A One-of-a-Kind Corvair-Porsche Sports Car Awakens from a Long Sleep
Culture
Concept cars
It’s hard to know why auto designers sometimes put their heart and soul into unique sports cars, build them from scratch, and then mothball or
abandon them. But it’s a pattern we’ve seen time and time again. Case in point: a gorgeous 1960s Porsche-like mid-engine fiberglass sportster called the GT38 - opens in new window or tab. now available on eBay Motors.
Between 1963 and 1969, ex-General Motors and Chrysler stylist Bill Molzon built the GT38 and then put it into his Michigan garage with less than 1,000 miles on the odometer. Molzon’s creation was recently disinterred from a 44-year sleep.
Note the pop-up headlights and homemade badge.
The GT38 weighs less than 1,200 pounds, and is powered by a built Chevrolet Corvair Corsa six-cylinder motor—turned 180 degrees—that with larger pistons and four carbs produces more than 200 horsepower. Shifting is handled by a Porsche 911 five-speed, and the car sits on a lightweight tubular frame.
Is it a Porsche, a Ferrari? Nope, a Molzon GT38.
Although the car is one of a kind, its mechanical components are easily sourced on eBay Motors. There are Corvairs - opens in new window or tab. and Corvair parts - opens in new window or tab.—as well as the valuable Porsche 911 transmission - opens in new window or tab..
“It’s scary fast,” Molzon told the current owner. According to Road and Track in 1970, Molzon’s goal was “acceleration superior to a Corvette with the economy of a Corvair and the handling capabilities of a Lotus.” The magazine added that “even the usually cool Molzon confesses to being a little unnerved by the alacrity of the acceleration and directional responses beyond expectation.” Maybe this is why the GT38 didn’t become his daily driver.
Although John Tyner, the current owner, expended 300 hours on getting the car to run and drive—including new fuel pump, rebuilt carbs, new brakes/clutch slave cylinder, and a refurbished fuel cell—he says it’s too rare and valuable to risk on the road. His test drives were conducted with the body off, because, Tyner said, “The panels are irreplaceable.” Everything reportedly works, including speedometer, horn, lights, signals, and wipers. The Goodyear Rally tires still hold air and have few miles on them but, c’mon, they’re from 1963. Good for displays, but not for driving.
With engine and front lid open, the car’s mid-engine layout is apparent.
A lot of crude fiberglass sports cars were built in the 1960s, but this isn’t one of them. There’s great attention to detail everywhere, from the pop-up headlights to the rear vents. Molzon built working scale models of the frame, suspension seats, and partial body shell. He’d originally planned a roadster, but the design evolved into an Alfa/Porsche-inspired coupe, with the gullwing doors.
The concept makes a lot of sense because the air-cooled Corvair motor—one of the few rear-engine designs then produced in the US—was available inexpensively, and, after all, Molzon worked for GM. Race driver John Fitch built the Corvair Sprint, with 155 horsepower instead of the stock 140, at about the same time. Molzon could have considered the GT38 for similar series production, but instead, he built the world’s only GT38, which is now listed on eBay Motors.
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