356 kit car?

[Jean]

But then in certain cases a kit car can be better than the original, it all depends on how much time/$$$ you put into it.

example - real cobra and cobra kit car with best possible available drivetrain/suspension componets etc.

[Pinepig]

Or even better, find an unrestored 356 coupe, they are out there and a LOT cheaper than a speedster. We used to have a regular at the shop I worked at that had a '58 Coupe, he bought the thing for like $3000 and after a few thousand more it was gorgeous, and real.

Next time you see one of those 58 coupes for 3g, drop a line and I'll be there in 12 hours cash in hand.

[RainierHooker]

But then in certain cases a kit car can be better than the original, it all depends on how much time/$$$ you put into it.



example - real cobra and cobra kit car with best possible available drivetrain/suspension componets etc.

That's a different ball of wax. That is a rod, it isn't trying to be something that its not. A guy who shoves a Nail-head into a '32 ford isn't going to try and pass the thing off as an original Crown Vic. He is building a personal item for himself with his own flair and style. The same goes for a Cobra with a non-289 or 427, the driver wants something to have 'fun' with. However, when he slaps AC and Cobra badges all over it and drives it down to the local show and shine with a sign that says "1965 AC Cobra" on it, well I think that is kinda cheap.

[RainierHooker]

Here are some 'real' alternatives to a 356 kit:
1966 912 :http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...12/882943.html

1953 356: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...56/855064.html

1964 356SC: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...56/821226.html

1964 356C Restored for $24K: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...6c/882155.html

1964 356C: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...6c/855078.html

1962 356B: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...6b/855080.html

1969 912: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...12/881873.html

1967 912: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...12/882291.html

1969 912: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...12/855050.html

1964 356C $19K: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...6c/868395.html

1962 356B: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...6b/882332.html

1964 356C: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...6c/839698.html

Every one listed above is less than $50K, most of the 356s are in the $20-35K range, which is what a lot of the kits end up at anyway after all is said and done. And most of the 912s are under $10K. Why not get an original?

Now if you are going to go tear-assing around with the thing like James Dean, well you should probably just kill yourself in a fake...

...and as a disclaimer to the guy's $3K '58 coupe, yes that was probably the best deal on one since about 1963. I wish I had found it before him. That and I should have jumped on the one that I found (a 1960) for $5800, but hell I was a broke 17 year old kid then :-(

[Fidhle007]

Of course you would rather have the real thing. Kit cars are like tits, real is better but fake is still is better then nothing at all.

Again I have to bring up the Spyder example; would you rather have a car that was worth at LEAST half a million dollars that you would probably never want to drive (because of the value) or would you rather have a car worth less then a tenth of that that drives brilliantly (possibly better then the original with the advent of modern technology) and is easy to get parts for? In my ideal garage I'd have both, one to look at and show off to dinner guests and one to flog the living crap out of at weekend track days.

Now, in actual personal preference, if I had the money for a well setup Spyder rep I'd probably have a built E30 or E36 instead and if I had the money for a real Spyder I'd have twenty built E30s and/or E36s but the point still stands; for the money, a kit car can be an easily attainable, repairable and perfectly fun-to-drive option for those who either don't have or don't want to plunk down the coin on the real deal. Or who have the coin but don't want to risk damaging their investment during real world use.

[george graves]

^what that fool said. Plus, I'd personally feel 1000 times more proud of myself driving around a VW based replica I built myself (fake badges and all) then a real spyder/speedster. Does that make me a poseur? Don't know - but what the fuck do I care what you think?

[RainierHooker]

All well and good. But if you are gonna plunk down $20-30,000 on a well done replica 356, why not buy that $24,000 original 356C and drive it around? That is less money than some people have spent on their E30s on this site, and it is less than what my wife and I paid for her new MINI Cooper S which is driven every day. Or get one of those $9,000 912s, which have fundamentally the same drivetrain as the 356? Sure, a 912 and a 356C aren't a speedster but in my book a real coupe or 912 is way cooler than a replica speedster, and I would definatly rock one as a daily...

What ever your opinions on the matter are that is fine. I was merely sharing mine. There are the kit car options out there for a reason, and that reason is buyers like some of the folks in this thread. I am not one of them, like I said before I personally don't like kit-cars, and when I was asked why I feel that way I felt that I had to elaborate.

[Fidhle007]

^what that fool said. Plus, I'd personally feel 1000 times more proud of myself driving around a VW based replica I built myself (fake badges and all) then a real spyder/speedster. Does that make me a poseur? Don't know - but what the fuck do I care what you think?

Bingo. There's something unbeatable about getting into a car that you love to drive when you know you've built it all yourself. Especially when it all works...

[Fidhle007]

All well and good. But if you are gonna plunk down $20-30,000 on a well done replica 356, why not buy that $24,000 original 356C and drive it around? That is less money than some people have spent on their E30s on this site, and it is less than what my wife and I paid for her new MINI Cooper S which is driven every day. Or get one of those $9,000 912s, which have fundamentally the same drivetrain as the 356? Sure, a 912 and a 356C aren't a speedster but in my book a real coupe or 912 is way cooler than a replica speedster, and I would definatly rock one as a daily...

Tag a wall in your real 356 and try to get some body panels for it.


Now tag a wall in your rep and get some fiberglass sheeting at home depot for $50...

[george graves]

All well and good. But if you are gonna plunk down $20-30,000 on a well done replica 356, why not buy that $24,000 original 356C and drive it around?

Dude, I'm tryng to be nice here. What part of "Kit Car" do you not understand?

If you don't like kit cars, maybe a kit car thread isn't the place for you?

Back to the fun:

[RainierHooker]

I have a friend that wanted a Kubelwagen. He decided that he couldn't afford one, so he went and bought a kit to build one out of a Bug (a 'Kooble-Kar'). By the time the 'kit' was a car he had sunk more than 20 grand into the thing when he could have bought an original for five grand more (at the time). Now he regrets spending all the time and money on a kit when he could have had the thing that he wanted all along for not much more. He can't sell the Kooble-Kar for anywhere near what he has into it and as such has been kicking himself ever since for not just putting up the dough for the real thing in the first place. This is one of the circumstances that has made me shy away from kit-cars.
Like I said in one of my previous posts, if you plan on driving the thing hard, get a kit-car. If you want the satisfaction of a DIY, get a kit-car. But if you want a 356, get a 356. That's my opinion, and everyone is entitled to one.

[HiTheNameIsBJ]

As stated above it's about being able to enjoy your investment. You can a frame up all oem resto on a 356 and spend clear over $150k, and have an expensive conversation piece that never leaves your garage. Or you can spend 1/5th of that, and have a great looking car, that your proud of building, that you can actually show off and enjoy the shit out of. It's not about fooling people into thinking your rich, it's taking a great car and making it affordable while fueling your hobby at the same time.

[Fidhle007]

As stated above it's about being able to enjoy your investment. You can a frame up all oem resto on a 356 and spend clear over $150k, and have an expensive conversation piece that never leaves your garage. Or you can spend 1/5th of that, and have a great looking car, that your proud of building, that you can actually show off and enjoy the shit out of. It's not about fooling people into thinking your rich, it's taking a great car and making it affordable while fueling your hobby at the same time.

You could have a very decent car for a tenth of that. Easily.

[Fidhle007]

I have a friend that wanted a Kubelwagen. He decided that he couldn't afford one, so he went and bought a kit to build one out of a Bug (a 'Kooble-Kar'). By the time the 'kit' was a car he had sunk more than 20 grand into the thing when he could have bought an original for five grand more (at the time). Now he regrets spending all the time and money on a kit when he could have had the thing that he wanted all along for not much more. He can't sell the Kooble-Kar for anywhere near what he has into it and as such has been kicking himself ever since for not just putting up the dough for the real thing in the first place. This is one of the circumstances that has made me shy away from kit-cars.
Like I said in one of my previous posts, if you plan on driving the thing hard, get a kit-car. If you want the satisfaction of a DIY, get a kit-car. But if you want a 356, get a 356. That's my opinion, and everyone is entitled to one.

Ok, so you're friend is a moron. So far you've brought nothing helpful to this thread. The bottom line is about having something that WORKS. EVERY TIME YOU TURN THE KEY, IT WORKS. Try that with a porsche...

(I'm a tech, I know how these things go.)

[RainierHooker]

Yes, my friend is a moron. I told him to be patient and do his research before rushing into a kit-car. He didn't take my advice and now he wishes he had.
I'm sorry if my opinion hasn't helped this thread, I merely tried to answer the question as to why I personally didn't like kit cars. I answered, and I got flamed. That's fine, I have thick skin.
Please don't take my posts as a derision against all kit cars out there. I know they have a place in the auto-world, that place just isn't my garage. If you want one, great, the same thrill that someone gets from building a kit is what I get from turning a tired old car into a gem. To each their own.
I'm a tech too. I have worked on VAG, BMW, Daimler-Benz and other cars since I was 13. I don't anymore since I now work on really, really expensive things like helicopters and airplanes. But I don't think that the fundamentals of auto-repair have changed much since I left that part of my life.