hen I started this story, I envisioned it as a continuation of last issue’s article about Ed Trego’s Imported Motor Car Co. In Wfact I wrote the entire first draft with that theme in mind. Dur- ing the writing process I spoke with Glen Carroll, Ed Crawford’s mechanic, Ed Crawford, Ed’s wife Margo and his son Bill to fill in details. I felt my draft article was missing something essential. On Christmas Eve, FedEx brought me a nice present. It was 15 pounds of memorabilia that Bill Crawford had gathered together. There were wonderful items in the box. Of course there were pho- Spyder Man tographs of cars racing around the track but there was so much more. There were photographs of the people who loved sports cars, there were handwritten lap sheets recording achievement, there was a dinner menu from Ed Crawford’s appearance with the factory race team at in 1957, there were newspapers telling about Fangio’s kidnapping at the 1958 Havana Grand Prix. There were memories. So indulge me if in this article I bring you a story not just about racing but of times past and the people that lived then. And so it begins About the time John Shakespeare purchased the Imported Motor Car By Phil Carney Company, the complexion of road racing in the United States started to change. Amateurs were still welcome at road racing events but expensive high-perfor- mance cars were taking all of the wins. One amateur was a young twenty-three-year-old by the name of Edward Webb Crawford. Ed’s father was a successful businessman which allowed Ed to live a comfortable lifestyle. But instead of country club pursuits, Ed wanted to live life to its fullest and his first interest was sports cars. Although Ed lived in Northfield, Illinois, in 1953 he traveled almost 200 miles south to Hoopeston to find a sports car that would serve him well. Perhaps Ed had seen reports of Imported Motor Car’s achievement in rac- ing a SL and figured he would purchase a car from the people making headlines. The car Ed bought was a $4,700 America Roadster. It was an expensive car by anyone’s standard but Ed evidently figured if he wanted to be a winner, he needed to buy a car capable of winning.

To be frank, the Porsche America Roadster is more of an interesting sidebar in Porsche history then it is a competition suc- cess story. Sixteen of the aluminum cars were built before body-builder Gläser-Heuer went bankrupt and Porsche discontinued the project. Nevertheless, Ed had pretty good ex- Between 1953 and 1957 Edward Webb Crawford (seated) raced exclusively in periences with his AR for about nine months, obtaining first in class tro- Porsche-powered cars. He was most often the winner in the races he com- phies at Indianapolis, MacDill, Iowa City and Wilmont Hills. Glen Carroll, peted in and much credit is due to the work of his mechanic, Glen Carroll a mechanic at Imported Motor Car Company did everything possible to (right). Sometimes the events were local races, sometimes national events make Ed’s Porsche as competitive as possible. Turn signals were removed, and sometimes they were on the international stage. Memories have faded as a gas filler through the hood was added, the interior was stripped and re- to whether this photo was taken at a local race at Camp Atterbury, Indiana or placed by black flock and the gear shift linkage replaced by a stiffer mech- at Louisville, Kentucky. That is not important. Instead note the smile on Ed’s anism that resulted in the classical H pattern being inverted (first at lower face while he sits in the cockpit after his Spyder was unloaded from the trailer. right). Still Ed must have thought the AR was limiting his ability and he Also smiling is his mechanic Glen Carroll. They were about to put on their best began racing Trego’s Glockler-Porsche No. 2. The car had seen lots of use show for sports car fans. They were having fun. by that time and it was on its last legs so not especially competitive. 16 Volume 33, Number 6 • Porsche 356 Registry The transition to serious competitor When the Imported Motor Cars relocated from Hoopeston to Danville, Glen Carroll received an offer from Ed Crawford too attractive to turn down. Glen had serviced Ed’s cars and earned a highly respected reputation as a race mechanic. In 1955 Ed turned his Northfield horse barn into a shop and in February sent Glen off to New York to pick up his next Porsche race car. The car was a brand new, four-cam Spyder, one of the first, if not the first, “customer” Spyder. These cars differed slightly from the factory pro- totype Spyders with smaller rear fins, thicker aluminum bodies and added bracing in the frame. The changes brought the weight up to 610 kg (1,350 lb) but the 547/1 engine was conservatively rated at 110 hp by the factory. It would not be long however before American enthusiasts quickly learned some tricks that pulled 130 hp out of the four-cam. On Glen’s trip back from New York, one of the Spyder’s AC electric fuel pumps failed but Glen made it back to Illinois in time to sort the car out before it saw its first track time. In addition to replacing the fuel pumps with Bendix units, Glen removed the front parking lights and fabricated air ducts to improve brake cooling. After these modifications it was off to Florida for the Fourth Annual on March 13th. Today the 1955 Sebring race is largely remembered for its minute-by- minute battle between and Jaguar. entered his D Type Jag driven by Mike Hawthorne and . In the Ferrari garage was a 750S Monza driven by and . These were the first two cars off the line and for the entire 12 hours of racing they were never separated by more than seven minutes. On the last lap, the gap be- tween cars was only 25.4 seconds and this tight margin resulted in confu- sion. The Ferrari was given the checkered flag only to have the ruling changed during the cool-down lap. The crew of the D Jag was then directed to the podium but their car run out of fuel before reaching the winner’s cir- cle. But with this achievement, Phil Walters became Sebring’s first two-time winner and Briggs Cunningham received his third consecutive win as a car owner. In Class F, the big challenger for Porsche was the OSCA MT4. This car first appeared in 1948 and the MT4 designation stood for Tipo 4. Initially MT4s competed in the 1.1 and 1.3 liter class but in 1954 a twin- plug, twin-cam 1,492-cc engine producing 120 bhp @ 6,300 rpm became available. This engine performance combined with a car weight of just 1,280 pounds made the OSCA a natural competitor for the Porsche Spyder. The big advantage however was the final drive ratio. While Porsche initially used gearing in common with their 356 street cars, the Maserati Brothers selected a gear ratio suitable to individual race tracks. Road & Track re- ported this in a June 1955 article stating, Sebring’s “longest straight is 4,620’ and some cars, notably the D-Jaguar, Ferrari and don’t have time to peak in top gear.” They also stated the OSCAs were “ideal cars for the Sebring course.” Top: The America Roadster Ed bought from Imported Motor Cars was a “veteran” racer; well proven but becoming outclassed by the OSCAs. The solution was Porshe’s new 550 Spyder with a four-cam engine. Initially set at a 9:1 compression ratio, Glen Carroll bumped it up to over 10:1. He said later, “The Germans didn’t real- ize how good our gasoline was.” Above: Glen drove the 550 from New York in the winter and by spring it was treated to a blue paint job after some modifications to the tail. Left: At Sebring in 1955 the car wore number 70 and finished 14th of 42 finishers (another 36 cars were DNF). Porsche lost the 1500 cc win to an OSCA, but in 1956 went to the head of the class and stayed there. That year Crawford co-drove a Factory-entered Spy- der but did not finish.

www.356Registry.com • March / April 2010 17 In the eighty-car Sebring starting line-up, there were five OSCA MT4s in class F matched up against five Porsche 550s. (Max Hoffman fielded a Type 550 equipped with a 1,089-cc en- gine.). One very interesting detail is that Briggs Cunningham was listed as the official entrant for both the #64 OSCA driven by Bill Lloyd and George Huntoon as well as the #68 Porsche 550 driven by Huschke von Hanstein and . Factory drivers Von Hanstein and Linge put on a terrific show, particularly when night began to fall and they continued to take each lap right on the edge. Unfortunately this proved very hard on the brakes and they eventually had to give up their first-in-class position (seventh overall) to the Lloyd/Huntoon OSCA. Another OSCA entered by Carlos Braniff was third in class Margo Crawford admires her husband’s new Spyder Glen pulls Ed’s Spyder off of their Porsche-branded trailer followed by the ex-Carrera winning 550-004 to get it ready for racing at Elkhart Lake. Ed’s first Spyder race at Road America was the inaugural event in Sep- driven by Robert Davis, followed by Ed Craw- tember 1955. He finished 2nd in class behind an OSCA driven by Frank Bott but in front of the OSCA driven by ford’s Spyder who had driven his car for the en- Briggs Cunnigham. It would turn out that beating Cunningham would have a lot to do with Ed’s future. Briggs re- tire 12 hours. membered Crawford’s skill and in 1958 he offered Ed a role behind the wheel of his Lister Jags. The Porsche-OSCA battle was- n’t over for Crawford. At a National meet at Fairchild AFB, Maryland later that year, Crawford would bring his Spyder in first place beat- ing Brigg Cunningham’s OSCA. This resulted in a very important rela- tionship with Briggs a few years later. Getting Noticed Following the race Glen Carroll made more modifications to Ed’s Spyder. A slit was cut in the body for- ward of the rear wheel to again im- prove brake cooling. Compression was increased to 10:1 and the gear ratio was changed out based on les- sons learned at Sebring in 1955. Ed On trips, the Crawford competed at Sebring the following two years but crew sometimes needed to in both cases the results were DNFs. In 1956 Ed find a semi-professional drove for the Porsche Factory with Linge and establishment in which to von Hanstein. Glen Carroll faults himself for the repair the car. This photo 1957 failure. During preparation work Glen had was taken in a Savannah, removed the rubber front-suspension stops and GA garage which proved forgot to reinstall them. As a result the left front accommodating. The front spindle broke after about an hour of racing put- wheels had been changed ting Ed’s Spyder out of commission. out to allow fitment of the Crawford widely campaigned his Spyder larger brakes Glen in- across the eastern half of the United States. He stalled. To proportionally always finished in the top three spots and first modify the car’s track, in class more often than not. On the West Coast spacers were added inside he was generally disappointed with his per- the rear wheels. It turns formance. In retrospect, it seems the East Coast out the brakes already Sypder-man was Ed Crawford while Jack McAfee were in need of work held this same title on the West Coast. McAfee which caused this un- and Crawford had met wheel-to-wheel on June scheduled repair stop. 23rd, 1956 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, 18 Volume 33, Number 6 • Porsche 356 Registry Sebring, 1956. Ed Crawford with , Herbert Linge, Huschke von Hanstein and . It was a great honor and an acknowledgment of a driver’s skill to be asked to drive for the Factory. Ed would drive in 1957 for Porsche at Le Mans, also.

If it’s not fun, why do it? One happy group of guys celebrate at Beverly in 1956. From left is Ted Boynton (#7 Maserati, 2nd in class E mod); Chuck Hassen; Ed Crawford, race #3 winner in his Porsche Spyder; Ernie Erickson (3rd in C mod); and Sherwood Johnson who drove for Briggs Cunningham. At right, Ed is shown in a newspaper report celebrating after his 1957 overall victory in two of the Nassau races. The up-and-coming Rodriguez brothers from Mex- ico also made headlines at the event. www.356Registry.com • March / April 2010 19 The first SCCA road race at at the new Road America track, September 10, 1955, likely during a practice ses- sion. #55 is 550-04, at the time owned by Robert Davis of Bloomington, Illinois. The “X” on the right fender #55 indicates a racer in training. Perhaps this photo was taken during a driver’s training lap or maybe dur- ing practice, and the driver may be Fred Vetter who purchased the car soon af- terwards. The #69 at the far left is Ed Crawford’s Spyder, of course.

This photo is from the Beverly race of 1956. The trailing car is Ed Craw- ford’s Spyder; easy to spot not only because of the #69 but by its modi- fied muffler that hung low at the rear of the car. The car in front is most likely Jack McAfee. They swapped the lead six times during the race be- fore Ed finished victorious on lap 18. The win really pleased Ed since he had lost to Jack just a couple of weeks earlier at Road America.

Wisconsin. McAfee took the E and F modified race win over Crawford’s second place, in front of 5 , a Maserati and an Osca. Their next meeting at the Beverly, Massachusetts airport was something of a grudge match according to Glen Carroll. The matchup gave the fans much to cheer while they watched Ed and Jack trade the first place slot a total of six times. But on the eighteenth and last lap, Ed apparently was fuming with the idea that he was going to be shown up on his home turf. With extra horsepower provided by adrenalin, he passed Jack beating him to the checkered flag. Well at least that’s one side of the story. Rex McAfee, Jack’s son, was handed down a different version. Ac- cording to Rex, “When they completed the set number of laps for the race, the flag man wouldn't drop the checker because he was local and wanted Ed to win. They went three or four laps over the set number before they dropped the checker. My dad's sponsor, John Edgar, didn't have a four- cam mechanic yet, so Dad was very strict about not abusing the motor for fear of possibly damaging it and ruining his run at the National title that year. Ed was willing to run past redline and he eventually passed Dad to capture the lead and the race." Rummaging through the material Bill Crawford sent me, I found a lap sheet that recorded the car positions at the Beverly race. It shows that at lap 18, car #69 (Crawford) finished in front of car #92 (McAfee). Based on available information, 18 laps appears to be the official SCCA requirement for the 46.8 mile race. Nassau Speed Weeks was not just about racing. There was time spent on the beach, Speed Weeks - a winter interlude shopping and at cocktail parties. This is one of the more formal events Ed and In November, Ed won two races at Smartt Field in and in De- Margo attended. At the left is Phil Hill who raced Ferraris at Nassau during the cember headed to Nassau with his mechanic Glen to participate in Bahamas same years Ed piloted a Spyder. Based on the jacket crest, the gentleman at the Speed Weeks. Although the races were very loosely organized and never right is probably a race official. 20 Volume 33, Number 6 • Porsche 356 Registry counted towards an FIA championship, Speed Weeks became one of the best international racing events worldwide. And why not; when you weren’t at the track, you were probably at a cocktail party. Located just 160 miles from Miami, the island playground attracted not just racers, but yachts- men, stockbrokers, industrialists, playboys and playmates, sugar-daddies, debutantes, and just about any pseudo-celebrity looking for a good time. Speed Weeks (originally called the Nassau Trophy Road Races) was the idea of American “Red” Crise after he spied the unused runways at Wind- sor airfield, even though Windsor had a terrible reputation for its broken,

weed-covered 3.5 mile surface made from a mixture of crushed coral and asphalt. Speed Weeks was held at the end of the year because originally the FIA so disapproved of the event that they told drivers they would lose their license for the rest of the year if they participated. So Red Crise held it in December so he could attract more prominent drivers. The first Speed Weeks event for Ed was the Governor’s Trophy, a 5- lap heat for classes E and F where he took first in class boxed in by two 2- liter Ferraris in front and two 2-liter Ferraris behind him. In the main Governor’s Trophy race for classes E, F, G and H there were 57 cars would use at Nassau in 1957 where he faced a plethora of other RS pilots crowded onto the track. Two Ferraris quickly jumped out in front but Ken including , Charlie Wallace, Denise McCluggage, Jack McAfee, Miles in a Cooper-Porsche and Ed in a Porsche Spyder were right on their Ricardo Rodriguez, Ernie Erickson, Eldon Beagle, Art Bunker and Harry tail. At the halfway point, ’s Ferrari blew a tire which took Jones. him out of first place. As a result, Howard Hively’s Ferrari 2.0 took the Oaks Course, the old city airport, was now used for the races. It was checkered flag followed by Miles and Crawford. The final race of the week in worse condition then Windsor field, however, so the Island Legislature was the Nassau Trophy which featured a Le Mans start and was open to all donated £50,000 for upgrades. Red Crise publicized the improvements so classes. The starters represented the who’s-who of drivers and sports cars: well that the FIA endorsed races of up to 65 cars which brought out 217 John Fitch in a Jaguar D-Type; Phil Hill in a Ferrari 857S; John von Neu- applications, from which 120 drivers were accepted. mann in a Ferrari 860 Monza; Sterling Moss in a ; Lance For Ed, Nassau 1957 was a good-news, bad-news story. On December Reventlow in a Cooper T39 Climax; Carroll Shelby in a Ferrari 410 Sport… The rough track surface took its toll on the tires of the high-powered cars but there were a lot of them on the track. At race end, Moss in his 3-liter Maserati took first followed by Gregory and de Portago’s Ferraris. Porsche showed proud, however, with Miles’ Cooper-Porsche finishing fourth over- all, then Ted Boynton in a Ferrari 500 TR, followed by Crawford in his 550. A newer Spyder After the 1956 Nassau race Ed decided to trade in his 550 (“By today’s thinking it was a horrible car,” says Glen) and acquire an ex-fac- tory Type 550A. The 1500RS Spyder had three times the torsional stiffness of the old ladder-frame car, was over 40 kg (90 lb) lighter and featured a new suspension that improved handling in every sense. This is the car Ed

Nassau, December, 1955. Top: At speed during Speed Weeks. Above right: Glen and Ed are changing the Solex carbs on the Spyder for a set of Webers. Over the years Glen customized Ed’s Porsche in a variety of ways including modifying the chassis for increased strength, putting slots in the body to improve cooling, installing larger brakes, and swapping out engine parts in whatever way they thought would improve performance. Right: Early 1957. Ed and Glen check out the “new” 550A. www.356Registry.com • March / April 2010 21 1st in the opening 102-mile Nassau Tourist Trophy race for all classes, Ed took first in class and fourth overall with only those big-bore Maserati and Ferraris in front of him. In the Governor’s Trophy race for under 2-liter cars, Ed finished first overall. On the final day there was a Five Lap Porsche Race followed by the grand Nassau Trophy Race. In the Porsche race Ed was again first overall. The start of the main event looked very promising with Ed in the top ten after the first lap and a Maserati, seven Ferraris and a Corvette in front of him. After 13 laps however Rodriguez was picking a fight with Ed. Despite the RS-RS battle, Ed worked his way up eventually attacking driving a Ferrari 290 MM in fourth place. Then the RS’ rear axle failed and there was nothing for Crawford to do but leave the Spy- der along the side of the track. Left: This photo seems to indicate an off-track strategy session in preparation for the 1957 Le Mans race. Ferry of course, a very quiet man according to Glen, is at the lower right. At the far left is Claude Storez, a co-driver in Spyder #34. Second from left is American Ed Hugus. To Ferry’s right is Klaus von Rüchter, technical manager of the production and experimental offices. Below: Refueling, probably during practice. Von Hanstein and Ferry Porsche look on at left, with driver Crawford waiting at top left. The stop includes a windshield cleaning and oil check, easily done by opening the right access panel on the 550A’s rear decklid..

22 Volume 33, Number 6 • Porsche 356 Registry An American in Le Mans The first American to be asked by Porsche to drive one of their factory cars at Le Mans was Zora Arkus-Duntov. The Belgian-born Duntov is most closely associated with Corvettes but he was a Le Mans veteran, having raced for the British Allard team during 1952. For Porsche, Duntov co-piloted a 550 Spyder powered by a 1,089-cc Type 547 engine. During both of his Le Mans attempts, Duntov secured the class win for Porsche and finished 14th overall in 1954 and 13th overall in 1955. For 1957 Porsche invited two American friends to drive at Le Mans, Ed Hugus and Ed Crawford. (Bruce Kessler was also invited but Based on the casual atmosphere, this photo was most likely taken during practice. If you look closely, several sig- did not start.) According to Glen the invitation nificant figures are discernable. On the wall, directly above the car is Ferry Porsche conversing with Dr. Wilhelm was extended by von Hanstein early in the year Hild. RennLeiter von Hanstein is to Hild’s right. Between them in the white jump suit is Claude Storez. and Crawford’s invitation was largely due to the close association he had formed with Herbert Linge. Glen and Ed arrived at Le Mans on the Monday before the race. The Porsche factory set up housing for the Americans along the Mul- sanne straight in the town of Teloché. This is the same location Porsche used during its first Le Mans race in 1951. During their stay Glen met Ferry Porsche for the first time. He recalls him as a very quiet man that you had to listen very closely to because he spoke so seldom. Practice went smoothly and on race day the two Americans were pitted side-by-side. Ed Hugus was teamed with Baron Carel Godin de Beaufort from the and Ed Craw- ford’s co-pilot was Frenchman Claude Storez. Both teams were in command of a 550A/1500RSRS Spyder. Ed did more than his share of driving running in fifth place at the 21st hour and seventh at hour 23. The end came sooner than expected when the car came to a stop with less than an hour of racing remaining. Porsche, not wanting to smudge their reputation for reliability, officially reported Crawford’s Spy- der ran out of fuel. Glen knows differently how- ever, since he helped disassemble the engine back at the factory. It was crank failure between the one and three rods that caused Crawford a DNF that day at Le Mans. Hugus and de Beaufort however were successful for Porsche in their en- deavors. They took a class win and finished eighth overall.

Center: For 1957 Porsche invited two American friends to drive at Le Mans, Ed Hugus and Ed Craw- ford. Hugus and Baron Carel Godin de Beaufort from the Netherlands were assigned car #35. Crawford and Frenchman Claude Storez were assigned car #34. Al- though Crawford spent most hours behind the wheel, this photo shows Storez in command of the Spyder. Right: Hild at the local garage used by Porsche during the Le Mans preparation and race.

www.356Registry.com • March / April 2010 23 Bedlam in Caracas the car moved again and pulled into its docking months later, in January 1958, but for this event Despite not being home to a major national station. From there they traveled a narrow, cliff he was there to wave the Grand Prix starting flag car manufacturer, South America has always fea- road to the hotel door which was at least as and watch the race. tured some interesting sports car races. So when frightening as the cable car ride. They made it to Officially a crowd of 10,000 spectators Ed received an invitation from the FIA to run in their hotel that night but things would get more paid to watch the event but three times that many the Caracas 1000 km Grand Prix, he happily frightening before the checkered flag fell. lined the track. People mobbed the paddock marked the event on his calendar. In 1957 Glen In the morning the cars were picked up at and the man from GM begged the soldiers to and Ed packed up the RS and headed for a local garage and driven to the keep the crowds away but to no avail. When men Venezuela where the FIA had promised to make race. The group was stopped short of the track jumped onto Denise McCluggage’s Spyder, she advance lodging and transportation arrange- by the policía and detained for questioning. The let out a blood-curdling scream as they crushed ments. Behind the wheel of a car Ed may have language barrier resulted in no progress but for- her car’s aluminum skin. Finally, finally the sol- had the bravery of ten men, but the trip to his tunately a local representative of General Motors diers pointed their rifles at the unruly mob and hotel left him shaken. Their lodging was at 8,000 successfully intervened. Then at the race course, some semblance of order was restored. The ft and accessible only by cable car. Midway to the race teams were met by armed troops as- mayhem wasn’t over for one team, though. the top, the cable car jammed to a halt and signed to protect el Presidente General Marcos The havoc in the streets was topped by began to sway. Ed, Denise McCluggage and the Perez Jimenez. Perez would be overthrown a few mayhem on the track. Going into Caracas, Fer- other occupants were at near panic. From the dark gondola they confronted their death on the Below: At Caracas, Venezuela in November, 1957, the Crawford / Hugus 550A takes on a load of fuel. Note the sinister mountain floor a thousand feet below. large funnel and gas can dumped directly into it. Glen Carroll inspects the car’s right side. The course was set up In their pact with a higher power, they evidently along a straight boulevard with curbs, lamposts concrete posts and fences, all of which took their toll on various had agreed to face death on the track but not to cars. Porsche’s Factory entry was one of the new RSK Spyders that took the 2-liter class win, while Crawford’s facing death getting to their hotel room. Finally 550A took the 1.5 liter win, both cars managing to avoid the damage that took out a third of the field.

24 Volume 33, Number 6 • Porsche 356 Registry Photo from Tom Burnside Motorsport Archive, www.tomburnside.com. 3

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www.356Registry.com • March / April 2010 25 rari and Maserati were separated by only three points for the 1957 World Sports Car Champi- onship. So Ferrari sent a powerhouse of two 4.1-liter cars and two 3-liter cars. Maserati matched them with two 4.5-liter machines and one 3-liter car. In addition, a private entry 4.5- liter Maser was also fielded. As it turned out, Maserati should have brought a lot more cars along. First Masten Gregory lost control of his private-entry 4.5 Maser early in the race, flipped the car and nearly killed himself in the process. Sterling Moss had started in almost last place but overtook 22 cars on the first lap and another five on the second. By the 16th lap he was in first place and by the 32nd lap he was a full two min- utes in front of the second place car. Moss was lapping cars at a reckless pace, so reckless that he swiped an AC Bristol destroying the front end of his Maserati. Only one 4.5-liter Maser V-8 re- mained in the race along with the 3.0-liter Maser six-cylinder. However, the attrition wasn’t over yet. On lap 35 the remaining 4.5 liter Maser pit- Also at Caracas in 1957 was Denise McCluggage, driving her privately entered 550 but with support from the ted and caught fire during refueling. Two fire- Porsche Factory. She and co-driver Ruth Levy finished, fourth in class after the Crawford/Hugus and Bunker/De- men doused the blaze and Sterling Moss jumped Beaufort 550s and an OSCA. The new but rough-looking #66 718 RSK took a 2-liter class win for Porsche. in the Maserati. Moss pitted on the very next lap with his ass on fire, literally. Apparently, the fire had not been fully extinguished on the seat and Moss’ derrière was singed to a crisp. After the remaining embers were drenched, Harry Shell jumped in the Maser. Shell caught up to the race leaders and pulled beside his teammate Joakin Bonnier who was piloting the 3-liter Maser in third place. Just at that moment, Bonnier’s car had a tire blowout and the two Masers smashed into each other. With a single stroke, the last two took each other out of the race. Ferrari, of course, went on to win the race with a one/two/three finish. Sixth overall and first in the 2-liter class was the 1.6-liter RSK driven by Edgar Barth and Baron von Hanstein. Right behind them was the 1.5-liter 550 driven Above: Ed Crawford’s 550A at Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. As can be seen in this photo, Glen Carroll by Ed Crawford and Ed Hugus (there is some customized the rear engine vents, as he had on the 550. Many things have changed in 50 years, but the barn is confusion as to whether the two Porsche Spy- still there. ders were in the same class or not). The Lady Spyder team of Denise McCluggage and Ruth Levy finished 4th in class and 13th overall. Everyone was happy to have survived the week- end and to be heading home.

Left: Another shot of the 550A at Road America. Note a wider windshield, small roll bar, dual faired mirrors and mounts for driving lights.

Many thanks to Jens Torner at the Porsche archives for the Sebring, Le Mans and Caracas photos.

26 Volume 33, Number 6 • Porsche 356 Registry Epilogue Without a doubt, every racer wants to as- cend that top podium step. For some it eventu- ally becomes insufficient to be a class winner, and first overall becomes the new dream. Per- haps this is what caused Ed Crawford to accept Another shot of Ed’s new Spyder at Road America, September, 1957. Glen also did some custom ventilating to assignments from Briggs Cunningham to pilot this car’s tail. The barn at right is still there. Below: Refueling during practice at Caracas, January, 1957. his new Lister Jaguars. Ed’s record made 1958 Bottom: one of Team Cunningham’s most successful years: 1st overall at Virginia International Race- way; 2nd overall at the Cumberland National Races; 2nd overall at Bridgehampton; 1st over- all at Elkhart Lake National Sports Car Race; 1st in the Class C-Modified at Lime Rock; and 1st at Watkins Glen. Racing has many inherent dangers, but for Ed personally, his scariest racing moment came at the Second Havana Grand Prix in February 1958. That was the race where Communist guer- rillas kidnapped Argentine racing champion . “We wanted to show that Cuba was living in a situation of war against the Batista tyranny,” according to Arnol Rodriguez, a member of the kidnapping team. After his re- lease to the Argentine Embassy, Fangio revealed a fondness for his kidnappers, refusing to help identify them and relaying their explanation that the kidnapping was a political statement. Ed was not so calm. The cold war world was making a statement on the non-political stage he loved. In addition to driving for the Porsche Factory, Ed became a hired gun for other race teams. Here he sits in the Ed went on to become a favorite Jaguar Lister Jaguar he was to drive for Alfred Momo to compete with the 3 liter Ferraris at Sebring in 1958. The car and Masserati driver. Then his interests turned only made six laps before engine trouble put it out of the race, but Ed was much more successful in the other to flying sailplanes, piloting hydrofoils and larger-bore racers he drove. studying oceanography. But this is a Porsche pe- riodical so I will end my story at this point. Ed In 1959 he returned to Zuffenhausen for addi- in trying to get all the details correct. I wish I died, surrounded by family, at his home in Palm tional training and to support Hans Klauser in had the space to capture more of the wonder- Beach, Florida on January 28, 1998. translating the labor rate manual into English. ful yarns that Glen remembered - like trying As for Glen Carroll, he continued to use Glen now resides in Grayslake, Illinois. to modify the 356 Carrera of Chad Mitchell (as Ed’s barn to service Porsches up until Porsche in the Chad Mitchell Trio) to run on nitrous established their Midwest distributorship with Acknowledgments oxide. I also thank Ed Crawford’s wife Margo Oliver Schmidt. At that point Glen took a job with Although many people contributed to this and his son Bill for the outstanding assistance Schmidt, getting dealerships off the ground and story, my very special thanks go to Glen Carroll they provided in supplying the graphics used eventually taking on the job of service director. for his storytelling and for his patience with me with this story.

www.356Registry.com • March / April 2010 27