Casper in Denmark recently picked up this Seethra kit car body in Sweden, where it was made in the eighties. As far as he knows about 200 were built, but he hasn’t been able to track down much info on them and was hoping some readers here might know more that would be of assistance in his completing this project — post in the comments if you do. This car, which sort of looks to me like the bastard child of an F40 and a Countach, was available both on a custom tube chassis and a VW pan — my advice to Casper was to choose the easy route and mount it on a VW.
I’m happy to be able to post another update on Mark’s restoration of his incredibly rare Warp 8 (be sure to read this article to see what it’ll look like when he’s all done). He writes,
Here’s some more pictures of the Warp. I’m really pleased at how well it’s coming together. As you can see the body is now completely attached to the chassis and the framework is in place ready for the dash to be fitted to, when we’ve decided exactly what we want it to look like. The floors are all in place as are the front and rear bulkheads and for the first time we have been able to try some tidy seats in it, but have real height problems. I think the car was designed more for looks than practicality, so we will have to sort out some one-off seats, but we still have a lot more to do before we need to worry about that. I feel a lot happier about it now it’s starting to look more like a car again. The next job is the doors and I’m not looking forward to that. I’ve worked out how to go about it and it’s not going to be easy. I’ll be in touch soon.
He’s really putting an amazing amount of work into this project to make it a solid “real” car! It’s a real thrill getting to see this car getting the attention it deserves.
My friend Sergey in Russia has an original 1979 brochure from Fuhr Motors in Lake Grove, New York, containing this profile photo of their wedge-shaped Osage kit car, designed for what looks like a full-length VW chassis. I must admit I never thought I’d see this incredibly rare car (the previous photo I posted leaves a lot to be desired), so I was quite thrilled when Sergey wrote me! Click to zoom in of course.
Reading one of my favourite car blogs today, I saw this entry which managed to distract me from UFC100 — a post on Hemmings that linked to these pictures of the five thousand pound steam turbine “Barber-Nichols Steamin’ Demon” (currently for sale for a half million), an Aztec 7 kit car converted to break the steam-power land speed record, which it did at 145.607 mph on August 19, 1985 at Bonneville. Definitely NOT what Fiberfab expected when they originally designed this traditionally VW-based kit car! The previous record, set in a Stanley Steamer, had long held the record at 127.656 mph, set in 1906. A British team is currently working on a car to shatter this record, but this has got to be one of the longest-standing records held by a kit car.
Update: Click here for a little more info from the Fiberfab.org website!
I just got this nice letter and photo set, which I’m reproducing here verbatim –
Enjoyed your blog very much. Every once in awhile I’ll google Invader GT and see what pops up. Usually not much, but this time your blog came up. So if I may bore you…
In 1974 I ordered a Invader GT kit. The body design was the full rake (which I felt looked better than the later design change that took the rake out of the windshield.) Back then it cost me $400.00 for shipping from California to Illinois and I the kit cost somewhere around $900.00. Picked up a used running 1969 VW for $600.00 and sold the body for $400.00. The whole project came to about $3000.00. Finished the project in 1976, my wife to be bought herself a new 1977 Firebird 350 cu.in. with T-top for $7000.00, hmmm maybe something doesn’t add up here, oh well too late, water under the bridge.
Should -a, could-a, would-a. The doors, Should-a pitched the clear top sections and molded in the bottom sections. You roasted your butt off driving around with full doors on in the summer time. And the car just didn’t look right with the doors off. You had the option to cut and drop the pan area where the seats went so you could have a little more head room. I chose not to go that route (should-a). Never put wipers or defroster system into the kit because even then I knew it was a fair weather car.
Finished the car out with a rebuilt VW engine, American Slots, rocker panels were 18 gauge steel, tail lights came from the GMC truck department, side market lights where from a 1974 New Yorker, fender mirrors from some custom catalog as to the gas filler lid. Key type hood pins from J.C Whitney. For the doors and to hold them shut I used on the inside spring loaded hood latches you found on CJ jeeps back then. Paint was candy apple red with a silver metallic base coat from the “House of Colors”. I don’t think I put over a 1000 miles on the car before I sold to some guy from Strawberry Point Iowa.
If I had it to do over again, I would of bought a dune buggy body for half the cost and time and spent more time with the wind in my face and enjoying the country side. There was also at the time another kit offered which I almost went with I think was called “Vandura”? You cut off the vw body just behind the doors and added on the kit that made it into a panel truck. You could keep the vw front fenders and hood section or replace it with a fiberglass section that made it look like a 1940 Ford. I almost bit on that one. Don’t get me wrong, I think the kit was a nice design for the time and sure cost a lot less than a Sterling. It was just a time in my life and thought thats what I wanted, maybe it was Corvette envy I don’t know. I couldn’t afford one of those so I went for what I could. Today if I was into the do it yourself car thing, I’d go with a bare bones “Rat Rod”. See ones taste does change with age. Again, great blog
-Ben
I just noticed an interesting vehicle posted over at Kit Car magazine called the “Pegasus”. Details are scarce, but it seems to be a one off vehicle built by Fantasy Cars on a ‘78 Chevrolet C1500 truck, presumably for a movie. It’s a horrendously ugly neat start, but to me it feels “unfinished”.
Before I get to posting some pictures from the Carlisle show (which I’ll do in the next day or two), let me just continue on this March Hare kick. Kevin sent me a tip that some old March Hare literature — an early ad, and a dealer letter for a later model — are on eBay right now. You’ll note that the original has yet another window design, and that the letters (dated 1981), seem to be for an entirely different design of the kit. I suspect the second version (which from that one small picture is far less appealing to me) sold even fewer bodies than the first. Still, I’m a sucker for wedge shaped cars.
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