Hi Gang…
This is another in a series of articles on the 1949 Edwards R26 sports car. You can review all stories about this and other Edwards sports cars here on Forgotten Fiberglass by clicking here.
I’ve been focusing on the Sterling Edwards 1949 R26 sports car of late because it influenced expectations across America concerning the promise and design of this new category of cars in the immediate postwar era. Another reason for covering this now is that the car (the Edwards R26 with its original body but on a completely different chassis) is coming up for auction in November 2011. Click here to read more about the car and the auction near Chicago, Illinois.
As I’ve said before, it’s an exciting time to learn about these early postwar American sports cars, so let’s take a look at the pictures that have been prepped for the upcoming auction in November 2011.
1949 Edwards R-26 / R26 Auction Pictures
The car being auctioned in Chicago is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic bidder. However, it’s not an original intact car. As Phil Remington related to me in a recent interview, the body was taken off the original chassis circa 1952 and shipped to Sterling Edwards’ friend Hamil Reidy of Chicago. It’s not known if Lee Hartung obtained the car from the Reidy family, but future research should reveal that fact – or not.
It appears that Reidy had the car placed on a Henry J chassis – which makes sense at the time because Remington was building a new race car on the same chassis for Edwards. Future research should reveal if the newly re-chassised R-26 body saw any new race history from late ’52 or ’53 on.
The car is still a significant piece for an astute collector of early American specials for all the reasons I’ve outlined previously. Let’s have a look at the pictures:
Summary:
So….if any of you are up there at the auction in early November, be sure to take several pictures of the car and send our way. What a wonderful car this will make for an excited new owner.
Hope you enjoyed the story, and until next time…
Glass on gang…
Geoff
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Click on the Images Below to View Larger Pictures
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When Lee got the car in 1989, he told me that he’d gotten it from Barbara Reidy, Hamil’s widow. It had a 1964 Illinois plate on the rear at that time. He sent me a copy of a photo of it being raced that was labeled Babs’ Bomb. He mentioned that he had it running and driving soon after he got it.
Interesting design for 1949,but his next one was a classic..
Mel
The engine does not look like a C-type. They had much larger SU carbs and a dual coil ignition setup. Someone would have spotted a C-type head years ago I’m sure.
When I visited with Lee Hartung, a number of years ago, I asked him if there was any possibility that the Jaguar engine in this car might have come from Sterling Edwards C-Type Jag because I knew that Phil Remington had wrecked Sterling’s new C-Type during a shake-down practice run. I didn’t know, at that time, that the R26 body was sitting on another chassis. In any event, Lee didn’t know if the engine came from Sterling’s C-Type. Sterling purchased another C-Type, on the spot, from another competitor! That little transaction took someone with some deep pockets.