Hot Rods v. Sports Cars

I have a real interest in the traditional hot rodders who crossed over into the world of sports cars. Guys like Max Balchowsky and Doane Spencer come to mind. Here's a new one on me. George DuVall and Julian Doty raced an Austin-Healey Sprite:

http://sebringsprite.com/conklin.html

 

I kind of went the other way. Started with a 57 Vette (don't know if you consider them sports cars or not ?) then got my coupe. I think it's best to have both if you can swing it. Top off roadster for those hot summer nights and a coupe for....

 

Traditionally, sports cars had less than 6 cylinders or more than 8 cylinders. Hot Rods typically had 8 or 6.

 

Old yeller and duffy livingston's 184 t were the $h!t

 

Yeah,Duffy kicked some sports cars butts on their play ground with the Eliminator.HRP

 

There's been a build style that mixes both ideas for decades. Our own "Michigander" has one.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=456769

 

George Boltoff, who was an absolute terror in a T/Gas dragster in the mid-60's went on to become THE engine builder for Team McLaren. If you do a little more digging you'll find multiple examples....interesting topic, thanks for bringing it up.

 

If you consider anything that turns left a sports car then Danny Ongais (driver) and Mickey Thompson come to mind. Carroll Caudle and Wayne Calvert went from drag racing to roundy rounders too.
Grumpy Jenkins and Glen Self also built engines for other forms of racing. Raymond Beadle went to Nascar for a while.
These might be ot for traditional rodders to sports cars, but Rick started it.
Larry T

Oh yea, John Buttera Indy car

 

Oh yeah...it is absolutely a killer car.

 

Wasn't most of Donald Healey's early stuff just taking cars and making them race worthy. His racing was mostly rallies, but that was the cool thing to do in his time.

Carroll Shelby did some endurance driving for the Healey's I believe, maybe other racing as well.

I see a lot of interest in sprites and other little British cars from people's signatures.

I've had mine for over 20 years.

 

Yea, like Allards for instance...

 

Hollywood Sports Cars was a big player in the sixties. Doane was also involved in the Ferrari Can-Am effort.

 

Exactly my point. The same guy that builds, in my opinion, the most beautiful Deuce ever, turns around and uses those talents to build an extremely successful Tiger:

 

You underestimate the Donald Healey Motor Co. They raced at LeMans and Sebring, won international rallies, and set records at Bonneville while producing some of the most beautiful sports cars ever. Shelby drove for them in the LaCarrera Panamericana as well as Bonneville. It's amazing how much this tiny company located in the British midlands accomplished.

 

Couldn't agree more, see my sig (although I think of the Cobra as the rich sob's healey):

 

"Sports car" for me is the match between a AC/Cobra and a Nausau Blue (with white ralle stripes, of course) 63 vette dukeing it out on a road course

 

HealeyRick - No disrespect intended. I think DMH was an incredible person that along with a great crew, including his son, did just what you say, achieve some really great things. The Healey 100 is the most desirable car on the planet for me. Owning one is at the top of every list, bucket or otherwise, that I have.

I just meant he started out modifying the cars of his day to go racing. To me that's how hot rodding started.

 

those tiger's are cool as hell

 

Hemi Allard? Hemi Bocar? Cunningham? thats what I would call a hotrod sports car.

 

I actually owned one of these 45 years ago when they were cheap. I hadn't accumulated enough knowledge to be able to finish it. I never did figure out what frame it was on. I missed that golden window and now they are out of my reach today.



This a clone of what I replaced it with. I was sooo confused.

 

I selected this Jaguar XK-E to "Hot Roadster-ize"
The Benefits:
Factory Flip Front end
Factory tube Frame
Factory light weight monocoque body shell
Factory and most sought after independent Front and Rear suspension
Factory elegance and racing heritage
...I just had to add the most popular American engine to Hot Rod, a 327 Chevy
...with 5 cams.


Erick Julsen

p.s. thank you for the link to the British V8 website.

 

A friend of mine had an Austin Healey Sprite back in 1970 - we decided it needed more power and we couldn't get an economical 289 Ford engine so we wound up with a Pontiac 389 coupled to a 4 speed Turbohydromatic and a narrowed Pontiac rear end. We had the engine set back behind the front wheel centerline and the car actually handled pretty well. The rear end had coil spring suspension and a 2.65 rear gear.

 

I love both Hot Rods and Sports cars. I own both one has a blower and the other has more than 8 cylinders.




Ago

 

I've had several AH's with sbc power. Something that's mostly known to insiders. That was the combo that Shelby wanted originally, but he couldn't get either party to go along - Chev because his cars might be a direct competitor for the Corvette (boy oh boy did THEY call that one) and AH because they were selling everything they made. He went with Fords because Ford said yes, and AC because they were losing their access to Bristol engines.

 

I always considered these sorts of cars Hot Rods in their own odd way.

Think about it... What's an MG? It's a lighter, smaller car that used what's basically a typical British family sedan engine of the time, ditto the suspension and lots of other parts.

Healey 3000s used the engine out of big Austins.

Jags? Most Jags back in the day were Sedans, that's what paid for the XKs.

The Porsche 356 came from Ferry Porsche taking what was designed to be cheap transport for the masses and saying "I could take this thing and make a race car out of it... just gotta make it lighter and faster".

 

I just bought a 65 Sunbeam Tiger from my brother. Not sure what I am going to do with it but I didn't want it to leave the family. All original with a 260 V8, 4-speed and it is right hand drive. It has damage on the drivers front corner / hood so I will be looking for a front clip.

 

I've always thought of this a a cross between the two.
It's beautiful what ever you want to call it.

http://rahmadi.com/1934-edsel-ford-model-40-special-speedster/