Is it a Sebring, a Nova, a Sovran, a Cimbria or a Sterling? All three are very similar-looking component cars produced in the 1970s and 1980s by various companies, most of which were based on the venerable VW Beetle floor pan. This car doesn’t appear to need much more work–could it be the project for you to finish?
At first, I thought this was a shot from a Sebring ad, but closer examination reveals it’s a picture of this actual vehicle. I’m not sure why it’s a picture of a video, though, and it’s even more intriguing that the car was assembled to this point, parts gathered, but not finished.
The Nova design was the originator of the group of names from the first paragraph, with the first kits being produced in 1971 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Custom Coach Builders applied for the “Sebring” trademark on August 11, 1976. The Sebring had some improvements over the original design to make the kit sellable as a complete car in all 50 states. Changes included raised headlights, a dropped floor, and improved safety features. Custom Coach Builders produced cars for several years, and its successor company even made a version powered by a GM V-6, but the Sebring was the most common. You can tell from this comparison page that this is a Sebring I.
While we don’t know the complete story of this particular Sebring, we know it’s on a 1969 Beetle chassis and that’s the vintage of the engine that has been rebuilt too. The seller claims to have spent over $10,000 so far but there is work to be completed. Unfortunately, it appears that the paint job has suffered somewhat during the extended storage period since the second photo above.
The rebuilt engine certainly looks nice, even after storage. if you want to have the only non-Chrysler Sebring on your block, take a look at this auction here on eBay, where bidding is only up to $1,025 with no reserve. The Sebring is located in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.
Mighty low price now, for the seller i hope it goes much higher.
My dad and I built a Bremen Autosport Sebring Turbo II when I was in High School (I graduated in 1985). The kit was made in Bremen, IN – which seems to be a popular fiberglass vehicle area. My dad still has the car, and it is in need of a windshield. Posting to say they are fun cars, albeit with a large blind spot. Ours had a corvair motor in it, so it had some power – but not a whole lot, AND the VW gearbox was limiting for that motor. If anyone knows of a windshield source – I’m interested.
Much better than gullwing cars – arrive in a spaceship.
SOLD for $1,651.
I saw a red one in Portland, Ore sometime ago. Only one on the road I’ve ever seen; although I’ve seen a couple as shells beside an old house at a couple different yard sales and those were in the late nineties.