One of the definitive books on specials is John bolsters book specials , http://www.automotobookshop.com.au/specials-p-4654.html John and his brother built a number of cars for hill climbs in the Uk , A definition is hard as there would always be cars outside , but many were cars built around small car chassis, like Austin seven or gn with different engines and with sporting bodies on The gn and later frazer Nash chassis were very popular as the simple drive train layout means it's easy(ier) to add a more powerful engine , or maybe a couple of more powerful engines With their chain 4 speed transmission it means ratio changes can be made , in the paddock to suit each event
"Specials" is a great book.I just bought one here in the U.S. for $45.00 USD! I like the definition John Bolster gives: " A "special" is a car built for a specific purpose by an ameteur,either to his own design,or by combining the essential parts of different makes.The reason for building it is simply to produce a car with better performance than anything the constructor could hope to afford to buy ready made. "
This is on the British Amazon site at approximately £30: a bit over my budget right now. Mind you, even with shipping it should be only a bit over what we paid for our anniversary restaurant dinner last night. This little pamphlet was relatively affordable, and available through one of the local sites, as it's in print: It's something like 24 pages, though. John Bolster's book doesn't appear to be available as a download.
I'm surprised with my fascination for American V8s in lightweight chassis I've never seen this one before. Any more info? Present location? Thanks,
I was wondering how long it'd be before John Bolster got mentioned. I'll get a copy of that book someday. I'm a big fan of Bloody Mary, a largely scratchbuilt car and I think extremely well proportioned. Sounds good too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHC7_vV6zDU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-cjh_EnY0A&feature=relmfu
Don't forget the Mechanix Illustrated Specials. http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2010/05/18/build-this-100-mph-sports-car-for-under-500/
Here is a link to 63 photos I took at a show and shine celebrating the anniversary of the 85th Aussie GP, plenty of specials to see http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/Aussiechopperfreak/85th%20anniversary%20of%20the%201st%20Australian%20GP/ Cheers RM
Hi All, I posted a few of these specials up in the thread below, some were from the Silverstone Classic like this one Others like this one are from the Brooklands museum. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=717737 Cheers. Russ.
Hi all, Here is some photos of my model a special I built over ten years ago. I built the car in three months to attend a vintage race meeting and have been competing at hill climbs and sprint meetings ever since.It is lots of fun at a reasonable cost..
I just gave a whistle to the guy who did the bodywork design and also one of Pete's friends who was around when it was designed/built to get the full story. (I just know Pete's story from about 1989 to recent with it) I'll post a link once I get everything back from them along with 20+ other pictures detailing unique things about it and the chassis. Car is sitting today (in the shop next door) as part of the Pete Lovely estate and unfortunately is being sold upcoming along with many of his Lotus racecars. Pete originally envisioned it due to the Colin Chapman influence. Most people forget that Pete slept in the kitchen at Colin's moms house when he stayed in England when he was doing drive for Lotus about 1959. It is an interesting story truthfully.
Minimalist motoring at it's finest. G.L. pic Ben Marchant's 1900 cc BAC- engined Austin Seven special.
Thanks Bob. This thread would not be complete without GNs: lots of them! GNs were small-production "jam factory" affairs to begin with, so "stock" wasn't all that stock. And on top of that they seemed to be made for special-building (possibly because they were made pretty much through special-building.)
Of course, you'd be remiss to exclude the Payne/Baldwin Special. My personal favorite. http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/BaldwinSpecial2.html
Very nice: just the sort of crossover zone between hot rod and special I've been looking for for a long time. Some more from the same website:
these are pics of the Stuart Special, owned by Stewart Quertier from just outside Gore here in New Zealand. It's very nicely built and gets along real well too. Theres footage of it on YouTube and if I was a bit more computer savvy I'd link it in here! Theres been a few specials built here in NZ over the years...born out of neccessity i guess, as cars and parts were comparatively rather expensive here particularly from the late 40s through to the late 60s.
Now that you mention it, the history of the wall might be as interesting as that of the Ford/Bugatti. It looks like fairly utilitarian uncoursed rubble laid probably in a lime mortar, with brick infill around openings which might date from a more recent time. The bricks look a bit flatter than standard English bricks, and those to the arches do not appear to be rubbed. The brickwork seems to be about 9" thick: I wonder if the stone portions are significantly thicker. The metal window frame points to a date somewhere in the latter half of the 19th century, for that element at least. The shape of the arch suggests anything after the 17th century, when utilitarian construction lost its Gothic habits, but the fabric itself is certainly much younger. I cannot see enough brickwork to identify a consistent bond pattern that could give a clue to time and place. The plain stretcher bond by the door could mean anything. The bit of brickwork to the right of the window is not as neat - in fact it is almost bagged - and could be a recent repair.
Hey Ned, do you know the purpose of the "W" shaped stud/wire looking setups on the side of that car? Maybe hold the body panels on?
Those Bentleys are so friggin' cool! A home-built special using American power but looking like this would be my ultimate dream car.
What would be a good way to build one of these? It's been a dream of mine for a long time. Start with a 30's Ford frame and just go from there? Or could you use something from the 60's as a base?
My special was built from a 1934 dodge 2 dr it still has the 6 cyl dodge with a 3 spd overdrive it was built in 1947-8 by Bob fergerson in corronodo, Ca. it was featured on the front page of the corronodo paper luckily it has not been changed from the original build this is the heart of original hot rodding use what you have and build the rest i have 2 other cars that fit into this catagories but that is for a later pics keep the specials coming
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