20 replies to this topic

[edscars]

I'm guessing this is a Lancer but can't identify it. Any help appreciated.

 

 

 

[Cheater]

I think it is a Hussein, a special British-built Cooper-Monaco commissioned by Texas oil millionaire John Mecom, Jr., but it doesn't have every visual cue I was expecting to see.

 

[Ramcatlarry]

Mecom Hussein for sure - still have one on DC65-6 period car of mine.

 

Hussein

[Cheater]

The car's rear valence is unique and distinctive, as are the vents on the front shoulders of the rear fenders.

[edscars]

Thanks, Gregory and Larry.

 

I had guessed Hussein but when I looked at a couple pictures I convinced myself it couldn't be that. Perhaps I saw the wrong variation of Hussein or something.

 

Thanks again.

[MSwiss]

What threw me off, and might be throwing you off, is that it doesn't have the big round air cleaner.

 

Instead, it has exposed quads.

[edscars]

Yes, Mike, that's exactly why I convinced myself at the time it must be something other than a Hussein.

[Bill Seitz]

As with so many of these race car bodies, especially but not limited to the '60s, there were often multiple configurations of small changes between races or even over the course of a race event. Going back now and looking at whatever vintage photos have survived these intervening years often leaves us not able to find the exact version the model body maker chose to produce.

 

The Cooper-Monaco was also used to create the Cooper Cobra which a later owner called a "Genie."

[Dave Crevie]

What threw me off, and might be throwing you off, is that it doesn't have the big round air cleaner.

 

Instead, it has exposed quads.

 

The DuBro version had the big round aircleaner. Don't know what that one is. Certainly the Mecom Hussein.

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/V64...gxcDl76lv9GHCgq

 

Race cars usually did go through a lot of changes. This is what a Genie is supposed to look like. 

 

 

This is what the one Dan Blocker owned looked like after some massaging.

 

 

 

I believe this is at Autobahn.

 

https://youtu.be/yxXxA-vqSYk?si=g4mf0AeqKpUPW3Be 

[Cheater]

Dave,

 

Your first three pictures show the car at Amelia Island, where I saw it. I believe the car is currently in the Speedway Museum at Indy.

 

The car was on the field the day before with a cover on it but I could see the slots in the rear valence below the edge of the cover and knew immediately what it was.

[Dave Crevie]

I included the shots so that the OP would have an idea what the livery looked like. 

[Ramcatlarry]

"The DuBro version had the big round aircleaner. Don't know what that one is. Certainly the Mecom Hussein."

 

I am sure mine is a Dubro shell with the aircleaner.  Lancer introduced Lexan that did not yellow with age or out-gassing of old rubber tires. Anyone know if Lancer did make one? Or another brand?

 

Many times, molds are made from very early new race cars. I think they went with the production type air cleaner on the old Hemi V8.  By the time the King Cobras raced at my local Meadowdale Raceway in the USRRC race, they looked a lot different than when Monogram made their molds for the 1/32 model.

[Dave Crevie]

The Hussein is a re-bodied T-61 Cooper. There were three versions of the Monaco, the T-49, T-51 and T-61, although the T-49 is the original Monaco and the others just inherited the name. The T-61 was the version the King Cobra was developed from. The T-61 was clearly a different car than the T-49.

 

Original  T-49 Monaco;

 

 

T-61 Monaco "King Cobra";

 

 

Adding MK numbers to the Type numbers further confuses the situation. Some T-61s were still called Monacos, some King Cobras. It all depended on if the finished car came from Shelby American.

 

As to the different carburator set-ups on the Hussein, this will help; (from Autosport Forums)[click on article to enlarge]

 

 

A little "perk me up" after the long holiday week-end:

 

[S.O. Watt]

The Nicky Vinagaroon was in my dad’s welding shop getting its frame fixed in the fall of ‘65 IIRC.

[Dave Crevie]

If they were up in that area racing I can see that as a possibility. Nickey Chevrolet, the sponsor, was a Chicago dealer, owned by the Silvestri family. Dan Blocker, Hoss on the TV show Bonanza, was the owner, and Joe Huffacker was the builder. Both west coasters. The Silvestris gained ownership of the car, and it sat in a back corner of their body shop for a while. Tom Silvestri had it restored some time ago and has been vintage racing it ever since.  

[Bill from NH]

The Nicky Chevrolet slot car was gotten a lot of popularity over the years, too.

[S.O. Watt]

Dave, I’m from SoCal. My dad's shop was in Anaheim on “Los Angeles Street,” now know as Anaheim Blvd.

[Dave Crevie]

Caught the Wa. location and made a bad assumption. Sorry.

 

There were a lot of dealers in the Chicago area pushing performance programs in the 1960's. Most of it centered around drag racing. The dealer I worked for, Tom Edwards Chevrolet, had the next largest Chevrolet program to Nickey. Dickey Harrell worked for us first, then went over to Nickey. I used to get the hot performance parts for "10 over", 10% over cost. I think there were more than a few weeks I worked for free. But I was real popular with my buddies. 

 

There were a few times when I had to make a "rat run" to take a part to Nickey when they were OOS. Met Bill Thomas of Cheetah fame a few times.

 

Nickey was into road racing pretty early on;

 

 

 

Dicky Harrell was their main guy;

 

[Ramcatlarry]

I was at the MIRPA  "Coffee and Cars" monthly Saturday in Cary.  The Vinagraroon was in the house near the 1/32 routed slotcar track of Meadowdale Raceway in Carpentersville, IL.  Tom was there as well.....he wants to sell the car.

[Flathead]

I find it hard to believe that no one here can identify Pactra's version of the Hussein!

[Dave Crevie]

I was at the MIRPA  "Coffee and Cars" monthly Saturday in Cary.  The Vinagraroon was in the house near the 1/32 routed slotcar track of Meadowdale Raceway in Carpentersville, IL.  Tom was there as well.....he wants to sell the car.

 

Tom has been trying to sell the car for at least 5 years. He advertised it in Victory Lane. I talked to him about it, it would have made a good pair with my Mk-8. It was just more than I wanted to spend, especially when I was looking at buying a McKee at that time.