Photo: Craigslist (Vallecito, CA)
A genuine Ford GT40 race car from the 1960s with the right specs is a legitimate seven-figure collector's item. Being a piece of automotive mythology at this point, its value will only ever increase from here on out. That's why a fair few kit car makers have come and gone over the years to try and replicate that iconic mid-engine Le Mans racer without taking out another mortgage on your home to pay for it. That's where the long-defunct Fiberfab company used to come in so clutch. This is their Avenger GT kit car, and boy, does it look Le Mans-ready.
Founded in Palo Alto, California, the proverbial heart of Silicon Valley, in 1964 by Wisconsin-native Warren Harding "Bud" Goodwin, Fiberfab's future leading man cut his teeth building fiberglass bodies for small-time race cars in the San Francisco Bay Area. So the legend goes, Goodwin was actually convicted of voluntary manslaughter in relation to the death of his second wife and fellow Fiberfab executive Jamaica Karen Goodwin. Bud Goodwin ultimately died in jail of a heart attack while serving his twelve-month sentence.
How Fiberfab continued onward after what legitimately could've been the plot of a Law & Order episode is beyond us. But you'd never know a thing about the scandals by looking at what Fiberfab's build quality looked. As this particular example for sale out of Vallecito, California, still demonstrates, it looks pretty damn good for a kit car. It's not quite a one-to-one replica; mind you, the front end has some distinct features that are all its own. Items like altered daytime running lights and twin-bulb headlamps instead of single units on each side give the Valkyrie Avenger a rather distinct look for something built as a tribute to an Anglo-American racing icon.
The unique split front hood-scoop of this Valkyrie kit car, though probably not all that functional, serves a second purpose of further distinguishing its looks compared to legit late-60s Le Mans racers of the same period this replica was built. If you slapped a similar 427 Ford big block motor the Mark II GT40 used to give Ferrari the proverbial Tombstone Piledriver multiple times under the rear hatch of this Fiberfab kit car, we bet it'd be nearly as fast as the real thing. Sad thing is, there isn't a big block V8 powering this kit car. It's the same 1,600 cc air-cooled VW boxer engine you'd have found in a plethora of underpowered but quirky classic Volkswagens.
Yeah, this isn't blitzing the pre-chicane Mulsanne Straight any time soon. But we bet you there's someone out there who could at least slap an LS or Coyote motor into one of these. Though these two engines are the restomod equivalent of ordering a Big Mac, you can't argue they wouldn't serve this fiberglass crime scene on four wheels beautifully.
How Fiberfab continued onward after what legitimately could've been the plot of a Law & Order episode is beyond us. But you'd never know a thing about the scandals by looking at what Fiberfab's build quality looked. As this particular example for sale out of Vallecito, California, still demonstrates, it looks pretty damn good for a kit car. It's not quite a one-to-one replica; mind you, the front end has some distinct features that are all its own. Items like altered daytime running lights and twin-bulb headlamps instead of single units on each side give the Valkyrie Avenger a rather distinct look for something built as a tribute to an Anglo-American racing icon.
The unique split front hood-scoop of this Valkyrie kit car, though probably not all that functional, serves a second purpose of further distinguishing its looks compared to legit late-60s Le Mans racers of the same period this replica was built. If you slapped a similar 427 Ford big block motor the Mark II GT40 used to give Ferrari the proverbial Tombstone Piledriver multiple times under the rear hatch of this Fiberfab kit car, we bet it'd be nearly as fast as the real thing. Sad thing is, there isn't a big block V8 powering this kit car. It's the same 1,600 cc air-cooled VW boxer engine you'd have found in a plethora of underpowered but quirky classic Volkswagens.
Yeah, this isn't blitzing the pre-chicane Mulsanne Straight any time soon. But we bet you there's someone out there who could at least slap an LS or Coyote motor into one of these. Though these two engines are the restomod equivalent of ordering a Big Mac, you can't argue they wouldn't serve this fiberglass crime scene on four wheels beautifully.
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