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The California Daytona Spider!

1978 California Daytona Spider

Now, don’t get too excited! This isn’t actually a real Ferrari Daytona. It’s a California Daytona Spider and it’s a dang good replica. It was built by Tom McBurnie and is based of off a 1978 Corvette. McBurnie actually made molds off a real 365 GTS/4 Spyder and had planned to make a few changes and sell the car as his own. A few of the completed cars even made their way onto the set of Miami Vice, but the company ended up running into legal problems and production stopped. The owner of this one had it commissioned back in 1990, but it took two years to get it back. The excitement had sort of fizzled by then, so the car ended up sitting in storage for many years until now. It is now listed here on eBay and the auction ends tomorrow. It may not be a real Daytona, but this might be as close as many of us will ever get. Thanks goes to Frank F. for the tip!

Comments

  1. Avatar mike

    meh, still just a corvette. imagine the creaks on a car with less than a 1000 miles!

    Like 0
  2. Avatar RoughDiamond

    That fella on Car Chasers ended up with one from the Miami Vice Show and actually had McBurnie measure certain specifications on the car to document that it was one of the originals he actually built for the show. Seemed like a really nice guy..

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Chip H.

    Here we have a kit car based on a good car and built on a good one. And yet, the original owner didn’t like it enough to drive it? He probably got laughed at for blowing that much money. Plus having to rebuild the engine to get it through emissions. Why didn;t he drain the fuel system if it wasn’t going to be driven. My favorite is the original owner calling it a barn find, did he forget he had it in a climate controlled storage area?

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Will

    How bad does a car have to be that you would park it permanently after only a few hundred miles? I don’t care if I had Donald Trump’s kind of money I don’t think I could do this to a car I had built. The original owner should have sold this 20 years ago. Very sad.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Rocco

    WOW! What a tale of history with these McBurnie cars (Carl Roberts included).

    Like 0
  6. Avatar jim s

    reserve not met at $ 22859. now what?

    Like 0
  7. Avatar John

    The Ferrari badges on the exhaust tips are classic!
    What a fake-

    Like 0
  8. Avatar AbarthBill

    Somebody verify this.. back in the day someone measured the wheelbase on one of these and one side was over an Inch longer than the other.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Healeydays

    Got a note from the owner…

    “I have 3 bidders that are still interested in the car. I expect some offers on Monday. One gentleman looked at the car this morning and will be making an offer. I need to get at least $25k out of the sale. I have much more invested in the car.

    Dan
    – kapdan”

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mark E

      But after all, this is a REPLICA with less than 1,000 miles! (Built new on a 13 year old chassis/drivetrain) -_-

      Like 0
    • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

      Forget that a car like this won’t return your investment, has the seller considered inflation?

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Dr. D

    I remember these cars being featured in magazines in the 80s. Although a replica, they were said to be of much higher quality than the typical fiberglass kit car of the era.

    I would seriously consider paying $25-30K for this car, I’ve always wanted to own one of these McBurnie Daytona replicas. I have the cash, and the garage space. But this ebay ad tells me this is not a person who deserves my money. He wants good money for the car, but cannot be bothered to drag it out into the sunlight to take proper pictures of it? I’m supposed to give $25K to someone this lazy? Forget it. I don’t care if it’s an original Daytona — if you don’t respect me enough to show me clearly what you are selling, I don’t respect you enough to open my wallet. Pass.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar francisco

    For sale, nice Rolex. Slightly used, $199.99

    Like 0

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