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     Good News !        Talked with  Greg at VMC yesterday. He said that next week he is meeting with the vendor who will build my suspension system and that he expects it will take two months to complete my car. How Bout That !!!

Greg mentioned that he has never been so busy as he is right now.  I guess there's a lot of people at home trying to get things done with their cars or having one built as well. Later I was thinking how fortunate he is that his business is booming !  Many are not so fortunate ! ...............Bruce

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Li-Rick......Yeah it is ! Timing is all ??    All  of the time lapse  has been because of me stalling due to two knee replacements and a rescheduled spinal fusion which is going to happen this November.  I had some cash issues to deal with as well. This ain't gonna be cheap. Since I'm a land lord the pandemic has slowed/stopped cash flow for a while.Now our dumb assed Governor has extended our so called quarantine. But things will move along with the build now.

Danny.....I know you would like to change out your front suspension. This project most likely won't produce something that you could easily install without serious frame mods. But maybe the control arms and some other parts would be useable.

I'll ask Greg to take photos as he goes along ,along with me going down to take some too.

It looks like Greg is using more and more Subaru engines now. Last week there were 3 of them sitting under clear plastic. Judging by the look of them I would say they came from Outfront Motor Sports in Buena Park.  Don't know who the front suspension is coming from yet but Greg is very resourceful and particular. He makes his own cable shifter mechanism now you know.  I also see a lot of bare bodies sitting outside in que. This is really good for a future buyer because the bodies have a chance to completely cure before they go into production and will stay straight when it becomes a finished product.................Bruce

Hey, Bruce! Good news! You didn't happen to see my fashion gray coupe while yo were there, did ya?  Greg's been sooo busy he hasn't had a chance to send any update photos lately.  Oh, and one of those motors you saw was mine (unless he already popped it in) and they do come from Outfront in Buena Park. The guys at Outfront are great to deal with, too.  Customer service wise they're a good match for Greg.  Can't wait to see how your suspension comes together. 

Cheers...Michael

 

Sorry Michael, I didn't.  I was delivering some of my Wind Wings and neither Anna or Greg were there so I didn't feel comfortable wandering around too much or stay too long.

 Wow ! Your gonna be happy with that motor in your coupe !  John over at Outfront took me for a ride in a coupe he'd put a motor in. Your passengers better hold on !  It's a neck snapper !  I may go down there at the end of next week so I'll look for you then?                   

Bruce

Michael.......I will look for it next time I'm there.  I see you live in Portland !  No wonder you're buying a Coupe !  Up there the weather is very wet.  You'll be comfortable. Are you installing A/C ?   If so, you'll be comfy all year round.

On my car I would like to install Outfront's smallest turbo. Since I have to make a custom exhaust system, why not put the turbo plumbing in with it ?  Most people on here advise not to for safety reasons and I agree but sometimes it makes me smile thinking about how much power would be "underfoot". Hmmmm........Bruce

The weird thing about that diff. is it's welded together. Mike at Rancho said some guy cut one open to do a repair but in the end he just replaced it. I guess it's intended to be a throw-away. Yup, I like shiny and in a Spyder, that transaxle is right there in your face when the clam is open so I decided to shine it up. The firewall is just dark and dank looking as well so I made a complete stainless steel, engine turned cover for it. Greg had to get me the firewall piece from his factory in Baja Mex. I formed the stainless sheet over that and gave it all back to Greg. He will install it before the body goes on and secure it with polished SS acorn nuts. I still had half a sheet of the stainless left over from the firewall I put in my Speedster. At $600.00 per 4' X 8' per sheet you don't waste it.  I'm thinking about making a polished aluminum box to install in the rear adjacent to where the battery is. I'd like to store some tools and a scissors jack there.  The nice thing is I have had the time to think up all this stuff.

I can't remember, when is the SLO event this year ? It would be nice if I can drive it up there this year as the maiden voyage !.........Bruce

drove down to see Greg this week. He said he will be starting on my project in about a week and will be giving me a loose schedule soon on the development stages after that. While there he ordered some more wind wings but I am backordered on the hinges from the CNC shop for the first time since I started manufacturing them. I had to make a stop at the CNC shop on the way to try and move my little order along. The CNC guy os also cutting out some samples of a cup holder I designed for Speedsters as well. I will order a Dozen of them to send out to some of you guys you guys for test and evaluation once I get them. Any volunteers ? I will send out 6 pairs of them for right and left mounting. They will not be polished. They will be anodized Black or Red. They will have a sort of "Lego" look, very simple and practical but in keeping with the theme (so to say if there is one) of the look of a Speedster interior.

Heres some photos of the VMC shop this week. Seems like there are a lot of Spyders going out right now. Some with VW engines and some with Subaru's.

 One of these is DrDan's......................Bruce

Attachments

Images (9)
  • IMG_3041: 4 Spyders
  • IMG_3042: VW engine and trans
  • IMG_3043: Subaru Engine & Vw Rhino Trans
  • IMG_3044: Subaru Eng & VW Rhino Trans
  • IMG_3045: Subaru Engine &  VW  Rhino Trans
  • IMG_3049: Subaru/Spyder wiring harness going in
  • IMG_3050: Whole bunch od Speedster bodies in que.
  • IMG_3047: Subaru/Spyder Firewall clearance
  • IMG_3048: VW/Spyder Firewall clearance

Rick......The frame and the body are temporarily riveted together and are being sent to the suspension guy so they can fab up the front suspension. The rear is a no brainer, Greg has done one already and mine will have some improvements on it. Greg said it should be ready for me to pick up in a couple months. I am leaving for Mexico for a couple months while this is going on. Greg said he would keep in touch with me thru the process. I will be meeting with him before Thanksgiving to finalize a few build ideas I have...............Bruce

Ric.........Maybe. I haven't talked to Greg lately but I know he doing things with it now.  He also knows that I will be returning in late Feb so Maybe ?  It will not be totally finished then though.  I will finish a lot of things on it. I was going to do the wiring but after seeing how they wire it during assembly, I will have them do it. Kind of a bummer because I had already bought a nifty marine fuse box and with my Navy experience as an Aviation Electrician, I was looking forward to a nice neat, perfectly designed and organized wiring/electrical distribution system. Actually, I have a complete wiring diagram roughed out, ready for my CAD wiring friend to put it in his system. Ultimately, if I don't like the wiring job I get for some reason, I may re-wire it anyway.  Some people would be scared to do that but I'm pretty comfortable with it and have done it before.

Today my paint color choice is Black with a Red frame/ roll bars, carpet and upholstery in a mix of red and black.  I'd like a Banjo steering wheel but can't make up my mind about which color to choose...White or Black.

The dash will have..... Ign. sw on the right.  Light sw. on the left.  Wiper sw. in upper area of the instrument cluster spaced between the gauges. The other side will have a spare switch to match the wiper sw.  I'll probably make up a stainless steel  engine-turned  panel to go behind the three gauges. I'll make 5/16" circles for the engine-turning part.  The Fire wall is all stainless with 1.5" circle engine-turning.

Can't decide on wheels and tires until the car is assembled enough to make some measurements and assessments... That's all so far..........Bruce

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