1955 Cooper T39

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 was 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 Dan Vaughan

Sports Racer
Chassis number: CS/50/55

During the years of 1954 through 1957 the Cooper Car Company in Surbiton, England designed and constructed a new series of rear-engine sports racers designated the 'Cooper Bobtail.' The early cars (Type 39 of 1954 and 1955) were equipped with alloy bodies and Coventry Climax FWA (1100cc) engines. These cars shared some components with the early Formula III cars, such as the 15-inch artillery style wheel with integral brake drums, cross leaf springs suspension, and driver seated on the centerline. Other advance features included the radiator air exiting from the top of the car as well as the bottom and the body with a chopped tail. These features contributed to the high-speed stability of the design. Later the cars were equipped with Coventry Climax FWB (1500cc) engines and one was built with a 2-liter Bristol engine.

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.