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8,000 Original Miles: 1975 Bricklin SV-1

A Canadian car that was only made for two years because the creator, Malcolm Bricklin, was unable to make these cars profitable.  The Bricklin SV-1 was intended to be a “safe” sports car.  The SV-1 in their name stood for Safety Vehicle 1. Less than 3,000 were ever made and it is estimated that there are less than 1,500 of these cars left. Make one of these oddballs yours! For sale in Beach Park, Illinois here on craigslist this 1975 Bricklin only has 8,000 original miles.

It’s impressive to find a rare car like this with so little mileage. While the ad has a lot of pictures, there are no pictures of the engine, but the seller is very clear that the car does not run and the engine does not turn over.  Potentially there is some major work that will need to be done to get this car running. The 1975  Bricklin only came with an automatic transmission, unlike the previous year where a manual transmission was an option.

The seller includes a lot of information on the car and many pictures. Not necessarily good pictures though. You can get a good idea of what the car looks like on the outside, but the interior pictures are dark and hard to see. Even though the pictures are dark, you can tell that the interior is far from perfect. It WILL need some work.

While the car is solid and rust free, the seller is very clear that this Bricklin is a full restoration project. On the bright side, the seller claims that this car is complete and 100% original. There is also a lot of good information out there on these cars to make this daunting task a bit easier.  Would you like to own a Bricklin?  What do you think of these strange cars?

Comments

  1. Avatar Tom Justice

    There was a recent episode of PhantomWorks where they had one of these in for work. Might be worth a look if you are interested in this car.

    Like 7
    • Avatar George

      That godawful rear spoiler would have had to go if I owned the one that was on the show.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Bruce

    One of the very few truly terrible cars I have ever dealt with. If there is a battery failure you have to push out the windshield to get out of the car. If you have a garage with only an eight foot ceiling height you can not get into or out of the car in your garage. The fit and finish is terrible.

    Compared to a Lotus of almost any stripe they are Rolls Royce or Mercedes compared to this car. The intent was excellent but the implementation left much to be desired. The bodies of the ones I have seen have had waves in them that make one think they were moulded and painted by Macco trainees.

    I am most certain that is was a good thing they had all the safety features as the handling was a far far thing from the sports car the image promoted. I think that a number of them should be saved in museums and auto design centers as a warning -DO NOT DO SOMETHING THIS BAD. That may be the biggest asset they have left to the world.

    I have never owned one. I did help a friends girl friend get out of her’s more often then I would have put up with. We were both Alfa, MG, Triumph, and Jaguar owners at the time and she like the looks of the beast. He like the looks of her. She had few if any faults and was the total opposite of her car. Until the wiring caught fire under the dash and it was an emergency the windshield stayed in. She is now and has been his wife for many years and they both still hate that evil machine.

    I wonder if the Air Force needs small brightly colored targets. Hmmmmmm ????

    Like 8
    • Avatar Victoria Schultz

      I don ‘t know where you got your information but you are wrong. Battery failure and you can roll down the window. There is also a release for the trunk in the back. Are you thinking DeLorean? They had no window to speak of and no release in the back. I have a 74 and Love Love Love it. Please don’t talk crap about a car that you don’t even own.

      Like 1
  3. Avatar CanuckCarGuy

    Definitely a car I would like to own, at the same time knowing it’s one I would never buy. Their relative rarity, yet seemingly bargain basement prices, speaks volumes to me…ironic that a “safety car” throws up red flags.

    Like 1
  4. Avatar scottymac

    Listing is gone and Rose didn’t mention the price in her write up. Anybody know? No mention whether Ford or AMC drivetrain. Thanks for the testimony, Bruce, local kid at AutoZone had one , now I know why he unloaded it.

    Like 0
    • Avatar That AMC Guy

      I’m pretty sure the 1975 cars had the Ford engine. I saw one at a car show years ago and was surprised to see the window cranks and floor shifter were right out of the AMC Gremlin/Hornet. Looking at the Bricklin parts catalog the front suspension also looks like it was sourced from AMC down to the rear-facing strut rods.

      Like 0
  5. Avatar Wayne Moyer

    They’ve pulled the ad already.

    Like 1
  6. Avatar booya

    Seemed like a good idea at the time. But no, no — it was a BAD idea.

    Scottsdale, AZ police used a few of them back during Bricklin’s 15 minutes of fame.

    That was an example of compounding a bad idea.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Wrong Way

      I saw that! I wished that I knew if it sold and how much!

      Like 1
  7. Avatar Bill W

    Yup, the only “Canadian” car not sold in Canada nor did Bricklin accept dealership applications for Canadian auto dealers.

    Bricklins were sold in Canada, but the dealers selling them purchased the cars from US dealers and imported them into Canada. Which became essentially used brand new cars.

    Bricklin was bankrolled by the government of the Province of New Brunswick. And when the money ran out, the assembly line ground to a halt.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar angliagt Member

    Look – it’s already on a trailer (I wonder if that’s included?).

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Doug F Member

    Have an orange one and I love it
    351W. Ford powered, very dependable and a blast to drive
    Don’t buy the windshield story !!!! Pull a cable by the driver seat and climb out the rear hatch unless you’re 400 lbs
    Doors do not even need a 7 foot ceiling. Please know what yur yappin about

    Like 5
    • Avatar Bruce

      I am not certain about the pull cable as her’s did not have such a cable but then it was one of the very first made. As for the 7 foot ceiling you might be correct but if you have an overhead garage door that lowers the room height to far less and it is enough that you can not open the doors properly.

      As for the rear hatch have you ever exited your car that way ?? She was 5′-6″ slender and near pro tennis player so athletic as well and would have had a hard time getting out over those seats and out the back hatch. I am very glad your car works but the ones I knew in the day were at best trailer trash. Maybe the problems could have been worked out over time but the fire took care of that problem. The insurance payment she got paid for her next car a BMW she got next.

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Bob C.

    I remember Car and Driver did a write up back in the day titled Bricklin or Corvette? Didn’t last long, did it? It was equipped with an AMC 360 the debut year (1974 ). After that, it was the Ford 351.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Skorzeny

    Doug F, I’m glad you are happy with yours, and I saw that FantomWorks episode… I think these are a disaster, ugh.

    Like 0

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