Author | Message |
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◊ 2007-01-05 19:14 |
Porsche 550 Spyder Link to "www.prisonpotpourri.com" |
◊ 2007-01-05 19:17 |
They represent James Dean's crash |
◊ 2007-01-05 22:32 |
Vu le prix des vraies 550, c'est sans doute une réplique. |
◊ 2007-09-27 15:01 |
Did they have crashed an original Spyder? Faked, resp.rebuild ones are on the market. |
◊ 2008-04-03 11:18 |
-- Last edit: 2013-05-29 01:21:10 (chicomarx) |
◊ 2009-06-17 01:10 |
I currently own the car used in this movie. Mine was not crashed however as they used a donor car for that scene. |
◊ 2009-06-17 01:16 |
Really? You must be pretty rich if you've got one of those, unless it's a replica. |
◊ 2009-11-24 16:01 |
The shown car is a replica, VW rims, who will crash a original 550 spyder for a movie!? |
◊ 2012-08-19 16:53 |
The director says in the laserdisc commentary the car is a replica by Beck and they only had one. |
◊ 2012-09-10 23:20 |
There were only about 70 original 550 Spyders ever made and each one was a little different, even the shape somewhat. The original cars had 16" diameter wheels, narrow tires all around, and a cooling fan than draws air from both the front and back of the 4-cylinder boxer mid-engine's fan shroud. Many probably don't exist anymore and prices for those that do are more than US $1M when they are available. The Beck replicas are stretched about 5 inches in length compared to the original in order to provide more space in the cockpit. The Beck cars are not built from any other car but have their own mid-engine tube chassis and a fiberglass body instead of an aluminum body. They normally use VW Beetle Type I components wherever possible so they can be very cheap to maintain and repair. The wheels are virtually always 15" diameter with 4 or 5 lugs and most owners use wider tires in back. With years of technological improvements it's easy to equip a Beck 550 with more horsepower, better handling and better brakes than the original cars if you want. Great fun to own and drive, and not particularly expensive. There are other 550 Spyder replicas available that are built on a VW Beetle pan with the engine in the far rear that are not really true to the original car in any way. -- Last edit: 2012-09-10 23:21:12 |
◊ 2013-05-29 01:51 |
Turnupseed never spoke of the accident except in this personal letter: "I have had quite a bit of excitement in the last year, first starting back to school then the affair with Dean, Bought another car & a house so I am just now getting time to get my breath. I am enclosing some shots of mine & Dean cars. I had my ford fixed like we had planned on the ship. A 3/8 by ½ merk engine. I salvag the manifold and carbs are all that were left. A brand new set of Offenhouser heads gone, a (H) & M magneto run down the throught of a new eagel cam. But thank God I got out of it in one piece." Also, Dean saying "That guy is gotta see me" is a myth, Porsche mechanic Rolf Wütherich didn't recall the moments before the crash. |
◊ 2023-04-09 22:12 |
Looks like the Ford had nary a scratch! Then again, half-inch thick Detroit iron would win against fibreglass any day. |