Hi all,

I am(finally) a newbie here, took awhile to get registered, and a bit longer to generate this first post.

By way of introduction my name is Bob LeFlufy, live in Vancouver and have been messing with old cars since they weren't old cars, my main claim to fame may be being a 16 year old wide eyed spectator opening day at Westwood in 1959, was it? Another cherished memory is being rejected at Tech, the first race I entered in my '53 Beetle. No roll bar. Put one in overnight, came back, said it wasn't high enough. Taped a pipe on top of the bar, didn't fool them and home I went. Likely 1963. Never did get along with Tech Inspectors after that.

Anyway a misspent youth has given way to a misspent dotage and I am still messing around.

Current project is a book on early Porsche Spyders, 550, 550A, RSK, RS60 and RS 61, the website for the book is:

www.spyderbook.net.

Dalton Watson is the publisher and I am scrambling to have it ready to go for Sepptember 1, 2008.

On the website you will see a section called " Wag Your Tale", I am collecting both hard data and soft data, histories of specific chassis numbers being the hard data and stories of people's invovlement with Spyders through the years, being the soft or human interest data. If you have anything to contribute, I would be very happy to receive it. Go to the website or just email me at blfhbob@shaw.ca.

In return, I am willing to share any information I already have on any specific spyder, again, just email me. I have data on around 85% of the cars at present, grows daily. In some instances I have pretty complete history, in some cases just scraps. If I can help let me know.

Hope to hear from you, and hope to be able to contribute to your forum, here, on Spyders or other topics as they arise.

Cheers

Bob

Welcome to TNF, Bob!

Sounds like you've got a couple of years on me but not many.

I was born & raised in Bowmanville, ON...just a hop-and-skip from Mosport where I attended the very first Player's 200 in 1961. I immediately fell in love with those RS Porsches for their speed, appearance and perhaps more than anything, their sound. The RS series of Porsches ranks right up there with my all-time favs. I'll look forward to securing this book in future.

BTW, I expect that you're fully acquainted with the CMSHG?

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/CMSHG/

Have a go at all other Porsche threads , click the SearchBB above right !

Can you shed any light on this one : the 550 of Ricardo Rodriguez, owned by Frenchman Benoît Couturier.












Pictures taken at the Essen Techno Classica Fair 2006

The real stuff, 1957, somewhere in Mexico :


Copyright unknown / Collection Luc Ghys

Road license plates; modern plumbing, interior not worn looking, etc, etc. Just what are we looking at?

The 550A pictured seems like it is most likely the Rodriguez car, chassis number 0120, It came to the US after Mexico and went off to France via Dale Miller. Looks to be a bit over restored but they often are these days, a consequence of their value I suppose. The modern plumbing appears to me to be a fire supression system, and I support the installation of those as well as the modern belts. These cars seem to burn farily well and we don't want to lose anymore to any cause.

There was a 550 burned to the ground in Viginia or thereabouts in the last couple of years, it is being resotred in Southern California and Arizona, but still, a shame for that to happen.

Sorry fir the slow response to your posts, bit hectic here these days.

Bob LeFlufy
www.spyderbook.net

Bob, What do we know about the three Porsche 4 cam engines that Roy Shadbolt 'used up' in the Cooper Streamliner? This car is interesting since it is the car-originally a Cooper 500- that Owen used to set speed records at Montlhery with in the fifties before selling it to Shadbolt who had it shipped to Vancouver. After he ran out of Porsche engines a subsequent owner fitted a Climax 1100 and it was raced by TNFer Mike Gee.

David

I have not had time to chase those down, too many other threads to unravel, but I know they were here, it amazes me how many 4 cam engines seem to have made their way here in the period, given that only two whole cars (Campbell's RSK, John Hall's Carrera Speester) arrived. Tony himself brought at least three or four engines or enough parts to make them, Hall brought a couple, and there are others I have heard of as well.

Maybe someone should start a book on 4 cam engines, just after my Spyder book is published.

Bob
www.spyderbook.net

OK, here is the latest mystery I am chasing down, can anyone help with any part of it?

Penske had at least two Spyders in the period, an RSK first then an RS 61. He probably bought the RSK from Holbert and later traded it to Jim Hall for an RS 61 Hall had purchased and run a few times. Hall talks about the trade in the Chapparal book.

My questions are does anyone know the chassis number of the RSK, and/or what happened to it after Hall got it from Penske, also the Chassis number of the RS 61 and it's later history?

Thank in advance.

Bob LeFlufy


www.spyderbook.net

First of all, let me say I am delighted to learn someone is working on recording individual histories of this marvelous giant killers. They deserve it.

I am not sure if this will help, but here are Penske's spyders as I understand it :

- 550A ex Holbert for the first half of 1959, then I think to Harry Blanchard

- 718 RSK ex Holbert, from mid-1959 to the fall of 1960

- 718 RS 60 ex Hall, entered it seems by J.M. Wyatt III (who also entered Coopers at Sebring) for the fall US serie of 1960 (Watkins Glen, Riverside, Laguna)

- 718 RS 61 (must be one the first if not the first) from Brumos for Nassau 1960. I think this car then went to Chuck Cassell.

Thanks for your response on the Penske Spyders, that is helpful, now I just need the chassis numbers

Tracking 'em down, one car at a time!

Bob LeFlufy
www.spyderbook.net

Have a picture (b/w), cant show it , af a Porsche RS60 I believe , approx. 1960 , probably in France , looks silver and has 2 thin stripes from from to back (white and blue ?) carrying no. 2 ! At the race was also Equipe Nationale Belge with Ferrari 250GT I believe. Any help on the Porsche ? Whose car ? when and where ?

Roy Schechter in his Porsche RSK at Havana, Cuba.
photo Schechter collection.

Jerry

Great picture! Have you any idea of the chassis number of that car? Year of the picture?

Bob LeFlufy

www.spyderbook.net

Bob: I don't know if you have seen the thread on Roy Schechter. The picture of Roy Schechter in Havana was Sept. 6, 1959. He had several Porsches and co-drove to a fine second place finish in the 1960 Sebring race. His co-driver was the late Bob Holbert.
This comes from Willem Oosthoek:
"Another piece of the puzzle [although I don't have a chassis number]. The 1.5-liter Brumos Porsche RS-60 that Schechter and Holbert took to 2nd overall at Sebring 1960 went later to Don Horn, who won the Courtland, Alabama, One Hour race with the car on July 3, 1960. "
Roy Schechter, gentleman racer is the title of the thread you are looking for. Here it is below.
http://forums.autosport.com/showthread.php...y=&pagenumber=1

A favourite car of mine to watch and read about.

Is there any book out there that tells of how many 550's and 550A's were manufactured and who bought them?

I have had little success in tracing the backgrounds of the individual cars I am interested in.

Rob

Well having had the same problem as you, I am writing the book you want to reference. There were 90 "official" 550 Spyders and as many as four replacement chassis at least two of those were built up into cars, not sure about the others. 550As are easier 45 built. My work on documenting the history of each car is ongoing, with lots of help from folks on the board. If you have a specific car or two you want the histories for, post the chassis numbers and I will try to help.

Bob LeFlufy

www.spyderbook.net

Bob,

I sent you some photos from my collection a few weeks back by email. Did you get them?

David Castelhano

David

Yes, I got them and replied at the time, but sent another email reply to you today.

Thanks

Bob

My apologies, I posted some bad information in response to the photos of the Rodruguez 550A Spyder a while back. Thought it was chassis number 0120, now convinced through a bunch more research that it is in fact 0117.

Cheers

Bob LeFlufy
www.spyderbook.net

Hi Bob,
very interesting topic, indeed ...
Well, what can you say about the one (or two?) Spyders raced in Brasil ... the car Hans Stuck took to Brazil in 1954, later raced by Bino Heins, Chico Landi, Ciro Cayres and Celso Lara Barberis - or was this a different example?
And about the monoposto Formula car created by Scuderia Tubularte, apparently from a Spyder, and raced quite successfully by Gimenez Lopez and others?

Ludvigsen in "Excellence was expected" give Stuck's brazilian car as 550.06. Bino Heins later raced a 718 RSK in Europe in 1958 and I think the car went home with him for domestic use.

To blfhbob : are you also working on the european hillclimbs appearances as it was a major playground for these cars ?

I have been waiting for some time with great expectations for the announced book covering all Porsche Spyders (from 550 to 718 RS 61) :

http://www.spyderbook.net/index.htm

The website still quote a publication date of septembre 2008. Maybe someone here has "insider" info ?

I have lunch with Bob most Saturdays. He is still working on the book-as many of you know, this takes longer than anticipated!

Glad to hear that, David. Would you please keep us posted on the progress ?

My Dad had two 550's and a 550a:





More pics click below:

http://www.cliffreuter.com/porsche.htm


cliff reuter
www.etceterini.com

Many thanks, I will pass that on to Bob.

I thought I would add to this thread as a newbie on this site. After doing a search here, I came across some amazing info from knowledgeable members here regarding 550 spyders. I have had a long time passion for the car and after years of collecting info and images from everywhere, I decided to create a website which was designed as a portal for people to contribute and bring together everything known about this car. The site is only dedicated to the early original 550 (pre 550A) spyder - 550-01 to 550-0090. The website is www.type550.com and is truly a labour of love with no financial gain.

Unfortunately I only came across Bob shortly after his passing and have spoken in depth with his sister Carol about his passion. I am not sure where Paul Hageman is with the completion of the spyder book, but like many I am waiting patiently with anticipation. Through the site I have met many owners, restorers and also family and friends of drivers from the 50s who have contributed greatly to the building of the site. Obviously there are many members here who have information and photos and are will to share for a good cause - the passion of motor racing!

thanks Andrew

Thank you Andrew. I have not talked with Paul Hageman since he took the book over from Bob. Bob's passing I noted in a thread dedicated to that on this forum, I should obviously have made special mention of it here.
If any of you smoke you may want to consider Bob's fate-it was not pleasant for him or his family and friends. A great enthusiast who is missed at the Saturday lunches he started twenty odd years ago.

It was weird that I had never come across Bob until literally the day of his passing - when I sent an email to him to introduce myself, it was the response from Carol I was not expecting. Somehow I see it as fate, but to have spoken to him earlier would have been a joy.