The Fiberfab MiGi was sold under a name that Fiberfab’s eastern distributor, Martin Enterprises, had used from as early as 1975. In July 1979 that name became the subject of a trademark lawsuit, one of the few things about the model that the record describes.
Fiberfab MiGi at a glance
| Maker | Fiberfab, California |
|---|---|
| Name used by | Martin Enterprises, Fiberfab’s eastern US distributor |
| Name in use from | as early as 1975 |
| Lawsuit filed | 13 July 1979 |
| Claimant | LaVerne J. Martincic, widow of Joseph Martincic of Martin Enterprises |
| Claim | rights to the name transferred to Daytona Automotive Fiberglass |
| Company in 1979 | Fiberfab International Inc., based in Minneapolis |
| Fiberfab owner from 1983 | Classic Motor Carriages |
No Wikipedia article describes the MiGi itself; this short page is based on one source, the English article on Fiberfab, and says only what that article records.
History of the Fiberfab MiGi
Martin Enterprises was Fiberfab’s distributor on the eastern side of the United States and played a direct part in the company’s affairs. In 1971 Richard G. Figueroa, Fiberfab’s plant manager, partnered with Martin Enterprises to start Concept Design America Ltd. and salvage the financially struggling Fiberfab, taking control of the body maker and reorganising it as the Fiberfab Corp. division of CDA.
The MiGi name came from that side of the business. According to the 1979 court papers, Martin Enterprises had used the name from as early as 1975, and LaVerne J. Martincic, wife of the head of Martin Enterprises, Joseph Martincic, held the rights to it after the firm went out of business in May 1975. She further claimed to have transferred the rights to Daytona Automotive Fiberglass, a neoclassic builder she was now involved with.
Fiberfab itself had changed hands twice in the meantime: it was bought by Pennsylvania-based A.T.R. Incorporated in November 1974, and after a 1979 reorganisation the company became Fiberfab International Inc. and moved to Minneapolis. On 13 July 1979 LaVerne J. Martincic sued Fiberfab for infringing her claimed trademark of the MiGi name.
Four years later, on 27 May 1983, Fiberfab was purchased by the competing kit-car maker Classic Motor Carriages and registered as Fiberfab International Inc. CMC acquired all of the Fiberfab kits and moulds except the Valkyrie and stored them behind its Miami plant, where they were eventually scrapped. CMC itself was forced to close in 1994 after the Florida Attorney General’s Office filed suit on behalf of 900 of its customers.
Design and features
- Distributor-led model: the MiGi belonged to the period when Martin Enterprises, Fiberfab’s eastern distributor, was closely involved in the company.
- Name dispute: the model is remembered above all for the ownership of its name rather than for its specification.
Fiberfab MiGi versions
- MiGi: the Fiberfab kit sold under the Martin Enterprises name from the mid-1970s.
Other Fiberfab models of the period are the Bonito and the Avenger GT. The whole range is in the Fiberfab collection.
Sources
- Fiberfab, English Wikipedia: Martin Enterprises, MiGi name, 1979 lawsuit, later owners
