One of the largest and most unusual fiberglass cars was built by H. Sterling (Smoke) Gladwin of Mountain View California. Sterling had always had a love affair with autos and was involved in racing as a young man. In his youth he goosed a 1925 Dodge until it was clocked at 86 miles an hour, as well as pushed his 1933 Terraplane boat tail speedster to a speed of 113 mph. Eventually, he entered his trade as an aeronautical engineer until the So Calif. rat race proved too much for him. He left and settled in Mountain View, CA, where he opened a small fiberglass firm. Smoke never forgot that love for automobiles though, and in 1952 decided to make a car strictly for himself. His design was pleasingly unique. The thirties Classic styling he mixed with contemporary 50’s flair made the car an instant hit with all that saw it. This enthusiasm spurred Smoke on to try producing the ungainly beauty.

Smoke named his creation the Maverick Sportster. This fiberglass boat tail speedster body weighed in at 210 lb. and all but the first was affixed to a massive 128” wb modified Cadillac Eldorado frame, housing a 331 cu. in. Cadillac motor. The “turned copper” dash held Studebaker and Mercury instruments as well as a tach. A heavily padded front seat housed an arm rest. The grill was modified from two 1940 La Salle grills, with 41 Cadillac bumpers, 40 Cad tail lamps, 49 Lincoln headlamp doors and 49 Mercury park lamps. It even had exhaust pipe tips that were reminiscent of those found on Duesenbergs of the 30’s. His personal car, the first of seven cars produced, came without doors, hood or deck. Louvered, removable access panels were mounted on the fenders. They were used for normal maintenance and to add fluids. All other repairs required the body to be tilted "Funny Car Style". Smoke claimed the body could be removed in a mere 10 minutes for complete servicing.

Before he built the second car, however, Sterling modified # 1 and gave it a hood and permanent body mounts. It was never an “all weather” car since it never had a top or windshield wipers although plans called for such items as a top, doors and a rumble seat.

Seven complete cars were sold during the company’s tenure from 1952 to 1968, as well as an unspecified number of shells. When he closed his shop, little did he know that had he just held out for a couple more years, he might have collected six figures from Ford, like the fellow who sold the name Centurion to Buick did. Sterling wasn’t bitter about it. He reminisced that “Ford has adopted my name and there is nothing I can do about it, but I am sorry that it should be on the nose of such a tin can”.

The car you see here in the color pictures is owned by the author and was the #1 car. It was attached to a 1940 LaSalle frame and origionally had a flathead Cad motor in it. It was later updated with a hood and carried the same Eldorado motor as the rest of the cars. To date, it is the only example of the car that has surfaced. It is undergoing an extensive restoration now and should be back to its original glory by next year.

FREDERICK J. ROTH
Copyright 2005