MJW #1127 - Maserati 2.9-litre Sports - not quite solved

[nicanary]

In anticipation of the OP returning to action, I thought I would let him know what very little I had found. There is a forum of which I am an inactive member, which comprises a number of very well-informed and knowledgeable motor-sport historians. There is an old thread on that site about Maserati 8CM cars, and also a sort thread about what is commonly known as "the Finglass car". I resurrected that thread to ask questions about our puzzle photo, which is why it would be good to know the date of the advert. I centred my enquiry around the fact that the car was being sold by Finglass in 1955, but our puzzle vendor is a Mr. Salmon.

I received only one reply on the thread, but it WAS from a well-known and respected author of Maserati-themed books. He advised me that, to the best of his knowledge, the conversion to road car had been started by Salmon and finished by Finglass. That is all, as they say. Still no nearer to finding out who did the bodywork, but personally I'm convinced it wasn't done by an established "name" in coachbuilding, but rather it was farmed out to a local bodyshop.

I thought you might like to see the car as it is today. Bear in mind that it was delivered to Earl Howe as a "wide" 2-seater chassis, and presumably painted by him in his regular racing colours of pale blue and silver. It has been "restored" as a single-seater and painted a very dark blue. I suppose the meaning of restoration has very wide parameters.

[mekubb]

Thanks for the update, hope we will find the coach builder some day !

[woodinsight]

Well done Nicanary, you've put a lot of work into pinpointing the actual car so I'm giving you a point for that.

Unfortunately I didn't keep track of which publication or date that I found the photo in. I'll no doubt come across it again in time.

I'll keep the puzzle open here in the pros and offer a further point if anyone can come up with the coachbuilder.

[nicanary]

Once again, thank you for a point when, in fact, I had not solved the puzzle! I suspect this is one for the Black Hole in due course, as the chances of finding that elusive coachbuilder are slim. As a hint, if anybody has a comprehensive history of Maserati 8CM cars, there's probably an appendix at the back illustrating the historical ownership and modifications of each of the cars built. Sadly, my library is lacking in that department - such books are usually too expensive for my purse.

[woodinsight]

Now moving this one to the BH with hope that it will be solved one day.......

[barrett]

Apparently RGN Salmon comissioned Roland Dutt to convert the car into a road car. Dutt was a (very) minor face in the 1940s-50s club racing scene who was usually behind the wheel of a Maserati. He later founded a track driving school and then disappeared into obscurity. I'm not sure if it was his very own hands that carried out the rebodying but it was most likely undertaken in his workshop. Not sure if that is worth a point, or if it just confuses the matter further by adding yet another name to the saga. ho hum.

[Paul Jaray]

Here you are a short story of this car by Mr. Brian Finglass himself:
This is the ex Earl Howe 2.9 Maserati, purchased by Finglass after the war with 'an ugly two-seater body' fitted.
This body was reputed to have came off an Alvis roadster. The car was later sold to Gavin Maxwell. The car was already fitted with a pre-selector gearbox when it was sold to Mr. Maxwell.

[nicanary]

There is renewed correspondence on another website about this car. Somebody who owns an Alvis TB14 chassis has what he believes is the body from the Maserati. The two items will not match up - the wheelbase is different.

Not important information, but interesting.

[gte4289]

I'm pretty sure it was the Lord Howe car #3013, which was ,as I said, a wide-chassised car.

He raced the car, followed by Cholmondeley-Tapper and then Archie Hide, who crashed the car badly at the Nurburgring in 1938. He kept the remains over WW2, and then they were purchased by Kenneth McAlpine who was racing Whitney Straight's narrow-chassis #3011. He used the wreck as spares for this car.

In 1951 the wreck was bought by Brian Finglass who built a sports-car in the modern style on the chassis.  It was bought off him by non other than Gavin Maxwell, author of "Ring of bright water", and later was owned by Lord Ridley, who fitted the engine from #3011. Later still the car was re-matched with the correct engine and converted back to original pre-war form by Bill Summers and David Black. It is presently with a German collector AFAIK.

The car built by Finglass was advertised in Motor Sport magazine in March 1955, as being deep-red, having a large grille with an XK120-type windscreen, and long-range driving lights. In my opinion this matches the puzzle car. I don't know where the puzzle photo was located - Finglass' address was London W11. I don't suppose we'll ever find out who the coachbuilder was - Brian Finglass was a well-known dealer in racing and sports cars, but I doubt he did the work himself.

Phew !

I thought you might like to see the car as it is today. Bear in mind that it was delivered to Earl Howe as a "wide" 2-seater chassis, and presumably painted by him in his regular racing colours of pale blue and silver. It has been "restored" as a single-seater and painted a very dark blue. I suppose the meaning of restoration has very wide parameters.

Why are you convinced this was originally a wide-chassis car?

Early photos:

1936-37, T.P. Cholmondeley-Tapper at the wheel
1936 Donington Park, T.P. Cholmondeley-Tapper (dark color, #12)
1937 Brooklands, T.P. Cholmondeley-Tapper (dark color, #9)
1938 German GP Nurburgring, Arthur Hyde (dark color, #36)

[nicanary]

Maserati archives say it was, that's why! It may have been bodied in the 1930s as a monoposto, but it's possibly got a chassis configuration that would enable it to take a wider body.

I really don't know any more. I know Whitney Straight had both types, but according to records chassis #3013 was sold to Howe as a wide-chassis car, which is why it was easier to rebody as a road car post-war.

PS I realise now what you're saying. I suggested that it's been restored incorrectly as a single-seater, when it was just that in period. I can be a bit too quick suggesting things sometimes!

[gte4289]

Why are you convinced this was originally a wide-chassis car?

Maserati archives say it was, that's why!

Then at best, I think that makes it more likely than not the case (until further evidence is/was revealed, of course).  :)

Anyway, I've one more thing to add (I'm using your quote, but I swear I'm not picking on you)...

In 1951 the wreck was bought by Brian Finglass who built a sports-car in the modern style on the chassis.

In a March 1977 letter to MotorSport Magazine, Finglass stated that the car was already wearing the Alvis body when he bought it:

[Paul Jaray]

Here's a picture of the body few yers ago from a friend of mine. The rear is pretty much Alvis too:

[gte4289]

Moved from Black Hole

[barrett]

Is this not solved? Or as solved as it can be? We've identified the chassis (and its history), the people who built it and the presumed origin of the bodywork... I don't know what more there is to say about it now.