Stalled Project: 1975 Bricklin SV-1
Back in 1977, I was fortunate enough to get some early exposure to the Bricklin SV-1, as a TV anchor who happened to live in our neighborhood owned one of these unusual cars. I was only 12 at the time, but vividly remember being quite enamored by it. My somewhat conservative father wasn’t, and he told me it was probably only a kit car with a VW chassis and engine, so for the next several years, I just didn’t know any better. Newsflash: these ain’t kit cars! And Malcolm Bricklin had high hopes along with good intentions for his auto company to succeed, but unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and the car only had a brief lifespan with somewhere around 3,000 examples produced. If you fancy the idea of taking one of these on as a project, this car may be worth a look. It’s presently being stored in Houston, Texas, and can be found here on Craigslist, with the owner hoping to gain $5,000 from the sale.
Thank you again, T.J., for spotting this car and being such a fine Barn Finds tipster! The story goes that Bricklin began building the SV-1 in 1974, using a name derived as short for “Safety Vehicle One”, with one such feature being the energy-absorbing bumpers, which this particular car seems to be missing in the rear. Sadly, it was all a short-lived endeavor, with issues such as money problems and quality not being up to par with Detroit’s offerings leading to the company’s demise. Unfortunately, the owner of this orange SV-1 has also experienced a couple of setbacks himself, and now his best friend is trying to find a new owner for it.
According to the seller, the owner purchased his Bricklin back in 1979 and drove the car until 2005, and at that time decided to perform quite a bit of work on it. He got as far as putting the car up on blocks and taking the tires off, then began the disassembling process, which included removing the gas tank, seats, and carburetor. But then something unfortunate in the owner’s life occurred, which resulted in him not being able to invest any more time or money into it, and the car has been sitting like this for nearly 18 years. Now he’s suffering from some health-related problems and feels like it’s time for someone else to resume the project.
The first Bricklin’s utilized an AMC-sourced 360 V8 that produced a respectable 220 horsepower, but short supply problems necessitated the change to a 351 Ford Windsor V8 for the ’75 models, which resulted in the car losing nearly 50 horses. The odometer on this one is showing 32k miles, although no mention of whether that’s actual or any details about how well the engine was running when the car was parked, but after being idle for nearly two decades I’m guessing the drivetrain is probably going to need some attention. But with the low asking price, this really does seem like a decent project for the right person. What do you think? Do you know anybody who has ever owned a Bricklin SV-1?
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Comments
“The Canadian DeLorean”, or so it was dubbed, but unfair, because the Bricklin was first. While similar, they are very different cars. With the lackluster reviews this car had, not sure why DeLorean went ahead with his version, probably had too much into it to stop. And it wasn’t the drugs, I think he just made promises he couldn’t keep. Bricklin, as mentioned, was more on a safety kick, SV1( like there was going to be a 2 or 3 or 4) but like Delorean, it was the car nobody asked for. Always a risky gamble. These should be under the category, “At least they tried”, or better yet, “Classic American failures”, of which there are a few. That fan shroud should serve as a stern reminder on any purchase.
I mean if those bumpers are not there, even one of them, I have no idea where you would Source something like that. Body parts for these cars are near impossible to get a hold of.
But if I had the room to put something like this, I’d buy four kind of right away. Too many people moved all at once and lock the new people in the neighborhood I got the inspectors called on me like many times need to have the three project cars of mine towed to the junkyard last September 2021 after being in court because of anonymous complaints. Nobody ever really enforce the states on registered non-run vehicle law before around here
Just like the Lotus Europa never seen a runner in my area, have seen lot over the years sitting out beside the fence.
Doesn’t it seem that there’s always one of those types
in the neighborhood?That’s one reason I’d never live in a
gated community.
I would take this project on without a second thought . Nice LS , 9 inch and make it an auto . So what if part would be hard to find . Fab them up . Make a nice auto when done .
I believe everyone is getting pretty tired of “put an LS in it”
Everyone who’s never owned an LS. Brilliant powerplant. …with all due respect.
Melton, ck out https://tuningpro.co/gm-ls1-engine-problems/
Being a Bricklin Owner for the past 5 years, I can state that these are actually great cars. For the record, this is my only classic car. There are some design issues, that once corrected, make this a fun car to drive. I found out about them about 6 years ago from an article on this site and fell for the car and story. I’ve put about 5K miles on it over the past few years, including 2 trips from Chicago to St. Louis. My mechanic who specializes in these is down there. (He drove his from St. Louis to Celebration Florida this past summer and won best of show.) He is one 3 people in the US who specialize in repair/restoration of Bricklin’s and they are all amazing in their knowledge and skills. If all (or even most) of the parts are there, 5K is a low price. Replacement body parts are difficult, but not impossible to find. Howard A, if you check an article by Car and Driver in 75, these were actually rated to be equal to the 75 Corvette. The reality is that most cars were lackluster at that time period. Also, these were dubbed the Canadian Supercar, again take it with a grain of salt based on the time period.
Hi Kieth, a buddy of mine just restored one of these that was in storage for decades. Care to share your mechanics contact info? Would be a great person / resource for him. Thanks.
Simple enought, Bob’s Brickyard in Michigan dose full restorations and make all replacment body panels
I am not sure about comparing this car with a DeLorean. Wasn’t the Bricklin fiberglas and the De Leoren stainless steel?
I had a red 75 for a few years, had my fun and sold it. Mine was like a oven inside, even in the winter. They are very kit-car like. I have seen many worse than this one. People think they are some rare exotic worth big money, they are not.
The Motor Trend Network show Fantom Works rebuilt one of these and it appeared to be a lot of work making and remanufactoring old broken parts. This might /could be an expensive rebuild
@fantomworks
I owned a 74 number 61 in 77. I had more fun in that car. We took the 360 and beefed up the horse power. The only pain was the doors (which was later corrected) the air power replacement kit was so much better than hydraulic orginals. Still had rain leak problems in door seals. Around 89 was stolen. If Bricklin had a year or two more this car would have rained supreme
Cars that have been disassembled this long have a tendency
to lose some hard to replace parts. This would be worth a personal inspection before buying.
The Briclin immediately got my attention when I first saw it.
Besides the diseases that the car has like the door hinges
and its hydraulics (take gas struts), the angle of the head-
lights and the ugly ‘bumpers’, the optically failed rear its a
great project car that, with such a year time of work until it
is finished, has many options how to make it more demanding
– and a better – car. Well, a lot of planning and work but
the result would be a blast.
Okay this is pure speculation but Bricklin probably had the
Ferrari 308 in mind when he designed it but didn’t quite
know what exactly these looked like as he had never
seen a real. An orange (or amber as some call it) or green
is my first choice because the car comes across very well.
Does the thing have a full metal frame like the C3 corvette so
that the engine gearbox and suspension can be adapted to
e. g. Toyota/Lexus parts? Lexus? Ah, Lexus. Luxury and
speed.
IIRC, the East coast province of New Brunswick took a huge bath on their investment in the Bricklin, to the tunes of millions of dollars. The owner of a local storage facility has 3 or 4 parts cars sitting outside. I only ever saw one single Bricklin on the road.
Now we know where he can look for a bumper.
I drive by this one at a small used car lot all the time.
It’s on Highway 220,just a little North of Oak Level,Virginia.
I don’t want it,but enjoy seeing it there.
They look way better without the stock wheels.
Do you know the name of the place that has the Bricklin?
Little Mountain Motors
3713 Virgil H Goode Highway
Rocky Mount,Virginia
(540) 489-3912
always liked these ……
I love my 75 SV1. If you like attention then this is the car to have. People just are fascinated with my safety yellow Bricklin when ever I take it for a run. Mine had 14000 miles when I bought it .It is my favorite car.
When I had mine. I painted the side of fins in the orange body color and polished the top of fins. Make a world of difference
I always thought these & even ’68-’82 vettes looked a bit too narrow, unlike the 3000gt, tho more parking lot friendly.
The, IIRC, TWELVE! mph bumpers only make it look narrower – perhaps now they should be tucked in on this one. The 351 windsor i heard is a durable motor, tho is it tough to get a lot more than 175 hp out of it?
The earlier ’74 with 360 AMC motor oddly with 220 hp, espec with the 4 speed is the one to have.
http://www.bricklinautosport.com/
yea, the 4 speed is a bit rare, I think the first year had 4 speeds and then after that autos only.
I would want a 4 speed car…..
Although neither Bricklin or DeLorean succeeded, it was the 1970s and fast looking exotic two seaters were the rage – think Saab Sonnet, Datsun 240Z, Opel GT, DeTamaso Panthers – they were largely statement cars, but trying to build an entire company around this theme was simply not going to happen. Fast forward to Tesla and they were able to electrify a Lotus and pull it off as an entry to the big leagues. Neither Bricklin nor DeLorean offered anything radically new or innovative. Stainless steel body, Gull wing doors, sure, but conventional powerplants, made by others? They needed a real value proposition and neither ever really achieved that.
That said, If I had the room, I might consider taking this project on…based upon purely historical value.
We had one f these running around my neighborhood back in the 70s. I think it went through two or three owners as it was in a different driveway every other year. Dunno what happened to it. The owner visited my next door neighbor once and I was all over that car. Cool but definitely NOT a Big 3 mass produced vehicle.