By Robert Emslie
It’s described as one man’s 43,000 hour quest to finally come to terms with having bought a Chevy Citation. Not really, but the Triation does demonstrate why committee-designed cars all seem to look and feel alike. Click through the jump to see what one man’s vision hath wrought.
Hells yeah that’s a Chevy Citation coupe, or at least it once was. What was at one time the front is now the back, and along with three of the Chevy’s flat, featureless seats, this custom job has also lost a wheel and tire.
Thanks to the vagaries of our vehicle registration regulations that means this can now be licensed as a motorcycle – of course potentially requiring a helmet to operate, if that happens to be your local law. That would apply to the driver, who can roll down each window simultaneously being so snugly cosseted between the now more neighborly doors. In back, there’s only the ‘bitch’ seat so no one can complain.
The single front wheel and related suspension appears to have been lifted from some sort of agricultural application, but looks sturdy enough. The engine, which in the car’s original guise proudly led the parade now pushes like a dealer, having been banished to the back. The 2.5-litre also now runs north-south rather than east-west.
There’s little description of the custom, and even less on the motivation behind it. The $4,500 opening bid means that the claimed 43,000 hours of work were undertaken at $0.10 each, which makes this a labor of love. Will someone else love it as much? Only time will tell, 2 days and 9 hours to be exact.
Check out the Triation auction (and put in a bid!) here.
Thanks to Packard Rat for the tip!
Ross Ballot 
Jeff Glucker
Shouldn't be as tippy as a reliant…just as ugly however. still, brilliant job!
I love this car so frickin' much it hurts.
I think the auction says that figure was $43,000.00 in labor costs at $11/hr. That equals around 3900 hours of build time.
$11/hr for custom car work?!? A decent mechanic charges $60-90/hr. I think even a body shop charges $20-30/hr. This might explain a lot about this project.
I was gonna say, 43,000 hours labor would be over 20 years of full time work. Yikes.
<img src="http://img.get1car.com/volkswagen/4926/2003-volkswagen-1-litre-car-concept-1600×1200-image-6.jpg" width="500">
It's as if somebody finally answered the question, "What would the VW 1-Litre look like if was a huge and grossly inefficient three-wheeler…designed in the '70s…by stupids?"
And hey…who HASN'T asked themselves that?
Other than the "by stupids" bit I'd say it was asked and answered quite effectively by Paul M. Lewis:
http://www.tomorrowscartoday.com/
Admittedly only his first prototype made use of a VW engine, following that regrettable propeller incident.
That car better be at this year's Concours de Lemons!
I… I'm not sure what to make of this….
On the one hand, it would be great to drive around in just for the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot looks, on the other, you're driving a Citation. In reverse. All the time…
I thought it said "Titration" at first, which seemed appropriate given the clear usage of chemicals in this process.
OMGEEZE. You can roll down both windows at the same time!!!
I'm not even sure how to turn this into a meme.
I'm thinking about this more now, the ad says it has air, but I only see the crotch vent. Does it blow cold? Would you want it to? Or are the vents in the rear, so blowing down your neck? Does the rear passenger sit backwards, can you mount a turret back there? And please tell me the rear wheels steer, it steers right? This only needs an R2 unit created from, I don't know paper mache, and two septic tank lines to pass for an wingless x-wing too!
"Reverse three wheeled Citation" sounds like a sex act.
…one that's illegal in 12 states.
You're right. And thus, "potentially requiring a helmet" now makes even more sense.
I think its like a Sticky Flapjack without the syrup.
(perfectly legal in Canada eh?)
So it's an arse.
Yeah, I can't really argue with that.
>poof!<
Libation and inhalation provides motivation, for Citation amputation and Triation transformation, and appreciation / condemnation disputation consternation.
Film at 11.
citation for all of the "ation"s and that's a good thing. nice.
Inspiration?
<img src="http://www.tomstrongman.com/ClassicCars/Fascination/Images/11Fasc.jpg" width="500">
M.D.,
You've got one of those, too, I suppose?
That'd be my DD in a heartbeat.
I hear this as recited by Clevon Little as "SuperSoul" from the movie Vanishing Point.
A little Sunday morning good-time music!!!
So $4500 buys you a car that combines the power, reliability, and not-known-to-combust-in-rear-mounted-applications-ness of the Iron Duke with the reliability, and easy parts sourcing, and-not-likely-to-spin-you-off-into-a-ditched-ness of the VW automatic transmission/suspension.
At least it's ugly.
Plus the single wheel is at the wrong end.
On a positive note, it has three reverse gears (but only one forward gear).
all it needs is corvair power and an el camino bed.
An el camino bed – in the front!
That has one seat too many.
Plus, if you thought you forgot something, you can just look through the windshield into the bed and say, "Yep!", or "Nope!" No having to stop and get out to look.
I might have scorned this suggestion before today, when I went to flip my rearview mirror back down and realised that I was travelling at over 50 MPH with my rear liftgate open.
The one time I fail to walk 'round the car is the one time I forget to close the tailgate. Damn it. Just… damn it. At least the cargo tray kept everything in place.
third though. bed in front, steel or iron block Semi-truck race engine (Euro-race spec) out back.
Where did he get the "r" in Triation? It couldn't be from the "CHEVROLET" emblem on it, because they used square block letters in all caps in that era.
Probably an 87 or 88 Thunderbird (possibly 85-86 as well, if they started using that logo then).
http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2009/09/19…
The typeface still looks a bit off, though I don't have a better suggestion offhand.
On the 43,000 hour project, maybe he spent 400-500 hours mining ore, smelting, and fabricating his own "r."
*poof*
Well, hopefully.
EDIT: Good.
Take another 'I' and graft a little 'C' onto it. Notice how the 'r' is lower case…
The Iron Duke is still mounted transversely. Also, it looks almost like it was built from two Citations. That rear end creeps me out, with the headlights-now-taillights. It looks like an undead Citation coming straight out of hell, eyes glowing. Yikes.
Just checked the seller's feed back. He has mostly sold How to Crochet DVDs and hasn't bought anything on ebay since 2006?!?
You think he'd throw in a free Crochet DVD with the purchase of the car? Because that may be the tipping point for some fence sitters.
Striation? I see no racing stripes. Why…
…oh. Right. Carry on.