1952 Schaghticoke Manning Special

The original Manning Special was designed, constructed, and raced by Chuck Manning, a stress analyst at Douglas Aircraft. Its most successful season was 1952 when it was a front-runner in all West Coast events. The Manning Special was a truly innovative design in its day. It was one of the first to achieve low weight, a stiff chassis, and to develop good handling characteristics. Chuck made no cars for sale, but as he developed his project, he published design details in Road & Track, and he sold plans to others. Several cars were built, but few were completed in time to keep up with developing technology.

When the owner came to the US as an engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he worked with Wally Chapman to complete the car. In time, he moved to Canada, and as circumstances did not allow Wally to race, he bought the car and entered it in events in Quebec and upstate New York during the late 1950s. In 1958 the car was the invited Canadian entry in the Bahamas Speed Week. However, they lost the tow car in Georgia and never made it to the Bahamas. The car was sold and was almost immediately destroyed on a .25-mile local dirt track. Some of the special engine and speed equipment was salvaged and saved.

Years ago, the present owner acquired these few remaining parts and still had Chuck Manning's original blueprints. From these, the Schaghticoke Manning Special was faithfully reconstructed by John Buddenbaum. In 1991, the restored car made its debut at the Monterey Historics and now runs in West Coast Historic events.