Ace-Garageguy

Obviously nobody is going to hack up a REAL multi-million dollar 550 (I would, but I'm a nutcase), so this is based on a repop. 911 power, DeDion rear suspension.

My own design, for a client who ran out of money. The idea was to combine the flavors of a 356 Speedster and a 930. Custom front and rear fascia, with the fenders reworked to eliminate the crash accordions. The windshield is chopped and laid back, and the rear body is sectioned and laid forward. The hard tonneau is also sectioned to present a lower profile. I still have the '74 911 Targa S purchased for the project, and it's the second on my list of real-car builds when I retire.

Yup.

He's not letting insane complexity and a manufacturer who wants to control every aspect of repair stop him...

Man, that's pretty. Fine, fine, fine.

I only have two that are "finished" (I use quotes, because neither are actually 100% done), so it's really a non-issue for me.

Isn't that the truth. But as long as you're enjoying the time you spend building, who really cares if you finish something or not? Personally, I HAVE to remain chained to real-world projects long after the creative and most "fun" part is past. Working on models allows me to stay in the creative zone, without the sometimes-drudgery of going through the motions of bringing something all the way home. I keep telling myself that once I'm finally "retired", it will be easier for me to get things "done". We'll see.

Exactly. I'll get an idea, start a box for it, and start making notes and pulling parts from the "junkyard". I usually note on the pirated kits what's been removed, but whoever ultimately inherits my stash will most likely be cursing me to the model car gods.

Sweet score. Hard to believe there are any that good left (cars as well as wives ). Sure would be a gas taking a cross-country vacation run in it.

Oh yeah. Looks fast. VERY nice.

Pretty cool. It was seeing the Pilatus in action that really got me interested in STOL, especially with turbines. The hottest things I'd seen up to that point were Maules and Super Cubs.

Nice job. Supremely clean. The M/SP classes were always among my favorites.

Far out, man.

Yup. And if the floors and structure are basically sound, he's already ahead of the game. What can make a unibody car a bank-breaker is the countless hours necessary to restore structure CORRECTLY. If it's good on this one, he's dodged a massive bullet.

Yup. One of the most famous uses was in the Leroi "Tex" Smith XR-6 hot rod. You can see the Bug front suspension poking out in the photo below. Bug front ends also showed up on dragsters, as they were light, strong, simple, cheap, and easy to set up once you understood how they worked. The suspension is pretty much identical to what Porsche used on the 356 and 550 series cars.

Lots of ideas for anyone wanting period info. Note the rear-engined rail job at 2:34...in 1955.

Hmmmmm....I wonder if that means there will once again be a local outlet to purchase resistors, diodes, caps, ICs, etc. Sure would be nice. Closest actual "electronics" parts store now is 30 miles downtown, always brutal traffic during business hours. Though I have commercial online sources, it's nice to be able to drop in and buy just ONE of something occasionally.

Carchaeology.

Very clean, perfect, understated colors. Classy. Eons ago, I had a client with a '31 355A V8 roadster that I maintained, repaired as necessary, and occasionally exercised. It was an older "driver" quality restoration, with a yellow body with an orange pinstripe and brown fenders. Much fun.

That is cool. I assume the floors and the driver's side are reasonably solid 'cause she's been sitting on the passenger side...I hope. Lotsa work ahead of you, but worth every minute. Nice to see her saved.

VERY helpful. Thanks for the part #.