It was supposed to be a 356

[Adam Wright]

This will probably get kicked to the off-topic forum, but it was supposed to be a 356, and it does have a 356 engine, so I thought I would try here first.

Almost a 356, a Fiber Fab Avenger

I saw this on criagslist and thought it might be something. The seller claimed it was built on a 356 chassis in the 60s and was built to race. All I could tell from the pics was it had a 356 motor, but not much else. I bought it sight unseen and it arrived this morning from the coast of Florida.

Unfortunately, it is not built on a 356 chassis, but it does have a 356 motor. The car is in nice shape and looks like it was never really finished. We are going to bring it into the shop this week and see what we can make of it.
It is always a risk when you buy cars from far far away, but at least this one was a cool one.

[Preston Brown]

Wonder how functional those decklid scoops really are...

[Kevin Wiggins]

I like it!

[Jon Bunin]

What's the thing with the RAF roundel supposed to be?

[Phil Planck]

Adam

What kind of carbs are those? Automatic chokes on a race car!

[Barry Brisco]

Adam, now that we have an Outlaw Forum, this car might qualify as one because it has a 356 engine, others may say it isn't a 356 outlaw because it isn't built on a 356 chassis.

I actually side with the latter opinion, but let's have some fun and keep the discussion going in the Outlaw Forum, okay? I do think that it is too far from a genuine 356 to keep in the main Forum.

What the heck are you going to do with that thing? Does it run and drive? What is the engine type?

Barry

This will probably get kicked to the off-topic forum, but it was supposed to be a 356, and it does have a 356 engine, so I thought I would try here first.

Almost a 356, a Fiber Fab Avenger

I saw this on criagslist and thought it might be something. The seller claimed it was built on a 356 chassis in the 60s and was built to race. All I could tell from the pics was it had a 356 motor, but not much else. I bought it sight unseen and it arrived this morning from the coast of Florida.

Unfortunately, it is not built on a 356 chassis, but it does have a 356 motor. The car is in nice shape and looks like it was never really finished. We are going to bring it into the shop this week and see what we can make of it.
It is always a risk when you buy cars from far far away, but at least this one was a cool one.

[Mot Megan]

Ah, the old Fiberfab Avenger - I know it well --

Back in the day (maybe '69?) I helped my older brother build one of those in my Dad's workshop. He did the old ring gear flip on his diff to use a Corvair (they counter-rotate) lump, so no 356 content at all for his, sorry

The quality of the kit was quite poor, the moldings were very rough (look at the hairy edges in the pictures), and the assembly directions were a cruel joke. My brother, a talented engineer and technical writer - in addition to having been a long-time hot rodder, struggled mightily to finish it. In the end, it was as big a disappointment to him as his previous car (a Corvette) had been.

The good news is that he soon sold it and bought his first Porsche, a '67 911, and still owns Porsche's' to this day.

[Adam Wright]

Barry-
Not sure what we will do with it, probably get it going and see if anyone wants it, if not maybe pull the 356 motor and put a bug motor in its place. It looks to be an A normal motor.

Preston-
I think the scoops were someone's addition.

Jon-
I don't know what the plane is, I wasn't there for the pickup, looks interesting though.

Phil-
The carbs are strange, I am going to try to figure out what they are.

[Jack Walter]

Carbs look like they may be Holley Bugpacks - I had one on my VW Thing.

There's very good VW buggy forum on the Samba - lots of neat stuff and knowledgeable people hang out there.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=38

I'm going to restore my 1968 Dean Jeffries Kyote dune buggy when I get done with the Jeffries Carrera - it will have a Porsche 356 engine in it when I'm done.

[Adam Wright]

Jack, I think you are going to end up with the Jeffries museum. Keep us posted!

[Jack Walter]

I didn't start out to collect Jeffries cars but dune buggies arrived on the scene when I was about 13-14 years old and I was an early fan of the Meyers Manx. Then on a trip out to California with my dad in 1968 I stayed with one of my best friends whose family had moved out to the Westwood area of LA a few years before.

We spent a week running around LA checking out neat cars on Sunset Strip and sat in a 427 Competition Cobra for a few minutes before the salesman chased us out ( He told us "The Cobra is $9,000" - seemed like a LOT of money at the time). I saw a Lamborghini Miura for the first time ever during those days too - have never forgotten the sound of that V-12 as it accelerated away from a stop light. While I was in LA I stopped at a drug store and picked up an issue of a magazine I'd never seen before - "Dune Buggies - The Fun Car Journal" which later became "Dune Buggies and Hot VW's".

On the cover of that magazine was a new dune buggy that had just been introduced by Dean Jeffries - it was called the Kyote and I thought it was the best looking dune buggy I'd ever seen. I've kept that magazine (along with the "Wheels of Fire" album by Cream) that I picked up in California ever since. I always wanted a Kyote - it just took me forty years to track one down drag it home. (My wife was NOT very enthusiastic when it came home with me from northern Virginia).

Vintage dune buggies are starting to get very collectible - especially well known makes that are proven to be from the original manufacturer. There were lots of buggies cloned off other bodies but genuine Meyers Manxes are getting valuable. Jeffries "signed" his buggies by laying his business card under the final layer of glass up under the dash.



I certainly knew who Jeffries was at the time - his Mantaray was already famous and he did a lot of neat cars for TV and movies so I became a big fan. Then a few years later I wound up with his Porsche - although I didn't know that when I got it. For the full story behind the Porsche it's detailed in Tom Cotter's new book - "The Corvette in the Barn".

[Adam Wright]

The Avenger has been sold to a buddy where it will share the stable with the like of a Gmund coupe, a Lola, a 917, and a bunch of other cool cars. It will be in company far greater than itself, not a bad place to spend your days.

[Matthew Devereux]

It looks like a really slow GT40.

[Adam Wright]

This car will do its new job nicely, being displayed amongst other cool cars. Like a few girls I have dated over the years, this one is way funner to look at than actually deal with or take out.

[Tom Bridgers]

In these parts we did more than "look at them" but I understand as I've also been in a few fast cars that I'd rather not own.

Tom