Had a crack at the Fibrefab Bonito too. These would be far better looking if they hadn't tacked on all the GT40 styling cues. It all looks like a bit of an afterthought. If you strip all that off, and make a few tweaks, it has a nice shape. And, yeah, I realise I'm making a bit of a fake Porsche out of a fake Ford, but at least the engine makes kind of the right noises.
Kenny Youngblood had a very nicely done Stirling. Just goes to show the effect of straight bodywork and wheels that actually fit the arches...
I've driven 2 of the originals and rode in a 3rd. Tight, cramped, hot and in reality not a fun car. It was a tool built to accomplish an *** kicking and it did that well. The new rendition that Pete Brock designed has a little more room and creature comforts including AC and a LS engine option but it's still not a car I'd take on a long trip.
I'd imagine that this impression would apply to any full on race coupe from that point forward. Small, aerodynamic, heat management, little to no sound concerns and a human stuck in the middle is going to have compromises and the race nature means the human suffers!
Something else I was messing with in photoshop - the Mini Marcos/Gem. If you aren't familiar, these were developed in the UK from a racing Mini that someone had built. Gl*** fibre copies were made and it's a fully gl***fibre body afaik, with no ch***is apart from the Mini subframes. They sold a lot of them in the sixties and seventies, what with there being no shortage of rotten Minis to use up. It's one of those things that has potential, but it's so hamstrung by being a shoddily produced, badly finished, non styled and usually poorly built kit. I remember seeing them quite often back in the days, and even then they looked bad. All I've done is smooth it out and make some of the lines of it line up a bit. The bonnet looks strangely tall, but it really isn't. It's just that these are extremely low cars. I also had a shot from another angle and stretched out the nose and tail a bit more, widened it to cover the wheels, and straightened out the lines of it, so it's more like a Simca Abarth or so. The droopy original rear end on these is really odd looking. 10" wheels will never look normal to me! This would be a ton of work, to the point you might be better off making a mould and a new body, as it's only gl*** fibre anyway.
Kellison was a client and Jim did this body for me in black metal flake. Power was a Bill Thomas Corvair (also a client) and the front end was a Renault with rack and pinion steering. Marv Hall of Hallcraft Wire Wheels machined a hub to fit the Renault spindles. Rear wheels were Jackman with Hurst dirt track tires. This was a street legal wheelie machine!
I have a 1984 c4 Corvette I would love to make a body for, maybe a Cheeta, or bocar, a TVR Griffith or ? any ideas
Picked this up last year with a clean Colorado ***le based on a 1970 California issued VIN for a specialty constructed vehicle. Should be done in time for summer cruising.
@foolthrottle I think the wheelbase and track width is going to preclude the small kit bodys or cars. Wheelbase 96.2 inches Front Track 59.6 inches Rear Track 60.4 inches Armed with those, you might find something that works for you. There have been a few who have removed all the body and added a rollcage making a bare car. https://gr***rootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/c4-corvette-frame-street-buggy/86967/page1/
My father got a Shay model A roadster from one of his gas station customers and it was on a bronco late 60s ch***is with 289 and c4 it was peppy
Love the Kellisons but they are tight for us over 6ft. I live 20 minutes from the Factory Five Company. The '35 truck is cool since I've already had a real 1. Aguy I worked with p***ed a few years ago and he had a maroon manta mirage in his garage it's been sitting about 25 years I've tried to touch base a few times with his sons, I heard they were thinking about selling and have not heard back vw powered .The Jamacain was a cool one too!
Seems you aren't the only one with that problem. Interesting mods on this, although I think it might look slightly better if they'd pushed the windshield forwards and lengthened the doors too. The curved windshield looks a lot better than the nearly flat original on these imho. More here...https://dailyturismo.com/10k-who-is-driving-1973-kellison-j-4/ Jamaicans are reall nicely styled. One of the guys on ColdWarMotors on youtube is building one.
My next project is an altered fiberfab aztec. It will be on a tube frame with c4 suspension and a small block chevy.
Looks like a cross between a Cheetah and a Griffith, the Cheetah is tight but oh so nasty. I know of a real one it's cool not finished being restored yet
A quick photoshop idea of the Nova/Sterling. They really went all out to make these things as long and low as possible and I feel like it's a little overdone. I shortened the nose, but also moved the whole windshield and frame forward. Shaped the (oddly flat) top of the roof, so it flows from the top of the gl*** (and wins you some headroom), reshaped the side windows to match the roof, and took the sag out of the front hood. Not sure how much of the heavy lifting the wheels are doing here, but they sure don't hurt. Edit...another angle, with the shorter nose and raised roof...
That sterling looks great. I think that the nose could still go a ittle shorter. You really cleaned it up a lot.
Thanks Jim. I agree it could possibly go a shade shorter. I'm quite pleased that I managed to find extra headroom. It might be the worst part of these, that you have to nearly lie down to drive them or even lower the floors.
Yes, I know it's different in every State. A friend of mine bought a Super Performance Cobra kit car from the dealer and it comes complete minus the engine and transmission. He purchased an engine and transmission separately and completed the car. When he went to the DMV to register the car, they said it had to meet new car standards. He had researched the Washington State regulations and pointed out that a car that is produced from a dealer to original specs of an antique car can be registered as the year of the antique and only has to meet that year's safety regulations. His Cobra is now registered as a 1963 AC Cobra and runs 1963 Washinton plates.
I built a Factory Five Cobra replica in 1996. It was the first year they were offering the kit and it came with everything except the donor Fox Body Mustang. It took about 6 months from start to finish. That is how I got my screen name. I had kit # 1222.
The story behind this, a man named Eric Lundgren borrowed a Ferrari 500 mondial and did a fibergl*** copy of it, (story is he ruined the original cars paint while doing it) he made around 25-50 bodies, and they used vw ch***is, so not much hp, but they look kool, now and then you se them over here. He also made a really bad*** racecar with a flathead v8 and Ardun heads, that car is now restored by a relative and you can se it at various racetracks during summer
The Jalopy Journal
