550 Spyder. Just say it to anyone with an old-car pulse, and it will trigger an unforgettable race car from Germany. The Porsche 550 Spyder was an amazing car, and if you can’t spare anywhere from $550,000 to $1M it takes to bring the real deal home, there is always Beck. This multi-part series is an exclusive scoop on one Beck’s creation, thanks to a buddy of mine deciding he just had to have one.
I have known Joe for many years, and he is a true blue “car guy.” His first car was a red ’62 Impala convertible, and he has easily owned over 100 cars over the years. His tastes run to German fare–he also has a GT2 and his wife used to have an E350 Bluetec–but on a recent visit to his office he informed me he was having a Beck built so he can go autocrossing. My first thought was “This would be SO COOL to run on CC!”
So I asked him. He thought it was a terrific idea, and when the car is done he is going to put all the posts together and have it turned into a little book he will keep with the car. After getting the green light from Perry, I proceeded to search for the very first email Joe forwarded me. And now, here we are: The first part.
image: beckspeedster.com
Beck is the go-to for 550 Spyder replicas. And any classic Porsche aficionado with weißwurst running through his or her veins will love their other products, too: The classic 356 Speedster and even a 904! I did not know about the 904 replica until I began researching for this series. Cool! But back to the 550 at hand…
As you can see, a shell is already in the works. The guys in the shop were just beginning to fit all the options, cutting for lighting, radiator and oil cooler, and prepping the chassis for the 2.5L Subaru boxer engine that will ultimately be installed. Joe has already decided on a color combination, and no, it isn’t going to be the silver seen on so many–including the factory race cars.
We are currently running about 2-3 months behind on the car’s actual process, so there is lots more to come. And when the car arrives, I will be right there to share the finished product with you.
Beck will build your neo-356 or neo-550 any way you like, from full-boat custom to as close to Porsche factory specs as your wallet can stand. Click here for a cornucopia of possibilities, and stay tuned for the next installment!
Customer car, image: beckspeedster.com
This, I am looking forward to. One of the greatest shapes put to the road…
Neat, has anyone ever built one of these with a Corvair flat 6? Is it possible? I only ask because I have a couple of engines and I have been thinking about something to do with them.
I think I remember an old R&T featuring a corvair hanging out the back of a 911, but haven’t heard of anything mid engined.
Way back in 1968-1969, an LAPD cop put a destroked Chevy V8 in a 911 he bought for peanuts at a police impound auction without its engine. A new engine was too expensive, so in went the sbc. But he had to destroke it because otherwise the transmission couldn’t handle the torque.
Also, GM used Porsche 356s as mules for the Corvair engine/transmission. But they must have been a bit tail-heavy. The Corvair engine was pretty chunky.
Well, the Corvair engine was a 6, but they aren’t that heavy, 2 people can unload one from a pick up bed with little trouble. The turbo-air 6 is pretty compact.
332 lbs, for a 1960, as per Chevy. A VW/Porsche flat four is about 200 lbs. The Corvair engine came out 50 lbs heavier than originally planned for, which didn’t help its handling any. The Subaru water-cooled boxer weighs about 280 lbs.
I used to see a second gen Corvair in Tacoma with a V8 in it’s back seat.. .He also used to get pulled over by the local authorities a lot for speeding too.
You can stick a V8 in a Corvair, making it sort of a mid engine V8 with the engine breathing down your neck. The 1966 and up Corvairs are best for this because the trans axle was the more rugged Muncie.
This will be interesting to follow. Looking forward to more.
A 904 replica? I don’t want to know. I can’t afford it. I want one really, really, really, really badly.
I was craving that orange one too. I’ll park it next to my imaginary Dino to compare and contrast.
Great fun! Hope you include some cost figures if the owner is OK with that.
The manufacturer’s website beckspeedster.com has prices listed, though the prices for Subaru-powered cars are not detailed. Turn-key assembled, drivable Spyders with air-cooled VW engines start at $37,000. They have a completed Subaru-powered Spyder with a bunch of options listed for $46,500.
http://www.beckspeedster.com/westcoastinventory.html
That’s too much really, you can buy a used Lotus Elise for less or even an Exige for the same amount if you search around.
Interesting! I’ll be following this closely. I really wanted one of these some years back could never swing the upfront costs. I went the Seven route instead.
Nice. I would go with a 2180cc or so built air cooled engine. But for autocrossing the Subaru probably makes more sense. Can’t wait to see the build process. Does seem like silver would be almost mandatory on this car.
Having wanted a Beck 550 since I first heard about them as a teenager, I am looking forward to seeing this build develop. Its simplicity and the ability to partially home-build it always appealed to me, so it will be interesting to see how complicated the build process actually is.
Always wanted to do that but probably would have stuck with VW 1600 single port. Only two things kept me from it. Skill and money.
Appreciate the opportunity to do it vicariously, Tom. Looking forward to it.
Speedster replica is a fuzzy image on the outer edge of the event horizon, so I’m looking forward to this series. Cheers Tom.
It’s occupied the same position in my event horizon for some 30 years. 🙂 Or I should say it did; no longer, sad to say.
I’ve spent quite a few hours on that Beck website in the past, imagining what I would get.
The 550 Spyder is a gorgeous car and I would certainly get one of these if I’m ever able.
Awesome that we get to read first hand accounts of the process.
I called it on the Subaru engine about two paragraphs in lol.
Seems to be a really good way to get power without really building an engine and its flat, so it stays true to Porsche for the most part.
Thanks Tom. Really looking forward to this series.
THIS.
So let me get this right — you are simultaneously running a series on getting a cheap XJ6 (a personal fave) to be a daily driver, and now you are going to do a build on 550 Spyder? On top of the “run through the junkyard” candy that you feed me once a week?
Yeah, better than any of the rags I get in the mail
+1
A different author is doing the XJ6 (Keith Thelen), and the Kit-Builder is the current author’s (Tom Klockau’s) friend.
Beck is one of the standout companies for 550’s and 356’s . They have a great reputation (not a shill but a guy who has wanted one for ages). I spoke to an owner of a 356 at Carlisle last year. He had beck build him one with a NA Subaru motor. I asked why that over an air cooled VW motor and it came down to the fact that he just wanted a reliable (re: not have to adjust anything sporadically) driver. As far as the workmanship, I was really impressed as to how well the car was assembles and the integration of the Subaru motor.
I saw a real 550 Spyder a couple of weeks ago, it was either one chassis number before or after James Dean’s car. Lives in a museum now of course, which is a prime reason Becks and the like exist.