Long before you could hop on the internet and find tutorials for just about anything, you would go to your local newsstand and hope that there might be a magazine present with an interesting how-to. For us gear heads, one of the most interesting and iconic magazine how-tos ever can be found in the January 1951 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. Technically, you had to pay $5 to get the full instructions, but the magazine gave you the basic gist of the build. Finding original copies of the instructions isn’t impossible, but personally, I’d rather buy this already built example. It’s been parked in this garage for a long time, so there’s going to be work to do, but it’s better than starting with nothing! You can find it here on craigslist in East Bangor, Pennsylvania with a $7,995 asking price. Our thanks Ikey H for the great tip!
According to the seller, the builder of this one built 8 of these cars and this was the final one. Hopefully, that means they had the process down and all the bugs worked out. Under the hood is an Oldsmobile Rocket V8, but there’s no word on its condition, year, or displacement. It looks a little rough, but the seller includes photos of another Rocket V8. There’s no word on whether the other engine is included, so you will want to check on that. It would be a huge bonus to have a good engine ready to go in it, but another engine won’t be too hard to find for it.
I’m a huge fan of the Lotus Seven, it’s simple, lightweight and focused entirely on driving. This Special is unlikely to give you a real Seven experience, but there’s no denying that the interior shares the same level of simplicity that makes the Lotus so great. You get a pair of seats, a steering wheel, shifter, and a handful of gauges. It only has those things you absolutely need to drive and nothing else. This one is going to need restoration work, but again, it’s incredibly simple and should be fairly easy to restore the interior.
There is something truly fascinating about these Mechanix Illustrated cars that makes me want one. While a Lotus Seven styled kit car would likely be more agile, this all American lightweight would be an absolute blast to drive plus it has far more character and history than a modern kit will ever have. So, would you put this M.I. Special back on the road?
Makes me think of “Old Yeller” albeit not as competitive.
Does bring a smile thinking about the industrious someone that dedicated many hours of labor and knuckle skinning to realize his dream…
Always loved Mechanix Illustrated for the wit and wisdom of the greatest automotive journalist of all time, the incomparable Tom McCahill.
Now here’s a piece of history for you!
As a kid, I’ve always wondered if anyone
ever built one of these. But someone
actually built 8 of them and this may be the only one left. The engine in the car is
a ’49-’52 Olds 303 cube V-8 while the painted one is a ’53 324 cube engine rated at a respectable 150 HP. The frame and suspension components
appear to be Model A in nature with the frame being boxed. The rims look to be
’32 or newer, while the fenders might be
hand made cycle style types with bobbed Model A units in the rear. The
grille is off a ’38 Chrysler and I Don’t know what the headlights are. To be safe, I’d use a set of juice brakes if the
builders hadn’t added them and ditch
those skinny tires that are on it now for
a wider grippier type. And I’d choose an
M-22 rock crusher for a tranny to take
full advantage of the engine’s power
band. And let’s not forget the J-2 intake
with 3 deuces for the cherry on top!
My dad had a pile of mostly Ford car parts in the upper level of our garage all my growing up life. My Mother said he collected them in the early part of their marriage to build a car from plans he had, and carried the parts around from rental house to rental house until they finally bought their own place 2 years before I was born. Unfortunately he never built his dream car, and sold the parts in the early 80’s to a antique car dealer in our town. I never understood what exactly it was he wanted to build until he passed away in 1985 and I found the Mechanix Illustrated plans for this car in his workshop. I still have his plans, plus my own plans for a car I wanted to build. Like him, I bought plans for my self-build, but never got my car built either. Mine was from Robert Q. Riley Enterprises for the three-wheeler Tri-Magnum. At this point in my life, I would buy an already built Tri-Magnum if I could afford it, and I’m sure if he were still alive, he’d buy this car rather than start from scratch.
RQR Enterprises is on line. Still selling plans for funky ’70’s VW Beetle van and camper conversions. I wonder if Beetles are becoming too pricey and rare to do one of these conversions. Even once ubiquitous Baja Bugs seem to have nearly disappeared.
This is the third MechaniX Illustrated custom “sports car” featured in Barn Finds. Number 1 & 2 appeared in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Jun 9, 2014 titled “First Dibs: 1951 M.I. Special roadster”.
The 2013 car seller “suspects this is one of the original 17 built by the magazine”. Really. Seventeen built by the d.i.y. magazine. I think not. Not likely many built photos of some are online.
Obvious typo in 2013 text “a curb weight around a thousand pounds”, should be around “two” thousand pounds.
Old Yaller mk II with a 93” wheelbase built on a tubular box frame of 1 3/4” tubing with a built as an all out racing car had a weight of 1980 lbs. Yes, it had a Buick V8, but it didn’t have a 112” Ford frame and cobbled steel car body. The body was built by Daddy’s Auto Body Shop in Burbank.
Neither did Old Yaller mk 1 aka the Balchowsky Beast have a car frame it was a special built originally by Dick Morgensen and Boyd Hough with 2” chrome-moly truss type frame. Max dropped in the ’56 Buick engine. The rear fenders were chopped and ventilated ’49 Chevy truck. Rear deck was made from Coco Cola sign. Everything from rear fenders forward was good ol’ aluminum. Balchowsky knew the Morgensen special before he bought and tweaked it. It weighed in at 2330 pounds.
A M. I. Special might have turned a 1/4 mile or two after substantial changes, but these were never sports cars ie: daily drivers and weekend warriors.
The 2014 feature car has even less esthetically appealing than the “standard” M. I. design that was by Robert Whitehead who sold plans pre-M.I. for $5 each.
Hemmings sot com printed the plans online in their article “Build this 100-mph sports car for under $500!” on May 18th, 2010.
Like a lost mongrel missing part of an ear half its tail in need of a home these old M.I. crates can be appealing though they’re definitely not light weight. This primitive machines that would required a mountain of hours, knowledge and more than “$500” to transform.
Thanks to IMCDB Internet Movie Cars Database we can take a good look at Old Yaller mk1 driven at speed (movie speed) in the 1959 movie Road Racers. I like the scenes where its dueling with the Pickford Jaguar Special:
https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_106204-Balchowsky-Ol–Yaller.html
Video clips of movie can be found online.
I much prefer Mechanix Illustrated later “sensational wood-bodied, 90-mph car for less than $500. I had the less, far less than $500.
They designed and built it with an oak 2×4 frame, Renault 4CV suspension components, originally an Aerial Square 4 engine and mahogany bodywork. Jalopnik article – 24 Nov 2008 “All-Wooden Speedball Special Roadster…”, with M.I. article and plans.
Thanks for your knowledgeable OldYeller insights and information.
It should have a Captain Marvel (Shazam) theme, to see if anyone gets the connection.
James… We bought a Bugeye Sprite race car from Dave Gibb in Oklahoma City in ’89. He had Old Yaller 2 and was finishing up a long rebuild on it as it crashed heavily a few years earlier. A few years later we picked up a Vintage racing magazine with a picture of Dave, his ever present cigar, and Old Yaller 2 at a meet in California. They were well built and fast but according to some of the people close to Max he was the only one who got the full potential out of the cars.
I was on the other side of the country when Max was winning races with Old Yaller mk 1 and mk 11 after first season’s teething problems.
I did see Old Yaller II’s hard crash at Fordwater with Ernie Nagamatsu driving. It seemed a long moment before he walked away from the car then taken to the medical team to ensure he was O.K. Scary.
Ernie Nagamatsu has done an exemplary job not only maintaining Old Yaller II, but also of promoting Balchowsky’s life’s work.
Those familiar with Dave MacDonald’s Cobra winning ways with Shelby may know he was racing Vettes first and his 00 Vette sports racer with the shortened light-weight lookalike body was actually Ol Yaller Mk 5.
Racing Sports Cars Dave MacDonal race data page:
https://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/Dave-MacDonald-USA.html
The most sophisticated part of the electrical system is the aftermarket turn signal switch. One could install a vintage steering column with built in turn signal switch and working horn button.Maybe even an Oldsmobile horn button.
Wish I could post a picture of my Olds Special! You can find it by Googling 1941 Olds Special. Wish I had the time and energy to pick this one up just for the grins…however, one race car right now is all I can handle.
WOW! That car spent some time in a leaky storage barn, possibly it was flooded out at one time.
I live about 5 miles from East Bangor. I’ve never heard about this car, and there had been a weekly “car show” there every week for years until COVID came along.
Put this back in the garage.
This car represents more than the sum of its parts. it is not just a relic of a past time, but an artifact that represents an American mindset that no longer exists. For that alone it should be preserved.
You sir, totally get it!
What was the date of the 2013 picture? I built this car in 1953-54 as a 17 yr. old. Not particularly complicated, just labor intensive. Kept the flathead v8 that came with the 32 Ford that supplied the frame and running gear, though with twin Stromberg 97’s. Dropped front axle, Frame dropped 5 inches just ahead of the rear wheels, conduit tubing forming the body, then covered with aluminum. Fast and fun. Wish I still had it. Would love to see pictures of others’ efforts. I can’t find any of mine.
Another example of why the DOT frowns on people building their own cars.
I have one built in Sheridan Wyoming by Cecil Wentz. It’s based on a ’32 Ford and had the original flathead until around 1970 or so. A bunch of parts have disappeared from the car over the years-sheetmetal from the fire wall forward for example. But there’s enough left to put it back together.
bruce, the one i saw was in a garage on illinois street in sheridan, across from dave ruffs house and a block north. the guys said it came from calif and this was back in 1959-60 ish…. the one i had, i took to a swap meet in denver but got no action. cut it up, then john lee, in lincoln nebr, found one and did an article for old cars weekly on it and included a photo of mine on top of my truck at the swap meet. i need to dig in my shoe boxes for those photos.. where do you post photos on this site??
ken, you discribe a 1951 mi spl, exactily like i had. i found mine in the alley, here in alliance, nebr. it was origionally painted white, then red. caught fire, not bad. got it running and driving. decided to make a chopped and channeled old school hot rod so cut the fabricated body off. i found a copy of the mechanics illistrated magazine, but no blue prints, but whoever built the car, built it by the blue prints. i sold the assembled model a hot rod rolling chassis, locally and its still sitting in his shop and i still have the flathead… i have a friend in south dakota who built 2 of these cars, similar to the origional design. i saw one in bayard, nebr, years ago and when i was living in sheridan, wyo, back in the late 50s, early 60s, i saw one in a garage on my paper route, that was painted green..