Well Stored: 1967 Glas 1700 GT
The Hans Glas company was founded in 1905 making sewing machines, then motor scooters, small cars like the Goggomobile and finally the GT cars. These GT cars were very advanced for their time. They were the first production cars with belt driven overhead camshafts. BMW bought Glas and in 1968, sold them as the BMW 1700. BMW stuck a BMW “twin kidney” on the grill and installed their engine and rear suspension. This Glas is on eBay in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bidding on eBay has not yet reached $4,000 with 5 days left. It was repainted and the engine was rebuilt in 1986. Then in 1988 it was parked. The engine has not been started and the rear brakes are stuck. There appears to be very little rust though.
The interior is in very nice condition. There is a bit of staining and deterioration by the rear windows.
Things under the hood look complete and original except perhaps for the fresh air hose from the firewall to intake. The engine was rebuilt a couple of years before this Glas was stored. No attempt has been made to start the engine. Hopefully it is not stuck.
This Glas appears to have very minimal rust underneath. There are just spider webs waiting to be swept away.
This is the type of vehicle Glas is best known for, the Gogomobile. Models included cars and vans, or Transporters. This is a real van, not a toy. It sold for $175,500 at auction. (And you thought Porsche prices were crazy!) It’s shown on Sothbey’s website.
The paint has a few scrapes and dings but it’s a nice “20 foot” car. This Glas will need the usual mechanical work to get it running and stopping and could use a repaint. I think it would be great to just do the necessary mechanical work and drive it just as it is. There are very few of these sold, so it’s difficult to know what it may be worth. One was featured on Barnfinds a year and a half ago. It needed much more work and was listed for $7,500. As Jamie pointed out in that post, parts can be difficult to locate but there is a Glas Autoclub and their webpage with links to original and reproduced parts. What do you think someone will be willing to pay for this Glas? If the sale price is low enough it could be a unique fun driver but it might end up in someone’s collection.
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Comments
Nice find, David! I could imagine mice living in that missing air hose space, hopefully not. This is a heck of a car for its current bid price.
Thanks, glad you like it. I was considering “glas-tromonic delight” for the title.
Love to own this!
For a diehard vintage German car fan who can’t come up with $1 to $2 million for a BMW 507, this looks like a bargain at something around the current bid of $5K, or even higher.
The underside looks remarkably good, probably because it started out as a California car and then was mostly stored in British Columbia and not run in the winter rain. The interior is easily usable as-is, although the drivetrain is a big question mark.
The seller seems honest and even has the original service book. The paint looks OK for driver quality if the buyer doesn’t need perfection. If someone wants perfection they would likely be in way over their head financially since these aren’t worth a lot.
I just hope the engine turns and that the major engine work done 3 decades ago was done right. And better change that 3-decade old timing belt before firing it up.
I would be very tempted to blow $5 or $6K on this if I wasn’t already otherwise occupied. I hope it goes to a German car fan who will do right by it, and I won’t be surprised if it ends up in Germany.
Very nice body style. With the right set of european alloys this car would have a Fiat Dino Coupe look to it.
Goggomobil, please-
I have never driven one but I did sit in one and I was an amazing design, very small but also very roomy. Next to the MGA I had at the time it was so modern and still looks good today. I hope it is cared for well by the next owner.
GR8 car! It reminds a lot the Fiat 850 Coupé, presented in the 1965 Geneva motor show
Went for just under $20k which makes me think someone was pretty confident in the engine condition. Nice buy! One of these is on the list but thus was not the time. The design is pretty and unexpected for the make.
Nice car. Really liked the “smallish” German cars when I was there ’67-’69. These were really nice, and as Pete L just mentioned, went for nearly 20K here and now. Was just messaging a family relative in Sweden and mentioned these as favorite. My ’67 Ford Fairlane GTA was gigantic next to them, but these were far better for the narrow cobblestone streets in the older cities. The list of cars I “should” have bought then and shipped back grows ever on….