Ford. Chevrolet. DeLorean. Chrysler. The car industry is filled with companies named after their founders. For a short period in the 1970s, automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin had his own. Our Pick of the Day is a product of that short-lived venture. You can find this 1975 Bricklin SV-1 listed on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Elyria, Ohio.
Before he had his own eponymous car company, Malcolm Bricklin co-founded Subaru of America in 1968 and began importing Subaru’s 360 kei car. In the 1970s, instead of focusing on a small, fuel-efficient car like the 360, he directed his attention toward making a vehicle that combined performance and safety. That car came to be known as the SV-1 (Safety Vehicle 1). Produced in New Brunswick, Canada, the SV-1 had a wedge-shaped body made of colored acrylic panels over fiberglass with black lower bodywork and gull wing-style doors.
Both ends of the SV-1 had a bumper designed to take impacts without damaging the body. Under that acrylic skin was a tubular box steel frame that surrounded the passenger compartment, whose occupants were further protected by a roll cage. Steel partitions guarded five sides of the fuel tank against rear-end collisions.
A V-8 was standard, but the supplier changed after first model year. According to the Bricklin International Owners Club (BIOC), “There were 780 produced in 1974 with a 220bhp AMC 360cid V-8. Because of short engine supply from AMC, in 1975 a switch was made to the 175bhp Ford 351W V-8. The 1975 model year saw 2062 cars come off the assembly line.” MotorWeek notes that “AMC-powered Bricklins offered manual or automatic transmissions, but the Ford powertrain came with a 3 speed auto, only.” The specs for the ’75 SV-1 show that the 351 was connected to a two-barrel carburetor and an FMX automatic.
The BIOC estimates that there are only about 1,500 still in existence. Careful SV-1 owners have certainly contributed significantly to that number, but this particular SV-1 has survived more than 50 years because it hasn’t had many chances to be wrecked thanks to having only 1,056 miles on its VDO odometer. Judging by the photos, it appears the Safety Orange exterior is in great shape. The same is largely true for the air-conditioned tan and brown interior, although the carpeting and the passenger-side door panel show signs of age-related degradation. I imagine those issues can be quickly and inexpensively fixed by a qualified upholsterer.
The selling dealer says, “This particular car is a time warp — it’s still even riding on its original tires. We have chosen to do a light service including a visual inspection, an oil change, and a general once over.”
If you buy this $46,900 1975 Bricklin SV-1, you can decide if you want to keep such a distinctive part of automotive history preserved in your garage or drive it for all the world to see — and stare at.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
