1964 Webster Special Information and History

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Chassis Num: 002
Engine Num: AR215-001

A very unique and special road racing prototype, this car is the second of three built and one of only two remaining today.

The only remaining 4-liter car was built by Marvin Webster of the Webster Gear Company in Mill Valley, California in 1964 for the 1965 USRRC Series for drivers Tony Settember and Ed Leslie. The aluminum-alloy body is one of a kind, hand formed by Jack Hagemann, covering a one-off chassis built by Jerry Eisert. The engine is an aluminum block, aluminum head 255 cubic-inch Oldsmobile V8 with 4-Weber 48 IDA carburetors.

After racing one CanAm event in 1966 and being very under powered, the car was parked until it began its Historic Racing life in the 1980's.

During the 1950s, Marvin Webster was actively involved in racing midgets and quarter midgets. In 1958, his son was crowned the quarter-midget National Champion, a very impressive accomplishment for both father and son. After conquering the quarter midget category, a new racing class was needed to keep his son's interest peaked. Webster turned to Sports Car racing.

In the early 1960s, Webster began work on creating a 2-liter sport car. The car was nearly identical in size to the Lotus 23, a good starting point for which to mimic. The chassis was created from 1.25-inch steel tubing with an additional brace surrounding the cockpit region. Mounted mid-ship was the two-liter Coventry/Climax FPF engine which was mated to a Porsche five-speed gearbox. The space-frame chassis was clothed in an aluminum body which had been specially formed by aerodynamic expert, Bob Herda. The chassis was independent in both the front and rear, comprised of unequal-length A-arms and coil-over Armstrong shocks in the front. The rear had radius bars. Girling calipers and Webster built drilled brake rotors kept the car in the drivers control, and sat inches away from the 13-inch wheels and Goodyear tires.

Keeping in mind weight distribution, the twenty-seven gallon aluminum fuel tank was mounted opposite the driver. The driver sat on the right.

Tony Settember of Formula 1 fame, was given the opportunity to test drive the car and offer suggestions on improvements. Settember offered little advice, as the car was near perfect. Jerry Titus drove the car during a 1964 SCCA ARRC race running the D-Modified class, and emerged the victor. The car even outclassed the larger and more powerful C-Modified Class.

The success of the 1964 race was not repeated at the 1965 USRRC race. Titus drove the car well, but was unable to achieve the prior year's results.

During the 1964 season, Webster had begun work on a new Sports Car, this time using an aluminum Oldsmobile V8 engine. Webster enlisted the services of two individuals to aid with its development. Jerry Eisert was responsible for the space frame chassis while Jack Hagemann created the very attractive, and aerodynamic aluminum body. The mid-mounted Oldsmobile engine featured four Weber 48mm carburetors which produced around 300 horsepower. A ZF five-speed manual gearbox was mated to the engine with disc brakes at all four corners. The entire package weighed around 1250 pounds.

The car made its racing debut mid-way through the 1964 season. It was driven by Ed Leslie and Tony Settember with mixed results. It was entered in CanAm competition the following year, but it was underpowered and had trouble keeping pace. Titus was able to manage a very impressive sixth place finish at Las Vegas in the series.

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Webster: 1961-1970

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