The Milthorpe Ford V8 Special

Built in the town of Albury, Australia (NSW) in 1947, this boattail beauty sports some interesting (and striking) features. The chassis started life as a ’41 Ford, complete with a fairly stock motor, and the hand-formed 20 gauge steel body was carefully designed around the existing frame rails, capped with a beautiful grille and an aluminum hood. I love the Edsel Ford Model 40 Speedster and Auburn influence, as the styling is (dare I say it?) elegant for this era of home-built Specials. This car went on to race with some success and then later become an early 60s hoodless street rod with mixed results style-wise… Luckily she was turned back into this original Special version years later and now campaigns in vintage racing. I think the attached Australian Motor Sports magazine article summed up the Milthorpe Special best when it said, ” Undoubtedly one of the most attractive bodies ever fitted on an Australian Special”.