1958 Dick Williams Special

William (Dick) Williams was born in 1934 and graduated from high school in the early 1950s, during a tremendous era of automotive creativity, customization, and hot rodding. Dick Williams, living in California, was in the heart of the fiberglass sports car revolution and was eager to learn and experiment. His dreams were put on hold when he was drafted to serve in the Korean War from 1953. He returned to Santa Cruz, CA in 1955 and purchased a new 1955 Plymouth. This was followed by a decision to go to the Central Technical Institute in Kansas City, Missouri to learn about electronics. His dream to build a custom was again delayed as he finished his degree from 1955 through 1957. When he finished school, he got married and got a job at Western Electric. His first daughter was born in March 1958. A short time later he made the decision to build his own car in preparation for the Kansas City Custom Car Show for 1959.

His initial designs were inspired by the Chevy Corvette, Ferraris, Maseratis, and Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. In the back, the design flowed smoothly in a similar fashion to a '57 Chevrolet. The design had a low-slung setup with a large oval intake in the front. There were recessed headlights, side scoops, pleated interior panels, a machine-turned dashboard, and an eight-ball shifter. He later added the futuristic fins to the rear of the car.

The body was built by Williams using fiberglass. The donor car was a 1950 Ford that featured independent suspension in the front. Power was from a Ford flathead V8 engine. Most of the work was done by Williams, but he did receive some help from Glenn Birrin and Norbert Borth.

In the 1960s, Norbert moved to Memphis, Tennessee. A Chevrolet 289 motor was installed and went racing. It was later left in an auto repair shop for repair and never picked up. The history of the car, from that point forward, is unknown.

Five decades later, a vehicle was offered for sale in Florida where the owner described it as a Batmobile prototype. John Muller purchased the car in November of 2011 and treated it to an eight-month restoration. The lost car made its restoration debut at the 2012 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2013