It took months to track down the story of Phil Cade's Maserati and
it's acceptance with the VSCCA. Here's the story:
The car was a Maserati V8RI - one of 4 cars built in the mid-30s.
George Weaver owned the fourth car - acquiring it about the same time
as he acquired Thompson Speedway. In 1951, George found the first car
of the series, and Phil became it's owner. After two years of misery
due to engine problems, Phil went to Goldie's Auto Parts, Boston's
renowned purveyor of used auto parts, and came home with a 1951 331
cubic inch Chrysler Hemi. The Hemi Maser had a 8 year run of success
for Phil and about doubled in HP over the years. To tame wheelspin,
he uses a set of M&H slicks on the rear!
Aside: Phil replaced the Hemi Maser with a 250F in which he had a
teriffic rash at Watkins Glen in 1962 (USGP!) After a long recovery,
he was back at it in 1963 in a Lotus 18Climax
I heard about Phil from a contractor here in Winchester a few years
ago - he bought Phil's 3500GT and then found how hard it was to keep
running, fix or sell! I told the story to Rick Carey who tried to get
Phil to let sponsors ship the Maser to Monterrey when Maserati was
honored.
After Phil's death last year, Bob Valpey did buy the car and is doing
a minor refurbishment. The controversy with the VSCCA, according to
Ed, Bob's son, is whether they will allow the car to run in the
prewar class - some competitors are grumbling over the likelihood of
their being blown off so easily!
Ciao,
Jim
--
Jim Hayes jeh@jimhayes.com www.JimHayes.com
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