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Sat Jul 28, 2007 3:57 pm

I'm restoring an old Cimbria SS manufactured by Amore Motors. Anybody know if the standard bug carpet will fit properly or should I just go custom?

Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:20 pm

If it's the SS, you have to go custom. The original Cimbria were on the bug chassis; the SS used the monocoque body. Check out www.nationalsterling.org for other member's cars. The white one on page 3 owned by "Fuzz" has a full custom upholstery and carpet - very professionally done. Contact him for other photos of the interior.

Rick

Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:52 am

Thanks for the link, thats a great site. Finding info on the Cimbria is pretty difficult and to have access to others that own them and have already gone through the rebuild will be a great help.With 2 Cimbrias and a Sterling to restore, I can use all the help I can get.

Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:57 am

Very cool! Please join the club! I'd like to see photos of your cars. There's quite a few club members in your area, too, that have Sterlings. Get one ready for next years' Carlisle event!

Rick

Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:45 pm

As far as my research has shown, the Cimbria SS was fitted to the standard beetle frame. I have a complete Cimbria SS build manual from Amore Cars that is for the Beetle frame.

The car was later renamed the Viper and it was at this point that it was offered on a custom frame (with a Porsche engine I believe). Though operating under a different company name, Joe Palumbo, the original creator (or converter, as the car was basically a Sebring with gull-wing doors added, and the Sebring was basically a Sterling/Nova with a raised roof and rounded wheel wells) was still involved.

Later in it's incarnation as the Nereia it was also offered for a tube frame.

Seth

Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:29 am

Yep. The SS had a full monocoque body that fit over the Beetle backbone, or could be ordered with a full tube frame. I had never heard of the Viper variation. Palumbo was out of that part of the kit industry at that time, also having sold off the rights to the Aldino. The Sebring was never part of the Cimbria heritage, only the Sterling. The Cimbria is completely different in every aspect except for the basic body shape. It's a much larger car in every dimension. The Sebring was loosely based from a Sterling, and the only body part it shared was the windscreen. Semi-complete history available on our website!

Rick

Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:00 am

Thanks for the info. I may have my facts mixed up. I thought someone had done drawings of every Sterling/Cimbria variant comparing rooflines, shape, and wheel openings that showed that the Cimbria had the same profile as a Sebring, but I could be mistaken.

I'll post pics of the Viper variation. It was on the cover of Kit Car back in the 80's. Will find the magazine and scan it.

Also, there was the Canadian version of the Cimbria made by Fortvac--the Bernardi. Here's a pic of it:

Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:54 am

Yep. Actually Bernardi stole a mold from a Cimbria after Palumbo sold off the molds to someone in Canada - it wasn't the current owner of Bernardi who bought them. Maybe it was Fortvac who got them, then started a company called Bernardi, since they do more than just that car. The Neria was created the same way: a mold was taken from an existing car and modified. It actually has a shorter nose on it, and to me looks a little retarded.

That's a good idea to compare overall bodylines. I have somewhere the profiles of all the cars...I'll have to try that to see what happens.

I've got a club member who's talked to Joe Palumbo in the last few months about his Cimbria, and I think he's waiting on a return call to see if Joe can still source windscreens and the old molds for some of the parts. I think he'll have a long wait, but you never know!

Rick

Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:10 pm

Well the thing that I think most of us Cimbria owners will need in the future is replacement doors. Because of the location of the door support piston, the doors usually warp themselves out of shape with enough time or stress (if too strong a piston is used). Also, the hinges within the doors are infamous for rusting and splitting the fiberglass. Because of these problems, they are often referred to as "sores" instead of doors.

A more expensive option than getting the parts here is importing them from England. The rights to the Eagle kit car (the UK authorized version of the Cimbria that utilized a Ford Cortina instead of the VW) have recently been acquired by a company called TEAC motorsports: http://www.teacsportscars.co.uk/Main%20Menu.htm

Though the eagle version has an altered hood and rear engine cover, the doors are identical except for using different donor hardware. They are still ramping up to produce the new Eagle, but I plan on contacting them a bit further on to check on replacement doors, though shipping of two such large parts would be hideous.

If you do nail down a stateside source for parts, that would be awesome, as my rear 1/4 has suffered damage and would love to glass in a replacement section instead of fixing it myself.

Now where is that Kit Car with the Viper on the cover...?

Sat Sep 15, 2007 6:35 am

Talk to some guys at the UK site: http://www.euro-nova.co.uk./
Chances are someone knows someone that has a wreck or a set of doors. The chances of finding replacement parts is virtually nil. From what I understand Neria scrapped the molds. I have no idea what's become of Bernardi - they just listed their one car (the only Cimbria clone I've seen from them) on the KitCar site for sale (link on our website). A phone call may not hurt to see if they have doors available, or at least the molds. I also have two project Cimbria's listed for sale on the site - one is unbuilt, the other has been cut, but good for donor parts, and the price is right!

Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:53 pm

Rick,

Which kit car site are you referring to where the Cimbrias are posted?

Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:12 pm

There are several on the Sterling site: www.nationalsterling.org

Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:07 pm

Rick,

Which ones are for sale? I read the owner profiles but didn't see it mentioned that any were for sale. Did I miss something?

Thanks,

Seth

Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:15 pm

Marketplace button: http://www.nationalsterling.org/marketplace.html

Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:30 pm

Ah! See it now. Thanks. The uncut body is a bit pricey, but the Oregon car is priced right. Wish it were closer, but who knows, I may ck into it... Wonder what shape the doors are in...

Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:17 am

I had talked to the guy with the uncut body several times. Apparently his father in law had bought it new back in the '80's and never assembled it. It has everything except the windscreen right down to the instruments and nut and bolt bags (I think). He was asking a decent starting price, and that's what I had suggested, since it's completely original. It'll be the perfect kit for someone to drop on a tube chassis!

Rick

Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:53 pm

Here's the Viper 2000 variation. It was sold by Palumbo and two other men under a separate company name, Advanced Automotive Technologies, Ltd. This was essentially a Cimbria body with higher tech underpinnings. A tube frame was used along with a Porsche motor. Cost? $62,000. Incidentally, the Cimbria was still available at the time by Amore Cars.

Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:51 am

:D How weird is that? I guess the price tag alone killed that variant!