Were sports cars an influence to early rodders? I think YES! Pics please!

couple of guys mentioned xk120s so, heres a few pics of a couple that come into the shop i work at.

first is a 54, being built to look like a factory racer... has interior in it now and tonnau and streamline headrest. I need to take a more recent pic but everytime we roll it into daylight, my camera is convieniently at home. Brace yourself it has red wheels

second, dont rememer the year on this one. just pretty.

and last... the Caterham. Super 7 continuation. Ford 4 banger, cosworth head, somewhere around 275hp, 1350 lbs. fastest thing ive ever driven. turns like a go cart.









edit - smaller pics

 

There were 9 built...and there are at least 3 that are active in vintage racing today...it might seem like it's for the "wine and cheese crowd" but vintage racing is really about the cars, where else can you see Allard's Cunningham's and a Kurtis or two at 130MPH, best car show you can attend. At the Monterey Historics last year the Jim Khougaz 32 roadster was mixing it up on the track along with several other cars mentioned in this thread...BTW, if anyone has $500K burning a hole in the pocket, Old Yeller #8 is for sale in NorCal.

 

I was just googling pics of DC-3's and DC-7''s and ran across this saga of HOTRODDING a Spitfire with a 4.3L Chevy V6 and Datsun IRS. All the hotrodding how-to is applicable to any year or make car, check it out!
http://www.triumphspitfire.com/carpender.html

 

Well I think this 1930 Voisin from France has to a good example. It looks channelled, very chopped and the front axle sits a good 18" in front of the grill. Isn't this one mean car?

 

This is a hand built replica Bugatti body. Also has the channelled look.

 

These two 30s French coupes seem to show the way for the customs based on the 36-40 Ford coupes.

 

Now this car is going to get you guys very excited. It's a 1938 Hispano Suiza. I think it has amazing similarities to Chip Foose's 2006 AMBR award winning roadster. And take a look at that windschield!!! Over ten years before Detroit started putting wrap-arounds on its show cars.

 

So I post a load of decent pictures like woz requested, and it all goes quiet. Yeh guys I have better things to be doing with my time.
Bye
Ed

 

Give us a couple of minutes Ed...


I was looking at your pics, soaking it all in.
Looking at the lines.

I'd like to see a bit more of that Hispano...
A little farther away, so I can see the whole thing.

 

OK a few more of the Hispano which was featured at the 2000 Pebble Beach.





Then this 1937 German Adler isn't bad either.



One year later something similar from Bentley.



But these Delahayes have to be the ultimate.

 

Here's something interesting for all you flathead guys. This is a German 1937 Ford V8 (with free standing headlights like in 1936) together with a racing sports car built by Ford of Germany in 1937. It features a flathead V8.

 

It might be ugly but that's very modern for a factory Ford from '37

 

This one is my favorite, so far...

Awesome lines.

To me, the details on the Hispano are better looking than the whole car.
( that's why I wanted to see a pic farther away...)

 

Thanks, Ed. These are some beautiful cars. Shows the European influence to customs too. I sure appreciate your contribution to this thread. If there were more than five stars to rate this thread, I'd award it that much, at least.

Keep 'em coming if you have more.

chili phil

 

That was really advanced for 1937.

Compare the car on the left with the Le Mans winning Bugatti's from 1937 and 1939...

 

Well here's some more pictures of Delahayes and Bugattis.

















Hillclimbing is what the British prefer to do. 'Tis a bit more exciting than drag racing. My favourite car for Hillclimbing is a pre-war ERA (see picture below) although the BRM and Auto Union are also cool.











And finally here's a video of the Hillclimb course I visited as a youngster. I can still smell the sweet smell of ethanol, hear the howl of an Aston Martin Zagato or the straight cut gear whine of an Edwardian racing car charging up that hill. Take a look at the video and make up your own mind about it. (only 2.5MB)

http://www.g.pickett.btinternet.co.uk/Movie.wmv

 

That maroonisgh Talbot-Lago raced at Bonneville! Not sure what year though.

 

Amazing pics...all of them. The Voisin is quirky but rakish as hell. And I love the rear fender transition of the Hispano. That these grand routiers were powered by engines like straight 8s and V16s, and were driven by mortals, is somehow almost too much for me to comprehend.

 

Ed -

Hey, don't get discouraged!

I'm really diggin' your photos too - but it does indeed take a few minutes to give them the kind viewing they deserve. Your pics demand some serious concentration to drink in all the goodies.

Also, in my case, I have to snatch a look or two when I can between other activity here at work.

Thanks much for taking time to post these gorgeous photos. Whether or not you get a response, know they are appreciated by many.

 

A lot of these cars weren't driven by mortals...

That's not to say that the people that owned them were immortal, but that some of these cars were virtually undrivable (form over function, indeed! We old school kustomizers wouldn't know anything about that, though, would we? ). I know of a bugatti or two that would, for example, barely turn left because of front fender skirts. And that enormous Bugatti Royale, at about 22 feet long, was tough to negotiate through the European towns for which it was obviously not designed. As a wise old hot rodder once noted about the Royale, "They may have sold 4 of 'em, but don't you think they would have sold a fifth if they could?"

On the other hand, some of these flashy, beautiful cars have/had genuine racing pedigree.

 

I've heard this bastard run, and damn if it doesn't sound mean!

 

Here's another Adler GP car.

 

Thank you so much guys for all the pics of the Bugattis, Talbots, Delahayes, and everything else! I didn't think this thread would go anywhere. The fact that it did is much appreciated. I'm definately into hot rods...I've loved the historic aspect of the hobby for quite some time. I've amassed quite a collection of old mags...but this one about sports cars struck a nerve. I wanted to share how much the european cars moved me, and figures some old hot rodders back in the day must have been saying "holy shit look at this machine!" just like me. I always want to expand my knowledge for all things cool. Hopefully some guys on here can take some styling and functionality cues from some of these pics to apply to their current and future projects.

Regards.

 

When looking at these magnificent deco styles I got a memory flashback from beeing a small kid.
I remember the old Donald Duck comics I read when beeing a small kid in the 70's. I always thought that the rich dudes there had the most awsome rides. Catoonist at Disney often drew cars of this style and even more extreme of course.

Paul

 

Carl Barks was the name of the guy who wrote a lot of the classic D.Duck comics, and yeah, he did pen some interesting old jalopies.

Now back to the sports cars....

 

Now back to the sports cars....[/QUOTE]
Here is a pic of Briggs Cunningham's Monster.
I don't think the styling made much influence on anyone, but a Cadillac V8 at LeMans makes me happy.
Of course his C series cars were a million times nicer.
Ray in CT

 

Here is a pic of Briggs Cunningham's Monster. [/quote]

And here are some pics of the other car Cunningham entered at Le Mans that year.
( Actually finished higher than Le Monstre, because of gearbox troubles..)


Edit.

The Cadillac Spider "Le Monstre" placed 11th overall.
The Cadillac Coupe placed 10th.
Since the Spider had a nickname ( that the French gave it ), they must have felt the Coupe needed one too.
Its listed as the "Clumsy Pup" in one listing I've seen.
But it was not the fastest Cad powered car that year.

Sidney Allard placed 3rd in his Allard J2-Cadillac, with the American Tom Cole as his co driver...

 

my sports car has a little bit of hot rod in it

http://www.hopupmag.com/index.php?/weblog/article/92/


for more detailed pics take a look at my webshots page

 

While I got to this point on my '36 (which was obviously inspired by the Jack Calori car), I had to think that Jack had at least seen pictures of the Figoni/Falaschi Talbots.

 

cool thread- and sure "hot rods" are cars made into sports cars...until today while we are salvaging old timers and making them into what they are.
good running more power, less wieght
colin chapman and lotus? any Ford special racer from the eariler part of the century- Frontenac any one?
rods have become what they are from sports cars turned old...it seems to me.