Widened Sterling Kit

I recently got a letter from Ahmad Abdo, who now owns one of the wilder, more interesting Sterlings on the road. Well, not “on the road” yet, but it will be! Let me share the letter now:

“Recently Norm Rose of California Component Cars (the original US manufacturer of the Sterling Kit car) and his son (Scott Rose) both listed their Sterlings on eBay. His sons car was the original Sterling #1 imported from the UK, and Norms car was the personal Sterling he made for himself. I won the auction for Norms car and thought you might be interested in a few pictures and plans, and then I could update you when the car is completed and painted.

The body is 6″ wider in the rear than an average Sterling and 3″ wider in the front because a second Sterling was cut up and grafted onto the sides of this body to create the stepped look. The frame is hand built with Pinto/Mustang II front suspension and Corvair rear suspension and even has a built in roll bar hidden into the body of the car. It has 4 wheel disc brakes, and the rears are mounted inboard. The engine is mid-mounted and is a Ford 2.8l V6 (Capri, Bronco II, Ranger) with an Audi 100LS automatic transmission. Other features Norm Rose installed include airconditioning, cruise control, tile and telescopic steering wheel, and a few other additions.

This car has 1,700 miles on it as it was never finished, and only driven around for a short while before it was stored for 30 years. It has a LOT of work to be done to get it road worthy, including killing the rust, and hosing it down to get all the years of dirt and dust off. Being that this kit car encouraged customization, I am going to add a few changes of my own, the biggest being a new rear end / light section, and recessed headlights. I also have a Porsche 914 manual transmission that will be replacing the Audi transmission.”

Check it out:

I dont’ know if I’m personally sold on the “stepped look”, but I totally love the widening.