History of Glassic (later named Replicars)
production quantities also appear below.
The summary below is followed by a more detailed history.
| A note of caution. There were changes to the production models from year to year, but also, owners have changed the cars themselves, so it sometimes may be difficult to determine which changes were factory change and which were owner modifications. Although there is no sign that Glassic owners are, in any way, "purists", keep in mind that an owner modification may, or may not have improved the car. |
Click
here to also read the story of the company that
made Glassics and Replicars.
| History Summary -- The text of this summary may be copied freely for use as a reference on other websites. |
| Glassic Automobiles By Don Davis --- http://GlassicAnnex.org Approximately 1600 fiberglass-bodied replicas of 1931 Model A Fords were made by the Glassic Company in West Palm Beach Florida. They were manufactured between about 1966 and 1981, at first using International Scout four-cylinder engines and chassis, changing in 1972 to Mustang 302 cubic inch V-8 engines and specially built frames. Most of the cars were Phaeton body style, but there were some Roadsters and only three pickup trucks built. The company changed their name to Replicars in 1975, so later models used that name, although the name "Glassic" is used as a generic term for both nameplates. Glassic replicas are sometimes confused with Shay replicas, about 5,000 of which were made during a similar time period. The Shay replicas more closely resemble the actual Model A, whereas the Glassics were modified a little in appearance to be more practical for contemporary driving. The Shay replicas used Pinto 4-cylinder engines, and consisted mostly of rumble-seat Roadsters and Roadster pickup trucks. Glassics can be identified by their wider doors and more contemporary 14 inch or 15 inch wheels. |
Historical Item |
Source of data |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Types of Replicas - There are two
manufacturers of production-line, fully completed,
turn-key Ford Model A replicas. SHAY, who made mostly roadsters and roadster pickup trucks, were pretty close replicas, using many Model A parts. Those cars had Pinto engines, appear to have all been 4 cylinder, and were mostly standard transmission with some automatic transmission models. For info on THAT type of replica, see the web page. Their total production was about 5000 vehicles.* GLASSIC who made mostly phaeton models, and some roadsters. Those cars took liberties with authenticity in order to make a more comfortable car. This history concerns those cars.
|
General research. * from a contributor to their message board. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How many Glassics were made? PRODUCTION QUANTITIES A Glassic prototype was built in 1963 which had no VIN assigned to it. I have given it a number of 0 (zero) Article on it is here. Production began with serial number 101 The lowest serial number found so far is #101, from 1966 Serial numbers 1001 to 1211 or so could be on TWO cars - one made by Glassic in the early '70s and and the same number on a Replicars from 1976. The highest serial numbers found so far
are
See also the estimated yearly production chart on the Changes by Year page You can expect production figures to become more accurate as we get new info.
CAR PRICES WHEN
NEW |
Price information accumulated from a variety of sources. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| THE COMPANY NAME Classic
Motor Car Company, Inc. (West Palm Beach, FL) (1964) Glassic Motors of Palm Beach, Inc. (1973) (Palm Beach,
FL) Replicars, Inc. (1975) (West Palm Beach, FL) The cars are referred to interchangably as Glassics, and as being made by Replicars. It appears that the name Replicars was used in the last few years of production. Ownership of the company changed hands at least once during its lifetime. Cars produced from the beginning of 1976 carry the name "Replicars" |
Filings for these names appear in Florda Corporate Records. The dates represent filing dates, and their meaning is unclear, since Glassic name was used in 1966. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1965 First prototype finished. Limited production may have begun in 1965 | From magazine article published 1973. See the link under "1973" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 1966: New role for Scout 800’s. A West Palm Beach , Florida manufacturer purchased hundreds of Scout chassis to support his reproduction version of the 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Phaeton automobile. It was called the “Glassic” and was a popular vehicle. | A news item in International Scout
History (information from INTERNATIONAL HAPPENINGS Spring 1992) (By Dr. Todd Sommer) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971 - See a bill of sale from this year | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972
First year for use of Ford V-8 engines and first year for
automatic transmission. The transition to the use of the
Ford engines began in 1970 and was completed by 1971.
Cars with data plates showing manufacture in 1972 are the
first Ford engined cars located so far. Read recent correspondence from a Glassic employee in 1972-73 Production quantity from beginning to now, about 400 cars. |
Per an ad for a Roadster
by Bob's Classics in Clearwater FL From magazine article referenced in 1973 below |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973 Cars this year can be found with the Ford engine, automatic transmission but leaf springs front and rear, and a frame that looks considerably heavier compared to a 1978 Glassic. Gas filler this year was in the base of the platform on the back of the Phaeton. By 1978 it was off to the side, between the platform and the right fender. | Comparison by John, (owner of #732) and car #1254 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974 I just looked thru my old replicar stuff and
came up with an ad from the Los Angeles Times dated July
28, 1974.It's pen-and-ink illustration, not a photograph,
but the car is a red roadster with black fenders.Some of
the text says I worked for Glassic in 1974-75. |
Posted by
Rick Black on July 25, 1998 at 00:03:31 RickBlack@aol.com ************ Narrative by John Pardillo on July 26, 2000 in response to a posting on a discussion group regarding Glassics |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976 Replicars was coming into existence and was taking orders. Cars bought in late 1976 were made in 1977 as far as we can tell. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977 At the first of the year, the first cars carrying the name Replicars were sold. Evidence uncovered 4/2002 suggests that the VIN number of the cars may have been re-started at 1001. This would mean some duplicate VIN numbers exist with both Glassic and Replicars names. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978 By this time the cars had coil springs front and rear, disc brakes in the front and air conditioning. This evolves from the beginning when the running gear was 4 cylinder International Scout based, no air conditioning, standard transmission. This year had the monster VW tail lights and parking lights and a full array of anti-pollution devices hiding the engine. | per various comparisons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 - 1981 Sometime after December, 1981 Replciars ceased production. Exact date of last car produced may be impossible to determine. | See highest serial number on the OWNERS list page 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||