Ok pretty neat?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-550...643537959QQrdZ1

That. is. awesome.

Wow, I always loved them little 550s. This little number has got to ROCK!

OMG That thing has to be scary fast

I saw either this one or one just like it about 3 years ago up at Pomona swap meet. It was really sweet and was getting a lot of attention. The owner was not selling it at that time, he was just showing it off.

Very nice ride ! Got a question; being a 2004 yr model, what are gonna be the issues when it comes to registering in California and passing the smog certification ?

Anyone done this ?

Well - WRXs pass smog - so it's got to be viable!

I believe I saw that car in Scottsdale. Very well done.

I would kill myself in that for sure.

I really thought about getting a spyder with a six in it. But to make it so I felt safe it would have just looked ugly at that point. Someday for a cruiser for sure.

Great job on the car though looks amazing

There is a company selling these as completed kits with suby engines installed. I had the link for them at one point, but I no longer do. for some reason I think tha selling price was somewhere along 20K - but that might have been for the uncompleted kits. maybe for the completed kits. or probably my memory is totally faulty.

They are total death traps. But really f*cking cool death traps.

Zach

werent they in australia?

Dunno. Maybe, I'd have to find the link again and look. All I remember is wiping the drool off my desk at work, and reminding myself that I loved my finace way to much to ever buy somehting that would surly kill me (feel the same way about motorcycles - yes, I know I may be a pansy. Thank you.)

Zach

Its only a 4 speed

I wonder why they didn't use a 901 tranny or some similar 5 or even 6 speed?

I can't tell from the ad, but does that thing have enough tire to handle that motor?

Unless it gets passed by the smog ref, no Cal registration....or if the buyer gets lucky and gets one of the 500 exemptions that are handed out at the beginning of the year like I did......

Is the subaru engine basically a modern type IV?
Konrad

Nic looking "550" from the outside, but.......oh hell, I'll just shut up before I get everyone pissed off at me! One word though, abomination! Flame on!

bet it sells for more than your "concours baby" ever would.

dont have to like it... but respect the amount of work that went into building it... painting it and assembling it....

lots more skill than "maintaining" your car for a show....

make friends... not enemies

Yeah, thats exactly what it is. Actually, its more accurate to say that it is what would have happened if the type 1 had been continually in production till now. Fuji Heavy Industry got the T1 design from Germany during WWII. The Subie boxer is a _very_ different engine from the old T1 (water cooled, turboed, modern, etc) but it owes much of its parentage to VW circa ~1944.

Zach

Here is the link from the ad:
www.vintagespyders.com

And at $27,100 it still did not meet reserve...maybe it was an advertisement type of ad.

So, Vintage Spyderswebsite looks different fron the one that I remembered, but I saw it probably 8 months ago or so. So, it is quite possible that there was a redesign. Less engine, thier cars are going for $25K built. They offer a ej20t (Subie engine) engine, but I did not see a proce tage for that - probably an extra 10K for the engine installed (assuming that it is a new engine).

I showed erin the car and said "this is a really pretty car." She looked at it, looked at me, and said "No." The kind of "No" that conveyes "You will not own this thing - keep dreaming."

Zach

Wow! Very nice! I really like the 550 but I'm just too tall! I wonder what brake/suspension mods were done.

I'm interested that there doesn't seem to be an intercooler... I think that means they aren't close to the potential boost that that thing could run....

It could, btw, be registered in california if it had all the stock WRX emission controls, which isn't really that bad... couple of cats, etc. It might also squeeze in with a kit car exemption - if it was one of the first 500 in the year, as pointed out above.

Looks like an awesome beast.

$27K + (who knows what reserve was!) seems a bit high for suby powered vw dune buggy with disc brakes and crappy suspension.

It would certainly be a novelty I would enjoy for around $15K. But once you get above $20K I would expect much better suspension and brakes that I have seen on other 550 replica jobs for the price they want for this so so replica. I have seen much better executed cars that sell for less.

I followed the links to a spyderclub.com where the seller was talking about his car (this one). He had the reserve at 40K and thinks he could get 32K from the local lotos dealer on a trade.