Solved - NEH 2742: 1958 Zarft

[Carnut]

What's this, from when, based on what and powered by what - for 1 point?:

ANYONE FOUND GIVING ANSWERS OBTAINED BY USING GOOGLE SEARCH BY IMAGE MAY BE BANNED FOR AN INDETERMINATE PERIOD!

[Carnut]

Up to the Experts..

[frederick59]

Porsche 356 base?

[Carnut]

Porsche 356 base?

Engine - yes!
But not the chassis, which I think was bespoke.

[nicanary]

It's a 1958 Zarft, one of only two ever built. The seller claims that it is Porsche 356 engined, but reading the details reveals that it lacks an engine. The chassis is bespoke, but has much VW running gear and transmission. The only items which appear to be from a 356 are the gauges and the seats. Originally from Victoria, Canada.

[Carnut]

Indeed it is.  I thought this would take rather more digging out than that..  Anyone ever heard of one?  Me neither..

Here are a couple more photos of it:

[nicanary]

That badge looks decidedly homemade, and I assume the name originated in the home planet of Ming the Merciless.

(Don't worry, I didn't cheat - I know the ways of Carnut's mind....and Google helped too)

[Allemano]

A nice looking car and apparently well manufactured. I'd like to see period pics.

[Carnut]

A nice looking car and apparently well manufactured. I'd like to see period pics.

It looks an attractive and well-made car indeed.
On the site where I found it the body was said to be a mixture of glassfibre and aluminium and the mechanicals VW/Porsche.
It was, as nicanary said, made in Canada and is apparently the first of two made.  No amount of digging has produced any other mention of it, and of course no more pictures..
The bit that nicanary quoted was from an old ebay advert 2 or 3 years ago, when it was apparently sold for $1000.

[ropat53]

I found this interesting picture that may explain why they say the engine is missing, Tucker the mechanic is looking for it in the wrong place, maybe he should stick to repairing tyres which he seems to know more about.

[Carnut]

 

Reminds me of the old story about the blonde who was on a long drive from Las Vegas through the desert to Los Angeles in her VW Beetle, when with a splutter and a pop the engine stopped.

Not quite knowing what to do she thought she'd have a look at the engine just to make sure it wasn't smoking or anything, so went round the front to open the bonnet (hood..) and was mortified to see that it just wasn't there.

As luck would have it another blonde drove past in her Beetle, so of course stopped to see if she could help another lady in distress.

"I don't know what to do", cried Blonde No. 1, "The engine stopped, so I got out to have a look and it seems to have just dropped out somewhere back down the road!"

"Oh, don't worry about that" said Blonde No.2, going round to the back of her car.  "Look", she says, "I've got a spare one here you can have!"

[Iluvatar]

Reminds me of the old story about the blonde who was on a long drive from Las Vegas through the desert to Los Angeles in her VW Beetle, when with a splutter and a pop the engine stopped.

Not quite knowing what to do she thought she'd have a look at the engine just to make sure it wasn't smoking or anything, so went round the front to open the bonnet (hood..) and was mortified to see that it just wasn't there.

As luck would have it another blonde drove past in her Beetle, so of course stopped to see if she could help another lady in distress.

"I don't know what to do", cried Blonde No. 1, "The engine stopped, so I got out to have a look and it seems to have just dropped out somewhere back down the road!"

"Oh, don't worry about that" said Blonde No.2, going round to the back of her car.  "Look", she says, "I've got a spare one here you can have!"

[Allemano]

I found this interesting picture that may explain why they say the engine is missing, Tucker the mechanic is looking for it in the wrong place, maybe he should stick to repairing tyres which he seems to know more about.

Reminds me of the old story about the blonde who was on a long drive from Las Vegas through the desert to Los Angeles in her VW Beetle, when with a splutter and a pop the engine stopped.

Not quite knowing what to do she thought she'd have a look at the engine just to make sure it wasn't smoking or anything, so went round the front to open the bonnet (hood..) and was mortified to see that it just wasn't there.

As luck would have it another blonde drove past in her Beetle, so of course stopped to see if she could help another lady in distress.

"I don't know what to do", cried Blonde No. 1, "The engine stopped, so I got out to have a look and it seems to have just dropped out somewhere back down the road!"

"Oh, don't worry about that" said Blonde No.2, going round to the back of her car.  "Look", she says, "I've got a spare one here you can have!"

[targhediferro]

Really a nice car, I suppose that doors and front fenders could come from a Karmann Ghia.

[Wendax]

...doors and front fenders could come from a Karmann Ghia.

No

[Ultra]

Ming the Merciless.

Ask him yourself, he's a member here.

Ming

[nicanary]

Ming the Merciless.

Ask him yourself, he's a member here.

Ming

He must be busy most of the time, subjugating minor planets and generally doing dastardly deeds. He's not very active with his puzzling.

[Carnut]

Ming the Merciless.

Ask him yourself, he's a member here.

Ming

He must be busy most of the time, subjugating minor planets and generally doing dastardly deeds. He's not very active with his puzzling.

I believe he logs on every time he manages to get back to Earth..
Seems he hasn't been here for 6 years though!