LaDawri Conquest, 1957 Conquest | Conceptcarz.com - Pictures, Pricing, Information, Wallpaper, History

The LaDawri Conquest was designed in the Vancouver British Columbia area in 1956 by Les A. Dawes and first showed in the Pacific International Exhibition in 1956 as the Cavalier. Within a year, the car, family and company moved to Long Beach, California, where production began and the car debuted on the front cover of Road and Track magazine in July of 1957. The Conquest was soon followed by other size models of the car as well as different models being offered such as the Daytona, Sebring, and Del Mar.

The body itself is fiberglass, designed to take a wheelbase of 100 to 104 inches and a tread of 56 to 58 inches, which covers Corvettes, Thunderbirds and the like of the day.

LaDawri continued producing both cars and kits from 1957 through 1965 when operations ceased.

The LaDawri Company of Long Beach, California, was created be Les Dawes. The company is remembered for their work with fiberglass. They used the fiberglass to form elegant creations and bodies for sports and racing automobiles. The bodies were rigid, aerodynamic, and lightweight. There were 19 models available and popular with the kit car community.

The bodies were created to fit a wide range of vehicles. The wheelbase ranged from 76 to 120 inches and the length from 124 to 188 inches.

There were five sports car models available. There was a roll bar built into the frame and constructed to accept a windshield. Volkswagen, MG, and Austin-Healey's were the popular chassis to carry the bodies.

In the sports car body department, the bodies were called the Conquest and the Conquest GT. By the early 1960s, Dawes expanded his offerings by purchasing Victress race cars. Body molds were created and the Victress S-1A became known as the LaDawri Vixen. The Victress S-5 became known as the LaDawri Cheetah. In 1963, Dawes worked a deal with Ralph Starkweather to produce the LaDawri Firestar MKII.

Business progressed rather well for a number of years. By the mid-1960s, the fortunes had changed as the kit car market was slowing down. Clark Adams, an aerospace engineer, steeped in to aid the struggling company. A universal body was created that could fit a wide variety of chassis. The resulting product was dubbed the LaDawri Formula Libre.

By 1968, the company was forced to close their doors after suffering a major fire.

1957 LaDawri Conquest
Year	1957
Make	LaDawri
Model	Conquest
Engine Location	Front
Drive Type	Rear Wheel
Body / Chassis	Fiberglass
Combined MPG	0.00

Engine
Engine Builder	Oldsmobile
Engine Configuration	V
Cylinders	8
Aspiration/Induction	Normal
Displacement	455.00 CU IN. \| 7457.5 cc. \| 7.5 L.
Horsepower	360.00 BHP (265 KW)
Torque	490.00 Ft-Lbs (664.4 NM)
HP / Liter	48.0 BHP / Liter
Fuel Type	Gasoline - Petrol
Fuel Feed	Carburetor

Standard Transmission
Gears	4
Transmission	Manual

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1957 LaDawri Conquest