Classic Competition

The Southern California car culture depicted in movies and popular songs became a pulse-quickening reality for Jim Belardi when he moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles in 1957.

All over town, he saw sleek, two-seat roadsters of the kind actor Ralph Meeker drove through L.A. streets in his role as private investigator Mike Hammer in the 1955 film noir classic, “Kiss Me Deadly.”

“When I came out here there were so many sports cars,” Belardi said. “I just went crazy. I had to have one.”

Thus began a 40-year love affair with speed and style. Soon after arriving in L.A. to begin a career as an engineer in the aerospace industry, Belardi bought his first sports car--a Triumph TR3.

“I’ve been on a ride ever since,” said the Camarillo resident.

Now retired, Belardi, 62, owns 14 collectible sports cars and has been racing on the vintage circuit since 1979. His pride and joy is a 1952 Morgan Plus 4, a rare English sports car that he will drive today in the Los Angeles Grand Prix vintage races.

More than 400 vehicles--ranging from vintage cars to more modern Formula One and Indy cars--will perform in 10 race programs during the three-day Labor Day weekend. The 1.6-mile, 11-turn street course starts and finishes in front of Union Station and circles historic Olvera Street.

Racing officials estimate faster cars will hit close to 160 mph streaking down Alameda Street, the course’s longest straightaway. But for some vintage car owners, the event is more about participating than winning.

“For us, it’s not really going to be a race,” Jacob Shalit said. “It’s going to be a show.”

Shalit, who lives in Calabasas, will be driving the only Sabra entered in the race this weekend. Collecting and refurbishing the Israeli-built cars has been a labor of love for Israeli-born Shalit since he bought the first of his three Sabras in 1990.

He paid $5,600 for his first Sabra, which was made in 1962, the only year of the car’s production. But he has spent (stop reading, Mrs. Shalit) about $50,000 overhauling the white and blue roadster for racing.

Of the 150 Sabras built in a joint venture between an Israeli company and Reliant of England, Shalit has accounted for 38 in the world. Aside from his racing Sabra, Shalit owns the make’s first production car--introduced at the New York Auto Show in 1962--and earlier this year purchased a Sabra coupe, of which there are only eight left in the world, he said.

“If you can get them, they’re usually inexpensive,” Shalit said. “But try to get one. Once they go on the market, they go real fast.”

Shalit said he is the only person racing a Sabra in the U.S., a position that makes him a VIP on the Vintage Auto Racing Assn. circuit.

“I’m welcome anywhere,” he said. “The car is a crowd pleaser.”

Shalit, who owns a garment business, is converting his Sabra coupe into a racing car that should be ready by next year. That’s when Shalit’s son Alon, entering his junior year at Calabasas High, will begin racing.

Shalit hopes father and son will be able to compete in future Los Angeles Grand Prix races if the inaugural event this weekend proves successful.

“I’m very glad it’s coming to L.A.,” he said. “It’s nice to have this type of exposure in an urban environment.”

Belardi, who will race his burnt-orange Morgan nicknamed “Butterscotch,” also welcomes the arrival of a local event for vintage cars, although he is concerned the course’s abundance of hairpin turns will take a toll on his brakes.

“Other than that, it’s kind of a nice thing,” Belardi said. “Vintage racing is getting to be more popular, but people don’t know about it unless they’re involved in it.

“It’s nice to see they are promoting a vintage race right here.”

This will be the fourth vintage race of the year for Belardi, whose stable of collectible cars is as diverse as it is impressive.

He owns four Morgans, three Jaguars, two Ferraris, two Alfa Romeos, a 1960 Abarth Zagato, a 1957 Corvette and a 1988 Fiero GT, which he drives around town.

Belardi bought the Morgan Plus 4 (four cylinders) that he races in 1968 from a private party for $500. He estimates that today it is worth close to $30,000. But that’s not even close to the best deal he’s ever made.

He bought a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB in 1977 for $14,500 and sold it in 1990 for $550,000.

“It was one of the more desirable Ferrari models,” he said. “The car just kept going up and up.”

Sunday, Belardi may be able to see his old car at the Concours d’Elegance celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ferrari. More than $50 million worth of the Italian cars will be on display on a palm-lined concourse of the new MTA headquarters building, just east of Union Station.

Morgans are certainly not as well-known as Ferraris, but the English cars have an interesting history.

A family-owned auto manufacturer, Morgan began building three-wheel cars in 1910 that were popular in England because they were sold as motorcycles with a lower purchase tax than four-wheeled vehicles.

Morgan continued to manufacture three-wheelers until 1950, after introducing a four-wheeler in 1936.

The Plus 4, with a bigger engine, was introduced in 1950 and Morgan stepped up to an eight-cylinder car in 1968.

Only about 500 Morgans are built each year and there normally is a five- to 10-year wait to purchase the car in England.

Before a Morgan can become street legal in the U.S., it must be modified to satisfy smog and safety regulations.

The eight-cylinder model costs around $50,000.

One of the unique features of the Morgan is that the bodywork is bolted onto a wooden frame.

“It was not so unusual for cars made in the ‘20s and ‘30s, but they’re still making them that way,” Belardi said.

For vintage car enthusiasts, the old ways are the best.

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At the Starting Line

* What: Los Angeles Grand Prix vintage races and concours.

* Where: The race course is 1.6 miles through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, starting and finishing at Union Station. The concours is between the east entrance of Union Station and the new MTA building.

* When: Vintage racing is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Monday. The Concours d’Elegance, honoring the 50th anniversary of Ferrari, is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

* Tickets: $17.50 for general admission and $50 for a three-day pass. Children under 8 are free when accompanied by an adult. Information: (800) 946-4090.

* Fast fact: These races are the first of their kind in Los Angeles. There are 35 classes of cars sanctioned by the Vintage Auto Racing Assn. There are 42 local racers participating (see chart C14).

Road Racers

Area drivers in the Los Angeles Grand Prix Vintage Races

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Driver Hometown Car Eric Allard Sun Valley 1966 Austin Mini Cooper Jim Belardi Camarillo 1952 Morgan Plus 4 Wayne Blasman Canoga Park 1967 Triumph Spitfire George Bruggenthies Sherman Oaks 1960 Lotus 61 Brad Bunch Glendale 1962 Fiat-Abarth 1000 James Bush West Hills 1962 Triumph Spitfire James Cleary Sherman Oaks 1965 Formula Vee Tom Colby San Fernando 1959 A/H Sprite Michael Denering Sun Valley 1959 A/H Sprite Jay Dettinger La Canada 1967 A/R Giulla John Dettinger La Canada 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV Allen D’Ornellas Canoga Park 1965 Porsche 356 SC Charles Falcone Woodland Hills 1969 McNamara Jim Francies Northridge 1966 Shelby GT 350 Jack Gersh Westlake Village 1965 Corvette Horst Goebel Canoga Park 1961 Porsche 356 Robert Grant Agoura 1967 Porsche 911S Douglas Greene Studio City 1969 Lotus 61 Bruce Hayes Sylmar 1967 Lotus Super7 Jeff Kline Topanga 1968 BMW 2002 Joel Lipin Northridge 1960 A/H Sprite Paul Lisec Northridge 1968 Shelby GT 350 Hannes Maikkula Sherman Oaks 1960 Lotus 20 Bata Mataja Sun Valley 1957 Porsche 356A Rick Morris Tarzana 1960 Triumph TR3A George Myers La Crescenta 1952 Allard K2 Efrain Olivares Glendale 1959 A/H Sprite Nigel Olsson Studio City 1963 MGB Timo Passi Sherman Oaks 1967 Ford Escort Bernie Rapaport Sun Valley 1961 A/H Sprite MK1 Stephen Rishoff Agoura Hills 1971 Lola T202 Seymour Robin Woodland Hills 1972 Titan Mk6 Jeff Robin Northridge 1972 Titan Mk6 Ken Rodenbush Sherman Oaks 1966 Volvo P1800S John Russell Woodland Hills 1962 Cobra Douglas Schreier Topanga 1969 Lotus 69 Jacob Shalit Calabasas 1962 Sabra James Shaw Chatsworth 1967 Volvo 142 Dale Shore Northridge 1967 Austin Mini Cooper Doug Warneke Chatsworth 1962 Lotus Super 7 Chuck Wood La Canada 1968 Zink C-4 Gerry Woolery Studio City 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV

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