Vintage kit and replica cars

I have been falling down a rabbit hole. It seems that there is a rich history in vintage kit cars. The 60s and 70s had a lot of kit supercars. Anyone else into this part of our hobby? If so, please share pics and info.

 

I realize you posted this in the OT section and noted this in the post. I'd say that 'kits' started when speedsters were offered for Model Ts. The 50s really saw an increase, with fibergl*** allowing the coachbuilding of previous decades to be m*** produced and marketed.
Of course the T-bucket was a big one as far as that goes, but the dune buggys also exploded.
To me, the VW based kit allowed the widest range of variation, since the roller skate allowed for almost any 1 box, 2 box or three box design, plus many 'replicas' and wild flights of fancy.
The lack of other small, light cheap ch***is that didn't extend much past the wheels made other choices tough.
Where they really jumped to a higher level was with a full ch***is. From Bradley GT to Manta Mirage.

Where would Lotus Sevens fit? They were full cars and kits from the factory. British cottage race cars were a whole different thing than the specials done by home and shop builders in the US.

I wouldn't include the 70s Excaliber and Cord replicas as kits, but some might.

When did the first Cobras start rolling out? This mentions Shell Valley in 1970, but I don't know if they were doing them that early. ERA was 1981.
https://cobra-authority.com/complete-list-of-cobra-kit-manufacturers/

Then there are the other early Ford bodys that were being produced in the 70s.

I wrote all of that without doing searches, except the Cobra question. So let's see what's out there.
https://www.carcustomizer.io/blog/kit-car-history-early-fibergl***-makers-1960s-boom

 

Wow, thats a lot of info. Pretty neat part of the car culture. I really enjoy the innovation and vision of some of these guys. I would Love to see some pics of the less common kits over the years.

 

A few to get things rolling.

 

Well while I enjoy a good thread, I'm not an expert on these and don't have a bunch of pictures to share.
Hope others can join in and make your holiday wishes come true.
That last one looks like something that a UK tuber is restoring.
www.youtube.com/@HudsonAutoFilms/videos

 

Saw this Kellison at the Meltdown Drags years ago...pretty neat...

 

How many of you remember the GL***IC model A on the International Scout ch***is from Florida. I only knew about them as i had one here 40 years ago. Actually it was half a gl***ic as it had been rearended . How it ended up here 40 years ago i have no idea. Anyhow it was a fibregl*** body, fenders and running boards all in one piece.

 

I’ve got a Kellison catalog somewhere in my stuff. I’ll scan it if I can find it.

 

34 GAZ, reminds me of the Shay Model A’s. On Pinto running gear. I guess if they kept the 4 wheel drive on the Gl***ic, it might go place a real Model A would.

 

Florida seems to be a hot bed for that sort of thing.
First, climate that allows 'gl*** layup all the time and less concern about weatherproofing the cars.
Second, big boating industry, so knowledge and materials.
Third, loose auto regulations and a wild entrepreneurial spirit.
https://bobscl***ics.com/whatsin.htm

 

We had a little incident here in California with this subject.

 

Thats a lot of fibregl***.

 

@JimSibley I went down a bit of a rabbit hole with the latest Jayemm video.
It led me to this site, which is about component cars, not kits cars. Anyway, Id imagine that many players intersect, so it is an interesting offshoot, if not on topic.
https://rarecomponentcars.blogspot.com/

 

I wonder if @29Sleeper would be willing to share some thoughts.
This post indicates he would have some stories.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/paul-bennett-cobra.1184116/#post-15791906

 

Thoughts on what aspect? There were lots of junk chopper gun kit car bodies sold. They spanned the whole automotive market. Ts to Ferraris. Most until the late 80s were disasters that were finished at the backyard skill level. I owned a VW powered Kellison GT40. It was on a stock pan and the builder had bolted a couple long pieces of 3" channel to the pan to mount the nose and tail. Flexey Flyer is an understatement. I got called on the carpet one time for saying that the North American Fibergl*** Cobra was a better deal than the Contemporary Cobra. Dollar for dollar the NAF was a better car - but the bottom line was thou shalt not PO the advertisers. Today if you want a Cobra buy a Kirkham https://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/ fibergl*** or aluminum they are the gold standard and are even used by Shelby American to build their continuation cars - that they charge you an extra 25-40 grand for sticking a CSX serial number on it. If I was doing a kit Cobra today it'd be a Factory 5 FIA car. But in reality I think I'd do their 33 hotrod - https://www.factoryfive.com/33-hot-rod/what-you-get-complete/ I do have a 650 horse 80s TransAm engine looking for a home.........

 

The Shay was for lack of a better description a factory built kit car. The builder got Ford to supply the Pinto drivetrain and more importantly the EPA certification that was needed. They signed up some dealers to sell the cars and built about 5,000 of them.

 

I've always been a Manx fan. This one is my favorite but I would still like to build (or buy) a Towd.
The McQueen Manx found & restored -

 

I thought having reported and been immersed in the biz you would be able to give some history on the field.
Companies, locations, people, designs.

No need to stir up old nastiness or name names unless you want to do so. There are probably enough simple facts to fill volumes.

 

That Bugetta would have made a nice house car Mark.