Eaves Special -- 1

Racing historian David Seielstad asked for the website's help in identifying the sports car below.  Historian Ron Cummings identified the car as the Chevy-powered "Eaves Special". 
 
From David:  "The Gang in the NW think this could be Torrey Pines. I don't, but do you have any ideas?  Can anyone identify the sports car in this photo?  Note it is RHD.  Tall pines in the background tell me it is the Pacific Northwest. The Buick and Olds date from the mid 1950s.
The wheels look English so a Jag special? or maybe some type of Allard?" 

"It looks quite a bit like an Allard J-2-R (1952-54). Seven were built. Gen Curtis LeMay owned one and there was at least one other actively raced in the US.  Do not know if one made it up to the NW or not."

Racing historian Ron Cummings offers this information:

"The body is easy. It's a Byers SR100 fiberglass body, an early one at that. The later ones had a smaller rear section.  There was a Kurtis-GMC 6 cylinder powered car racing in the Northwest with this body that was written up in Road & Track,in the 50's.  I will look for it.  My buddy, Ron Knutsen, owned a Byers SR100 that Jim Byers himself built on a 1948 Mercury chassis."

"The more I think of it, the more I think those portholes were unique to that particular Byers- bodied Kurtis. I will check further."
 

Website Contributor Joe Kane thought the car might be a "Meteor".
 

More from Ron Cummings:

"The Byers SR100 bodied car was profiled in great detail in the November, 1957 issue of Sports Cars Illustrated magazine. The two piece windshield, side port holes, Dayton wire wheels and right hand drive steering wheel all match perfectly to the magazine photos.  The car was built, in Portland, by Larry Eave with a Chevrolet small block motor by Chuck Rich. The car had a semi-truss,mostly ladder, frame. A modified model A Ford rear axle fitted with a Halibrand quick change unit and Ford three speed transmission completed the drive train. Dayton center lock wire wheels were used. The front suspension consisted of a specially fabricated tubular axle and transverse spring. 

The SR100, clearly a Jim Byers design, is credited to Dick Jones.I do not know about Dick Jones but I believe that Byers eventually sold his molds to Victress.  The Eave Special apparently was successful in Pacific Northwest road racing, the owner collecting many trophies.  I will try to get my son to scan the magazine article for you folks."

Next:   Eaves Special -- 2   (Meteor)

Next:   Eaves Special -- 3   (SCI Article)

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