Investment or driver? The constantly debated question becomes kind of a moot point with race cars – after all, they were built to be driven, and to be driven hard. They went through constant changes – updates and repairs alike – so that there often is no one absolutely correct configuration. And who cares about matching numbers or original paint when there’s a race to be won? Then again, in the case of ultra-special race cars, such as this 1958 Lister-Chevrolet for sale on Hemmings.com with a complete race history, it seems that you can indeed have it both ways, and that the more such a car is raced, the greater its value grows. From the seller’s description:
BHL110 was discovered in 1969 by the current owner in Riverside, CA and had a 283 small-block Chevy with the car, but not installed. The original Bill of Sale from the seller in 1969 to the current owner comes with the car, and there is no doubt that this car, which carries the correct Lister chassis plate, is the original BHL110 built by Brian Lister. The book – Archie and the Listers – by Robert Edwards, gives a brief outline that chassis #BHL110 was shipped to the USA without an engine and a Chevy engine was installed upon its arrival in the US. In fact, a later chassis – #BHL124 – was the first car that was specifically designed to take a Chevy motor.
This car was originally imported in 1958 by Tom Carstens, who sold it to Al Dean of Dean Van Lines for Bill Pollack to drive in the inaugural LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside. Bruce Crower of San Diego built the Chevrolet engine for Pollack, but Pollack had problems in the race and the car was later sold to Fike Plumbing racing from Phoenix, AZ. They raced the car for the next few years, with Don Hulette scoring a win at consolation race at the 1960 LA Times Grand Prix.
Hulette crashed the car in the main event that weekend, resulting in a fire. Fortunately, Don was not hurt in the accident, but the car remained in Riverside until purchased by the current owner in 1969 from Klaus Huberty, who acquired the car after the wreck. Brian Lister was brought in to help with the restoration, after inspecting the chassis plate on the car and verifying it as the original BHL110. The current owner has raced the car in many vintage races since he rebuilt and restored the car, beginning with the car in white, and later in purple, then purple and black and ultimately in all black. He had many race wins and top three finishes with the car over the 43 years he has owned it. All race and maintenance records, a spare parts package and a declaration of authenticity are included with the car.
Currently, the car has a quite fresh 358 CID Chevrolet engine with about 8 hours since a full rebuild. It dyno-tested at about 660 BHP and 520-lbs.ft. of torque, with a Kinsler fuel injection system, driving through a T-10 gearbox and a 3.75:1 Dana rear end. It runs on new Dunlop 6.50 x 16 rear tires and 6.00 x 16 front tires and a full set of correct Halibrand alloy rims and includes a spares package. The ride is damped through upgraded two-way shocks and Lister’s well-developed suspension system, and the car has just received a complete strip-down and crack check of all critical components.
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