Ive read he used two '50s Grand Prix chassis, that he welded together. So I'm guessing they were Maserati A6GCM's because they were built in the early '50s, and the next one was the 250F which had a tube frame ( Un triangulated spaceframe ) and a DeDion. The Mantaray has Chassis rails ( two big tubes ) and a live axle with 1/4 elliptical springs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maserati_A6GCM
There is an article in TRJ that tells what he used for a chassis. I will have to look for it. As thye story goes it belongd to someone he was close to, had been laying in thier backyard for ever. I have to go work today, maybe this evening I can look for that article.
If it is a A6GCM,here are some specs. The frame was developed by Medardo Fantuzzi. The car was built in aluminum. The car weighed between 550 kg (1,200 lb) and 570 kg (1,300 lb) depending of the engine installed. It used, at the rear a rigid rear axle with cantilevered leaf springs combined with « Houdaille » shock absorbers, in front coil springs are used also combined with « Houdaille » shock absorbers. The brakes are hydraulic driven drums. The initial wheelbase was 2,280 mm (90 in) to be extended to 2,310 mm (91 in) in the later version. The front track was initially 1,278 mm (50.3 in) and was reduced to 1,200 mm (47 in) as the car received larger wheels in its later version. The rear track received the same treatment going from 1,225 mm (48.2 in) to 1,160 mm (46 in). The spoked wheels were initially of 4X15 to be replaced by 5X16 in 1953.
And also, if thats what it is it should be possible to narrow down which one ( or two, if its parts of two chassis ) it is. There were about 12 built. A couple were known to be crashed, some still exist, and a couple were converted to 250F spec. So it would be out of the ones that are not accounted for. ( as long as the surviving Info is accurate and/or no fakes have been built using those chassis numbers...)
A lot... I'm sure there are Maserati aficionados eyeballling the Mantaray with a little bit of drool coming out of their mouth. But it would be a shame if it got turned back into a Single seater. We already lost the Hoare GTO and the Morrari. Lets hope this one stays what it is...
I just happened to be looking at the May 1964 Issue of HotRod and the cover car is the Mantaray, in the article it says it was a Pre-war Maserati GranPrix Chassis and it had alot of the Original suspension parts and the 15" maserati finned brakes. Original Maserati diff with a limited slip and quick change gears. Monroe shocks, quarter elliptical springs
Both NZ built specials based on Ferrari Single seater race cars. The Pat Hoare car got a Fiberglass body that was kinda like a GTO, when it could no longer be raced as a single seater. It was already a Hot Rod before that because it got a Ferarri installed V12 instead of the 4 cyl it was raced with at first. Enzo knew about the car in its sportscar incarnation, and called it the fastest Ferrari road car in the world ( which it must have been at the time ) It has now lost its sportscar body, and is restored back to being a single seater. The Morrari was an other racecar. It raced in the NZ allcomer class. It had the chassis off a single seater Ferrari, a Small Block Chevy, and the body of a early low light Morris Minor. It has been restored back to a single seater as well. And I think thats a shame. They were cool cars, with a continuous history that included those mods. But its to be expected... The guys that converted them back must not have respected them for what they were ( or had become ) And eventhough I disagree with it, on those cars. Its exactly the kind of thing that I would like to see happen to the Futura. And I'm happy it happened to the Chrisman Coupe ( which was also restored back to its earlyer racing state ) So I do understand... But IMO, the Mantaray should stay as it is because it is on par with some of the best handbuilt coachbuilt concept cars out there. To me its an Iconic car... I guess in the end, its just up to whoever owns the car at the time.
I believe the chassis belonged to his then Father -in-law. Saw the car at the Detroit Motorama and it is quite small. I remember reading an article about the car that said that Jeffries didn't really like the idea of a bubble top but put one on because they were popular at the time.
Enzo Ferrari, and I guess all race cars, when they were no longer competitive, they were obsolete and were not worth much. So they were discards. But now history of these cars comes back and they can be extremely valuable and unique. A story about a Ferrari that raced at Le mans in the early 60s, was turned into a Devon bodied sports car with a SBC. Someone recognized the chassis because of the steering box. and now they are going to restore it back to its glory racing days, from a junk chassis. Ferrari serial numbers don't have any rhyme or reason because they moved engines and chassis around so much. the numbers wouldn't mach. Ago
I got the Dean Jeffries book for Christmas, has a whole chapter on the car. The book is full of cool pics and info. According to Dean he's had several offers to buy the chassis and offers of up to a million bucks for the car - but he says as long as he's got money to buy a sandwich he's not selling. He also has one of three (I think?) GT40 convertibles given to him by FoMoCo, and again according to the book Carroll Shelby gave him the first Cobra in exchange for paint work, but Shelby "borrowed" it for a promotional tour and he never got it back.
Interesting thread and some stuff I never knew. I have always been a huge fan of Italian technology in hot rods and I have collected several exotic Italian engines and transmissions over the years - Dean Batchelor would doubtless have approved - but usually the other way round, with Italian drivetrain in an American chassis. Here's a link to a write up on the Mantaray in SRM.... www.streetrodderweb.com/milestones/0011sr_dean_jeffries_manttray/index.html
The Mantaray is not a big car - the perspective is a little off in this pic but here's a shot for reference:
Dean told me he was offered over a million dollars just for the chassis of the Mantaray several years ago and says he would never separate it from the car. He also still has a bunch of other pieces and parts from the Maserati. As for the first Shelby Cobra (CSX2000), Carroll Shelby did "borrow" it back and still owns it. Below are a few photos I took of it a while back. Dean does still own the Ford GT40 Roadster and below are a few shots I took at his shop during its ongoing restoration. _____________________________ 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX2000: Ford GT40 Roadster: .
That GT-40 roadster has the very rare Ford Indy DOHC engine in it with Weber carbs. very cool! But the ports in the head are too large for any low end power. Ago
The Mantaray is one of my all time favorite cars since the day I bought that issue of Hot Rod in the 1960's. Seeing it at the Petersen was a dream come true. I'm fairly sure the Maseratti chassis was from one of the two team cars that ran at INDY in the late 1940's. I have a photo buried in my stack of stuff of the pair in the pits. When I find it I'll post it. Bob
That is what the book says. Saw the car up close at Cobo Sunday night. Very small and LOW. The color doesn't do it justice. And IIRC, the wheels are mismatched, front to rear. Similar, but different number of spokes.
The Mantaray appears in a few scenes of this Monkees episode "Monkees Race Again". Check out the paintjob on it: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YgGA7T2ARhE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is The Devin with the Ferrari Chassis. Allegedly someone in the know spotted it on Ebay and alerted the gent who bought it. The original Ferrari that the chassis came from had quite a racing history. I followed it because I had a Devin body at one time that I ended up selling to a friend who still has it.
I know that car had multiple paints jobs, and it aint mine, but if it was, it would HAVE to be pearl yellow like it was on the R&T cover. Man, that looked good.
According to the Rod & Kulture with a feature on this that's in the bathroom reader stack, it was a combination of two chassis, retaining the F1 suspension and brakes. I presumed it was to get a longer wheelbase, but it doesn't specify. Edit: looked at it again a while ago and it says they were prewar racers and he combined the best parts of the two to get one.
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