If you frequent this website it most likely because you are fascinated by kit cars. But what got you into kit cars? For me I can remember back to the mid 1980s . I was not even a teenager yet but I remember seeing a Classic Motor Carriages Gazelle on display at Orlando International Airport. CMC had those cars in airports all over the USA. I remember reading on the display that “You could build one with Ordinary hand tools” I thought to myself I have a few wrenches, screwdrivers, etc for my bicycle, I can build that!
From that point on I was hooked. I got all the magazines every month, all the brochures I could get, and any other bit of knowledge I could pick up. 30 years later I am still hooked.
In 30 years the kit car industry sure has changed. The giants of the industry have all closed up shop leaving behind kit cars of the day in various states of completion. What was once a market dominated by VW based kit cars is now a mix of all sorts of platforms. The magazines of the day have all stopped publishing leaving behind back issues.
What got you into kit cars? How long have you been into them? Where do you see kit cars going in the future? I would love to see your comments.
I bought a Bradley GT2 body in 1985. it was at a place that bought the remaining bodies when the company went under. I paid $500 bucks, used parts from about a dozen bugs, and built it over the span of three years. I didn’t even have a manual until after I started driving it. I still have it and every couple years I get it running and drive around town a little bit. everyone asks if it’s a Lamborghini. Currently looking at building a Laser 917.
Cool story .still have the gt2 ?
What got me in to kit cars? An orange Sterling on the cover of Kit Car magazine, circa 1980. I’d never seen anything so wild in my life. I begged my mom to buy that issue (I was 9 – and yes, I still have that issue) and haven’t looked back since. I’ve owned a Bradley, Sterling and now a Kelmark.
HAHAHA. Thats a good one. I was 6 in 1980. I still have my first issue as well. It is an addiction thats for sure. Feel free to send us some pics of the old cars if you have any . We would love to post the pictures.
Thanks
First time I remember hearing about “kit cars” was as a teenager in the 1980’s. Miami Vice was my favorite show, and I heard that Crockett was driving a “fiberglass Ferrari kit car”. “What the heck is a kit car?” I bought every kit car mag I could find. I threw them all away years ago, but I think I had the KCI issue shown in your website link, with the red 959 Targa on the cover. :)
Our oldest has her learner’s permit, and will be driving soon. I have been driving a ’97 Escort with ~ 300k miles, for 18 years. A couple of weeks ago, my wife said I should give our daughter the Escort, and get something nice for myself, something I would like to drive.
>:) Oh really?! heh heh heh (:< Until she said that, I hadn't even thought about a kit cars in 20 years.
I really don't want another boring sedan, or even a "normal" sports car. I never had the money to build/buy a Cobra/Lambo/'rrari kit. Even now, I don't really want to spend more than $10k, and I have neither the time nor the space to work on a total build/rebuild, so my field of choices is limited. However, some of the older kits might work… Avenger, Sterling, Fiero rebody.
Getting excited though to think about it. Really glad I found this website today! I love how you have many different kinds of kits, and the Craigslist/eBay listings. If I end up getting a kit, I'll send you pix. :)
I saw and fell in love with the Ford GT40 when it was shown at the 1964 US Grand Prix. There was no way I could afford one, so the alternative – a few years later – was a Kellison GT40K, which I built with a reverse-rotation mid-engine Corvair 140. Subsequent to that project, which garnered Best Custom and Best of Show at its only car show, I acquired a replica of the Ginetta G12P – a piece of automotive sculpture. Alas, I never finished it and it is now in Rhode Island being completed the way the designer and builder, Dick Pettit, intended it.
Great story Tom and thank you for sharing your love for kit cars with us