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American Etceterini: On Track Again at Lime Rock and Best of Show

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Santo and the PBX debut at the 2023 Historics at Lime Rock Park. Photo by Sean Smith

By Sean Smith

Santo knew the PBX he purchased from Orrie Simko was tired and needed some love. So he stripped it down to a roller and sent it off to have any imperfections massaged out and a new coat of paint applied. Researching historical pictures, Santo found the little experimental car had gone through several color changes, but there was one that seemed to suit it best. Samples were looked at and a shade was chosen. The PBX is now resplendent in a bitchin shade of green.

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American Etceterini: Scanning the PBX

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The PBX and other H Mod racers at Lime Rock Park.

Story by Sean Smith

Santo Spadaro saw Orrie Simko in the PBX buzzing around the A and B paddocks at the 2021 Lime Rock Historics and asked if he could take it for a spin. Just driving it around the infield was a blast. Santo came back from his ride. He was interested. He loved the history, the car had Italian components that gave it extra interest, and Candy was a mechanic/racer similar to Santo. He was hooked. It was the perfect fit. This way, the PBX would stay in the VSCCA and be raced and not hidden away where no one would see it and get to appreciate it. For Orrie Simko and Jeb Ebbott, finding the PBX a new and understanding caretaker in Santo Spadaro was a privilege.

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American Etceterini: The PBX Goes Racing

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One of the first pictures taken of Candy and the unpainted PBX before it went racing. Credit Poole collection.

By Sean Smith

The PBX was also punching above its class. Some of its victories were against cars with twice the displacement. Candy was an excellent driver, but he was also a great tactician. He didn’t just arrive and drive. When he went to a track, he came with multiple differentials with ratios from 6.0 to 4.875. He would match them with multiple sets of wheels 12”, 13”, 14” right up to 15”, depending on the length and grade of the course. Candy also added a jack to the front springs, allowing him to dial more spring tension and dial it out as needed. The same went for the rear. The differential acted as an anti-roll bar, and depending on how he adjusted the radius arms and upper control arms, he could get more stiffness in the rear. That way, he could totally control the front and rear handling dynamic and make the car completely neutral.

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Full Circle: Powers and the Hotshot

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Dale Powers in his Crosley, circa 1954. Dale Powers photo

By Eric Davison
With a sidebar on the Bandini Crosley

COVID 19 has raised hell with most lives and relationships. Too much togetherness has caused some serious family breaches. Just about every activity that you can name has been affected. Hang around at your favorite tavern? No! A round of golf with your pals? No, unless you each have a private cart. So much for the fellowship that has drawn so many to the game. Maybe trout fishing in a river in Montana is OK but fishing is a lonely sport to begin with. Football games, baseball games, basketball; they all seem a bit weird without screaming fans.

It seems that us car guys have been spared. Those of us who enjoy hands-on experiences with machines propelled by fossil fuels can still participate. Got a great car. Get in it and go. Or, go to the garage and polish it. Or, just sit there and admire it.

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Dale Powers’ Fascinating Finds Part 2

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A friend of Power’s discovered this Maserati 200S at a facility in Tampa where it had been sitting and notified Dale. Reasonable offer made and accepted.

By Eric Davison
Photos courtesy Dale Powers
From the Archives, December, 2016

Read Part 1

During the course of his automotive career Dale Powers has owned so many different great cars that he cannot recall all of them. There were Jaguars, Porsches, half a dozen Ferraris including a Daytona and a 2-litre Testa Rossa, a Kurtis, an HRG, an SS100. It would be hard to find a marque that he did not at one time own and drive. A beautiful Cisitalia cabriolet was his personal chariot for a few happy miles. [Read more…] about Dale Powers’ Fascinating Finds Part 2

Dale Powers’ Fascinating Finds, Part 1

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1750 Alfa: An early find was this 1750 Alfa that had been brutalized with a hack saw to create cabriolet from a coupe. Powers searched for and finally found the severed top, only to come up a week short as the top had been scrapped before he was able to purchase it.

By Eric Davison
Photos courtesy Dale Powers
From the Archives, December 2016

Those of us who claim age to be an asset will remember a time when a two-year-old Ferrari was just a used up race car that had been superseded by something newer and faster and turned out to pasture. While there were not too many of them (there were not too many Ferraris of any kind in the 50s and early 60s) there were purchasing opportunities for those who had an eye for automotive excitement and were in a position to do something about those opportunities.

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