@Ned Ludd It's not offset any more than stock. If you look closely at the exhaust it's actually very close to the frame rail. The 23 has it's engine quite close to the front of the car normally.
Another George Thomas 'Special' photo, this one at the 'AMSC Flying Quarter Mile' (1946; State Library of Victoria) Could it be the same car as the 'A Model Ford Special' he photographed at the 10th Rob Roy Hill Climb the same year? The 'AMSC' car has no body and has different rear wheels but the front axle/suspension set-up looks similar and the driver in both photos wears a beret ...
One of Odgie Danaan's many creations -A7 chassis with Honda CX motor. Did quite a respectable ET at a 'run what you brung' at the old Shakespeare County Raceway IIRC.
I was glad to make Odgie's online acquaintance a while back, having experienced his contributions to AWoL magazine in the '90s. Hugely interesting bloke.
I am educating myself here on "specials". Does the term apply to one seaters or can it include 2 seats. I always liked the look of the staggered seating so you don't sit shoulder to shoulder with the co-pilot.
‘A “special” is a car built for a specific purpose by an amateur, either entirely to his own design, or by combining the essential parts of a number of makes. The reason for building it is simply to produce a car with a better performance than anything the constructor could hope to buy ready-made.’ That’s the definition of what makes a vintage special according to John Bolster, motoring journalist and builder of famed twin-engined special Bloody Mary. I believe the chassis is the titled element, so the age/registration of the chassis defines the 'age' of the special, all else is development.
'W. H. Luxton driving a Jaguar 2 1/2 litre, approaching spillway, 16th Rob Roy Hill Climb' - George Thomas photo 1948; State Library of Victoria
'P. J. Steele driving a Bentley, 16th Rob Roy Hill Climb' - George Thomas photo 1948; State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria website has only one photo of this car, titled 'Mono Posto No. 47, Rob Roy Hill Climb'. (George Thomas photo). I wonder if this car is the completed 'MG chassis with 6-cylinder engine' (also a George Thomas photo) I posted a while ago. The low-profile radiator on the chassis would probably fit under this car's nose; the car's exhaust headers indicate that it has an MG six-cylinder engine; the car's front shock absorbers are friction type and the front springs are parallel leaf springs, like on the chassis; the front mount for the rear springs is the same and the car has what appears to be a tubular cross member/gearbox mount, like the chassis; in the chassis pic you can see this protruding from the chassis rail, just behind the left front wheel. The car is definitely on an MG chassis.
That Hanns 1921 special ^^^ sure unique. 20 inch (?) steering wheel sticks above drives head while he reaches through hole in body work to do something. Crazy but love thinking outside the box
The most basic kind of special is unique sporting or racing bodywork fitted to a more pedestrian chassis. Then, it runs to tuning, performance parts, engine swaps, etc. on that base. Sports specials are typically open two-seaters or 3/4-seat open tourers. Racing specials are typically open single-seaters or very narrow two-seaters. Trials specials are typically 2-4-seat tourers, as it is common for the passenger to sit in the back and bounce to improve traction. Closed bodies on specials are very rare but not impossible; it's something I like to see because I've got a thing for little coupés. The main thing is the purpose-built body. A hot rod takes the identity of its body, or even the appearance of its body. A special takes the identity of its chassis or its combination of chassis and engine. Hot rod: '29 on Deuce rails with a Nailhead Special: '32 Ford-Buick V8 special — because the body is something you built in your garage.
This would allow him to give the finger to the driver of the car he just passed while keeping both hands on the wheel.
The Jalopy Journal
