1967 Bobsy SR4

The Bobbsey Twins were characters in a long-running series of American children's novels. The first volume originated in 1904 written by Edward Stratemeyer. Jerry Mong was a car builder and fabricator who worked in his Medina, Ohio race shop. He built a pair of identical cars for himself and the Heir brothers, earning the nickname 'Bobsy twins.' These early cars built in the late 1950s were called the Bobsy SR1 and completed in the H-Modified class. These were followed by the SR2 which raced in the G-Modified class due to their bigger Holbay-tuned Ford 105E 1100cc engine. The engine was easily removed and could be replaced with a 1500cc engine, making it eligible for F-Modified Class. Several modifications were made, resulting in the SR3. Roughly fifty examples of the SR3 were produced during the mid-to-late 1960s. In 1970, a one-off car was built and dubbed the SR4. It had an aluminum tube frame, an independent suspension setup, a fiberglass body, disc brakes, a Hewland gearbox, and a Lotus twin-cam engine. It is believed that a second SR4 was built, but only in chassis form and never as a complete car.

This SR4 is currently powered by a 1600cc dry sump Ford Kent engine fitted with twin Weber carburetors and mated to a Hewland MK9 5-speed gearbox.

The SR4 was purchased from Mong by Nichols/Valia and raced in SCCA competition. In 1979, it was sold to Gordon Pari who raced it for several years. It was later given a restoration. The current owner has continued to add to its racing resume.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2019