Pre-a 356 Coupe... making it up as i go along!

[AccidentalGenius]

Hi, i am Adam,

I am currently in the process of 'building' a Speedster Clinic pre-a 356 Coupe. I put the word building in inverted commas as i am not really building anything at all... Gary (at Speedster Clinic) is actually building it, i am, at this stage, just financing it!

This whole thing started when i accidentally bought a '68 VW bug on Ebay (because it looked pretty, and i had been drinking). When i got it i stripped it down and thought about how i would like to build it back up, and thought... well if i am going to spend time and money on this car i should at least do it on a car i want to own long-term, so a 356 it is! I searched around and found Gary, and before i knew it i had ordered a Speedster Clinic chassis and far too many parts from Limebug, including a full air-ride kit.

Gary built the rolling chassis up for me and sent it back to me where it sat in my barn for 9-months while i saved up some more money... then 2-weeks ago i gave Gary a call to say i am ready for the body to go on but he didn't have any in stock... so after all of about 30-seconds of chatting i agreed to a pre-a body instead and the next day shipped the chassis back to Speedster Clinic.

I am now watching the progress Facebook and getting very excited... with the exception of the complications of the IVA of course!

I have now bought almost all my new engine parts, as follows;
- Auto Linea 1776 Supercase
- 044 Magnum Heads 40 X 35.5 Dual Springs
- SSP H-beam 5.5" Con Rods
- 69mm CB Forged Counterweight Crank
- SSP 6 Kilo flywheel
- Empi twin 40 HPMX Carb Kit
- Mahle Forged 1776cc Barrel / Piston Kit
- Scat C35 Cam
- Scat 1.1:1 Ratio Rockers
- Pertronics Flamethrower 'stuff'

I am sure some of the things i have chosen are not ideal or perfectly compatible but i have never owned an air-cooled car before, i have never owned a spanner before last year... i literally am making this up as i go along... so be gentle!!!

I am currently focused on paint, interior, style etc... I think i have decided on the paint finish now and i know i will put some modern Porsche Cayman seat in it, but i am not sure if i will get them re-covered and have a completely bespoke interior or just throw them in as they are (black leather) and make the rest look as good as possible.

I am passionate about music so i will have some stereo kit in there but nothing purchased as yet, other than a Bluetooth volume knob that i got sent in from the States as i am going to power my music from my iPad Mini but i did want a traditional power and volume knob to make life easy whilst driving along.

I am not sure what else to say at the moment but feel free to ask questions, share advice etc...

Thanks :o)

[Burma-Shave]

Sounds grand, welcome to DDK!

A pre-A body rather than the usual speedster sounds like a splendid idea also..

..pics!

[AccidentalGenius]

[sladey]

Bit low for me(!) but it's going to look pretty cool

[jb]

Welcome Adam
It sounds like a great project.
I do hope it is as easy as you make it sound.
I love the idea of a 356 that won't rust and one that has relatively cheap parts and is fairly easy to fix.

[hot66]

Looks a great project

Should fly with motor

[AccidentalGenius]

It is 'crazy low' on these pictures because the air ride is all the way down. I would not drive it like that, not even sure i could.

I am a bit worried that the air ride will not go up high enough for everyday driving... watch this space I guess.

[mycar]

Welcome A G, I think the bluetooth volume control is a first here on DDk.

[AccidentalGenius]

Oh that is good then, I was a bit worried I would just take advice and not be able to add much, as I am not at all mechanically minded, and a real novice to this world, but sometimes being a geek is not so bad.

As soon as the car is back I will order the other components and wire it all up in the barn and give some feedback just in case anyone else fancies a go.

Thank you all for being so nice - I am so out of my depth!

[hot66]

I think we should have blue tooth air ride --- could surprise the girls when you leave them in the car

[smallspeed]

fantastic! this is what I have in the planning stage for my wife - see "super secret 356 coupe" thread..
really looking forward to seeing how this comes out, especially the pre-a shell as they didn't have one for me to take a look at when I popped over last year

[Burma-Shave]

Love it, its not an original car so why not?

Not too late to make it electric!

Presume that's a hoover, and not the air ride compressor

[AccidentalGenius]

I have just sat and read your thread (super secret 356 coupe) and yet it is very similar... even to the point that the deadline i have for the build is my own 40th birthday!!!

You are clearly more capable and knowledgeable when it comes to engines, i was going to run my original engine with a 1664 setup on it and then decided pretty late on (just recently) to change my plans and go for a full build from scratch of a 1776.

Your wife is very lucky thats for sure, and i get what you mean about her wanting this car more than a ring etc... my partner is a farmer and for Christmas last year i bought her a tractor... most girls would rather have had jewellery or something, but not Emma!

I am finding the hardest decision to be paint... i have gone back and forth on several ideas/styles for the paint and overall finish. I don't think i have a style that i can say 'yes, its like this or like that...' i just like little bits here and there and i need to figure out how i pull those bits together into something that looks good and not just like a load of bits stuck together!!!

In terms of the finish, i am trying to build a car that looks and sounds like a nice 356 but feels as modern and new to drive as possible. So i am thinking good brakes (already installed), the new rack steering from Speedster Clinic (going in as we speak), modern Porsche Cayman seats, lots and lots of sound deadening and thick carpet/upholstery, good stereo (even satnav from my iPad) etc... I am not worried about performance... i just want it to be reliable and fast enough not to hold up traffic (i already had the freeway flyer gearbox rebuild by Limebug to help that).

Just excited to get it back now...

[AccidentalGenius]

Love it, its not an original car so why not?

Not too late to make it electric!

Presume that's a hoover, and not the air ride compressor

WHAT?!?!?

A HOOVER?!?!

I had assumed Speedster Clinic were just giving away a free R2D2 with each Coupe!!!

[smallspeed]

what air suspension kit are you using? i was tempted with that idea too, as I came from low riders and things in the first place.. ..while everyone else had golf gti's I had old mercs on either air or hydraulics