In the mid-1950s, Leslie Albert Dawes and his business partner Don Wright conspired to create a new kind of kit car in Canada, made from the latest material, called fiberglass. The two called their company LaDawri Coachworks, an amalgamation of their names, and their car was Canada’s first fiberglass vehicle. Before long, the company moved to California from British Columbia. California was ground zero for mechanical and design creativity – home to Bruce Meyers of Manx fame, Bill Tritt’s Glasspar, and many one-offs. There, LaDawri flourished, eventually producing at least a half dozen different bodies. Enterprising enthusiasts could install these on a VW pan and use any of a variety of motors. Here on eBay is a LaDawri titled as a 1956 (the year of the donor car), bid to $6,644, and located in Ormond Beach, Florida. The seller believes the kit was assembled around 1960; a 1965 Southern Illinois University parking sticker is still affixed to the windshield. It’s a daily driver, so the winning bidder can feel free to motor it home.

The seller is transparent about previously listing the car for auction here, and that it failed to meet reserve, with a final bid of $7500. That listing provides details missing from the eBay verbiage, such as that the rear-mounted motor is a 1.3-liter flat-four, and that extra pulley you see apparently ran a Judson supercharger at one time. A four-speed manual gearbox sends the power to the wheels. Speaking of wheels, those are new, as are the tires. The seller indicates that he refurbished the car’s mechanicals, including a 12-volt conversion complete with alternator. The car has travelled about 4,000 miles under current ownership.

The interior is spartan but tidy. Detailed photos from the previous listing show wear on the door panels. The gauges include a VDO speedometer and a Karmann Ghia clock. An aftermarket tach is mounted on the transmission tunnel. Sebrings utilized early Corvette windshields, but I have never seen a LaDawri Sebring with a top; she only wants to go out in nice weather.

The seller notes that the paint looks fine at 20 feet but is showing its age. That said, the car won an award in 2018 at Amelia Island; shortly afterward it was featured in an article by ReinCARnation, and then collected another show trophy. The Sebring was the rarest of Les Dawes’ half-dozen body styles, but that hasn’t aided values much. The only comparable I found was an offering from 2019 at an asking price of $8000, but the previous auction gives a clue as to what folks think this one is worth, and that’s just about a grand north of the current bid.