Motormarques.com | Classic car revival

This Davey-Milne car had a genuine Bugatti GP chassis with a Hudson Straight 8  side valve engine. The photos were taken for Earl in 1949 at his
home in Toorak as a record of the build which I assume took place post WW2. It was used as a hillclimb & sprint special and later aquired a
Corvette V8 engine which is still in the car today.

The Davey-Milne Special was based on a Bugatti Type 37 chassis, the original car being imported to Australia in 1926. Reputed to be the fourth Type 37
produced in the factory, Chassis No: 37104. It had a number of owners in Australia and was entered in the 1933. 1934 and 1936 Australian Grand Prix,
each time it retired in the race. Like many Australian Bugattis it acquired its first non- original engine, a 1936 Hudson straight eight after the destruction
of the original whilst in the ownership or Ron Edgerton. 

Ron experienced a number of problems with this engine and then sold the car to Stud Beasley who replaced the Hudson engine with a Willys speedcar unit.

Earl Davey-Milne purchased the car without the Willys engine in 1943 and installed another Hudson straight eight. He developed the car with the intention
of using it for hillclimbs and sprints. It never acquired another body and this would have covered the remarkable level of presentation of all the mechanical
components. It also ran mostly with twin rear wheels for extra traction. In 1956 whilst competing at the Alexandria 1/4 mile sprints two conrods let go
destroying the Hudson block, another engine was required. On a trip to North America, Earl noticed that Corvette V8 engines were popular choice for specials.
He returned from that trip with a 1958 4600cc Corvette engine and set about a complete rebuild of the car using this engine. The Davey-Milne Special exists
in this form today and is still forms part of Earl's  collection of wonderful cars.