So the Bricklin is one of those infamous cars that people like to crack jokes about and revel in its failure. We’re among those people so this isn’t like some sort of love letter to the plastic fantastic machine that was the forerunner to the DeLorean in bizarrely governmentally funded failure. Instead we are tipping you off, thanks to BangShift reader Bob Miller of the auction of a very early example of the car Malcom Bricklin named after himself. This is one of the cars powered by the AMC 360 V8 and it happens to have a four speed manual transmission as well. Oh, and it is pretty freaking nice for a machine that is up for salvage auction on the Copart website!
If there were ever an example of a Bricklin to score for literally next to nothing, this would be it. Yeah, they are heavy. Yeah, the doors suck and are prone to fail, yeah the thing needs horsepower worse than a human needs a scuba tank underwater, but grabbing this car, turning it into a project with the proper levels of AMC muscle and updating stuff like…everything would be cool.
As many of you know the SV in Bricklin SV-1 stood for “safety vehicle” and Malcom Bricklin’s mission was to create a safe and lithe sports car to compete with all the stuff available for sale in the dark ages of the 1970s. He failed miserably and with it took millions and millions of Canadian dollars. They are not all that common and we think that this would be a great car to have because it is definitely among the first hundred made. Hell, it may be one of the first 10 made.
Copart link: 1974 Bricklin – One of the first of the ill-fated sports cars ever made
Curious on how the car ended up at Copart. Bill of sale only means no title, tough sell.
Depends on where you live. I’d have no trouble getting that registered here in Georgia; they only require titles on 1986 and newer vehicles.
Anyone know what these cars used for a Transaxle?
Front engine/conventional trans/rear live axle on leafs.
Doh! that’s right, it’s not mid engine
Why is this wedge shaped fugly thing winking at me?
I’m in the middle of getting a title on a bill of sale, using a private DMV service it’s not being a problem, just the procedure.
I have made a lot of mistakes in my car-purchasing/selling life so I’m not the expert, but I look at those things and just see Playskool toy and have no appetite for ever trying to fix one up. Beyond marketing, Bricklin’s understanding of what goes in to an actual automobile was shall we say, lacking. I recall the press at the time being somewhat complicit in the whole scheme too, everybody who thought he could pull it off got their optimism taken advantage of with that help.
That said, my hat’s off to anyone who keeps one of those in shape and brings it out so we can all have a look now and then. At-least Bricklin got a lot farther then the Dale did. Look at all the incredible cars being built by shops outside of the mainstream manufacturers these days, if not for the example set by Bricklin, DeLorean, Vector etc. in the past for what to do and what not to, would some of these have not gotten off the ground?
A steaming POS is a steaming POS, no matter what. Kill it with fire and take what’s left off to the crusher………
Aw darn it. Already sold. And here I was all tempted. A buddy of mine’s dad had one when I was in high school. We all thought it was hot stuff at the time (about 78-79)
Mr. Lohnes, what were they asking for it? “Almost Nothing” is an interesting number. I wouldn’t have the guts to take this on but it’s a nice looker when done right.