide Bodies" thread that I had an idea for a look that was not as radical as the flared look, but not straight traditional either. I'm sure "my idea" has been done before - nothing revolutionary here.

I really like the look of bumperless Speedsters, or any 356 for that matter. You really see the curve of the body. That's the way they were often run on the track back in the day. But on the street, you need *some* protection.

So how about this "semi-outlaw" look: Standard body style with nerf bars. I'm thinking silver car with chrome straight bars on the front and J bars on the rear.

What do you think? Anybody here have something like that? Any pictures?

Thanks.

Outlaw Uber Allis, you betcha. My long-in-the-tooth standard is well past the age that she will ever win a beauty contest, but that is ok because in a sense that frees me up to have fun customizing mine. After much discussion with our friendly Carrera GT authority, Johan Wallens, I am going that route including the through the hood racer flip-up gas cap, etc. etc. I am also eyeing the vinyl door panels and am considering going for the full poser racer effect by making aluminum replacement panels, or at least one to see how I like it. Some of the 550 Spyder replica guys have done complete aluminum interiors... looks great to me and like I said, with an older car I have nothing to loose.

Re to have bumpers or not, I am going to take Johan's advice and try the existing bumpers with the deco trim removed as some GT's were known to have, but as nerf bars are cheap I will likely try a set on for size also. Check out Johan's site, great photos.
As a non-traditionalist, I agree!! LOVE that outlaw/vintage-racer look. Would like to see more replicas go that route. One way to attract some attention from all those competition-oriented Cobras at the shows! Here are a few photos as "food for thought":

www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/356Club_Dana_Point_03/HTML/Page-3.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/356Club_Dana_Point_03/HTML/Page-1.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/Parts_Obsolete_03/HTML/Page-2.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/Parts_Obsolete_03/HTML/Page-52.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/Dunkel_Bros_03/HTML/Page-132.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/Dunkel_Bros_03/HTML/Page-607.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/German_AutoFest_02/HTML/Page-41.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/German_AutoFest_02/HTML/Page-127.htm
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/356Club_Dana_Point_03/HTML/Page-29.htm

By the way, Pelican Parts has alot of other great photos on their site
Bruce,

I have to agree with you and decided to go towards the outlaw look with the Chesil that i'm building.

wide 5 wheels with no hub caps
no bumpers or side trim
headlight grills and driving lamps
engine grill louvres
GT mirror

Take a look at www.hambly.org.uk/chesil, though the car is a few weeks away from completion....

Opted for black body with tan hood and leather interior rather than silver... I was going to wash it every week anyway :)

Simon

Simon, bro, great looking car! Very nice work indeed. I installed two GT mirrors and am getting rid of the side deco trim. Also am going without front hood handle. Will experiment re bumpers without deco trim, no bumpers and with nerf bars. Like you I installed driving lights. I am also going with the larger gas tank and the through the hood gas cap, thanks JPS. Wider than stock tires, definitely. I intend to experiment with aluminum door panels and maybe even somehow with the front kick wall area, and am eyeing the rear seating area, remove the padding and carpet the rear area to under the seats, and do some sort of textured aluminum in the front floor area. Retro 50's boy racer look, achtung baby! Your car is great.
Erik, which driving lights are you using? I had a set of NOS Bosch but they were too small, so i sold them to a friend for his wife's 911.

And, I have a set of NOS chromed Cibie Super Oscars but they're so big they would overpower the whole front "look" of the car. I guess I'm suffering from the Goldilocks Syndrome, looking for a pair of lights that are "just right"...
Thanks, Bruce S. for the links to the pics. I went through all of the photos on that site just now - great stuff!

I found this one that has nerf bars:
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/356Club_Dana_Point_03/HTML/Page-116.htm

and this one that has a cross-bar between the front nerf bars:
www.pelicanparts.com/swapmeet_pics/356Club_Dana_Point_03/HTML/Page-119.htm

I think I like the way Jim Kelly mounted his lights on a cross-bar. Looks sharp.

I do like the idea of doing something a little different, unique, eye-catching, to set it apart from the ordinary Speedster. Oh dear God, I've just put "ordinary" and "Speedster" in the same sentance! OH THE SHAME, THE SHAME!!!
(Message Edited 7/29/2003 4:08:28 PM)
George, re the driving lights, I wasn't sure how they would look on the front of the car so I conducted an inexpensive experiment rather than investing heavily off ebay. I bought a pair of el cheapo driving lights from JC Whitney, fit them on the car but didn't wire them up. I liked the look so I will probably go with the faux Vintage Hella clones and give away the JC lights. Again, my car (circa 78) was run hard and put up wet in its previous life so this one is totally for fun. Once you get your car and I am in the D.C. area, perhaps I can extend an inviation to join a friend or two for lunch at the Army Navy Club. I would LOVE to see your car in the flesh. You may catch some static at times but you have certainly taken the replica Speedster standard to a whole new level. It is going to be some kind of car.
Bruce,

The lights are old bosch units that I picked up off eBay from Germany.

I chose them as they were shallow, had really thick patterned glass, and so looked the part. The checkered vinyl covers were a real bonus and only needed careful cleaning.

The mounting brackets did need careful bending to suit mounting to the body rather than vertically down onto a bumper. 12V replacement bulbs were easy to get.
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