Bricklin SV-1 - Technical Specifications

Technical Specifications

Power came from a 360 cu in (5,899 cc) AMC 360 V8 for 1974. Later cars used a 351 cu in (5,752 cc) Ford Windsor V8. A high-performance V8 was chosen so that in case of an impending accident, the power of the V8 was enough for the owner to pull away from the potential accident. Performance figures rated favorably against the contemporary Corvette, which most auto magazines used as a point of comparison. The front suspension used A-arms and coil springs, while the rear used leaf springs on a live axle. For the 1974 model year, 772 cars were produced, 137 of which had four-speed manual transmissions. All 1975 and 1976 cars had automatic transmissions. In 1974 potential owners were given a choice of transmission and color whereas in 1975 there was only a choice of color.

In an attempt to reduce production costs, Bricklin attempted to bond fibreglass to acrylic plastic—something the plastics industry had not perfected at the time—resulting in a high failure rate and high production costs (some panels cracked while still in their molds). The acrylic fiberglass body was ahead of its time. It soon became obvious that Bricklin's claims of a "high performance safety car" were made for advertising.

Tended to overheat using a single radiator opening in the 1974 model, and doubling the size of the opening failed to solve the problem. Running examples today generally feature a retrofitted larger radiator.

It is believed that fewer than 1120 Bricklin cars still exist.