SOLVED: FW #527: JS Special Can-Am by Jerry Shuck, Michigan, 1989-2019

[fromwien]

Please be so kind and identify this car

[fromwien]

Experts?

[fromwien]

Never thought, this puzzle will be unsolved as long.. Professionals?

[nicanary]

Italian ?

[fromwien]

No

[nicanary]

British ?

[fromwien]

No

[fromwien]

Masters?

[gte4289]

JS Special of Jerry Shuck, completed in 2019.

[fromwien]

It is the JS Special Can-Am by Jerry Shuck, Michigan
Not  completed 2019, but 1989. Registered 2019
Enough for one additional point

[gte4289]

It is the JS Special Can-Am by Jerry Shuck, Michigan
Not  completed 2019, but 1989. Registered 2019
Enough for one additional point

Thanks for the point. However, back in 1989, this car was nothing more than an idea in Jerry Shuck's head.

Shuck was living and working here in California in 1989, when he began working on a design for a car he envisioned as a Can-Am racer that could be driven on the road. A few years later, while living and working in Saudi Arabia, Shuck constructed a series of 1/10 scale clay models, refining the design along the way. He eventually moved back to California, where, over a period of several more years, he built a full-scale clay model in his home garage. Shuck then relocated to Michigan, and this is where he finally began construction of an actual car. After several additional years of hard work, Shuck's JS Special was finally completed in 2019.

It had been a 30-year journey from the initial concept and designs, to the 1/10 scale models, to the full-scale clay model, and then finally, to an actual running and drivable car. Shuck was able to register the car for road use in Michigan (as a 'specially constructed vehicle'), but then moved back to California before he'd had the chance to drive it more than a short distance. The JS Special is currently here in California, where it cannot be registered due to our restrictive vehicle code. (It's registered in Hawaii instead. )

This information is based primarily on two sources, the first of which is an article written by Jerry Shuck himself. The second source is an article published by the insurance company through which the car is currently insured (the same insurance company I use for my collector cars), which was based on input from (and filled with quotes and photos by) Jerry Shuck. Both articles contain numerous technical/mechanical details (engine, transaxle, suspension components, wheels, body panels, paint, etc) in addition to the detailed story and timeline, which I've summarized above.

Some excerpts regarding the timeline and completion:

Jerry Shuck spent over three decades designing and building his stunning sports roadster. Among this candy blue delectable's many virtues—gorgeous design, thoughtful engineering, fastidious attention to detail—the most compelling is that it is a product of patience. Decades of it.

The seed of this stunning homegrown machine, the JS Special, started germinating in 1989. After pondering several kit car options dating back to his high school days, Shuck, of Mendocino, California, began building his dream machine. Thirty years of inspiration, perspiration, and state-of-the-art craftsmanship yielded a sub-2000-pound, 300-horsepower, Can-Am-worthy weapon.

Upon his return to the U.S., Shuck became a clay modeler at GM's Advanced Concepts Center (ACC) in Newbury Park, California. The expansion of his skill set would prove fortuitous. After helping shape the 1992 Corvette Sting Ray III concept and GM's EV1 electric car, he hauled home the Chevant clay from those projects as raw material for the full-scale model he was sculpting in his garage.

Before ACC closed in 1996, Shuck learned digital sculpting via Alias software, another skill that came in handy for his off-hours project. Weekend, holiday, and vacation hours over seven years were spent shaping and perfecting clay.

In 1996, the brilliant minds of GM management decided to shut down ACC—so my wife and I, along with our dog and the molds, moved to Michigan in hopes of one day retiring with a stellar pension. The car project idled away for several years, until I built a detached garage in which to carry on. The next phase was the chassis design and build.

The JS Special then went on hiatus for several years while Shuck created suitable garage space at his Michigan residence.

After 27 years as a clay and digital sculptor, Shuck retired from GM in 2016 to focus on completing his homebuilt. With the project's ledger showing a total investment of $85,000, full running, driving status was finally reached in 2019.

Final assembly of the car took me several months. So after about four decades, the project was finally completed.

[fromwien]

Absolutely correct. Changed the title
Sorry, had no opportunity to have a look in my files about the car, as I am busy at a fair outside my home this weekend. Have had only the puzzle-solution saved on my cellular phone

[Carnut]

What a beautiful car!