Vehicle Description
1959 Scarab Mark II Sports Racer
The most exact and authentic replica of a Scarab Mk II in
existence
FIA approved and has HTP passport, eligible for historic racing
Expertly reproduced from Augie Pabst's Scarab Mk II by Scarab
Motorsports
Created to represent the Meister Brauser Scarab Mk II raced from
1959-1963
Original members of the racing team were utilized during the
build
Never raced or tracked since created
Authenticity letter from the Scarab builders, drivers, designers
and mechanics, stating that this car is exact duplicate of the
original #2 car
Bored and stroked 339 cubic inch 1958 small block 283 Chevrolet
In all of vintage racing, there is no more desirable or collectible
category of cars than the front-engined sports racers that ran in
international and SCCA competition from the mid 1950s into the
early 1960s. As a group, they embody the beautiful shapes,
wonderful sounds, and exhilarating performance that defines
historic racing.
Reventlow Automobiles Inc, or RAI, produced some of the finest and
most sought-after group of cars to ever come out during this period
of racing: the Mk I and Mk II Scarabs. Founded and led by American
Lance Reventlow, only 3 of these legendary cars were built in the
late 50's, and these dominating "Sports-Racers" were designed and
built by a small number of like-minded individuals and as a newly
established group of people. Aided by Warren Olsen, a talented race
car mechanic, Reventlow was able to build a team that at the time
was composed of some of the best individuals in the business of
racing. With one left hand drive Mark I chassis produced and two
right hand drive Mark II chassis made later on, these lightweight
racers would find success early on and now have become immortalized
in the world of automobile racing.
With only three of these fantastic race cars in existence and none
seemingly leaving the private collections that they were in, there
was a hufe demand for these vintage Scarabs. Dick Kitzmiller, owner
of Scarab Motorsports, was known for building period correct
street-legal replica versions of the Scarabs and wanted to create a
reproduction of a Scarab that would be unmatched by anything else
in the world. Dick spoke with Harry Heuer, the individual who
purchased the #2 chassis from Lance Reventlow in the late 50's and
raced it under the Meister Brauser livery, and explained his plan.
Harry put Dick in contact with none other than Augie Pabst himself,
one of the original drivers of the highly successful car and the
current owner. Dick and Augie went back and forth and with the plan
for building the ultimate reproduction coming more and more info
focus, Pabst agreed to allow to have the likeness of his car
recreated.
With Augie allowing his car to be reproduced, the real work began
for Dick and Scarab Motorsports. Having made Scarab recreations by
hand before, Dick was extremely knowledgeable about what
measurements were needed to recreate the amazing racecar. Traveling
to Augie's estate where the Scarab was housed, Dick and Don DeVine
spent 2 days measuring and documenting each and every possible
square inch of the car, taking into account proportions, colors,
finishes and materials. Copious amounts of notes were recorded to
ensure that the car was recreated to the exact measurements and
standards that the original car was with no deviation. All of the
parts necessary to recreate the car needed to be specifically
designed, engineered and developed just for this application. As
research continued to yield more and more information, the build
could finally begin. Spanning over the course of two years and over
4,000+ hours, the reproduction of Scarab chassis #2 would be a
creation of the ages.
The striking visuals of the Scarabs are spellbinding and the utmost
importance was placed on having the exact dimensions, proportions
and measurements be accurate. The evocative racing bodywork, with
flowing aluminum sheet metal and elegant details, were all
handcrafted and made to be exactly the same dimensions as the
original car and painted in the Meister Brauser Race Team colors.
The tig welded tubular chromoly spaceframe that the aluminum is
fastened to was expertly fabricated and finished to have even the
same weld patterns as the original. Lexan and aluminum headlight
covers contain the 7" Classic headlights, with Porsche 550 brake
lights fitted in the rear. Suspension and brakes were given the
same attention to detail, even going the lengths of making patterns
and casting brand new inboard aluminum finned brake drums with iron
liners. De Dion rear suspension with custom hubs, coils and tubular
shocks are accurate, including camber/toe-in adjustability, and the
period-correct quick change differential setup completes the rear
end. Magnesium Sebring-style Halibrand kidney bean wheels fit the
front with "Champ" style wheels in the rear with the correct
vintage gold finish, all wrapped in Dunlop vintage racing
tires.
One of the Scarab's most iconic features is the small block
Chevrolet V8 which roars down the straightaways and pushes the
racecar out of the corners with haste. Beginning with a 1958 238
cubic inch V8, as they did in period, the engine was bored out to
339 cubic inches. Exactly like the race car performing in the day,
an original Lehman front drive was added and powers the water pump,
original Joe Hunt Magneto and the fuel pump. 1958 Corvette high
performance cylinder heads were added, a custom crank was machined
and an original T10 Borg Warner transmission was sourced and
installed in the car. The complete side pipe exhaust system,
including the headers, were fabricated from scratch, ensuring that
each and every bend, measurement and surface was as original. A
custom radiator was fabricated and an original style aluminum fuel
tank design was created with an interior FIA safety cell. When
installed and put on the dyno, the Scarab produced a stout 446
horsepower at 6300rpm and 407ft/lb of torque at 5200rpm.
No less attention to detail was paid inside of the cockpit, where
all of the parts, materials and finishes are period correct. Custom
made aluminum vintage style racing seats were covered in black
leather, surrounded by aluminum interior cockpit panels. The
aluminum dashboard is finished in a black wrinkle coating, a fire
suppression system was installed, and the windshield and side
curtains are made from Lexan. Correct Stewart Warner NOS gauges
were installed along with the correcting wiring panel on the left
of the dash with all the correlating switches and dials. A Bell
steering wheel was sourced and then installed, a period correct
addition that was difficult to find. The fastidious collector even
had the St. Christopher medallion casted from a mold of the
original, which was given to Lance Reventlow by his mother during
the car's racing days and said, "When all else fails, pray". With
all of the parts fabricated and finished, sitting inside of the
Scarab transports you back to the late 50's when the Scarabs
dominated the field of racers.
After the long journey of 2 years, countless hours of research and
man hours recreating the legendary second Scarab, the car was
finally completed. Original Scarab builders, drivers, designer, and
mechanics, including even Bruce Kessler, Sonny Balcaen, Chuck
Pelly, and Harry Heuer, have stated that the car is an exact
duplicate of the original #2 car. The last step was to certify the
racecar via the FIA and receiving its HTP passport. Taking close to
a month while showing documentation, explaining the story behind
the car and ultimately how incredible the car was allo...for more
information please contact the seller.
