Back in the golden days of road racing, it was all about the special. Racers and fabricators would cobble together all sorts of sports racers, at home in their garage. Most of them were one offs, and many of those went on to become winning machines that are part of the fabric of motor racing history. Others were so successful that they launched their builders on to winning careers. It is in this spirit that Dick Bear has built the McBearen.
While not an engineer, Bear took inspiration from Bruce McLaren’s creations to build this road going mini CanAm car. Powered by a 2 liter vtec Honda four cylinder, the McBearen won’t have the historic roar of a ground pounder, but must sound awesome anyway. The exhaust header is a work of art. Unlike most of the old home builts which had fibreglass bodies, Bear’s beastie is made almost entirely of metals. He learned the metal trade along the way.
You can read Dick’s full log of the build, complete with tons of pictures of every stage.
Well Done Dick, now let’s see some video!
via Motor Authority
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for your review. You quickly caught the spirit in which the McBearen was created. Both in honor of those exciting CanAm days and the freewheeling attitude of the competitors.
Thanks again.
Dick Bear
thanks to you Dick for showing the spirit is still alive!
When I was a kid, my Dad raced a little beasty called a P & G Special. it looked sorta like a small early Chapparel and was powered by a Coventry Climax.
I’d love to see specials make a return to popularity one day.
Here’s a link to an early video my son created when the ‘tub’ was completed. More videos will be coming along, I’m sure.
http://www.rhetbear.com/10_2005/family/mcbearenwmv.htm
Dick Bear
That’s great! You’ve done a killer job on the small details. What a great project.