A Real Champ Car

This little racing car is a real “Champ Car” because it has a 1940 Studebaker Champ engine. It is called the F. Davi Engineering, Hillegass Studebaker Special. It is a full midget racing car from the prewar era and also raced as a dirt tracker.

After sitting for 30 years, the car was resurrected and treated to a seven-year-long restoration. It was reverse engineered in that a new frame was fabricated for the old original body. A sign on the Studebaker said it will “Go as fast as you want to go.”

The 169-cid flathead engine has six holes in a row. The Ben Ordas finned aluminum cylinder head has the proud name “Studebaker” cast into it. Other go-fast equipment includes an Isky cam, a Bendix Scintilla aircraft magneto, a crankshaft driven racing water pump and a baffled and gated, extended capacity oil pan. Art Abrahams of Bloomington, Minn., is the car builder, owner and driver.

He had the Studebaker Racing car at the Harry A. Miller Club’s (www.HarryMillerClub.org) annual Millers in Milwaukee meet on July 11-12. Having just purchased a 1949 Studebaker Commander, we couldn’t help but notice that gorgeous cylinder head on the Hillegass Studebaker Special.

Vintage racing car restorations just keep getting cooler all the time We’re keeping our eye out for a racing car to restore every time we see a big Wisconsin barn. You never know what’s inside.