Bricklin owners have got it good. What other group of enthusiasts can have the founder and chief designer of their cars come and hang out with them for a weekend? Bricklin owners can, and did. From July 18th through the 22nd, the central Massachusetts city of Leominster played host to a flock of these mid-seventies gullwing GTs, and they were joined by Herb Grasse, who designed the wedgy sports car, as well as Malcolm Bricklin himself. Thirty-some cars eventually rumbled around the region and even drew some curious Deloreans out of the woodwork.
Bricklin owners are an exceptionally enthusiastic and knowedgeable group. Given the relative rarity of these sportsters, you'd assume that owners would have to be better with a wrench than your average Corvette owner. While we certainly found the owners we spoke with to have 93-octane blood, the cars themselves are based on stout, reliable and common components. Power units are AMC or Ford V8s, so big power is possible, and there were certainly several SV-1s sporting breathed-on drivetrains.
Check the jump for more and an interview with Malcolm Bricklin
Bricklin owners are an exceptionally enthusiastic and knowedgeable group. Given the relative rarity of these sportsters, you'd assume that owners would have to be better with a wrench than your average Corvette owner. While we certainly found the owners we spoke with to have 93-octane blood, the cars themselves are based on stout, reliable and common components. Power units are AMC or Ford V8s, so big power is possible, and there were certainly several SV-1s sporting breathed-on drivetrains.
Check the jump for more and an interview with Malcolm Bricklin
Not only do they know their rides, Bricklin owners know how to have a great time. Some car shows are park and polish events, not so at the Bricklin gathering. The five-day agenda was comprised of several cruises to local attractions and car shows, as well as a poker run and a concours judging. Malcolm Bricklin served as a keynote speaker, and Herb Grasse offered two presentations of a fascinating slideshow chronicling the design process for the fiberglass and resin bodied cars. It must have been like old home day for Malcolm and Herb when prototype #2 made its way to the shindig. Sporting numerous details differing from production models, as well as battle scars from various experiments as the engineering teams perfected the details of the cars., there was even a 351 Windsor tucked under the hood of the prototype, still wearing the stickers identifying it as the engine to be used for EPA certification.
It was eye catching to see a line of SV-1s in traffic, all wearing saturated colors plucked from the finest 1970s palette. We're waiting on the results of the judging, as we weren't able to pick just one as our favorite. All we know is that after hanging out with the gracious Bricklin owners, we got a contact high. These cars are unique and have an iconoclastic charm that led us to notch them up a few rungs on the old cars we want roster. We managed to snag a few seconds with Malcolm Bricklin and pick his brain about what he's got cooking now. Many thanks to Paul Robichaud for making Autoblog welcome, and to Toby for the tip!
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