Pre-WWII motor racing is a passion of mine, and it’s a passion shared by many. There’s something approachable about the engineering that went into the cars of the pre-1939 era – many of them can be repaired with little more than a large hammer and an empty Brylcreem tin.

This particular car is a custom racer built on a drilled and lightened Ford Model A frame with an original 1932 Ford front axle. I’ve always been a little skeptical about frames that have been drilled like this, I understand that it removes weight and that it’s all done to within certain engineering tolerances – but it does resemble Swiss cheese a little more than I like for any load bearing structure.

The car is fitted with a 308 cubic inch (5 litre) inline-6 engine from a Hudson Hornet bolted to an early in-out transmission common with midget racers, the engine has an external sump oil pump that holds four gallons of oil in the pan and sump combined, the body is hand-beaten from alloy, the wheels are alloy with knock-off hubs.

Original period-racers like this make excellent weekend racing cars and hill climbers, and this one is borderline affordable (in race car terms) with an estimated value of between $30,000 and $40,000 USD – it’s in full working order and just needs a new tires before it hits the dirt track.

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Photo Credits: Teddy Pieper © 2015 Auctions America


Published by Ben Branch -