1936 Black/white

This car, has well over $200,000 invested over a 30-year span, work done by the best shops in the country.

A magnificent car that runs and drives perfectly. Can be vintage raced, street driven with full confidence, best of both worlds, A steet-driveable vintage racing car.

Info; berger was a well respected car builder/driver know as a competitor that could do it all, very innovative. He was active in racing, and Indy racing in the 1920s/30s/40s. He was in the area during the late 1930s.

A short background history of this rare car is in order, which can be best described as a 30 year resurrection of an old forgotten warrior.

The car listed was found and bought in 1981 in Mi. I was a young service engineer employed with the machine co. port Ct. installing machines at the motor co. plant in . My contact at was fellow industrial engineer named Dave rle, in our conversations the topic of cars came up of course, and it was revealed that Dave’s grandfather had an old car that was still in a small long closed machine shop.

The car was disassembled, the body was intact as today with minor damage to the nose and tail, all interior panels had been removed. y components were present, such as front axle most steering parts, dash panel, firewall, steering wheel The power train was missing.

I have always believed this to be a s berger built car, he was the king of salvage yard junk formula cars of the 1930s. s was a prominent builder/racer of great skill and innovative ability with Indy cars, most say the smartest, best all around competitor of that era. s was in the area in the late 1930s and worked for the rle tool co. for a time. Dave’s grandfather was Eli rle, the owner. s and Eli became close friends thru shared interests, and as was told to me built the race car being described. It is not known it the car was ever completed by them, for at some point it was sold to a concern in Ind., where it was reported to have been raced on paved and dirt tracks, with no verifiable record. in, it was bought back at a later date by Eli evidently to reside in his shop until I found it in 1981.

fortunately no hard documentation exists, except for a small metal tag that is stamped “DEC. 15. 35. New Style R.S.”– this tag is welded to the frame. I personally believe the car was built as a junk formula car for the 1936 season. All the dimensions are comparable on the car to reflect that. er there are exhaust cut outs on the engine side panels that indicate a flathead V8 was the engine to be used. ( these cut outs are still there, plated off).

After the car was bought back by rle it had 2 carb. intake holes in the right side hood (still visible) and a destroyed Chrysler L6 Spitfire engine, hence the car name Spitfire Special. The chassis is unique and appears to be an early attempt of a space frame design, which was encouraged in the junk formula era. The car body is of aluminum and steel, much of the early restore and fabrication work was done by Black horse ge in port Ct. ( I was working for in port at that time).

• The engine is custom built by Charles Specialty nes.
• The drive line is by than head neering.
• All work, required parts, fabrication, finish, etc. have been done by the best craftsmen to be found.
• The steering wheel is original with new white oak wood rim being hand made by Ned one wood craftsman of hville N. C.
• Dash panel is original with engine turned finish, no instrument holes had been cut, instruments are not original, most other switches, etc. are original, including dash mounted hand fuel pressure pump branded W.G.M., Ok. gauge, valves etc.
• kes are large early Buick finned aluminum drums at all 4 wheels, dual adjustable master cylinders.
• detent drive f hubs as original with 4″ x18″ disc wheels with speedway covers built by Wheel smith co.
• sior block style road or track tires 32″ dia.
• Original 1936 Buick knee action hydraulic shock absorbers.

The decision to restore the car to a road worthy state was to allow the car to be actually driven and enjoyed instead of spending its life in an inanimate condition. It runs and drives absolutely beautifully, totally safe and roadworthy, can be driven anywhere.

The best of both worlds, an early racing that is road drivable.

This car is very fast with speeds exceeding 160 mph if one chooses, it is not a toy, and requires respect of the driver. It is suitable for vintage racing, hillclimbs, time trials, rally etc.

• There is a nice folding windscreen for the riding mechanic or passenger, as you choose.
• ar lights are mounted on a removable bracket that can be mounted or removed easily.
• Headlights are included and can be used or not used.
• Upholstery is the best Naugahyde for practical durability.
• Exhaust is 3 1/2″ polished stainless steel, the best.
• All fuel/ oil carrying lines are braided stainless steel for safety.
• Race grade aluminum radiator with cooling fan.

I cannot express what a pleasure this car is to drive, it’s one of those things you just have to do yourself to know. Its exactly what a precisely built race car would be expected to do

I am certain the car has been driven less than 500 mi. since being titled in I believe 2008, car was actually finished in 2018.

stated earlier, after much discussion with Mr. Charles about an appropriate engine, he engineered and built the unique engine present requiring an enormous amount of time, painstaking work, and money, but it was worth it, it is a magnificent engine, and I would guess you would not find another one in the entire world , exactly like this one. It is truly a one off done in a practical way.

The engine block is early inline 6 with custom fabricated GM L.S. style cylinder head. All manifolds and accessories are hand made including valve cover with engine turned finish.

3 original 80 some year old ball & ball carburetors supply fuel.

The engine is calculated to produce RPM with 7000 RPM capabilities.

Displacement is 303 cu. in. OHV 4.020″ bore 3.98″ stroke.

Special camshaft custom made by Famed Schneider f.

10.5 compression ratio with 60 Cc combustion chambers.

smission is GM 3 speed auto by specialist than head

Equipped with aluminum oil cooler and stainless steel hoses for trouble-free durability

Suspension is front longitudinal leaf spring as original

ar is 1/4 elliptical leaf spring with height adjuster as original. ( this is the first car of this era that I’ve seen this)

• Original aluminum bar grill in excellent condition
• ther hood straps with nickel buckles
• Racing seat belts for safety with shoulder harness use as an option if desired.
• Sturdy removable chrome roll bar for driver.

Car weight is appx. 1865# 106″ wheelbase, 59″ track, 47″ tall at cowl.

To close, this is a rare one off design 1930s era race car that has never been offered for sale. A once in a lifetime opportunity for the right person to own and enjoy as I have.

It is the product of a 30 year resurrection process, that would be impossible for me to do again, and untold amounts of effort by the very best craftsmen this country has, many of them are no longer on earth with us. That is hard to put a price tag on, however at my age and changing priorities it is time for my cars to find a GOOD HOME