According to research by racingsportscars.com – J.N. “Skip” Swartley raced in 14 events over the period 1951 – 1955. He is listed in additional archives as the winner of the 1955 SCCA National Sports Car Championship in the G Modified class driving the “Osca Special.”

This car first appeared in light blue livery in 1955; the design and construction was originally executed by Jim Troy of Burbank, California. According to Jim’s son, Rick, Mr. Troy was a precision machinist that always loved racing and had a “great natural feel for all things mechanical.” Rick Troy recalls his father doing the initial design work in their home and the beginnings of the tubular space-frame chassis being laid-out in chalk on the floor of the garage. He was ordered to stay out of the garage while the exacting fabrication of the chassis was being completed. He conveyed that the car was always called “the Osca” by his dad. When the car raced during the 1955 season, it was named the “Osca Special”, due to its use of a 1100-cc Osca engine in this specially constructed racecar. Rick Troy also relates that he recalls that bodywork changes began to take place with the car as early as 1956-57, and it evolved further, as the majority of racecars from this era are prone to do. Through these exterior bodywork changes, Rick Troy is able to identify certain characteristics in the cars presentation that leave him confident that this is “the Osca” that his dad built for “Skip” Swartley, and was successfully campaigned nearly 60 years ago. It now has a 1500-cc Osca engine, and it is awaiting restoration to the vintage status that this machine is deserving of.