Price Of His Toys » Astra GT

Customized Astra GT

Shannon Larratt — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:59:36 +0000

This beautifully customized (the ground effects are one-of-a-kind) 1966 Kellison Astra GT belongs to Wally, who’ll likely be showing it in Greensboro on February 1st. He figures it may be the only fully functional Astra GT in existence. It’s been built around a 2180 CC engine with dual Weber 44 IDA’s putting out about 135 HP — “scary fast.”

He’s yet to take it to Budds Creek to race it because it has no roll bar — “I am scared to, and it is one of a kind. Wrecking it may have detrimental repercussions to me and the Speedster, as I call her, although my wife would love to have on less VW in the driveway and garage.”

He’s also put in a rear camera on account of people riding in his blind spot checking out the car (I had the same problem in my Aztec 7) — “it is now like driving in a video game.” He says it’s hard to get in and out of, but that he loves the car and looks forward to driving her each week so the fans can see her. It’s already won a ‘best of show’ award, and little kids love to sit in her and make believe they are driving — “it is just their size.”

Kellsion Astra GT Project Car

Shannon Larratt — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:32:37 +0000

Another quite rare car made by Kellison in the sixties, this Astra GT body is up for sale right now in Sacramento, CA. The good news for someone looking to build this car is that the Astra GT was originally advertised with a twelve hour build time, which I suspect is overly ambitious, but is indicative of it being a relatively straightforward project. The other interesting thing about this kit is that it’s one of the very small number of exotics in a 2+2 configuration, for those of you with kids.

About twenty of these are believed to have been made, with probably only a quarter of that still existing. The seller (akaacmeinc@yahoo.com) is asking only $1,000 for the body, $400 for a windshield (from a ‘64 Corvette), $800 for a Corvair Spyder driveline (V6 turbo, mated to a 4-speed VW transmission), and $300 for the VW pan. The car comes with full history and the manual. This is a great purchase for someone wanting to build a well executed classic car.

Kellison Astra GT on eBay, $600!

Shannon Larratt — Thu, 04 May 2006 15:02:28 +0000

It’s already met the reserve, and honestly, I’ll be shocked if it goes much higher. It looks pretty complete though, and if you read the info below (click the “Astra GT” link above), you’ll see that if you buy this kit assuming nothing is broken you might be able to get it running over just one weekend. It’s a very simple car to put together.

Those are the shots from the eBay auction, and it’s Ite, #4636128020. Only two days of bidding left! Like I said, I don’t think the owner knows what a rare piece of US specialty car history he has here, so this thing’s a steal if you understand the basics of, say, using a wrench. No special tools are needed to finish this car!

No, it’s not a FiberFab Aztec…

Shannon Larratt — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:31:13 +0000

This is actually a very similar looking Kellison Astra GT — not an Aztec. When the car sold in 1966 (emulating GT40 styling in part), it was advertised as having a twelve hour build time using only basic hand tools.

Take off VW steering wheel and other simple components
Unscrew the bolts holding down the VW body and have a friend help you lift it off.
Swap the seats and other components.
Have a friend help drop the Kellison body in place (this can all be done by hand) and bolt it on.
Apply the lights and finishing touches, and you’re done.

Ha, kit cars these days? Way too confusing!