1955 Porsche 550 Spyder Replica

Up for auction is my 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder Replica. Since you’ve found it, ou probably have some good knowledge on these cars already. Here’s what sets this Spyder apart from the others.

This Spyder is car #181 of the original 200 or so built by Chuck Beck (Beck Development) in California, efore body production moved to Brazil. Chuck has since sold production rights of the Beck Spyder to Special Edition in Bremen, ndiana. This car was originally sold in 1990 as a roller and delivered to North Carolina. The original owner completed the car, hen sold it in 2006. I purchased the car in December 2013 from the second owner out of Atlanta.

It needed some sorting to meet my standards, hich has given me a toy to tinker with over the last year and a half. Most of the work has been detailing and basic maintenance (Engine oil, ear oil, rake Fluid, attery, lternator, tarter, amp; Fuel Pump). The wheel bearings/axle seals are also new, eplaced at the time of the brake upgrade. Included are two books of receipts dating back to the original build, s well as many new spare parts.

I’d rate this Spyder as a good, river-quality car. I’ve taken it to shows and it’s done well. Probably because you don’t see them very often. It does have some touched-up paint chips, owever it’s dent and rust free. Its best show finish was a Top 50 out of ~1,000 show cars at Southern Worthersee in Helen, A in May. But, his car wasn’t built to be a showcar, r to replicate all the details of the original Spyder. It was built for fun, nd to be one of the best-performing Spyder replicas around.

Specs:

Body:

Beck Tube Frame with molded Fiberglass Body (1400lbs. wet)

Original-style Plexi Windshield

DOT glass Speedster-style Windshield & Wipers are also included!

Single-Stage black paint with recent clay bar, igh-speed polish, laze, amp; sealant

Red 50/50 Zip Tonneau Cover

9,650 Original Kilometers

Interior:

Reproduction Porsche 550/356-style gauges

Red Beck Seats

Black Cut-pile Carpet

4-point Harnesses

Momo Steering Wheel with Porsche horn button

Engine:

2110cc Type 1 VW Engine, erman Case

Brad Penn 20w50 High-Zinc Oil

Dual 40mm Weber Carbs (filter assemblies included but not pictured)

4 to 1 Exhaust Header with Stinger-style muffler

Electric Fuel Pump with Adjustable Pressure Regulator

External Front-mounted Oil Cooler

Compu-Fire Electronic Ignition

EMPI Crank Case Breather

Suspension:

Adjustable Front Torsion Beam

Front Sway Bar with Poly Bushings

Rebound-Adjustable Koni “Classic” Shocks Front & Rear

Type 1 VW Swing Axle

Brakes:

Airkewld Bad Series Brakes Front & Rear (www.airkewld.com)

Super light Three-piece billet design

Cross-Drilled Rotors

Wilwood 2-piston Calipers up Front, luminum VW Golf Calipers Rear

Porsche 5x130 Bolt Pattern (easily swapped to multiple other patterns)

Wheels:

15x5.5” Genuine Porsche 912 wheels (Yes, ou can stuff 5.5” wheels up front)

Refinished in high-quality Reflective Silver powdercoat

Tires:

Toyo Proxy R1R’s in 195/55/15

Owning the Spyder has been a joy and allowed me to check it off the list of cars I’ve always wanted to have. But, t’s time to move on and make room for new projects. This is a No Reserve auction so the car will sell to the highest bidder. However, he car is also listed locally so I reserve the right to end the auction early should it no longer be available. If you have any questions please send me a message and I will respond in a timely manner. I will be available by phone if necessary. Good Luck and Happy Bidding!

On Jun-30-15 at 07:34:09 PDT, eller added the following information:

I wanted to add the following to address some of the questions I've received.

1.) I'm 6'5", 05lbs. I fit in the car well enough, ut I do hunker down a bit to keep my head below the top of the windshield forhighway driving. I've never had an issue with bugs, oad debris, tc. I typically wear a ballcap or sunglasses.The glass Speedster windshield that's alsoincluded does sit slightly higher than the plexi. There areother period-style seats available for wider drivers.

2.) Regarding installation of the glass windshield, t's pretty straight forward. These were designed to be somewhat interchangeable. 1-2 hours worth of work for a novice. The glass windshield was on the car when purchased. I removed it and installedthe plexi kitsupplied by Special Edition.

3.) The Spyderis an excellent "toy" car for weekend fun. I would not suggest planning todaily drive it, r take it on a cross-country adventure. While this car is reliable, elatively inexpensive to maintain, nd has easily accessible parts, t lacks basic features I would consider necessary to drive it regularly.Tonneau cover only, o no top or side curtains although theycan be added. No defroster, /c, runk space, tc.

4.) Performance. Thisis by far one of the most fun cars to run through the gears. It's basically a street legal go-cart. At only 1400lbs, etting through all4 gears quickly is effortless. And, ven easy to do when driving in traffic.It's alsoverysmooth at highway speeds (70-80mph). I'vetaken the car up to100mph, ut that's my limit for feeling safe. Yours may differ, ut at the end of the day you have very little crash protection. Even with all the attention this car gets,in a world of large SUV's the 550 Spyderis about as easy to see as a motorcycle.

5.) Needs. The cars really needs nothing mechanically. It's an aircooled engine so it does leak small drops of oil, ut nothing out of the ordinary. The car is electrically sound, o gremlins, tc. However, pecial Edition does offer an improved wiring harness. This would probably be my only suggestion, or no other reason other than to tidy up the wiring. I would've had more attention to cosmetic detail than the original owner had I wired it. But, ince there were no issues I didn't undertake the task. Other than that,maybe a niceset of H4 headlights.

6.) Ride height. This car is low. Lower than most Spyders. This can be easily adjusted to your preference, ut generally I don't have issues. The exhaust collector flange is the lowest part of the car so I do take extra caution when traversing speed bumps. There are other style exhausts available now that offer more clearance and stainless steel construction. I never saw this as necessary.

7.) The car is listed locally on Craigslist & Facebook. It may also be added to SpyderClub.

Hope this helps! Please continue to ask questions and I will update for everyone.