This is probably old news but I just saw on Facebook that VMC will no longer be taking orders for Suby cars. Only Pat Downs built air cooled engines. Heard that he may be cutting back or discontinuing Spyder builds. I think the speedster business is just so profitable. I know that he is building only a very limited amount of coupes. Hopefully mine will start after the current coupe he is building is complete.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I talked to Greg months ago, and he said this was where he was headed.
I’ve said lots of times, building a coupe is easily 2x the work of a Speedster. With the backlog in Greg’s shop, unless a coupe costs 2x a Speedster, he’s passing profit potential to build them. 50 speedsters/year are more profitable than 20 coupes, especially if they’re crazy builds.
Ditto Subaru engines - there’s a lot of complexity there, and EJ25 cars are now nearly 30 years old, meaning a full rebuild or an Outfront engine. It’s nowhere near as easy as just dropping a nice T1 and regeared 4-speed in the car. BaT likes them like that better anyway.
The Spyder thing is curious. They shouldn’t be harder to build than a Speedster, and they’ve always commanded a premium.
I stopped by VMC on Tuesday and spoke with Greg. It's correct, he is no longer accepting orders for Speedsters with Suby engines or Spyders. The problem is that he has to rely on too many suppliers to get them built in a reasonable amount of time and it was just a big headache for him. He expects that his decision will help reduce the build time for his air cooled Speedsters.
This may be correct for Suby Speedsters and coupes. I think Spyders with Subaru's will continue. This is just based on what I know he's doing right now but perhaps he's changed his mind recently..........I'll ask him next time I see him........Bruce
Looks like Troy got the latest scoop........Bruce
I think the Spyder space frame is more laborious than doing a speedster pan.
l hope I can build a coupe. Greg has not given me the price yet. If it’s crazy high I’ll just build that blue speedster you love so much Stan. But in Porsche grey black with the red seats.
It’s been almost 2 years since I decided to build a 356 and at this point my Type 4 just needs a home.
But I’d really like to build the coupe.
Unless I misunderstood, I don’t think he’s accepting orders for Spyders at all, Bruce.
Glad I currently own a VMC Suby Spyder. May become quite rare.
I find it hard to believe Greg is going to give up building Spyders, as he has definitely invested time and money into developing IRS and possibly IFS for the Spyders.
In case anyone missed the photos that Bruce posted, look here. https://www.speedsterowners.co...8#706429200270055558
.
Sounds a lot like why Ford stopped building cars.
It wasn't that no one was buying them, there's just a lot more profit in SUV's and trucks. The fewer lines they have to produce, the more production is streamlined, and the more resources they can focus on what they do make.
Greg's delivery delays may be caused by many factors, but the bottom line is they're swamped with more orders than they've ever had before. I can see how, from his perspective, this looks like the most reasonable path forward.
.
Wow. Our world is shrinking every day. I understand the business aspects of his decision, but it still surprises and saddens me.
Im sure Carey will continue to offer Suby cars. I get the impression he likes the reliability of his stock EJ engines. However, he might want to follow Greg's lead and simplify. The Super Coupes are crazy complex. And I won't even mention Joel's car. Special projects are fun and I'm sure creative and chalanging ... yada yada yada but they are extremely time consuming. And probably not very profitable. I hope Greg will build me a coupe. But if he said tomorrow that he's done with coupes I guess I'd say well lets just build the most bad ass outlaw speedster on the face of the earth.
"Well, lets just build the most bad-ass outlaw speedster on the face of the earth."
Wow..... Looks like Merklin is gonna have some "Bad-Ass" competition!
Me and MUSBJIM will just sit in our Outlaw Speedsters and watch.
Hello All....
Its true we are only going to build Air-cooled and electric Speedsters no more water cooled Speedsters and no more air-cooled or water-cooled Spyders at this time. If you have your order with us now you will get one.... once those are done we will be 100% focused on our Speedster and Coupe's using air-cooled and electric engines only.
I have been watching my business closely these last few years and its just doesn't make sense to do it any other way for me. I have been trying to stream line the build process on the Speedsters with making 2332cc engines ,3.44 ring & pinion transmissions and 4 wheel 5 lug disc brakes standard on all builds so we can shorten our build times. When we are building a water-cooled Speedster or a Spyder it just slows production down on what is successful for us and want to stay focused on that.
So there you have it! I know it may sound crazy but business wise this is the best decision for us at this time. I hope in the future as our team here at VMC grows we will be able to bring back the Spyder and maybe the water-cooled stuff in the future.
Greg
Hi Greg. When is the electric speedsters coming out and what type of power will they output?
Greg and I spoke at length last week. He's keeping his Spyder molds and jigs, so don't worry. He's been building Spyders continuously since 1995 or so. Give the man a break, he deserves one. Bruce and Rick will get their cars. Beyond that, who knows?
Thanks DannyP
The rear suspension is done on Bruce's Spyder. Next week we see what direction for the front suspension.
Electric is interesting, but not for me. It would be a different product, not really a Speedster replica. Not a bad thing at all -- just different. I'm air cooled all the way. Having come from two 356s back in the day, one of my first questions upon discovering replica Speedsters on VW running gear, was: will it sound the same as my old 1600 P-cars, one of which was a S90?? I'll say that the VW version of the flat air cooled 4 is pretty damn close. I think I can detect a small but distinct difference to the fan whine between the VW and Porsche lash-ups, but its plenty close enough. when You take that away totally with an electric, you have made a BIG change, IMHO. Again, not necessarily bad, just very different. Might not satisfy some of us old school luddites. And a properly built and tuned 2332 + A1 Sidewinder ?? what could be finer?