1927 Hall-Scott special

For the Americans, like the British, French and Italians the inter-war period was the time when the thrill of speed caught on. For the motoring pioneers this meant bigger was better and so in their quest for speed enormous machines were created often built around surplus aero engines. Named somewhat appropriately after the Greek sky and thunder God Zeus, this is a car built very much in the spirit of those early racers. Created by Paul Springer of Vancouver, Washington on a custom ordered 1927 Diamond T chassis the sheer size and presence of this machine creates an impact wherever it goes, whether that's in the show ground, rallies, sprints or even just a trip to the pub.

The heart of this beautifully engineered special is the 14.5 litre Hall-Scott engine. Hall-Scott established their reputation building aircraft engines as well as racing engines for the luxury car maker Duesenberg so they knew how to keep an engine light and robust. In 1921 Hall-Scott moved away from aviation and produced engines for tractors, trucks and boats and the engine in Zeus is from this period. It's a straight 6 with an overhead cam and hemispherical combustion chambers. It breathes through twin updraft carbs and the enormous drainpipe like exhaust emits an appropriate rasping bellow. Cooling is looked after by the centrifugal water pump which circulates the coolant through the beautiful, original radiator. The original figures for the engine were 275 bhp with 850 ft pounds of torque.

The torque and power is delivered to the back axle via a 4 speed gearbox with overdrive built by Brown-Lipe. Perhaps unsurprisingly the original axle only lasted a few miles so was rebuilt using drag racing components and has proved to be amply up to the task.

Often it's the original braking systems of cars from this era that can cause anxiety and take the joy out of driving them in today's traffic but Zeus has generously sized, externally contracting Lockheed hydraulic brakes front and rear that inspire confidence.

The underside is clean, tidy and free from oil leaks.

The electrical system includes a high capacity generator, starter and fuel pumps and a beautiful pair Gray & Davis headlamps. The electrical wiring is cloth covered by Bart Ouchida and all is monitored through a full set of beautifully original Hall-Scott instruments.

The 13ft 9 inch chassis sits on custom made steel wheels accommodates a lightweight 2 seater roadster body. In the true spirit of a vintage special the body is an amalgamation of a 1916 Franklin, 1918 Studebaker and the boat tail was created from a 1947 Hudson. The result is a purposeful looking speedster that still retains a spacious cockpit which makes those long distance rallies so much more enjoyable. The leather upholstery with beautifully crafted hand stitching gives an element of luxury from a bygone era.

Finished in dark green with pin-striping and a hand painted Zeus illustration on the flank, the paintwork is of a quality rarely seen on a vintage motor. The colour contrasts beautifully with the polished brass fittings.

Whilst residing in the States this standard of finish and engineering was rewarded numerous times with Zeus taking home silverware from many shows. She's no 'trailer - queen' as evidenced by the many rallies entered including a total of 4 stage wins in the arduous 2500 mile 'Great Race' rally in 2017.

The current British owner is only the third owner and imported the car into the U.K. It is currently not road registered.

Many of the multi-litred leviathans like Zeus are temperamental, specialist machines but Zeus provides the same visceral appeal whilst being reliable and user-friendly. The owner is a professional in the car restoration business and he has maintained and serviced Zeus regularly. 'On the button' and ready for immediate use I highly recommend viewing this impressive motor car in our show room.