Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Kit Cars: The evergreen VW floor pan and it's brush with greatness. Part Two.

This is a Blower Bentley replica.
It's the only one that I've ever seen.

 "Would you like to see something from our more affordably priced line?"   

I have been enamored with the romance of the Blower Bentley ever since I watched the Petrolicious video, "Live Life as a Bentley Boy." I have read more articles on these amazing cars and their daring young wealthy drivers. I learned of the fabled Blue Train Bentley, that beat a railroad train in a run from Nice to Calais France. The owner and driver, Joel Woolf Barnato, along with his co driver, beat the train to Calais, and was actually back in London before the train completed its run. Barnato collected on all the bets, but spent more than he won, paying the traffic fines he amassed! 

A recreation of the fabled "Blue Train" Bentley

Okay, we all know that the rich guys get to have all the fun, it helps to be the heir to a South African diamond mine!

But why should the rich guys be the only ones having fun? 

That's what the concept of reproduction cars are all about, spreading out the glory.

I'd rock this in a heartbeat!
I'd never seen a Blower Bentley replica before.

Who needs a Blue Train?  I love the cycle fenders.

While this VW kit will most likely make onlookers think more of the Pep boys, then the Bentley Boys, who doesn't want a taste of that glory? 

Trying to fill those Bentley shoes is just too much of a stretch. However, there are other vehicles that are within reach. As we saw with the Excalibur, smaller British sports cars can make a tempting target.

I wonder if this tweedy couple ever drove that thing?

The MG replica was very popular and produced by
different manufacturers.

I like the rear treatment of the fenders and the fuel tank
 and Continental spare.

You can have it your way with VW power.
There are many avenues to increased horsepower.

The Gazelle Mercedes SSK replica has been an evergreen favorite.

The Mercedes has been a favorite of replicar builders for years. The Excalibur was one of the best tributes to this design. These cars are famous for the exhaust pipes exiting the hood. Most replicas have a fake pipe set up, as most don't even have an engine up front! 

Two seat designs have better proportions, not how this Gazelle has a big box on the back. That's pretty common with four seat designs.

Oh, those terrible wheel covers! I don't expect a builder to use actual wire spoke wheels as they are quite expensive. However there are many alternatives that can be found at a good price. 

The Jaguar SS is differentiated primarily by the large headlamp shells. This is combined with a cross brace bar and rather deep splash pan set up. The Jaguars usually have fully valanced fenders with running boards.

This example uses a much nicer spoke wheel covers, which I believe were sourced form a Chrysler vehicle. 

These Jag replicas are my favorites. With VW power, I'd bet that these would be more reliable than an original car!  

There's not a lot of room in the cabin, in any of these cars. There will usually not be heating and defrosting. In that way they are very similar to a true early roadster. You can drive these cars, as long as you are willing to accept their shortcomings. I rode motorcycles for thirty five years. I took many long distance road trips on them. Even a basic car like this would be much more comfortable than a bare motorcycle! 

At one time I would have led a harangue against these kit cars. But that would have been a long, long, time ago. Now I think that they're okay. They certainly look like fun. Really, any open top car is going to be fun on a clear, sunny Spring or Fall day. 

I had a ride in a dune buggy and I will say that it was a lot of fun. It is a very viceral experience. I could really enjoy it as a younger person, as an older person I would find it to be somewhat tiring. 

These are also attainable cars, better to have an actual car parked in your driveway, than an unattainable icon stuck in your mind. 

Most of these VW based cars wouldn't fool an experienced and knowledgeable observer. But I don't think that they were ever meant to do that. 

It seems that these are the type of cars that are built and then driven just a bit, then are parked and forgotten about for long periods. That seemed to be a similar case with these car's dune buggy siblings. I'd often see one peeking out from a driveway or a sideyard. It's just recently that dune buggies are starting to regain some of their popularity and desirability.

I bought my oldest Daughter an old VW bug as her first car, and I became acquainted with the custom and reproduction parts aftermarket back in the 1990's. I would imagine that it is as strong as ever. So fixing up and keeping an older VW based car on the road should be a reasonable proposition.  

One of the most basic questions is: "Would I be embarrassed to be seen driving one of these cars?"

That's a pretty personal question.  A lot depends on the owner's motivations. If the owner wants a car that recalls an earlier era, but wants something that is more practical, usable, and affordable, then these make sense. If someone wants to impress onlookers, or to possibly fool them into thinking that this is a valuable, authentic classic vehicle, then I think that they will be disappointed.

In my opinion, kit cars like this are just another way to have fun with cars.