Infamous Continental Flyer for sale on ebay

[JamesR]

I found this on ebay just now. Quite a history. This isn't a Lincoln Continental, but a 1933 Continental Flyer coupe from the very interesting Continental company, the history of which is presented in the accompanying article. They made very few cars, and even fewer still were coupes. The infamy comes into play because there were only four coupes known to exist when the guy bought this example several years ago, and though it had the expected wear, it was mostly intact and all original. He made it into a hot rod.

 

1933 Continental Coupe: restore or hot Roddy? — that is the question!

Here it is 10 years ago or whenever (I believe):

 

 

Here it is now (I believe it was built around 2014 or 15 or so.):

 

 

 

Anyway, if any of you are interested, it's now for sale for $75,000 on eBay.

1933 Continental Flyer | eBay

Edited December 10, 2019 by JamesR (see edit history)

[Mark Gregory]

Years ago there was Hot Rodder on this Site who offered for Sale the Antique cars before he chopped them up. When he chopped them up or put a whole new under carriage underneath them he then offered the parts to buyers.

The Hot Rodder took a lot of heat from the Members and then he quit offering them for Sale and disappeared.

 

Maybe this is one of his creations or mess  ?  I do not like what he has done at all.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Mark Gregory (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Whoever did it took a VERY scarce car and turned it into a look-a-like that looks like ANY other hot rod. I don't mind a lot of hot rodders, but this car should not have been turned into a cookie cutter car.

[hchris]

There are some people who shouldn't be allowed near cars..😥

[58L-Y8]

One more rarity lost.  Keep doing it to these rare cars, guys,, soon they'll be extinct.  Street rods are generic, all look the same, might as well take the make badges off, what they were makes no difference anymore.  This poor Continental Flyer could be anything.

Edited December 10, 2019 by 58L-Y8 (see edit history)

[CHuDWah]

I drive both sides of the street but I agree a car as rare as this one should not have been hot-rodded.

 

That said, it's unfortunate that many restorers dis hot rods, no matter how well done, but most rodders can admire a restoration.  Oh, they may think it would be better with a hemi and chrome wheels but they can appreciate the blood, sweat, toil, and tears...and MONEY...involved in a quality restoration.

 

Hot rods may look alike but come down to it, so do stockers.  Sure, there are differences but a 33 Continental looks basically the same as a 33 Ford, Chevy, whatever.  And yes, there are some junk hot rods but there are some not-so-good restorations as well.  To be strictly monetary, building a hot rod can cost as much as a restoration but in general, a hot rod will sell for more.

 

There have been threads on this forum bemoaning younger people's lack of interest in old cars.  That's exactly why the National Street Rod Association went to a 30-years-old sliding scale a while back.  Before that, it was pre-1949 and there was plenty of griping about the change, but it was necessary if the club was to survive.  I'm not suggesting restorer groups should adopt hot rods.  But to quote a couple cliches from when I was younger, "different strokes for different folks" and "can't we all just get along?"

[auburnseeker]

Actually stockers have alot of similarities but looking alike not nearly as much as once they are hot rodded,  especially in this case.  It looks alot like a 33 Ford with smoothed body lines,  which I'm sure has been done by someone else already and probably from a pretty ratty old stock car (race car) .  Now if you wanted to clone a stock 33 Continental from a 33 Ford coupe. it would take tons of work and you probably still wouldn't get it right.  It's the subtle differences of all the parts together that make them different.  Once you strip off the fenders,  put it on what sure looks like a 32 Ford frame you have lost all the things that made it continental.  I think he will be hard pressed to get his 75 as you can buy a real steel 33 Ford done just the same way for probably less. I'm guessing around 50G.  Most guys that want this look and are willing to pony up the money want a Ford.  

If he had gone resto Mod,  atleast he would have saved most of the character that makes it a Continental.   Though I will tell you that cost alot more to do than this because you are usually restoring the outward appearance and upgrading if done right the entire chassis so once done,  it looks stock except the wheels and tires to the untrained eye. 

I wish him luck but for 75 G it needs to stand out from the crowd,  which this doesn't.  There are alot of black 3 window coupe hiboys to pick from with more being built every day. 

[JamesR]

I wonder if $75k gets you the old fenders, headlights and other original items that the builder stripped off. I didn't read the ad that closely. Maybe he sold them all for scrap.

 

I also don't despise hot rodders...they were saving old Fords and Chevys from crushers long before most other people were. I have great street rodder friends, too. This car goes way too far, though. The only saving grace (maybe) is that the Continental Flyer isn't exactly an iconic car...but that's kind of negated by it's extreme rarity. It was a quality build I'm sure, but still a shame.

[Brooklyn Beer]

What is left of this car is about as close to a Continental as pile of scrap metal. What is left of it that was? A chopped up body?  Did he leave ONE original part on the car? I see nothing special here that from 5 feet away to the average person could not be duplicated by a repo fiberglass body.  Would someone paint over the Mona Lisa and just say they did it to improve upon it and make it more modern ?  Would you write over the back of the Bill Of Rights just because you thought you had wrote the next great work of art?  Destroying history just does one thing....

[Ed Luddy]

I prefer not to tell someone what to do with their car. Maybe it's a shame to hot rod this car, BUT no one stepped up to restore back to original even if that was possible.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Brooklyn Beer said:

Would someone paint over the Mona Lisa and just say they did it to improve upon it and make it more modern ?  Would you write over the back of the Bill Of Rights just because you thought you had wrote the next great work of art?  Destroying history just does one thing....

Pia Zadora and her husband did it. 

Edited December 11, 2019 by GregLaR (see edit history)

[Brooklyn Beer]

and did it make it right just because you can ?

[jw1955buick]

The bastard child of a '33 Ford and a '33 Willys, interesting, or it was....

[60FlatTop]

On 12/10/2019 at 3:22 PM, CHuDWah said:

There have been threads on this forum bemoaning younger people's lack of interest in old cars.  That's exactly why the National Street Rod Association went to a 30-years-old sliding scale a while back.  Before that, it was pre-1949 and there was plenty of griping about the change, but it was necessary if the club was to survive.  I'm not suggesting restorer groups should adopt hot rods.

 

Doesn't anyone remember the introduction of Special Interest Cars magazine? It was brought out to feature the cars "real" car collectors overlooked. Today a car from an early issue would be an historic item to be treasured, not then.

 

I have to laugh about the Bill of Rights document. Second use paper seems to always be torn off into the tiniest scrap that that will hold the text. Just ask someone to write their phone number. How many times have you been given a little piece of paper 3" long and 34" wide. Exaggerated stuff like that doesn't happen. When I heard those statements it just takes away from the credibility of who said it.

 

Anyway, the link in the first post when to an .ru (Russia) website, probably just a conspiracy to agitate semi-literate white, male Americans from what I have heard.

 

[37_Roadmaster_C]

I find it sad to see rare and restorable cars turned into something they never were. With that said, the car is the owners and the owner has every right to turn it into a Hot Rod or a flower pot if they wish.  What really is a shame is that there are many old cars that are truly not restorable and could be turned into just as nice a Hot Rod with the same amount of work and time invested without destroying a piece of our history.  Hot Rodders drive in a different race than us Stockers for the most part, but "To each their own."). Drive safe in either case !!!