Hi Gang…
The 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was quite an event. Three different American Specials in three different classes which included a 1959 Devin “D” sports car, the one-off “1952 Voodoo Gardner Special” and today’s story – a 1958 Victress S1A sports car.
Click Here To View All Stories on the Specials Shown at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
Let’s check out some photos of their Victress at Amelia and we’ll begin by sharing the history of it as posted on the Amelia signage for the car.
The Story on the Sign:
To make it easier to read, the copy of the sign appears below.
“The Victress Manufacturing Company of North Hollywood, California produced several different kit car bodies from 1952 through 1961. A wind tunnel was used to form the very aerodynamic shape of the S1A. A Chrysler-powered example was driven to 203.105 mph in August, 1953 at Bonneville, resulting in the company’s marketing phrase “Victress – World’s Fastest Sports Car.”
The S1A body was designed to fit on a variety of chassis, so no two are alike. This car is built on a C-1 Corvette RPO (Regular Production Option) 687 big brake chassis. The engine is a small-block Chevrolet, the recommended power for the Victress. Displacement has been increased to 333 cubic inches and it sports a Vertex magneto, six Stromberg carburetors and a manual Chevrolet transmission.
Restoration was completed in 2019. This is the first time the car has been shown or displayed.”
On The Field: 1958 Victress S1A
Let’s take a look at some photos.
Summary:
What a beautiful restoration that Jim Weddle and his team completed. Great job guys! The attention to detail is superb and the dashboard “Victress” emblem looks perfect. Nicely done.
We look forward to future Victress specials being completed and shown on the lawn of concours and car shows across the country and will keep you posted with what we and our Undiscovered Classics brethren see across the continents.
Hope you enjoyed the story, and remember…
The adventure continues here at Undiscovered Classics.
Geoff
Thank you Chad, now I understand what’s happening.
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Yes sir that is the one
Then you did it right for this car. Nice job! The whole engine compartment looks really good. I notice you have no clamp on the top radiator hose at the radiator. And there must be an electric fan on the radiator? I didn’t know a Victress hit 203 at Bonneville. That is impressive and adds a lot to the history of these cars.
Yes sir that was a 98% completed engine compartment its missing clamps and throttle rod very observant of you the engine made 475hp@6000 and 400ftlbs@4200 super streetable starts right up and stays cool(so far)
The Bonneville Victress ran a Ray Brown built 353 cid Chrysler Hemi. Car was restored for display prior to its 50th anniversary. Google “Mabee Special”, or “Mabee Bonneville”.
Where else was this car or an optioned special like this raced?
Max Day also raced a Victress
Is there a date on the front or the aluminum overflow tank? What date was this car produced? Where was the frame and RPO 687 purchased or built?
No date ordered on overflow tank. This car was just completed i believe it was never on road prior ( no tail lights guages ect.) And i purchased chassis in michigan its an original big brake 1 of 221?
I cut about 4 inches length out of frame to get the wheelbase i needed for body
No sir amelia 2020 was its first outing THANK YOU very much for the compliment. Jim really wanted to stay as period as possible minus a few safety items
This is my favorite S1A! Love the detailing, the wheels, everything. Period-perfect and beautiful.
Is this the car that was at Palo Alto in 2010? Congratulations on a terrific build.
Hi Scott. Thanks for the explanation. Takes a bit of understanding but eventually I got it.
This Victress is quite a beautiful example.
You actually see a car with 12 venturis as each carb has 2. Typically in a 6 carb setup for the street the two center carbs act as primary and the 4 outside as secondary. For racing they would all 6 be primary. These manifolds distribute the flow from the 2 center carbs fairly equally to all 8 cylinders. When all 6 carbs are fully open, all 8 cylinders are still fed equally.
SBC engines typically have one carb with 4 venturis. Hot rodders like two carbs, three carbs, four carbs or sometimes 6 carbs. You can see eight individual velocity stacks on some setups with 4 carbs (two venturis on each carb). Lots of variety out there.
No progressive linkage here! idles on all 6 (2 barrels)
Please excuse my ignorance but if that’s a Chev V8 engine why and how, does it only have 6 venturis feeding 8 cylinders?
Do you mean 6 carbs Because each of those carbs stromberg 97 has 2 venturis or 2 barrels flowing 125 CFM ea thats 750 cfm to a 283