1956 Nichols Special

This 1950s racing special is known as the Nichols Special and the Fairchild Panhard Special. The chassis was designed and built by Perry Peron, and the fiberglass body was designed by Murray Nichols. A replacement body by Jim Byers was later fitted. The two-cylinder, Panhard, four-stroke engine had a fuel-injection system built by Jerry Fairchild.

The lightweight construction and small engine gave the car a relatively low weight of just 985 pounds, of which 60 percent of the weight is over the front axle. The car measured just 32 inches high and had a wheelbase of 84 inches.

This front-wheel-drive Special was raced by Perry Peron with much success during the 1950s. The car was raced by Dr. Bill Molle years later, mostly on the West Coast. In his hands, the car won the California Sports Car Club Pacific Coast H-Modified Championship in 1958. He would earn a second-in-class in 1959 in the MotoRacing's Pacific Coast Championship.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2009