In the late sixties, before GT cars like the Manta Mirage and Montage, came a little car called the Ranger GT. Absolutely built on the KISS principle — as in “keep it simple, stupid” — the Ranger GT was built much like a dunebuggy — a simple one piece fiberglass body mounted on a VW bug chassis shortened by ten inches. It came with a removable top, and must have felt like driving a go kart for the street.
My friend that sent in these materials adds, “with a Kit car market dominated by high priced Cobra’s and Lambo kits it would be nice to see a company get back to the basics. Nothing against them, I have owned one myself but nowadays people spend more time building than driving.” I agree completely!
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.
A friend of mine wrote me this morning, commenting, “you are one of those rare individuals that who can see something good in just about anything as evident by your apparent love of the Invader.”
Hahaha.
He attached some pictures to help out with the flood of Invader content I’ve had lately, the first being a photo of his first kit car way back in 1981 — “the cars were skinnier back then and so was I… I wish I had half that much hair today.”
He bought the car from a guy in Sacramento who was advertising it as a Sterling for $1,000 — which of course it wasn’t. But he wanted the car anyway, and managed to talk him down to $700, not too bad a price since the body was in perfect condition. As you can see it was the particularly sleek model with the raked back windshield and the half-doors. Looks like a missile up on that trailer.
When the car was later sold, it was bought by someone who said they’d been involved in the Invader project from the start, and were planning on modifying this one and taking molds off it to create a new version. The second picture below is a card from his business that shows the concept car he was planning on selling it. I don’t know if it ever got past prototype, but I absolutely love the fastback design — I think it’s my favorite Invader GT variant of all. It retains the spirit and look of the Invader, while correcting its awkwardness and giving it a much faster appearance.
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.
Harley just sent me a few pictures of his beast of a ’66 Fiberfab Caribee/Banshee. He bought the body shell in the early eighties, and then mounted it on a shortened Corvette frame with a ten point cage. He built it up road race style with racing suspension and a 524hp big block Chevy V8. He’s done some major wide-body work as well, but has retained the car’s original lines. He says it’s been in a lot of car shows, and always draws a crowd — “listening to the spectators guess what it is, knowing there is not another like it, makes it worth the ten years it took to build.”
Because he’s got the doors — why doesn’t everyone??? — as well as some extra touches like the tilt-column steering wheel and aftermarket a/c, Bennett that’s selling this Invader GT (more pictures and info here) sent in some more pictures showing those aspects. He’s asking only $1,500, which is a great deal for this car. He’s also got the engine running since the ad was first posted, and everything on the car works — taillights, headlights, signals, even the Kenwood stereo. Contact him at greenwenterprises@yahoo.com.
The recent Europa-esque mystery car brought mention of Tim who’s desperately seeking a Sportee Monno GT, a limited-edition car loosely inspired by the Lotus Europa. As far as we know, the Monno GT was first made by Silverstar (AKA Glascon) in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, who manufactured a total of six of them as turnkeys, including the prototype, in the mid/late sixties. When Silverstar folded, the molds were bought up by someone who is believed to have marketed the vehicle as a VW-based kit car. The only one that I know of is currently in Portland, Oregon being restored for vintage racing, but I’m sure there are more out there.
If you have one, or have a lead on one, please drop Tim a line at TDiGuardi@conestogawood.com — he is offering a finder’s fee. Here’s a gallery of pictures of the Sportee Monno GT.
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