1954 Cunningham C3 Resto/Build

Thanks, fms427. You're right. The future of the C4R Continuation cars got tangled up in the unfortunate fate of the still-born C-7. Bob Lutz owns one of the four "new" C4Rs, as well as a 1953 C-3.

 

Cunningham's chassis was the work of Bill Frick and Ted Tappet, 2 racers and race car builders from Long Island. They were a pretty clever pair - the Cunningham chassis was hardly thrown together from random parts, they knew what they were doing. You don't finish in the money at Le Mans running junk.

Tom McCahill was a good friend of Cunningham's and gave him several good writeups in Mechanix Illustrated in the early 50s. Might interest you to look them up, they had photos of the cars under construction and a story on one of their Le Mans adventures.

I heard the Vignale bodies were a little crude, but looked good once they were smoothed out with filler and primer. Any truth to that?

Too bad a nice old car got ruined.

 

WOW! Larry! I didn't know you had a Cunningham C4R. I'm a huge Cunningham fan. Always liked the, one and only, C4RK coupe.
When I was a kid, a good friend of mine had a Tipo 61 Birdcage Maserati.
Through this "birdcage", we became aquainted with Cunningham's mechanic, Alfred Momo. Next time I see you, remind me to tell you about our experiences with Mr. Momo.

What else have got hiding in your garage, that we haven't seen??????

Have you seen my new Watson roadster Bonneville car???

mac miller in INDY

 

Great stuff, love the look of those Cunninghams !!! Somehow they are elegant and tough looking at the same time. I saw one back in 2010 at the Codman House show in Lincoln Ma. I went back through my pics but couldn't find it. I think it was 2 tone blue and silver. Sadly the owner never opened the hood so I don't know what the power plant was ??

 

The Collier Collection in Naples, FL purchased the Cunningham collection and still holds a number of original Cunninghams. I had an opportunity to take a tour when it was open to the public and it was a wonderful museum. I understand it is now a closed collection, although access is occasionally allowed.

 

They ran 160 MPH in the fifties with the 331. How much faster will it be with the 426? How much time do you think the owner will spend with the throttle open?

How much will it be worth 20 years from now?

To help you think that over, picture a 34 Ford coupe built 20 years ago with teal paint, Toyota seats with gray tweed upholstery, 350/350, Camaro suspension Camaro steering wheel Camaro rear axle and Boyd wheels. What is it worth compared to a stock restoration?