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.
Sonny just picked up this very pretty, clean looking Sterling kitcar on eBay…. It’s CCC body #488, and sits on a VW chassis with a 1950cc engine. I’m quite jealous!
Douglas writes in about his Sebring, “Found this one in a garage in Pound Ridge N.Y. about 11 years ago…”
I recently got a letter from Ahmad Abdo, who now owns one of the wilder, more interesting Sterlings on the road. Well, not “on the road” yet, but it will be! Let me share the letter now:
“Recently Norm Rose of California Component Cars (the original US manufacturer of the Sterling Kit car) and his son (Scott Rose) both listed their Sterlings on eBay. His sons car was the original Sterling #1 imported from the UK, and Norms car was the personal Sterling he made for himself. I won the auction for Norms car and thought you might be interested in a few pictures and plans, and then I could update you when the car is completed and painted.
The body is 6″ wider in the rear than an average Sterling and 3″ wider in the front because a second Sterling was cut up and grafted onto the sides of this body to create the stepped look. The frame is hand built with Pinto/Mustang II front suspension and Corvair rear suspension and even has a built in roll bar hidden into the body of the car. It has 4 wheel disc brakes, and the rears are mounted inboard. The engine is mid-mounted and is a Ford 2.8l V6 (Capri, Bronco II, Ranger) with an Audi 100LS automatic transmission. Other features Norm Rose installed include airconditioning, cruise control, tile and telescopic steering wheel, and a few other additions.
This car has 1,700 miles on it as it was never finished, and only driven around for a short while before it was stored for 30 years. It has a LOT of work to be done to get it road worthy, including killing the rust, and hosing it down to get all the years of dirt and dust off. Being that this kit car encouraged customization, I am going to add a few changes of my own, the biggest being a new rear end / light section, and recessed headlights. I also have a Porsche 914 manual transmission that will be replacing the Audi transmission.”
Check it out:
I dont’ know if I’m personally sold on the “stepped look”, but I totally love the widening.
Apparently based on or inspired by the Avante and Sterling/Nova designs, the Ledl AS out of Austria is yet another one of these ultra-rare kitcars that my friend (and regular site contributor — I think I need to set him up an account so he can post!) Joe Lee from Bulgaria delights in sending me. It was also sold for a brief period in Germany by the Tevog company.
After 700,000 kilometers of test drives, something like $11 million spent, and 220 cars sold, legal changes made it difficult to continue production and the company folded in 1987. Oh, and if you’re wondering what’s on the hood of the one in the picture, those are solar panels!
Photo courtesy of PEGE.
Probably the nicest Sterlings I’ve seen in person (Carlisle 2006), with really wonderful owners (Rick Milne of Downington, PA, who also has a Manx SR he’s restoring right now that I can’t wait to see)! We opined for a while about how there are less and less old-style exotics on the road, but fear not — a deal was struck (not by me, don’t get that excited) to put the car back into production and I got to meet the new owner of the company. Anyway, let me first share with you some photos (note the rear-view camera in the middle of the dash), and then the car’s info sign text.
Designed in England, and build in the US by California Component Cars from 1973 to 1983, this is Sterling #114 out of a production run of roughly 700 series I cars - this body style.
Of this style, only a few hundred are believed to be still road worthy. The Sterling was a popular kit in its day, and one of the best built due to its strong unibody shell and few bolt-on pieces. The Sterling has also had minor film roles in B-movies like Cannonball Run II and Deathrace 2000.
Currently our club [nationalsterling.com] boats over 30 members across the US with several models of cars being recognized.
The common questions are how often is it driven and how fast does it go? If you look at the exhaust pipes and motor, you will see it as a driver. I will drive the car when I do not need my everyday work truck. As for how fast? Well, how fast do you need to go?
Chassis: 1966 Volkswagen Beetle
Motor: 1300cc with 1600cc cylinder kit, hi-lift cam, stainless valves, and dual Weber 36 DCNF carburetors.
Transmission: Stock 4-speed
Suspension: Aftermarket dune buggy
Features: Custom retractable spoiler with integrated oil cooler, BMW HID headlights, Ghia front disk brakes, remote electric mirrors, custom paint by Also Corp.
For those wondering, these usually show up on eBay and elsewhere for as low as $1,500 and are generally relatively easy cars for the average “non-mechanic” person to work on.
Carlisle ‘98… These pictures are thanks of Scott B., starting with this sweet pair of Fiberfab Avengers. The red one is powered by a turbo V6.
Or check out a pair of unrelated cars both built on race-inspired V6 tube chassis. The car on the left, a Cimbria (I believe now marketted in a slightly improved form as a Neria, but I don’t think the company is truly active). The car on the right is now-defunct Warp 5’s demo Manta Montage.
And I’ve got to admit, I have a real weakness for the fancy-topped Sterling:
(Note the Mini 18 in the background!)
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