Ian Williams started building the Williams special in April / May 1964, utilizing a Grey Holden engine purchased in bits for £10 and a Riley 1.5 litre gearbox. The car was completed in August / September 1965 in time for the Geelong Speed Trials, now known as the
Geelong Revival Motoring Festival
The space frame of RHS tubing and aluminium was constructed by Ian and a friend in Mordialloc, to their own design. Triumph Herald front suspension and rack and pinion steering was included in the design, and a Morris Minor rear axle mounted on an "A" frame and radius rods.
The front and rear panels in fibreglass are from a Bolwell MK4, purchased new by Ian for the project, the front panel modified to accommodate the much larger Holden engine. Improvements to the car shortly thereafter included replacing the Triumph Herald drum brakes with discs from a MK3 Zephyr adapted to the Herald Uprights, and replacing the rear axle assembly with one from an FE Holden.
The car was initially road registered in 1965 as the Williams roadster, chassis number 1, registration number JHW•082. At the time in Victoria cars were road registered by simply turning up at the local police station and filling out the appropriate forms.
The following is Ian's recollection of the event:
Presented early one morning 1965 at East Geelong police station. Parked in specified car park flanked by low hedge. Police officer asks where car is for inspection, from the desk nothing in sight! Assured it actually was there, the officer has a look and instantly decides his superior officer should do the inspection! Superior is a large man, who, I think for something to say insists on sitting in the car. For a 16, 17 stone man this was somewhat difficult! First the fibreglass seat could not accommodate fully his rear end, which instantly sat him up several inches, causing his elbows to interfere with the doors. Secondly, his police issue boots (!) covered all three pedals at once. He indicated that this was not safe and would have to be modified. My reply was that if you can't fit in the thing, you wouldn't drive it! He said that if the car was ever sold, the recipient would be unsafe. My reply again was the above. In a fit of temper, I drove home, grabbed a pair of tin snips and cut out half the aluminium drivers door then used a crowbar to bend the accelerator and clutch pedal away from the brake! Within an hour I was back at the branch, who then calmly did not re-inspect but proceeded with the registration paperwork! ( the doors are now fibreglass and the pedals re-jigged). As an aside, I spent hours, days, weeks setting up a micro windscreen wiper to actually work since I was under the impression i needed a wiper even though I looked over the perspex screen. I later was told later that if I had nominated the screen as a wind "deflector", I wouldn't have needed the wiper.
On with the registration paperwork, the first question, was what type of car was it? Having not thought about this, I said the engine was Holden so it probably was a Holden. The officer hesitated, then said " I don't think General Motors would be happy about that". After mulling over the Bolwell shells and home made chassis, he asked "what's your name, son?" The car was duly recorded as a Williams roadster! I was able to give an engine number, but the next question was for a chassis number. After admitting it didn't have one, I was told to go out and scratch number 1 on it somewhere. It was with great pride I was able to drive back home (via all the main streets of Geelong- which created quite a revelation in those days) with registration number JHW•082.
The car was initially raced by Ian at the Geelong Speed trials in 1965, entered in Class 4 and wearing number 28, the car covered the distance in 18.89 seconds. The car was entered under the Ecurie Corio banner, at Ron Redpaths suggestion after carrying out some exhaust system work on the car. The car was also raced at Calder Park in 1966.
The Williams Special then went into storage for many years until Ian decided to take up Historic racing after attending an historic meeting at Sandown in the early eighties.
A Group M Log book was issued by C.A.M.S. for the Williams Special on the 20-05-1981. The car’s preferred racing number has always been “33” as Ian played Football for Geelong in the early 1960's wearing the number 33 guernsey.
In September 2003 Ian passed the car on to his son, Troy Williams, who continued to race the car until April 2005 when the car was acquired by Larry Varley.
Larry commenced a complete strip down and rebuild of the car, later debuting it at the Phillip Island Historics.
I took custodianship of the car in 2016 and set about putting it back on the road having obtained the original JHW•082 registration plates from VicRoads.
To this day the car remains in Geelong, registered for the road, with ambition of more racing fun once things begin to get back to normal.
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