You could own this 1938 Ford Tudor stock car

To be auctioned without reserve on Saturday, February 25^th in London, this is a car guaranteed to bring out the inner redneck in all of us. It’s a professionally restored survivor from NASCAR racing that’s been maintained regardless of cost, says auction house Coys. It also comes with a great backstory... 

The sportsman-class dirt-road racer was built for one of NASCAR’s legends, Neil “Soapy” Castles. Soapy, so-called after his boyhood racing start in soap-box derbies, used it as his demonstration car to thrill the crowds at NASCAR meetings – pretty much as its owner did on the Goodwood Motor Circuit last September.

Soapy needed no introduction to US race fans. During his long career he made 498 starts and although he never scored a victory, he had 51 top-five finishes and 178 top-10 placings. He also worked as a stunt driver in films like “Greased Lightning”.

The car was built to a high spec, as you would expect of a machine designed to wow the crowds. Built up on a “stock” ’38 Ford in the most favoured Tudor two-door saloon body style, highlights include period Edelbrock aluminium race heads on its flathead V8 engine, twin-Strombergs and Fenton dual intake. Straight-through pipes ensure this is one car you will definitely hear coming, while it sits on “dirt” race wheels with safety hubs. There’s also a full roll cage.

In short, it looks, and is the stock car business. No surprise then that for many years before it came to the UK it was displayed in the now-defunct Rod Long NASCAR Museum.

With many NASCAR greats starting out in self-built hot roads like this, Soapy Castles’ ’38 Ford has an important place in US racing history. It is also notably rare, says Coys, since the casualty rate for such cars was high.

The car is eligible for historic stock car events and, asserts Coys, would be welcomed at both demonstration events and in flat-out racing… ”if you dare”. Pass the moonshine!

It is being auctioned, without reserve, by Coys at Historic Motorsport International at London’s Excel Centre at 15.00 on Saturday February 25^th.