1938 Dreyer SCOPA Special

'Number 33' was originally built over the winter of 1937 - 38 by Floyd 'Pop' Dreyer of Indianapolis. Dreyer, a member of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, has received credit for feats ranging from the invention of the mag wheel to introducing Honda motorcycles east of the Mississippi River. He was certainly one of the most prolific and innovative race-car builders of the 1930s.

Dreyer built this car for stunt driver Lucky Teter, who ran the Hell Drivers Auto Thrill Show as well as a race team. He installed a Model B engine with a McDowell overhead cam head and registered the car in 1938 as the 'Lucky Teter Special.' When one of his drivers defected, Teter sold the car to Joe Scopa of Princeton, NJ. Scopa renamed and numbered the car and campaigned it with Hank Rogers, Sr. behind the wheel.

Racing was suspended during World War II. In 1946 the Dreyer was involved in a memorable accident at Williams Grove Speedway. Hit from behind in the 30-lap feature, the Dreyer dragged the Number 44 Riley car about 100 feet before untangling and flinging the Riley into the outside wall. Miraculously, neither driver was hurt. Frank Smith's photo of the Number 33 carrying the Number 44 appeared in the initial issue of Speed Age.

The car then went through a series of new owners and numerous modifications. First it received chrome bumpers, new paint, and the number '8.' Inn 1954 it was streamlined with a new Hillegass nose. A Dodge Red Ram Hemi V8 replaced the tired Ford four-cylinder in 1956; then a new Hillegass tail was installed after an accident at Nazareth. By 1958 the Dodge engine and Hillegass body parts had been transferred to a brand new tube frame, essentially creating a new car.

In 1985 Fred Sherk uncovered the original Dreyer tail, nose, and wheels in Trenton, NJ. Eventually, Fred and his father, race car restorer, Wilfred C. Sherk, hunted down the original McDowell engine, frame parts, front end, and steering and reassembled the original car, restoring it to its 1939-1947 appearance.

Source - AACA Museum