1975 Bricklin SV-1 basic model from North America - Comments

The entire body was a mistake. The material was essentially plastic. In hot temperatures, the body would almost start to melt. The color faded after only 2 years. The gullwing doors didn't fit well at all, and they leaked every rain storm. The air conditioner never worked either. I have heard that was a design flaw. The actual car doesn't get really great gas mileage. I'd only buy another one due to its value.

I liked the car very much despite its flaws. I was able to fix the leaking problem to a certain degree. Got me from point A to point B without to much trouble. Although I did find myself on the highway median with some regularity. Fast car though. I figured the weight would low it down, but I got her up to 122 on a nice straight away. If you find one, buy it. It is rumored that these cars are very rare and highly sought after.

Beautiful car? Yes.

Leaky? Yes.

122 MPH? Downhill only. With the speedometer error on that VDO cluster you may have actually been going 72.

Hello:

My name is Ken.

In reference to the (VDO) speedometer, there where design problems with it. (Split Magnet separation) For about $150.00 you can take it to a reputable speedometer calibration shop like (Dicks Speed-O-Tach) in Tempe, Arizona. They will perform all the factory fixes and upgrades required by (VDO) and Then calibrate it., also a new speedometer cable comes with the service. They then put the car on the speed dyno and check calibration on the car and give you a printout at all speeds. This is the same speedometer they used in many hi end sports cars of the day. After the above it will be right on the money.

Ken.

It is definitely a RARE car, but the values haven't changed in 20 years. If you bought one in 1986 for $8,000 that's about what you would get for it today. The reason. No power (nothing had power in the mid 70's) and too many door problems. Also, unless you can fix things yourself, good luck finding a repair shop that doesn't think it's a kit car. Yeah, the shops are ignorant, but it's a reality.