Solved: PN #387 -- Joass 500, 1947

[pnegyesi]

Please identify this racer for a point

[pnegyesi]

Experts?

[richard cuyler]

Hooooeee! Definitely pre-Health and Safety: Look at that steering column, first at the scene of the accident, with the poor girl's chest a close second!  Mind you a Fiat 600 or a VW Beetle weren't much better than this contraption. I often wonder what designers were thinking - surely they could immediately see what would happen in a frontal collision? Even in those times, it seems, how cheaply things could be made was the deciding factor.

[pnegyesi]

Professionals?

[Allan L]

Austin 7 based, by the look of the axle.

[pnegyesi]

I have to check my source as I don't recall an Austin 7 involvment

[Craig Gillingham]

Is this an Australian car?

[pnegyesi]

Sorry Allan, I misplaced the CD which contained info on this car. Here we go:
"It used a 1928 Singer 9 chassis, suitably cut, 1930 Austin 7 front axle, wheels and transverse spring, and 1924 Oakland epicyclic steering box which connected to the Austin steering by an east-west link."

And yes, this was built in Australia

[Craig Gillingham]

Does it have a JAP engine?

[pnegyesi]

no

[Allan L]

Does it have a JAP engine?

Looks like a rear-engined single of some sort, so was it built for Formula 3 with a Norton engine?

[pnegyesi]

Well, the article refers to "500 class" - so I assume Formula 3 is correct. And yes, it was powered by a Norton engine.
So you just earned yourself a 24 hour lock to find this nice Aussie special

And as this one is not on the net, let me give you a clue. This guy went on to build other racecars, which are introduced on the net

[Allan L]

Thanks, but I have no idea and can find nothing like it in what I have, or have access to. Please open it up.
I also realised that most Norton-powered jobs have the exhaust on the right - on the 'bike it is done to keep it clear of the primary chain/clutch but as there is no obvious reason to do that on a car it should not be a significant identification feature.

[pnegyesi]

Reluctantly I open it up again

[woodinsight]

Could it be Austin & Ron Tauranac's Cooper ES2-powered special (the first RALT) of the late 1940s?

[pnegyesi]

we have already agreed that it is Norton-powered. It is from the late 1940s and it has been referenced on the web a few times, but a photo has not been featured online so far

[pnegyesi]

to the Black Hole

[pnegyesi]

Maybe another picture will help

[Allan L]

Doesn't help me - I've written all I can on this one!

[nicanary]

Doesn't help me - I've written all I can on this one!

Join the club. That "certain site" has a number of cars for which there is no photo, but none of the specs matches the puzzle car, although there is one with a Singer-derived frame. I've always assumed that the registrars of that site had a very comprehensive overview of the category, but they seem to have missed this one.

A question amidst this negativity - is the other car in the second photo a later car built by the same person?

[pnegyesi]

The 2nd car was built by someone else.

Let me give you a couple of clues: another car from this builder appeared on AP before.
There is a site devoted to the later brand (the brand which appeared on AP), but this car was self-named. The site does mention this car but without further details.

[nicanary]

Is it an early car from John Wynne?

[pnegyesi]

no

[nicanary]

We've had the CMC before, and I've just found out that builder Andy Menzies also built his own special. Is this the car?

[pnegyesi]

no