Price Of His Toys » eBay

March Hare kit car literature

Shannon Larratt — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:24:43 +0000

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.

Truly TERRIBLE

Shannon Larratt — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:03:00 +0000

And no, by “terrible” I don’t mean how infrequently I’ve been updating.

This terrible “replica” (emphasis on the quotes) of a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Roadster has been up on eBay a few times right now (#110367769512) with a reserve price of — I’m guessing — at least $50,000 given that it’s built on a brand new Solstice chassis ($31k). What bugs me most of all is how, in giant letters, the auction text goes:

NO ONE WILL KNOW it’s not a Real Lamborghini, UNLESS YOU TELL THEM !!!

For clarity, here’s the pictures of the car, alongside pictures of the real thing:

And as you can see, it looks nothing like the real thing!!! I mean, what were they thinking, trying to build an LP640 replica on a front-engine GM chassis??? Yeah, that’s right — the engine is still at the front and the chassis is unaltered. If I didn’t have such disdain for the builders it would be almost heartbreaking thinking about the enormous amount of work that must have gone into creating this piece of junk. Every teenager that’s fantasized about Lamborghinis will laugh the owner out of town. If you really want a chuckle, there are a couple YouTube videos of the car here and here. It’s this sort of thing that makes kit cars embarassing.

Given how many great, accurate Murcielago replicas are on their market, I’d really love to meet the moron that ends up buying this Frankenstein creation of a bunch of Murcielago body panels glued all over a Pontiac Solstice. I just can’t get over how reprehensible this joke of a car is. Very, very lame. Oh, and to top it off, the builders have been posting insulting comments about other people’s more authentic looking replicas on YouTube. Losers!!!

Avenger Stock Car

Shannon Larratt — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:50:12 +0000

On the whole, this front-engine Avenger project seems a little sloppy (and I feel sorry for the seller who is letting it go for $500, after saying they’ve invested $5,000). It’s currently for sale on eBay (#160320097785) in Levittown, PA, and seems to be a stock car type chassis with the center section of an Avenger kit car slapped on. Personally, I can’t see this being worth buying since it doesn’t come with either the front or rear sections of the body — meaning an enormous amount of work would be needed to finish the project — but still, it’s an interesting idea and shows that there are some non-obvious ways of putting these cars together.

Surprisingly, this is not the first front engined Avenger that I’ve posted (and it’s certainly possible to build a low-profile sports car with a front engine setup, like the Eagle SS).

No, no, not another Countach wing!

Shannon Larratt — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:02:00 +0000

There’s a really beautiful Nova (UK Sterling) up on eBay (#330310994293) right now in Lancashire, UK with an asking price of £4,000.00 and a day to go. Seems like a fair price for a car that’s been completely overhauled — everything on it is new or rebuilt and it really looks good. Surely it’s one of the better ones on the road… but why, oh, why, does it have to have that ridiculous Lamborghini Countach wing pasted onto the back? I’ve seen that highly recognizable wing stuck on far too many kits, adding an obnoxious touch that wrecks the lines of the car. If I bought this Nova, the first thing I’d do is take the wing off — which, incidentally, is what I did with my old Aztec 7, which the previous owner had stuck the same wing onto.

Lightning TS Corvette Replica

Shannon Larratt — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:29:26 +0000

As used car prices come down, sometimes kit cars cost more than the car they emulate… For example, you can buy a beat-up Lamborghini Countach for close to the same price as a top-of-the-line replica (which arguably is a better car, but that’s an entirely different and more complex argument). But a rare British kit car called the Lightning TS really takes the cake.

The Lightning TS, of which half a dozen exist, is a “copy” of a seventies Corvette, built on Cortina running gear with a 2L Pinto engine. It captures some of the lines, but none of the muscular charm of a real Corvette. There’s one right now on eBay (#270351775187, and also here) in Scotland with a buy-it now price of £3,500 (ie. $5,000 US). Stateside you can buy a functioning used Corvette for less than that (I understand they may be more rare in Scotland), and if you want something Corvette-like but small, you can also get a charming Opel GT for the same price. Sorry, I don’t know what sort of fool would buy this Lightning TS.

I feel dirty now… I hate to say anything bad about kit cars.

Cheap Avenger Body Shell

Shannon Larratt — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:47:53 +0000

I hate to be pessimistic, but I suspect that this is a kit that will never be finished, although someone is going to pick up this Avenger GT shell pretty cheap — it’s up for sale on eBay (#130289303793) in Richfield, UT with no reserve right now. The body is described as covered in cracks and the seller admits it’s going to take a lot of fiberglass work to get it looking good — it’s definitely seen better days. Given how many Avengers and other GT40 kit cars are out there selling for under $2,000 in decent shape, I think there are a lot of better options than this one unfortunately. Perhaps this one would be better off turned into an advertising prop or blown up in a movie than putting in the effort to make it a running car?

Gullwing Avenger GT Oddity

Shannon Larratt — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:27:15 +0000

An interesting variation on the Avenger just showed up on eBay (#200307197725) in Fayetteville, NC. It seems to be an Avenger anyway, on a tube chassis with a Corvair engine that’s running but needs work. What makes it unusual is that someone has converted it to a gullwing door configuration. The car comes without a title.

Unbuilt LaDawri Conquest on eBay

Shannon Larratt — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 01:46:13 +0000

One of the first — and one of the most beautiful — classic kit cars is the LaDawri Conquest, released way back in 1956. The red completed car below is nabbed off Fiberglass Sports Cars, a wonderful resource on kit cars of this era including the LaDawri. This example is one of the very last bodies made by LaDawri, shipped Feb 8, 1965. Since then it’s hung for over forty years in a garage — the doors are still held in place by the original shipping fasteners! It’s located in Oklahoma City, OK, and is on eBay (#190284540396) with an opening bid of $800. Could be a neat opportunity for someone willing to put in the work to restore this car that has a special place in American car history alongside other kits like the Devin.

VW Manta Montage on eBay

Shannon Larratt — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:56:36 +0000

In Issaquah, Washington on eBay (#140298518422) right now is a first-generation VW-based Manta Montage kit car that looks like a nice base for someone to build a gorgeous vehicle from. The pan is unfortunately missing the title, so you’ll need to source a new title or otherwise re-register it, and the engine is not currently running — but it’s largely a complete car other than the rear window, which a buyer will need to fabricate out of lexan (one poster on the auction mentioned they’d done this for their Montage at a cost of about $70). The interior and electrical also need work. Nonetheless, the Montage is one of the nicest kit cars out there, and there are lots of little touches that make it look more “real” than most kits — to give you an example, look at the second-last photo, of the rear deck. The fact that the car has inner fenders goes a long way to keep it from looking cheap.

Super-cheap Invader GT body shell

Shannon Larratt — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:47:23 +0000

The owner — a recycling facility (junk yard?) — wasn’t sure what they had, but readers here will instantly recognize it as an Invader GT body shell, ready for mounting on a VW Beetle pan. The body is solid (the Invaders tended to be well made), and you can either pick it up in Port Orchard, Washington, or they can arrange shipping. It’s a no-reserve auction with an opening bid of $49.99 on eBay (#370154428938), so I’m guessing someone will get this one for almost nothing.