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						Fiberfab Jamaican Vw2

Air-cooled Fiberfab Jamaican Project

By Dean Larson

Photos: Seller, Craigslist

The Fiberfab Jamaican has such cool super-coupe lines, but it’s not nearly as common as the Avenger and Valkyrie GT40 derivatives. The Jamaican came in a few standard specifications for different chassis platforms, including a V8-powered version with Fiberfab-built steel chassis, and a more nimble version based on the MGA, TR3, TR4 and Austin-Healey, which is also a hoot to drive and a capable performer as well. At the more carefree end of the spectrum, you could also have an air-cooled VW based Jamaican, like this project car we stumbled upon on Cleveland Craigslist.

Introduced in 1968, the Jamaican’s long hood and fastback roofline make for a radical super-coupe look that rivals anything being constructed in America in the late 1960s. When equipped with a nice set of chrome wires, the Jamaican still looks like a proper classic sports car today, and is one of Fiberfab’s models that truly punches outside its weight class, and can hold its own against more traditional classics. The drag is that they didn’t build many of them, probably less than a few hundred, and they don’t come up for sale often.

Given the hinged rear body section and scoop in the rear, it’s plain to see that this Jamaican on Craigslist was always intended for the air-cooled VW platform. I’m assuming it’s based on a full-length pan, and the seller indicates that new floor pans have been installed. As for the mechanicals, I’m inclined to believe the VW donor was a 1967 Beetle, given that the seller calls it a “1967 VW Kit Car,” but I can’t be positive from the single image we’re shown of the engine. Perhaps an ace VW mechanic among you can positively I.D. some telling aspect of this single-carb engine. What we can see is that there is no carburetor fitted currently, so I would count on some work needing to be done in the engine bay.

The seller is asking $7,000 for the project car here on Cleveland Craigslist, and states that only minor things need to be completed on the car. For your money, I'd say you're getting a good straight car with a title that needs some finishing, but it looks like all the heavy lifting and hard-to-find parts are all here. The wheels are a little on the wild side (maybe intended for a Toyota truck application?), but I honestly don’t hate them, and it certainly works for now. Either way, this thing has huge potential, and should be a relatively simple project car to get up and running.

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