SOLVED: WTH # 231 - SPC/Alpax El Mono on Essex chassis w Ford B engine equipped w Miller head

[sixtee5cuda]

To earn a point, specify the name, chassis brand, engine brand, and country of origin of this sleek race car.

[sixtee5cuda]

Expert Time!

[targhediferro]

Italian?

[sixtee5cuda]

Not Italian

[ropat53]

Looks very American with transverse springs, front and rear.
Also seems as though it could have an Offenhauser engine.

[sixtee5cuda]

The engine is not an Offy, and you are in the right time zone.

[nicanary]

You say the right time zone and that worries me - it could mean South America.  Still looks like a sprint car to me from about 1946-ish. Maybe one of the last Miller-engined cars ?

[sixtee5cuda]

You add to the complexity, Nicanary.

It is from South America.

The year is rather uncertain.

Not a Miller engine, but there are Miller components involved.

[ropat53]

Is it from Argentina with Ford engine with Miller head?

[sixtee5cuda]

It is not from Argentina.

It has a Ford engine with a Miller head.  Supposed to produce over 140HP.

[ropat53]

Is it from Brazil?

[sixtee5cuda]

Not from Brazil.

[ropat53]

I'll keep on trying, but if my knowledge about Brazilian racing cars is very limited, I can very well say I know absolutely nothing about cars from other South American Countries.
Is it Chile, the next best possibility?

[sixtee5cuda]

Not from Chile

[ropat53]

Probably only three more possibilities, Colombia, Venezuela and Uruguay.
How about Uruguay?

[ropat53]

I found it S.P.C "el Mono" (the monkey). It was made in Uruguay by José Suarez, Roberto Pietracarpina and Eitel Cantoni   S.P.C. (Suarez, Pietracaprina y Cantoni) It had an Essex chassis with a Ford B 4 cylinder engine with a DOHC Miller head, 52HP@2800 rpm and 160HP@5000 rpm. I also found it referred to as Alpax el Mono

   

[sixtee5cuda]

ropat53 gets the point for the complete answer.

I suspect "El Mono" being translated to "the monkey" is incorrect.  From what I can ascertain, the car was called "El Mono", because it was the first single-seat race car from Uruguay.  So maybe they wanted "El Mono" to be taken as "premier", or "first".

[ropat53]

Apparently "el Mono" a contraction of "el Monoposto" that is Italian, but it is the word we use in Spanish to name a single seater racing car and it also means "the monkey"