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The 'Bricklin SV-1' was a gull-wing door sports car built in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada from 1974 until early 1976 for the U.S. market. The car was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin, an American millionaire who had previously founded Subaru of America. Sales did not meet expectations, and only 2,854 cars were built before the company went into receivership, owing the government $23 million. It is believed approximately 1,500 Bricklin cars still exist.

The name stood for "safety vehicle one", an odd choice of focus in a sports car from the fuel-sensitive 1970s. The Bricklin was designed for safety with an integrated roll cage, 5 mph bumpers, and side beams. The body was fiberglass with bonded acrylic in five "safety" colors: white, red, green, orange and suntan. The cars had no cigarette lighter or ashtray. Malcolm Bricklin believed it was unsafe to smoke and drive.
Power came from an AMC 360 in³ (5899 cm³) V8 for 1974. Later cars used Ford's 351 in³ (5752 cm³) Windsor V8. The suspension was independent in front with A-arms and coil springs, while the rear used leaf springs on a live axle. A high performance V8 was chosen so that in case of an impending accident, the power of the V8 was enough for the owner to power out away from the potential accident.
772 model year 1974 cars were produced, 137 of which had four-speed manual transmissions. All 1975 and 1976 cars had automatic transmissions. The later De Lorean, which resembled the Bricklin in many ways, used a much more reliable torsion bar system to raise the doors.

Contents

In the Media

Problems

Bricklin and Enthusiasts

Commemorating the Bricklin

Bricklin marketing pictures

1974

1975

References

Books

Filmography

External links

In the Media

''The Bricklin Story'' was a 30-minute 1974 film produced as a self-promotion piece. It aired nationally on CBC and was roundly panned by critics.
The Bricklin was featured at least once on Let's Make a Deal as one of the grand prizes.
A 1975 music album by Woodstock, New Brunswick DJ Charlie Russell, was entitled (with irony), ''The Bricklin and Other Sound Investments.''
New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield's 1974 reelection campaign was nicknamed ''The Bricklin Election'', possibly because of his government's financial support of the Bricklin company and because of Hatfield's use of an orange-colored Bricklin in his campaign. He blamed criticism of the car on the opposing Liberal government.
An episode of ''Chico and the Man'' debuted on NBC on February 14, 1975, guest-starring Sammy Davis Jr., who drives in to Ed Brown's garage in a Bricklin, complaining of engine trouble.
A Bricklin SV-1 appears in two shots in the 1977 American film ''Demon Seed''. It was driven by the husband portrayed by Fritz Weaver, of the main character portrayed by Julie Christie. Contrary to various sources, the car was not featured in a movie version of Harold Robbins' novel, ''The Betsy''.
A most famous Bricklin was also featured in two H.B. Halicki movies which are from 1982 and 1983 which are called ''The Junkman'' and ''Deadline Auto Theft'', where Halicki drives the Bricklin during a car chase and crashes it into a river. The Bricklin later winds up in the Los Angeles Police Department impound yard.
A Bricklin was also featured as the car driven by pornographic actor John Holmes in the 1977 film ''Eruption''.
The Bricklin was featured in the September, 1974 issue of Playboy Magazine.
A New Brunswick film company, Cojak Productions, is reviewing the Bricklin fiasco in a docu-drama. Malcolm Bricklin will be playing himself. Three Bricklins were discovered in Halifax and have been purchased for use in the film. Tentatively named ''Plan B: The Bricklin Legend'', the film was aired on RDI and Radio-Canada on April 15, 2006.
History Television produced a documentary entitled ''Premier, Promoter & Their Car'' for its ''Turning Points of History'' series. The documentary explores the political fiasco that surrounded the Bricklin.

Problems

#Gull-wing doors leaked, and weighed 45 kg each
#Electrical problems
#Headlights would fail to pop up
#The acrylic body tended to crack and warp
#High sticker price
#Easily locked out

Bricklin and Enthusiasts

★ Due to the Ford engine, a Ford engined Bricklin can be counted by purists as being an "unofficial" Ford. Bricklin owners are openly welcomed into Ford classic car shows.

★ There are only a couple of Bricklins in the Southern hemisphere. One of note is resident in Christchurch, New Zealand. Another was up for auction in Australia in November 2006.

★ A red Bricklin is on show as part of the Haynes International Motor Museum collection in Sparkford, Somerset in England.

★ An orange Bricklin is on show as part of the permanent collection of the Western Development Museum's location in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

★ A fully-restored Bricklin is on display at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick.

★ The 2007 season of the SPEED Channel show Chop, Cut, Rebuild featured a complete restoration of a Ford-engined Bricklin.

Commemorating the Bricklin

★ As part of a series commemorating Historic Land Vehicles, Canada issued the Bricklin Stamp on June 8, 1996. It had a face value of 45¢.

★ In June, 2003 the Canadian mint issued a $20 sterling silver Bricklin coin with selective gold plating.

★ Both the Bricklin coin and the Bricklin stamp enjoyed greater success than the car itself, selling out quickly.

Bricklin marketing pictures

1974

1975

References

#1974 Sales literature
#Bricklin in ''Fast Company''
#Bricklin in ''Junkman''
#Bricklin in ''Deadline Autotheft''
#Bricklin in ''Smokey and the Bandit Part 3''

Books

'Out of Print'

★ ''Bricklin'' - H. A. Fredericks with Allan Chambers (1977) ISBN 0-88790-087-9 (softcover) ISBN 0-88790-088-7 (hardcover)

★ ''How to Brickle The New Brunswick Funny Book'' - Interduction [''sic''] by Still Pickens (1977) ISBN 0-9690732-0-8

★ ''Bricklemanship The New Brunswick Grief Book'' - Interduction [''sic''] by Still Pickens (1978) ISBN 0-9690732-1-6

★ ''Bricklin Gold Portfolio 1974-1975'' - Compiled by R. M. Clarke (1995) ISBN 1-85520-309-X

Filmography

★ ''Demon Seed'' (1977)

★ ''Fast Company'' (1979)

★ ''The Junkman'' (1982)

★ ''Deadline Auto Theft'' (1983)

★ ''Cannonball Run II'' (1983) very brief peek

★ ''Smokey and the Bandit Part 3'' (1983).

★ ''Eruption'' (1987) X-rated

★ ''Hawk Jones'' (1988)

★ ''Up! Up! And Away!'' (2001) X-rated

External links

★ Bricklin International Owners Club

★ Bricklin at The Old Car Manual Project features a brochure for the 1975 Bricklin.

★ Bricklin heritage resources

★ Turning Points of History episode summary

★ scale model Bricklins