Carrera book comments and questions

[vhelmle]

There were 2 different 550As in the same livery that McAfee drove

Hello Everyone,

Steve Heinrichs has asked me to pursue the questions surrounding the two McAfee 550As. We have searched for "positively identified" photos of these cars. That is, we have tried to find photos showing the Sugarman 550A that we originally identified as 550A-0116 from other sources. These two photos have been independently identified as 550A-0116:

This photo is identified as McAfee with 550A-0116 at September 1957 Riverside when McAfee was with the Sugarman team and livery.


This second photo posted on Tam's Old Race Car Site at Tams Old Race Car Site and at Racing Sports Cars Racing Sports Cars in the 550A-0116 archive is identified as McAfee with 550A-0116 at March 1958 Stockton, just after Beagle bought his car. Beagle was at this race with his new 550A.


Then, this photo is identified as McAfee with 550A-0130 at October 1960 Riverside. Since 1959, McAfee had been driving for Polak, then von Neumann. He seems to be driving a silver car in this and other races.


We do not have a photo that is identified as 550A-0130 at 1958-59 races with the Sugarman color scheme.

We wonder if anyone has a photo of 550A-0130 (or a 550A that is not 550A-0116) that also has the Sugarman red/white color scheme.

Best regards, Vietta

[Type550]

Unfortunately my current Carrera book is covered in annotations and corrections, so I will have to wait for my new SE book to arrive before I can review from a clean book and comment further

[vhelmle]

Hello Everyone,

Steve Heinrichs has asked me to update our information on the McAfee 550As. In the photo below you will find the following cars:

• Left: We believe this is 550A-0116
• Foreground: This is probably 550A-0130
• Center, red car: This is 550-06
• Background, white car with start nr. 188: 550-0081, ex-Buff, Polak
• Right, silver/blue car with start nr. 222: 550-09, John Peters

John Peters raced his car with start nr. 222 in June 1958 Santa Barbara. This means that this photo was taken near that time.

It also means that in about June 1958, Sugarman still had two 550As on his team, still painted red/white. We believe that at that point, the two cars were 550A-0116 and 550A-0130.

There are good arguments for Beagle racing 550A-0116, including the receipt which shows the motor nr. associated with 0116 and the modifications to the interior for a larger pilot. However, previous owners of 550A-0112, believe that this was Miles' car and we know that Miles stopped racing 0112 very near to the same time that Beagle acquired his silver car.

We are still considering going back to our original association of 550A-0116 with McAfee and 550A-0112 with Miles, then Beagle. Any additional information is welcome.

Vietta

[Type550]

Left: We believe this is 550A-0116

So is it incorrect in the book that the 550A with the half grills is not 550A-0104?

[vhelmle]

• 550A-0102, at Avus.
• 550A-0116, the McAfee/Sugarman car
• 550A-0113, the Crawford car.

Vietta

[Type550]

Recently I have found a French motoring publication which has a photo of Auguste Veuillet in a prototype 550 at the Montlhery track.



There has been much discussion regarding 550-05 in South America and that 550-07 was raced in Europe during this time.

The publication of L'Automobile is the April 1954 issue, so therefore this photo would have been taken at the latest in March 1954.





Based on the listing in the Carrera book, the Autobahn Munich-Nuremberg Experimental Test with 550-07 was done on 25th March 1954



I believe that this photo is conclusive evidence to place 550-05 back in Europe in March.

[vhelmle]

[Type550]

As said before, the correspondence between Stuck and Porsche does not specify a car, so there is no conclusive evidence that it is 550-05. There is no race history or any photos of 550-05 in South America during this period and no knowledge of where the car was or who had possession of it.

If Porsche was still doing testing and this article photo is 550-07, it would have Porsche licence plates on it, not plates from Veuillet's dealership and there is no record of Veuillet doing any road tests for Porsche.

The car in the article is the same car as Auguste Veuillet raced on the 25 April 1954 at Montlhery Coupe du Printemps. If it is not 550-05, which car is it as you say 550-07 was still in Germany? The photo could not have been taken in April or later as it was an April issue of the magazine.



And also the other article does say it was the Paris Show car

[Type550]

In Addition:

The 550 with Veuillet's plates on it is the one with the engine bay door, not the lift back. As the photo of 550-07 in testing shows the lift back, are you saying the rear was swapped back and forth during March 1954...? I don't think so.

[Steve Heinrichs]

Andrew,

Let me try to respond in a number of ways:

1)550-07 finished in February, 1954. Yes, earlier than March but after the January races in South America. This means that 550-07 was not available for the Stuck races.

2)We agree, I hope, that some 550 prototype was in South America at the first of the year.

3)Let's discuss which car it could have been:

---not 550-01 or 02 or 03 or 04 or 06 or 08 or 09 as these cars were indisputably otherwise occupied. From 550-10 on, we agree the cars had hinged backs. We're left with 05 or 07.

4) 550-06, 550-07 and 550-09 were Bucklewagens. All were reconfigured without the Buckle.

5) We have photos of the South American car, including from the back. That car is most certainly a fixed rear.

6)550-07, before it went to Bousquet, had it's Buckle removed. We've had the Autobahn photo for several years. It is 550-07 without the Buckel and one can easily see the 'cut' line.

7)First, the Buckle was removed; only later did the rear get changed. The car was available for Montlhery, Sable-Solemes and Dieppe (23 May). The South American car---was not. It was most certainly in South America.

Internal Porsche notes from the '70s or '80s created by a lady who worked in the Museum/Archiv at the time note the car as 550-05...and she notes the "purchase" by Fascinello.

9) For the car in South America to be 550-07 (the only possible alternative to 550-05) one must conclude that car came back in February or early March 1954 and then went over after the summer of 1954 to South America because the car reappears in 1955.

So, we are comfortable with our conclusion that the prototype in South America with 550-05.

Steve Heinrichs

[Type550]

Sorry - I am confused. Are you now saying that the Autobahn Munich-Nuremberg Experimental Test with 550-07 that you have listed on page 534 is now incorrect to try to discredit the publication that proves 550-05 returned to France?

[Steve Heinrichs]

Andrew,

No. Not sure where you get this. Page with Autobahn photo is 550-07 as I have always said. And, how does the article "prove" that it was 550-05??

So----if 550-05 was not the South American car---which was it????


Steve Heinrichs

[Type550]

Andrew,

Let me try to respond in a number of ways:

1)550-07 finished in February, 1954. Yes, earlier than March but after the January races in South America. This means that 550-07 was not available for the Stuck races.

When you say finished - what do you mean?

550-05 definitely went to South America and it definitely returned to Europe after the Sao Paulo GP race in January 1954

If you say that 550-07 did the test on 25th March, how can it be reconfigured as 550-05 and in France at the same time?

This is photographic evidence of both cars in Europe at the same time. Unless you can post a photo of a 550 in South America between March 1954 and when 550-05 returned in December 1955, or documentation that specifically identifies 550-05 in South America during this time, I cannot see how you can keep denying it.

[Steve Heinrichs]

I mean "finished" as in the car is completed.

There is no evidence that 550-05 returned to Europe afte the S.A. races. So I cannot at all see your point re it "definitely" returned. Still, I am glad that we agree that 550-05 went to S.A. originally.

I have explained that the races in Europe you refer to are 550-07 without its buckle byt retaining its fixed rear. It was not "reconfigured" as 550-05 but was 550-07 throughout and became Bousquet's car.

550-05 resumed racing in S.A. late the following year and got it's new nose but retained its fixed rear.

Ferry Porsche wanted the car sold and not returned.

In any event, the S.A. car remained in S.A. until at least after summer (while the back and forth re payment, and other activity). If that car---some car did not return---what, again, can that possibly be but 550-05.

I see no proff that 550-05 was ever in Europe after its dispatch to Rio.

Steve Heinrichs

[Steve Heinrichs]

Sorry---which car could possibly be in S.A. after March 1954 but before end of summer? One was there.
I think it was 550-05. No other car works.

Steve Heinrichs

...and 550-07's "look" is resolved. No buckle but fixed rear. It was not reconfigured to look like 550-05 per se; it was just what it was.