The 1950s hatched a lush variety of cars called American Specials. Mostly fiberglass, these cars were made in tiny handfuls by guys in garages. Some were kits, others sprang fully formed from their inventors’ workshops. Few are so rare as the LeGene Californian Sports Special, crafted by William Eugene Dodson and his father Lee, who ran an auto parts store. As best as we can tell, six examples were made from 1953 through 1955, along with another six bodies. Four or five are known to be in existence today, and all are slightly different. This particular LeGene is mounted on a 1949 Ford chassis and powered by a 239 cu. in. flathead Ford V8 engine. It was restored by Geoff Hacker of Undiscovered Classics and shown at the Amelia Island Concours in 2010 as well as 2014. Kept in a museum for several years afterward, the car surfaced recently at Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction held in April, where it sold for $49,500.
The engine bay cradles that wonderful 239 cu. in. flathead, adorned with dual Stromberg carburetors mounted on an Offenhauser intake manifold, and paired with a Ford floor-shift three-speed manual. I love the air filter screens fastened with hose clamps. An air scoop molded into the hood nestles over those carbs – racy! No performance statistics are available but it wouldn’t take many ponies to propel that lightweight fiberglass body swiftly down the road.
The interior is matched to the exterior without being overbearing. The steering wheel is from a Kaiser Frazer Manhattan, and the gauges are Veglia Borletti. The dealer-seller says the windshield is from a 1955 Ford Victoria. If you’re wondering about weather equipment, that would be your hat and coat! That said, photos of the car before its restoration do show a hard top.
The rear of the LeGene is reminiscent of a Turner, with just the mildest of fins and that narrow tail light. This car’s underside is tidy but not perfect. No doubt it’s covered a few miles post-restoration. A video is included in the listing, and at about 1:16, slight flaws in the fiberglass below the hood line show up. As with many fiberglass cars, panel fit is indifferent. This rare special is listed here on eBay with bidding at $6100, reserve not met. No price help is available from the dealer’s website, where we are told to “call for price”. While an old appraisal put the value of the car between $60k and $80k, it’s clear from the B-J result that the market has softened. What would you pay for this rare American special?
Taillamps look to be `49 Ford units, no doubt from the same car the chassis came from? An interesting car; I bet that flathead sounds sweet. GLWTA!
Liked that too….
I see it has cross leaf front suspension so I doubt it was built on a ’49 Ford chassis as they used coil springs.
Further checking has me thinking it is a ’48 or earlier Ford chassis
That’s shapely enough to inspire a full swap to another, more modern, chassis and engine if it could be had at a reasonable price.
Yeah … pre’49 chassis.
If anyone ever dreamed of owning a Kaiser Darrin, a Daimler SP250 and a BMW 507, this one car seems to combine a little bit of all three.
My first thought is that it resembles a Nash Healey. Pity about the wheels which don’t suit the car at all.
Also a bit of Maserati 3500GT in that grille, only missing the Trident in the oval.
Good to see that the boot lid lost it’s “Continental” wheel cover and it looks like it grew a bonnet scoop during the restoration, although I could be wrong as it might be hiding the left front fender in the original pictures from Geoff Hacker.
Cool looking sports car. I would not be surprised if they try to put a blower on top but of course the hood scoop would be to high. Love that flathead thou. I noticed two gas filters. The one in the back I would of found a better and safer place for it. I think those black rims should had been chromed. The rims now cheapen the look of the vehicle. If somebody comes forth and buys it. They should chrome the rims or put the Chrysler chrome spokes from the 50’s I think that would make the car stand out. Good luck to the seller. 🐻🇺🇸
Thanks for letting us know what you think.
I feel like this is one of those cars which will only getting cheaper over time since the folks who value them the most are slowly leaving. Since there is no race pedigree or “Shelby” like nameplate attached, it isn’t going to draw the newer crowd in. I hope it gets in the hands of someone who really loves it or a museum.
Two in one day MR your on a roll……neat old car.
EBay ad says 1940 Ford chassis.
Knowing MotoExotica, they paid $49k at BJ and now are looking to sell for $98k. I think 49k was very strong money for the car. Rarity aside, there were quite a few of these companies building fiberglass cars in the 50s. Only the Glaspar and Munz roadster have any serious investment potential, and even then they’re not worth the cost of restoration.