Can't be the 353 Cooper-Hayes car as the door beads are smoothed & the cowl cut straight. #7 is Paul Schiefer car, which still exists in the Bean Bandits club as a rear engined roadster. Gene Hewett car or Winston Ranger car is the likely choice if it did indeed run a straight 6. If the previous owner made an assumption by seeing the image in Dean Batchelor book then it is therefore possible that it ran a flathead and could possibly be the Dahm brothers roadster or the Ted and Merle Miller roadster but that is unlikely as they both had the inner door shells removed. Seeing how the body is all that remains, it makes IDing far more difficult though not impossible.
Great info jimmy-b, you are the man!!! When I first saw the pictures of your car murocmaru, the car that came to my mind was the G&S Piston Engineering Special..... The angle on the cowl looks to be the same, although it ran a model B motor, not a straight six.... Anyways, you have a very cool roadster on your hands!!!! I'm jealous!!! Joe
Thanks, Jimmy. I never realised that the Paul Schiefer car and the Bean Bandits car were one and the same.
Thanks skaterman, and Jimmy B. thank you all for you're help! It's amazing the wealth of knowledge on the HAMB. I find myself updating this thread as often I can to find out if there is any new information. Some more details on this car are that it does have inner door panels and the previous owner told me that the door opened and closed. It looks like this car had an early circle track pedigree. There was a panel removed just behind the driver, in the middle of the panel above the deck lid, where a bomber seat would have been set back. There has since been a crude panel brazed in. There are also large round holes in the drivers side that were patched a long time ago. There's patches in the top corners of the deck lid where it is possible that a roll bar protruded through. I don't think it's the Hartman roadster because, as Jimmy B pointed out, there's a square shape around his rear wheel wells that isn't on mine. I think the angle of the slope looks very similar on mine and the Hewitt & Ballanger car. If only I could find a rear shot of they're car. On my body, there's three holes in the lower panel below the deck lid. Probably from a push bar or nerf bar
Wow the B&S Piston engineering special shares a lot of common characteristics with my car too. Primarily how there's no holes for tonneau cover snaps just like my car, and the top of the body was cut off and round stock was welded in at the same places in both cars. They also both have the same holes cut out at the door hinges. It also looks like it has some rounded aluminum strips riveted to the cowl in the same places in both cars
The Paul Schiefer/ Bean Bandit roadster actually became the first Speed Sport Special. The rear engine roadster that still exists with the Bean Bandit club was built in the later 50's.
Matt, I didn't know you were a member here too. Here's a picture of the car I received from our resident expert - jimmy B. Mark
This is very interesting and has great pictures. Ive often wondered how tall most of the drivers were. Being 6'4'' limits some of the cars you could drive.
Thanks Mark! And thank you all for all the help! As an update, I talked to Gene Hewitt the other day and he was really excited that I called. I am hoping to meet with him soon and chat more. I have a few more pics that I can't upload right now, but I will whenever I get access to a computer.
You're welcome, Matt. I'm glad there are still old timers out there willing to relive their adventures, passing the torch to the younger generation of hot rodders. Good luck with everything.
I wish it was still there. I know that when it was sold last year, there was faded white paint on it with a perfect patina. Then the previous owner had it sandblasted, and he left it bare metal to get rusty. Oh well. Not really any updates for you yet. I've been busy in New York working. Hopefully I'll get some more information on the true identity of this body for you guys.
Unless the Bean Bandits put Schiefer's roadster back together after Red Henslee destroyed it at Santa Ana, I don't think Schiefer's amazing car was ever reburbished for racing; http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Paul_Schiefer's_1925_Ford And if the Bean Bandits still have that car I'd love to see it. I've spent years researching Schiefer's car, and the Speed Sport(s) got me confused a few times. But I believe the Speed Sport's are different cars because the wheelbases, front axles, hairpins, stances, driver locations, etc., are quite different. If you got info please let me know, as I'd like to complete my information.
I was told by a few folks the remains of Schiefer's car were split up, with some of the body going to Oregon? That doesn't mean some of the car didn't wind up in one or both Speed Sport's. A late night with a few veteran Alabama racers, last week, yielded a treasure trove of photocopies of Schiefer's car in the 1925 build; as well as technical information on its 1927 build.
With regard to the Schiefer roadster and its fate: The image attached were taken from a little film I found called "DRAG RACES At the AIRPORT: SANTA ANA CALIFORNIA: SUNDAYS" On the left is the Henslee-Cook roadster in 1957; which was previously run as the Bean Bandits roadster; on the right is Joaquin Arnett III running the Bean Bandits' Chrysler high-gear only roadster in the late 70s or early 80s. Both cars run the same mechancial setup (Chrysler Hemi, high-gear only). The front axle on Arnett's car is not a wavy axle like the one run on Henslee-Cook, but otherwise the cars look quite similar. My inquiries with folks in So-Cal have gone unanswered so far. JimmyB, have you found out anything more about it? -- -- Commentary by Wally Parks(??) accompanied the image of the Cook-Henslee roadster, as follows; "The roadster you're looking at now was run by Red Henslee and Emery Cook, in San Diego. This car had 'em really shook up in 1956. The rear-engined Chrysler high-gear-only roadster was knocking on the 150 mile an hour barrier at several of our So-Cal drag strips. The Santa Ana counting equipment only went to 149, and the next mark was "BINGO". Hart had the clocks recalibrated to go to 170 to get ready for some of these cars that were banging on that door. A well-known automotive writer figured out mathematically that no one could ever go 150 in a quarter-mile. Was he ever wrong! Cook and Henslee ran 152 on July 22, 1956 and 157 in August. Calvin Rice beat them to the 150 mark, when Calvin turned 153 on June 3, 1956. He asked Hart if he'd like to take the car on a little test cruise; Hart got in it -- he would miss an opportunity to get in the car. Hart got on it, stood on it all the way and it went 150, never having driven the car before. His wife Peggy had her back to Hart with her fingers crossed. This car [Henslee-Cook (nee Schiefer) roadster] had one of the most awesome engine sounds of any car that ever to run Santa Ana. A sad note about the car though; the car was destroyed in San Diego at Paradise-Mesa a few years later when the brakes failed and the car didn't shut off; it headed to the exit gate at the same time a spectator decided to exit and he slammed into a '52 or '3 Chevy and the car was totally destroyed. The driver came out OK but I have some pictures at home of the car just in little pieces that would fit into a Xerox box."
The Jalopy Journal
