If the 40 Merc. was maroon, it belonged to Ted Gaders. That car was sold many years ago and was in storage until about a year ago when sold for about $14,000 I think.
Tim,John is one of the nicest guys I have ever met in my entire life and can do anything! He has great stories of how he and his pal Duke traveled many miles in their hot rods. John lives in Central, South Carolina,,not too far from Clemson. This is the same coupe John drove to Peoria in 1970,the photo is for last years All Deuce Run and John(wearing the hat) is standing beside the car.HRP
Hey, coupeman36; Iffen you're still around, I don't remember any feature on it, but do wish there was one. I'd like to see it, too. It got a few pics in different mags from rod runs, & precious little info then. Somewhere I have a couple of small pics of it, but don't know where. For some reason, I'm thinking it was said to have a Miller engine in it. Or some such, but I don't remember ever seeing a pic of the mill. Chaindrive was fake. I'm also thinking it was said to be a teens replication. Only thing that would've made that car look more period would've been chrome split-ring wire wheels. Lots of good stories on cars back then, ingenuity, too. Lots of guys weren't worried about cookie-cutters, me-too's, or what someone else perceived their car to be. That was one very neat little car. One of my favorites. I think it showed up at a couple of later StreetRodNats. Marcus...
Thanks HRP!----That what was the start of me gearing up for the Nats in Detroit 1972, Bud Bryan & "Stroker" Tom Medley joined up with us for the 5000 mile trip. Then Tulsa, OK. 1973, Memphis Tn. in 1975, back to Tulsa again in 1976. Lots of great memories! I'm now 89 years young!
Hey guys I’m still around. Thanks for the mention. I have always loved the early speedsters like the Stutz Bearcat and the Mercer race about. I was hoping someone would know where the Collins special was post some pics or maybe similar ones. If you ever get to Alabama look me up! Coupeman36
@coupeman36 , @nrgwizard , Not sure if this is an earlier version of the rod at nsra. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-john-collins-roadster.1207275/
I have a couple more photos of the Collins Speedster on my computer at work. I will post them Monday. The first version did not have the fake chain drive. It was also yellow at some point. I know Chuck Miller painted it, but don't know which version.
OK, as promised, pics of the Collins car. Not positive but I think his name is/was Dan Collins. The black and white photo is Detroit Autorama. Must be first version. The cowl area was changed on later versions.
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