He specifically points to the Amphicar Model 770 for comparison and notes that his GRP hulls cannot rust like an Amphicar’s metal can.
Dutton pairs a regular passenger car with a hull made of glass reinforced plastic (GRP). Today, those models are known as the Reef and the Surf, respectively.ĭutton is quick to point out why he thinks his amphibious cars are better than the amphibious cars of the past. In 1989, Dutton produced the small Mariner and the four-wheel-drive Commander. This actually wasn’t his first foray into amphibious vehicles. This time, his cars weren’t just kits built out of ordinary cars, but ordinary cars turned into amphibious vehicles. But he couldn’t resist the urge to build his own cars and in 1994, he returned to his own company. Dutton stopped making his cars, sold off most of his operation, and decided to design things for other companies. At that time, Dutton decided that the kit car industry had gone astray, as companies ripped off each others’ designs. Here, a picture should describe what I’m going on about: Buch-tĭutton managed to build 8,000 kit cars between 19.
#PLASTIC RIVET GUN SERIES#
The Dutton Sierra Series 1, which started production in 1980, turned Ford’s Escort into what looks like a bizarro-universe Bronco II. Speaking of that Ford Escort-based kit, Dutton basically turned the Escort into an SUV. That gave Dutton the idea to build his own cars, with the goal of building them better than that Seven kit.Įventually, Dutton started building a variety of kit cars based on vehicles from the MG Midget to the Ford Escort. Building that Seven was reportedly supposed to take a weekend, but it took a whole week. Dutton took on the challenge, but was given parts that were the wrong color and the kit came with more wheels than the car actually needed. It was intended to be a one-off build, but then a person asked Dutton if he could assemble a Lotus Seven. This first car taught Dutton a lot about welding and other car building processes. Based on a Lotus IX chassis, the Mantis featured hand-formed aluminum panels and a design inspired by TVRs of the day. In 1969, after a five-year tool making apprenticeship, Tim Dutton built a car called the Mantis. Those of you who guessed Buick Regal/Century for its headlights and 1973-1987 GM truck lenses for the taillights are correct! Our Hans Bishop notes that the amber turn lenses are just those GM truck lenses molded in that color. We asked you to guess its headlights and taillights. It was an expensive Class A RV built by a company that sought to create drivable dream homes. Last week, we looked at the 2005 Monaco Diplomat. Like our previous entries, Dutton’s cars are built using a donor car, and are a mash of automakers’ parts. Dutton has been building kit cars for decades and his amphibious cars have even outlasted more famous designs.
These are the Dutton Surf and Dutton Reef, amphibious cars from the mind of UK entrepreneur Tim Dutton-Woolley. Welcome back to Parts Bin Puzzle, the Autopian challenge where we give you a vehicle and you figure out where its bits came from! We’re returning back to the world of weird kit cars to find out what is underneath these amphibious cars.
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