Wednesday, April 13, 2011

It Came from eBay Hell: Thunder Ranch Riot with Scat Crate Engine


If Geo had asked Isuzu to design them a car that would appeal to California’s surfer crowd in the mid-1990s, chances are it’d look a lot like the Thunder Ranch Riot. A fibreglass bodied, Volkswagen Beetle-based turnkey kit car, the Riot looks like a Geo Storm that’s been cut, shut and had Dodge Viper parts tacked on to its exterior. And it can be all yours for the low, low price of US$12,000.

Assembled over two years starting in 2007, this particular example has the floor plan from a 1972 Bug. It’s since been retrofitted with a Scat crate engine, customer paint, front disc brakes, CD player and wood grain dashboard.

In all fairness, this particular Riot appears to be well built and well looked after by its current owner. That’s more than we can say for some of the cars we’ve featured previously on the site. You can check out our full gallery and leave a comment below if you wish.

By Tristan Hankins

Link: eBay

PHOTO GALLERY