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1957 Halliday Renault Special
Body Design Influences
Design of Halliday Special
The body is based on an envelope body and is of original design – unknown designer.
Design of Body
Styling cues for the body were taken from the era which include:
1955 Cooper Climax T39 (Joel Driskill)
1956 Renault Dauphine (introduced in 1956 in Europe) (Guy Dirkin)
If styling is derived from 1956 Dauphine, this would be similar to the design of the 1954 MG-Based Flying Shingle where Ken Miles designed the car with elements of (front end) the newly introduced MG TF sports car.
Design of Mold
The mold appears to be identical for the front and back of the car with the back having a longer cowl area to reach the dashboard – it is longer than the rear section.
Rear Design – Spare Tire or Exhaust Exit?
The mold appears to be identical for the front and back of the car with the back having a longer cowl area to reach the dashboard – it is longer than the rear section.
Joel Driskill, 6/20/2024: I do believe that hump was for the spare tire originally. The thought (In the 1950s at least) was that it would act as a roll bar. Actual roll bars were mandated by the SCCA in 1958. My guess is when that change happened in 58, they removed the hump and then layed the tire flat. I don’t have the picture I took when I saw the car last year but there was further evidence of that.