Imposter

When you look back on all the cars you've owned in your life, does one just stand out a little more than the others? Not because it was the best one in the group, but just because it was little more "different" than the rest.

Dale Bates, a resident of Dixon (just west of Sacramento), California, has owned a few cars--ones usually leaning toward performance and of a European heritage. Some guys like going fast in straight lines, but for Dale, getting around a corner fast is what turns his crank. Autocrossing, and its distant cousin the Gymkhana, have been popular with the "corner" type of people for decades because you not only have to be fast, but accurate and agile, too.

In the late-'70s, when Bates was in his late-twenties, he was married to a woman who owned a Porsche 914, which he liked to drive. But, because they needed a family car, they traded the 914 for a '76 BMW 2002. Still interested in style and performance, Dale sheepishly admits being talked into purchasing a Bradley GT by a persuasive salesman. The Bradley salesman's offer included using Dale's car as an example of the easy build for other customers to see. But he soon lost interest in it and sold the car at a quarter of what he had into it.

Dale and his wife had some friends who raced Porsches, and soon they bought a lowered '73 Porsche 911 with a mechanical injection and recapped BANDAG racing tires. That car lasted until 1984, when Dale discovered snow skiing, and soon a four-wheel-drive Jeep took center stage in the driveway.

Dale and his wife parted ways and he went through a selection of cars (among them an '87 GTI 16v, a '74 TR6, and then a '95 twin-turbo Mazda RX7). Now with lovely new wife Michele, they started looking for another sports car and found a replica speedster for sale. They began looking into kits and replicars because Dale knew he didn't want to spend 70 to 80 grand on an original vintage Speedster.

Visiting Web sites and a few manu-facturers, Dale located a used Intermeccanica roadster and liked what he saw, so he did some more checking and started talking with Henry Reisner, the owner of Intermeccanica based in Vancouver, Canada. The more he checked, the more he liked, so in April of 2001, Dale ordered a new speedster from Intermeccanica. But unlike the versions the preceded it, Dale's car would be among the first of Henry's new line of speedsters with power windows.

After ordering his car, Dale visited the shop to see the progress on his car, take a tour of the facility, and check out the other car being built alongside his. Intermeccanica does not use the traditional shortened VW pan for its cars, opting for the company's own 3x5-inch square-tube chassis that supports the entire body. The custom frame allows the transmission to be mounted 3 inches forward from a pan-type layout, which allows for better weight distribution while not altering the original wheelbase of 83.75 inches.

The track on Bates' ride measures in at 52.25 inches in the front and 54 inches in the rear. The front and rear suspension, however, is Volkswagen-based with the Bug-style twin-beam torsion tubes being used up front (along with a 19mm Sway-A-Way antiroll bar) and an IRS trans and suspension out back (used with another 19mm Sway-A-Way bar). Disc brakes--11-inch VW-type--are attached on each corner, and original Fuchs five-spoke road wheels are wrapped in 195/60-15 skins to allow an appropriate amount of gription.

The engine, supplied by CB Performance, is a 2165cc flat-four made up of a 78mm forged crank, 94mm Mahle pistons, and 5 1/2-inch forged H-beam rods assembled in CB's universal Super Case. A medium cam (308-degree duration and .410 lift) and chrome-moly pushrods are used to operate the rockers bolted to the CB 044 heads (they come with larger intake ports and valves than a stock VW head), and induction is by way of twin Weber 44 IDF carbs. A Compu-Fire ignition, Bosch 009 distributor, and MSD 6AL box supply the spark while dual Flowmaster headers extract the spent gasses. Intermeccanica did all of the required body and paint prep work in-house before shipping the body and chassis combo to a contractor in Washington for final assembly. Jim Brazille, who owns European Auto Salvage Yard in Emeryville, California, supplied Dale with most of the original Porsche parts and pieces used on the car, which gives the li'l tub its air of authenticity. Besides the Porsche road wheels, those original interior parts include the turn signal switch, the hand-brake unit, plus the steering column and wheel. The gauges look original, but are actually replica units.

Original-style 356 roadster seats, made by Intermeccanica, were also used in the build and were covered (as was the dash top) in red vinyl to contrast the inky-black exterior. Oatmeal-colored German square-weave carpet looks right, too, as does the Porsche nameplate mounted to the far right of the dash. The power side windows operate via hidden switches (Dale didn't really like the stock side curtains, which sometimes are leakers and, at times, fairly drafty). The windows are nearly always down, though the car looks good with its tan convertible top in either its "up" or "down" position.

Though the car is a far cry from the Bradley GT Dale owned in the late-'70s, he has as much fun with his faux 356 as he did with his 911 racer, but without the headaches and/or cost. He wanted a car that could pose as the real deal without raising suspicions--an unassuming imposter, really, which is why he chose those "IMPZTR" license plates. But the car looks real enough to us, and one we bet many a bonafide Porschephile would love to own.

You can't find a bad angle...        read full caption You can't find a bad angle on Bates' tub, top up or down. Bates wasn't interested in a true Speedster with only its flimsy side curtain window setup...

...so he opted for the Intermeccanica...        read full caption ...so he opted for the Intermeccanica version with power windows. On each corner, original Porsche Fuchs 15x6 wheels are wrapped in Yokohama 195/60-15 rubber.

CB Performance not only sells...        read full caption CB Performance not only sells performance VW engine parts, but it also offers complete powerplants, too. Dale picked up a 2165cc motor, which was first fitted with a forged 78mm crank, 5 1/2-inch forged H-beam rods, and 94mm Mahle pistons. CB 044 heads, a pair of Weber 44 IDF carbs, a Bosch 009 distributor, and an MSD 6AL ignition box were next before the custom exhaust and Flowmaster mufflers were attached to finish the engine build. A four-speed trans, moved forward in the chassis 3 inches for better weight distribution, was then bolted up to round out the list of drivetrain components.

This has to be one of the...        read full caption This has to be one of the best-looking Porsche interiors we've seen, and its partially due to the fact Bates used many original Porsche parts in its assembly...

...Jim Brazille, who owns...        read full caption ...Jim Brazille, who owns European Auto Salvage Yard in Emeryville, CA, supplied some of the "right" parts to the project, such as the original Porsche steering wheel and column, turn signal switch, rotary heater switch, hand-brake unit, and Fuchs road wheels. The seats, from Intermeccanica, are like those found in Porsche 356 roadsters and covered in red vinyl.

...Bates did add a third brake...        read full caption ...Bates did add a third brake light for better visibility when stopping, though it's unobtrusively mounted behind the single decklid grill. Marchal driving lights and amber-lens taillights are strictly Euro though, as red-lens taillights were typically a U.S. issue.

There's a mix of European...        read full caption There's a mix of European and American influences on Dale's 356. Back in the late-'50s, large overrider bumpers were added at the Porsche factory to cars destined for the U.S. market to satisfy misplaced American safety concerns (think they'd hold up to a '58 Buick bumper?)...