Edgar is my great-grandfather. That's my uncle, mom, and aunt at 6:50. It was absolutely mind blowing learning about this after Steven called my mom. Full-circle moment for sure since I follow motorsports very closely now.
Hey! Thanks for chiming in, so cool to officially meet one of his living relatives here! Have you guys had any luck digging up any more info or photos in your talks with Steven? It was so much fun researching the history on this awesome car, I’m just dying for more! 😄
Seeing the smooth underside, I wonder if it was built for Bonneville?? If so, the prolific Eric Rickmann may have shot build photos of it, which would be in the Petersen Publishing photo archives. See if Dave Wallace has any info on that!
My grandfather named in this video is Edgar Smith Junior-he had no middle name. Some of the comments listed below I agree with. The car was not a thing of beauty but it was very loud and fast. The car was built in Palo Alto and eventually made its way to Golconda, Nevada. My grandparents moved to Elko around 1975 and nobody knows when the car was sold upon them moving. As mentioned in the video, Edgar was an excellent machinist and inventor. Not bad with only an 8th grade education.
The way it looks, I’d assume Smith as a pseudonym. 😂. Actually, that is super-cool for Mr. Smith to build a car his way. Lots of skill and chutzpah! Major kudos.
A lil late to the show, but you got a sub from me. So nice to see these historic relics of the past getting saved. This 1 of 1 absolutely awesome to see running & driving. I do see a salt flats style car with the bottom basically covered. It’s big but streamlined for speed. Though it does have a late 50s Lincoln Continental look to it IMHO. I love it ❤️
Hi Steve! Good afternoon from Canada! Our home is an hour east of Toronto Canada, in cottage country. Wow! My husband (Steve) and I just found this site this afternoon referencing to your amazing find! We both WooHoo'd!! ourselves when you successfully started it up! The amount of original pieces & the fabulous history that's been unearthed are astounding and testament to tenacious following thru on the leads. We were both right along with you on that road test. Nothing barks like an old Ford LOL. Looking forward to more as you progress. We'll be joining your channel as well! Great and keep up the good work, both of you guys! :D
This is ........AWESOME!!! It seems like it drives great! Other than the things that need to be buttoned up. I didn't know they were going to show the car in working order until the end! WOW! Just incredible! That shifting mech looks like it would be really good. But that could be deceiving mind you LOL.
Very cool build im so glad you guys saved it and got it up and driving. I would contact Gene Winfield this looks like something he would have the best knowledge on. Plus it would be really cool if gene painted it for you maybe even take it out on the salt flats
Geoff actually met with Gene years ago to talk about the CRV Piranha as Gene had customized one for the Man from Uncle TV show. I haven’t seen much about him in the last month or so since all that unpleasantness with the woman who was swindling him :/
I'm almost 84 and a car guy all my life, and in the 40's and 50's and early 60's these types of cars where in all the old Popular mechanic's There where all kinds of car kits and how too's that everyone was building in a garage or basement, if you weren't building a bomb shelter, they had all the instruction drawings to build anything and I couldn't get enough of them, I'm driving a cut down 1929 roadster that the pan is 2 1/2 inches off the ground. 3/4 cam in a 327 chevy a 57 ford rear 2 speed trans that a hoot to drive.The drivers door is welded smooth it was an old salt flats car the is designed to go straight it has all the old chrome still on the front axle etc. I'm building a 1931 model A pickup with a 32 frame, I've gathered parts for years so just starting it as we speak. Just found your channel and love it, I've got a pisteen set of thunderbird valve covers for your engine, not NOS but perfect. That steering wheel with the top cut out is a trick we used when trying to go staight so if the car started to spin you always knew which way was staight. I subscibed and will be following along great stuff Jim las vegas nv
Thanks for following along! The DIY era of those decades really made for some unique customizing of existing cars and the these one-off / low production cars for the 1950s. Steven actually just sold this car on Bring a Trailer, I believe it’s heading to Germany
Mr Smith was a craftsman from the old school. His ingenuity and workmanship were very advanced they don't make them like now days. It isn't a pretty automobile but is very functional. kudoes to Mr Smith. 😎🏁
Looks like it's made from 16 or 18 gauge maybe? Looks heavy but very well constructed. I'd say the styling is debatable at best (imo), but in context it likely looked like a UFO to people in the '50s. I could never bring myself to finish a car that looks like this, but do admire some of its details & certainly admire how it's built very much. I'm huge into originality & auto history, but if mine, I'd change that body entirely haha 😁 Thank you for another grate viddy oh!
Just sounds like a valve noise. You'd want to check the valve adjustment anyways. The old mechanics used to have stethoscopes to track down the source of noises, or they'd just use a big screwdriver and hold it to their ear. That's a beautiful car!
That shift block is off a Moss gearbox probably from a Jaguar. Looks like they lifted the tach and speedo out of a Jag as well- they were both cable driven and he has maded up his own drive for the tach cable. Good presentation this time- could understand and follow the story and your microphone was good.
Very cool 🤙 I'm pulling a 50's custom magazine car out soon. There's not enough excitement about it yet. But it's going to be a big deal I think. It was in a few magazine's and then it disappeared.
@UndiscoveredClassicsUSA it's on my channel I have a short on it and a post in the community section. The car is my friends he inherited it along with 500 others. The other custom posted is mine and will be brought out too.
I had a feeling from the first episode that this was built by a sheet metal fab shop. It's really long for a race car. Can you register it for the street with the plex windscreen and no wipers? So many magazines like Popular Mechanics did articles on how to build your own car in the 50's. If only I could finish my dream car...
The Teapot Holley four barrel suggests that the motor is a 312 from a Thunderbird. The exhaust manifolds are standard single exhaust Y-block units, converted to dual exhaust. Original exhaust cross-over went in front of the motor.
With those old Ford Wine blocks a lot of times they took up line off the oil pressure sending unit in the back of the motor and put it up in through the valve covers because they were oiled through the cam, and that dirty oil would plug up the passages, so I remember an old guy used to put kerosene and transmission fluid in it and all kinds of stuff at the gas station. I work in when I was a kid in the six days and clean it all out and keep keep doing it until the full 30 waitthey
Normally I would say to keep a car as original as possible, especially if it is so rare. The headlights are such an after-thought though, that it could benefit some improvement. If you could incorporate a pair of headlights from an Opel GT, that would give it a better finish look.
312/3 speed and no roll bar kinda suggests it's more sports roadster than race car..... Nicely done, but kinda crude and old-school...... Looks like a 40s style build and probably heavy.....It probably was never finished to a show-quality standard, so it can now be brought to a high standard without guilt.....The flip headlights don't match the styling and should be replaced by quad stacked headlights in the front of the fenders (think 67 GTO)
When the headlights are up, it does seem distracting from the overall design intent. I’d probably keep them and just get some hidden ones behind the grill myself
I didn’t mention it in the intro, but the previous owner seemed to think it was for a land speed car or a movie car that never was used. Neither of which really seem likely, but the build elements are quite interesting. Maybe the grandkids will know!
Those are actually up here in Buffalo and sat outside for decades before Geoff or I acquired them. That being said, they’ve just been moved out there for the summer 😄
I've seen a lot of homebuilts 50's. "This is a race car" is a stretch. If you're calling this styling, I'm sorry it's an abomination. It's a fine example of someone who completely failed to capture the essence of a sports car. yet I give him full credit for the build. I hope the buyer who " rescued" it and improves it somehow, but it looks like an uphill battle from the get go. Sorry, I've seen better going through the crusher.
We’re just referring to it as the original builder did and with the chassis build, it certainly had racing in mind. Even if it may not have gotten up to the level per se. We’re just glad it’s in good, loving hands 😄
I hate to be negative but that car is butt ugly. It has to be a home creation because I dont imagine a company would produce something so ugly. There is just so much work to make it road worthy. Those Y blocks were notorious to work on the valve train, the lifters come out the bottom of the engine. Why ford designed it that way I’ll never know. Those engines are solid lifter engines.
It wasn’t produced by a company, it was done by an individual. Did you watch the video all the way through? We think it looks pretty neat as do many others, but it’s alright to have different opinions of course. Design and beauty is subjective after all 😄
Edgar is my great-grandfather. That's my uncle, mom, and aunt at 6:50. It was absolutely mind blowing learning about this after Steven called my mom. Full-circle moment for sure since I follow motorsports very closely now.
Hey! Thanks for chiming in, so cool to officially meet one of his living relatives here! Have you guys had any luck digging up any more info or photos in your talks with Steven? It was so much fun researching the history on this awesome car, I’m just dying for more! 😄
Seeing the smooth underside, I wonder if it was built for Bonneville?? If so, the prolific Eric Rickmann may have shot build photos of it, which would be in the Petersen Publishing photo archives. See if Dave Wallace has any info on that!
Actually, it's pretty cool! A crying shame someone warped the metal. Kudos to the late Mr. Smith for creating this.
One would assume it was the second owner and not Edgar who did the metal warping. I mean, he was a metal worker after all!
Pre fiberglass? Would have been even better😊
Could always take a splash mold and do one in fiberglass 😎
@@UndiscoveredClassicsUSA And make *another* car that looks like *that*??? 😁
Then I could have one too! 🤣
My grandfather named in this video is Edgar Smith Junior-he had no middle name. Some of the comments listed below I agree with. The car was not a thing of beauty but it was very loud and fast. The car was built in Palo Alto and eventually made its way to Golconda, Nevada. My grandparents moved to Elko around 1975 and nobody knows when the car was sold upon them moving. As mentioned in the video, Edgar was an excellent machinist and inventor. Not bad with only an 8th grade education.
Thanks for chiming in! Appreciate the info and glad to see your family history preserved with your grandfather’s car
Nice one. Agree this is a 50s build. The cars they built in the 60s were very different.
Agreed, definitely doesn’t have 1960s styling
@@UndiscoveredClassicsUSA Styling? at the moment it looks like the love child of Chitty chitty bang bang and "the Car". 😁😁
@@UndiscoveredClassicsUSA very much influenced by Lotus' 9 and 11 sports racers to me, which he must have seen racing in the US. But a lot bigger😀
I can see some of that influence
I mean, I love both of those cars too 😂💀
Love that long throw shifter; and the longer throw headlights 🤠. Great to see it rescued and running!
Thanks, Steve has done a great job getting it back on the road!
Very interesting build on that old race car. It runs and drives. Very cool. 😎 Thanks for sharing! 💯👊👍
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for being here!
I really like your videos please keep them coming !
Great examples of one of a kind cars.
Thanks very much!
The way it looks, I’d assume Smith as a pseudonym. 😂. Actually, that is super-cool for Mr. Smith to build a car his way. Lots of skill and chutzpah! Major kudos.
Definitely could use some refinement, but he had some of the right ideas!
what a find! thanks for sharing. would love to see the future progress of the car. It definitely deserves to grace pebble beach one day )
Thanks for following along!
A lil late to the show, but you got a sub from me. So nice to see these historic relics of the past getting saved. This 1 of 1 absolutely awesome to see running & driving. I do see a salt flats style car with the bottom basically covered. It’s big but streamlined for speed. Though it does have a late 50s Lincoln Continental look to it IMHO. I love it ❤️
Thanks for following along and subscribing! Glad you’re enjoying the unique cars and history.
Hi Steve! Good afternoon from Canada! Our home is an hour east of Toronto Canada, in cottage country. Wow! My husband (Steve) and I just found this site this afternoon referencing to your amazing find! We both WooHoo'd!! ourselves when you successfully started it up! The amount of original pieces & the fabulous history that's been unearthed are astounding and testament to tenacious following thru on the leads. We were both right along with you on that road test. Nothing barks like an old Ford LOL. Looking forward to more as you progress. We'll be joining your channel as well! Great and keep up the good work, both of you guys! :D
I’m sure Steve appreciates your encouragement! That’s great 😄
This is ........AWESOME!!! It seems like it drives great! Other than the things that need to be buttoned up. I didn't know they were going to show the car in working order until the end! WOW! Just incredible! That shifting mech looks like it would be really good. But that could be deceiving mind you LOL.
Nice to see more people enthusiastic about the car. Thanks for chiming in! Be sure to follow Steven’s channel for future updates there too
Rad. Glad I found this channel. So cool.
Thanks a lot! Glad to have you here
Very cool build im so glad you guys saved it and got it up and driving. I would contact Gene Winfield this looks like something he would have the best knowledge on. Plus it would be really cool if gene painted it for you maybe even take it out on the salt flats
Geoff actually met with Gene years ago to talk about the CRV Piranha as Gene had customized one for the Man from Uncle TV show. I haven’t seen much about him in the last month or so since all that unpleasantness with the woman who was swindling him :/
Very cool one of a kind car! And those old Y blocks always sounded great with a decent exhaust!
The Y-block sure suits the car
He'll that's racer X first car. Love it. GREAT FIND!
😄
I love that car....that is so awesome
We dig it too!
Thats one sweet ride
A ton of work went into it and the workmanship is awesome nice find mate .
Glad you like it too!
I'm almost 84 and a car guy all my life, and in the 40's and 50's and early 60's these types of cars where in all the old Popular mechanic's There where all kinds of car kits and how too's that everyone was building in a garage or basement, if you weren't building a bomb shelter, they had all the instruction drawings to build anything and I couldn't get enough of them, I'm driving a cut down 1929 roadster that the pan is 2 1/2 inches off the ground. 3/4 cam in a 327 chevy a 57 ford rear 2 speed trans that a hoot to drive.The drivers door is welded smooth it was an old salt flats car the is designed to go straight it has all the old chrome still on the front axle etc. I'm building a 1931 model A pickup with a 32 frame, I've gathered parts for years so just starting it as we speak. Just found your channel and love it, I've got a pisteen set of thunderbird valve covers for your engine, not NOS but perfect. That steering wheel with the top cut out is a trick we used when trying to go staight so if the car started to spin you always knew which way was staight. I subscibed and will be following along great stuff Jim las vegas nv
Thanks for following along! The DIY era of those decades really made for some unique customizing of existing cars and the these one-off / low production cars for the 1950s. Steven actually just sold this car on Bring a Trailer, I believe it’s heading to Germany
Mr Smith was a craftsman from the old school. His ingenuity and workmanship were very advanced they don't make them like now days. It isn't a pretty automobile but is very functional. kudoes to Mr Smith. 😎🏁
Indeed! Thanks for chiming in and being nice 😄
I LOVE IT ❤️!!!
It’s pretty rad!
That is sooooo cooooollllll. Perfect
Thanks! We think so too 😄
Looks like it's made from 16 or 18 gauge maybe? Looks heavy but very well constructed.
I'd say the styling is debatable at best (imo), but in context it likely looked like a UFO to people in the '50s. I could never bring myself to finish a car that looks like this, but do admire some of its details & certainly admire how it's built very much.
I'm huge into originality & auto history, but if mine, I'd change that body entirely haha 😁
Thank you for another grate viddy oh!
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks 😄
The motor's very quiet, brakes squeekin' ! I'm sure once everything i gone over, it'll look totally different !! ❤❤🤘🤘
Steven has it coming along nicely after a long hibernation!
Just sounds like a valve noise. You'd want to check the valve adjustment anyways. The old mechanics used to have stethoscopes to track down the source of noises, or they'd just use a big screwdriver and hold it to their ear. That's a beautiful car!
Thanks for the input! 😄
That shift block is off a Moss gearbox probably from a Jaguar. Looks like they lifted the tach and speedo out of a Jag as well- they were both cable driven and he has maded up his own drive for the tach cable. Good presentation this time- could understand and follow the story and your microphone was good.
Thanks! My intro was used with the new mics and video camera so I’m glad it’s better 😄
Trapdoor Headlamps! Very cool
Right? So cool 😎
Very cool 🤙 I'm pulling a 50's custom magazine car out soon. There's not enough excitement about it yet. But it's going to be a big deal I think. It was in a few magazine's and then it disappeared.
Ohhhhh tell us more!
@UndiscoveredClassicsUSA it's on my channel I have a short on it and a post in the community section. The car is my friends he inherited it along with 500 others. The other custom posted is mine and will be brought out too.
Cool! Could you link it here for other folks to see too?
@@UndiscoveredClassicsUSA the post youtube.com/@kdsboosted4954?si=2ZHoKvFBQzXIkBTt
@@UndiscoveredClassicsUSA the short ruclips.net/user/shortsDz3doDVtrI8?si=ecJvXWvJFkwEFH9c
Newer is not always cooler, vintage is our great heritage,!
Hell yeah 💪
Original bias ply tires...I love it. Flat bottom.
Probably haha
I had a feeling from the first episode that this was built by a sheet metal fab shop. It's really long for a race car. Can you register it for the street with the plex windscreen and no wipers? So many magazines like Popular Mechanics did articles on how to build your own car in the 50's. If only I could finish my dream car...
I’m not sure as to how or if it’s registered, but it’s been done for sure so it’s totally feasible
The Teapot Holley four barrel suggests that the motor is a 312 from a Thunderbird. The exhaust manifolds are standard single exhaust Y-block units, converted to dual exhaust. Original exhaust cross-over went in front of the motor.
Great observations, thanks for the input!
Reminds me of luke's land speeder thing from star wars, pretty cool looking
I think someone else said the same and I can’t totally see it. I still dig it too
In the current color, it reminds me of the landspeeder👍
The one from Star Wars? I can see that!
With those old Ford Wine blocks a lot of times they took up line off the oil pressure sending unit in the back of the motor and put it up in through the valve covers because they were oiled through the cam, and that dirty oil would plug up the passages, so I remember an old guy used to put kerosene and transmission fluid in it and all kinds of stuff at the gas station. I work in when I was a kid in the six days and clean it all out and keep keep doing it until the full 30 waitthey
Good advice!
What color was the car and are you going to restore it that would be awesome
It doesn’t appear to have ever been fully finished. You’ll have to follow along on Steven’s channel to see what he does 😄
Might of been in a movie the style looks like it was okay thanks again Charles Williams later
Not as far as we can tell or the family can remember, but it would look right at home as a movie car
I wish the hobby was still as affordable as it was in the 50s, 60s, and 70s
The cars we focus on are still quite affordable compared to traditional production cars.
Normally I would say to keep a car as original as possible, especially if it is so rare. The headlights are such an after-thought though, that it could benefit some improvement. If you could incorporate a pair of headlights from an Opel GT, that would give it a better finish look.
They look great closed, but when open it could certainly use some refinement. Good suggestion for the Opel GT
Just stumbled onto this but I wanna see more of Edgars other cars if they survived that is
I wonder if they may still be kicking around somewhere. I’m not sure if his living family members know either unfortunately
Guy build him a pre star wars speedster....
Frikn cool
Oh man, I can see that now that you said it haha
I watch a lot of videos but this channel is the one that I look forward to the most./ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\
Love that, thanks so much!
the y-blocks came in 272, 292, or 312.
I thought they came in like half a dozen different size?
The Burns funeral Home, You're Late,We Cremate.
OMG 😂💀
Paint it silver and name it the Cyber Man - Reminds me of the Dr Who nemesis
As a fellow fan of Doctor Who, I endorse this message haha
A little roadster? That thing looks bigger than the F150 pulling it.
Little may be a bit of an understatement 😅
I think that column is out of a ford box truck circa early 50s
Good observation, we’ll check that out
Looks like something Bad Chad would build // lol
🤷♀️
It kinda does. He has a very unrefined eye imo.
IAM in Love. Like could this be like a Vision of 56 57 t bird extrouidenaire
We really dig it too!
Take that sled to Bonneville with a late model motor
Maybe Steve will do just that!
Looks like the back end is on the front.
The front seems reminiscent of the Chrysler Thunderbolt, which the same could be said of
I think it needs a glass bubble..
Ohhhhh I love that idea!
It ruuns😮😮.
And drives! It sold and went to Germany after going on Bring a Trailer
312/3 speed and no roll bar kinda suggests it's more sports roadster than race car..... Nicely done, but kinda crude and old-school...... Looks like a 40s style build and probably heavy.....It probably was never finished to a show-quality standard, so it can now be brought to a high standard without guilt.....The flip headlights don't match the styling and should be replaced by quad stacked headlights in the front of the fenders (think 67 GTO)
When the headlights are up, it does seem distracting from the overall design intent. I’d probably keep them and just get some hidden ones behind the grill myself
maybe he was shooting for a land speed car. Styling looks like attempt at aerodynamics for straight speed and not corners
I didn’t mention it in the intro, but the previous owner seemed to think it was for a land speed car or a movie car that never was used. Neither of which really seem likely, but the build elements are quite interesting. Maybe the grandkids will know!
neato
😄
Paint it Black Cherry
That would make for a good color on this one!
Hate to criticize ,but those rare cars need to get indoors - quick. I live in Florida and they would be rotten - even fiberglass - in a few years.
Those are actually up here in Buffalo and sat outside for decades before Geoff or I acquired them. That being said, they’ve just been moved out there for the summer 😄
the radiator fill is over the motor
👍
il existe en france une barquette identique et 1 seul modele a ete construit
Have a link?
To me its begging to be preserved but not over-restored.....just sayin
Less expensive to preserve than restore too 😄
My name is edgar a smith
Any relation?
I've seen a lot of homebuilts 50's. "This is a race car" is a stretch. If you're calling this styling, I'm sorry it's an abomination. It's a fine example of someone who completely failed to capture the essence of a sports car. yet I give him full credit for the build.
I hope the buyer who " rescued" it and improves it somehow, but it looks like an uphill battle from the get go. Sorry, I've seen better going through the crusher.
We’re just referring to it as the original builder did and with the chassis build, it certainly had racing in mind. Even if it may not have gotten up to the level per se. We’re just glad it’s in good, loving hands 😄
I hate to be negative but that car is butt ugly. It has to be a home creation because I dont imagine a company would produce something so ugly. There is just so much work to make it road worthy. Those Y blocks were notorious to work on the valve train, the lifters come out the bottom of the engine. Why ford designed it that way I’ll never know. Those engines are solid lifter engines.
It wasn’t produced by a company, it was done by an individual. Did you watch the video all the way through? We think it looks pretty neat as do many others, but it’s alright to have different opinions of course. Design and beauty is subjective after all 😄
One ugly car
To each their own my friend
Looks like crap
To each their own my guy
Don't be a prique.
She ain't too pretty.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there’s a lot of folks here who like it. To each their own 😎