Carroll Shelby – The Edgar Ferrari and Maserati Years Page Six
Ironically, Shelby’s drives at the April ‘58 Palm Springs National—Sprint in the 450S, Main in the 410—were the last times he would race a Ferrari and Maserati for John Edgar. Gurney would DNF our 450S at Tracy, California in May ’58. The Maser’s engine expired under Woods at Riverside in June ’58, and Landaker implanted a 6.3-liter Pontiac V8 in the car, while later still it underwent a conversion to a 5.7-liter Maserati marine engine. Neither power plant proved successful. The last race for the Edgar Maserati was Daigh’s DNF when the transaxle let go at Riverside’s Times Grand Prix on October 11, 1959. Early in 1960, my father, after fielding his remarkable sports car équipe for the past ten years, got out of the game entirely when he sold all of his race cars and interest in Riverside Raceway.
Carroll Shelby, taming Edgar Maserati 450S muscle as he so often did during his many times at the big Maser's wheel. The car and its driver seemed made for each other.
About my father’s big 4.5-liter Maserati and driving it in the 1950s, Shelby has told me, “I thought the four-five, especially after the 5.7 engine was put in it, was probably the end of the line for the big sports cars—and it was the best one. It handled good and I won a lot of races in it.” Shel then gave his stamp of approval for the car, never done unless he truly meant it, saying, “I liked it.”
Carroll Shelby’s final win in a sports car, a year after he and Roy Salvadori won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 co-driving an Aston Martin DBR1, occurred at Continental Divide, Colorado in a Meister Brau Scarab on June 26, 1960. Prophetic in what Shelby would later do with his Cobras, Ford GTs and Mustangs, that Scarab was American made with an American motor.
At Laguna Seca four months later, on October 20th, Shelby drove his last ever sports car competition in a Tipo 61 “Birdcage” Maserati owned by Frank Harrison, finishing an overall second after two demanding 102-mile heats. His life-long heart condition by then had made driving an exhausting effort, and during this farewell pursuit he used nitroglycerin pills to get him through the race to his final checkered flag.
Carroll Shelby, the one and only, near the end of his sports car racing years in the 1950s, before his Cobras and Mustangs would take him into even greater dimensions of fame and fortune.
Where are the Shelby-driven ex-John Edgar Ferraris and Maseratis today? Our old Ferrari 857S (serial number 0588M), for a while owned by Andy Warhol, has recently been restored to its April 1956 Edgar team condition and livery, superbly executed by David Cottingham’s DK Engineering in England. The Ferrari 410 Sport (s/n 0598CM) belongs to Roger Willbanks, who displays the car at the Shelby American Collection in Boulder, Colorado. The 300S Maserati (s/n 3071) is in New York, owned and vintage raced by Tony Wang. The 450S Maserati s/n 4506 (factory renumbered from s/n 4505), after a list of post-Edgar owners, went to a former president of Bugatti Automobiles, Dr. Thomas Bscher, who has driven it many times in European historic races. The Le Mans-winning 375 Plus (s/n 0396AM), though never raced by Shelby but frequently an Edgar team paddock stand-by, became a celebrated jewel in the Pierre Bardinon collection near Aubusson, France.
The ex-John Edgar Ferrari 857S immediately after its complete restoration in 2011 by David Cottingham's DK Engineering in the UK.
The ex-John Edgar Ferrari 410S at Shelby American in Gardena, California, when current owner Roger Willbanks (standing with Carroll Shelby) brought it to Carroll's Fabulous Fifties party in October 2006.
The ex-John Edgar-entry Maserati 300S, when owner/vintage racer Tony Wang took it from New York to the Monterey Historic Automobile Races in August 2008.
The ex-John Edgar Maserati 450S during the August 1991 Nurburgring's Oldtimer GP driven by owner Dr. Thomas Bscher, who has historic raced the car and won with it many times.
The ex-Ferrari factory 1954 Le Mans winning 375 Plus was owned by John Edgar (seated here at Nassau in '57) from 1954 to 1960. It was later restored to its original Pininfarina profile and held in the Pierre Bardinon Collection in France.
As a matter of fate, none of these cars were locked away in a barn and the key given to me. I never owned any of them, but hold each in lasting memory, as I also cherish those times and places that made up Carroll Shelby’s Edgar Ferrari and Maserati Years in the mid-to-late 1950s. To quote Ol’ Shel on the subject, he once told me in that gravely drawl of his, “It’s an era that’s gone and won’t ever come back.” I like it that it was he and my father who did so much to make it happen, and that I could be there for it.
[Source: William Edgar; photo credit: Edgar Motorsport Archive]
About William Edgar
Incredibly timely posting here………Carroll Shelby RIP!
A wonderful piece on a great man – a true automotive icon. And one that will be missed.
William…you mention the 410 being tired about the time it DNFd at Stockton Airport 1957. I happened to have been witness to that when I was a 19 year old course worker on the main straight.
In the main event, Carroll simply took off and left everyone so far behind it seemed like a one-man race. For lap after lap he extended his lead, then as the car was flying down the main straight, the engine suddenly cut, and the car and driver came to a stop right in front of me, next to the snow fencing used to line courses in those days.
I leaned over the cockpit from the left side (the 410 was, of course, right hand drive), and asked him what could have happened. He held up the shift lever, and in his wonderful Texas drawl, “Damned thing broke right off in my hand!.”
And it certainly had, right to the base of the lever shaft. I helped him roll the car to an opening in the snow fence and into the paddock.
I saw him a couple of years later, dominating the Vaca Valley main event in the Tipo 61 Birdcage. No question he could drive and win in everything.
We’ll never be able to fully add up all that he did for American racing. Irreplaceable!!
Thanks, David, for adding your recollection of Shelby’s broken shifter at the Stockton race on March 17, 1957. It nicely finds its place into the colorful mosaic of Shel’s racing during that period. In my article, though, I did not say the 410 was “tired” but rather “rapidly-getting-worn” which it indeed was at that point in the car’s very hard life. The 410′s brakes were becoming an issue and, obviously, the shifter had weaken to the point of failure. The car’s 4.9-liter V12 engine itself was still very strong, hence the performance you witnessed and was so impressive, even though the competition in that race was not the most challenging. Lou Brero’s D-Type Jaguar posed no serious threat to Shelby’s big Ferrari, but Lou drove his D-Type well and won that race with it after Shel dropped out. At the time, sadly, Brero had little more then a month to live. He died on April 21st following a racing accident at Dillingham Field, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, and sports car racing and its enthusiasts lost a driver of great talent and popularity.
William….thanks so very much for your comments about my recollections. I think I actually knew then that I was living through an extraordinary time. The drivers and machines and courses remain so vivid. The first race I ever attended – in my new MG TF1500 – was the last Pebble. And the following year, of course, the first Laguna. Our 23 year old son – a total gearhead – can’t imagine that I was there, seeing those fabulous races!
I clearly recall reading about Lou Brero’s fatal accident. He was one of the guys I always followed, along with Merle Brennan in the manxtail Cooper and Bob Oker and Harry Eyerly’s amazing Crosley, etc., etc.
Over the years I’ve amassed a rather extensive automotive library, among which are old, very rare, certainly famous volumes. Yet the book I return to over and over is “Sports Car Racing”, the story of your fabulous Dad, Tony Parravano, John von Neuman and the whole West Coast scene. I wonder how many enthusiasts today understand how they changed the entire car world in North America, and later in Europe, because of their passion and investment.
Looking back, I see the period ’58 – ’60 as the pinnacle of the sports racer in America. The sheer range of machinery that showed at Laguna in those years – along with a drivers’ list that sounds like some kind of dream today – is staggering to recall. Of course, being a third generation Californian (San Franciscan at that), I can’t imagine the epicenter having been anywhere else. To be here then really was a beautiful, exciting dream.
I honor your Dad, and wish you the best.
Sincerely,
David Berelson
Hi, william, I am producing a documentary on the Pebble Beach races from 50-56, i would love to get your story on camera. email me. deank@kirklanddigital.com
Great story, William! (Stories, actually.) I cheered Shelby on at almost all his races on the East Coast in the mid-Fifties, and championed his successful effort to perfect Ford’s then-troubled GT40 in the June, 1965 issue of Car and Driver (an article still quoted back to me by the Shelby American Owner’s Club). Great photos, too….
Fabulous stuff from William Edgar, as usual. Thank you for these great recollections.
what a 1st class texan all the way. shell was in beverly hills at david e. davis book signing yrs ago.
had plenty of women around him. last time i saw him in person. love the pictures from the old days.
thanks for sharing. youmust of had a fabulous childhood with your dad. keep sharing.
Not so long ago I found myself thinking about how rare it is to run into people of my age (I was born in late 60′s) who really know what “Shel” was doing before he got involved with his Cobra project. I was amazed to find out that Wikipedia for instance did not say a word about his driving career (a little better now, but not that much). That’s why I was particularly delighted to find this article, and I think it does manage to draw a credible portrait of a man behind the legend and the people he was involved with. Thank You so much for sharing Your unique memories and amazing photos. Very well done!
Kare: I’m so glad you made your comment about Carroll Shelby’s driving years. I’m also pleased to find the “Ferrari In Sweden” website, and 410 Sport # 0596CM, sister car to the 410 Shel drove, by clicking on your name. Thanks, and all best, W.E.
We can thank God for great people like this that has developed great cars and racing to which we all appreciate today and will for years to come. It will be hard to find a new person that can will his shoes and do what he has done for cars and the industry of autos.Great racers have come and gone and only few names are remembered…this is definatly one of those names that will never be forgotten.His cars will help his history to live on. Hopefully one of our younger generation will come to stardome and shine like he has done and carry things to the next level.
Thank you, William.
My favorite article of the year.
Mr. Shelby is my automotive hero.
What a terrific piece of Sport Car History! Brings back vivid memories. I was blessed to have been there to observe most of these events alongside my Father Ted Brown. May they both rest in peace!
William: Thanks for the great stories. I was present at many of the California races you refer to.
That Shelby/Hill duel at Palm Springs in particular is one I have never forgotten.
I was glad to be a part of it all too – even though I was a young teenager – it all
made a strong impression on me – determined my goals, career and life ineterests.
I became a mechanical engineer because I wanted to design and build race cars -
and I have – as well as raced karts, motorcycles and cars.
Best regards,
Mike Savin
Thanks, Mike for your comment. I refer SCD readers to your recollection of Bob Oker driving your father’s AC Bristol in a sports car race at Sacramento, California in September 1956, when few new what the car was (Tam’s Old Race Car Site – http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/MeachamBBOkerSacto56.html for a direct link to your piece) and how it impressed so many on that day back in the Fabulous Fifties.
William: – and thanks for referring them to Tam’s site. It was a wonderful era.
William and Mike….not to leave the subject of the moment – Mr. Shelby – but I had mentioned Bob Oker in my first message, and I easily remember that hot day at the Sac Fairgrounds where Bob, as usual, drove the beautiful 2 liter AC Bristol superbly, beating machinery of twice the displacement!
And the AC, good as it was, would be transformed by Carroll into the truly great 289 Cobra. What a time we witnessed!
David: That was quite a weekend. I’ve got some of it on film. I captured Masten Gregory, Lou Brero, Ken Miles, Bill Murphy, Richie Ginther, John Von Neuman in and out of the cockpit. The AC was running in E Production, 2 liter engines – and at the time, I don’t believe mods were allowed to suspension components in the Production classes. My films at Santa Barbara, especially, show lots of body lean – and probably not real good front end geometry. The car was good – and Oker was a phenomenal driver. I agree: Shelby definitely improved upon the original car.
I wish I could upload some stills captured from the above films to illustrate, and share my portraits of the drivers just named.
Mike…how I’d love to see that footage, or even stills from it! Speaking of the unforgettable Bob Oker, didn’t he also shock competition at the wheel of Lew Spencer’s ridiculously fast Morgan?
I can’t help adding a bit of color about an event that I’m sure but a handful of people saw or remember……I spent a year and a half at a specialized international trade college in Mexico City in ’59-’60. While there, I was surprised to see a notice for a sports car race outside the Capitol at a circuit called Valle del Bravo.
John and Josie brought their von Neuman stable down (about 2500 miles from Socal!), and also racing that day were two extremely fast teenage kids by the name of Rodriguez. John won – and I seem to recall that Richie Ginther was there – but the buzz was all about those brothers. We were entering the ’60′s….
David:
Nope. Oker didn’t drive Lew Spenser’s car. He did go on to drive Aston Martins
for Joe Lubin, Maserati 1500, Cooper Formula Jr, Ferraris, Cooper Monaco. He drove
Jim Firestone’s Frazer Nash several times. One big win for Oker was Riverside big-bore
event: 1958 United States Grand Prix for Sports Cars, Oct 12, 1958. The car had been
Stirling Moss’ factory car.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_United_States_Grand_Prix_for_Sports_Cars
Neat that you were present for the Mexican race. I well remember reading about it
in MotoRacing Newspaper. Gus Vignole introduced the Rodriguez brothers to readers
in Southern California in his report regarding that race. The brothers’ father later blamed
Gus for the early deaths of the two. I remember seeing Ricardo driving his Porsche
Spyder at Riverside not long after that. I was jealous! Ricardo was 17 at the time -
I wasn’t going to be race-legal until I was 21.
David: Give me a way to contact you (e-mail address) – and I’ll send you some stills
from the aforementioned movie footage).
Best regards,
Mike Savin
Mike….thanks for correcting my memory re Spencer’s Morgan. Did know about Oker’s other drives. And how come no one seems to talk about Sammy Weiss, whose drives in the 550′s and RSK’s were superb. Another sad loss.
You’re really kind to offer stills of your movie footage….gratefully accepted!!
Whoops! I made a mistake: Oker won the 1959 USAC United States GP – not the ’58 version.
Also, Bob drove factory Triumph TR3s at Sebring 2 years running.(1956 and 1957). Bob drove
11 hrs and 15 minutes himself of the 1956 12 hour race – thus was given the title of “Iron Man Oker” by
Gus Vignole. He won the 2-liter GT class, finishing 19th overall
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1132468/index.htm
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