I would excuse you for thinking this car was just another tired-looking “neo-classic”, so common in the 1980s that they became parodies of the cars they were meant to imitate. This 1976 Excalibur SS Phaeton, however, is a “real” car with “real” lineage. It’s advertised here on Craigslist in Kokomo, Indiana, and the seller hopes to realize $9,000. Barn Finds reader Barney sent us this unusual find!
Excaliburs were advertised in the mid-1970s as “America’s Only Handbuilt Classic,” and the slogan was pretty much the truth. The story is too long to detail here, but the Excalibur began as a Brooks Stevens design intended to be a showcase for Studebaker at the 1964 New York Auto Show. Studebaker ended up divorcing itself from the project. Still, the design was enough of a hit that production began shortly thereafter, with Brooks’ sons Steve and David in charge of the company. I highly recommend reading this history of the Excalibur, posted here on the company site (yes, Excalibur still exists, in a fashion-read here about the “farm girl” that ended up owning the company). This particular Excalibur is a Series III car, which reflected some easier-to-build features and continued to meet all Federal requirements-this is *not* a kit car!
Visually, the Excalibur resembled a Mercedes-Benz SSK from the late 1920s, although nothing about the car was an exact copy. By 1976, the design featured a bespoke frame and largely used Chevrolet mechanical components. However, the fender marker and some other lights were from Volkswagen Beetles, leading uninformed folks to think Excaliburs were kit cars. This particular car, which the seller says is one of 117 produced in 1976, has been sitting undriven since 2019. I’m guessing the substantial top and side curtains have kept some of the elements out of the car, but I would plan on a healthy dose of cleaning before even beginning refurbishment work.
The interior reflects the use of common components-are those Chevy Monza bucket seats that have been recovered in leather? There is also a rear seat, but I cannot imagine easy access. Note the air conditioning vents; Excaliburs were extremely well-equipped from the factory.
Assuming this is the original engine, this is a 454-cubic-inch Chevrolet V-8 rated at 215 horsepower and a whopping 350 lbs/ft of torque. It would have been backed by a GM Turbo 400 automatic transmission, and four-wheel power disc brakes slowed the 4,350-pound car down. Have any of you owned or driven an Excalibur? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!
“neo-classic”, so common in the 1980s that they became parodies of the cars they were meant to imitate”. Well put. For me that describes them all.
Amen
The one that comes to mind for me is the one Kathleen Turner drove in prizzis honor. Obscure yet good Mafia movie.
Funny you should associate this model with the Mafia. Growing up in the mid-70s, a neighbour a few blocks away, rumoured to be a “made man” drove one of these.
When I went to work for a Phoenix Chevy dealer in early 1985, there were dozens of new 1984’s on the lot including an Excalibur Phaeton. Months later when I was selling another vehicle, the customers wife really became interested in the Excalibur. By 1984 it was neutered with a 305 that had the life choked out of it. Once they went for a test drive, the sale was dust in the wind. Great write up and info, Jamie.
Thanks, Mr. B! It’s easy when the history is so cool :-)
I went to North Torrance high school from 1972 through 1975. My best friend in high school was a boy named Danny.
Dannie‘s mother and father were very well to do and his father owned an ex caliper and in my senior years 1975 on two occasions Dannie borrowed his dad‘s Excalibur and we went out cruising the beach Hermosa Beach Redondo Beach on Friday night cruising night in the Excalibur. It was a real attention get her. It was like a cream white and the car you show in the picture here is exactly the car the convertible material top when the doors are closed your basically hidden inside the car. The car was very cool.
According to Google…The value of a 1976 Excalibur Series III Phaeton typically ranges from $17,000 to over $80,000…
I don’t care if it is a “real car”, whatever that means. Someone like Brooks Stevens took the concept of a Mercedes 500K and then turned that it into Cheez-whiz from bumper to bumper, and people still pay real money for it?
Seriously? As they say, there is no accounting for taste.
Be sure to check out the link to the “farm girl” that ended up owning the company. It links to a very long, but very interesting two part story – but great reading and information about the history of the company.
I have a 1969 Excalibur Roadster with the Corvette 327 on a Studebaker Lark chassis (definitely not Corvette). One of 38 built that year. Sold in New Jersey.
It is a hoot to drive with the minimal fiberglass body, but the carburetor could use some work. It is one of the few I’ve seen with cycle fenders, rather than the sweeping ones you usually see. You can reach out and touch the ground when sitting in the driver’s seat (avoiding the side exhaust, of course). I’ll never sell it.
After meeting Brooks and spending some time with him ( 2 or 3 hours) in about 1977 or ’78. He was about looking for a nitsch (spelling?) that needed filling. I always thought that these were hideous looking. But they are starting to grow on me. (I don’t know why, I just found myself looking intently at this car.) In my often squewed opinion, this car is about twice the size and twice the weight that it should be. BUT, a 454 most likely wouldn’t then fit. Opulence rarely impresses me, but cool and different designs do. This seems to fit the “different” category.
There was no mention of the Excalibur Js that I remember racing and the SS 2 seaters.
I seem to have censored twice for comments on the Volvo 1800s.
If this comment doesn’t appear, I have better things to do with my time. Like get my butt to the shop now.
In defense of the Excalibur: It was one of the few Neo-Classics sketched from a clean sheet of paper (by Brooks Stevens) to look like an early-Thirties classic. Most (Zimmer, Tiffany, Spartan, etc) tried to morph an American Eighties coupe into a Thirties car from the A-pillar forward, and it just didn’t work. Others used an MG or Triumph body (eg, Clenet). If you look at a Gazelle, it is really a 3/4-size copy of the Excalibur rather than the 1930 Mercedes SSK it purportedly emulates; a replica of a replica, if you will. Brooks knew what he was doing, which is why the Excalibur survived through several series from the death of Studebaker through to 1985 or so.
I was a 19yr old doorman at a luxury apartment building and one of the tenants son had a series 1 Excalibur,.he left the keys with me so you know I had to move it a little
The hood on the car went on forever from behind the steering wheel and the 327 sounded beautiful
It was such a cool car
Now you’ve got it! The Series 1, especially the roadster, was pure sex. The 327 Corvette engine made it scoot, too. Just watch out for those side pipes. Unlike those on other neo-classics, they were functional.
Had to look up what a series one looks like, and they are nice looking cars! Not as big and bulky as some of the other models that they have.
But I can’t imagine working on one of these under the hood. The front fenders don’t look strong enough to support the weight of a person working on the car and one would have to lean over the front fenders to get to the engine. Looks like a recipe for low back pain!
I have never understood the ads that have the busty blonde standing next to the car. Apparently, she is there to help sell it….
But Why??? I’m thinking she’d need to diwn several of those drinks she’s holding before she would even think about getting into that car that gas been languishing outside uncovered since 2019. Good luck with that sale!!!
Yes, great write up! Lots of nice detail about this company. I always thought these were kit cars when I used to see them before, but then I began to learn overtime that these were actually fully built customized cars that you could buy from a dealer. They’re a little bit too gaudy for my taste, but for the right person, they would provide an elegant ride.
One fun fact is that this Excalibur company also produced replicas of Shelby Cobras in the mid-late 90s and were sold from their dealerships up and running. They were not kit cars.
In states such as Massachusetts where it’s very difficult to register a kit car after 2014, an Excalibur cobra I would guess would be a lot simpler because they are not kit cars, have a factory VIN and would not be subject to stringent regulations such as emissions checking and going through a motorist assistance center and having state troopers go through your car with a fine tooth comb looking for illegal stolen car parts. They, I believe would only be subject to the emissions of the year that they were produced. The problem is a lot of those cars over the years have had the emissions equipment removed. The catalytic converter system on those cars new was very archaic, and I imagine robbed a lot of performance from the engine. They used the Mustang 5.0 L fuel injected engine. They are not as fast as the replicas but for a production car in the 90s it could still do 0 to 60 in the six second area which was pretty quick back then. It also was on a stretched 96 inch wheelbase.
What Avery cool story! That Alice is a firecracker! A company I used to work for supplied some lighting parts for Excaliber until the “new requirements came”. They were very nice people to deal with and it was more like losing a friend rather than a customer.