Rudy Cleye -- Mercedes-Benz 300SL / Harold Dolden -- Sparks-Bonney Spl.

If you have Art Evans' "Paramount Ranch Remembered" look at the lower photo on page 43.  You'll see what looks like this photo.  Totally wild!  Photographer Bob d'Olivo, who shot the photo in Evans' book, must have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Bill Tibbetts and clicked his shutter a moment earlier.  If you look at the two photos, Cleye's Mercedes-Benz is about ten feet further through the corner in Bill's shot posted here.

Cleye was black-flagged for erratic driving.  Next is Harold Dolden whose "Sparks- Bonney Special" looks like a Manning.  Does anyone know the history of this car?

Next is Harold Erb in Pearce/Pete Woods Jaguar D-Type.  #49 is Bob Drake in a Ferrari Barchetta.
 

(7-25-08)  From racecar builder Jim Larkin:

"Sparks & Bonney had a race shop in Hollywood and maintained and raced the Manning Special for Jacques Bellisle who owned the car.  As I remember, the chassis and body were built by Dave Margolien in Culver City.  Sparks & Bonney built the engine and tranny.  Jacques is the only person I know of that drove the car.  It is not the same car that is now owned by Brook Margolien."

(7-28-08)  From historian Ron Cummings:

"Hal Dolden raced Jacques' Manning clone after Jacques moved on to one of the old von Neumann Ferrari Monzas.

I was at Tommy Sparks' home Thursday night for CarNight.  Sparks later installed a Lincoln Flathead motor in the car for Dolden. I last saw the car on Clifford T. Nut's used car dealership lot in Monrovia Calif., sometime in 1958.  Hal Dolden raced Jacques' Manning clone after Jacques moved on to one of the old von Neumann Ferrari Monzas

Dave Margolien  got the idea of building Manning clones.  He built one that his son still owns.  Jim Larkin drove that car at Palm Springs in 1957
finishing fourth or fifth behind Phil Hill's 121LM Ferrari.  Another became Jacques' car, sometimes called "The Solution"!  It was sometimes called the "Sparks & Bonney Special."

Neither are the original Manning but Manning supplied the blueprints for the chassis and the fiberglass nose piece."

Next:   Rudy Cleye -- Mercedes-Benz 300SL / ???? -- Porsche Spyder

Back to:   Bill Krause -- Jaguar D-Type / Eric Hauser "Morgensen Special

Back to:   Bill Tibbetts Photos -- Homepage