The racing hybrids and specials of South America
This is one really huge subject and it would be nice to see what pics people can come up with here...
Like this one:
https://i.postimg.cc/JnRsHkRN/0120fr...etteongrid.jpg
The car in the centre of the front row is one built by a very young Alex Ribiero and his friends from a worn out VW1200 in the mid sixties. The driver, however, is Nelson Piquet, though Alex and his friend did very well in it in Brazilian racing. In short, it surprised a lot of people.
This is from a website called blogdojovino-blogspot
But there are so many more cars which have seen service in local series in these countries, remembering that their heritage was so steeply in long races around the country in which the likes of Fangio competed and excelled.
Oddball stuff, they had, too. The OHC Jeep engine of the sixties was a favourite and there were other engines not so often seen elsewhere. The Chrysler Slant 6, AMC V8s too, if I recall.
What about we plumb this source of interesting cars and competitors?
3 Attachment(s)
South America - Those Hybrids and Specials..
Great idea for a thread, Ray Bell, I have seen many photos of the Chev and Ford 1930's /40's that were raced long distance in South America, usually with cut down Mudguards / Fenders - in American parlance.
seems that they [ the South Americans were like us [ both sides of the Tasman ] with Specials and modified cars ..they had a Motor Industry but generally to build obsolete US and European models ..
Remember reading about Juan Manuel Fangio " 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed El Chueco ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or El Maestro ("The Master"), was an Argentine racing car driver. "
Another Argentinian -South American driver José Froilán González " (October 5, 1922 – June 15, 2013). known as
The Pampas Bull (by his English fans) and El Cabezón (Fat Head, by his close colleagues). - quotes Wikipaedia " racing those Coupes in his early days, in long distance Races - similar to Carrera Panamericana.
El Cabezón raced a Chev powered single seater before entering Grand Prix Racing in Europe around 1950 and finished in Argentina racing a Chev V8 powered Ferrari singel seater that he obtained form Enzo - an outdated chassis - in their Formulae Libre - again sound just like Australasia..
No photos of my own but will keep looking.
-however I do have this an AMT Kitset -produced under licence by Tonka in New Zealand in the 1960's.70's was built modified to look a bit like the V8 and Chev 6 Coupes that we had in NZ in the 1950's early 1960's.
Have both this version - underwent a minor restoration in 2019, having been in a box since around 1970, and an unmade kitset still in the box - a project for next winter perhaps.
Before the rebuild - showing the original AMT Tonka boxes.
Attachment 64687.
Rebuild almost complete - a few components to go on/in.. racing numbers required too !!
Attachment 64688
The Boys in 1950 in England ..
Attachment 64689