Vintage Thing No.119 - McCandless R2 four wheel drive 500

As the sun sets on the Goodwood paddock I spotted the dull gleam of unpainted alleluiah

I'd never heard of this device until I clapped eyes on it last year at the 2011 Goodwood Revival but it seems it's "world famous in Ulster".

It's the McCandless four wheel drive 500cc racer and like most good 500cc racers from the early fifties it sports a Manx Norton engine. But in the spirit of pioneering experimentation every wheel was driven.

McCandless to me is synonymous with the designer of the Norton Featherbed frame and it was the same Rex McCandless behind that piece of rolling sculpture that produced this little four wheel drive car. Its purpose was to gain first hand experience of how powertrain, steering and suspension would interact when all wheels are driven.

Not a great picture but you get the idea

In 1951 McCandless met fellow Ulsterman Harry Ferguson and the two embarked on a project to develop a four wheel drive car for the military. Believing competition was the best testing ground, they built two cars and then fell out.

This removable tonneau cover also acts as the bonnet

The McCandless R2 four wheel drive 500cc racer broke the lap record at Kirkistown by 3 seconds and then appeared in the Earl of March Trophy race at Goodwood on Easter Monday, 1953, apparently as a deliberate snub to Ferguson.

The military contract never came about but the McCandless R2 made an impact and appeared in a cutaway illustration in Autosport magazine.

Later it went back to live with Rex McCandless in his railway carriage cum workshop.

The surviving car now lives in the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, having been restored by Crossle.

The R2 engine room

It's more of a two seater sports car than yer typical 500cc racer, although there is just the one seat. The engine is mounted well forward and the gearbox is mounted above and behind the centreline of the front axle, which it drives by a short chain.

From the top in this view are the pedals, the steering column, the oil catch tank, the central beam chassis (which contains the chain drive) the drum brakes and at the bottom the fuel tank

Another chain runs back inside the central fabricated beam that forms the chassis of this little car and it's here that the two inboard drum brakes live. Think about it - less unsprung weight and the braking forces are isolated from the suspension allowing the full effect of all wheel drive to be truly felt.

Crossle did a superb job of the restoration

Rear suspension is by elegant swing axles.

Here's another view of the cockpit.

It seems that in competition four wheel drive and an aerodynamic shell couldn't counteract the weight penalty of the drivetrain but I reckon the McCandless R2 is great and a fascinating insight into how its creator's self-taught mind worked.

Harry Ferguson, of course, went on to develop other four wheel drive cars...