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1955 Cooper T39 news, pictures, and information | ||
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 |  |  | Sports Racer Chassis Num: CS/50/55 |
The chassis was strong and light lending racers to modify cars with various engines, including Volvo, light-weight V8s, Porsche, and Corvair. Since the car was a center-seater some cars were modified to open wheel racecars. One of the more famous modified cars was Peter Lovely's 'Pooper.' The original build records were lost and some of the cars were modified therefore, there is not a good count of the total number of Bobtails constructed. The Bobtails were driven by famous drivers of the likes of Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori, Jack Brabham, Lance Reventlow, Carroll Smith, Bill Watkins, and many others.
During 1959, this car was driven in several SCCA events by Carroll Smith. At the time he was severing as an NROTC instructor at the University of Texas. Carroll Smith would have a distinguished career racing in Europe and then became team manager for Carroll Shelby's LeMans winning race teams.
Charles and John Cooper had built a successful company based around their 500cc Formula 3 racers, when they introduced the Cooper T39 'Bobtail' 1100cc racer in the mid 1950s. The T-39 Cooper cars were creative and employed aerodynamic principles to minimize drag. The overall weight of the vehicles were extremely low, giving the Climax FeatherWeightAutomotive (FWA) engine as much support as possible, as the powerplant produced around 75 horsepower. Adding to its performance characteristics was its mid-engine layout and adding to its appeal was its relatively low price tag.
The cars had a tubular chassis with the driver positioned in the center of the car. The suspension was comprised of a transverse leaf springs setup with a tubular lower wishbone. The gearbox was a Citroen front-wheel drive unit that was turned around and fitted with special 4-speed close-ratio gears and shafts. Drive was to the rear wheels.
The bodies were round and had a cut-off tail with a concave rear panel. This lead to nicknames 'Manx-Tail' and 'Bob-Tail.' The car had a wrap-around windscreen, a two-piece drop-down door, and a 8 gallon fuel tank mounted right behind the front wheel. For longer races, a larger fuel tank could be fitted, holding up to 14 gallons of fuel.
In 1955, the factory Bob-Tail T-39 made its racing debut at Goodwood in the hands of Ivor Bued, who drove it to a third place finish. Jim Russell drove a second T-39 factory car. In total, between 30 - 50 examples of the Bobtail were produced, including the 1956 and 1957 cars.
By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2009
The cars had a tubular chassis with the driver positioned in the center of the car. The suspension was comprised of a transverse leaf springs setup with a tubular lower wishbone. The gearbox was a Citroen front-wheel drive unit that was turned around and fitted with special 4-speed close-ratio gears and shafts. Drive was to the rear wheels.
The bodies were round and had a cut-off tail with a concave rear panel. This lead to nicknames 'Manx-Tail' and 'Bob-Tail.' The car had a wrap-around windscreen, a two-piece drop-down door, and a 8 gallon fuel tank mounted right behind the front wheel. For longer races, a larger fuel tank could be fitted, holding up to 14 gallons of fuel.
In 1955, the factory Bob-Tail T-39 made its racing debut at Goodwood in the hands of Ivor Bued, who drove it to a third place finish. Jim Russell drove a second T-39 factory car. In total, between 30 - 50 examples of the Bobtail were produced, including the 1956 and 1957 cars.
By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2009
| Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival Celebrates Corvette'S 60 Years At Sonoma Raceway | |
 | • Fast cars, fine food and wine highlight May 18-19 weekend • Paul Reinhart is honored guest, popular racing seminar scheduled for second year SONOMA, Calif. (April 27, 2013) - The Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival returns to Sonoma Raceway on May 18-19 for the fourth straight year under that title. The program for the 27th annual historic-car event organized by General Racing Ltd. in Sonoma will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the popular Corvette, created by the ...[Read more...] |
| The WeatherTech® CHICAGO REGION SCCA JUNE SPRINTS® | |
 | Winning the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) June Sprints at Road America has been every sports car driver's dream since the thrilling first event in 1956. That's when a tall, curly-haired chicken farmer from Texas named Carroll Shelby drove all night to make the race, jumped into the cockpit of a Ferrari 121 LM without even changing out of his work clothes - striped farmer's overalls - and won the 152-mile feature. No one back then knew that his win would set the tone for his momentous racing ...[Read more...] |
| Aston Martin remembers 1959 Le Mans-winners Shelby and Salvadori | |
 | Following the news of Carroll Shelby's passing last month, Aston Martin was further saddened to learn of Roy Salvadori's death on Sunday (3 June) at the age of 90. The pair famously drove the Aston Martin DBR1 to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 and to celebrate their contribution to the marque's heritage, Aston Martin is releasing images of the pair in race action. Salvadori, from Essex, Great Britain, made his Formula 1 debut in 1952 and went on to race in 50 Grands Prix, achievi...[Read more...] |
| Aston Martin Racing Targets 24 Hours of Le Mans Podium | |
 | Continuing its successful return to production-derived GT motorsport Aston Martin Racing will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans next week (16/17 June) with two Aston Martin Vantage GTEs, and it has its sights firmly set on podium finishes in both the GTE Pro and GTE Am classes. The lead Vantage GTE – entered into the GTE Pro category – will be piloted by works drivers Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mücke (D) and Adrian Fernandez (MX), while Aston Martin Racing's long-established partner team Young...[Read more...] |
| Carroll Shelby, Ford Family for More Than Half a Century | |
 | Carroll Shelby was a member of the Ford family for the better part of 60 years, producing stunning performance vehicles from concepts to production models. He once said his energy and passion for performance products were always strongest when he was working with Ford. Shelby most recently collaborated with the company on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang, the most powerful production V8 in the world. Working with SVT engineers at Sebring and the Arizona Proving Grounds, at times he drov...[Read more...] |
 1955
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