This 1957 356 Speedster Replica was built by one of the most respected builders of these cars, Vintage Motorcars of CA. The gentleman who commissioned the build was from Los Angeles and the car was originally ordered in October, 2018 and the car was completed in May, 2019. This was a high end build with quite a few performance and cosmetic upgrades with a total build cost in excess of $65,000. The gentleman who had the car built found out his wife was pregnant with their 2nd child and other financial needs forced him to let his custom build go way before he expected to. In fact he had just barely broken in the motor on this car putting just under 450 miles on it while he owned it. Unfortunate for him but extremely lucky for the future owner who will have a one of a kind build at a great discount without the wait time of a custom build.
Vintage Motorcars of CA has been building Porsche Replica cars since the mid 90's known for building some of the finest 550 Spyders. About 4 years ago they took the opportunity to move in to a larger facility and begin building the 356 Speedster Replicas after Vintage Speedster was sold and moved from CA to AZ. The owner of Vintage Motorcars of CA hired many of the craftsman who had been building these Speedsters since the 80's and looked at how he could build an even better car then was previously being built at that location. I have bought and sold used 356 Speedster Replicas from pretty much all of the builders for the past 10 years. I am now the Exclusive East Coast dealer for Vintage Motorcars of CA and can honestly say that the build quality, fit and finish, features and performance of the cars is a notch above what I have seen from other builders.
The Slate Gray color is absolutely gorgeous and paint and body quality is fantastic. Fit and finish is top notch with near perfect body gaps. Several options added to this car include polished GT molding along the rockers and bumpers, Mesh headlight grilles, Driving lights, Beehive styled taillights, Shine down style license plate light, Vintage Car LED headlights, and a custom hard tonneau cover with head rest pad for a truly unique look that stands out from the rest.
While we hope the next owner enjoys this Speedster with the top down as much as possible, the hard tonneau cover comes off with 4 bolts and a full convertible top installs with 2 bolts. A matching soft boot top snaps on easily when the top is down and window inserts can be installed when the top is up when needed. Paint and body are in near flawless condition!
Complimenting the gorgeous Slate Gray exterior is an equally impressive Custom Red Leather interior. Speedster seats were done in a custom diamond stitch pattern as well as the rear seat pad and door panels. Carpeting is the upgraded German Weave style with matching floor mats and sound deadening with Dyna Mat throughout. Driver and passenger seats are heated for those of you who live in the colder climates. A vintage style Retro Sound stereo is neatly mounted and painted in the Slate Gray color. This stereo is digital and has bluetooth and you can plug in your phone or music device. Speakers are hidden under dash. Beautifully Nardi 360MM wood steering wheel and OMP pedal upgrade. Authentic looking VDO reproduction gauges with digital odometer. The interior is absolutely gorgeous and basically like new.
This is not your ordinary 356 Speedster Replica so of course it has quite a few upgrades when it comes to the drivetrain. Powered by a Porsche 914 2650cc Type IV motor built by Fat Performance. All of the spec of the motor build are in one of the images attached. Dyno results from Fat Performance show the motor putting out a corrected horsepower of close to 195 hp. This is more than double the power of an original 356 so needless to say this car will get up and go!! The Type IV motor is mated to a custom built Rancho Performance 3.88 Pro Street Ring and Pinion 4-speed transmission with a rhino case. 3.10 1st gear, 1.93 second gear, 1.21 3rd gear and .82 4th gear provide great torque and acceleration with a nice cruising gear so you can run this baby at highway speeds and beyond all day long. This car also has the upgraded IRS suspension with 1.5" narrowed trailing arms, front sway bar, Koni shocks and 1" longer pitman arm. Custom set of Sons of Boyd Polished Billet knock off style wheels wrapped in Michelin 185's. This Speedster is an absolute blast to drive with amazing acceleration and power coupled with awesome handling ready for spirited driving on those windy roads or just some sunny day cruising. Of course braking was also upgraded with Drilled 4 wheel disc brakes with Hawk Pads. External oil cooler and electronic ignition. Great tone from the A1 Sidewinder exhaust. Front trunk area is neatly finished out in the German Weave Carpeting and houses a custom built 12 gallon fuel tank. Nice Porsche tool kit is included inside the trunk as well. The undercarriage is nicely detailed and finished in a light rhino coating to prevent chips and corrosion.
With under 500 miles on it since completion this Speedster is ready to show and go!!!! The break in oil change and valve adjustment was just performed recently by the builder.
