"
PBX: The American Etceterini Goes Racing "
" PBX: The American Etceterini
Sean Smith documents the story of Candy Poole, who created what was perhaps the most successful H Modified SCCA race car of the 1950s. Poole's son provides the photos as Part 1 looks at the creation of this fantastic machine. "
The Story and some of the Poole collection photos - as shown on the Peter Vack - Veloce - newsfeed that Ken H knows about.
The Story ;
" By Sean Smith
The PBX was also punching above its class. Some of its victories were against cars with twice the displacement. Candy was an excellent driver, but he was also a great tactician. He didn’t just arrive and drive. When he went to a track, he came with multiple differentials with ratios from 6.0 to 4.875. He would match them with multiple sets of wheels 12”, 13”, 14” right up to 15”, depending on the length and grade of the course. Candy also added a jack to the front springs, allowing him to dial more spring tension and dial it out as needed. The same went for the rear. The differential acted as an anti-roll bar, and depending on how he adjusted the radius arms and upper control arms, he could get more stiffness in the rear. That way, he could totally control the front and rear handling dynamic and make the car completely neutral.
His shop also had a dyno and used it to check horsepower between events. He also was constantly testing new carburetor, manifold and exhaust setups that raised the Crosley’s output from 32 HP of the 1952 racing Hot Shot to a snarling 65 HP a few years later, doubling the output. This was pretty much unheard of in amateur racing of the 50s. Candy was constantly endeavoring to optimize and refine the racer. He brought a level of professionalism to the sport that predated Group 44 and Roger Penske.
Candy was a force to be reckoned with in the Northeast racing community of the 1950s. His mechanical acumen and driving ability made him a constant front-runner. He was a true competitor, but he had no problem maintaining other people’s race cars, and he happily coached and tutored drivers to make them more competitive and safer behind the wheel. He was very open with his knowledge but kept a few secrets to give himself an edge. Candy knew his car so intimately that they became one on the track.
Candy’s son Larry remembers a race at Thompson where Max Hoffman brought a specially imported Porsche Spyder to the track to run in class G, showcasing it to the racing community. He had ace race driver John Fitch behind the wheel to really show what the German factory car could do and how it would decimate all comers. For the entire race, Candy was on Fitch’s tail, and if he could have gotten around, he more than likely would have driven away from him. It took all of John’s racing ability to stay in front of the home-built special. It was such an embarrassment to Hoffman they loaded the car on the transport and left as quickly as possible. Candy felt if they had let him set the Porsche up for the track, he would never have gotten near it.
The only other car Candy raced other than the PBX was a Porsche 550. He was invited by Bob Davis, a fellow driver he met in the Bahamas during Speedweek, to co-drive at the 1955 12 hours of Sebring. They came in 11th overall. After a time, the partners at Pallotti & Poole were not agreeing on the time Candy spent on the race car. Candy was ahead of the curve with the ‘race on Sunday sell on Monday’ metric; his partner disagreed, and they went their separate ways. After that, Candy opened his own garage.
After a few years, he wasn’t doing anything with the car and wanted it to go to a good home. Candy sold the PBX to long-time friend J.D. Iglehart in the late ‘70s without an engine. JD restored it and dropped in a rare 750cc Coventry Climax engine. From there, it was campaigned in the Vintage Sports Car Club of America by J.D.’s stepson Jeb Ebbott. Jeb joined the club at 18 years of age and started racing the car at 23. He bought the car from JD in 1983. Jeb campaigned the car at Lime Rock, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, and Summit Point, all of the reasonably short tracks. Longer courses, he felt, were too much on the car.
Jeb’s memory of the car is that it was a dream to drive. It drifted so nicely and was so controllable (even when sideways) that you could flick it anywhere you wanted at any time. It was so well-balanced and neutral. In its class at Lime Rock, nothing could touch it. It wasn’t all that fast in a straight line, but it was so much quicker than anything else in the turns, so it easily took on bigger, more powerful cars. Jeb found it easier to drive than his stepfather’s OSCAS. It was lighter and more agile. Jeb campaigned the PBX for many years up to the 2000s, and then it went away.
In early 2020, Orrie Simko got a tip from VSCCA member Keith Goring about the whereabouts of the PBX. It was tucked in a corner of GMT Racing in Newtown, CT. It had a thick layer of dust covering it, but it was complete. Jeb was ready to sell it, and Orrie was the man to get it done. The first thing Orrie did when he saw the PBX was to get to the back of the car to see if it still carried its original Connecticut License plate, XPB. It did.
The PBX was sent to Vintage Machine Works in Bethel, CT, to be brought back to life by brothers Mark and Scott Lefferts. They got it running, and later, in 2020, Orrie took it to Lime Rock Park for the VSCCA Fall Finale to show it with other cars he had available. Jeb came to see the car and drove it around. It was breaking up at 4000 rpm, so he asked the brothers to do a bit more work. The car was now running well and ready for a new home. People were nibbling around the car but not making a commitment. Orrie had one very interested client who was way too tall and couldn’t fit in the damn thing. This became an obstacle for several prospective buyers.
Then, like Cinderella and the glass slipper, the right person who was the perfect fit came along. " More to come I presume about the car in the 2020's
A lot of story guys - lets get to the pictures.
The car still unpainted with the Owner / Builder at an early event with the Connecticut Plate XPB
Race Number #74 and class H appear in most photos.
Mt Equinox Hill Climb
SCCA Nationals at Beverly Ma in 1955
Candy Poole being chased by a future owner in his 750 Osca - another small capacity Italian racer.
At Brynfan Tyddan - presume either getting ready to race or after an event.