cm562 MH06 Corkscew

Tracy Bird Cooper Monaco-Ferrari
… #CM 5/62 was the fifth and last chassis produced by the Cooper Car Company in 1962, serving
as the prototype for the “King Cobra” of the following year. Originally equipped with a 2.7L
Coventry Climax FPF that had been used in Grand Prix racing in Europe, CM 5/62 was delivered
to Wichita banker and oil man Jack Hinkle, who was an important figure in American racing:
• Car owner for driver Jack McGrath, who won the Indy 500 pole in 54,
and finished 3rd in ‘51 & ‘54
• Chairman of the SCCA Board in ‘61
• Accomplished sports car driver, winning 9 of 12 races and the MiDiv
D Mod championship in ’64
(in CM 5/62)
Jack Hinkle receiving CM 5/62 from the factory, ‘62
“Garnett, KS: With 65,000 persons watching, Ken Miles … finished
ahead of Harry Heuer driving a Chaparall and Jack Hinkle driving a
Cooper Monaco. Hinkle in the Cooper Monaco had the best time --
1:53. D*** Thompson 1:59. Harry Heuer and Ed Hamill in a
Cooper Monaco Ford 1:56.” Kansas City Star, July 8, ‘64
Hinkle and CM 5/62 in action, 64
Hinkle sold CM 5/62 after the ‘64 season to Tracy Bird, who installed a 3.0L Ferrari V12 GT
engine and raced it very successfully in ‘65/’66:
“the car was… unbeaten on the West Coast in the 3 Liter D-Mod class of those days. It regularly won the
class and would run 2nd or 3rd overall in Nationals, and won overall in Regional races that didn’t have too
many big Modified cars. I won the Class in Division and was leading the Run-offs at Riverside that Fall by
a good half lap, when (gearbox problems caused a DNF). The car was always #91 – my number from the
1951 Palm Springs race.” Tracy Bird.
Bird was also an important figure in racing. While Chairman of the SCCA Board, Bird developed
the USRRC series, and with Jim Hall, was the architect of the Can-Am rules.
“Tracy Bird and Hall … worked out rules … on the telephone. Each had a car of his own, Hall a
Chaparral and Bird a Cooper [CM 5/62], and they would call each other after 8 p.m. when rates were
cheap. One would mention scoops and the other would rush out to measure scoop size on the car sitting in
his garage, and either agree or propose a modification.” Leon Mandel.
Bird sold CM 5/62 in ‘68 to Pete Lovely, who is well-known for
also installing a Ferrari engine in a Cooper T-51 Grand Prix
chassis and racing the resulting “Cooper-Ferrari” at the Formula
1 race at Riverside in ‘60, finishing 11th.
“The following year (‘66), the SCCA boobs eliminated the class, so I sold the car
to Pete.” Tracy Bird.
Gary Grove and CM5/62 in action at PIR, ‘68
CM 5/62 was acquired from Lovely in ‘74 by William Cammarano, who restored the car to Tracy
Bird specs, enjoyed it for 30 years, and then sold it on to Fred Burke, who intends to continue the
chain of good stewards of this historically significant sports racing car.