Does any other oldster remember how replicas started

[Historybuff]

Asking anyone with a long memory (over the last 40 years) how replica cars (actually assembled cars) started.
I remember people putting together slapdash cars in the Fifties to go ice fishing or dune running or other specialized purposes but then the next thing I knew there was VW dune buggies by the thousands. Somewhere along the way each state had a law allowing you to register an "assembled car" ? And I also am not aware of any group that wants to outlaw them. Maybe the ecologists don't even know they exist (I won't tell...)

[mrmustang]

It all started in California when people were taking parts from one car and placing them in the chassis of another. More of an offshoot of the hot rod scene than anything else. Again an interesting question, why do you ask?

[427sharpe]

If by 'replica' you mean kit car, my guess is the first would be Deven or maybe Manx on a truly national sales scale. Oddly enough there is a Deven SS here in North Texas (Lewisville, actually), a 1957. Only one I have ever seen close up and it seems to be a pretty cool car..rides/handles well too!
Based on an MGA chassis, it has a later Corvette motor (327) with Strombergs and a Chebbie 4 speed. 4 wheel discs as well. All told, about 2100 pounds with 250 hp. And kudos should go to Bill Devin...way ahead of his time! The fiberglass body (replica of the original Testarossa) looks great, and finish work is very good, even by today's standards. I have also heard that Devin designed the very first belt driven ohc 4 cylinder...which is standard today.

[Ronbo]

The earliest ground up kit cars I remember were "T" buckets. Although they weren't exactly a "replica". Kinda a poor copy of part of a 32 ford pickup if that makes any sense?

As far as a reproduction of a "real" car, er, a Cobra I think.

[Larry Spillman]

Brizio Hot Rod shop in Colma calif started to sell a model T kit that was very popular in the 60s .He quit doing that and many years later his son Roy started kitcars again for people with mega bucks ,They are still in business in South San Francisco Cal.

[jon@harrison.ne]

It all started about 1955. There were a few companies that built fiberglass sportscar bodies (Kellison,Byers,Almquist, and others) but as far as I know they only supplied a body. Bill Devin in the LA area started making high quality bodies in 1956 but he also supplied various hardware to help you build a really nice car. His bodies were based on a Ferrari Monza but were not close replicas. He had a clever mold system that allowed a variety of track/wheelbase combinations. They were one piece with hood,trunk,and doors and sold for $295. Many were installed on shortened VW pans, MGA's, and Triumphs. Lots of them also went on full size Ford chassis but they were pretty bad-the wheelbase ended up too long and it was hard to get the ride right with so much weight removed. Bill also built three kit or turnkey models - the D,C, and SS, although most were supplied turnkey complete with a nice soft top. The D and C bodies were identical but the mechanicals were quite different. The D had a VW or Porsche engine,and 15" wheels and the C had a Corvair engine and 14" wheels.The C was nice looking and performed incredibly (think about 1200 lb,150-200 hp, and all that rear engine traction). I've been told it was Bill's favorite. A nice C can go for $35k now and they often show up at Corvair meets. Then there is the Holy Grail-the SS. No I'm not talking about what a lot of people are pawning off as an SS but one of the original 15 cars whose rolling space frame chassis was built in Ireland and sent here to have a body and 283 and T-10 installed.(the BJ auction has even sold imposters that don't come close to looking like a real one). Only a couple survive today in original street form-most have been mucked up for vintage racing.If you can find one be prepared to spend over $200k. Since there is a lot of info on them online,including a You Tube test drive of the car that won it's class at Pebble this year, I won't describe it in detail, but here are some of the features: 92" wb, 283 Chev (Bill bought new fuelie engines and threw away the injector to install his own 4 barrel manifold to allow hood clearance),Dunlop wires,independent rear similar to the Jag unit, and a beautiful large face speedo and tach of Bill's own design and manufacture.These were used in the C also. The generator was mounted next to the rear driveshaft u joint and was belt driven from a pulley on the driveshaft.

[Got the Bug]

two year old thread...but still interesting.

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by Got the Bug

two year old thread...but still interesting.

Doug,

You have a keen eye for dates ... I read the thread and then saw your post and went back up to check. This must have been buried pretty deep in the stack, as it sometimes only takes a few hours or a day at the most, before a thread is bumped off page 1.