Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: The Milthorpe Ford V8 Special Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Wow, love it, particularly like the rear view, can't quite get me head round just how big it might be,must be quite a handful to drive.Always intrigued by these crossover, race-car/hotrod/specials. Thanks for posting.
What a ripper! As 49ratfink said, the sheilas would have loved it. Would have cost a bob or two to build too.
.....oh, you were kidding. Dunno' if the car looks better today, though. I like the post read pics, better then this one...at current state. Geez. Tires, and red....would have to go......just kills the lines.
no, the hot rodders saved it, it was in a scrap yard, maybe it should have been restored then to the 1941 us army truck
the car here is the replica, built by a hot rodder, who also helped restore the original as the hot rod which i own
the hot rodders saved it from the scrap yard, built the replica race car version and restored the hot rod version of the original car
ok, heres the real story behind this car, at the end of world war two, a 1941 US army truck rolled over near the bandiana army base near Albury in NSW, Australia. A Local tractor dealer Edwin Charlie Milthorpe Bought the wreck,and stripped the body off the truck, he rebuilt the chassis and running gear which was the original running gear of the truck,he then took the rolling platform to a local body builder named Paul Gittings, who was one of the last australian trained coach builders for rolls royce, to build his special. the car was completed by the end of 1947 and took 18 months to complete. Its first race was at the 1948 Australian grand prix at Point cook in Victoria. From 1948 onwards the car raced at racetracks all over southern nsw and victoria, including Bathurst, Gnoo blas, Hume weir, Wangaratta, Tarrawingee, and Albert Park amongst others. in the late 1950's the car was sold to John Spanbroke, who repainted the car red with a white stripe down its bonnet. By the early 1960's the car was in a sad state of repair and was retired and sold to a metal scrap dealer in Wangaratta, Victoria. My father bought the wreck of the car and turned it into a hot rod in the mid 1960's, which was featured in custom rodder magazine number 4 in autumn 1968. he sold the car in 1971 just before his tragic death in june 1972. the car was eventually sold on to a biker who almost destroyed the car. in the early 1980's a hot rodder from castlemaine spotted the wreck of the car on a trailer heading for the tip once again and flagged over the car carrying the wreck and saved the remains of the car. i had grown up without my father (who died when i was 3) and had for many years looked at all the old photos of all his old cars and hot rods which were long gone by the time i was old enough to appreciate them, this particular car always fascinated me as it was so different to any of the other hot rods and cars he had. in 1990 purely by chance, my uncle who was a plumber was digging a ditch beside a fence and heard a hot rod starting up, looked over the fence and started chatting to one of dads old hot rod mates, who enquired as to what i was doing now and if i was interested in cars, and extended an invite to me to come over to see his hot rods. a few weeks later i gathered up all the old car photos i had and went to see him. i had seen some of his cars over the years,driving around town and never knew who owned them. so in June 1990 i met Keith Stamp, a legend in australian hot rodding, and one of the greatest people ive ever met. that night, i pulled out all the old photos and in particular asked him about this car. i said i would love to see it if it still existed, after he told me about the car and many stories about my dad, he said hang on, went over to his bench, pulled out his phone book and made a few calls. He ended up speaking to an old hot rodder near castlemaine who had what was left of the car, told him who i was and why we were ringing him. He agreed to sell the remains of the car to me, so Keith and i drove to faraday near castlemaine and picked up the remains of the car. from early on we discussed the possibility of not just rebuilding the car as the hot rod, but he was interested in making a replica version of the race car, which i thought was a fantastic idea. over a period of some twenty years i rebuilt with Keith the original car as the hot rod version like my dad had, and Keith built the replica race car version, based on a wire mould of the original body. Both cars have been completed, and the race car version races once again, while i drive the hot rod around with a big grin on my face and a few tears as well. As for people saying hot rodders destroyed the car, they are ill informed and their opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. Hot rodders have continually saved this car over the years, not destroyed it. In fact going by their logic the car should be restored to a 1941 army truck, and i really couldnt care less what they think. i have over the years collected numerous photos, films, race car programmes, magazine articles of the cars history and have now a great collection of the cars history as well as the car itself.
Man, this thread is the duck's guts. I love it all. Keith did a great job with you Richie, that is obvious. Thanks Jive Bomber- I can't recall ever seeing the original car- it just blows me away. In 2014 I was invited by a gentlemen named Frank Moore to paint, in-situ at S.C.C.S.A clubrooms, a portrait of 'Black Bess', the 1950 A.G.P. winner, which was up on the clubroom stage for a day. I'll show it here, as a kind of interesting comparison to this car. Black Bess sat on a '34 chassis, I think with the spring in front of the axle? Hard to tell here- super-quick drawing, from a day or two previous, was rushed, as car was leaving pits for the track. The painting was done in one day, and only from this one profile drawing.
that's a dam nice car Ritchie I hope to set eyes on it one day I for one really like all the versions of the car well done
Bttt...I prefer the stealthiness of the original iteration but understand its evolution including a replica built by one in the team that took the original forward...this is typical of many revered Hotrod/Customs that have graced the Culture over the years...Now we have both...what a vision to wrap around an Ole 41 Ford Ute... @richie oneill...thanks for the extensive journey to today with imagery...and wow what a bout in spirit if I've ever seen it...you're Dad is beaming without a doubt... @Jive-Bomber...it never gets old...just a journey in discovery and appreciation...
Keith Stamp who owns the race car is a local to me, this is his daily drive put to work, he had a stroke many years ago & with the use of only 1 hand continues to build specials & do body work for people, he is an incredibly tenacious, talented man. A legend in Australian hot rodding. Richie I loved seeing you car on the road when you were here.
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