Those of you who read my personal blog may have seen the Cruzin’ Cooler video I posted while at Carlisle ‘06. I thought it only fair to share some pictures of the hard work that Dallas has put into converting his Opel GT into a roadster. He writes,
"My car is a 1970 Opel GT and it was never produced in a roadster. It is all custom done. It is a great car and many people think it is a kit. It is in fact just a one of a kind hand made conversion. I did most of the work myself. It has had the top cut off, over size wheels(16in front and 17in rear), Corvette style side pipes, all custom interior made with marine vinyl incase it gets wet, CD with 6 speakers and amp, an onboard airtank and compressor that pumps up the air shocks. It has many other additions too, but that is the short story about my car."
One of the kookier vehicles driving around Carlilse 2006 is what I assume is a one-off DIY replica of an old Audi Auto Union race cars (if I’m recognizing it correctly, this is a Auto Union Type C/D Hillclimb car). While there are many new components in it, as far as I could tell, it was also built using many much older parts as well (including the driveline). I don’t know much more about this car, so if you do, please drop me a line!
I can’t tell you much about my old friend “R”’s Fiero-based replica of the Ferrari Dino (better known in kit form as the Kelmark GT) because he built it at the time that Ferrari was really sue-happy with people building clones of their supercars. Let’s start with some pictures of him hand-carving the buck, sitting in the chassis of the donor car, and the car in it’s first stage of construction (still rather rough):
Here’s the next stage of the car’s production — as you can see it’s massively improved!
To the best of my knowledge, this is the point at which development ended.
Scott Woodard writes,
This Beetle started out as 1974 and 1970 standard Beetles. My inspiration came from the guys over at www.volksrods.com, a cool site. The car is still a work in progress. It isn't a show car; just a beater I built for fun and to learn on. My other car is a Lamborghini Diablo replica that I'm going to work on once I finish the VW.
Can’t wait to see how the Diablo turns out, and I know Scott says it’s “just a beater” but especially in the second (middle) photo, this relatively minor modification to a Beetle is pretty wild looking.
Normally this isn’t something I’d list here, as it’s more of an engine swap project, but the story is funny so I thought I’d tell Charles Dinger’s story. If you want to make him an offer, you can write him at cjdinger@lycos.com.
If the type of person who appreciates this level of madness is interested, this prime vehicle is for sale. Family legend has that it was built by a movie studio as a movie prop car, and used in The Last of Sheila, among others. I don’t know. (Please see review, below) My late father always said that James Mason fell out of the aluminium trunk and dented it. Again, I cannot confirm any of this. The prop department, I’m told, repowered it by a Chevrolet engine (no doubt to the delight of those who consider British engines to be leaky and in the same category as unexploded ordnance). Some of their work was good, some mediocre. Other than that there’s not much to say. Windows are soon to be back in, they were taken out recently for the addition of power lifts. Sony C D player to be in dash, speakers in doors. Seats are original Rolls Royce and come in factory plum velvet, which matches the rest of the interior. Very rare coachbuilt option and very creepy, like being in a coffin. Parts alone (bumpers, hood, trunk, chrome, hubcaps, windshield, dash etc are worth $10,000. I had considered having the body used as a mold for a kit business but manufacturing really isn’t my forte. I’m a Certified Public Accountant. Not the kind of car you take to clients… If anyone is interested, people go insane when they see me parading around in it. Perfect for a kit business. It out draws Ferraris for attention. It’s really the perfect car for exhibitionists. If you’re too shy to take your clothes off but still want to streak — just jump in this car and go! Just remember one thing: this is not a Pebble Beach car. It’s just a very basic, simple Rolls-Royce with an unbreakable American engine.
EDIT: Oops, typo! Let me include the full correction note:
James Mason fell out ON the trunk (since repaired by Warner Brothers). He was riding on the top of the rear seat for effect, so that when James Coburn drives the car up, in a head-on shot, loaded with friends (Raquel Welch, James Mason, Ian McShane, Dyan Cannon), those in the back seat could be seen. Originally, they couldn’t be seen in the shot. So they reshot it with James Mason and Dyan Cannon ridin’ high. Coburn hit the gas (he owned Ferraris and liked thing to go fast). James Mason tumbled out backwards. AAAAHHHHHHH !! Gahd Dammmm! was all he was reported to have said. Now, forty years later, if something like that happened, the lawsuits would bankrupt the studio.
“The Last of Sheila is one of the great underrated films of the ’70s: a bitchy Hollywood whodunit and a clever parlor game (cowritten by Anthony Perkins and Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim). Several celebrity chums are invited aboard prankster James Coburn’s yacht for a cruel game of “guess the deep, dark secret.” Everyone has one; but naturally some are more wicked than others. Richard Benjamin, James Mason, Dyan Cannon, Joan Hackett, Raquel Welch, and Ian McShane are the odd cast of participants. However, the stakes are unexpectedly raised when murder gets added to the not-so-fun agenda. Plenty of inside jokes and red herrings in this nasty and unforgettable film. It’s just what you’d expect from the twisted minds of Perkins and Sondheim.”
— Bill Desowitz
Ed (near Toronto, Canada) built this Porsche 356, to the best of my knowledge fully from scratch (well, the body but that’s what most people on a classic-oriented kitcar site are most interested in I dare to say). It’s on a VW chassis (and titled as a Beetle) with 1200cc engine. After Ed developed health problems (and storage space) the car was sold for about $4,000, which included a rebuilt transmission and matching 1600cc engine.
Bill May’s Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Roadster replicar, built on a 1968 VW chassis, was put together in 1970 as a protype for a kitcar line that never really materialized (only five were later made). This is probably the only one of the set that’s still running. New everything, and great for driving in every parade he tells me. It’s a very sharp little classic, and quite small — about 13′ long, 4′ wide (wheel to wheel), and only 30″ to the top of the windshield — and that’s with 8.5″ of ground clearance!
I think it ended up selling for a bit under $10,000. Anyone know where it is now?
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