Corazza Cooper-Porsche

Jerry Entin contributed these photos of this interesting little car. 
  

Great pit lane photo from Santa Barbara!  Look at how small the car is!  Does anyone know who the three gentlemen are?  And who are the ladies?  The tall blonde woman in the white shorts is spectacular -- who is she?  ( Maybe Brigitte Nielsen's mother?)

From Ron Cummings:

"So far the drivers that I have been able to locate for the Ted Corazza Riviera Cooper-Porsche, #40, are Clarence Raville, Ed Barker, and Scooter Patrick.  I also have a second photo, shot by Bob Tronolone, that shows the car later at Pomona after Scooter crashed the car at Santa Barbara. Eddie Barker was back behind the wheel. The bodywork was changed slightly and was not quite as nice.

Apparently a racer, I think his name was John Fox, imported two or three streamlined Cooper Formula 500 cars and ran two of them at Bonneville. One car became Pete Lovely's famous Pooper.  Another is Ted Corazza's car. After Fox sold the cars the Porsche conversions occured.  I actually saw the Corazza car in 1964 all restored with the Porsche motor replaced with a Sprite motor.  However it still had the Porsche wheels and brakes."

 
Details of the car's bodywork.  Very nicely shaped to closely follow the Porsche engine's contours. 

  
Pomona, November, 1958 -- the Corazza Cooper-Porsche with Ed Barker driving.  Note different bodywork.                                                 (Photo by Bob Tronolone)

From Jim Sitz:

"Pomona, November, 1958...  41 laps... Under 2000cc...  15 cars finished and #24, the "Pooper" DNF'd with Ed Barker driving, reason unknown.  But the year before at Santa Barbara in September, 1957 the car ran as #40 in black color entered as a "Porsche- Cooper" by T.R. Corazza with Ed Barker as driver."

Update from Ron Cumming (10-24-06)

"Scooter did not wreck the car. He did bend the first PAM special at Santa Barbara causing my confusion.

The car did get bent but I do not know when or by whom.
  
Hans Adam did drive the car.
  
The car always raced with a 4 cam motor, not a push-rod unit."
 
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