As a young mechanic at a dealer that sold these cars I was chosen to fix the dozens of issues these things had. The senior mechs. Wouldn’t touch them. The colored body panels faded at different rates so most got repainted. The hatch windows kept falling in. One owner got stuck inside the car when the electrics failed. It was a lot of fun for a 19 year old mechanic.
I was gonna say I’m surprised it was legal for them to make the doors like that if the electrical system failed, dead battery ur trapped and worst case if ur in an accident or car goes in a lake ur not getting out. I’m not sure if it had crank windows but it should have been forced to have crank windows for saftey.
@@peanutbutterisfu Of course you're getting out! It has crank-operated windows. The owner made quite a to-do about that before they left Leno's garage.
I remember it was supposed to cost $6500 and have a Chevy 350 V8... 10 years later Fiero to be $6500... but GM realized it could option them up to $15-20K to some buyers...
moved to AZ in 1976, and a neighbor on next block had one - was too young to know much about it then; never realized their HQ was in Scottsdale and he apparently lived here!
My Dad had a Bricklin when I was about 17. I remember that he had to have installed an aftermarket compressor for the doors, so that you could open it. But the compressor never really worked, so my brother and I would stop by an air pump at gas stations periodically to get them gassed up. Even STILL, the doors could only open like 3/4 of the way and they were OBSCENELY heavy. It sounded really cool inside it, and the car could have been outstandingly cool if only they'd have executed everything correctly. More's the pity. I miss that car, and I miss my dad. Cheers, Jay, for always bringing back good memories of me, my dad, and cool older cars.
I know Jay likely won't see this, but I'm so happy he is healed up from his accident. And, if I can be a bit selfish here, I'm so glad he's back to doing this show. One of my favorite TH-cam channels. Glad you're back Jay and I hope you never stop making this show!
His doctor is very talented, I only recently saw photos of Jay's face shortly after the accident. I noticed when he pulled out his phone that his left hand still has burn scars. He is one tough character, and I hope he stays with us a long time to come. He had me worried when he was in the rollover of the Hemi Under Glass.
I bought one in Moncton NB in 1984 and drove it to Edmundston NB in March which is about 5 hours due north and the heater conked out and I almost froze to death. That was my first experience with disappointment. I then took the car to a body shop in Grand Falls to have all the delamination defects corrected which necessitated painting the car but it came out quite nice and was a show stopper. The doors was next to require repair and that was a challenge as my wife had gotten stuck in the car when a hydraulic hose broke and squirted oil on her. Boy was she pissed. Another defect was the alternator swing bracket which was made from sheet metal as opposed to cast that broke off going over a railroad crossing. I finally gave up and sold it as I was starting a family and reliable all year transportation was a necessity when winter lasts 6 months. This biopic on the car sure brought back memories..some good and some bad. Thanks for the memories Malcolm.
Some of the parts on the Bricklin were from AMC. I used to own an AMC Javelin and the first time I saw a Bricklin, I recognized the steering column right away, but that story about the alternator bracket sounds like a crappy AMC part and some of the Bricklin's had AMC engines so could be that. The Javelin had, had a 304 ci and they had bigger engines like a 360 and a 401, (I just read that one model of the Bricklin had an AMC 360). The 304 had a flaw, or at least mine did, because a washer in the distributor would wear down, so the timing would get worse and worse until you changed the washer again, but I had to change it often, which is insane for a supposed commercial product. Nobody in their right mind would knowingly buy a car that was that screwed up. The stick shift also vibrated like hell, so much so that a girlfriend I had put it to imaginative use one night on a long trip ;-), but aside from that form of fun, the car was NOT exactly fun (oh, and the windows wobbled around when you rolled them up and down), so if the Bricklin is anything like the Javelin, then I pity the poor owners no matter how cool it looks.
In 1974 - 1975, I was a kid working at a "Jack in the Box". A guy came through the drive-thru in a brand new Bricklin. It was kind of a mustard tan color. I was fascinated with the car and the owner was glad to tell me about it. I asked him if opening the gull-wing doors was difficult in close parking... He said the door extended only nine inches from the car when opening and he demonstrated it by opening the door in the drive-thru. (I don't remember it taking very long at all to open and close.) As far as I remember, that is likely the only Bricklin I've ever seen.
@@796monster Gimme a Jumbo Jack with cheese, large fry and large coke. Nightly order after closing Jed Nolan's Music hHall at 1AM in Scottsdale, AZ cir. 1975
@@bobjohnson1587 I guess Bob... We just didn't have that many unusual cars coming through in those days. One night, a tough 1%'er biker guy was giving the girl at the drive thru window a hard time... She was a bit of a firecracker in her own right, and she told him his brain wasn't big enough to be out by itself. He took offense at that and threw a huge piece of curb-concrete through the front window. I don't remember if he stayed around to collect his order.
I am from NB and these were built about 40 minutes away from where I was born. I give Jay props for getting the details accurate! We were a small, poor province and we were very proud to produce a beautiful car like this! To produce a car that was being compared to the top performance cars of the time was something to be proud of at that time!
It’s pretty dope that I’m 24 years young and a car fanatic. But what’s most dope is the facts Jay shows us classics & explains the history ( including the guess )behind these vehicles , and then I go to the comments and read some you guys stories that you guys had when the cars first came out and etc… as a young car guy it’s pretty cool that I get to, read , listen, & watch a piece the past. Feels almost as if I was there with all you guys in that day of age. Jay Leno & To All his Subscribers.. might not mean anything. But Thank You 🏁❤️ things like this make me feel whole. Seriously
Mr. Leno does so much more keeping interest in cars as more than appliances than any other entertainer. His love for cars as art and technology is palpable. Thank you so much for your time and energy in bringing your passion to us all!
I just watch an episode of Fantom Works & they modded one in Safety Yellow. I think he did another episode on a different Brick & talked about how bad the gaps were.... it may have been the same episode I saw a long time ago...
Some of my most favorite episodes are of Jay & Jeff shooting the breeze about cars, philosophy, and life in general. It's easy to see why these two regular guys who are wildly successful are so well loved and respected.
Fantastic job guys. I was 15 when all of this took place here in New Brunswick. I recall the media hype surrounding the economic potential, and how "futuristic" the car looked. Thank you for pointing out how its failure was not due to the local workforce. Well done.
@@1pcfred I Could have sworn it was due to Bricklin feeding Hatfield a bunch of sh!t and suckering the Maritimes out of a bunch of money at our expense.
My buddy has two SV-1's sitting at his shop. The story goes some lady's father collected them, and has recently passed away. The deal she made him was to fix one up for her and get it running, and he gets to keep the other. We got the one he is keeping running a few weeks ago. Put a fuel pump from an 85 F150 on it, drained the old gas, put some fresh in, and it started within a minute. The carb was leaking everywhere, but it ran very good. The tires are 35 years old, so that gives you an idea on how long it has been sitting. Its still got a long way to go, but it will be a very cool driver when its done.
I graduated from high school in Canada in 1979. One of the rich kids in my graduating class used a Bricklin as a grad car. Someone else in the class used an Opel GT. Pictures of both cars made the yearbook.
My dad was the chief fabricator at AVC Engineering where the prototypes were built. I think they built three of them. I watched the entire process from the clay modeling stage to the finished product. They built the Greenwood Corvettes there too.
This car was built just a few minutes from my house in Saint John, New Brunswick. There's still a bunch of them kicking around here. Super cool cars with an amazing history.
Only watched the video because of the NB connection... couldn't care less about Jeff Dunham lol. To Mr. Dunham: For the record, St-John's is in Newfoundland. Saint John is in New Brunswick.
I love my Bricklin SV-1 and I drive it as much as possible. Always attracts a lot of attention anywhere I take it because so few people have ever seen one.
1949 Crosley was first American auto with four wheel disk brakes, from Goodyear/Hawley. Built in Indiana. Corvette got 4 wheel disk brakes in 1965. Thanks Jay I love your show. I just added the information, so you are aware and give credit where credit's due, thank you very much
This is a great video. I remember the Bricklin very well - a close friend owned one and it was maintenance intensive only because he bought it used. It was not maintained well, came from a sunny hot climate and had body laminate issues, headlights worked fine if they opened and my right shoulder got wet from the leaking door (he took it through a car wash!). The engine was a dream to work on - a lot of common Ford 351 Winsor (CA) parts were just about everywhere. We thought we were so cool - and we were (LOL).
7:30 The De Tomaso Pantera actually used the Ford 351 _Cleveland_ for most of its production run. They only changed to the Windsor in '88 when Ford Australia ran out of Cleveland blocks (the US having ceased production of the Cleveland in '74.)
Yes, I cringed every time Jay said 351W used in Panteras... when it was actually the Hyper 351C until the last ones... Early Pantera 351C was 4 bbl. carb. and rated 335 HP... Windsor, Canada vs Cleveland, Ohio, USA manufacture... Also, 4 speed manual tranny option prolly dropped to end the torn up rear ends repairs under warranty...
Kind of like the beautiful girl at the the end of the bar at closing time … enjoy a flirtatious smile, but not enough to wake up with one in your garage or bedroom🦊
Jeff Dunham shares my particular love of cars. The uneven vacuum lights always make me smile when they lazily open and close and the weird cars that didn't do well are always the ones I look at the most
A Canadian car ahead of it's time. I remember seeing one at the A&W in 1975. I was in awe. It was very expensive at $25,000.00 CAD. My 1974 Dodge Challenger was $4,680.00 with taxes. A huge difference.
I was 9 years old living in northern New Brunswick when the company brought 2 of them to the shopping mall. It was showcased inside the mall. I remember how marvelled I was of this car... wanted one ever since . The sales person talked about all of the safety and options, good memories. BTW, Bathurst, N.B.
Great video by two great entertainers and car enthusiasts! I was 9 years old, living in Saint John, New Brunswick (still do). There was a lot of unemployment in the day. Premier Richard Hatfield cut a deal with Malcolm Brickin and it was big news - a real honest to goodness car manufacturing facility was coming to town and it will put us on the map, and the region will become affluent with big manufacturing dollars! There was an allure that we would finally be famous the world over for producing a really fancy car way ahead of its time. While I was only 9-10 years old, I could feel, (but not completely understand) the hype of it all at the time. When the whole thing failed in 1976, there was, and continues to be much synicism that "Tricky Dickie" (the Premier) had a kick back deal where he would funnel public money to Bricklin, build cars for a couple of years, shut it all down, and the two of them would walk away with a suitcase full of money each. Of course, we know that is was an engineering, parts procurement, and most of all, a production failure because they didn't put experience or investment into the manufacturing. They put all the eggs into the Research and Development, and by the time they hit the manufacturing phase of the project, they were trying to stretch the finite amount of dollars left. Thank you gentlemen for this! There a few still around town here!
Humors him? I think there's more than just a little bit of respect between a couple of true car guys going on here. Certainly Leno is on a whole different level, but Jeff is no slouch on the car collector spectrum. Jeff is certainly more focused in his collection, but his net worth is also more focused, if you know what I mean.
As a Detroit kid I remember the Popular Mechanics issue discussing the SV-1 and all the excitement of the design. It was beautiful and weird, too bad it did not catch on and get refined. I love how Jay thinks and has the ability to live out a working guys dreams. Jeff was very knowledgeable too, really car guys talking real car guy stuff.
I've seen a couple of them up close here in N.B.. I got a chance to sit in one, at the museum (as I recall it wasn't roped off at the time). I remember the interior seeming rather simple, and somewhat pieced together with some gaps bigger than you'd see on other American cars. Like them or not, they still turn heads. That headlight demo was so awesome. Great episode Jay, & Jeff Dunham!
The sounds, the smells and all the other senses you feel when you drive a cool car, isn’t that what makes cars so much fun. I’ve driven an electric car and it just didn’t feel right. It was like it had no heart, it was lacking a soul. I’m 54 so maybe I’m just to old. I still remember buying my first car, I loved it so much. I still remember the throaty sound it made when I pushed the pedal down, I still remember how it felt too. Same was true with any of my motorcycles. I used to go driving just for fun. I didn’t care where I went, it was the drive I loved. There was a good restaurant two hours away from my house that made really good pizza. Every so often I use it an excuse to for a drive. My now wife was the only girl I dated who got it. If it was a nice day, she’d suggest we go for a ride. She loved to put her window down and enjoy every moment of it. That’s when I knew she was a keeper. Lol
Good for you. It's obvious that you realize how fortunate you are, so often his toys are the ones that go so she can have hers. Btw, do you pronounce your surname like they do in Scotland?
Jeff Dunham is my favorite guest on Jay Leno's Garage. He always brings unique vehicles & the banter between him & Jay is like two old buddies on a Saturday afternoon drive.
The Bricklin aside, it was most fun and enjoyable to see and hear the warm repartee between two good friends who are comedic and love cars. Thanks, Jay and Jeff for sharing this car with us!
I am a bit surprised that Jay didn't mention the 351 Cleveland. The Pantera used the 351 Cleveland, not the 351 Windsor. The 351 Cleveland was the high performance 351 from Ford. No doubt the Bricklin went with the Windsor since it was built in Canada while the Cleveland was built in the US.
Exactly, as the 351W was a truck engine, I have one in my E-150. Coupled to the four speed manual trans, it is a great work van, but with a two barrel carburetor it was made for torque...
@@davidhollenshead4892 The 351 Windsor was used in a number of cars as well. Good engine, it just wasn't a 351 Cleveland. I had a 1974 Gran Torino Sport with the 351 Cleveland Cobra Jet. I ended up getting rid of it because it just begged me to speed. I once had a cop pull me over after a lengthy chase (I honestly didn't realize he was behind me and pulled over as soon as I saw him.) and he pulled his pistol on me and was shaking so much I was afraid he was going to shoot me by accident.
Thank you, Mr. Leno for another great history lesson, it’s always a pleasure when you have Jeff Dunham on your show, he is truly a car lover and an expert on all cars. I see the similarities with a 240 Z as well seeing that I have one also🙏🏽
I cringed every time Jay said 351W used in Panteras... when it was actually the Hyper 351C... Windsor, Canada vs Cleveland, Ohio, USA manufacture... Also, 4 speed manual tranny option prolly dropped to end the torn up rear ends repairs under warranty...
Without a doubt the best Jay Leno's Garage episode in a long time. Great to have an entertaining guest, who is knowledgeable and communicative. I know it's the nature of the beast, but many of Jay's guests can be talking about the rarest, most exotic sports car on the planet and you find yourself dropping off after a few seconds. Also loved the fact that there's a bit of car knowledge one-upmanship going on.
The assembly plant was in Canada, and HQ in Scottsdale, but engineering was done in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, MI, not far from AMC. Bricklin uses a LOT of AMC Hornet/Gremlin parts - brakes, chassis, etc. - not just the AMC 360 V8 in 1974. Some of the engineers were friends of my dad, and my dad had a 1974 Bricklin brochure with notes he wrote by hand about the production ramp up plan. I still have this brochure.
I was 12 years old in 1975 and do remember the car being built here in Saint John New Brunswick (St John's is in Newfoundland) but I am not sure I ever saw one on the road at that time. If I did the memory has left me. But some background on the city: Saint John is historically an industrial town on the smaller scale. A major ship building town at one point, it evolved into a paper producer and our port never freezes, so port activity was a big contributor to the economy back then, as we're the rail yards. But my recollection most from that time period was union strife within the various unions, and Saint John was heavily unionized at the time. My father was union president for the IBEW for 2 terms in the late 60s and it's no exaggeration to say whether it be the electrical workers, the ship yard workers, or the carpenters union which my grand father once held the role of president in, the city was militant. My career path was laid out, either power commission, shipyard or port, whatever it was I would have a job in a union gig. I don't recall the Bricklin plant being unionized. I could be wrong, but that would have been a huge deal back in the day. I know my father was not a fan and that may been the issue. He would have welcomed any employment opportunity for the city - provided it was unionized. Thanks for this Jay!
And hence Saint John never developed a significant industrial base. Unions were needed at one time but they became a hindrance at a certain point. That being said I'd like to visit the Maritimes one day and I would like to see Saint John, Halifax, Cape Breton, and some of the oceanside vacation spots there. In summer time (I've heard winters are brutal).
When I was a kid I saw the same colour car in a Halifax, Nova Scotia show room. I can still remember the feel of the door switches. To me, in 1976, it was the coolest car in the world.
I took a paint and body course at the local votech school about 15-16 years ago and one of the guys had one of these and we tinkered with it trying to get it running. We managed to get it back road worthy but the body on his was in terrible shape it had separated so bad and we as a bunch of body shop kids never did manage to figure out how to fix that thing. Truly was an absolute nightmare of a car. My hat is completely off to whoever Je-fa-fa paid to restore that thing.
My dad was from St. John, we took a drive by the Bricklin factory back in '75, I would have been 10 years old. I still remember seeing hundreds of Bricklin's in the lot next to the plant. All the different "safety" colors. Red, yellow, blue, orange. Might even have seen Jeff's car there.
I remember the Bricklin saga as a teenager in New Brunswick, a darn shame it didn’t succeed. The last one I saw was a white one while I was visiting in Phoenix a few years back, it was exciting to see it in the rear view mirror then pass! Thanks for a great video!
Brings back memories! A neighbor down the street got a red (orange) one just like Jeff's. I was 12 and remember seeing him drive by and pull into his driveway. Jumped on my Stingray bicycle and rode over for a closer look. Looked so futuristic with the gull wing doors. He let me sit behind the wheel, funny how some memories stay with you!
The kind of hilarious thing is, that car reminds me of all the 80's era "generic sports car" you'd see in cartoons. It actually has a nice retro look nowadays, and the idea of making a car that's supposed to be safer shouldn't have had to be a novel idea.
My neighbor across the street had one for a while. It was white and had numerous problems. It was no where near this nice. It was the only one I saw inside and up close. Interesting car with lots of potential. Too bad it never cought on or got past the teething stage. Love the show and the unique cars you showcase.
I heard Jay you commenting about car crash death rates in the 70's and car safety becoming a priority. If you look at the road deaths in the US post covid there has been a big jump in numbers. Fatalities per 100.000 population has jumped from 11 to 13. A really bad year was 1972 when that figure hit 26 deaths per 100.000 population. Just pointing out it's weird to see the statistical numbers rising against what's safer vehicles on the road.
Cars are safer except if the nut behind the wheel breaks loose 😂😂. I was born in 69 and I remember growing up in the 70s every day watching the news 2-3 people a day and on the weekends a half dozen killed per day on the road. It was just excepted. 😢
It just goes to prove that Murphy and Darwin will not be thwarted. Build a safer car and better model of idiot will soon follow. ...at least until the gene pool is sufficiently cleaned out.
If you look at road deaths per national total mileage on a yearly basis you will actually see the true statistics ie a steady decrease in road deaths since 1972.
Jay Leno is an automotive legend. He values almost anything on wheels and has rescued many cars. He is never a snob and appreciates the value of many vehicles - from ordinary to exotic.
I was working in San Francisco a few years back and had a day off. Went up to Muir Woods and walked the (main) trail (HIGHLY recommended). When I came out to the parking lot there were 11(!) Bricklins in the parking lot!! I'd never seen more than 1 at a time - evidently this was a Bricklin club road trip. Awesome looking vehicles.
I'm glad that Jay mentioned the DeLorean. There are so many parallels between the two cars, it's absurd. If this had a blockbuster movie behind it, instead of its stainless steel "successor" I can imagine they'd be far more well known.
It is in "Deadline Auto Theft" wich was made by H. B. Halicki who shot the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" that was my first exposure to this car and I have liked it since.
You and Jeff put together a fun video that exceeded my expectations. I remember the car reviews from the day and they almost treated the Bricklin as an exotic car.
The Bricklin, like the Tesla Roadster was like a kit car that was never finished. Their manual trans version had the worst clutch pedal that led the auto magazines to suggest only buying the automatic transmission. The worst part about the Brick;lin was apparently the poor weather stripping as not only did the car leak water into the interior, but even dust. I heard from a former owner that if you drive one on a dirt road with the windows closed, the interior will look like that of a Baja Bug that just spent a weekend at the sand dunes...
Older cars are so great ! Nothing like the fix and repair factors ; the improve and modify methods leading to hot rods and many types of racing ; sur inventions; suspension inventions, etc
i grew up in southern New Brunswick and we used to see the Bricklin drive past now n then ,quite a bit .i remember at a car show, around there one time , and there were 4 of them sitting together . another thing i wanted to mention is one of the bigger cities in that area is called Moncton and right beside it theres a place called Dieppe .i noticed the poster in your shop Jay on this episode , with the same name on it .
I love how grounded and drama free these videos are. Just good solid stuff! Saw Jay live in MA this weekend - sharp as a tack. Man, he is funny. BTW, i like how Dunham died his hair “Safety Red” for the bit 😅 Jeff is obviously a real car guy - he starts talking and he lights up!
I was in my teens when the bricklin was made. I remember all the hype around it. Living in Canada at the time. I remember how cool it was to have a car like that being Canadian built. Didnt know anything about its construction
I've had mine since 2003- always a head turner when I brought it out. Herb Grasse was the designer of the car and it was his Pantera brake lights that they used when showing the prototype to Malcolm
What an interesting tale behind this car. First time I've seen one. I recall the name, but none of the details behind it. Thanks for saving this one, Jeff. As always, thanks for bringing automotive history to light, Jay.
I feel the same way about the DeLorean. I think John was a genius and had an amazing concept. Unfortunately by the time they built the factory in Ireland and changed almost everything it was doomed. It still has a special place in my heart. One day I still hope to own a DeLorean, or at least drive one.
In my VERY rural upbringing, there was a local (well, THE local) collector who used to bring his corvette and his DMC-12 to car shows and parades. The DeLorean always got all the attention, no matter what else was there. That was in the early 90’s. They’re even more rare now.
@@DemoDick1 that’s a great story. I came across one back in the late 90s and it was for sale sitting in a parking lot. I’m pretty sure it was 100% authentic and they wanted something like $8995 for it. I wish I would have bought it.
Jay is a walking history book and Jeff loves the weird and unusual it is always a great time whenever these two get together this car really highlights that.
Lionel here in Central California. Jeff’s recall of his 1970 Corvette reminds me of my 1969 Corvette convertible with Balanced 427 big block and Muncie 4 speed. That car was so much fun with 390 horsepower stock. I now have a 06 C6 with 400 horsepower and that car is even more fun with great gas mileage. I got 29 mpg slamming it though the curves over the Sierras. Jay and Jeff 2 of my favorite funny guys, as well as a wealth of car info. You both “(eye) kill you” me!!!
Always love your videos. Thanks for mentioning Subaru 360's. I've owned these micro cars for 40 years, this green version is a Subaru 360 Yacht which Malcolm Bricklin had about a dozen converted into a dunebuggy style body. It was supposed to compete with the Fiat Jolly, being used on a Yacht for when your in port you drove around the town in it.. About 6-8 exsist today. Such a blast to drive.
In 1970 I remember walking past an empty lot in San Francisco where about 100 new Subaru 360s were parked. This was not too long after the Consumer Reports review, and I think they were having a hard time moving them.
I love microcars, I drive a gen 3 jimny, I rly like those 360's and especially the Suzulight's. Ideally I'd like one of those Cappuccinos but they are skyrocketing in value.
This is an awesome episode! I sure would have loved to have some of your video in my "Bricklin Chronicles". Thank you Jay for this fine presentation of the Bricklin
Great for having Jeff Dunham on with you! Glad to hear both of you sharing your knowledge. I had a Pontiac Fiero in 1985 and can relate to some of the things you described. Father worked for General Motors so I had access to new cars every year from Chevy Vegas, Opels, Chevy Camaro, Corvette, Corvelle, Corvair, Impalas, Buicks, etc. They were tanks compared to today's vehicles but not so many safety features as you would think.
I owed a Safety Red serial#00887 1975. I was tossed between a Pantera and the Bricklin, I loved that they shared tail lights, but the rusty Pantera gave way to the Acrylic, gull wing doors , and the uniqueness. Although the "B's" 351 Windsor was no match for the Pantera's 351 Cleveland. My friend recently sold the two he had from new. Neither "B" had 1000 miles on them. Perfectly stored and maintained. Excellent episode. Keep on keeping on.
In the late 80's my drama department had a car wash in Newport Beach. One of these came in and I told everyone to stop. We changed out our rags to wash this. My dad had a cherry 66' Mustang and I knew what this was. We gave it a good clean wash, but I respected what we were washing.
I have always loved Bricklins. I want a Safety Green 1974 4-speed to go along with my 1984 Trans Am and '90 Corvette ZR-1. The horse analogy Jay offered was spot on and quite insightful. And Jeff: I'm an early 30s guy who loves driving classic cars! We exist!
I remember reading about the Bricklin in Road Test magazine back in the day. The staff there were fairly kind to the car, giving a few digs about quality control but generally impressed with the performance and the design. I believe they had issues with the gull wing doors, too. Glad to see that Jeff has one-- it makes a perfect addition to his highly esoteric fleet!
I remember reading about the Bricklin in an Autocar magazine in '75. They like some of the ideas but were not impressed with it - saw it as cramped, poor visibility, unwieldy, not convinced of actual safety. They had some fun with the door system - if one passenger selected 'open door' and the other 'close door', the motor would burn out.
You know it wasn’t a bad looking car and even by today’s standards is still a pretty good looking car. I remember them, but mostly seeing them behind barns and garages with old pieces of lumber layed on them.
When I was in the fourth grade, my next-door neighbor was a bachelor who owned a white 2tone brickLin & white celica GT - both MINT but he always drive the Celica coolest neighbor I ever had and never said more than 2 words to him he was super open about checking out his cars whenever I caught him pulling out the garage & washing them.
I knew about them and seen one or two on the road, but for the life of me I always thought they were a kit car. It just had that Bradley GT look to them . Thanks Jay and Jeff for sharing a little more knowledge about automotive history.
I had one of these, #2417. Pretty much the worst car I've ever owned, a total money pit that set me back for years trying to get it right, and I never did. They are truly beautiful cars, and as Jay alluded to, all you had to do was pop the doors at a gas station and you were belle of the ball. I owned mine in the early 2000s and even then it was a show-stopper. But there were also issues such as the air doors in mine had a leak in the system, so they would run out of air (there's a tank hidden in the rear bumper -- which means you could stop at a service station and use the tire air station to refill your doors so they'd open/close properly). Like the mid-70s C3 Corvettes, they are terribly slow; they handle a bit better than the Corvettes of the era but the brakes will give you an ulcer, and the AMC -sourced rear end didn't feel like it was properly located by the suspension, so the back end tended to wander a bit too much. Mine suffered from the leak issue to the point that it became unusable in any kind of mixed weather. But the crash safety aspect was no joke. They got that part of it right ... but very little else, other than the styling.
Top-notch entertainment. These guys are the pinnacle of fun. I loved this show. ton's of facts and even more of fun and humor added to it. Can't fail. I just love watching this.
It’s Jay’s show, so you expect him to deliver information, but he’s obviously a little gun-shy because he knows Jeff is a Bricklin SME. Jeff stands there smiling waiting patiently to respond; Jay: “They only built these for 2 years; 74 & 75” Smiling Jeff: “3 years, they built some in 76 as well.” I love these exchanges 😂
When i was a kid in the 70s there was an import repair shop a few blocks away. They had one of these in safety orange for a bit. Used to imagine it belonged to James Bond. A few blocks in the opposite direction I walked home from school, and would pass a house with a few 911s in the driveway. Always thought someone rich lived there. I saw the owner outside one day and asked what he did for a living. He was a mechanic at the import repair place. I imagine he loved his job. ❤
I'll always admire Delorean and Bricklin, despite their ultimate failure, because they launched the creation and production of unique and beautiful cars despite the low odds of their success. They are a very rare breed.
Back in the 80’s my sister dated a guy who had one. It was green. It was already falling apart pretty badly, and then he hit something and poked a hole in the oil pan. Anyway, we lived in Fairbanks Alaska and I ended up helping him fix it. Took the pan off I think, did some welding, etc. helped him with the doors and such. I labeled myself the furthest north Bricklin mechanic. I probably still hold the title 😝☺️
If that’s the guy I know, he still owns it and still lives in Fairbanks. He drove it from Minneapolis to Fairbanks in the Alaska Highway one February when he moved up there.
A fantastic episode, with very insightful information about the context and history. It’s a shame that investors in the day - in this case the provincial government - were not receptive to continuous quality improvement in the business plan before pulling the plug. A Noble Failure is a great way to characterize it, especially by those of us who were big fans here in New Brunswick.
Yeah, I like Dunham's taste in cars- There's a million Hollywood guys who collect exotic, lastest-greatest sportscars, or luxury sedans, or even muscle cars... which they use as fashion accessories, but know nothing about the car itself. But Dunham has all these weird, oddball, relatively-affordable (by Hollywood standards, at least- He's not buying 800k Lambos or Paganis) from the 70s- This weird rival to the Pantera, or goofy special edition Gremlins. But he (like Jay) actually, knows about his cars, and has a real passion for them.
Jeff and Jay make a great episode where they go beyond discussing the car at hand. Couple of true ambassadors to the automotive world. I’d watch more videos of them talking about the state of the auto industry.
I'm from Minto N.B where the body panels were made. I was only a kid at the time but I remember there were rejected body panels regularly thrown out at the local dump. I think one of the main problems with those panels is the building where the panels were made was unheated [so I've been told by people who worked there] and that would really affect the resins not to mention the difficulties working in the winter in an unheated building. Another interesting note, Back in the early '90s I helped paint the house of a man who was pretty high up in the company and worked in the offices in St John. He had lots of stories about it but the one I remember is that there were actually two black cars built on special order for company use. IIRC, they were for higher-ups in the company. It was really something incredible for a pre-teen kid with cars on the brain to have real sports cars built in his little home town. [even if it was just the bodies]
As a young mechanic at a dealer that sold these cars I was chosen to fix the dozens of issues these things had. The senior mechs. Wouldn’t touch them. The colored body panels faded at different rates so most got repainted. The hatch windows kept falling in. One owner got stuck inside the car when the electrics failed. It was a lot of fun for a 19 year old mechanic.
I was gonna say I’m surprised it was legal for them to make the doors like that if the electrical system failed, dead battery ur trapped and worst case if ur in an accident or car goes in a lake ur not getting out. I’m not sure if it had crank windows but it should have been forced to have crank windows for saftey.
Awesome
These would have been good rental cars. Like Avis, or rent-A-Wreck
@@peanutbutterisfu Of course you're getting out! It has crank-operated windows. The owner made quite a to-do about that before they left Leno's garage.
Ya Jay said most of that.
Jay is keeping automotive history alive. I remember the Bricklin.
I remember it was supposed to cost $6500 and have a Chevy 350 V8...
10 years later Fiero to be $6500... but GM realized it could option them up to $15-20K to some buyers...
@@BuzzLOLOL That’s dumb. One car has nothing to do with the other. They are entirely unrelated. The SV-1 had an AMC 360 or Ford 351W.
In any case I feel the design has aged well, kinda looks like a sharper earlier version of the 80's Z car
I think Jay will be remembered more for his automotive genius than his work in the entertainment industry. Keep on truck’n Jay.
moved to AZ in 1976, and a neighbor on next block had one - was too young to know much about it then; never realized their HQ was in Scottsdale and he apparently lived here!
My Dad had a Bricklin when I was about 17. I remember that he had to have installed an aftermarket compressor for the doors, so that you could open it. But the compressor never really worked, so my brother and I would stop by an air pump at gas stations periodically to get them gassed up. Even STILL, the doors could only open like 3/4 of the way and they were OBSCENELY heavy. It sounded really cool inside it, and the car could have been outstandingly cool if only they'd have executed everything correctly. More's the pity. I miss that car, and I miss my dad. Cheers, Jay, for always bringing back good memories of me, my dad, and cool older cars.
heartwarming (:
I know Jay likely won't see this, but I'm so happy he is healed up from his accident. And, if I can be a bit selfish here, I'm so glad he's back to doing this show. One of my favorite TH-cam channels. Glad you're back Jay and I hope you never stop making this show!
Agree
His doctor is very talented, I only recently saw photos of Jay's face shortly after the accident. I noticed when he pulled out his phone that his left hand still has burn scars. He is one tough character, and I hope he stays with us a long time to come. He had me worried when he was in the rollover of the Hemi Under Glass.
Always sad to see a classic take on what could possibly be irreversible damage and Jays chin is definitely a classic.
Seriously? He's hideous! We're praying for you Jay!¡!
Jay is a real car guys car guy.
I bought one in Moncton NB in 1984 and drove it to Edmundston NB in March which is about 5 hours due north and the heater conked out and I almost froze to death. That was my first experience with disappointment. I then took the car to a body shop in Grand Falls to have all the delamination defects corrected which necessitated painting the car but it came out quite nice and was a show stopper. The doors was next to require repair and that was a challenge as my wife had gotten stuck in the car when a hydraulic hose broke and squirted oil on her. Boy was she pissed. Another defect was the alternator swing bracket which was made from sheet metal as opposed to cast that broke off going over a railroad crossing. I finally gave up and sold it as I was starting a family and reliable all year transportation was a necessity when winter lasts 6 months. This biopic on the car sure brought back memories..some good and some bad. Thanks for the memories Malcolm.
Good story. Funny when you said your wife was pissed. I'll bet she was! I would be too!
Not a vortex, it was his reality distortion field
Some of the parts on the Bricklin were from AMC. I used to own an AMC Javelin and the first time I saw a Bricklin, I recognized the steering column right away, but that story about the alternator bracket sounds like a crappy AMC part and some of the Bricklin's had AMC engines so could be that. The Javelin had, had a 304 ci and they had bigger engines like a 360 and a 401, (I just read that one model of the Bricklin had an AMC 360). The 304 had a flaw, or at least mine did, because a washer in the distributor would wear down, so the timing would get worse and worse until you changed the washer again, but I had to change it often, which is insane for a supposed commercial product. Nobody in their right mind would knowingly buy a car that was that screwed up. The stick shift also vibrated like hell, so much so that a girlfriend I had put it to imaginative use one night on a long trip ;-), but aside from that form of fun, the car was NOT exactly fun (oh, and the windows wobbled around when you rolled them up and down), so if the Bricklin is anything like the Javelin, then I pity the poor owners no matter how cool it looks.
Nice to hear Bricklin is 84 years old and still kicking 🌞
84 years?
@@howardfitzner7789 Malcolm Bricklin
In 1974 - 1975, I was a kid working at a "Jack in the Box". A guy came through the drive-thru in a brand new Bricklin. It was kind of a mustard tan color. I was fascinated with the car and the owner was glad to tell me about it. I asked him if opening the gull-wing doors was difficult in close parking... He said the door extended only nine inches from the car when opening and he demonstrated it by opening the door in the drive-thru. (I don't remember it taking very long at all to open and close.) As far as I remember, that is likely the only Bricklin I've ever seen.
I, too, used to work at Jack In The Box 😊
@@onesri6108 my friends and I always ended a night of partying with a stop for Super tacos, great memories , seems like another lifetime
@@796monster Gimme a Jumbo Jack with cheese, large fry and large coke. Nightly order after closing Jed Nolan's Music hHall at 1AM in Scottsdale, AZ cir. 1975
For some reason a Bricklin and 'Jack in the Box' seem to belong together! 😂
@@bobjohnson1587 I guess Bob... We just didn't have that many unusual cars coming through in those days. One night, a tough 1%'er biker guy was giving the girl at the drive thru window a hard time... She was a bit of a firecracker in her own right, and she told him his brain wasn't big enough to be out by itself. He took offense at that and threw a huge piece of curb-concrete through the front window. I don't remember if he stayed around to collect his order.
I love how Jay remembers the car in the Mad Max movie but not the movie title. True car guy.
I am from NB and these were built about 40 minutes away from where I was born. I give Jay props for getting the details accurate! We were a small, poor province and we were very proud to produce a beautiful car like this! To produce a car that was being compared to the top performance cars of the time was something to be proud of at that time!
Jay obviously never learned your supposed to drive between the white lines.
Right on. I used to see a few in Montreal at dealers in the 70’s. Nice car 🇨🇦
Workmanship failure. Automotive history failure.....😅😅😅
It’s pretty dope that I’m 24 years young and a car fanatic. But what’s most dope is the facts Jay shows us classics & explains the history ( including the guess )behind these vehicles , and then I go to the comments and read some you guys stories that you guys had when the cars first came out and etc… as a young car guy it’s pretty cool that I get to, read , listen, & watch a piece the past. Feels almost as if I was there with all you guys in that day of age. Jay Leno & To All his Subscribers.. might not mean anything. But Thank You 🏁❤️ things like this make me feel whole. Seriously
Do you have any classic cars yet?
Mr. Leno does so much more keeping interest in cars as more than appliances than any other entertainer. His love for cars as art and technology is palpable. Thank you so much for your time and energy in bringing your passion to us all!
I just watch an episode of Fantom Works & they modded one in Safety Yellow. I think he did another episode on a different Brick & talked about how bad the gaps were.... it may have been the same episode I saw a long time ago...
Some of my most favorite episodes are of Jay & Jeff shooting the breeze about cars, philosophy, and life in general. It's easy to see why these two regular guys who are wildly successful are so well loved and respected.
Fantastic job guys. I was 15 when all of this took place here in New Brunswick. I recall the media hype surrounding the economic potential, and how "futuristic" the car looked. Thank you for pointing out how its failure was not due to the local workforce. Well done.
At least I know I'm not the only New Brunswick'er here. 👍
Yeah!
But it was due to the workforce, eh?
@@1pcfred I Could have sworn it was due to Bricklin feeding Hatfield a bunch of sh!t and suckering the Maritimes out of a bunch of money at our expense.
work force: yes and no. If you hire someone with two left hands, that's on you, not the guy who has two left hands.
My buddy has two SV-1's sitting at his shop. The story goes some lady's father collected them, and has recently passed away. The deal she made him was to fix one up for her and get it running, and he gets to keep the other.
We got the one he is keeping running a few weeks ago. Put a fuel pump from an 85 F150 on it, drained the old gas, put some fresh in, and it started within a minute. The carb was leaking everywhere, but it ran very good. The tires are 35 years old, so that gives you an idea on how long it has been sitting.
Its still got a long way to go, but it will be a very cool driver when its done.
I graduated from high school in Canada in 1979. One of the rich kids in my graduating class used a Bricklin as a grad car. Someone else in the class used an Opel GT. Pictures of both cars made the yearbook.
My dad was the chief fabricator at AVC Engineering where the prototypes were built. I think they built three of them. I watched the entire process from the clay modeling stage to the finished product. They built the Greenwood Corvettes there too.
Lucky you.
Would that be the reason it looks quite like the Corvette c3?
Total envy
@ 22:32 Someone tell Jeff-Fuh-Fah that there was some bottoming out sparks. 😳😂
Document as much as you can about what your dad did and pictures. It will be a great history piece. Write a book.
This car was built just a few minutes from my house in Saint John, New Brunswick. There's still a bunch of them kicking around here. Super cool cars with an amazing history.
One guy in rothesay has three or four of them. He’s a nice dude, too.
Only watched the video because of the NB connection... couldn't care less about Jeff Dunham lol.
To Mr. Dunham: For the record, St-John's is in Newfoundland. Saint John is in New Brunswick.
I’m sure there is a lot of parts kicking around from when the workers emptied the factory once it was closed.
@@iamtherealzombie Jim Gaffigan explained it all to me.
The body work was all done in Minto..
I love my Bricklin SV-1 and I drive it as much as possible. Always attracts a lot of attention anywhere I take it because so few people have ever seen one.
My best friend in high school used to drive his Dad's in the mid 80's. Some great memories in that car!
Awesome! Is it green?
I would mistake it for a C4 until I learned about it in this video
@@stonetic2515 My C4 ZR-1 is definitely not a Bricklin. That being said, I do love the SV1!
@@stonetic2515 You're probably the person on earth that would do that
1949 Crosley was first American auto with four wheel disk brakes, from Goodyear/Hawley. Built in Indiana. Corvette got 4 wheel disk brakes in 1965. Thanks Jay I love your show. I just added the information, so you are aware and give credit where credit's due, thank you very much
This is a great video. I remember the Bricklin very well - a close friend owned one and it was maintenance intensive only because he bought it used. It was not maintained well, came from a sunny hot climate and had body laminate issues, headlights worked fine if they opened and my right shoulder got wet from the leaking door (he took it through a car wash!). The engine was a dream to work on - a lot of common Ford 351 Winsor (CA) parts were just about everywhere. We thought we were so cool - and we were (LOL).
7:30 The De Tomaso Pantera actually used the Ford 351 _Cleveland_ for most of its production run. They only changed to the Windsor in '88 when Ford Australia ran out of Cleveland blocks (the US having ceased production of the Cleveland in '74.)
That is correct, the Pantera's 351 cu. in. had 266 HP Cleveland (I remember the ads). My '69 Shelby Mustang had the first 351 Windsor.
Yup,. Jay's partly correct on the Mach 1. The Windsor and the Cleveland were options. The Windsor being a stroked 302.
Jay is getting old! Three times he Said same motor as the Pantera! He knows better, just One of those getting older moments.
@@c5forbob Hey, he's not actually wrong - De Tomaso did use the Windsor. It's just not the engine they used for most of the production run. 👍
Yes, I cringed every time Jay said 351W used in Panteras... when it was actually the Hyper 351C until the last ones... Early Pantera 351C was 4 bbl. carb. and rated 335 HP...
Windsor, Canada vs Cleveland, Ohio, USA manufacture...
Also, 4 speed manual tranny option prolly dropped to end the torn up rear ends repairs under warranty...
Always found these cars fascinating but the more I learned the more I realized just admiring from afar is enough.
Kind of like the beautiful girl at the the end of the bar at closing time … enjoy a flirtatious smile, but not enough to wake up with one in your garage or bedroom🦊
I always though they were kind of crazy looking. But I completely agree, I have always loved learning about them.
Have to pick either one up cheap...
@@mooslionheart HEY! Those are two completely different thi...um...uh...nevermind!
Cooler car to have than a stupid Corvette.
Jeff Dunham shares my particular love of cars. The uneven vacuum lights always make me smile when they lazily open and close and the weird cars that didn't do well are always the ones I look at the most
Old Blue eyes, one blew east and one blew west...................
I know the feeling. I always had a thing about the Lotus Europa. My dad had a coworker who owned one.
“The weird cars that didn’t do well”. So. How many Yugo’s do you have?
Ironically the Mercedes Benz vacuum system would solve a lot of that issue😅
That was the most fun I've had watching this show, just like a slow burning skit from the Office.
Really love how these guys appreciate the car for all it's aspirations while acknowledging it's challenges.
I just adore Jay Leno. He's the car-expert fun uncle I never had who still keeps it real
Great to see Jay feeling better and back on the Street. Jay is Number One !!!!
Love the whole Malcolm Bricklin story… and he’s still at it!😊
I love old timer car stories. This is one of my favorite videos. Thank you!
A Canadian car ahead of it's time.
I remember seeing one at the A&W in 1975. I was in awe.
It was very expensive at $25,000.00 CAD.
My 1974 Dodge Challenger was $4,680.00 with taxes. A huge difference.
1974 Dodge tradesman 200 Van w Big 360 $4475 out the Door...But Junk 🙄🙄 My Chevy Dealers Sold them too.🤣🤣🤣
I was 9 years old living in northern New Brunswick when the company brought 2 of them to the shopping mall. It was showcased inside the mall. I remember how marvelled I was of this car... wanted one ever since . The sales person talked about all of the safety and options, good memories. BTW, Bathurst, N.B.
Great video by two great entertainers and car enthusiasts! I was 9 years old, living in Saint John, New Brunswick (still do). There was a lot of unemployment in the day. Premier Richard Hatfield cut a deal with Malcolm Brickin and it was big news - a real honest to goodness car manufacturing facility was coming to town and it will put us on the map, and the region will become affluent with big manufacturing dollars! There was an allure that we would finally be famous the world over for producing a really fancy car way ahead of its time. While I was only 9-10 years old, I could feel, (but not completely understand) the hype of it all at the time. When the whole thing failed in 1976, there was, and continues to be much synicism that "Tricky Dickie" (the Premier) had a kick back deal where he would funnel public money to Bricklin, build cars for a couple of years, shut it all down, and the two of them would walk away with a suitcase full of money each. Of course, we know that is was an engineering, parts procurement, and most of all, a production failure because they didn't put experience or investment into the manufacturing. They put all the eggs into the Research and Development, and by the time they hit the manufacturing phase of the project, they were trying to stretch the finite amount of dollars left. Thank you gentlemen for this! There a few still around town here!
I love how the rear bumper looks like an 8-track tape sticking out of a player. Very "of the era". ;)
I love Jeff's enthusiasm for the malaise-era. I love it even more when Jay humors him and features some of his cars.
Humors him? I think there's more than just a little bit of respect between a couple of true car guys going on here. Certainly Leno is on a whole different level, but Jeff is no slouch on the car collector spectrum. Jeff is certainly more focused in his collection, but his net worth is also more focused, if you know what I mean.
You're a national treasure, Jay. Thank you for sharing your many talents and gifting them to the world!
He hasn't gifted any of his talents to anyone. He has been paid handsomely for them, if he hadn't been, this show wouldn't exist.
As a Detroit kid I remember the Popular Mechanics issue discussing the SV-1 and all the excitement of the design. It was beautiful and weird, too bad it did not catch on and get refined. I love how Jay thinks and has the ability to live out a working guys dreams. Jeff was very knowledgeable too, really car guys talking real car guy stuff.
I've seen a couple of them up close here in N.B.. I got a chance to sit in one, at the museum (as I recall it wasn't roped off at the time). I remember the interior seeming rather simple, and somewhat pieced together with some gaps bigger than you'd see on other American cars. Like them or not, they still turn heads. That headlight demo was so awesome. Great episode Jay, & Jeff Dunham!
The vacuum operated pop up headlights on the first series Stingrays were also notorious for having that “winking” issue.
Miss you guys doing the car-on-the-lift underside reviews. Please bring them back!!
They must have cut back on insurance. 😊
The sounds, the smells and all the other senses you feel when you drive a cool car, isn’t that what makes cars so much fun.
I’ve driven an electric car and it just didn’t feel right. It was like it had no heart, it was lacking a soul. I’m 54 so maybe I’m just to old. I still remember buying my first car, I loved it so much.
I still remember the throaty sound it made when I pushed the pedal down, I still remember how it felt too. Same was true with any of my motorcycles. I used to go driving just for fun.
I didn’t care where I went, it was the drive I loved. There was a good restaurant two hours away from my house that made really good pizza. Every so often I use it an excuse to for a drive. My now wife was the only girl I dated who got it.
If it was a nice day, she’d suggest we go for a ride. She loved to put her window down and enjoy every moment of it. That’s when I knew she was a keeper. Lol
Good for you. It's obvious that you realize how fortunate you are, so often his toys are the ones that go so she can have hers. Btw, do you pronounce your surname like they do in Scotland?
@@mescko of course, and I celebrate Bobby Burns day every year.
Jeff Dunham is my favorite guest on Jay Leno's Garage. He always brings unique vehicles & the banter between him & Jay is like two old buddies on a Saturday afternoon drive.
The Bricklin aside, it was most fun and enjoyable to see and hear the warm repartee between two good friends who are comedic and love cars. Thanks, Jay and Jeff for sharing this car with us!
I am a bit surprised that Jay didn't mention the 351 Cleveland. The Pantera used the 351 Cleveland, not the 351 Windsor. The 351 Cleveland was the high performance 351 from Ford. No doubt the Bricklin went with the Windsor since it was built in Canada while the Cleveland was built in the US.
Exactly, as the 351W was a truck engine, I have one in my E-150. Coupled to the four speed manual trans, it is a great work van, but with a two barrel carburetor it was made for torque...
@@davidhollenshead4892 The 351 Windsor was used in a number of cars as well. Good engine, it just wasn't a 351 Cleveland. I had a 1974 Gran Torino Sport with the 351 Cleveland Cobra Jet. I ended up getting rid of it because it just begged me to speed. I once had a cop pull me over after a lengthy chase (I honestly didn't realize he was behind me and pulled over as soon as I saw him.) and he pulled his pistol on me and was shaking so much I was afraid he was going to shoot me by accident.
@@davidhollenshead4892 351w was used in ruck and cars not just a truck engine
My '69 Mustang GT had the 351 Windsor.. made just across the lake in Canada. The body fell apart before the engine quit.. which it didn't.
@@catnvol I loved how you said your Gran Torino begged you to speed made me laugh👍😎🇨🇦
Thank you, Mr. Leno for another great history lesson, it’s always a pleasure when you have Jeff Dunham on your show, he is truly a car lover and an expert on all cars. I see the similarities with a 240 Z as well seeing that I have one also🙏🏽
You should also recognize the taillights.
jay do you know why the 350 ford windsor is called windsor .just look across the river from detroit t.hats where the were built, windsor ontario
I cringed every time Jay said 351W used in Panteras... when it was actually the Hyper 351C...
Windsor, Canada vs Cleveland, Ohio, USA manufacture...
Also, 4 speed manual tranny option prolly dropped to end the torn up rear ends repairs under warranty...
This could be my favorite JLG video....just two buddies tooling around and shootin' the breeze. Love this stuff! Great vid Jay. Thanks
Definately my favorite so far! I had no idea that Mr Dunham is a car guy. And I have always loved odd cars like the Bricklin.
Without a doubt the best Jay Leno's Garage episode in a long time.
Great to have an entertaining guest, who is knowledgeable and communicative.
I know it's the nature of the beast, but many of Jay's guests can be talking about the rarest, most exotic sports car on the planet and you find yourself dropping off after a few seconds.
Also loved the fact that there's a bit of car knowledge one-upmanship going on.
The assembly plant was in Canada, and HQ in Scottsdale, but engineering was done in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, MI, not far from AMC. Bricklin uses a LOT of AMC Hornet/Gremlin parts - brakes, chassis, etc. - not just the AMC 360 V8 in 1974. Some of the engineers were friends of my dad, and my dad had a 1974 Bricklin brochure with notes he wrote by hand about the production ramp up plan. I still have this brochure.
I was 12 years old in 1975 and do remember the car being built here in Saint John New Brunswick (St John's is in Newfoundland) but I am not sure I ever saw one on the road at that time. If I did the memory has left me.
But some background on the city: Saint John is historically an industrial town on the smaller scale. A major ship building town at one point, it evolved into a paper producer and our port never freezes, so port activity was a big contributor to the economy back then, as we're the rail yards.
But my recollection most from that time period was union strife within the various unions, and Saint John was heavily unionized at the time. My father was union president for the IBEW for 2 terms in the late 60s and it's no exaggeration to say whether it be the electrical workers, the ship yard workers, or the carpenters union which my grand father once held the role of president in, the city was militant. My career path was laid out, either power commission, shipyard or port, whatever it was I would have a job in a union gig.
I don't recall the Bricklin plant being unionized. I could be wrong, but that would have been a huge deal back in the day. I know my father was not a fan and that may been the issue. He would have welcomed any employment opportunity for the city - provided it was unionized.
Thanks for this Jay!
And hence Saint John never developed a significant industrial base. Unions were needed at one time but they became a hindrance at a certain point. That being said I'd like to visit the Maritimes one day and I would like to see Saint John, Halifax, Cape Breton, and some of the oceanside vacation spots there. In summer time (I've heard winters are brutal).
They were built in the Chipman-Minto area.
When I was a kid I saw the same colour car in a Halifax, Nova Scotia show room. I can still remember the feel of the door switches. To me, in 1976, it was the coolest car in the world.
I still have my Briklin brochure from the Toronto Autoshow. It was a very exciting car for the time.
@@hawk00055 I forgot about that, I have one too!!!
Jeff knows how to pick em. What a neat car, a glimpse into the future back in '75
I took a paint and body course at the local votech school about 15-16 years ago and one of the guys had one of these and we tinkered with it trying to get it running. We managed to get it back road worthy but the body on his was in terrible shape it had separated so bad and we as a bunch of body shop kids never did manage to figure out how to fix that thing. Truly was an absolute nightmare of a car. My hat is completely off to whoever Je-fa-fa paid to restore that thing.
Jay and Jeff are so fun together , plus they have a great tailor.
My dad was from St. John, we took a drive by the Bricklin factory back in '75, I would have been 10 years old. I still remember seeing hundreds of Bricklin's in the lot next to the plant. All the different "safety" colors. Red, yellow, blue, orange. Might even have seen Jeff's car there.
I love Jeff’s collection he has the unique, interesting stuff.
Thank you for showing this car that was built in my province. This so far has been my favorite Jay Leno's Garage.
I remember the Bricklin saga as a teenager in New Brunswick, a darn shame it didn’t succeed. The last one I saw was a white one while I was visiting in Phoenix a few years back, it was exciting to see it in the rear view mirror then pass! Thanks for a great video!
Built not to far from my home in New Brunswick, Canada. Thanks for putting our little province on the map Jay.
Brings back memories! A neighbor down the street got a red (orange) one just like Jeff's. I was 12 and remember seeing him drive by and pull into his driveway. Jumped on my Stingray bicycle and rode over for a closer look. Looked so futuristic with the gull wing doors. He let me sit behind the wheel, funny how some memories stay with you!
The kind of hilarious thing is, that car reminds me of all the 80's era "generic sports car" you'd see in cartoons.
It actually has a nice retro look nowadays, and the idea of making a car that's supposed to be safer shouldn't have had to be a novel idea.
My neighbor across the street had one for a while. It was white and had numerous problems. It was no where near this nice. It was the only one I saw inside and up close. Interesting car with lots of potential. Too bad it never cought on or got past the teething stage. Love the show and the unique cars you showcase.
I heard Jay you commenting about car crash death rates in the 70's and car safety becoming a priority. If you look at the road deaths in the US post covid there has been a big jump in numbers. Fatalities per 100.000 population has jumped from 11 to 13. A really bad year was 1972 when that figure hit 26 deaths per 100.000 population. Just pointing out it's weird to see the statistical numbers rising against what's safer vehicles on the road.
The best safety feature of a car would be a spike on the steering wheel facing the driver, if you know what I mean
Cars are safer except if the nut behind the wheel breaks loose 😂😂. I was born in 69 and I remember growing up in the 70s every day watching the news 2-3 people a day and on the weekends a half dozen killed per day on the road. It was just excepted. 😢
Thank you thank you thank you for pointing this out.
It just goes to prove that Murphy and Darwin will not be thwarted.
Build a safer car and better model of idiot will soon follow.
...at least until the gene pool is sufficiently cleaned out.
If you look at road deaths per national total mileage on a yearly basis you will actually see the true statistics ie a steady decrease in road deaths since 1972.
Jay Leno is an automotive legend. He values almost anything on wheels and has rescued many cars. He is never a snob and appreciates the value of many vehicles - from ordinary to exotic.
I was working in San Francisco a few years back and had a day off. Went up to Muir Woods and walked the (main) trail (HIGHLY recommended). When I came out to the parking lot there were 11(!) Bricklins in the parking lot!! I'd never seen more than 1 at a time - evidently this was a Bricklin club road trip. Awesome looking vehicles.
That is hilarious. Coming out of the woods to see that must have been a bit of a "What the hell. . . ?" moment. Great story.
@@eyesuckle hahahaha could only imagine
I'm glad that Jay mentioned the DeLorean. There are so many parallels between the two cars, it's absurd.
If this had a blockbuster movie behind it, instead of its stainless steel "successor" I can imagine they'd be far more well known.
It is in "Deadline Auto Theft" wich was made by H. B. Halicki who shot the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" that was my first exposure to this car and I have liked it since.
You and Jeff put together a fun video that exceeded my expectations. I remember the car reviews from the day and they almost treated the Bricklin as an exotic car.
The Bricklin, like the Tesla Roadster was like a kit car that was never finished. Their manual trans version had the worst clutch pedal that led the auto magazines to suggest only buying the automatic transmission. The worst part about the Brick;lin was apparently the poor weather stripping as not only did the car leak water into the interior, but even dust. I heard from a former owner that if you drive one on a dirt road with the windows closed, the interior will look like that of a Baja Bug that just spent a weekend at the sand dunes...
Yes. R and Tract dissed it but I think C D liked it much more. I wouldn’t say loved it .. 19:16
Older cars are so great ! Nothing like the fix and repair factors ; the improve and modify methods leading to hot rods and many types of racing ; sur inventions; suspension inventions, etc
i grew up in southern New Brunswick and we used to see the Bricklin drive past now n then ,quite a bit .i remember at a car show, around there one time , and there were 4 of them sitting together . another thing i wanted to mention is one of the bigger cities in that area is called Moncton and right beside it theres a place called Dieppe .i noticed the poster in your shop Jay on this episode , with the same name on it .
I love how grounded and drama free these videos are. Just good solid stuff! Saw Jay live in MA this weekend - sharp as a tack. Man, he is funny. BTW, i like how Dunham died his hair “Safety Red” for the bit 😅 Jeff is obviously a real car guy - he starts talking and he lights up!
It's always entertaining when Jeff Dunham visits Jay Leno's Garage. Hilarious and down to earth 🙂
Can't help imagining what it might be like to have Bubba J, or Walter as Jay's guest
I was in my teens when the bricklin was made. I remember all the hype around it. Living in Canada at the time. I remember how cool it was to have a car like that being Canadian built. Didnt know anything about its construction
I've had mine since 2003- always a head turner when I brought it out. Herb Grasse was the designer of the car and it was his Pantera brake lights that they used when showing the prototype to Malcolm
Jay is keeping automotive history alive. I remember the Bricklin.. Nice to hear Bricklin is 84 years old and still kicking .
"You can't appreciate what you're doing on the road." Perfectly put.
What an interesting tale behind this car. First time I've seen one. I recall the name, but none of the details behind it. Thanks for saving this one, Jeff. As always, thanks for bringing automotive history to light, Jay.
I feel the same way about the DeLorean. I think John was a genius and had an amazing concept. Unfortunately by the time they built the factory in Ireland and changed almost everything it was doomed. It still has a special place in my heart. One day I still hope to own a DeLorean, or at least drive one.
In my VERY rural upbringing, there was a local (well, THE local) collector who used to bring his corvette and his DMC-12 to car shows and parades. The DeLorean always got all the attention, no matter what else was there. That was in the early 90’s. They’re even more rare now.
@@DemoDick1 that’s a great story. I came across one back in the late 90s and it was for sale sitting in a parking lot. I’m pretty sure it was 100% authentic and they wanted something like $8995 for it. I wish I would have bought it.
I always (and still do) want a Fiero. I lived right by the factory in MI.
@@jilbertb A small shop I would stop by weekly had one just sitting on the side. It was an Indy 500 pace car
Jay is a walking history book and Jeff loves the weird and unusual it is always a great time whenever these two get together this car really highlights that.
Lionel here in Central California.
Jeff’s recall of his 1970 Corvette reminds me of my 1969 Corvette convertible with Balanced 427 big block and Muncie 4 speed. That car was so much fun with 390 horsepower stock. I now have a 06 C6 with 400 horsepower and that car is even more fun with great gas mileage. I got 29 mpg slamming it though the curves over the Sierras.
Jay and Jeff 2 of my favorite funny guys, as well as a wealth of car info.
You both “(eye) kill you” me!!!
21:53 2 comedians making hilarious jokes and the lights go down Ba-dum-pum 🥁😂
Always love your videos. Thanks for mentioning Subaru 360's. I've owned these micro cars for 40 years, this green version is a Subaru 360 Yacht which Malcolm Bricklin had about a dozen converted into a dunebuggy style body. It was supposed to compete with the Fiat Jolly, being used on a Yacht for when your in port you drove around the town in it.. About 6-8 exsist today. Such a blast to drive.
In 1970 I remember walking past an empty lot in San Francisco where about 100 new Subaru 360s were parked. This was not too long after the Consumer Reports review, and I think they were having a hard time moving them.
@@gotham61 If the lot had 100 cars parked there, it was hardly empty.
@@victorbitter583 Empty, as in no building on the site.
I love microcars, I drive a gen 3 jimny, I rly like those 360's and especially the Suzulight's.
Ideally I'd like one of those Cappuccinos but they are skyrocketing in value.
This is an awesome episode! I sure would have loved to have some of your video in my "Bricklin Chronicles".
Thank you Jay for this fine presentation of the Bricklin
Great for having Jeff Dunham on with you! Glad to hear both of you sharing your knowledge. I had a Pontiac Fiero in 1985 and can relate to some of the things you described. Father worked for General Motors so I had access to new cars every year from Chevy Vegas, Opels, Chevy Camaro, Corvette, Corvelle, Corvair, Impalas, Buicks, etc.
They were tanks compared to today's vehicles but not so many safety features as you would think.
I owed a Safety Red serial#00887 1975. I was tossed between a Pantera and the Bricklin, I loved that they shared tail lights, but the rusty Pantera gave way to the Acrylic, gull wing doors , and the uniqueness. Although the "B's" 351 Windsor was no match for the Pantera's 351 Cleveland. My friend recently sold the two he had from new. Neither "B" had 1000 miles on them. Perfectly stored and maintained. Excellent episode. Keep on keeping on.
Car looked just like Forest Whitaker when they were trying to turn the headlights on!!!!! Lol
In the late 80's my drama department had a car wash in Newport Beach. One of these came in and I told everyone to stop. We changed out our rags to wash this. My dad had a cherry 66' Mustang and I knew what this was. We gave it a good clean wash, but I respected what we were washing.
I have always loved Bricklins. I want a Safety Green 1974 4-speed to go along with my 1984 Trans Am and '90 Corvette ZR-1. The horse analogy Jay offered was spot on and quite insightful. And Jeff: I'm an early 30s guy who loves driving classic cars! We exist!
I was thinking to myself it looks very much like a Trans Am meets a Corvette, I think it would be a perfect addition to your collection there
@@URBONED Thank you!
I knew someone in the Bricklin club who had a restored green 74 4-speed for sale. Don't know if he still has it.
@@detroit8v715 oooo!!!!
I remember reading about the Bricklin in Road Test magazine back in the day. The staff there were fairly kind to the car, giving a few digs about quality control but generally impressed with the performance and the design. I believe they had issues with the gull wing doors, too. Glad to see that Jeff has one-- it makes a perfect addition to his highly esoteric fleet!
I remember reading about the Bricklin in an Autocar magazine in '75. They like some of the ideas but were not impressed with it - saw it as cramped, poor visibility, unwieldy, not convinced of actual safety. They had some fun with the door system - if one passenger selected 'open door' and the other 'close door', the motor would burn out.
You know it wasn’t a bad looking car and even by today’s standards is still a pretty good looking car. I remember them, but mostly seeing them behind barns and garages with old pieces of lumber layed on them.
When I was in the fourth grade, my next-door neighbor was a bachelor who owned a white 2tone brickLin & white celica GT - both MINT but he always drive the Celica
coolest neighbor I ever had and never said more than 2 words to him
he was super open about checking out his cars whenever I caught him pulling out the garage & washing them.
I knew about them and seen one or two on the road, but for the life of me I always thought they were a kit car. It just had that Bradley GT look to them . Thanks Jay and Jeff for sharing a little more knowledge about automotive history.
I had one of these, #2417. Pretty much the worst car I've ever owned, a total money pit that set me back for years trying to get it right, and I never did. They are truly beautiful cars, and as Jay alluded to, all you had to do was pop the doors at a gas station and you were belle of the ball. I owned mine in the early 2000s and even then it was a show-stopper. But there were also issues such as the air doors in mine had a leak in the system, so they would run out of air (there's a tank hidden in the rear bumper -- which means you could stop at a service station and use the tire air station to refill your doors so they'd open/close properly). Like the mid-70s C3 Corvettes, they are terribly slow; they handle a bit better than the Corvettes of the era but the brakes will give you an ulcer, and the AMC -sourced rear end didn't feel like it was properly located by the suspension, so the back end tended to wander a bit too much. Mine suffered from the leak issue to the point that it became unusable in any kind of mixed weather. But the crash safety aspect was no joke. They got that part of it right ... but very little else, other than the styling.
I really enjoyed this episode, thank to Jeff for letting us see it and learn about it. It's still a great looking car, sort of a timeless look.
1975 a long time ago.
Dam J just made me feel old.
Top-notch entertainment. These guys are the pinnacle of fun. I loved this show. ton's of facts and even more of fun and humor added to it. Can't fail. I just love watching this.
He brought up the crank windows like it was a bad thing. I'd much rather have crank windows than electric.
Me too!! Any day of the week! Much easier and cheaper to repair!
Same here, way less to screw up lol
It’s Jay’s show, so you expect him to deliver information, but he’s obviously a little gun-shy because he knows Jeff is a Bricklin SME. Jeff stands there smiling waiting patiently to respond;
Jay: “They only built these for 2 years; 74 & 75”
Smiling Jeff: “3 years, they built some in 76 as well.”
I love these exchanges 😂
The '76s may have been built in '75...
When i was a kid in the 70s there was an import repair shop a few blocks away. They had one of these in safety orange for a bit. Used to imagine it belonged to James Bond. A few blocks in the opposite direction I walked home from school, and would pass a house with a few 911s in the driveway. Always thought someone rich lived there. I saw the owner outside one day and asked what he did for a living. He was a mechanic at the import repair place. I imagine he loved his job. ❤
I'll always admire Delorean and Bricklin, despite their ultimate failure, because they launched the creation and production of unique and beautiful cars despite the low odds of their success. They are a very rare breed.
Back in the 80’s my sister dated a guy who had one. It was green. It was already falling apart pretty badly, and then he hit something and poked a hole in the oil pan. Anyway, we lived in Fairbanks Alaska and I ended up helping him fix it. Took the pan off I think, did some welding, etc. helped him with the doors and such. I labeled myself the furthest north Bricklin mechanic. I probably still hold the title 😝☺️
Neat story! I could only imagine how that thing held up in the sub-zero Temps 😂😂
I bet the doors wouldn’t even open in -45. I think it was a summer only car…
If that’s the guy I know, he still owns it and still lives in Fairbanks. He drove it from Minneapolis to Fairbanks in the Alaska Highway one February when he moved up there.
I think he might! Nice guy and loves that Bricklin.
A fantastic episode, with very insightful information about the context and history.
It’s a shame that investors in the day - in this case the provincial government - were not receptive to continuous quality improvement in the business plan before pulling the plug.
A Noble Failure is a great way to characterize it, especially by those of us who were big fans here in New Brunswick.
I'm far from a car expert, but every car Jeff brings over looks like fun.
Yeah, I like Dunham's taste in cars- There's a million Hollywood guys who collect exotic, lastest-greatest sportscars, or luxury sedans, or even muscle cars... which they use as fashion accessories, but know nothing about the car itself.
But Dunham has all these weird, oddball, relatively-affordable (by Hollywood standards, at least- He's not buying 800k Lambos or Paganis) from the 70s- This weird rival to the Pantera, or goofy special edition Gremlins. But he (like Jay) actually, knows about his cars, and has a real passion for them.
Jeff and Jay make a great episode where they go beyond discussing the car at hand. Couple of true ambassadors to the automotive world. I’d watch more videos of them talking about the state of the auto industry.
Jeff Dunham and Jay Leno. My first 2 choices to sit down and shoot the sh!t talking cars. They are treasures.
I'm from Minto N.B where the body panels were made. I was only a kid at the time but I remember there were rejected body panels regularly thrown out at the local dump.
I think one of the main problems with those panels is the building where the panels were made was unheated [so I've been told by people who worked there] and that would really affect the resins not to mention the difficulties working in the winter in an unheated building.
Another interesting note, Back in the early '90s I helped paint the house of a man who was pretty high up in the company and worked in the offices in St John. He had lots of stories about it but the one I remember is that there were actually two black cars built on special order for company use. IIRC, they were for higher-ups in the company.
It was really something incredible for a pre-teen kid with cars on the brain to have real sports cars built in his little home town. [even if it was just the bodies]
Fredericton here!