Thanks to an eBay auction in Asheboro, North Carolina (#220267546925), I finally have an ID on those hilarious miniature Camaro kits that I’ve posted a couple of. The seller writes,

The kit was built by KAR Manufacturing Company, of Monson, Massachusetts, owned by Dick & Leroy Shorette, who — back in the day — were as big as Bruce Meyers and George Barris in the dune buggy industry, from the 60’s until 1975, when they were forced by oppressive Federal and Commonwealth regulations to shut down. They built thousands of well-known kit car models, including the “Wildcat”, the “Cheetah” and the “Touring T”.

They also claim that this is one of only five ever made, which I think is probably a little low. Sitting on a shortened ’63 VW pan, this example is powered by a 1965 140HP Corvair engine with a Corvair powerglide transmission (it’s not mated to the VW transmission). It’s the nicest example of this rare kit that I’ve ever seen with a gorgeous paintjob and a solid interior (dash is out of a Corsa model Corvair, and the windshield is from a ’66 to ’69 Corvette). Everything except the gas tank sender works. The t-tops are removable and can be stored behind the rear seats. Inner door panels (not that it has doors) come with the car but are not currently installed.

On one hand this car is sort of cartoonish and silly — with a few changes you’d expect it to be a kiddie car… But on the other hand, I think that’s part of its charm. The asking price is a very fair $3,995 — if you like the look of this toy, now is the time to get it, because you probably won’t see one in this shape for sale again.