TEXAS LEGEND – Jim Hall and his Chaparrals

TEXAS LEGEND

Jim Hall and his Chaparrals

A Review

If you were at a hobby store/model shop at any point in the early ‘60s, you would have seen Jim Hall’s Chaparral, replicated in 1/25^th scale plastic, offered by AMT. And should you – as a 12-year old – have wanted to pursue racing, Cox would provide you with its Chaparral slot cars in 1/24^th scale; with one, you could go racing. In short, if builder/driver Jim Hall hadn’t made his money in oil, he surely could have made it in licensing, as his Chaparrals were seemingly everywhere, from the team headquarters in Midland to the almost 200 mile per hour straight of Mulsanne – and to a hobby store in Lincoln, Nebraska. But in the absence of an alliteration – like Ford v. Ferrari – Jim Hall’s amazing story has, for most of the last 60 years, sat – at least in relative terms – on the backburner. But author George Levy, with his authorized biography of Mr. Hall and his cars, is working to move the man and his machines front and center. His book, TEXAS LEGEND: JIM HALL AND HIS CHAPARRALS, is now available at your bookseller. 

And it’s about time. Now approaching his 90^th birthday, Hall’s many successes have been nothing short of amazing. That he and his team achieved that success from Chaparral HQ in Midland, Texas, when Shelby could tap into both LA’s talent and Dearborn’s tech, is – again – nothing short of amazing. 

Mr. Levy begins, as this reader would hope, at the beginning. While long associated with living and working in Midland, Jim Hall spent his early years in Boulder. Colorado. Jim and his three siblings – two brothers and an older sister – were introduced to outdoor activities early, and since their dad Ellis flew his own plane on business (a geologist, his business was the oil business) the kids learned to fly, also. That interest in aviation played a role in Jim’s decision to obtain an engineering degree from CalTech. Later, when designing his own cars, solutions came not from the seat of his pants, but instead, rigorous testing and careful analysis. 

Notably, the family dynamic was irrevocably altered with the death of his mother, from cancer, in the late ‘40s, and the later loss of both his father and sister in an aviation accident in the early ‘50s. Married to his high school sweetheart at 18, Jim was the father of three in a four-year span. The marriage ended shortly after the birth of his third child – and first son – in 1958. After graduation from CalTech, Hall interviewed for an engineering gig with GM; that job offer was pulled as the auto industry hit a downturn in the late ‘50s. Having no better idea, his older brother Dick suggested a sales job in Dallas with Carroll Shelby Sports Cars, Inc. Yup, it was that Carroll Shelby. 

Already racing, the interaction with both Shelby and the wide variety of performance machinery the dealership offered further reinforced Hall’s desire to race.  Notably, this was a golden era for sports car racing in the U.S., with any number of names – including Phil Hill and Shelby – achieving national fame and, very quickly, worldwide acclaim. And while some 13 years younger than Shelby, Hall was right behind the big names and, in many races, ahead of them, winning notable races in a succession of different cars and categories.

A desire to build his own cars led him to establish a race facility in Midland, which was already home to the oil company he owned and operated with his brothers. Of course, Midland is neither Los Angeles or Maranello; talent had to be imported. But with no heritage to build on, Hall relied instead on his engineering background and willingness to try something different in creating his benchmark creations under the Chaparral brand.

That ‘something different’ began with a fiberglass tub – essentially a composite monocoque – for the Chaparral 2, onto which a mid-engine powertrain and all-independent suspension was attached. The fiberglass bodywork wasn’t styled; its shape was largely a function of its ability to slice cleanly through the air while simultaneously creating downforce; Jim had flown planes, but had no desire to achieve altitude in a racecar. This confluence of science and horsepower continues to be regarded as ‘leading edge’ some six decades later!

Beyond Levy’s informative and engaging copy are the many photographs, taken by an outstanding array of lensmen. Photographer Bob Jackson not only captured Hall’s early successes in road racing, he also captured Jack Ruby’s shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, winning Jackson a Pulitzer. Additional pics are provided by Pete Biro, Bernard Cahier, Hal Crocker, Dave Friedman, Pete Lyons, Dan Boyd and Lionel Birnbom. And Chaparral renderings – at the front and back of the book – are from fellow Texan Bill Neale. 

Although George Levy’s look at Jim and the Chaparral portfolio in the ‘60s makes up the bulk of the book, there’s also attention given to Chaparral’s Indy program – with two overall wins at the Indianapolis 500! – as well as other campaigns. Although Hall hasn’t competed in a race series since the ‘90s, he remains connected to racing – and will still make appearances at Midland’s Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, which devotes an entire wing to Chaparral racecars. 

If there’s a hiccup in TEXAS LEGEND, it’s in the book’s seventh chapter, which goes way heavy into the independent streak of Texas and Texans. The success of Texans in motorsport is legendary, and the state’s embrace of independence and approach to governance may have something to do with that. But Hall’s success wasn’t a result of a political manifesto; it was hard work and creative thinking, mixed in with a heaping helping of science. A Chaparral doesn’t need a Greg Abbott bumper sticker…

And the book should be published with a dust jacket. We may not wear jackets in 2024, but books should.

George Levy’s book, TEXAS LEGEND: JIM HALL AND HIS CHAPARRALS, is published by EVRO PUBLISHING, and has a U.S. retail price of $80. The publisher provided me with a review copy.