Pebble Beach enjoyed a visit by a very special member of the Ford stable last week. Lincoln, along with the Edsel and Eleanor Ford house, displayed Edsel Bryant Ford’s freshly-restored 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster at the Monterey Concours d’Elegance.

Inspired by a visit to Europe in 1932 and penned by none other than E.T. Gregorie, Ford chief designer at the time, the Roadster began life as a 1934 Model 40 frame before going under the knife for substantial revisions. Stretched a full inch over factory dimensions and saddled substantially lower to the ground, the vehicle boasts a rear-pitched cockpit, long nose and custom aluminum bodywork. A classic Ford Flathead V8 powers the rear wheels.

After Edsel passed away in 1943, the vehicle made a few scant appearances around the country before vanishing. It surfaced again at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 1999 and sold to a collector for a heady .76 million. When the collector died, the car was returned to the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House before receiving a full restoration to return it to its former glory. Hit the jump for a video of the car’s unveiling and for the official press release.

Continue reading Edsel Ford’s restored 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster struts its stuff at Pebble Beach [w/video]

Edsel Ford’s restored 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster struts its stuff at Pebble Beach [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Make room on your holiday list, boys and girls; here’s something we definitely want to see under ye olde yuletide pine tree this year. On second thought, you’d better make it a redwood.Tucked away in the Other Makes section of eBay Motors is a custom racer with a fire engine chassis and a 17-liter engine borrowed from one of the most famous racing boat manufacturers of the early 20th century. Called the 1915 van Blerck Special Speedster, this awesome ground-pounder is over six feet tall and nearly 18 feet long. All 17-liters of displacement from the vehicle’s engine is soaked up by just six cylinders, each of which has three spark plugs all to itself.

The engine was created by none other than Joseph van Blerck – an engineer who crafted record-setting engines for speed boats in the early part of the last century. According to the seller, the engine produces well over 200 horsepower and is more than capable of scooting the big machine to speeds of over 100 mph. That is, if you’re brave enough to lean on the vehicle’s chain-drive system. You can buy it now for the low price of 9,000, though the seller says that trading is always an option, too. Us? We think it’d make a bitchin’ new sleigh for Santa.

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: 1915 van Blerck Special Speedster is 18′ long with 17-liter engine originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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