Welcome to the Sunday Edition of the Hooniverse Neo-classical Weekend (which is very late because I had to deal with Project House Hell!). There is one dealer in the country that specifically sells these types of cars, and that would be Bob’s Classics in Clearwater, FL. According to the dealer:

Bob’s Classics, Inc., established in 1991, is owned and operated by Bob Simpson and his wife, Marcelle. Bob’s Classics, Inc. has cars for anyone who has ever fantasized about being a movie star or Wall Street Tycoon in the 1930s. These are dream cars that people can afford. The fun of owning one of Bob’s cars of yesteryear can be had for less than the price of a new or used cookie-cutter car from Detroit or Tokyo. The cars you will see on the following pages aren’t antiques; they’re low-mileage, pre-owned, full-scale replicas of cars originally costing as much as a million dollars. The replicas have no-rust fiberglass bodies for low maintenance, amenities such as air conditioning and power steering, and can be driven daily. Parts and service are no problem because most of them have drive trains made by one of Detroit’s Big Three.

We are going to show some of his current inventory, and I will conduct a poll as to which of these vehicles you would like to own when you get to be my age, which is currently hovering around 258 years…

This is a 1988 Zimmer Golden Spirit Coupe and it is said to be one of the last ones made (#1284) with only 15,789 miles on the odometer. It was built using a 1987 Ford Mustang as its base, with a lot of engineering to mold it into this Neo-Classic you see before you. Equipment includes unique biscuit wrinkled leather Recaro seats, a $500 Nardi Signature edition gold spoke wood steering wheel, a $1200 solid bronze-gold plated eagle hood ornament, German cut crystal vases for the passengers, real chrome wire wheels, genuine wood dash, console & door inserts, custom wood shift knob, 4 trumpet horns, wide white tires, and teak trim used on the running boards and rear luggage rack. Powered by a 5.0 Multi Port fuel injected Ford Mustang V8 engine with automatic transmission & overdrive. Of course it is air conditioned, and comes with all the power and convenience features like power seats, windows, antenna, and remote trunk release with gas door. This cars measures 18 feet long with 142″ wheelbase. All parts are Ford Mustang, most metal is stainless steel, like the bumper & supercharger pipes, and only the doors & roof are metal, the rest is heavy fiberglass that will never rust. Bob is asking $34,900 for this rolling palace on wheels. See the listing here, and tell me if you would like to be cruising in this Zimmer.

This is a 1936 Mercedes 500k Marlene replica, equipped with a V6 Ford, Automatic, tilt, and air conditioning. This was produced by Classic Roadsters in Fargo North Dakota. This is the Marlene 2 seater roadster, named after the German actress Marlene Dietrich. This has the 2.8L Cologne V-6, a tilt steering column (Looks like its from a Chevette), and the Automatic shift selector and parking brake look like they were borrowed from a Pinto. These were built in the early 90s, but this one has a title that states that its a 1936 Mercedes. If that flies in California, you have a car that doesn’t need to pass any smog check whatsoever. The car only weighs 2,200 pounds, so it really is a lightweight, and the asking price is $21,900. Take a look at the listing, and tell me if you think this car is reasonable.

This is a 1985 Johnson Presidential Rumble Seat Roadster, and is one of the rarest of all the Neo-Classic autos ever built. This is not a kit car, but a factory built turnkey From Johnson Motor Cars in Pompano Beach Florida. This is #37 of only 50 ever built, and they were built from 1983 to 1985. This car has 31,223 original miles, and is powered by a Chevrolet 305cid (5.0L), with a 350 Turbohydramatic transmission, air conditioning, power brakes, steering, windows & antenna. The car is over 16 feet long with a weight of 3500 pounds. It looks like the original body is am MG Midget, but I could be wrong. The asking price for this Rumble Seat Roadster is $29,900, so why not take a look at the listing, and see if you could ever see yourself in one.

This is a 1980 Clenet Series II Phaeton, #63 of only 182 ever made. This is one of the rarest of the Neo-Classical models with only 182 actually built-even though they did planned on building 250 cars. Clenets were super pricey cars for 1980 at around $90,000. This car has 34,000 miles on the odometer, and is powered by a Ford 5.0L V-8, and Automatic. Just to add to the baroque feel to the car, there is a crystal hood ornament, and a crystal ash tray in the passenger compartment. I believe these cars were fashioned from a VW Super Beetle body on a custom chassis, hence the lack of room in the passenger compartment. This full size Neo-Classic is around 18 1/2 feet long, with 136″ wheelbase, 74″ wide, 62″ high and weighs 4090 pounds. Asking price for this rolling tribute to questionable taste is $31,900. Take a look at the listing here, and see if you could see yourself piloting this Clenet.

This is a 1936 Mercedes 540 K Thoroughbred replica, and is titled as a 1936 Mercedes. It was built around 1988, has only 13,000 miles, powered by either a Ford 302, or a Ford 351 (The listing doesn’t make it clear at all), and has all the comfort and conveniences one comes to expect in cars like this. One interesting aspect of this Neo-Classic is the Suicide Doors (Very Neat), but otherwise, its another replicar. Asking price for this 540K Throughbred replica is $27,900. See the listing here, and tell me what you think.

While not exactly in the same vein as the previous replicas, this car is still styled to look like a car of the past. This is a 1993 Mercury Cougar styled to look like a 1949 to 1951 Ford Coupe. The big difference with this car is the 1957 Corvette Grill insert instead of one that looks like a period correct Ford piece. What else can be said… the car is nothing but a last generation Cougar with a 5.0L V-8, and all the other equipment that cams standard with the Cougar that year. The asking price for this tribute to Fords past is $14,900. Take a look at the listing, and tell me if this is the replica of your dreams.

This is a 1937 Cord replica that is a factory built Samco Royale in 1969, and fully resored in 2009 by Dream Car Classics in Florida. Factory built by Samco and titled as a 1969 Cord, only 400 were ever built, and most have the smaller 302 Ford engines with 108″ wheelbase called the Warrior model. This one is the larger version, called the Royale, with 113″ wheelbase equipped with a big block 440 V8 Chrysler engine, and a 727A Torqueflite automatic. This car received a fresh 2 tone burgundy & silver paint job, a new plush cloth interior, and shows under 30,000 miles. The dealer states that this is a very fast car and only weighs 3100 pounds. Asking price is a firm $28,900. See the listing here, and tell me if this is the correct replica to call your own.

This is a 1988 Tiffany Classic Coupe, which is one of the last models of this particular make. The Tiffany was built by Classic Motor Carriages, in Miami, using a 1988 Mercury Cougar as the project base. This car has a 145″ Wheelbase, and is a whopping 18.5 ft long. Aft the classically inspired front end, you have every single hodgepodge to luxury you could ever conceive, including carriage roof, opera top with opera windows, opera lights, leather trunk straps, fixed moon roof with sunshade, 4 trumpet horns, twin fog lamps, badge bar with badges, dual side spares with real tires inside, Wire Wheels, wide whitewall tires, and more. This car shows only 18,000 miles under its belt, and the asking price is $27,900. See the listing, and you tell me if this thing is even remotely desirable.

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