A one-armed paper-hanger! Ron Chandler, Lancia Lambda Special (Chandler Special) at Mount Tarrengower, post-war, date folks? Isn’t it a marvellous shot, gotta be summer with that much dust.
Plenty of Vincenzo Lancia’s outstanding cars came to Australia and no shortage of them were adapted as racing cars as they aged. The mix of stiff monocoque chassis, SOHC V4, four-speed gearbox and independent front suspension was irresistible to enthusiasts. The Chandler was a mix of narrowed fifth series chassis and eighth series components. Ron had no shortage of knowledge or parts, he was a Lancia dealer/wrecker in Melbourne’s inner-eastern suburb, Hawthorn.
The shot above shows Eddie Perkins (Larry’s dad) at the wheel of the Chandler. Note the ‘sprint’ fuel tank (‘snot water I think) and support structure, the chassis and exhaust are also clear. Perkins built a mid-engined Lancia Special of his own circa 1951 – a story for another time.
This car later morphed into the Lambda based, monoposto Meadows Special built by Rob Harcourt, shown below at Winton. It marries a narrowed fifth series chassis and seventh series Lambda components mixed with a 3-litre 4EH Meadows engine first fitted to an Australian assembled Chic circa 1925. With around 200bhp, it’s a very quick car.
Etcetera…
Stripped Lambda shows the key elements of the design to good effect – that pressed steel unitary/monocoque chassis was so far ahead of its time…Ease with which it can be cut-and-shut obvious.
Credits…
Bob King Collection, Andrew Cox in the Lancia Motor Club website, Colin Marr, John Hickford, Classic Cars in Profile
Tailpiece…
Rob Harcourt’s Lancia Meadows Spl during the Australian Grand Prix carnival at Albert Park in 2000. The dude on the right is Sir Stirling Moss in an HWM Jaguar – which HWM Jaguar?
Finito…
primotipo... 