Rare Racing Car For Sale: An AC Frua Fastback – Semi Lightweight

The AC Frua was built on the same chassis as the mighty AC Cobra 427 Mark III, though it was stretched by 6 inches to give the car a little more room for a luxurious GT-style interior.

The relationship between Britain’s AC Cars and Carroll Shelby is well-known, they formed a partnership that resulted in the Shelby Cobra, sometimes called the AC Cobra, which became one of the most successful and beloved sports cars of its time.

The AC Frua

The first Cobras had a chassis and body built by AC Cars in Britain and then shipped to the United States for the engine and transmission to be fitted, along with general finishing.

Later Mark III versions of the Cobra used 4″ tubular steel chassis that had been developed in collaboration with Ford, this chassis was built for better rigidity and in order to allow the car to accept Ford’s big block V8s. The new Shelby Cobra 427 was released in 1965 and it got the people over at AC Cars thinking – if they could get access to this new chassis and drivetrain package they could develop their own body for it and release it as their own new grand tourer.

Carroll Shelby was one who famously never missed an opportunity to do a deal, so a deal was done and AC had access to everything they needed for a new GT car that could rival the best coming from Italy and England.

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Above Image: This car has been extensively modified for vintage motorsport events, and it needs a new owner to get it back on track.

The only left to do was to get a body designed and built for the new AC. This part of the car’s history is a little more hazy however we do know that they struck an agreement with Frua in Italy who would both design and build the steel bodies for the new car, hence the final model name: AC Frua.

The design of the car has been compared with the Maserati Mistral which was also penned by Pietro Frua, the similarity is remarkable and the cars were being manufactured at the same time, although the Mistral was designed and released three years prior to the AC Frua.

Interestingly the two cars shared no body panels in common, and the only interchangeable parts are said to be the front quarter windows and door handles.

The process to build each car was complex. The rolling chassis were fabricated by AC Cars in England before being shipped to Italy to have their bodies fitted. One complete they were shipped back for the installation of the drivetrain and finishing.

This process led to exorbitant overhead costs which could only be recouped in the final sales price, and so the car was £5,573 – a remarkable sum for the day particularly when you compare it to the cost of a new Aston Martin DB6 at £4,460 or a new Jaguar E-Type at just £2,225.

When it was first released as a two-seater convertible at the 1965 Earls Court Motor Show the new AC Frua caused a sensation, the combination of Italian, American, and British influences had created a truly multi-national sporting GT car that could keep pace with the best in the world.

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Above Image: This AC Frua is fitted with a highly-modified Ford 427 cubic inch V8 producing a prodigious 580 lb ft of torque.

A year later in 1966 the fastback coupe was released at the Geneva Salon and it proved equally popular. AC would keep the car in production from 1966 until 1973, due to the rather expensive nature of them just 80 would be built, 51 convertibles and 29 coupes.

Customers could order their new car with either the Iron “big block” Ford FE 428 or the higher performance Ford 427 engine (side oiler), these engines produced 345 hp with 474 lb ft or 385 hp with 460 lb ft respectively.

The AC Frua Fastback Shown Here

The AC Frua you see here has been considerably modified for racing, the car has competed extensively in its current trim and it would now suit a new owner who’s going to put some work into it for more racing, or someone who wants to return it back to factory stock.

The staggering list of modifications applied to this car is a thing to behold and I won’t repeat it all here, however you’ll find it all listed on the page linked below. The car is fitted with doors, a boot, and bonnet skin made from aluminum which was all fitted by AC in their Brooklands factory in the 1970s. In the engine bay you’ll find the 427 cubic inch Ford “side oiler”, an engine that was raced extensively in period NASCAR competition.

This engine has been significantly modified for racing, it has a forged-steel cross-drilled crank stroked to displace 8.3 litres (482 cubic inches), cross-bolted main bearing caps and screw in core plugs, solid tappets and aluminium Drove roller rockers, a high-lift camshaft, all fitted with ARP grade eight bolts, and it produces approximately 580 lb ft of torque.

If you’d like to read more about this car or enquire about taking it home you can click here to visit the listing on Car Vault Co. It’s currently listed for £110,000 and it’s still available at the time of writing.

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Images courtesy of Car Vault Co.

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How To Win The Dakar Classic 2021 – The Story Of The Sunhill Buggy

In 2021 for the first time ever there was a classic class in the Dakar Rally – allowing the iconic Paris Dakar vehicles of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to once again take to the start line and battle it out against some of the toughest terrain, and competitors, in the world.

The Dakar Classic runs alongside the Dakar on a parallel course, vehicles do often share the start and finish line, and driver briefings are all done together each morning.

Once of the most unusual vehicles to take part in the inaugural Dakar Classic was the car you see here, it was originally built by Yves Sunhill and his crew in 1978 to take part in the first ever Paris Dakar Rally in 1979.

At the time Frenchman Yves Sunhill was traveling frequently to the United States where he became familiar with the heavily modified VW Beetles being used in off-road racing competition. He likely also saw some of the many Meyers Manx vehicles that were proving almost unstoppable in many desert races – these also shared VW Beetle underpinnings of course.

When Sunhill and his small team set about designing their own new racing buggy to take part in a new kind of desert race from Paris, France to Dakar, Morocco he took the lessons he had learned in the USA and modified them to suit this new race.

Sunhill Buggy was given a custom space frame chassis that offered excellent rigidity and protection for both the driver and co-driver. This was then mated to a modified front and rear end from a VW Beetle, a Beetle gearbox was also used however interestingly they didn’t use a VW engine – instead opting for an engine from a Renault 16.

Above Image: Watch the highlights of the 2021 Dakar including footage of the buggy shown here.

Though this engine choice may seem odd it was likely made for two reasons, firstly they had good access to performance parts and experts for the French engine, and secondly the Renault 16 engine is water-cooled and therefore may have been preferred for racing in the baking temperatures of the North African desert.

The Renault engine was rebuilt by engineers at Alpine specifically for motorsport use, they took the standard 1600cc inline-four and stroked it, a series of other modifications gave it a power output of 160 bhp – a marked increase from the original 61 bhp.

The central section of the car is covered in sheet steel, and the front and rear sections use fiberglass panels which were designed by Sunhill himself. As a designer he carefully developed the car and the seating position to give both the driver and co-driver excellent front and side visibility to better navigate unpredictable terrain.

For the inaugural 1979 Paris Dakar Rally Yves Sunhill set off with Jean-Paul Sevin and made a remarkably promising start. Unfortunately in Niger they suffered a cracked heat exchanger and were forced to retire.

The buggy would stay in Niger in the possession of a French expat resident, and it was shown at a number of events over the years celebrating the history of the race.

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Above Image: It was a tight fit inside the Sunhill Buggy, hundreds of kilometers were covered like this each day.

Many years later the original buggy was acquired by Marc Douton who would drive the car alongside co-driver Emilien Etienne. The buggy was completely stripped and rebuilt in collaboration with Nantes Prestige Auto run by Jeremy Athimon specifically to compete in the 2021 Dakar Classic.

Douton and Etienne are no newcomers to the sport, Douton has been racing off-road since he was 10 and together the two men raced together in a Buggy Baboulin in 2016 before winning the Moroccan VW Africa Trophy in 2017 and 2019.

The buggy needed a complete restoration and a new engine, the frame also needed serious modifications as both the original occupants had been below 165cm in height, but Douton and Etienne are 176cm and 186cm respectively. This required modifying the frame elements under the floor to lower both seats safely, without needing to cut into the overhead sections of the roll cage.

The vehicle is now equipped with a 1,600cc VW Beetle engine that was modified for racing by BR Concept, it now has a swept capacity of 2,110cc and 130 bhp – the engine was built specifically to produce as much torque as possible through the entire rev-range.

Elsewhere the chassis was reinforced for added strength, the suspension was upgraded, and the safety equipment was brought up to 2021 standards.

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Above Image: The Sunhill Buggy was well suited to the terrain, taking 7 of 12 stage wins and winning the overall event.

Both the driver and co-driver were fitted out with sunglasses and goggles by team sponsor Vallon, these were chosen because they fit the retro-theme of the Dakar Classic but they still provide full modern protection.

Back in 1979 Yves Sunhill and Jean-Paul Sevin had shown the potential of this vehicle, and in 2021 Marc Douton and Emilien Etienne would finish the story. They led the race from day one to the podium, winning 7 of the 12 stages, and winning the first Dakar Classic outright in a convincing fashion.

The plans for the future include modifying the buggy with electric motors and either batteries or a fuel cell, they plan to continue racing it extensively so we’ll doubtless be seeing it on the top step of the podium again.

If you’d like to read more about the Dakar Classic you can click here, and if you’d like to see Marc Douton and Emilien Etienne’s profile page you can click here.

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Images courtesy of Dakar®

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Holden Monaro GTS – Australia’s Answer To The Ford Mustang

This is an original, unrestored Holden Monaro GTS, it was Australia’s answer to the onslaught of American muscle cars in the 1960s like the Mustang and the Camaro, and it would arguably become Holden’s most loved car of all time.

The Monaro – Australia’s Pillarless Sports Coupe

The first Holden Monaro was released in 1968 and sold over three model iterations until 1971. The styling was influenced by American V8 coupes like the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, however the Monaro was entirely unique and it quickly became one of the most desirable sports cars in the country.

The elegant design of the Monaro belied its capabilities on track, over the course of the late 1960s and early 1970s Holden Monaros would win a slew of important Australian races and championships including the Hardie-Ferodo 500 (now known as the Bathurst 1000) on two occasions and the 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Interestingly the Monaro didn’t have a name for much of its development, hundreds of names were tossed around and the name “Torana” seemed like the final choice until Noel Bedford, member of Holden’s design team, discovered the name by accident while on a family road trip holiday.

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Above Image: The styling of the Monaro was done 100% in-house at Holden, but it took some inspiration from similarly equipped American cars.

Bedford was driving through the town of Cooma in New South Wales in Australia’s east when he saw a road sign: “It said Monaro County Council in western-type lettering that reminded me of “Marlboro Country” and “Camaro”. It seemed to me so simple and logical. Why didn’t somebody think of it before? I was quite excited and couldn’t wait to get back to work.” – Noel Bedford

After he got back to the office and checked the trademark status of the name Holden held an impromptu board meeting and approved it.

The first generation Monaro would be built in three iterations, the Monaro HK, Monaro HT, and finally the Monaro HG. They all share the same body panels and look indistinguishable to the non-trained eye but there were a slew of changes made underneath and in the engine bay.

Initially you could buy a Monaro with a straight-six under the hood, you could opt for either a 5.0 litre (307 cubic inch) V8 or the top-of-the-line GTS model with a 327 cubic inch small-block Chevrolet V8. At this time Holden engineers were hard at work on their own V8 engine, this new engine was developed 100% in-house and it was intended to become the company’s flagship engine – which it was between 1969 and 2000.

In 1969 you could order your new Monaro with the new Holden V8, a 308 cubic inch (5.0 litre) 90º V8 with 16 push-rod actuated valves and cross-flow heads. This engine proved popular both because it was smaller and lighter than the 327 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 and because it would give its owners bragging rights as owners of a “100% Australian muscle car”.

Holden Monaro GTS 308 V8

Above Image: Original Monaros with the Australian 308 cubic inch V8 are highly sought after by collectors today.

Today these original first generation Holden Monaros are highly sought after in Australia, particularly the GTS V8 versions which had proven so successful on the race track.

The 1971 Holden Monaro GTS 308 Shown Here

The car you see here is an original GTS equipped with the Australian-developed 308 cubic inch V8. Unusually this car is also an unrestored survivor – a rare find nowadays as many of these early Monaros have been restored back to showroom condition but perhaps lack the character of a car in its original paint.

As a 308 V8 equipped GTS the car will have a great deal of appeal to many Australians, it’s fitted with the desirable Saginaw 4-speed manual transmission, and it has factory air-conditioning, power steering, and the side stripe delete option.

The car is finished in Electra Blue over a black and houndstooth interior, it’s still wearing the correct steel wheels, and it has just 16,660 miles on the odometer.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual piece of Australian history of register to bid you can click here, it’s currently being offered on Collecting Cars with approximately two days left on the bidding.

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Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

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The Tamiya FMC XR311 R/C – A Re-Release Of Tamiya’s First Off-Road Buggy From 1977

The unusual looking buggy you see here is historic two for reasons, firstly (the full scale version) was a prototype intended to replace the venerable Jeep, and secondly because the R/C version by Tamiya was the Japanese company’s first off-road buggy.

The reason why the folks at Tamiya choose this prototype as their first off-roader is interesting, and it’s possible that they took a gamble on this being the vehicle that was chosen to replace the Jeep – so they would have the brand new “Jeep” available as an R/C model.

The model is based on the FMC XR311, a prototype military vehicle that entered development in 1969. A number of development models were built and the military are known to have bought at least a dozen of them set up to perform various tasks.

The US military ordered a number of FMC XR311s for testing purposes and they could be configured to fulfill a multitude of roles including anti-tank, reconnaissance patrol, convoy escort, command and control, medivac, military police, mortar carrier, internal security and forward air defense communications vehicle.

Above Video: Footage of the Tamiya FMC XR311 being put through its paces.

The FMC XR311 likely had an influence on both the Lamborghini Cheetah and AM General’s HMMWV – better known as the Humvee and the vehicle that would eventually fill the role.

The XR311 had a rear-engine, four-wheel drive layout with power sent from the Chrysler V8 engine through a 3-speed TorqueFlite A727 automatic transmission and a single-speed full time transfer case.

These vehicles were tested extensively throughout the 1970s and they did look like a likely M151 Jeep replacement – likely enough that Tamiya created their model of it, the development of which likely started in the mid-1970s, before the FMC XR311 project was cancelled.

First released in 1977 the Tamiya FMC XR311 R/C is now largely unknown, and it’s certainly far less famous than the brand’s better-known off-roaders like the Tamiya Hornet. Tamiya recently brought the model back into full production for people who missed out the first time around.

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FMC XR311

Above Image: An artist’s rendition of the original FMC XR311 vehicle.

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For Sale: A Restored Dodge M37 – A Tough Ex-Military 4×4 Pickup Truck

The Dodge M37 was developed as an improved version of the venerable Dodge WC Series 4×4 trucks from WWII. When engineers set to work designing the M37 they took everything that worked well on the WC trucks and redesigned anything that didn’t – resulting in a truck so tough that some of them remain in service to this day with civilian agencies in rural areas.

The Dodge WC 4×4 trucks were critically important vehicles during the war, they also introduced an entire generation of young men to four-wheel drive drivetrains and pickup trucks.

There’s no way of directly quantifying the influence this had on them, but we do know that in the years after WWII the popularity of both 4×4 vehicles and pickup trucks would skyrocket across the United States.

With the 3/4 Ton M37 Dodge were working to fulfill the needs of the US Military heading into the 1950s and 1960s. Although the earlier WC series trucks had been invaluable during the war there were some shortcomings that came to light, and Dodge worked to solve them all.

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Above Image: The unmistakable profile of the M37, this truck carries all of its period-correct military markings.

Firstly, the width of the M37 was slightly less than that of the WC, and it was also a little shorter – giving it a lower profile. The original four-speed gearbox was replaced with a newer fully-syncromesh four-speed which made the truck much easier to drive for newly enlisted 18 year olds with limited time behind the wheel.

The M37 also used a sealed 24 volt electrical system, a waterproof ignition system, built-in deep water fording ability, much improved weather protection, and steel doors with roll-up glass windows were available on many variants.

The original inline-six cylinder gasoline engine from the WC series was modified for use in the Dodge M37. This engine was originally sourced from a 1930s era passenger car, however it had been through a series of modifications for use in trucks. Power was just 78 bhp at 3,200 rpm however the M37 was never intended to be quick, just tough and dependable.

Power was sent back through the four-speed transmission into a two-speed transfer case. The front axle could be disconnected to save fuel when four-wheel drive wasn’t needed, and the two-speed transfer case allowed for high and low range operation.

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Above Image: Although still utilitarian, the interior of the M37 was a considerable improvement over its predecessors.

Over the course of the 1951 to 1968 production run Dodge would build over 115,000 examples of the M37. The trucks were deployed to the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and they played a role in a series of other conflicts including the Laotian Civil War, the Nicaraguan Revolution, the Cambodian Civil War, the Salvadoran Civil War, and the Guatemalan Civil War.

Once they were slowly retired from service many were sold into civilian hands, and today they’re seeing a surge in popularity along with many other vintage 4x4s.

The 1953 Dodge M37 you see here has been given a full frame-off restoration, it was resprayed with period-correct military markings and numbers, and it’s fitted with the correct information plates. It carries the correct field tools on the tailgate and it’s sitting on 9×16 non-directional military issue tires.

Inside you’ll find a reupholstered interior, there’s a multi-purpose box on the floor, and the steering wheel and other plastic items are in excellent condition.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Mecum, it’s due to roll across the auction block in March.

Dodge M37 4x4 Truck Specifications

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Images courtesy of Mecum

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