Connell  liked the V12 power of his racing Ferraris -- and the handling of his Birdcage Maserati.  Why not take the best of both?  He put a Testa Rossa engine into the ex-Camoradi "Longtail" Maserati #2461 and went racing.

In early 1962, Connell won an SCCA National at Daytona with this car, defeating Harry Heuer in the "Meister Brauser" Chaparral.

"Regarding Alan Connell's Ferrari-Maserati, that car was built by John Miller in his shop in Fort Worth, TX.  He got the engine from Luigi Chinetti.   John did most of the work on my cars and we are still friends.  Sadly, Alan died about 18 months ago from an infection associated with replacement of his pacemaker.  He was a fine gentleman and a very brave driver."
 

(2-8-12)  Tom Cranston remembers Alan Connell's car:

"I was really pleased to see mention of Alan Connell's Birdcage in your site.

I saw this car race many times in Texas and around the South in the early to mid 60's. That car was awesome. we have some low quality 8MM home movie film of that car being raced.

Another guy took the Maser engine and put it in a Cooper Monaco (I think, maybe a Lotus 19). The Maser would torque the frame out of shape requiring it to be frequently straightened.

I started working as a flagman on corner crews at SCCA races when I was 15. That was quite an experience. There was quite a lot of SCCA racing in Texas and other states in the area. Those were the days."

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