Okay, so I have had my Vintage Speedster for a bit now and I have come to a few conclusions. If your interested then please read on.
1st off this site looks to be full of enthusiasts and its very much appreciated. Bravo.
Okay, so right off the transport truck I thought highly of the VS. Having owned a 1963 356 1600S coupe (not too far in the distant past) I drew a few comparisons. The doors for example shut nearly identically. The sound & feel is very much the same. For that matter the body nearly feels the same as far as strength & structure. Of course the look is basically identical (boy does it have the look down).
Driving wise my 1915cc has the 1600S covered. This VS is fun to accelerate. I think it does lack the top end the 1600S had though as I am uncomfortable stretching the 1915 past 5000 RPM whereas the 1600S just kept pulling (albeit slowly).
Chassis dynamics feel quite the same. The VS handles better than the '63 coupe did.
Brakes are very similar even though the 1600S coupe was drum all the way around.
Comfort? Well I once drove my '63 to the 356 convention in Detroit. It was comfortable to & from except for the lack of headrests. I JUST drove the VS to a racetrack event (250 miles round) Sunday and find that there is just not a comfortable position in the "speedster seats" for me. But my 13 year old Son fell asleep in his passenger seat. :)
Bang for the buck? Well lets just say that everyone liked the '63 and everyone luvs the VS, but I could have bought 2+ VS for each '63 coupe I could have sold!
Other notes I must say what a pleasure a Vintage Speedster is. The simplicity, easy access, plentiful parts sources, customer service, quality construction & limited maintenance is all pretty cool.
Heck I better take it for another drive. Here are a few photos to mark the occasion.
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