1958 Beck 356 Speedster- Girls Just Want To Have Fun

We agree with Cyndi Lauper: girls just want to have fun. For some girls, an excellent way to have fun is to own a kit car, or to race around on a motorcycle. Mind you, there are also many women who couldn't care less about having a cool motorcycle or kit car. There are quite a few men who are point-A-to-point-B transportation types, as well.

Since KIT CAR doesn't focus on A-to-B folks, let's consider Wendy Yale of Cypress, Texas. We're not sure whether Wendy has always been into enthusiast modes of transport. Being married to James Yale, she'd be hard-pressed not to gravitate toward such interests. James has his Backdraft Racing roadster in this issue, and his FFR creations-a Type 65 coupe and a roadster-have been featured in past issues.

Wendy used to ride with James on his sports bikes or cruising motorcycles. After a time she realized she'd rather drive. So, she passed her written and driving safety tests and received her license. Her first bike was a Honda Rebel that had a small, two-cylinder 250cc engine. Not long after, she graduated to a Buell 500cc, single-cylinder bike, and then moved up to an 883cc V-twin Harley Sportster. All this time, James went through a series of sport and cruising machines. He also began to build kit cars. On the occasions that Wendy would glean the various KIT CAR magazines and issues of Hot Rod in the house, she was always drawn to silver Porsche Speedsters with red interiors. She enjoyed going with James to car shows and liked to share the kit car hobby with her husband. But she wanted one of those sexy Speedsters to race around in and go to shows in the Houston area.

Rather than building a kit Speedster from one of the many fine Porsche replica manufacturers, the Yales one day bought a brand-new Special Edition 356 Beck Speedster from Dean Rosen, then owner of Dynamic Motorsports, in Ross, Ohio. Dynamic Motorsports is one of the largest Superformance distributors in the country. DM also handled the Special Edition Beck 356 Speedster for a time.

What with raising three rambunctious boys while both having careers, enjoying motorcycle cruises together, and James building, driving, and racing various kit cars, the Yales didn't have the time or the energy for another project vehicle. Instead, Wendy bought the Speedster equipped precisely to her tastes, replete with a red leather interior and silver paint on the outside.

Whenever Wendy gets the whim to go for a spin and have some fun, all she has to do is put her long hair in a ponytail. Said ponytail gets threaded through the back opening in one of her baseball caps. With that cap in place, she fires up her sexy silver Special Edition Speedster. The car's not quite as stunning as its owner, but together, they make quite a pair. Wendy proves the notion that some girls who want to have fun own, drive, and show a kit car.