SOLVED: Djetset #359 - HRG Bristol 'Male Menopause Special'

[yves]

Based on Aston Martin ?

[Djetset]

No.

[woodinsight]

I'm sure I've seen that radiator before somewhere.
I know it appears relatively small to be based on an Allard but I need to eliminate that.
Allard based?

[Djetset]

Not an Allard base I'm afraid.

[guido66]

Jensen based?

[Djetset]

No.

[yves]

Rolls-Royce based ?

[guido66]

Last guess for me: TVR?

[Djetset]

Not TVR nor Rolls-Royce.

[Otto Puzzell]

Perhaps there's a Sunbeam-Talbot Under that bodywork?

[Djetset]

No, not one of thoese either.

[Otto Puzzell]

From somewhere in the Rootes Group?

[Djetset]

Afraid not.

[Otto Puzzell]

It looks too small, but.....Bristol?

[Paul Jaray]

I think this car was for sale...I remember that plate and I remember that all the cars for sale in that site had the same one...I hope it helps someone, because I can't remember where I saw it!

...but I might be wrong....

[Djetset]

Otto is right in that the mechanical base is Bristol.  Just proves that size isn't everything!

So, do you know who made it?

[woodinsight]

Found it!
Apparently this is called the "Male Menopause Special" - really, I kid you not!
The base is HRG and was started in 1949 but never finished. It was to be fitted with a Bristol engine at the time but the engine was eventually returned to Bristol.
The chassis ended up in Holbrook NSW, Australia owned by Allen Gray.
He sold it to Ted Lobb of Grenfell NSW in the 1950s and it then lay uncompleted for 40 years.
A friend of Lobb's eventually purchased it and over a period of several years collected enough parts to complete the rebuild including a Bristol engine.
The new owner, who remains anonymous, commissioned Tom Peach of Melbourne to build a body for the car resembling a 1940s/1950s style sports car.
The car was finally completed in 2003.

[grobmotorix]

  Male Menopause Special 

Well....

[Djetset]

Woodinsight's very complete answer is correct.  Well done, you get the point.

[johnmedley]

An amazing find!

I was researching Allan Gray(who raced various cars in Australia in the 1950s), and absolutely by accident found this thread.

I thought my knowledge of Australian motor sport was very good, I know the names AGray and T Lobb for example, but this car is completely new to me

Are you able to tell me more?

Greatly appreciated if you can

                                        Regards
                                             John Medley

[woodinsight]

An amazing find!

I was researching Allan Gray(who raced various cars in Australia in the 1950s), and absolutely by accident found this thread.

I thought my knowledge of Australian motor sport was very good, I know the names AGray and T Lobb for example, but this car is completely new to me

Are you able to tell me more?

Greatly appreciated if you can

                                        Regards
                                             John Medley

Hello John,

Welcome to AutoPuzzles - I'm sure you'll find several other Australian specials of interest on this site.
I posted a couple fairly recently that are waiting to be solved.

As for the Bristol-engined HRG 'Male Menopause Special' - I came across a short piece on the car in the UK magazine "Classic & Sports Car" dated March 2005 (on page 22).
That is sadly all the information I have on the car at the moment - I think all the relevant details were contained in my reply of 4th. July, 2010. I would have thought that the car would have been mentioned somewhere in the Australian specialist press but you are better placed than myself to know if this is the case.
If I find out more I will post it here.

Regards,
woodinsight

[DHoffmann]

Seems to always be the case that I've seen/photographed a rare car but am too late to capitalize! So here's my pics and the accompanying information:

1949 HRG 2 Litre

Between 1935 and 1955, HRG, a small British engineering company, built 241 cars and chassis, most with Meadows or Singer engines of 1100 and 1500 cc. Capacity. The intention was to recreate the excellent performance and handling of the 1920s.

HRG were successful in most forms of motor sport. They competed four times in the Le Mans 24 hour race: in 1949 finishing 8th overall and 1st in class.

This experimental chassis was built in 1948/9 specifically for the Bristol 2 litre engine, a direct (and better made) copy of the very sporting pre war BMW 328. It was probably intended for Le Mans, having the 3.75:1 axle ratio of HRG's other Le Mans contenders.

A number of other sports and racing car manufacturers - Frazer Nash, Cooper, AC, Lister - had also seen the potential of the engine. HRG decided that they already had a winning design and did not complete this Bristol engined car. (Another chassis was built for a Maserati engine.)

Eventuall experimental chassis WB50 found its way to a farm shed in New South Wales where it rested for 40 years.

I bought the chassis with a few suspension spares, but no engine, in November 1988. Total build time so far, about 55 years.

L.L. 2005