Description
This is a replica of the Porsche 550 Spyder as driven by James Dean when he had his fatal crash.
The car was built using a kit supplied by Banham, a reputable local designer.
It has 1. 3-litre 5-port pushrod engine that puts out 72bhp at the rear wheels. The powertrain is from the original doner car, a 1989 Skoda Rapid with a five speed gearbox, and runs on unleaded fuel. It is fitted with fabricated inlet and exhaust manifold with a rear stainless motorcycle style exhaust box. The engine is mated to the original five-speed transaxle with center shift.
The chassis is a semi monocoque arrangement having been modified from a 1987 Skoda Rapid donor vehicle and has an unstressed fiberglass body. It uses all of the original donor vehicle running gear, including dual circuit servo assisted front disc/ rear drum brakes with wishbone front suspension, front anti roll bar and rear trailing radius arm suspension.
It has a front mounted 5. 5 gallon fuel tank, electric fuel pump and fuel gauge.
The car has recently received new coil springs and shock absorbers all round. I have fitted a modified ignition system using a timing wheel, Ford VTEC components and a Megajolt ignition.
It has a ported and gas flowed head using larger Audi quattro valves. The carburation is via a 40mm Dell'Orto side draft.
The modified XJS seats are covered in an Italian leather. I still have the original patterns and leather samples to affect any repairs. I have owned and maintained the car for the last nineteen year, so this is a reluctant sale due to a change of family circumstances. The car was completely resprayed about six years ago due to slight accident damage and my failure to record the paint codes after the original respray when the car was built.