Topic: SOLVED - What car #595 - 1970s Hathaway Roadster prototype

[@re]

Recognize this?

Please, respond below and let us know the make and model designation of the car posted here.

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[jotage21]

Hathaway Hunter

[@re]

Correct! I had it stored as a Hathaway Roadster, which explains the zero hits my Google search returned... the correct model designation is, obviously, Hunter. Still, I'd thought it would last longer.

[susanattie]

I bought  a Hathaway from the Hathaway Motor Company of Santee California in early 1983.  By the fall of 1983, Chuck Hunter had formed the Vintage motor Works in Sonoma California.  By then VMW had bought out HMC and was building Hunters. I think that if the car pictured is from 1980, it must be a Hathaway.

[Paul Jaray]

Welcome to Autopuzzles, Susanattie!
Wasn't Vintage Motor Works taken over by HS Engineering in 1988? And what about the British Tripos?
Is it true that You can recognize an MKI from an MKII from the direction lights, that have been moved from their position, aside the grille, in a lower position, to the top of the fenders (like the one pictured here)?

[susanattie]

Hello Paul,  I had not heard of Tripos or HS Engineering until you mentioned them. When I Googled HS Engineering I found that they were selling the Hathaway F/20 IN 1981 with either a tubular frame or for use on a TR frame. This was news to me and I would like to find out more about them. I met Mark Goyette, who designed the Hathaway in the mid 1970's, at the Hershey car show in the fall of 1982. He never mentioned HS Engineering to me, and I bought my kit through him from the Hathaway Motor Company.
 

[susanattie]

          I also found that Thomas Wiegand from Germany, bought the molds for the Hathaway in 1996, probably from Tripos.
He currently has the original Hathaway production molds, 2 cars, and various other related items, for sale out of Hannover, Germany.      Thanks.

 

[Ultra]

Susanattie,

You are welcome to post outside of this thread.   

 

[susanattie]

I have tried to contact @re directly to find out more about the source of this picture, but have not heard back from him yet. This car is definitely not a Hunter or Hathaway Hunter and is not a i980 model. I came across a picture of this same car in my files, and as explained to me by Mark Goyette himself back in 1982,  this is the original prototype model he built in the mid to late 1970's, and took around to various car shows to promote sales of the Hathaway. I hope we can find out more about this from @re

[@re]

Hi there - sorry I haven't got back to you sooner!

I got this picture from the Winter 1980 issue of British car magazine Alternative Cars, and just assumed it was a 1980 model, as it was mentioned in an article about the "Auto Fab '80s" kit car show held at the Long Beach Convention Center in 1980. The article features this picture and this is what's mentioned in the text:

"One car of great interest to English car enthusiasts was the Hathaway Roadster which is a replica of a typical 30's English sports car but like Thoroughbred Tiger is not based on an actual vehicle. What makes the Hathaway unique as far as American kit cars are concerned is that it uses Triumph sports car components and is built on a TR4, 5 or 6 chassis."

That's all I know, unfortunately - and this is another case where an owner of one of the rare cars we use for our puzzles, suddenly turns up at the site asking questions that we sadly do not know the answers to... but it's a nice car!

Edit: I've modified the topic header so it's more accurate regarding the car's name.

[grobmotorix]

Here´s another early 1980´s photo: