I must be lucky. Two summers ago my friend Dave Stone and I were sitting, around having a cold one in the shop. We got to talking vintage race cars and he asked if I would be interested in making my Black Mk I Tiger into a race car for him. I not so politely turned him down, as I had wanted that very car since I was 14 years old. It was not for sale!

He then said, "Well,there is only one other black car to consider." Immediately I knew he meant the Hollywood #55. I nearly choked on my beer, my surprise was so great! After I composed myself, I said to Dave, "Are you serious?" Yes! was his reply. "Shall I inquire?" "Yes!" Well that started some phone calls and emails in pursuit of the car. After several months Bill Miller and Dave Stone came to an agreement and the car was scheduled to arrive at Rootes Group Depot in October 2003. This didn't all just happen by chance however. As you can imagine, Mr. Miller wasn't going to sell the car to just anybody. Many thanks are owed to Mr. Ken Mattice and Mr. Tom Hall for their kind words on our behalf.

The Car:
Chassis # B9470048 was a Wedgewood Blue (#58) Dealer demonstrator in the beginning and was handed over to Hollywood Sport Cars for reconstruction into a SCCA B Production race car. Doane Spencer, the Chief Mechanic at Hollywood Sport Cars was very successful in SCCA sports car construction. He was known to everyone in the LA area as the Top Ferrari Mechanic on the West Coast. Chic Vandargriff (Owner) of Hollywood Sport Cars and Ian Garrad, Rootes West Coast Manager struck a deal and Ian got factory backing to make a run at a B Production championship. The car did very well and made it to the American Road Race of Champions in Daytona Florida. It was in the lead on the first lap when, alas, it was struck from behind by a Corvette, taking it out of the race. The car went on to place second in the AARC at Riverside the next year. With the SCCA rule changes in 1967 the car was reassigned to C Production where it distinguished itself as a very competitive car.

So how lucky am I? When this all transpired, I'd only been in the Tiger Restoration Business for about 3 years. To have the honor of working on the Hollywood #55 was unbelievable! Working hard and being fair helps, but I still pinch myself.

When the car arrived I was amazed to find it had not been touched by a wrench or changed since its last race. When Ken Mattice found the car in 1974 it was sitting on the side of Dave Dralle's Shop in Venice, Ca. He called Bill Miller to let him know that he found the car. At this point Bill and Whit Collins made a deal and the car was carted up to Ken Mattice's house in Sebastapol, CA. From there it went on to Tennessee, then Pennsylvania, where Bill and Barbara live now. In all that time Bill carefully preserved the car; nothing was touched, leaving a wealth of Doane's evidence.

It was missing some pieces like the hood and roll bar but the Doane fabricated Aluminum Tonneau cover was still with the car! I embarked on a years worth of research into the car. Bill had compiled some critical ownership info on the car, but the only race history available was what could be found in the few Tiger books published. In search of every picture of the car I could find, I tapped Norm's collection and Terry Taylor's collection, but it wasn't enough. I started collecting SCCAs 'Sports Car' magazine and Don Roache loaned me all of the Sports Car Graphic and Road and Tracks from 1964-1969. I was able to scan alot of pictures and articles on the B Production Racing, and put together a comprehensive binder to use as a restoration guide.

After a year of research on the car it was time to get started. I began by photographing every inch of the car as it came apart. Doane Spencer's genius soon became apparent. There is no doubt that Doane was well ahead of his time in car preparation.

Dave and I decided to have our friend Dale Akuszewski of Dales Restorations to do the body, paint and race motor. The car is at Dales shop now and we hope to be done by the end of June 2005.