A vast contingent of Beetle based kit cars are funny looking things with dumpy proportions and style decisions that betray the rear-engine origins. Todays next Beetle based thing, however, is a breed of a different kind. It has a long front hood section that wouldn’t be bad by itself, but the aero head rest elements […]
You might think that combining the engine from a Pinto, suspension from a Beetle, and safety features from a pre-war British car would result in something that would be slow, handle miserably, and still kill you in the parking lot…but you’d be wrong. Because it is a homebuilt kit car and it’ll never run long enough to get to any speed that would be fatal. The worst thing that might happen is if it falls off a Harbor Freight jackstand and crushes you. Didn’t you read rule number 121 in the SAE Automotive Handbook “Don’t trust your life with anything from Harbor Freight” or rule 122 “Only drive a kit car if your life insurance payment is up-to-date”. Anyway…find this 1983 Blakely Bernardi offered for $10,000 in Copley, OH via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
I hate to feature another Ponterrari Fi3r08 and make you guys think that I like these things, but this next one is too good looking to pass up. It is still a Fiero, but the wheels and the ride height and other things seem very properly Ferrari and the color just about perfect. So if you don’t mind a car that looks like an 80s Ferrari but drives like an 80s Pontiac…this is it. Find this 1986 Pontiac Fiero Kit Car offered for $15,000 in Saint Cloud, FL via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The asking price for this next car is a bit above DT’s self imposed $25k limit, but with all the talk of inflation being out of control we might need to revisit that number. Anyway, this next expensive piece of fiberglass is one of 12 of the Banshees built by Fiberfab (or built by someone who purchased the kit). The “really good looking for a kit car” fiberglass body sits on top a 62 Austin Healey chassis. Find this 1966 Fiberfab Banshee offered for $28500 in Morgan Hill, CA via craigslist.
The seller of this next car describes it as a “dune buggy with doors” which is not entirely accurate. This is less a dune buggy and more a classic hot rod. The Maxi Taxi is a well known kit that adds pre-war 1930s styling to the rear engine Beetle and it would be more at home on the road with a Surfboard sticking out the window than on a dune somewhere in the desert. But wherever you drive this thing, it is cool. Find this 1970 Volkswagen Beetle Kit Car offered for $6,500 in Acampo, CA via craigslist.
I remember when seeing a Volkswagen Beetle with a Rolls Royce front end was both a novelty and interesting, but that was a long time ago. Today, seeing a stock Beetle is the oddity as many have been turned into Baja Bugs or El Caminos or whatever, like this next thing…which is…I’m not sure. Find this 1973 Volkswagen Beetle offered for $5500 in Massillon, OH via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
I wonder if someone looked at the Honda S2000 and said “this car is too heavy and too safe…I’m going to fix that.” A few hundred yards of welding rod and a few bent pieces of aluminum later this next beast emerged from the shed. With 240 horsepower from the 9000 rpm screaming Honda VTEC engine and the curb weight of a wicker basket, this thing should fly. Find this 1965 Lotus 7 Replica offered for $9,750 in Dublin, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The Porsche 928 was a round car when it hit showrooms in 1977. The rear end was round, the front end was round, the pop-up headlights were round…even the wheels were round. Very round indeed. But somehow, inexplicably, someone made it more round. The seller doesn’t say who assembled the fiberglass body that sits around this thing, but it would be fun to explore the history of this car while riding around with the top down. Find this 1989 Porsche 928 offered for $10,500 near Albuquerque, NM via craigslist.
The Machiavelli Max post the other day was one of the better looking fake Ferrari kit cars I’ve seen recently — despite its plebian TransAm roots, it looks like a Ferrari to a casual observer. This next kit car…it is interesting, but I don’t think that anybody is going to be fooled into thinking it is a ’57 Chevy. Similar to the Machiavelli, the Belaro also uses a GM F-Body for the mechanical parts, but this time a Camaro. Find this 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Kit Car offered for $19,750 in Ft Lauderdale, FL via eBay.
The Exocet Missile was a French built anti-ship missile that is known for its first wartime launch by an Argentine Super Étendard strike-fighter that sunk the HMS Sheffield during the 10-week conflict in 1982 known as the Falklands War. The Excoet kit car on the other hand, is a beast sold by the guys at Exomotive that puts a tube frame chassis and composite body panels around a donor Mazda Miata chassis. The Exocet Miata is equally as dangerous as the Exocet missile, but only to its occupants. Find this 1999 Exomotive Exocet Miata Kit Car offered for $20,000 in Harrisburg, PA via craigslist. Tip from Cory.