1950 HWM Stovebolt Special

This HWM (Hersham & Walton Motors ) race car began life as a four-cylinder ALTA engine and competed in Formula 2 competition. Stirling Moss drove this car at the start of his career. After its Formula 2 career, the car was sold to 20th Century Fox and used in the film The Racers. During filming, the car crashed. Tom Carsten purchased the wreck and installed a Chevrolet V8 small-block engine. The engine was tuned at Vic Edelbrock's shop where Bobby Meeks modified the engine, resulting in a displacement size of nearly five liters. It was fitted with JE pistons, a modified cam, and several other modifications. After the engine work was completed, it was installed in the HWM chassis by Eddie Kuzma. The large engine required the firewall to be moved back and new bodywork to be fabricated. Next, Ted Hallibrand's shop installed a quick-change rear axle along with disc brakes.

After the work was completed, it was brought to the 1956 Pebble Beach Road Racers where it was piloted by Bill Pollack. The car showed tremendous promise but was prematurely sidelined after experiencing differential failure.

In 2003, the car was put on display at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2015