356 replica advice.

[cold steel]

Hello all,

Thinking of buying a 356 replica. Difficulty in deciding on a speedster , a cab or a coupe. I have never really been a softop fan, other than a 356, and they do look cool with the removable hardtop.

Also have never driven one. Are they very similar to the beetle they are based on ? What are the speedsters softop like in bad weather ? Leaky ? Drafty ? And what are the removable hardtops like ? Leaky ? Drafty ?

Bit of a daft question , but how bad is the stigma of having a “fake". I'd love a real one, but cost is prohibitive. Saying that, pricing up what i'd like to do (outlaw and performance wise), by the time I finish, could probably have bought a real one .

Any other general advice on ownership also welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Sean

P.S., Looking at a speedster clinic or chesil.

[356]

Please contact us with your enquiry

http://www.speedsterclinic.com

[Rob Sayce]

Speedster clinic every time.They now produce a coupe kit,how about a nice outlaw coupe ?

[shambly]

Martin & Walker also do coupe replicas - if you can persuade them to build a body for you.

Chesil's are the most common and have the lead on IVA / SVA compliance. That is not to say they are the best replica out there (none are great from an exact reproduction point of view if you go into the real detail) but i've never seen a speedster clinic car that has passed IVA... and that is the only way to legally register a replica no matter what some of the manufacturers will tell you....

When I built my Chesil 10 years ago, it was decision between buying a real coupe as a running restoration or building a speedster replica. I chose the later. Hindsight and ROI says buying a real coupe would have been the right decision...

If you are looking to buy not build, then you can get a decent used replica for as little as £16K. 99% of cars are speedsters; you'll be lucky to pick up a coupe or convertible D. Make sure the V5 correctly states VW Chesil Speedster or such like and not VW 2-axle.

You'll need to keep it garaged as they suffer badly for living outdoors. They are leaky and drafty; there are very few hardtops out there are they typically need to be fitted to each individual car; not pleasant to drive with the roof up. But they are fantastic to drive in the summer with the roof down.

The main stigma for a 'fake' is from the Porsche Club GB. TIPEC and other places have no issues.

Simon

[cold steel]

Thank everyone for the replies. Some great info.

Simon, fantastic info on your site. I Would imagine buying one complete , mainly as after reading many builds,I dont think my skills are upto it. Though I am certainly willing. Thought it would be quicker and simpler to modify one to my taste once bought.

Was thinking of the removeable hardtop (like the look of the speedster clinic one) as maybe get best of both worlds, open and closed top motoring, though would be predominantly a good weather car.

Certainley going the outlaw route though. A coupe would probably be my first choice,but built ones are rare, and the few I found for sale prohibitively expensive. A lack of confidence in build skills put me off buying a kit.

Intetesting comment about the speedster clinic kits having difficulty getting IVA .How come ? One thing I would really want to avoid is a Q plate too. Hence buying one already registered then modifying.

Thanks again. Any more advice welcome.

[threefiftysix]

It may be that my M&W 356 coupe (orange one - see volkszone) will be for sale shortly. I have been trying to take the difficult decision for 6 months and keep managing to put it off....

[cold steel]

Keep me informed . Cheers

[kitchens]

threefiftysix ..check your inbox thanks

[Pablo]

My Martin & Walker will be up for sale soon if your still thinking about a coupe in the very early stages of a build.
I have a thread on VZI Here

PM me if of interest.

[kitchens]

read you thread with interest .. but I am not hands on so would be looking for a complete turn key car .
looks a great project ..good luck with the sale

Brian