1955 Victress S4

Glass fibers have been produced for centuries, but an accidental discovery in 1932 led to mass production of glass strands, and in 1936, Owens Corning patented 'Fiberglas' (spelled with one 's'). The product was initially a glass wool with fibers, and became popular as an insulator. Later in 1936, resin was combined with fiberglass and plastic to produce a composite material. This material was strong and lightweight and soon was being used for a variety of purposes, including aircraft and boat production. The first automobile to be clothed with a fiberglass body was a 1946 prototype of the Stout Scarab. After World War II, fiberglass became popular with the American sports car scene and was used by seldomly remembered manufacturers such as Devin, Meteor, Kurtis, LaDawri, WIldfire, Glasspar, Tiburon, and Allied. Even Chevrolet used the material for its Corvette sports car.

The common approach to creating fiberglass bodies was to begin with a shape created out of plaster. The process was time consuming and messy, having to wait for the plaster to dry before adding or removing plaster as needed. Other traditional coachbuilding techniques used a wooden 'buck' (or 'template') upon which a metal body was painstakingly and expertly hand-formed. Modeling clay (Chavant) was a popular method of creating full-size designs, as it was a malleable and non-drying material.

Modeling clay was expensive and difficult to obtain in large quantities, yet this did not stop Victress Manufacturing when it designed the S4. The Southern California-based body maker was founded in 1951 by Merrill Powell and former UCLA engineering student William 'Doc' Boyce-Smith. Power was the company's chief of design, and Boyce-Smith had experience and expertise with fiberglass construction. Bill Powel (of no relation to Merrill) was the company's production manager. The company prospered for many years, building automobile bodies of various sizes and for various purposes, but by 1961, it had been awarded many government contracts and had moved away from the sports car business. They sold their interests to LaDawri.

The shape was attractive and elegant, and perhaps inspired by Aston Martins of the same era. The grille structure, hood scoop, and side vents share more than just a passing resemblance. In regards to other Victress design, the S4 was unique, with delicate use of chrome along the bottom side, forward-sloping rear lights, and rearward-sloping front lights.

The Victres S4 used headlights from a 1953 Studebaker, a windshield from a 1953 Ford convertible, and taillights from a 1952 Willys. The wheelbase ranged from 112 to 118 inches, and the overlength was 187 inches. The various wheelbase sizes allowed the Victress S4 to be mounted on various vehicles (including Ford, Chevrolet, Plymouth, etc. - per a period advertisement). While most sports cars of the era had around a 99-inch wheelbase size, the S4 was much more generous and intended to give its occupants for space and comfort. Rather than an 'all out' sports car, it leaned more in the direction of a Boulevard Cruiser.

The S4 was the second body created by Victress - the first being their S1 and S1A which had been introduced in 1952. It had an attractive price of just $695 F.O.B. History has not recorded how many S4 'kit bodies' were produced, but it was not a significant amount.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2024