Story and photos courtesy Cliff Reuter
In 1946 Ilario Bandini began producing racing cars in Forli, Italy that featured tubular frames made from airplane wing struts, hand hammered aluminum bodies, and Fiat running gear.
Bandini’s biggest success in America came in 1955 and 1957 when the Bandini Siluro (torpedo) won the SCCA National Class H Modified championship.
Bandinis continued to win SCCA Class H-Mod races well in to the mid 1960’s and our feature car, Jack Reuter’s 1955 750cc Twin Cam Siluro #358, was undefeated while winning the SCCA Southwest Regional Championship from 1961-1963.
Chassis # 358 was imported by T.B. Davis of Dallas Texas and raced by Hugh Grammer. Its 750cc engine is Crosley based and has a Bandini twin cam aluminum head which produces 71 BHP at 9,000 RPM. The weight of the car is 750 pounds and it was clocked at 115 MPH at the 1963 Green Valley Texas race.
Long time car collector Jack Reuter purchased it over thirty years ago after searching for Bandinis for many years. Bandini #358 is a true survivor as it retains 100% of its original metal and shows no signs of ever being damaged. It was shown at the 2002 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where it was awarded a prize. It will be shown at the Amelia Island Concours in March. Visit Cliff Reuter’s Etceterini Website
once upon a time (i think about 1962) there was a fellow in morristown NJ who had a bandini (envelope bodied, not like this one) in his garage with a 750 osca in it. he asked, would i like to buy the car. i liked the spaceframe, all round & oval tubes & the engine was mounted farther back in the chassis so the weight distribution was better than in my osca. we don’t seem to use oval tubing in the u.s.a, rectangular tubing is heavier than oval for the same strength, but easier to fabricate assemblies with. i think the maserfrats liked to have the clutch & flywheel ahead of the driver’s feet, but whoever heard of an osca clutch exploding? i think i have one or two spares lying around.
i said no, i have enough italian machinery already. he said, would i like to buy the engine alone, without car. well we worked a deal so after that i had a spare engine. i don’t have a record of the number on the block, it may have been with the car when i sold it to roger clouser in 1966.
> jack
Hey Cliff…I always enjoy seeing this great looking racecar! Here’s to H-Mods and your excellent website. Thanks for sharing.