# American roadsters **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794 "2007-02-04T16:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/21 "2007-02-06T22:05:20Z")
I should probably expand on my previous response. I guess most of my suggestions had engines a little too large to meet your criteria, but I’d still argue that they were American equivalents of the Brit sports cars : The Nash-Healey had a 3800 cc straight six: [http://www.amxfiles.com/amc/healey.html](http://www.amxfiles.com/amc/healey.html) The Kaiser Darrin had a straight-six of 2600 ccs. [http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=car.php&carnum=1016](http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=car.php&carnum=1016) The Jeepster was available with a four of about 130 in3 or a six of 161 in3. > **[Parked Domain name on Hostinger DNS system](http://www.wojeepster.com/jeepster_engines.htm)** > > Parked Domain name on Hostinger DNS system And the Muntz was built with colossal Cadillac engines (331 in3) mostly: > **[News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines](https://www.aol.com/)** > > Discover the latest breaking news in the U.S. and around the world — politics, weather, entertainment, lifestyle, finance, sports and much more. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/22 "2007-02-07T01:24:38Z")
[QUOTE=Rocketeer] I guess most of my suggestions had engines a little too large to meet your criteria, but I’d still argue that they were American equivalents of the Brit sports cars [/QUOTE] Except for the Jeepster, how was their power compared to European and Japanese roadsters? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/23 "2007-02-07T01:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] I’m using examples as my definition: [ul][li][Fiat 124 Spyder](http://www.fiat-spider.net/)[/li][li][Porsche 356 Cabriolet](http://www.qv500.com/porsche356bp1.php)[/li][li][MGB](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_MGB)[/li][li][MG Midget/Austin Healey Sprite](http://www.mgcars.org.uk/midgetspriteclub/surrey/mascpics.html)[/li][li][Datsun Fairlady](http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/car_info_datsun_fairlady.htm)[/li][li][Honda Roadster](http://www.bubbledrome.com/mmclassic_05/brucev-faithl/mmclassic_05-Pages/Image8.html)[/li][li][Alfa Romeo Spyder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Spider)[/ul][/li]And others. Yes, but I’m wondering about roadsters in the same class as the others; not sixes and V8s. (Note the lack of mention of the Alpine Tiger, which was a V8; though the Alpine would be on the list.) So were there any American roadsters in the 1950s annd 1960s that are like the examples? [/QUOTE] The original Corvettes were gutless wonders. I don’t recall the engine size, but it was small the brakes were not great either. Would the Opal qualify? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/24 "2007-02-07T02:32:33Z")
Opel is a subsidiary of GM, but it is a German car, even though they were marketed by Buick dealers in the US. The Opel GT that looked like a miniature Corvette did have a four banger, though. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/25 "2007-02-07T03:19:19Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Except for the Jeepster, how was their power compared to European and Japanese roadsters? [/QUOTE] The Nash and the Kaiser seem to have both been 125 horsepower; the Muntz’ Cadillac was 160 HP. Not especially powerful engines by today’s standards. I just went downstairs and checked the shop manual for our old Datsun SP311 Roadster. 96 HP, 1600 cc displacement. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/26 "2007-02-07T04:49:53Z")
Maybe it’s a little to late for your OP but I think the Pontiac Fiero was a roadster. It was a POS but the lack of a functional back seat should qualify it as a roadster. The insurance companies killed the roadster. Companies like Jaguar found a way to stuff in a non-functional back seat just so that the car couldn’t be classified a roadster and thus be subject to the higher premiums. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/27 "2007-02-07T05:37:29Z")
The Pontiac Fiero was definitely a roadster, and a fun little car to boot. Shame on you! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/28 "2007-02-07T13:16:00Z")
Yes the Fiero is a bit late, as I was looking for contemporaries of the ‘classic’ roadsters listed. Was there a Fiero roadster? I thought they were all hard tops. (And the Opel was a hard top as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/29 "2007-02-07T13:27:34Z")
Johnny, I know you’re asking for American factory-made cars, and I have scratched my head enough trying to think of any others with no luck yet. But I did want to mention that the dad of a girl I was interested in in high school built her a “sports car” (more or less roadster) out of a Studebaker (forget which model). He modified the frame but didn’t mess with the engine (it was a 6, I think) and covered it with a fiberglass body. Most of his work was with the fiberglass and I stood around and watched him work for several weeks. When he got it built he let me drive it and I was just a short time having my license. Long story short(er), I ran into a curb and knocked a hole in the undercarriage. It took him about two hours to patch the hole with fiberglass. Needless to say, I didn’t drive it again. All this to say I remember some Studebaker model that was close enough to a roadster for this guy to use it as a basis for his custom. Not what you asked for, but those painful memories came out. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/30 "2007-02-07T14:00:59Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Johnny, I know you’re asking for American factory-made cars, and I have scratched my head enough trying to think of any others with no luck yet. But I did want to mention that the dad of a girl I was interested in in high school built her a “sports car” (more or less roadster) out of a Studebaker (forget which model). He modified the frame but didn’t mess with the engine (it was a 6, I think) and covered it with a fiberglass body. Most of his work was with the fiberglass and I stood around and watched him work for several weeks. When he got it built he let me drive it and I was just a short time having my license. Long story short(er), I ran into a curb and knocked a hole in the undercarriage. It took him about two hours to patch the hole with fiberglass. Needless to say, I didn’t drive it again. All this to say I remember some Studebaker model that was close enough to a roadster for this guy to use it as a basis for his custom. Not what you asked for, but those painful memories came out. [/QUOTE] Fascinating. Did he build the body from scratch, or was it a pre-made body (like a Woodhill or something) that he adapted to the Studebaker frame? I’m guessing that the frame was from a Lark, the compact Studebaker model; it’d be shorter (and sportier) wheelbase, and the six is also indicative. Incidentally, the Avanti (the most beautiful car ever made) was built on a Lark station wagon frame. Wildfire: [http://www.loti.com/prototypes/all\_concepts/slides/52WILLY’S-WOODHILL-WILDFIRE-1.html](http://www.loti.com/prototypes/all_concepts/slides/52WILLY'S-WOODHILL-WILDFIRE-1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/31 "2007-02-07T14:04:49Z")
Glasspar, that’s the other early kit car I was trying ot think of: > **[America on the Move](https://americanhistory.si.edu/america-on-the-move)** > > America on the Move explores the role of transportation in American history. Visit communities wrestling with the changes that new transportation networks brought. See cities change, suburbs expand, and farms and factories become part of regional,... ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/32 "2007-02-07T14:26:24Z")
[QUOTE=Rocketeer] Fascinating. Did he build the body from scratch, or was it a pre-made body (like a Woodhill or something) that he adapted to the Studebaker frame? I’m guessing that the frame was from a Lark, the compact Studebaker model; it’d be shorter (and sportier) wheelbase, and the six is also indicative. Incidentally, the Avanti (the most beautiful car ever made) was built on a Lark station wagon frame. Wildfire: [http://www.loti.com/prototypes/all\_concepts/slides/52WILLY’S-WOODHILL-WILDFIRE-1.html](http://www.loti.com/prototypes/all_concepts/slides/52WILLY'S-WOODHILL-WILDFIRE-1.html) [/QUOTE] It was a purchased shell he bought somewhere. He worked in a metal-working foundry for a living, but was one of those guys who could build anything. As best I recall, the frame had to be modified inward a few inches in each direction to accommodate the body, so whether it was sold for the Studebaker or he just chose the car for other reasons, I don’t know. The fiberglass was attached to the frame by way of plywood struts, so it looked as much like a boat as a car. But since the Corvette had made fiberglass a reliable body material he was okay with that. His daughter drove it for several years and took decent care of it. Thanks for mentioning the Avanti. That may be what I was hung up on trying to remember other roadsters. And you could be right about the Lark, too. I just can’t remember that detail. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/33 "2007-02-07T15:35:09Z")
Chassis and running gear by Bristol, body by Bertone, but assembled in scenic Warsaw, Indiana, by Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt, I give you the [Arnolt Bristol.](http://www.arnolt.com/arnolt.html) Sure, it was a six but it was a high-revving, two-liter six in an absolutely gorgeous body. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/34 "2007-02-07T15:54:13Z")
Something else shared by Arnolt and Muntz were similar nicknames, Muntz’s being “Madman.” While neither received their nicknames because they started car companies, it’s a good way to make a small fortune. First you take a **large** fortune… ---
**Author:** ![mambocrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@mambocrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambocrow)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/35 "2007-02-08T19:04:52Z")
This might qualify, and I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet. The Crosley Hot Shot. Four cylinder engine, no windows at all (no doors either). I remember these being advertised in the ad pages near the back of Popular Science magazines inthe early 60’s: [http://www.hubcapcafe.com/ocs/pages01/cros4901.htm](http://www.hubcapcafe.com/ocs/pages01/cros4901.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/36 "2007-02-09T01:25:03Z")
Heh. Reminds me of a Mini Moke – only not as attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/37 "2007-02-09T01:50:37Z")
Now that I think about it, there was one other small-displacement, open, fixed-windshield roadster built in the Fifties that might meet your specification: [http://www.kingmidgetcarclub.org/model3pixs.html](http://www.kingmidgetcarclub.org/model3pixs.html) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794/38 "2007-02-09T14:51:44Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Heh. Reminds me of a Mini Moke – only not as attractive. [/QUOTE] It may be ugly but one wone the first race at Sebring! [News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines - AOL.com](http://members.aol.com/kingmidg1/CROSLEYWEBPAGE.html) Tried to buy one for $300 in '71. Had a Crosley wagon as a parts car, too, but I couldn’t find where the seller lived. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-roadsters/390794.md?page=1)