Feature: Black Magic
October 1, 2007
With its racer’s heart, the car eschews winking brightwork in favor of a "many shades of black" paint scheme. Helping the hot rod achieve its cougar-ready-to-pounce proportions are a windshield that’s slightly cut down compared to Meyer’s Spencer, and a so-called "bulldog" front end (slightly compressed) that sits conspicuously behind the front rubber. In addition, the body was lengthened 2 inches to accommodate a lack of legroom for its 6-foot-plus owner.
The result: "Cool" on four wheels.
But it’s when you step closer to Spencer2 that the endless hours of communing with spirits shows through. "In the end, Doane was all about racing," says Chapouris. He points out the welds left on the headers, the slightly scooped out "hex head" cap screws for weight reduction, a front suspension that sits ahead of the radiator, the hand-forged steering links and suspension arms, the 60/40 weigh bias, the air scoops in the rear to cool not the brakes, but the hub bearings. "I guess in Doane’s mind, the bearings had to be cooled," says Chapouris with a shrug and a grin.
Settling inside the bathtub-like passenger area that sits atop the car’s tubular, birdcage-style frame, the first thing that overwhelms is the scent of leather. Acres of it, saddle in hue and private-jet variety smooth, from the seat with bolstered armrests to the elegant door panels.
Fix your eyes straight ahead and a hand-turned dash smiles back, inset with achingly simple white numerals on black Stewart Warner gauges. "They’re industrial in nature, actually used on Brockway trucks in the ’30s" says Chapouris, who wouldn’t take no for an answer when a supplier said a matching tach would never be found. Chapouris prevailed.
Just when it’s getting dreamy lounging inside Spencer2, SO-CAL shop foreman Ryan Reed hops in the driver’s seat and fires up the Roush-prepared 289 Ford V-8. In an instant, we’re out of the cooling shade of SO-CAL’s 30,000-square-foot shop and into the searing heat of Southern California’s inland empire.
Checking to make sure the roads are clear, Reed romps on the delicate triangle-shaped gas pedal. A race-worthy brraaaaaapp fills the air as the 405-hp engine sends Spencer2 ripping down the straight. With nothing but wind and engine sounds assaulting the senses, this must be the closest thing to a motorcycle experience on four wheels.
For an open-topped car, Spencer2 is impressively screwed down. Two sets of railroad tracks fail to make the rear end so much as chatter. The car never deviates from its arrow-straight course, except when Reed tugs on the handmade steering wheel and guides the car back into its bay.
Visibly relieved that his million-dollar-baby is safe and sound, Chapouris relaxes. "I don’t know if I’m ready for this thing to leave, to be honest," he says, referring to some final touches the car needs (finicky speedo for one) before it can be handed over to its owner. "We are not supposed to fall in love with the cars we build, but in this case, we did."
But, Chapouris admits, at least now he’ll get some rest. The legendary ghost has no reason to haunt its skilled apprentice anymore. "I think if Doane could look down on this car and see it, he’d think, ‘Yeah, that’s bitchin’,’" he says.
SO-CAL Speed Shop
909.469.6171
www.so-calspeedshop.com
advertisement
