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Re: GullWings

To: "John T. Blair" <jblair1948@cox.net>, <Bricklin@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: GullWings
From: "Smoky & Connie Panepinto" <spanepinto@netcarrier.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2006 17:28:59 -0400
John,

The Banshee is awesome!! Too bad I have 2 kids in college just now!  Love the
doors!!

You know, its scary though.  Must be something in the Bricklin water .... I,
too, was bitten by the Fiberfab "bug" (see below for "bug" relevance).

I opted for the "Avenger GT-12" model.  I chose it over the Banshee and the
Jamaican because I felt I could handle the VW mechanicals easier than a V-8
platform.. and I still LOVE the Ford GT, on which it was based.

So, as a 15-year old, I bought a '58 VW convertible, took it apart, bought a
Corvair engine with dual carbs, got the frame and engine ready, and then sat
down with my  VERY practical engineer/architect father.  We took a MUCH closer
look at the Fiberfab specs, and when we started adding in the wiring harness,
the glass, the window crank hardware, gas tank, etc., etc., we quickly
realized I would spend $3,000-$4,000 to get the finished car on the road... as
a '60's high schooler, that was a ton of money; and would have bought a "wide
variety" of fascinating, "finished" alternatives.  (NOTE:  To this day, I
wonder if the Fiberfab body would have bolted onto a VW convertible frame....
could have been a very large "oops").

I re-assembled the VW  and sold it (for a small profit...), sold the Corvair
engine, and moved on to a '64 Triumph Herald convertible.

Sorry for the "This is Your (car) Life" treatise; but you started it!

Smoky P

Smoky Panepinto
Perkiomenville, PA

'75 Bricklin original owner (#1302 - Suntan)
'63 Lincoln Convertible (Black/Maroon/White)




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