Vehicle Description
1975 Bricklin SV-1 - Safety Red over Cloth Interior - Ford 351
Windsor V8 - Gull Wing Doors with Upgraded Air Hydraulics -
Automatic Transmission - Air Conditioning - 50k Miles - Recently
Restored: Paint, Fuel Tank, Carpet, Tires, and Battery - Rare Find:
Only Produced for Three Years (Please note: If you happen to be
viewing this 1975 Bricklin SV-1 on a website other than our Garage
Kept Motors site, it's possible that you've only seen some of our
many photographs of the car due to third-party website limitations.
To be sure you access all the more than 150 photographs, as well as
a short start-up and walk-around video, please go to our main
website: Garage Kept Motors.) Hagerty Media tells the Bricklin
story: The Bricklin SV-1 was conceived in 1973, when the U.S. auto
industry was in a slump due to fuel shortages, emissions
regulations, and increased safety requirements. Subaru importer
Malcolm Bricklin believed there was a seam in the market for a safe
and individual sports car, so he persuaded the Canadian government
to invest money for construction of such a car in depressed New
Brunswick. Cost overruns and quality control problems with the
inexperienced workforce led to eventual bankruptcy. The first
Bricklins were built in 1974, and the factory shut down in late
1975.... Despite looking like a mid-engine two-seater, the Bricklin
squeezed an AMC 360-cid V-8 under the car's sharply sloping hood.
Later cars had a Ford 351 V-8 but only the first year offered a
four-speed transmission. The bumpers at both ends of the car were
massive urethane bolsters and the body was fiberglass, with color
molded in. The doors were electro-hydraulically operated gullwings
that weighed a hefty 100 pounds apiece. The Bricklin was introduced
at $7,900, rising to $9,995 for the last models. The 'SV' (for
'Safety Vehicle') part of the name was backed up by the car's steel
cage and big bumpers. Color choices were bold in virulent orange,
yellow, and green, red and white, and tan. Interiors were typical
1970s, with button-tufted faux suede seats and AMC gauges. In all,
2,897 cars were sold before the bailiffs appeared on the doorstep.
A political scandal followed amid claims that the Canadian
government had been trying to keep the factory open until the next
election. A great deal more Bricklin-related information is
available online at:
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/tire/1975/78590/bricklin_sv-1_automatic_ford_windsor_engine.html
Offered here is a 1975 Bricklin SV-1 in Safety Red over tan.
Recently restored, the Bricklin's odometer shows 50,699 miles,
roughly just 1,100 miles per-year on average since new. With fewer
than 3,000 ever produced, this well-maintained gull-winged-door bit
of automotive history from the Seventies is a legitimate-and
rare-bit of automotive history. The exterior Safety Red finish
shows well across all the car's exterior panels, with gloss-black
accenting the lower body and bumpers (the rear bumper is entirely
black). The paint finish has been very well treated through the
years and now exhibits near-showroom condition free of scrapes or
other damage. (To best assess the quality of the paint and trim
finishes, please be sure to view the close-up photographs of the
car in the accompanying gallery.) The limited chrome trim on the
car has also been treated well. All factory badging-including the
stylized B emblems in front and on the front fenders and the
Bricklin badge on the rear-is properly in place. Tinted cabin glass
(including on the bespoke gull-wing doors and large,
strut-supported rear hatchback) is free of cracks or other damage.
Lighting lenses (including on the pop-up headlights) are similarly
undamaged. Factory turbine-style, 15-inch alloy wheels (with
B-emblem center caps) are mounted with BFGoodrich® Radial T/A
raised-white-letter tires. The car's tan-themed interior has been
cared for with the same attention as its body. The condition of the
button-tufted faux suede
