Gallery: Unique Racecar Collection Hits the Market
Click on the Gallery tab above for images of some of the cars for sale.
Stateside car collector David Neidell is selling a significant part of his impressive collection in 2016, featuring many unusual and intriguing race cars located in Europe as well as the US. With Indianapolis racers ranging from pre-war a Plymouth to a 1990s Reynard, Corvettes - including one car reputed to be the most successful ever raced, a CanAm racer and many others, the eclectic collection offers the opportunity for purchasers to go race in a variety of series and high-profile meetings in a classic racer of their choice!
HistoricRacingNews.com’s Paul Tarsey caught up with David at the recent Classic 24 at Daytona and he explained to why he is finally splitting up his collection and putting his cars on the market. “I have collected these cars over several years and it’s time to rationalise some of the numbers. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed owning them and very much want them to go to people who share my love of the cars and their heritage.
“Part of the challenge is that the cars are in various places in both Europe and the US and so I don’t get the opportunity to have the collection all in one place.”
Avid HistoricRacingNews.com readers will recall David Neidell’s Mustang racing to a third place overall finish at the 2014 Silverstone Classic and this is one of many racers up for sale in this star-studded sell-off. Although not an FIA car, this UK based racer represents stunning value at $45,000 and would be a great way to get a start in V8 saloons with the sheer horse power on offer from Ford’s ‘Pony’ car.
If you are looking for what we think is could very well be the cheapest way to get onto the CanAm grid – and a race for these powerful sportscars will be a feature of this year’s Silverstone Classic - then the Neidell collection’s 1967 McKee Mk VII must be a contender. One of only two CanAm cars built by Bob McKee, the car is in excellent condition, and is currently in Stansted, England being prepared for FIA papers and would be a welcome addition to any grid offering a pleasing alternative to the ranks of Lola and McLarens and available for $175,000.
The1957 Devin Gary Special may also be a way onto some of different prestigious grids. One of 14 Devins with recognised vintage history, this 215 Buick engine ‘special’ was built for sportscar racing ahead of the 1957 season. “We keep all our cars in excellent condition but, to be honest, I think it needs $5000 in work to be fully race-ready which is why we are only asking $95,000,” says David.
One of the oldest cars in the Neidell collection is an original 1933 Plymouth Indy Car which raced at the Pittsburgh Historics this year. This is an original dirt track car from the late 30’s, and features an all-steel Boat tail conversion and has a Plymouth 4-cylinder, 70 HP engine and all SVRA logbooks. “Part of the reason that I don’t get to drive this car too often is that it is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma and we have it on the market at $125,000,” explained David.
Also located in Tulsa we find two Corvettes which are also available. One is a Doug Rippie built 513bhp car which has not only the full logbook accreditation but also is an SVRA Medallion winner. David Neidell explains: “This car has a racing history dating back 43 years but even this pales into insignificance against the racing history of my other ‘Vette. Believe it or not, this is actually the winningest Corvette in the world. Clair Ball drove this car off the dealer lot in 1968 and took it immediately to the SCCA Solo circuit. Over the years from 1968 – 2006, Clair drove this car to over 500 wins and a National Championship in the 80’s.
“We’ve converted the car to a road race car. It has great, documented history and was run at the Monterey Historics in 2012, it has a current SVRA logbook and is welcome anywhere in America. Originally it had a 427/435 engine but I couldn’t convince Clair to sell me the motor. The car currently needs an engine freshening and some further attention but at $55,000 (as-is) I think it offers great value”.
At HistoricRacingNews.com we have always had a clear view about (good/accurate) recreations. We would always relish the ‘real thing’ but, if that isn’t available, a good recreation is just fine. Neidell’s 1938 Gulf Miller Special is just that, an aluminium-bodied recreation of the Indy car built by Harry Miller, who constructed just three of these cars in total with the only original racer still in existence currently in the Indianapolis museum.
We love this beautiful car, and David explained to us that this car has over 4000-hours spent on the build. Obviously original mechanicals are difficult to source so the car has a six-cylinder Jaguar XK engine, which delivers about 200bhp and although a recreation, this car could race Pre-War in any suitable group or meeting, or amazingly it could be easily licenced and driven on the road! Whilst this car would cost well over $150,000 to replicate Neidell would be happy to see it go to a good home for $125,000.
“It’s important to me that these cars are loved and cared for but, most importantly, enjoyed - I don’t want them simply to be display pieces,” says David. This may be easier said than done with two very special NASCAR stockers, both of which have significant pedigrees.
The fully-documented 1977 Cale Yarborough Oldsmobile is the actual car that Cale drove to the 1978 Championship, with 11-wins making it the rarest of the rare in NASCAR circles. More recently it was an SVRA Enduro winner 2014 and the car is currently running in road course specification but can still be driven on oval. However our thoughts at HistoricRacingNews.com is that this car would cause an absolute sensation on the racetracks of Europe.
The old-school NASCAR racer is for sale for $250,000 but Neidell also has a 1996 Ford Thunderbird Daytona 400 Winner 1997 for sale at $95,000 – “I purchased this car directly from Cale Yarborough and it’s race ready, fully documented and an absolute crowd pleaser.”
To say that David Neidell’s disposal group is extensive and eclectic would be a huge understatement. Rounding a corner we found a genuine 1959 Kellison-Manning Special which is one of two cars built expressly for the Salt Flats by Jim Kellison and Chuck Manning. This well-known car has recent history at such prestigious occasions as the Monterey Historics and Amelia Island Concourse d’Elegance, with SVRA logbooks to support its provenance. The current engine is a non-runner but the car comes with two spare Chevy 283 motors. “We would be happy to install one of the 283 motors before sale although my Dad and I even considered putting a fresh 327 in it and doing the Great Race, so we would be happy to configure it that way within the purchase price of $140,000”, says David.
For something truly ‘off the wall’ how about an ex Max Papis 1997 Reynard Champ Car. “I currently have two of these cars but only one is in running/racing condition and the other is a complete rolling chassis. We are running 4.3-litre Chevrolet engines in these cars although they originally they used higher-maintenance (and more costly) Toyota V-8s. I am happy to sell these UK-based cars as a pair for $85,000 although I would also consider separating them.”
There is much more to the collection than we can detail here, including a 1968 Chevy Biscyane L72 , a 1973 Y8enko Vega, David’s own 2011 Porsche GT3 RS with less than 3000 miles on the clock, a 1985 Alfa Romeo GTV-6 Callaway, a Twin Turbo 1986 Mustang SVO and amazingly even a Ferrari P4 Recreation complete with a real V12 Ferrari engine!
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