Does anyone know how many cars were built as Penske Zerex Specials and who owned and drove them? I have read that the original car (the single seat conversion) was based on the Kimberley Cooper, but then more cars appear to have followed this car and eventually gave rise to the Cooper-Olds McLaren car. I have even found mention of a Cooper-Ford being owned by Teddy Mayer in 1963 and driven by Dan Gurney at Mosport in 1963; is this the car that became the McLaren race winner in 1964?

Mark Donohue driver, Roger Penske team owner, the zerex is now saddly a lost car
btw I think there was only one

dan G drove a cooper monaco

and burce had an elva as his first McLaren

The first McLarens had Elva-McLaren ID plates on dash. Powered with alum block Olds engine, not enough power. My Cooper Monaco had Maser engine engine in back, not Climax. Did not have the finned rear fenders.

I think you may be mixing up your Coopers here. By the "Kimberley Cooper" are you referring to the Cooper built specially for the 1961 Indianapolis 500 and driven there by Jack Brabham? It was sponsored by Jim Kimberly. In any event, this was not the car that became the first Zerex Special.

I believe you are thinking of the Formula One Cooper T53 originally owned by Briggs Cunningham that was crashed by Walt Hansgen at the 1961 USGP at Watkins Glen. That chassis was purchased by Roger Penske from Cunningham and became the basis for the original Zerex Special. And Mark Donohue had nothing to do with it. Roger Penske was the driver. It was several years before Donohue drove for Penske.

Later there were a number of cars sponsored by Zerex that were called Zerex Specials. Some of them were not specials, as such, at all and they were not all entered or owned by Penske. But that is another story.

The original 'Zerex Special' was bought by McLaren and taken to England, fitted with an Olds V8 IIRC, and had the seating arrangement 'normalised'... again, IIRC...

Tim Mayer drove it, I think it was at Brands Hatch in the Guards Trophy...

In this way, I guess you could say it had a part in the heritage of the McLaren M1. It was, more or less, a step along the way, a vehicle for trying ideas.

FWIW, which is usually not much, I have the rights to a movie called Pit Pass that was produced by Dow to promote the Zerex Special.
I plan on watching it this weekend so if there are any questions ask now and I'll try to take notes.

Thanks,

Ron No Life Scoma
50 years old and sitting at home watching racing movies, alone, on a Saturday night. No matter how low the bar is, I still need to reach up to it....

At least you still have your youth...

Ron,

What the heck happened to that girlfriend from the low countries! Personnaly, watching racing videos from the 50s and 60s is becoming my favorite passtime on a Saturday night.
As for the Zerex, Penske struck a sponsorship deal with Dupont in 1961 and carried Zerex sponsorship decals on his Birdcage Maserati from then on. Both his Birdcage and later Cooper Monaco were called Zerex Specials. Most race programs kept identifying them as Maserati and Cooper, because the cars had an identity.

The Zerex-Duralite Special was called that name because there was no other name for the car. Hansgen spun a Cunningham Formula One Cooper/Climax at Watkins Glen in 1961, trying to avoid Olivier Gendebien who was all over the place with his Yeoman Cooper. The wrecked car was sold to Penske for a nominal sum, and turned into the first real Zerex.

Pensk brought the Zerex sponsorship with him when he joined the John Mecom team. As a result, all of Mecom's cars --Scarab, Hussein, Cooper Monaco, Lotus 19, LolaT70, Ferrari 275LM, Lola GT --
were called Zerex Specials. When Penske left for Chaparral, Mecom kept the sponsorship.

WINO

Does anyone have (colour if possible) photos of the Mecom 250 LM Zerex Special raced in 1964 and 1965 in the Zerex blue/white colour scheme? Please post in reply if possible.
Thanks

There is a color picture of this car, with Walt Hansgen standing next to it, on page 50 of the August 2009 issue of "Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car" magazine. The caption says the picture was taken at Bridgehampton in 1964. But the car isn't blue, it's red with a white nose, and is clearly marked "Zerex Special".

There is a small color photo in the center photo section of the Michael Argetsinger book on Mark Donohue which shows the Ferrari LM in its proper blue Mecom color. It was taken at Sebring in 1965. Perhaps that will be of some help.
Tom

If I remember correctly, Roger Penske had the use of three Coopers. One was the ex-Cunningham T53, widened and fitted with a new "wide" body and one of the two engines that were used on the T54 Indy car and later fitted to the two Cooper Monaco's that did a 1-2 at the 1961 LA Times GP at Riverside.

He also drove another T53 in Louisiana at least once, not the ex-Hansgen/Cunningham car.

The third one was the Telar Special, a fin-tail Cooper Monaco first fitted with the 2.5 Coventry-Climax/Cooper C5S arrangement, later modified with a Chevrolet engine and using the same gearbox.
Both cars were painted in the red color of the sponsor, Dupont de Nemours. The Zerex Cooper Spl., the ex Hansgen T53, was later repainted in the Mecom metallic blue and white color scheme after it was sold to John Mecom in 1963, at which point the top frame tubes were cut and a tubular hoop was installed so as to fit a "legal" seating arrangement. In 1963, the car, devoid of the ex-Indy Climax engine, but still fitted with the Cooper-Knight C5S gearbox, was sold to Bruce McLaren. With it was a Traco-modified Olds V8 on a crate. Bruce ran the car with the "other" Indy engine, the highly modified "spare" 2.8 liter FPF with the longer stroke, but it apparently blew up. Bruce then greatly modified the chassis and fitted the Olds engine in it.
The two cars, the Telar Spl. and the Zerex Cooper Spl., still exist. Last I saw the Telar Special, it was in the hands of Jim Herlinger and painted dark blue. The T53 "Zerex" is known to be in Venezuela as a rusty hulk.

I have a slightly different recollection. Penske bought a new Cooper Monaco T-57, the fin tail Monaco, in mid 1961 and ran it through the 1962 season until the fall when he rolled out the ex-Cunningham single seat T-53 Zerex Special car. This car did not have a Chevy engine when owned by Penske, but was always powered by a Coventry-Climax four. The T-57 I believe then went to Tim Mayer.

Telar was a DuPont product which was a Penske sponsor. In 1961-62 Penske painted his cars red and they carried the "Telar Special" lettering. However, sometime during this period, as I recall, DuPont discontinued the Telar brand and so Penske replaced it on his cars with the Zerex brand, another DuPont product. All Penske's cars in this period were dubbed 'Telar' or 'Zerex' Special.

After the 1962 fall pro races at Riverside and Laguna Seca, I believe that Penske bought the T-61 Cooper Monaco prototype from Bruce McLaren without an engine. Penske then had a special Durlite body built to replace the body as purchased, and had a Chevy V-8 installed. He used this car sparingly in 1963. It later went to Sherman Decker.

Also in 1963 Penske/Mecom bought yet another Cooper Monaco T-61. It had the standard body, although the rear looked different to my eye, and also was Chevy V-8 powered. It too was raced sparingly and was sold to George Wintersteen for 1964.

So Penske had the use of five different Coopers, not getting into Juniors. The T-53 ex-Cunningham which became the "Zerex Special", a second T-53 which he used in USAC Formula Libre events, a T-57 'pointy-tailed' Monaco for 1961-62 which always was Climax four powered, the T-61 prototype ex-McLaren which was rebodied and powered by a Chevy V-8, and a second T-61 which retained the standard body and was also Chevy powered.

Tom

The front cover of the book BAHAMAS SPERED WEEK by Terry O'Neill show 5 diff. Mecom cars in blue/white and there are more inside....Hussein, Genie , Scarab , Vette and LM !

That's right, Bjorn, Mecom never was bashful about acquiring race cars!
Tom

Tom: thought I would throw up the shot of the Zerex Special going up the hill to enter the pits. That is Roger giving the signal he is slowing. From what I have read and according to Mike Argetsinger that was a one of a kind put together from the crash Walt had the previous year at the Glen. here it is. Ron
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/1898/penskespc02ra96.jpg

Tom,
The Penske Cooper-Chevy had the stock body with the fins. I have a fw pics from it.

Penske waiting for the checkered at Laguna Seca in 1963
The finless, customized Cooper/Chevy was owned by John Mecom. This is the car run by Bruce McLaren in 1962. It was sold to Sherm Decker after Mecom's team ran the car in 1963.

During the 1961 season Roger Penske ran his Climax-engined Cooper Monaco with fins in the West Coast series. In 1962 he ran the original [former Cunningham Formula One] Zerex-Duralite Cooper with Climax engine in the West Coast Series.

Tom is correct in his comments. In the 1963 West Coast Series Penske ran the now Mecom-owned Zerex-Duralite Cooper at Riverside, but at Laguna Seca he switched to the former works Cooper Monaco raced by Bruce McLaren in 1962. Again owned by Mecom, at Laguna Seca it came with special body [no fins whatsoever] and Chevy engined powered.

photo Willem Oosthoek collection
all research Willem Oosthoek.




As mentioned by Tom.

Here is the Penske Cooper with fins. This was taken at Indianapolis Raceway Park and if I recall it was a National. Have a few shots of Roger and the car from Road America. If anyone interested I will look for them and post. regards, Ron
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/9771/penskecooperz001.jpg

Thanks Ron, Willem, and Jerry for the pictures. Ron, that was taken at the IRP SCCA National in August, 1961. Roger Penske had very recently taken delivery of this fin tailed Coventry Climax four cylinder powered Cooper Monaco T-57. He ran that car for the balance of 1961 and for most of 1962 until the fall pro races at Riverside and Laguna Seca where he, of course, ran the controversial single seater T-53 "Zerex Special". This Cooper Monaco, the only T-57 owned by Penske, always had a Climax four in it when raced by Penske. It still was Climax powered when Tim Mayer acquired it from Penske and raced it.

As can be seen on Ron's photo, in August, 1961, Penske was still using the Telar brand as his sponsor. Zerex came a bit later when DuPont discontinued the Telar brand.

The photo posted by Jerry is, as mentioned earlier, the T-61 Cooper Monaco prototype that Bruce McLaren brought over and raced at Riverside and Laguna Seca in the fall of 1962. Penske bought the car, put a different body on it, and popped a Chevy V-8 into the tail. This car later was sold to Sherman Decker, who raced it with a Ford V-8 in it!

Another Penske/Mecom Cooper Monaco was another T-61, also Chevy powered and with the standard T-61 Monaco body, that went to George Wintersteen for 1964. Perhaps somebody has a photo to post of that car in its Penske/Mecom days. I only have shots of it when Wintersteen drove it.

Tom

[quote name='grandprix61' date='Aug 16 2009, 02:02' post='3797296']
If anyone interested I will look for them and post. regards, Ron ; quote

Please do.
Roger Lund

The original Zerex special with the Olds engine came to Venezuela in 1967 and is still in the country.
Picture when it arrived, it was painted white after the first race.
branko

Roger Penske in his finned Cooper Monaco in 1962 leading Bob Holbert
This was from the President's Cup race at VIR in 1962.


Roger Penske getting ready to go on Victory Lap.
The Great Tex Hopkins with suit and cigar in hand has just given Roger the flag.
That is Lisa Penske, Rogers wife gettring in for the Victory Lap.

photos - Bill Wiswedel collection
all research Willem Oosthoek

The original Zerex Special was created as previously stated from the remains of the F1 car. For the 1962 season it was a center seater, was painted red, carried the race number 6 and I remember seeing it at Road America that year. The previous year Penske had driven a red, number 6, Birdcage Maserati to victory in the June Sprints with the name Telar Special on the side. Telar and Zerex were both anti-freeze products of DuPont. As I understand things, the red Zerex Special was protested because the passenger's seat was hidden under the bodywork and not accessible. The car was then modified with the driving seat moved off center, the cockpit opening widened with a rollover bar to match, and the car was painted in the Mecom blue colors.

I do not think that it ran at Bridgehampton in 1964 in red paint, but could be wrong, I do not have the Finn Bridgehampton book - Willem?

Woody

Woody:
I don't have the Finn book either, but I think the reference was made to John Mecom's Ferrari 275LM [or 250LM if you want to follow Enzo's logic]. I only have b/w photos of the car in its early days under Mecom ownership, so I can't tell.


above Willem Oosthoek

As has been stated, Zerex was a brand of DuPont, and it appeared on ALL Mecom cars for the 1963-65 period. Do not confuse with the so-called Zerex Special which was the ex-Cunningham Cooper T-53 modified into a sports racer by Roger Penske at the end of 1962. So do not think that a 'Zerex Special' was THE "Zerex Special", if you follow me.

Regarding the Mecom Ferrari 275-LM: it was red with a white nose and stripe in 1964 when it first was acquired by Mecom. For 1965 it was repainted in the traditional Mecom colors of metallic blue with white trim.

Tom

Walt Hansgen in what was to become the Zerex Special

This explanation comes from Michael Argetsinger:
"As you know the original chassis for the Penske Zerex Special came from the crashed Cooper T53 purchased new by Briggs Cunningham and raced in the 1961 USGP at Watkins Glen by Walt Hansgen. In this photo by Ron Nelson you see the car (chassis # T53 F1-16-1) just before Walt drives it to the grid for the start. Also in the photo is the Cooper T53 (T53 F1-14-61) of Roger Penske. On the exit of the loop on lap 15, Olivier Gendebien lost control (said to be an oil patch) and spun off the track and then came back across the track directly in Walt's path. The Cooper was launched over the Lotus and through the air. The Cooper lost its left front wheel and suspension and vaulted the guard rail, landing in a field on its remaining wheels. The wrecked Cooper -- less engine -- was sold by Cunningham in the paddock to Roger Penske. It was this chassis that Penske developed into the original Zerex Special. So this photo shows the car in its original form before being converted to the single-seat sports car. All of this with a great deal more detail is covered in my book Walt Hansgen: His Life and the History of Post-War American Road Racing."

photo- Ron Nelson
copyright 2009 Ron Nelson

Thanks for all your information since my first post..
Especially the photo in the Mark Donohue book. I think I can find a copy.
You can appreciate the problem of findiing the "right" colour of a 250 LM Ferrari from 1964 period photos when there aren't many surviving. The confusion between the "Zerex Special" and the 250 LM Ferrari entered as a Zerex Special is hard to deal with.
Any other pics known?

A photo from Road America in Sept. of 1965, of a "Zerex Special" going through the gravel pit section, driver unknown (by me). This was undoubtedly from the Mecom/Zerex years. Looks like a T70 Lola ...?


Ron Shaw Photo

Again, all Mecom cars in the 1963-65 era were"Zerex Specials" Mecom was sponsored by Zerex. THE Zerex Special was the Roger Penske Cooper T-53 based single seater. Again, DO NOT mix up sponsorship names with the period name of a one-off special!

OK, now to the photo immediately above. The car is the Mecom Lola T-70 driven by the renowned Walt Hansgen.

Tom

I have read that the blue paint used by Mecom is 1959 or 1960 Cadillac Pelham Blue...hope that helps.

You guys are great. Thanks for your suggestions and information. I have searched for over a week and have only found one good colour pic of the 250 LM (chassis #6047) at the 1965 Sebring race on IMCA slot racing site, so you have been a great help. I am still looking for pics from the Nov/Dec 1964 Nassau Speed Week races.
Thanks again.

Branko. any chance of a more recent photo of the car ????????

I think that you may have your races, years, and cars a bit mixed up, David. The Zerex Special (Cooper T-53 variant) did not run at Road America in 1962. At the 1962 June Sprints Penske drove his Cooper Monaco T-57, the fin tailed car powered by a Climax four. He was a dnf. In the second 1962 Road America event, the 500, Penske did not drive his own car, but rather drove a Cooper-Maserati T-57 for Briggs Cunningham. The car broke its gearbox on the first lap.

Penske did drive the "Zerex Special" at Road America once, but that was in the 1963 June Sprints. By now it had been converted to a two seater configuration, was owned by Mecom, and was in the Mecom colors. He led early on, but again was a dnf.

The Cooper based Zerex Special, the single seater built from the Hansgen wreck at the Glen in 1961, ran in single seater form in the fall of 1962 after being debuted at Riverside. Penske won Riverside, Laguna Seca, and Puerto Rico in this car. The Riverside and Laguna races were USAC sanctioned. The car was protested, but USAC allowed it to run. Over the winter Mecom bought the car. SCCA informed them that the car was not legal in its single seat form, so Mecom had the car rebuilt with a widened frame and a second seat. It is in this guise that it was raced during 1963, always with a Climax four. Penske won several SCCA Nationals and the SCCA DM National Championship. I believe that he also won the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy race in this car. After Nassau in December, 1963, the car was sold to Bruce McLaren, who won two early season races in the UK with it still Climax powered. Bruce then mightily modified the car and put a small aluminum Oldsmobile V-8 into it. Bruce then won the Mosport Players 200 and the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy race. It could be said that this was the prototype for the upcoming McLaren sports racers, but that is another story. The car went to David Morgan in Texas, I believe, who ran it for a while before it went to Venezuela, where it remains today.

As far as Bridgehampton 1964 is concerned, as has been stated above, do not confuse the sponsor with the car!

Tom

Tom,

Strictly, the car went from Bruce McLaren back to John Mecom, and then to Dave Morgan, and then on to Venezuela. Mecom may not have owned the car this time; possibly he just bought it for Morgan, but he was definitely in the sequence.

This may be the car you are looking for. It is from Road America and Tom can clarify who was driving. I think it was Mark Donohue and Hansgen. Although when they won the 500 the car was red. I have a photo of that car and can post later. getting late here in the midwest. Let us know what you think Tom and here is the shot. Ron http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4984/donohuezeroxlola96.jpg

The car in the photo above is Lola GT...

Chassis number LGT 2

Proviz and Red Socks are right. That is the Lola Mk VI, GT as it also was called.

The photo is from the 1964 Road America 500 and the driver is Augie Pabst. It was a DNF.

Donohue never drove this car and never won the 500, with or without Hansgen.

Walt Hansgen and Augie Pabst co-drove a red Ferrari 275-LM to win the 1964 Road America 500. Pabst took over from Hansgen after the Lola GT pictured above failed. Augie drove the middle portion and Walt the opening and closing stints.

Again, we see Zerex Special on the side. Remember, all Mecom cars in this era were sponsored by Zerex and carried that ID.

Tom

Love your Latin Tom but actually the Chassis plate says Mk 6 GT rather than Mk VI GT

Veritas!

Tom

O.k. grabbed the wrong photo file starring at thumbnail size pics late at night. Just wanted to show some Mecom Blue. Here is Walt in the LolaT70. Correct me if I am wrong and the sharp eyes of TNF contributors will do that and I don't mind. I still keep finding things on proof sheets I didn't know I had. Regards, Ron
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/894/lolahansgen96.jpg

Can anyone recognise who is driving and where see post 17.

Definitely is Bruce McLaren. As far as I recall, he drove this car with the Olds aluminum V-8 at two races, winning both. They were the Mosport Players 200 and the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy race. Not much in the background that can be used as reference! Is the car number a clue as to which race?

Tom

Great photo, Ron! It appears that you were on the inside of turn 14 at Road America, shooting UP at the cars as they swung through the turn.

Tom

Thanks Tom that was the link to narrow down the search.

http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Mosp...1964-06-06.html

Yes, a veteran like you from one of the premier tracks in the world has it right. More fun to shoot in the old days with just a 200mm lens and the opportunity to wander pretty much where you wanted. Of course, you had to use your common sense and keep your eyes open. (and ears). Only had one close call at Meadowdale. That is another story. regards, Ron