1956 Jomar MKII

History

Morris Saidel of Manchester, New Hampshire, opened the Merrimack Street Garage in 1919 with the intent of selling Hupmobiles. Oldsmobiles were added in the early 1930s. His son, Raymond, took over the dealership when his father passed away in 1950. One of his early ideas was to promote the dealership through racing. He began by racing an HRG, and then switched to an Allard J2X LeMans powered by an Oldsmobile V-8 engine which he installed at his shop.

In 1955, Ray won the SCCA C-Modified Championship for the Northeastern region. This accomplishment further fueled his passion for racing. Having the facilities and knowledge to build an even more competitive race car, he began work on the Jomar race cars. The name 'Jomar' was chosen after Saidel's oldest daughter Joanna and the oldest son, Marc.

Saidel was assigned by Louis Turner and Norman Leeds. Beginning with an English Dellow chassis, the team created a lightweight aluminum body and installed a Ford 1172cc side-valve engine mated to a three-speed gearbox. Two cars were created; one was painted black and the other silver. These two cars became known as the MK1 and did fairly well in competition. It was not long before work began on a replacement.

For the next group of cars - the Jomar MK. II - Saidel used a TVR platform. One 7c chassis was ordered near the close of 1955 and arrived in the US in May of 1956. It arrived at the Merrimack Street Garage in June and came equipped with magnesium drum brakes and five-lug bolt-on rims. A 1100cc Coventry-Climax engine in Stage 1 tune was installed and offered 75 horsepower. Saidel and his team created a hand-formed aluminum roadster which was finished in blue paint. The car was completed by August and immediately put through testing and further development. As would be expected, there were several areas that required attention. Saidel was not satisfied with the brakes and suspension. After several races resulting in DNF's, Saidel contacted TVR and requested the front suspension be reworked before additional chassis were ordered. While Saidel and his team continued to work on the MKII, the MKI was brought out of retirement and used for part of the 1957 racing season.

A second MKII chassis was ordered in March 1956 and completed in July. Because of the problems encountered with the first example, TVR performed additional work on the chassis which delayed the shipping for a few months. The chassis arrived at the Merrimack Street Garage in November of 1956. This car came equipped with Alfin drum brakes and a 1100cc Coventry-Climax engine in Stage II tune. This example was given an alloy roadster body and finished in red paint with a white stripe. After completion, the car was sold to Bob Columbosian.

When Saidel's MKII was able to finish the races, it did rather well. At Lime Rock in April 1957, the MKII came in fourth. This was followed by two second-in-class finishes. Unfortunately, at the Virginia International Raceway in August, the car was crashed by Ray Heppenstahl.

Columbosian's car had a rather extensive racing career competing in nearly two dozen events before it was involved in an accident at Lime Rock mid-season in 1958.

Three additional TVR chassis were ordered from TVR. The third example, ordered in September of 1956, was given additional modifications by TVR and completed in February of 1957. It arrived at Saidel's shop in March. This example also had a Stage II 1100cc Coventry-Climax engine and Alfin drum brakes. It wore a nearly identical alloy body to the second chassis, but was painted black. This car was raced by Saidel with much success. Many of the problems encountered with the first chassis had been worked out, allowing this car to compete in over 45 events between May 1957 and September 1958.

The fourth MKII was ordered in February of 1958 and arrived at Saidels facility a few months later. The last example was ordered in April but took a long time to arrive at Saidels shop. It was ordered with a Shorrock supercharger attached to the 1500cc Climax engine. There were problems with the supercharger, which delayed delivery for nearly two years. It arrived in February of 1959, but by this point in history, the shop was busy working on other projects and did not have the time to create the bodywork. The bodywork from the third MKII was removed and installed on this final MKII. It raced on several occasions with its most successful outing resulting in a first-in-class and second-overall at Thompson at a Northeastern SCCA regional event in October of 1959.

The five Jomar MKII chassis were followed by the Jomar MKIII, of which two examples were built during the 1957 and 1958 seasons. The first example was ordered in March and arrived at Saidel's garage in February of 1957. It came equipped with a Stage II 1100cc Climax engine and Alfin drums at all four corners. The MKIII models had a close-ratio gearbox, an independent rear suspension, and a TVR 7c space frame chassis. They were given sleek, aerodynamic, lightweight aluminum bodywork with wheel humps and an egg-crate grille in the front. The first example completed was painted black with a white stripe with a red border, in a similar fashion to the third MKII chassis. It was sold in February of 1958 to the Foreign Motors Division of Seaman Bearing Company. The car competed at Riverside in March followed by Palm springs a month later. It then raced at Phoenix and then Laguna Seca.

By 1961, the car had been painted white. It was later purchased Seaman's manager, Curly Brayer. Unfortunately, the car was destroyed after catching fire. It was later rebuilt and traded to a car dealership in Las Vegas.

The second Jomar MKIII chassis was ordered in July of 1958 and arrived at Saidel's shop in November of 1958. The car had a 1100cc Climax engine fitted with a Shorrock supercharger. The aluminum coachwork was finished in Saidel's team colors of black with a white stripe and red border. During a race at the Daytona 1000 km, it was sidelined due to a broken fuel pump. After repairs, the car returned to action and Saidel was able to drive it to a sixth overall finish.

During the 1960s, the Climax engine was removed and given an aluminum Oldsmobile V-8. It was later sold to Roger Jackson, who later sold it to Scott Woodman, and then to Harry Parkinson. By the early 1960s, the car had been fitted with a 215 Aluminum Buick powerplant.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2013