A great site for specials enthusiasts of the pre-war Riley persuasion. http://www.riley-prewar-special.com/403/618/index.html
I love it. There's a liberating quality about specials/speedsters Opens up a world of possibilities. Hmmmmmmm...
Arthur Wylie Javelin Special: this is a special 'Special'. The car still exists. First photo from Rob Roy Hill Climb; second from Altona [Melbourne, Oz]; third from Fisherman's Bend [Melbourne], March 1954, showing Arthur Wylie and Jack Brabham; last photo (by F. H. Hince) is one from Rob Roy that I posted previously when I knew nothing about the car or driver: it's Wylie in his Ford A special. (all photos from State Library of Victoria) To read all about it: https://primotipo.com/2018/09/14/the-wylies-javelin-special/
$125 When you could buy an entire T for under $400. So in today's dollars, a kit car body for an $80K car would run another $25K
Thanks for the correction @Rickybop. I was just pulling rough numbers PFTA to illustrate a buckOtwenty-five was not trivial back then. I would fab a similar body for somebody today for $3600. Would you buy one at that price?
$3,600 wouldn't be too bad I guess, considering the price of a roadster body. I don't see that anybody's making them right now. But being cheap and hopefully somewhat handy, I'd probably try to put one together myself.
Not to be confused with the factory Wolseley Hornet Special, which was a kind of BMW Z3 for the hairdressers of the '30s.
I believe that that definition implies construction by an individual or a shop, not a factory. Why would it matter to a factory that the materials should be cheap? In addition, I've read a lot of old British magazines and I don't recall any of them ever calling a factory Austin a "special." MotorSport, in particular, always referred to this car as a "100 mph Austin," even eight years after the record run. If you were going by the definition in post #1, you shouldn't have posted about the Monaco-Trossi. Its cool, and I've always been fascinated by it, but a scratch-built grand prix car with a front-wheel-drive drivetrain certainly isn't a special by any reasonable definition. Just because its period and its cool doesn't mean its on-topic.
Posted on FB today by PreWarCar: In the comments, Mike Gosbell posted this: "It was an interesting concept fitting two motors in those early race cars. In South Australia Eldred Norman fitted two flathead V8s together to create a very special race car. I'm not sure where the photo attached was taken." I'd like to know more about those very unusual wheels.
It looks like it was based on a 1924/25 Citroën B10 or a 1921/1923 B2 to me, it seems too long to be a C2/C3. The B2/B10 had 1/4 eliptical springs and a 2.8m wheelbase, 1.4L 4cyl side valve engine and was capable of 70 kph. The B2 and B10 share the same chassis and engine. From the B12 on it was parallel leaf springs so they should show on the picture.
I do NOT get anything & am not associated in any way with that book. Posted the ad for special lovers to check it out & make own decision. $80 bucks little high for me. Amazon reviews all good. Maybe I can hint to family for a gift or Ca for used copy in a year
This is from a Dykes manual I got with some other stuff once, early 1920’s publication date as I remember. Gives one cause to ponder…
"Each chapter frames the birth and evolution of a company that produced a speedster model in its lineup." Cool, but not does not cover specials.
The Jalopy Journal
