356 Replicas? who, where?

[acpaterson]

Hi guys,

been quiet on here, work takes it's place I'm afraid. I'm still very keen on obtaining one of these fine little replicas as a weekend warrior drive here in Cape Town.
I got some pricing on Kits etc from Classic and Sports Replicas earlier this year, but I see there Website is down.

Can you knowledgable fellows outline who still makes these kits, and if i was to build one myself, who would you suggest I get a kit from? I don't know if Kit Car Center still produces them, been out of Joeys for many years.

Looking forward to any responses and info please guys.

regards

Alan

[Sambabus]

There is alot of talk about these kits on the forum lately......I think it would be safe to say you could pick up the shell for about 35k from a local forum member. Chech out the projects thread

[acpaterson]

Thanks Sambabus, I'll go check there..
cheers

[riaanj]

Kit car centre is Loooooooooooooooong gone..
A lot of their moulds were bought by Replicars, as far as I know, they don't exist any more either, they were all based up here in the Vaal.
Universal products still manufactures up here - http://www.universal-products.co.za/rep ... 0Cars.html
They are a real nice bunch of okes, their quality isn't bad either, If you need info contact Garth there, very helpful chap..

[acpaterson]

Thanks Riaan, have fired off an email and will see what transpires..

What bugs me is my fascination for this little car.. I mean, realistically, retail for a good condition 356 is upwards of 80K, 100 K etc.. Which I'm just not considering.. But, if you look at what IS available for less than this, you can find Porsche 924'sm 944's, 928's for 30 to 60 K... Yet I'm still wanting a "VW Beetle" ... I must be mental.

Anyway, an Idea I have in mind is to buy an existing roadworthy BeachBuggy, and if I can can get everything to align, use that as a donor. Would any existing 356 Speedster's offer a hand a do a measurement from wheel axis to wheel axis for me, so I have an idea of exactly how short the chassis must be please? Then I'll keep looking for a modified SWB buggie.. Surely there's a match in these cars.. And there's a lot of Buggies on the market at the moment.

Thanks in advance guys.

Alan

[IMPI]

Hi Please don't go the buggy route
You will spend way more buying a buggy than getting a donor beetle.
Most buggies are built from whatever and and are at deaths door.
the wheelbase is also not correct (most buggy chassis suffer from fatigue cracks and rust anyway)

If I were to find the perfect donor beetle it would have to be a 65/66 beetle as very many parts could be used as is (headlights, steering column, switches. gear lever etc. the body is in demand and will be an easy sell. (please don't scrap a good one but there are many projects out there.)

second best will be a 68 to 72 model as most bits can be used as is.

If you want to go the parts sourcing route any post 73 chassis will be ideal especially the sfas gearbox used in the 1600 the engine will also be more powerfull.
steering column early 60s is the best
switches anything up to 72 will work but up to 67 is best.
I believe universal to make the better one currently available
seats will have to be sourced from Anton dekker @ http://www.exclusiveconversion.co.za/356.html He copied them off an original and they are perfect. None of the manufacturers past or present offer the right seats.

As for shortening the chassis send it to universal in rolling form and they will do it mount the body and that way it will be easier to get it to the Cape If you get them to mount the windshield on the car it would also solve that transport problem

regards
Armand

[Ron&Gill]

Most buggies are built from whatever and and are at deaths door.

Yis, Pine, hoor hoe praat IMPI van ons!! Hy sal moet kom kyk hoe lyk Rumours en HWII sodat hy kan anders praat.

[acpaterson]

Armand,
you may have a few points there, but in reality, it's not as simple to find the beetle donor as you mentioned. I've seen a couple of immaculate little beach buggies already, and I might go that route down here because the Buggy is more readily available. Plus, things like Roadworthy, licencing, and so on will also be a lot easier. I've already rebuilt a RSK Spyder, and owned two others in my previous life, as well as a VW streetrod and Baja's, but it doesn't get any easier trying to rebuild and licence kit cars after the fact.. always easier to start with a roadworthy vehicle.
Also, I can then donate the Buggy body and various unwanted parts to a club or someone looking for one, easier than the beetle body me thinks.
Anyhow, still would like to know what the Axle to axle dimensions are for a Speedster please, any owners out there.

thanks for your input tho, much appreciated Armand.

regards

Alan

[retrovan]

If you going to buy a kit, why not ask the supplier, as they have the correct specks.

Have seen on this forum, guys that have landed up with wheels where they should not be, and have to "Maak n Plan" to fix it.

Also as they say on their web site, move the gear lever, as you more layed back in this car compaired to the Beetle.

The thing to watch, is the Buggie pan may look good, but when you get it cleaned up, it could be a disaster, badly cut, badly welded, just dangerous.

Good luck with the project, waiting for the 1st off Photo's.

Herman

[IMPI]

No offense to the FEW but I have serviced many buggies and speak from experience in fact there is one in my yard at the moment dakskroewe en baaldraad ou boet
Armand

[IMPI]

Beetle wheelbase 2400mm 356 2100mm
most buggies shortened 12 inches but lots of different ones (BTW I built both HW1 and HW2's chassis Ron)
Armand

[Ron&Gill]

No offense to the FEW but I have serviced many buggies and speak from experience in fact there is one in my yard at the moment dakskroewe en baaldraad ou boet
Armand

Ja wat, ek trek net jou spanner.

The first 200km run I organised for the Beach Buggy Club SA somewhat illustrates your point in that between it being announced and it being run, and the suggestion that many a buggy might need some TLC since most of them could at best be described as a "tight formation of loose parts", there was a flurry of activity to get the buggies to be able to stretch to beyond the local cafe...

However, since then, the BBCSA is doing an annual 2000km run over 6 days or a week. Buggy quality is reasonably high these days, and people look after them better.

But in order for this not to be a complete hijack, you will pay a decent amount of money for a decent buggy. Prices of R35-45k are very reasonable for the quality you're looking for to start from.

[acpaterson]

Thanks Herman, Ron&Gill and Armand,

I've sent them emails on Friday, so will wait to hear the feedback.

regards

Alan

[riaanj]

Might be a bit far from you, but something like this might do as a donor - http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopi ... 72&t=29375
Don't know how registration of a kit car works so I don't know if the lack of papers is a big deal or not?

[flatfourfan]

Armand (IMPI) makes a lot of valid points and I`d have to agree with him on all of them if you want to go that route.

My advice would be to look for a running titled and licenced car. Even a sebring. They do pop up every now and then, but having a running car that has all the paperwork sorted is a huge step.