The MG Special driven by Jack Dalton in 1955 against notable drivers like Ken Miles and Phil Hill was either built by Jack Dalton himself, along with various mechanics and specialists common to the West Coast SCCA amateur racing scene at the time, or by Ken Miles. Miles built a series of highly successful MG Specials in Southern California during the early 1950s using MG components.
Dalton purchased one of Miles’s cars, assumed to be R1, the same one Miles had successfully campaigned, including a win in the under-1500cc class at Pebble Beach in 1953. The image of the Start/Finish line at Pebble Beach below indeed shows the Ken Miles MG Special R1 but with the race number #1D. When Miles raced this car it always bore the race number 50. The Pebble Beach results show Jack Dalton’s MG with the race number 40 car but the photo (next, below) alleged to be of Dalton, has the race number 1D. No, not Dalton… Pebble Beach results list Dalton in 1954 with an MG TD as number 40 as
Dalton purchased one of Miles’s cars, assumed to be R1, the same one Miles had successfully campaigned, including a win in the under-1500cc class at Pebble Beach in 1953. The image of the Start/Finish line at Pebble Beach below indeed shows the Ken Miles MG Special R1 but with the race number #1D. When Miles raced this car it always bore the race number 50. The Pebble Beach results show Jack Dalton’s MG with the race number 40 car but the photo (next, below) alleged to be of Dalton, has the race number 1D. No, not Dalton… Pebble Beach results list him in 1954 (MG TD, finished 14th) and in 1955 (MG Special, did not start) both with the race number 40. I am submitting this brainteaser to Mark Brinker, the author of the History of the Pebble Beach Road Races due in August 2026, and to Rob Manson, Steward of the Del Monte Trophy Group.
Whether in the MG TD or the MG Special, Dalton raced with distinction in SCCA National events in 1955, taking notable finishes like 5th place at the SCCA Nationals in Sacramento. Jack Dalton is listed at https://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/results/Jack-Dalton-USA.html as driving the MG Special only in 1955, at Sacramento, Pebble Beach, Buchanan Field and Santa Barbara. The history of the car after that is unclear. Can you help?
However the source which triggered this article shows a different car to Miles’s R1. It’s a YouTube video at https://youtube.com/watch?v=prMwausmKF4&si=hFi7Zxq7zm_6gdHf from which the color shots below are taken. “In this episode of Barn Find Hunter, Tom reconnects with an old racing friend, Toby Bergon, whose vintage imports shop feels frozen in 1970. Between stories of VW’s, Aston Martins, and historic race cars, Tom uncovers the real gem: a one of one MG race car with history tied to Ken Miles’ legendary Flying Shingle. A forgotten piece of racing history hidden in plain sight.” The segment to view starts at 7 minutes 45 seconds. The barn find car is slightly different in detail (back of the front wheel arches, hood bulge for the steering column and streamlined headrest) to the period stills shown by the garage owner there, but it could be the same car.
Jack Dalton went on to drive the famous 1964 Sebring MGB Lightweight alongside Ed Leslie. This car was built and prepared by renowned race engineer Joe Huffaker who modified factory-supplied lightweight parts and custom-built the engines at the British Motor Car Distributors (BMCD) competition department in San Francisco, overseen by team manager Kjell Qvale.
Ken Miles, if you wanted to remind yourself of what MG R1 and MG R2 look like, is covered on this web site at the three links below…