Cooper Monaco T49 

Originally supplied to Hap Sharp in 1959,  who successfully raced it in America and a Climax FPF, Maserati 2.5 litre 4 cylinder and returning it to a 2 litre FPF.  The car spent over 20 years in the Rosso Bianco museum and is one of the few remaining Monaco's with an original chassis.  The car now benefits from a Crosthwaite and Gardiner latest engine and rebuilt Ersa gearbox.  The car has been successfully campaigned in the UK for several years.

 A full race support can be supplied if required.  

Please contact Justin on 07971594625 or via e-mail justin@hawker-racing.co.uk

Purchased from the Rosso Bianco Collection –Coventry Climax FPF 4-cylinder engined leaf sprung-suspension Cooper Monaco of the kind which featured so strongly for many years within the most competitive class of Historic sports car racing, not only here in the UK but also throughout Europe and in the USA.

This well-known car has been preserved, almost entirely unused for a long period of its history. Sid Hoole briefly owned the car in the early 80’s, he sold the to Rob Grant, who in 1984 sold the car via prominent British classic car dealer and racer Chris Drake to the Rosso Bianchi museum where it was on display for no fewer than 19 long years until it was purchased by Tony Dither4idge in 2002.

The car was restored by leading British Cooper specialist Sid Hoole, and he recalls his regret at ever having sold it, because it had come to him as an unusually original car. Mr Hoole recalls: “That was a lovely old car when it came to me, so far as I recall virtually everything was there and I put it up on trestles in the garage workshop beside my old cottage in Keysoe and worked my way right through the entire thing. I drove it a couple of times in testing but never did race it as far as I recall, before it went to Rob Grant who ran it a few times before it was sold to the museum in Germany. It was one of the least messed about, most complete and nicest Monaco’s I had ever had.” Surviving Cooper Car Company factory records indicate that chassis ‘CM/7/59’ was constructed originally in September 1959, to the order of Texan oilman – and partner of Jim Hall in the legendary Chaparral Cars operation – J.R. ‘Hap’ Sharp. Born on January 1, 1927, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he would maintain that his nickname came from his birthday ‘Hap’ being short for ‘Happy New Year’! He settled in Midland, Texas, running Sharp Oil, and his racing activities developed in boats, winning the US National Outboard Racing Championship.

He had little interest in cars until he rented an MG TC while on vacation in California in 1949, and eight years later bought a Chevrolet Corvette which was lightly race-tuned. After a friend named Dave Morgan encouraged him to attend a racing driver course at Hourglass Field, San Diego, the bug bit, and Hap Sharp began racing in earnest.

In 1959 he hired a full-time mechanic and began racing the Cooper Monaco with a 2-litre Climax FPF engine installed. In the US West Coast professional ‘Fall series’ – precursor of CanAm racing – the British contingent arrived with Formula 1-type 2½-litre FPF engines in their Coopers… against which the American 2-litres stood no chance. Consequently Hap Sharp fitted a 2½-litre Maserati 4-cylinder racing engine in his Monaco and he won against strong opposition at both Nassau in the Bahamas Speed Week, and at Road America. The press christened his modified Cooper Monaco ‘Old Dirty’ which he did not appreciate one bit, since beneath its skin his car was always beautifully race-prepared.

On visits to England the burly Texan became a familiar and popular figure within the Cooper factory in Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, as one mechanic there recalled: “He’d always drop us a few bob, telling us to remember to repay him next time he sent an urgent telex needing bits for his cars in America… He looked after us, and we looked after him”.

In fact Hap Sharp went on to race Coopers in Formula 1 at the United States Grand Prix, before the Chaparrals became serious contenders internationally, and he drove the winged 2F Coupé in such events as the Targa Florio, around the Sicilian mountains.

 

The Cooper Monaco was supplied originally to him in the USA less engine which he acquired separately. After its American period and its restoration to raceable order by Sid Hoole we understand that the car was campaigned briefly in 1983 by British enthusiast Rob Grant before being sold via Chris Drake  to the Rosso Bianco museum where it remained until 2002.

Mr Grant received Vintage Sports Car Club identity papers for the car – form number 282 dated February 2, 1984. This document declares that the chassis was the original chassis number, front suspension coil-and-wishbone, rear suspension wishbone and transverse leafspring, the magnesium Cooper wheels 4¾-inch wide front rims and 6-inch wide rears, and the engine installed at that time was then listed as 2,000cc. Transmission was Cooper-ERSA Citroen-based 4-speed by Jack Knight Engineering. 

In 2002, the car was purchased by Tony Ditheridge of Hawker Racing who has campaigned the Cooper Monaco for over 25 years.  The engine has been rebuilt to the latest Crosthwaite and Gardiner specification as has the Jack Knight Ersa gearbox.  It won the Walter Hayes trophy in 2018 and has been an active participant both in the Europe and UK race scene.  The car is in the livery of Hap Sharp and ready to race. 

 

A full race support package can be provided with the car by Hawker Racing Ltd.

A new set of HTP papers will be supplied with the car.