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Small Money Big Return: 1958 Goggomobile T400

This opening photo is a bit of a head-scratcher. I’m not sure if it’s meant to show how small this 1958 Goggomobile T400 is or how unreliable the seller’s truck is. It gives the appearance of both really well. This microcar can be found here on eBay in Sacramento, California with a $3,000 buy it now price or you can make an offer. Come on, you know you’ve always wanted one!

Believe it or not, and I know that you can believe it, this is thee only other photo showing the exterior of this car! Both photos are of the same side and are showing basically the same angle. Marketing 101 must have been on the seller’s too-early-in-the-morning list and they never made it to class. Wow. But, let’s pull up our lederhosen and try to move on, somehow.

Well, in all truthfulness, there were two other photos showing the exterior of the car. The above photo sounds like it was taken in Seattle where the seller got the car, and they also included a photo showing the rust on the bottom of the door/s. They say that the floors are see-through and the bottom two inches of the doors need to be repaired for rust but that’s it, the car is in good shape otherwise.

I don’t know if I’d say the car was in good shape but it looks like parts of it may be in reasonably good shape. The seats have a little wear on them as you can see… Boing! The electronic shifter doesn’t work and they figure that the original owner back in the late-1950s may have had trouble with that and just parked the car. I’m not sure what the story was but this car needs a full nut-and-bolt restoration. That’s never cheap even with a tiny car.

The Goggomobile T400 has a 392 CC (400) which is a two-stroke, air-cooled twin with 18.5 hp. They have never started it but they were told that it was a completely-rebuilt engine and they say that the engine and carb are worth what they’re asking for the car. Actually, Hagerty is fairly bullish on the Goggomobile T400 with a #3 good condition car being worth $25,400! Yes, you can probably restore this car and stay under that number. I’d go back to original spec but that’s why I have no friends, I’m too boring. How would you redo this T400? LS, SBC, Hayabusa, Biturbo Maserati engine, hybrid, batteries, Jonny Quest jetpack, etc…

Comments

  1. Avatar Adam Clarke Staff

    Great article Scotty. These became legendary in Australia in the 1990s, thanks to a single television commercial. I’ve included the link below. The way the gentleman in the commercial has to spell the car’s name became a part of the Aussie vernacular, and people still use it some 25-years after the commercial was last aired.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvOz_qUPbXo

    Like 10
    • Avatar Ralph

      Way to much snark from the author trying to be “edgy” or something.

      “I’m not sure if it’s meant to show how small this 1958 Goggomobile T400 is or how unreliable the seller’s truck is. It gives the appearance of both really well”

      Nice jab at the owners truck, except that if you were to take 2 seconds you could see that there are straps going down between the cab and the bed and thats what the person in the photos seems to be undoing.

      “Both photos are of the same side and are showing basically the same angle. Marketing 101 must have been on the seller’s too-early-in-the-morning list and they never made it to class. Wow.”

      Again, more jabs at the owner.

      Come back when you have some fresh material, I’m sure there is a nice Subaru 360 for sale somewhere haven’t seen one of those in a few hours……

      Wasn’t this place looking for writers? Did they ever find any?

      Like 1
      • Avatar Scotty Gilbertson Staff

        You’re probably right, Ralph, I meant it in fun but I shouldn’t have been so hard on the owner even in fun. My apologies to the seller, it was meant as a bad joke and obviously, not everyone took it as that.

        Feel free to send in your writing examples, we’re always looking for 100% perfect, loved-by-all writers who know everything, never make mistakes, and know how to please every living human on the planet. It sounds like you could be the one. For the record, you do know that I didn’t write about the latest Subaru 360, don’t you?

        Like 6
      • Avatar Ralph

        I did send them in, but I never heard back……

        Whats the dental plan like?

        Perhaps I was bit harsh, but it read like the drivel you read on Jalopnik or something……

        Isn’t the car interesting enough that it could merit the article without the wanna be snarky jabs? I like funny, when its actually funny, see my comments on the recent 1959 rusted out Cadillac ambulance, I think that was funny.

        This, not so much.

        Like 0
    • Avatar fran

      Ford Built Tough

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Coventrycat

    That’s like one fender’s worth of metal for that Pontiac it’s next to. Sardines are better protected in their cans than humans in this thing.

    Like 7
  3. Avatar RonY

    …….old truck is probably ok, looks like He’s running those tie down straps between the cab and bed and hooking them to the frame… recognize from experience….

    Like 5
    • Avatar Chevy Guy

      Nope, its unreliable because its a Ford!

      Like 0
  4. Avatar Fred H

    Looks like a ticket spend money ))

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Mike

    I drive by that Seattle shop all the time. Lots of cool stuff in there. I think it use to be some sort of british repair shop, but I never see it open and lots of cars stored there. Not sure what its status is. Maybe the owner retired and can’t part with any of his stuff. There’s a very cool wooden boat that’s been rotting away for the last few years.

    https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6582833,-122.3474343,3a,75y,273.27h,81.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sL3_sgX1j31raL1a_7WW8cQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

    Like 3
    • Avatar BR

      Back in ’83 I used to take my Triumph TR4 in there for service. It was a good shop back then. Very popular. Don’t know what happened.
      About that boat; It’s been out of the water since I found it high and dry at a marina up the Duwamish in ’75. It’s a 50′ Shain beavertail with twin Ford/Scripps flathead V8’s. When that marina was renovated, the boat was moved to a vacant lot on Aurora Ave. next to the Seattle Center. I tried to buy it. It was owned by a fellow that owned a camera shop, but he didn’t want to sell. Restored, the boat is worth a fortune.

      Like 2
      • Avatar Mike

        Thanks for the boat info. Sad to see it just rotting away probably soon to be stripped and vandalized. Surely some heavy hitter in the tech world can get it out of this lot and restored. Being front and center on Aurora Ave should attract SOME interest saving it. Can’t find much on the web about the boat except this 56 footer:
        https://classicyacht.org/boats/forevermore

        As for the business, I only found a 2 page website with no explanation why it looks so cluttered and dormant. I might have to e-mail them and see if I get a reply.

        Like 2
  6. Avatar Steve

    Someone places a lot of trust in Ford’s tailgate cables… I had a chevy that had similar cables that rusted from the inside out and broke at the ends.This was in central Texas, not the rust belt…

    Like 1
  7. Avatar MikeH

    Looks like he took it to a micro show–there’s a 2CV Charleston and, I think, 2 more gogos after that. I don’t have a guess on the blue car.

    Like 0
    • Avatar minicoopermk1

      The white one is a Fiat 500, and the blue car on the end is a Mini. Saw mine in that hood-up pose way too many times.

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Craig

    You’ve got to love these little cars!!!

    Like 1
  9. Avatar 433jeff

    Very cool

    Like 0
  10. Avatar David F Member

    There are definitely some interesting cars in there. Thanks for the tip Mike!

    Like 1
  11. Avatar Scotty Gilbertson Staff

    As Ralph pointed out above, my apologies to the seller. It was meant to be in fun about lying under the truck, etc.

    Like 1
  12. Avatar rod444

    Well given that Austin Mini’s have reached crazy high prices, a Gogomobil might be a good alternative.

    They really are quite tiny and darn cute.

    https://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/file/width/640/media/6408108/Glas%20Goggomobile%20(1).jpg

    Like 1
    • Avatar minicoopermk1

      Rod,
      I understand that the Goggo’s handling is much like the Mini’s reliability. Both leave something to be desired. But they sure are fun on a good day!

      Like 1

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