The eBay listing states this custom car's case emphatically, "This is the true meaning of hot rod." Hmm. Let's look at the facts objectively:
1.) The donor vehicle is a 1979 Fiat X1/9, an amazing mid-engined economy car, designed by Bertone, that could change its material state from metal to reddish-brown soil in under a decade. Add 20 awesomeness points.
2.) It's powered by a small-block Chevrolet engine, hooked to an Oldsmobile Toronado transaxle assembly. Add 80 awesomeness points.
3.) It has no power steering or brakes, is streetable, but is seldom driven and, according to the listing, "hard to drive." Add 100 awesomeness points. Brakes are for grandmas.
4.) "All hand-built body (not a kit car)." Subtract 100 awesomeness points. There's no fun in not seeing your weird car in a 1975-era magazine, next to a guy in a leisure suit and a trailer-park hoochie in boots and hiphuggers pulled up all the way to Cleveland.
5.) "Needs to be in a museum somewhere." Price: $40,000. Subtract 100 awesomeness points. No sense of irony or proportion, no sale.
Total: It's a wash. [Thanks to John for the tip.]
1979 Fiat X1/9 [eBay]
Related:
Jamming Econo With the Fiat X1/9 [internal]