Remember the restored race car orig. found folded in half & buried on a farm?

Bluto, is this the same Wm. Jackson that was editor of the AACA magazine?

 

I haven't been an AACA member for years Who knows?
Cubblie guy trying to look like Ben Franklin?... that's my old friend Bill

He live in Hummelstown?

Did you know Bill was a Chief in the East Hamptons Fire Dept? Everyone that got a BADGE was a Chief.... 'nother H.A.Clark jr thing

Those guys all had a lotta class..............

 

Bluto, altho I knew Austy Clark pretty well we never touched on this topic but as I said this was a colorful topic going back into the forties from what I understand. Most of what was written on this whole affair was Bulb Horn, except for the Star and The Laurel by Bev Kimes (and she may have found her reference in Bulb Horn). Without some photos from Fanoe for instance showing that such a beast ever existed you might not be able to take the whole story to the bank.

 

Doug, You are correct on that one! If your local library has a copy of the September-October 1965 Antique Automobile the Benz-Mercedes is on the cover, editor was William S. Jackson. He co-wrote the feature story with Peter Helck, great photos over 6 full pages. There is a stack of names to add to the list of people that worked on the car. Most noteable to me were Jim Hoe, and bodyman/painter legend Gus Reuter. Jim Hoe was one of the early Dusenberg restorers, his shop was a half hour from me. When Jim desided to go sports car racing after WWII he bought a Duesenberg 4 door sedan on Long Island. He was a big man and asked the former owner if he could borrow an ax. The ax was found, body and fenders were removed and left in the former owners yard and he drove the chassis home. He was racing at Watkins Glen a few month later. Leo Gephart last had the car, I hope it stayed in in racing trim and not another Durham Tourister restoration/recreation.

 

The very fact that the car is called Benz-Mercedes should be a signal to BEWARE!

Bill Jackson.....yes the same guy that wrote the piece noted here named the car.... It was all a joke! Elaborate......yes!!! This is infact their collective fart in the face of all fakers!

My point is few remember the facts. Many remember the ''Story'' and to them it become fact! Just another reason to respect real history and not spend millions faking it.

There is also a Road & Track story Pretty soon it's real

 

That's pretty close, but it gets worse: each major component is awarded so many points, each axle is 2 points, as is engine, etc, and you have to retain enough 'points' to keep the car registered as the original.

PLUS, you have to have the original and unmodified chassis, (or monocoque for late model stuff)

Big upheavels at the moment because it is all in the process of being made even more strict, to the point where building a rod out of an old car may well mean re-registering it as a new car, and going through all sorts of inspections and crap. Not good news for guys like us

 

Just found this photo of Jim Hoe at speed in his Duesenberg J race car in a late 1940's SCCA event.

 

Bluto, I believe I would smell a rat moreso if it said Mercedes Benz rather than Benz Mercedes since I am not aware of any car being called a Mercedes Benz prior to the merger in 1926. I may be wrong but I have not run across one. It would be quite presumptuous I suppose. In any event due to my respect to Austy, Peter,etc. I will give them the benefit of some doubt until I have the smoking gun(plus I have other mysteries in front of this one). I have been a research nut for years and I am a born skeptic and I find photos and articles written at or about the time of the events to be the best. I corresponded with TASO Mathieson back in the eighties on some Brooklands matters but I believe he was eighty then. He had access to the Brooklands records and there must be some younger Brooklands people that may know enough to put a bullet in this whole dialog.You and I both know there are a bunch of stories on even the so-called "documented" cars. It is nevertheless a neat car even without unquestionable "provenance".

Jim

 

The "rabbit" was run at the Ormond Beach Revival a few years back? but it was repainted Cream and Green? When i get home i am going to go dig out my copy of the Star and Laurel, as i think it covers the zbrowski aero engine cars in there.

 

No, You saw the real deal, the green & cream car with the touring car body is a real Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Here it is in the day. Here is a good link to the Chitty history.http://www.brooklands.org.uk/stories/Stories archive/STORY5.HTM

 

http://www.september8th.com/ormond_beach_03_p1.htm


here is the link to the ormond beach site...any one know anything about the Pope Toledo?

 

Wm. Jackson said he doesn't know anyone that wears bibs and paints youknowwhats on the doors of cars and shows them at Pebble Beach. He really laughed when I said you described him looking like Ben!! He also said he's too poor to own a computor.

 

I was going through some old stuff and found this again. It's too good to let it die.

 

I remember this thread from before. If they can fix some of these disasters, Scoob's Lincoln should be child's play -

 

wasn't there a "Cheetah " race car buried on some farm also??

 

I know that I'm going to stand some hair on end.
Re; David Biggs, barn yard finds.
I viewed, touched and walked the area where the Alfa, Ferrari's and a host of other cars were in 1984.
As a matter of fact, I , with the help of others, "drug one of the cars" out of the big gulley most were in.

By the way, teh one I have, is in all probability, the very first true concept/futuristic car ever built, wanna argue boys???

Biggs had tried to buy this car from its builders numerous times, the builder started SCCA racing in the State of Illinois and ran with some of the Best American known designers and racy person's in the Country, this is but a tid-bit>>

All will come out in a Book which eventually is going to be published.

#1 fact, they were not burried>>>

I personally spoke with Mrs David Biggs before she passed away and also to other direct family members that were present when lightning hit the Barn/museum in aprilish of 1964.

The fire was started by a lightning hit, it was spotted by A Mr. Ed Church, which was breaking the Genise World Record for sitting atop a flag pole.

Mr David Biggs had a total of 13 cars at one time, mostly one off or special cars, this is too the best of my knowledge & research.

I also spoke to many "Old Timers" from Clarksville Missouri that knew Biggs to uncover other pertinent facts.

Want to know more about all the cars that Biggs had at one time and what else was their???

Also, I read a thread on the Lou Brero Ferrari from California.
I was dealing first hand with Lou's son in purchasing that particular car.
It was not burried in the ground as most experts seem to think, it was enshrined in a cement like old fruit cellar/building boys.
It is a very sad story that I contend affected his son greatly.
Want to know more boys???

It never ceases to amase me how stories change from one person to the next, thats human nature though, not critisizing anyone, OK>>
JOHN

 

Imagine what they're going to do with Walt Disney's head?

 

I just found this thread today. I love stories like this. So yes I am listening, er, reading. LOL

 

God Damnit - I hate being inderectly patronized (... boys?!) by a FNG who drops in from outer space and in one post lets me know he's loaded and pompous.



Man, I feel better.

 

listen son... i got this here ferrari see..

 

Yeah ok not a good first post but I still want to hear what he has to say. This is my idea of reading a good mystery. LOL

 

easy big guy....i think he's just clearin some things up! sounds like he knows what he's talkin about to me....and ive been to hannibal.[only 50 miles from me] so i do know that you got the OUTER SPACE part right!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

Ships, cars, and even axes discussed...

 

He's trying to push a book.....it's SPAM......

 

John

How did the Harris car look when you found it?

 

Well yeah...

If you could be a little less cryptic.


This is a very long, old thread.
And I'm not sure I recognise the names/ situations you mention.

The one thing I did get from your post was that somebody was trying to set a Guinness world record for Polesitting in a Lightning storm...

 

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"All will come out in a Book which eventually is going to be published."

Christ John! I hope you learn how to write before this thing is published. Otherwise P.U.

 

"Babs" was the bsis for the story "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

A good friend of my father's and mine owns a restoration shop. He dragged what was left of a chassis and fender out of a mine in CO (I belive it was used to run a pump) and built a Nat'l 1st place AACA winner out of it- don't remember the maker, but I saw the pics- very impressive stuff (wish I could hammer metal like that).

 

Who's getting the popcorn?