The role Henry Ford played in establishing early motorsport, if indirectly, is as significant as that which he played in the rapid spread of hot rodding. Fords Model T was the worlds first mass-produced vehicle, and its attainable price tag brought it within reach of the masses. With the T being produced in such vast numbers, used examples were dirt cheap, and cheaper still if dragged from a wrecking yard. The Model T formed the basis for a great many speedway cars, most importantly, at grass-roots level, and by 1918 Robert Roof was offering both 8 and 16-valve conversions for the little 4-banger, while the Chevrolet brothers Louis and Arthur, set up in competition with their Frontenac conversions.
In 1932, Ford set another first, by bringing to the market the first affordable V8 motor, the 221ci side-valve (flathead) V8. This motor would form the basis from which hot rodding, immediately prior to and following World War 2, would boom, and suddenly a whole aftermarket industry sprung up with companies producing and/or selling speed equipment for this popular little package, including Offenhauser, Edelbrock, Meyer, Weiand, Bell, and Cragar, many of which are still house-hold names in the aftermarket industry today.
Prior to and just after WW2, American Ford motor cars were available in Canada, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, in vast numbers, and by the 1950s these vehicles provided a popular platform for creative motor racing enthusiasts at grass-roots level from which to build ‘specials’. And to help their cause was the massive US speed equipment market.
One such speed merchant was New Zealander George Smith, who, in the early 1950s, created a Ford based and propelled special, called the GeeCeeEss. Smith had already been around motor racing for at least two decades, but it was with his self built GeeCeeEss that he would enjoy his most successful period in racing.
Initially Smith fitted the car with a flathead Mercury, fitted with Edelbrock heads, but eventually a set of very rare and highly desirable Ardun OHV heads found their way on the car. Ardun was a company founded by brothers Zora and Yura Arkus-Duntov, hence the name. In 1955, Smith replaced the Ardun motor with a new Chrysler Hemi.
With this car Smith won virtually every major New Zealand race and championship, in both road racing, hill climbing, and beach racing, with the exception of the Lady Wigram Trophy.
Luckily, the GeeCeeEss special has survived, and is now in the care of historic racing enthusiast (and Roaring Season member) Roger Herrick. Roger has very kindly gone to the trouble of creating a thread on The Roaring Season forum compiling the history of this car, along with photos, articles, and further details of its builder, George Smith.
The George Smith GeeCeeEss special thread can be
viewed here > >
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