Track Car / Mitch Duncan / Recently Sold
1963 Holman Moody Volvo 1800 Racer
The DTO (Daily Turismo Omologato) is a rare or interesting example of a DT-friendly classic or performance vehicle, but priced somewhere above the self imposed DT cap of $20k. We see these cars as weekend fun machines that you probably wouldn't want to drive to work every day, unlike a regular Daily Turismo. Today's DTO feature is none other than a genuine Holman Moody engineered 1963 Volvo 1800 road racer. The car has a long and documented history, has been a privateer track car since new, and was thoroughly reengineered and rebuilt by famed NASCAR racing team Holman Moody in the early 1980s. This is a Daily Turismo Exclusive listing - you won't find it anywhere else! It would be a great vintage racer and a solid investment given the history and unique setup. It is being offered by current owner Mitch Duncan, who has owned it since 1996 and is a retired Volvo Cars North America executive. It is available for $30,000 in the Moosehead Lake region of central Maine. Email us here if you are interested, and we will put you in touch with Mitch.This car not only sends off vibes of being the baddest 1800 on the block, it has the engineering, history and performance to back up the racing stripes and blacked-out lights. The genuine magnesium Minilites are a rare and cool treat; most aftermarket wheels are aluminum alloy but these true "mags" will both lighten up the unsprung mass significantly, and light up your night if you get them too hot. This is a fully caged, fiberglass skinned, dry-sumped, stripped out race car with a fuel cell, fire suppression system, and massive brakes. This is not Irv Gordon's 3 million mile cruiser - it's the black sheep of the family. If this car could talk it would quote Ricky Bobby in saying "I wanna go fast."
The Holman Moody 1800 is chassis #3835, and though it has been through many changes and iterations over the years it is currently painted in its original race livery and wears historic number 55. Seller Mitch has written up a nice summary of the car's history. He says:
The 1800 was originally purchased new by a Frank Dumproff on Long Island, N.Y. He raced the car in relativity stock form at Bridge Hampton. He was in the textile business and subsequently relocated to Lincolnton, N.C. He campaigned the car still in relatively stock form at various Southern road courses where he took 1st place at Road Atlanta.
He sold the 1800 to a local gas station owner, Bob Ramseur. Ramseur and his friend Bobby Ford raced the car for a short period with a 3rd place finish at Road Atlanta Regional in F Production. Bobby Ford acquired the car and began racing in 1972 with moderate success throughout the Southeast. Ford went into a 6 year hiatus to attend to his car business in Hickory, N.C. and raise a family.
In early ’80 he commissioned Holman-Moody to completely re-engineer and rebuild the car to its current specifications, including two complete engines developed by Holman-Moody, along with three unique cam profiles to optimize different track requirements. He campaigned the highly modified 1800 with many first place and top 5 finishes through 1982 and then retired.
Ted Lebsack of Colorado, acquired it in 1984, painted it red and renumbered it to #78. He raced several vintage racing events in the Midwest.
Mitch Duncan then bought it in April 1996 while living in Southern California and subsequently brought it back to New Jersey where he had Bob Alspach go through it and prepare it for returning to the track. He raced it extensively in 1998 and 1999 in the Volvo Historic Series but after moving to Northern Maine ran a couple races a year until 2005 when he decided to repaint it in its original livery. Mitch has the SCCA log books and can provide additional details on the history.
Mitch has maintained the car in running condition, and is currently in the process of freshening up the engine bay and reinstalling the fuel injected B20 2.0L engine which will make it up to snuff for vintage racing with all pertinent sanctioning bodies. He says it will be ready and legal for the following organizations (barring specific tire rules): Vintage Driving Club of America, Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association, Historic Sport Car Racing, Sportcar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), Sports Car Club Of America (SCCA), and Vintage Auto Racing Association of Canada.
Below is the spec sheet in its entirety.
1963 Holman-Moody Volvo 1800
Chassis #3835
Features
Engine
Two recently built B20-based engines (zero races):
2000cc Fuel Injected
Holman-Moody modified head and special camshaft
IPD variable mixture FI computer
Stahl Exhaust Header
2130cc Carburated
Volvo R-Sport Stage 4 head and “S” grind camshaft
Stahl exhaust header
Both engine blocks are prepared as follows by Duane Matejka:
Crankshaft ground and micro polished to .010 under
Wiseco forged pistons
Crower forged rods
Vandervell tri-metal rod and main bearings
R-Sport timing cover and rear main seals
R-Sport steel timing gears
Full dry sump oil system, Weaver 3 stage oil pump, cooler and remote filter;11 qt. capacity
Fuel System
ATL 12 gallon fuel cell in steel can
Bosch high pressure fuel pump and fuel filter, aircraft type braided lines and fittings
Drive Train
Volvo M40 close ratio needle bearing 4 speed gearbox
Tilton twin plate clutch and alloy flywheel
Holman-Moody rear axle, full floating hubs and axle shafts; Volvo carrier with 4.30, 4.56 ratios
Suspension
Front - Reinforced control arms
Modified bump steer, heim jointed steering
Carrera competition shock absorbers
1 1/8” stabilizer bar, adjustable heim joint links
Rear – Holman-Moody 3 link adjustable tubular trailing arms and heim joints
Carrera competition shock absorbers
3/4” stabilizer bar and adjustable heim joint links
Brakes
Dual master cylinders, remote reservoirs, adjustable brake bias
Wilwood 4 piston (front: 1.75, rear: 1.38) calipers
11” rotors and alloy hats
Wheels and Tires
Original 15” x 7” American Racing 5 flat spoke S200 wheels
Goodyear GS-CS 225/50 ZR15 tires
Original 15”x6” Minilite 8 spoke magnesium wheels
Hoosier 205/50 x 15 tires
Chassis-Body
Lightweight fiberglass composite body panels consisting of front clip, fenders, hood, rear quarter panels, deck lid
Full SCCA 8 point roll cage with NASCAR type driver side bars
Simpson platinum 6 point camlock harness
Phoenix 10 lb. fire suppression system
Interior aluminum floor panels
Aluminum dash panel including:
Autometer monster tachometer
Westech quad exhaust gas temp gauge
Original Stewart-Warner water, oil temperature and oil pressure gauges
Holman-Moody switch module
Trans X 260 AMB transponder
Weight Distribution (with 170 lb. Driver)
Left Right Total
Front 599 574 = 1173
Rear 575 537 = 1112
Grand Total = 2285 lbs.
Cross weight = 49.7%
The DTO (Daily Turismo Omologato) is a rare or interesting example of a DT-friendly classic or performance vehicle, but priced somewhere above the self imposed DT cap of $20k. We see these cars as weekend fun machines that you probably wouldn't want to drive to work every day, unlike a regular Daily Turismo. Today's DTO feature is none other than a genuine Holman Moody engineered 1963 Volvo 1800 road racer. The car has a long and documented history, has been a privateer track car since new, and was thoroughly reengineered and rebuilt by famed NASCAR racing team Holman Moody in the early 1980s. This is a Daily Turismo Exclusive listing - you won't find it anywhere else! It would be a great vintage racer and a solid investment given the history and unique setup. It is being offered by current owner Mitch Duncan, who has owned it since 1996 and is a retired Volvo Cars North America executive. It is available for $30,000 in the Moosehead Lake region of central Maine. Email us here if you are interested, and we will put you in touch with Mitch.This car not only sends off vibes of being the baddest 1800 on the block, it has the engineering, history and performance to back up the racing stripes and blacked-out lights. The genuine magnesium Minilites are a rare and cool treat; most aftermarket wheels are aluminum alloy but these true "mags" will both lighten up the unsprung mass significantly, and light up your night if you get them too hot. This is a fully caged, fiberglass skinned, dry-sumped, stripped out race car with a fuel cell, fire suppression system, and massive brakes. This is not Irv Gordon's 3 million mile cruiser - it's the black sheep of the family. If this car could talk it would quote Ricky Bobby in saying "I wanna go fast."
The Holman Moody 1800 is chassis #3835, and though it has been through many changes and iterations over the years it is currently painted in its original race livery and wears historic number 55. Seller Mitch has written up a nice summary of the car's history. He says:
The 1800 was originally purchased new by a Frank Dumproff on Long Island, N.Y. He raced the car in relativity stock form at Bridge Hampton. He was in the textile business and subsequently relocated to Lincolnton, N.C. He campaigned the car still in relatively stock form at various Southern road courses where he took 1st place at Road Atlanta.
He sold the 1800 to a local gas station owner, Bob Ramseur. Ramseur and his friend Bobby Ford raced the car for a short period with a 3rd place finish at Road Atlanta Regional in F Production. Bobby Ford acquired the car and began racing in 1972 with moderate success throughout the Southeast. Ford went into a 6 year hiatus to attend to his car business in Hickory, N.C. and raise a family.
In early ’80 he commissioned Holman-Moody to completely re-engineer and rebuild the car to its current specifications, including two complete engines developed by Holman-Moody, along with three unique cam profiles to optimize different track requirements. He campaigned the highly modified 1800 with many first place and top 5 finishes through 1982 and then retired.
Ted Lebsack of Colorado, acquired it in 1984, painted it red and renumbered it to #78. He raced several vintage racing events in the Midwest.
Mitch Duncan then bought it in April 1996 while living in Southern California and subsequently brought it back to New Jersey where he had Bob Alspach go through it and prepare it for returning to the track. He raced it extensively in 1998 and 1999 in the Volvo Historic Series but after moving to Northern Maine ran a couple races a year until 2005 when he decided to repaint it in its original livery. Mitch has the SCCA log books and can provide additional details on the history.
Mitch has maintained the car in running condition, and is currently in the process of freshening up the engine bay and reinstalling the fuel injected B20 2.0L engine which will make it up to snuff for vintage racing with all pertinent sanctioning bodies. He says it will be ready and legal for the following organizations (barring specific tire rules): Vintage Driving Club of America, Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association, Historic Sport Car Racing, Sportcar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), Sports Car Club Of America (SCCA), and Vintage Auto Racing Association of Canada.
Below is the spec sheet in its entirety.
1963 Holman-Moody Volvo 1800
Chassis #3835
Features
Engine
Two recently built B20-based engines (zero races):
2000cc Fuel Injected
Holman-Moody modified head and special camshaft
IPD variable mixture FI computer
Stahl Exhaust Header
2130cc Carburated
Volvo R-Sport Stage 4 head and “S” grind camshaft
Stahl exhaust header
Both engine blocks are prepared as follows by Duane Matejka:
Crankshaft ground and micro polished to .010 under
Wiseco forged pistons
Crower forged rods
Vandervell tri-metal rod and main bearings
R-Sport timing cover and rear main seals
R-Sport steel timing gears
Full dry sump oil system, Weaver 3 stage oil pump, cooler and remote filter;11 qt. capacity
Fuel System
ATL 12 gallon fuel cell in steel can
Bosch high pressure fuel pump and fuel filter, aircraft type braided lines and fittings
Drive Train
Volvo M40 close ratio needle bearing 4 speed gearbox
Tilton twin plate clutch and alloy flywheel
Holman-Moody rear axle, full floating hubs and axle shafts; Volvo carrier with 4.30, 4.56 ratios
Suspension
Front - Reinforced control arms
Modified bump steer, heim jointed steering
Carrera competition shock absorbers
1 1/8” stabilizer bar, adjustable heim joint links
Rear – Holman-Moody 3 link adjustable tubular trailing arms and heim joints
Carrera competition shock absorbers
3/4” stabilizer bar and adjustable heim joint links
Brakes
Dual master cylinders, remote reservoirs, adjustable brake bias
Wilwood 4 piston (front: 1.75, rear: 1.38) calipers
11” rotors and alloy hats
Wheels and Tires
Original 15” x 7” American Racing 5 flat spoke S200 wheels
Goodyear GS-CS 225/50 ZR15 tires
Original 15”x6” Minilite 8 spoke magnesium wheels
Hoosier 205/50 x 15 tires
Chassis-Body
Lightweight fiberglass composite body panels consisting of front clip, fenders, hood, rear quarter panels, deck lid
Full SCCA 8 point roll cage with NASCAR type driver side bars
Simpson platinum 6 point camlock harness
Phoenix 10 lb. fire suppression system
Interior aluminum floor panels
Aluminum dash panel including:
Autometer monster tachometer
Westech quad exhaust gas temp gauge
Original Stewart-Warner water, oil temperature and oil pressure gauges
Holman-Moody switch module
Trans X 260 AMB transponder
Weight Distribution (with 170 lb. Driver)
Left Right Total
Front 599 574 = 1173
Rear 575 537 = 1112
Grand Total = 2285 lbs.
Cross weight = 49.7%