Restored Empy is som
Vintage Ford single-seater built in 1929 is enjoying a new lease of life on Scots roads thanks to care and attention from owner Rob, says AL SUTTIE
WINTER is when most classic car owners stash their pride and joy away in the garage, but not if you’re Rob Armstrong.
He runs a unique US-made race car called the Empy Special and it’s road legal, which is why Rob is intrigued to see how his fast and capable machine will fare in less inclement conditions around his Borders home.
Rob was after an interesting car for road and race use. He said: “After looking for something vintage to race, I had a call from the owner of the Empy Special. Sadly, the car had not been on the road for 20 years and needed considerable fettling to make her track safe.
“With a bit of haggling, I bought the car in 2020 and spent the next six months sorting it out. The Empy also required some detailing and various period upgrades have been installed.”
The Empy Special uses a four-cylinder engine from a US-built Ford. Rob explained: “The car was built in 1929 by the Empy Machine Company, based in Philadelphia. It’s a Ford Model A-based single-seater racer built for oval racing and speed trials.
“The car was successfully campaigned by the American racing driver Stanley Slusser and had various wins until the late 1930s when the car was acquired by Slusser’s mechanic.
“It was then raced at county fairs until the late 1940s.
“Word is the Empy then spent 40 years as a wreck in a barn in Hazleton, Pennsylvania covered in straw and wood until it was discovered by a car fanatic.”
While the engine of the Empy Special may have humble origins, it’s far from a standard motor, which suits Rob’s purpose of mixing competitive driving with spirited use on the roads around his home.
He said: “The Empy Special was no ordinary vintage Ford-based single-seater.
“Under the bonnet, instead of a hotted-up side-valve head, she sports a rare Rutherford racing cylinder head manufactured in the early 1930s.
“The one on the Empy Special has been dated and confirmed as from Slim’s own car and consequently tuned to a high standard.”
After languishing for decades unloved, the car was shipped to the UK in the 1980s. It underwent a comprehensive restoration but the body was too far gone to save so a new aluminium one was made in the style of the original.
Since acquiring the Empy Special just before the first UK lockdown in March last year, Rob affectionately refers to it as his social-distancing car thanks to it being a single-seater.
That doesn’t stop him from it at every opportunity on the road or track.
Rob said: “You need to be brave to drive the car. After hitting 90mph in second and chickening out at 120 before I ran out of road, I realised this was no ordinary Ford Model A special. The car is now 3500cc, making 180bhp, and has a top speed estimated at 140mph.”
With several hillclimbs now completed in its first full year of competition in Rob’s hands, the Empy Special is back where it belongs on track and road.
Rob added: “It’s a strange sight for drivers as it comes towards them, though it doesn’t hold much shopping on occasional trips to the supermarket.
“Never mind, I’m just waiting for the snow to come now.”