Although fiberglass anomalies are a thing of the past, the majority of fiberglass vehicles are easily recognizable, even kit cars! However before reading the ad, I honestly had no idea what I was looking at here. As it turns out, I was looking at something pretty cool. The ad for this 1952 Victress includes a brief history on the Victress Car Company as well as on this particular car. Founded in 1952, the first Victress model produced was the S1A making this particular car a first year production. Find it here on eBay with bidding at $9,600 and no reserve. 

Apparently this 1952 S1A was found in Bakersfield, CA as just a body in 1980 with no suspension, chassis, or drivetrain. After being partially put together, it was sold in 1992 to be restored, but the suspension was lost during this process. As it sits now, the car is a body and frame and nothing else, however all of the fiberglass and body work is said to have been completed and high quality. From the looks of it, although scratched and dirty, the body is in good shape and complete. I suspect some more fiberglass work would be required to get it perfect, but you never know. Someone with a lot of time, money, and patience could make something really beautiful out of this car!

The seller has graciously provided a couple of photos of the underside of the car that show the unique tube chassis design. It is all made of steel tube, and the seller states that “this is a seriously built frame” and notes that it has been powder-coated gray. Based on the sellers description of the frame, one can assume it was custom built for this car. From the ad, “The S1A was fitted on a variety of chassis. However those from the factory were built on either a Ford or a custom chassis from Mameco Corp.” I doubt any average person would know the difference, and this frame does indeed look to be quite well done.

This Victress is said to be set up for what appears to be older Buick suspension, and these cars typically came equipped with Chevrolet small-block engines. Pictured above are photos of a very similar S1A featured prominently in the 1954 motion picture Johnny Dark. There is a lot of interesting history surrounding Victress products, and surrounding this S1A Roadster in particular. A skilled restorer could have this car looking great in no time, and have quite the conversation piece in the garage.