In terms of exotic kit cars of an original design, it’s my feeling that the Sterling is the defining car. One of my dream vehicles as a kid, I’m always waiting to see one come up for sale in my area. Jim’s beautiful red example is up for sale in Gainesville, Florida for $7,000 or best offer — a great price for a completely functional Sterling that until now has been a daily driver. If you’re interested, you can reach him by email at jimshari@netzero.net — as you may have guessed by the mini-van, he’s got kids, and has decided to restore a vehicle with more seats.
It’s built on a 1969 IRS VW Beetle Chassis with a well-maintained and rebuilt 1600cc engine, and was professionally rewired and comes with all diagrams. All the gauges (speedometer, tachometer, gas gauge, oil temp, oil pressure) are functioning with new senders, and the roof/top lifts electrically.
This rare kit is for sale (#200229865205) in Oxfordshire, UK. It’s built on a standard 1600cc VW Beetle chassis that retains the original doors and windshield, with the rest being a fiberglass 911-style Porsche rebody with whale tail. It reminds me of some of the “Mulholland Look” conversions sold by companies like Creative Car Craft, although this is a little more involved than those bolt-on kits.
With the auction (#120269856014) just started this West Yorkshire, UK Porsche 718 built on a VW chassis is already at £2,550. The owner bought it four years ago with the intent of restoring it, but like so many kits bought with that intention, has decided to pass the task off to someone new before finishing. The engine has been redone and some improvements have been made to the chassis, and it comes with the windows, a carpet, and a cover.
A year and a half ago Tim bought a rare Raffo Belvo. The product of now-retired designer John Raffo, there are likely only about six on the road in the UK — Tim is now selling his in Cumbria on PistonHeads for £7,750, describing it,
This example was first registered in March 2005 and has now covered 14,000 miles. It is used daily and is offered with 10 months MOT and 4 months tax, a freshly serviced engine and four nearly new tyres.
- Powder coated steel tube chassis clad in aluminium, roll over bars and crumple zones.
- Dramatic 2 seat GT body in Lamborghini Rosso, good sized boot.
- 2.0 litre 16 valve Ford Zetec engine, full emission control, ~140 BHP.
- CD 0.31, 765kg, 0-60 < 6 seconds, 150mph, 38mpg (not all at the same time !)
- Adjustable AVO coils & dampers, bias pedal box, ventilated discs all round.
- Owned and maintained by chartered mechanical engineer.
- Parts and advice available.
- This car benefits from a recently improved engine mounting system and high quality cooling system. It is “fully sorted” and reliable. The price has now been reduced.
He also sends along one of the company’s brochures.
One of the more refined kit cars of the classic era was the Bradley GT II, released after the huge success of its precursor. This one sat in the crate until 2000, as it came in part form from the factory. It was finally completed last year, with the following specs:
- 1971 Karman Ghia Frame and refurbished pan (sandblasted, new rails, etc.)
- High performance 1776 cc engine (dual carbs with electric choke, 1 1/2 qt oil pan extension, etc.)
- Beefed up transaxle with higher gear ratio for comfortable highway cruising
- 4-wheel disc brakes
- Vinyl interior with carpet
- Full gauges (speedometer, tachometer, amp meter, oil pressure, clock, oil temperature, voltmeter and fuel level)
- Engine compartment and hatch glass electric solenoids with mechanical backup
- Professional installation on the dual sunroofs, tinted windows
- Air conditioning
- New paintjob
- Factory manual
And of course this beautifully completed Bradley GT II gets over 30mpg due to it’s low 43″ profile and VW driveline. With only 15 hours left to go on the auction (#180247880491), I don’t think it’ll hit its reserve, so I’ve asked the seller for some follow-up info so perhaps you’ll see more on this car and its build here soon. Very nice kit and a great build either way…
Ah, the things you find in the forest…
Here’s a rare one — listed out of Chardon, Ohio, this “Urba Sport” Trimuter (#180248871044) is a potential solution to the current fuel crisis! It’s one of my favorite RQ Riley vehicles, and they still offer Trimuter plans (which are included in this auction). This one is running a plug-in EV setup, with an ~30hp electric engine mated to a VW transmission that gives a potential 50 mile range. It’s got the original low-tech controller installed, but comes with a more efficient GM EV-1 controller that could be installed — and judging by the rough shape of the driveline, it’s probably a good idea.
With three days left on the auction, I doubt this car (a true homebuilt, not a kit) will move past $1,500. Even if all you did was use the body, salvaged a few components, and built a new chassis, enormous time would be saved for someone who wanted to build this unique vehicle.
It hasn’t been driven in over twenty five years, but I think this Invader GT still has a ton of potential… It’s a notoriously hard car to sell, and this one (#130227788619) may not hit its reserve by the June 9 end of auction… There were a few generations of Invader (if you click the Invader GT tag, you’ll see a number of body types), and I think this is one of the early ones. The seller has the doors, but it looks like this one comes without the rear louvers.
The thing that’s always bugged me about the Invader GT is that it looks great in the front 2/3, but then gets very, very awkward, as if the designers started at the front and got tired and quit partway through the creation… If I bought this car, I’d glass the lower doors in permanently, and reshape the rear so it at least matches the shape of the windshield — the current transition from round to square doesn’t work at all. Still, one of my favorites.
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