Information on Cad-Darrin raced by Laura Maxine Elmer

[joefrazer]

Look closely at the storefront picture and you'll see what appears to be an f-head engine with two side draft carbs fitted.

[Terry T]

Mel,

You misunderstood my post--I said post-production.  By that I meant cars that were not those completed in the production process, thus not any of the 435.
You are talking about #368, i.e., a "production" unit.

To restate for clarity, the family states that Dutch put only 1 Caddy V8 in any of the cars that he "dug out of the snow".

To date, not one claims to have seen it.

[Mel Francis]

It was my understanding, almost 30 years ago, that the number of cars traded to Darrin to settle his design fee, then transported to California were all unsold production units. These vehicles may not even bear consecutive serial numbers, since they probably took the easiest to dig out vehicles at the ends of two or three rows.

Unfinished, post-production cars would have been no use to Darrin, since he wanted to be able to sell the vehicles directly to the public and gain the full new-car value for his own financial survival.

If Darrin's family says he only installed one Cadillac engine in a Darrin, then this may well be it. This particular car has a very long history with this engine in place and the chassis definitely showed signs of having been raced early in its life. In that one cobbled installation, I think they discovered how difficult it actually was and decided not to build any others with Cadillac engines. Darrin's crew were autobody craftsmen, but not hot-rod chassis builders.

They may have installed other V8s, since I heard the rumor at the time, of an Oldsmobile or Pontiac V8 engine installation, but they still would have had to deal with the height of the steering box. Have any of those shown up? The photo above in this thread, shows a car claimed to have a V8.

[joefrazer]

Fifteen years ago I bought Darrin #30. Shortly after my purchase I was contacted by a fellow who obtained a Darrin in trade for moving a grand piano. It turned out that the Darrin was originally only about a half mile from my house. The new owner wasn't much further away and was looking for information on the car so I stopped by for a visit. I was astonished to find the car equipped with a V8 engine.

The car, at that time, had a late 50s Chev small block Corvette engine in it that was mated to a standard transmission. What really caught my eye was the engine sitting next to the car. The owner said it was in the car but was stuck so the previous owner swapped it for the Corvette engine. It was a Cadillac V8 and attached to it was a LaSalle short throw three speed. Unfortunately, I didn't get the numbers off the car but I do have a rather poor picture of it. I don't think the car started out life painted red.

The owner did not want to sell the car - he said he was going to restore it for his daughter. I learned a few years later that he had sold it.

I'm not saying this is the fabled V8 Darrin, but it is an amazing coincidence.

[Mel Francis]

Perhaps what's needed is a Darrin V8 Registry.
Might be a short list, but it would contain the vehicles that currently have V8s installed, along with their serial numbers.
These are all very special cars in their own right, because they bring out the higher performance potential of the Darrin design,
no matter which engine is installed.

[r1lark]

Unfortunately, I didn't get the numbers off the car but I do have a rather poor picture of it.

Joe, I can't get the picture to enlarge. Is it a problem with my computer, or is the picture really tiny?   

[Mel Francis]

The text a the bottom of the photo indicates it's a thumbnail. If it's clicked-on back at the source, it might reveal the larger shot. I had the same problem.

[Gordie]

I sold a Darrin about twenty years ago to a fellow in Denver who claimed that he had about eight of them.  I sold him two Glasspars with hard tops at the same time.  I don't know if he is still around but someone must know about that many Darrin's in one collection.  My car number is in the Darrin Registry and it had an Olds Rocket engine in it but I don't remember what year V-8 it had.  The conversion was done probably twenty years before I purchased the car.  Dutch advertised his car for sale for a long time before he sold it and I am sure that he only converted that one car.

[joefrazer]

It is a small picture. I have a hard copy and will locate and scan it.

[Mel Francis]

I wanted to rename this thread, due to facts discovered on this forum. Thanks, guys!

It's apparent now, that while Laura Maxine Elmer raced the car at the March 1955 Palm Springs event, she never actually owned the car, as mentioned by DTort, above. Howard Darrin simply asked her to drive it, as she was already a successful driver, having won the women's race at this track a year earlier, in a Jaguar 120.

After the '55 race, it was taken back to Darrin's studio on Sunset Blvd. and remained on display as an example and was eventually sold, after quite some time, as Gordie stated in a reply above. I had long wondered, if this car was hers, why it fell into such disrepair, being stored outside, etc. Whomever bought the car from Darrin must have paid much less for it and didn't give it the garage storage it deserved.

Thanks so much for this information. Steve Karlock and I discussed some of the car's history as I worked on the restoration almost 30 years ago and while he did attempt to speak with Darrin family members at the time, they seemed unwilling to supply any further details. This is all making sense, now!

Time heals all wounds and Howard Darrin would now be very pleased to see how revered the production Darrins and the special V8 version have become, with these other cars converted over the years!

[DTort96646]

  Jake, Isn't that a photo of Lee Abrahams' V8 Darrin with a 502 crate engine?

[Gordie]

I sold a Darrin about twenty years ago to a fellow in Denver who claimed that he had about eight of them.  I sold him two Glasspars with hard tops at the same time.  I don't know if he is still around but someone must know about that many Darrin's in one collection.  My car number is in the Darrin Registry and it had an Olds Rocket engine in it but I don't remember what year V-8 it had.  The conversion was done probably twenty years before I purchased the car.  Dutch advertised his car for sale for a long time before he sold it and I am sure that he only converted that one car.

He just sold all of them but one... I might have a picture of the  Olds Rocket engine.. Was the front end modified???

It was stock looking and an un-restored car.   I have a picture of it somewhere and will try to find it.  It was a Los Angeles car most of its life.