{"id":497974,"date":"2018-12-19T10:54:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T18:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=69620"},"modified":"2023-12-25T13:15:39","modified_gmt":"2023-12-25T13:15:39","slug":"resurrected-the-1952-diedt-bell-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/resurrected-the-1952-diedt-bell-special\/","title":{"rendered":"Resurrected – The 1952 Diedt-Bell Special"},"content":{"rendered":"
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That Don Martine is an MG guy is beyond dispute; the long-time Monterey-area hotelier and racing enthusiast lives and breathes the Octagon brand. At one time or another he\u2019s owned an example of just about every early MG built.\u00a0Right now he owns several notable old MGs, including the 1949 TC Midget that his father bought when it was just a year old, plus Johnny von Neumann\u2019s first MG-TD Special racecar, and the blown twin-cam TC that was constructed and used to great effect by the brilliant mechanic\/fabricator\/racing driver Ken Miles. Don has also acquired the second MG Special built by von Neumann, and it is a rather different creature than its teammate. It is this fascinating little roadster that we will concern ourselves with here.<\/p>\n

\"JVN<\/a>
John Von Neumann<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some history:\u00a0 The entrepreneurial von Neumann \u2013 not to be confused with the Hungarian-born mathematician, physicist, and computer scientist of the same name \u2013 was born in Vienna, and emigrated to Canada and then the United States, with his parents prior to WWII. \u00a0During his obligatory army service, Johnny became familiar with German automobiles, especially the ubiquitous VW Beetle.\u00a0 After relocating to the west coast, Johnny went to work turning wrenches for sometime filmmaker Roger Barlow at International Motors in Los Angeles, which imported a variety of European makes such as Simca and MG.\u00a0 Along with Taylor Lucas, this duo got the California Sports Car Club off the ground. It has been written that service quality at Barlow\u2019s shop was occasionally less than stellar and one day, in 1948, an unhappy customer had an in-depth conversation with von Neumann, the result of which was Johnny departing International Motors.\u00a0 With that customer\u2019s financial backing, Johnny opened his own import service concern in North Hollywood. Competition Motors, as it was named, would grow to become one of the most respected race shops in the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n