davintosh

A while back I wrote a spot about the MI Speedball, a home-built car based on a set of plans published in a 1959 Mechanix Illustrated magazine. Recently, Jalopnik posted an article about a vintage MI Speedball that showed up on an eBay auction. The auction ended on Nov. 30, apparently unsold because the highest bid of $22,456.00 didn’t hit the seller’s magic reserve figure.

The car was originally built back in 1959 by a California boat builder, using suspension parts & wheels from an early-’50’s Citroen 2CV. And it’s powered by an oddball 1952 Ariel Square-Four motorcycle engine. Kind of like a pair of two-cylinder motors stuck together in a square arrangement (here’s a video of one running.) So very cool; makes me wonder how it would look and perform if it was built with suspension bits & wheels from, say a late-’90’s BMW 3-series, and a 4-cylinder from a Civic with a 5-speed in the back. Considering the motor in the 1959 version that scooted it around pretty well with it’s 60 HP, the Honda powerplant would be pretty insane. I’m sure you’d need something more than 2×4’s to hold it all together though.

The best part of the eBay auction page is the photos; I was impressed by the original concept and article, but it is so cool to see hi-res color photos of the machine. If only I had a little more disposable income, a little more spare time, a spare garage stall, and a wife tolerant of such foolery, I’d be showing off photos of my own Speedball. Yeah; if only.

So in lieu of that, here are the photos and copy, lovingly ripped off from that auction. Just don’t drool on your keyboard too much. Oh, and the seller is the Saint Louis Car Museum; they have this car and many others in their inventory available for sale.

Year: 1952 Make: Ariel Custom Model: Wood Car VIN: TM1268 Mileage: —– Engine: Ariel Square Four

Cylinders: 4 Cylinder Transmission: 4 Speed Title: Clear / MO Color: Wood Interior Color: Red

DESCRIPTION: A truly One of a Kind work of automotive art! Built by a west coast boat builder in 1959, this awesome wood car will complete any collection. The story behind the car is that the builder wanted a unique hotrod, one that reflected his superior woodworking skills along with his knowledge and love for boats. He started by building a wood body modeled after a Modern Mechanics Magazine article, then he sourced out an ultra rare 1952 Ariel Square Four motorcycle engine and transmission for the power. The suspension was taken from a Citroen of the era, and rest was all hand fabricated. Many parts are period correct new car pieces, the taillights are Cadillac, the headlights are generic part store replacements, and the fuel cell is a California Speed shop special. Driving this car is an experience only a lucky few will ever have. Starting the engine is easy, just turn the key. The pedals are like that of a normal car, the shifter is a sequential 4 speed, braking is done by four wheel hydraulic drum brakes. The real fun is cruising around town and seeing the looks on people’s faces, accelerating thru the gears is exhilarating, but the car stays stable while doing so. The exhaust note is fantastic due to the hand built side exit pipes. Proper running lights for legal street driving where installed when the car was built, however comforts like climate control are absent. After building and driving the vehicle for a short time the builder put the car in storage, and later sold the car to a Nevada Collector. The car remained in the care of that collector until it was purchased by a friend of the museum during a Rare Motorcycle hunting trip to Vegas, shortly after the car was transported to St. Louis it was sold to the Museum. It is important to note the original condition of the vehicle, the high build quality and excellent care the car has received over the years has preserved it very well, a piece of Americana from a similar time of innovation and individual creativity. The car does have a clear Missouri title as a 1952 Ariel and carries the VIN from the motorcycles engine. Please do not hesitate to contact us about this rare opportunity to purchase this spectacular motorcar. If nothing else it is truly fun to show your friends the new piece of art you just acquired. IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR POTENTIAL BUYERS: In an effort to protect the eBay user information and to help ensure the authenticity of correspondence between St. Louis Car Museum and its bidders, eBay’s new listing format does NOT display any bidder information. Nevertheless, we STRONGLY encourage bidders to contact us directly to answer questions or to verify correspondence. All of our vehicles are advertised locally and nationally using a variety of formats and often sell before the end of eBay listings. To secure a vehicle, please contact us.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 at 12:53 am and is filed under Cars!, Old Things. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.