Built with an Ariel Square Four motorcycle engine, a donated Citroen suspension, and a boat builder?s styling sensibility, this Chris Craft for the road is one of the more lovely finds we?ve made at eBay Motors.

The spare roadster was constructed in 1959 by an artisan who was looking for a totally unique type of hotrod. In addition to the European running gear, the Ariel has borrowed its bullet shaped taillights from a period Cadillac and used generic auto store parts for the rest of the simple vehicle. The virtually unpadded seats, pressed steel Citroen wheels, and unadorned engine may be distinctly low tech, but we can?t help but feel that the svelte woody makes a perfect counterpoint for the space age Ariel Atom of today.

Despite spending some period of time in the St. Louis Car Museum the car is a runner, with the seller describing it as easy to start and drive and possessing a strident exhaust note through its hand-built side pipes. We?d be extra cautious about spirited driving in the splintery sports car, as the prospect of crashing in the Ariel is daunting?though more than worth it for the trade off of having one of the better looking home-builds on offer.  

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