Greger Strøm Special No. 2

A newspaper clipping from 1938 showing Greger surrounded by admirers in his second build, the Ford 8 Special. The expectations were high before the race, and the local newspapers had warmed the audience up, announcing that Greger would achieve even higher speeds this year with his roaring V-8.

Greger and John Tobiassen fighting for the lead position at Leangbanen in 1938. Greger took off from the start, quickly securing the lead position. Tobiassen turned out to be a confident and daring competitor, and Greger had a hard time maintaining the lead. Spectators kept their breath several times as the fierce competitors passed each other by on the dusty track. Photo from The Greger Strøm Photo Collection.

Photo courtesy of Greger Strøm, provided by Christian Strøm.

Photo courtesy of Greger Strøm, provided by Christian Strøm.

The Greger Strøm Special No. 2 is a nordic special racer built by Greger Strøm of Trondheim, Norway in 1938. Just as his first race car, Greger's second racer was also built secretly, as the new foreman at Gaden & Larsen where he worked was very strict. This time Greger wanted to go all the way, with a homebuilt tube-frame. Low weight was again what Greger aimed for. Tubes for the build were bought and sneaked in to the shop. Work was done at the evenings and weekends, and the parts were hidden during the day. The parts-manager was informed, and he helped Greger ordering parts. Parts were also borrowed from the shelves in the shop. When it came to the engine, Greger got a broken 85 horsepower Ford flathead V-8 in a trade-off with a bus-company in town. Rebuilding the broken engine costed half of what it would have costed to buy a new one. The body was built at some acquaintances place in Namsos. When rumor hit the town about a race car being built in Namsos, the local newspaper decided to stop by the shop. The journalist wanted Greger to take the car for a spin around town, and he fixed a permission from the local police and fire department. The police and fire department shut down the mainstreet of Namsos so Greger could show off his creation. The race Greger wanted to attend at Leangen was one day away, so the same night, Greger jumped into the car and drove it the 124 miles from Namsos to Trondheim. He had temporarily license plates, and used two flashlights as headlights. The flashlights were tied to the front end, and they lasted for about a hour. After that, he drove the rest of the distance in the dark.

The race at Leangen started good for Greger, but with around 100 metres left to the finish line, the throttle linkage broke, and Greger lost the race. It was a frustrating situation for Greger who was in it for the win. As with his first car, the Greger Strøm Special No. 2 was also parted after the race. The engine was sold, but Greger never got his money. Borrowed parts were returned, and the rest of the car was left rotting away. Nobody knows what became of the remaining parts of this race car.