A HISTORY RECONSIDERED: CORRECTING A LONG-STANDING MISIDENTIFICATION

STARTING POINT
The research began with the history traditionally attributed to O.S.C.A. MT4 chassis no. 1127, principally based on Luigi Orsini and Franco Zagari’s authoritative book on O.S.C.A., together with information supplied by the owner and other later sources. While the early history with George Moffett in 1953 was well established, the subsequent chronology presented a number of inconsistencies. In particular, several races and ownerships traditionally assigned to chassis no. 1127 — including those involving William “Bill” David, Seymour “Chick” Leson and Sam Weiss — appeared incompatible with the physical characteristics visible in period photographs. The same confusion had been repeated in publications and specialist records for many years, gradually becoming accepted as part of the car’s history. The later ownership history also contained discrepancies. Orsini and Zagari, for example, recorded Eric Boussion as owner of chassis no. 1127, whereas Ananda Covindassamy confirmed directly that Boussion had purchased chassis no. 1122 from him and had never owned 1127.

RESEARCH
Automotive Masterpieces undertook a new reconstruction of the car’s history, cross-checking published sources against contemporary race reports, entry lists, advertisements and, especially, period photographs. Photographic comparison proved decisive in separating chassis no. 1127 from chassis no. 1121, the two cars whose histories had become intertwined. Chassis 1127 could be consistently identified by a distinctive combination of details: a nine-bar grille, two doors, two rows of seventeen bonnet louvers, asymmetric side vents — six on the left and five on the right — and, in several documented appearances, U.S. flags on the front wings. By contrast, chassis no. 1121 had a single right-hand door and followed the Bill Spear–Bill David–Chick Leson–Sam Weiss ownership sequence that had long been partly attributed to 1127. Particularly valuable contributions to this investigation came from Tony Adriaensen of CorsaResearch and John de Boer of The Italian Car Registry, whose extensive research material, photographic references and chassis-by-chassis studies provided essential independent evidence for disentangling the two histories. De Boer’s records, in particular, identify chassis 1121 with Bill Spear and subsequently Bill David, while explicitly noting that 1127 had also been reported in error. The revised reconstruction establishes a separate competition history for chassis no. 1127 with George Moffett and Boris “Bob” Said, including Bergstrom Air Force Base, Floyd Bennett Field and Watkins Glen in 1953 and, with a high degree of confidence based on photographic comparison, the Buenos Aires 1000 Kilometres in January 1954. The research also clarified the later provenance through direct correspondence with Ananda Covindassamy, who confirmed purchasing chassis nos. 1122 and 1127 from Tim Ritter in 1984, completing payment for 1127 on 26 January 1985, and provided first-hand information concerning its subsequent restoration and registration. The result is a substantially revised history that separates two O.S.C.A. MT4s whose identities had been confused for decades, restoring to chassis no. 1127 a competition and ownership chronology supported wherever possible by contemporary documentary and photographic evidence. A significant gap nevertheless remains in the provenance of chassis no. 1127: further research is now required to establish its ownership and whereabouts between George Moffett’s sale of the car in 1954 and its later appearance with Tim Ritter.