Fiberfab

Fiberfab Velocidad Inc was an American kit car manufacturer founded by Warren "Bud" Goodwin in 1964.

Goodwin was a former sports-car racer and a keen fisherman, born in 1921 or 1922. His first wife and the mother of his two sons was Gwendolyn.

His earlier company, Sports Car Engineering, had manufactured Microplas Mistral bodies under license and sold them as the Spyder. He founded Fiberfab in 1964. In 1967 Goodwin was arrested on suspicion of murder for shooting his 28-year-old second wife, Jamaica. The police said he had found Jamaica with Farbus Kidoo. Goodwin claimed the shooting was accidental. He was charged with the voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. He died in jail on December 26, 1968, of a heart attack.

Fiberfab started building street rod parts and body panels for Mustangs in Los Angeles before moving on to kit cars. The company moved first to Sunnyvale, and then in 1966 to Santa Clara. It had a branch in West Germany from 1967 until 1973 at Ditzigen. The German company, also named Fiberfab severed its links with the American Fiberfab in 1973, moved to Aunstein, and began to make a jeep style vehicle of its own. It continued to make Bonitos until 1981 when it sold its version to a British Company, ACM.

The American company was still operating at Santa Clara in 1970 after the death of Goodwin. In 1971 Fiberfab was a Division of Concept Design America, a California-based company, ATR Incorporated, a Pennsylvania Corporation, acquired ownership of Fiberfab in November 1974. Around this time the company became named Fiberfab Incorporated.

In 1977 Fiberfab and James Crank's JDEX Company combined to make a steam-powered record attempt car using the Aztec 7 body-kit powered by a LMC Corporation steam engine developed as part the Lear Steam Bus Program. They planned the speed record attempt for August at Bonneville. The car failed to exceed 100 mph and was sold to the Barber-Nichols Engineering Company. Barber-Nicholls rebuilt it. On its first attempt it reached 111 mph. Robert Barber at Bonneville on August 19, 1985 reached 145.607 mph but the car caught fire and was unable to complete its second run. The car is on display at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.

By 1979 the company was based at Minneapolis. In 1983 the company was sold to Classic Motor Carriages (at the time Fiberfab Incorporated's largest competitor) and renamed Fiberfab International.

...
Wikipedia