Rattenbury Specials
Prolific special builder and driver Jim Rattenbury was first known for his small-bore specials, but for a while he modified and drove a D-Jaguar profiled
elsewhere (as is Jim). His most famous true special was the oddly shaped car pictured on the web site which started out with a Crosley engine and finished its career with a much more potent Porsche. His first special, raced in B.C in 1953, was as rough as any, resembling a soapbox racer with bigger wheels. It was based on a Crosley and Jim basically just removed the body. He installed a supercharger that gave the car 57 hp with a weight of 865 pounds. The second special used the same engine and blower, but in a more sophisticated tubular chassis body. It was raced in 1954 and ‘55.
Next came the afore-mentioned “oddly shaped” special that was quite mechanically sophisticated for its time. The car, once described as looking like as “guppy on wheels,” featured a steel-tubed space frame, four-wheel independent suspension, hand-formed aluminum bodywork, a transverse Crosley engine and more.
After Jim’s D-Jag years, he upgraded the car with a Porsche Super 90 unit with Porsche drive train and disc brakes. It was quite successful for several years in Class G modified.
elsewhere (as is Jim). His most famous true special was the oddly shaped car pictured on the web site which started out with a Crosley engine and finished its career with a much more potent Porsche. His first special, raced in B.C in 1953, was as rough as any, resembling a soapbox racer with bigger wheels. It was based on a Crosley and Jim basically just removed the body. He installed a supercharger that gave the car 57 hp with a weight of 865 pounds. The second special used the same engine and blower, but in a more sophisticated tubular chassis body. It was raced in 1954 and ‘55.
Next came the afore-mentioned “oddly shaped” special that was quite mechanically sophisticated for its time. The car, once described as looking like as “guppy on wheels,” featured a steel-tubed space frame, four-wheel independent suspension, hand-formed aluminum bodywork, a transverse Crosley engine and more.
After Jim’s D-Jag years, he upgraded the car with a Porsche Super 90 unit with Porsche drive train and disc brakes. It was quite successful for several years in Class G modified.