Ranking firmly among the most successful and innovative post-war British constructors, Lister earned a brilliant victory tally during its brief original period of activity during the 1950s. Developed in 1958, the Frank Costin-designed, spaceframe-chassis Lister-Costin succeeded the legendary “Knobbly” and served as the final Lister model built.
This Lister-Chevrolet, chassis BHL132, has a provenance documented by fascinating and extensive correspondence that was compiled by Erickson Shirley. Ordered by Carroll Shelby for famed racing team owner John Edgar in 1958, BHL132 was initially intended to be powered by a Maserati V8 engine and driven by Shelby for Edgar. However, correspondence on file documents that extensive re-engineering delayed construction. Consequently, BHL132 was delivered later than Shelby hoped, and it remained unused after shipment to Edgar in California.
While details of this period are not clearly defined, Mr. Shirley’s research indicates that John Snyder owned and raced the Lister in the early 1960s using a Chevy V8 engine. It was subsequently acquired via pioneering California speed merchant Don Blair, circa 1962, and the car was road-raced through 1964. Significant road-race events run by BHL132 in this period include the Nassau Speed Weeks, Elkhart Lake 500 and the 1964 Daytona Continental.
In 1973, British classic-car broker Christopher Renwick, then working in California, acquired BHL132 and repatriated it to the U.K., selling it to John Harper, who would drive the Lister in a new JCB-sponsored historic racing series. Often victorious, Harper reportedly drew the ire of British race organizers for his victories with American V8 power and retrofitted a 3.8-liter Jaguar powerplant, going on to win the 1974 British Empire Trophy race at Silverstone. The Lister remained in the U.K. through much of the 1980s, receiving FIA papers in 1987 with Jaguar power, under then-owner Paul Leuch of Warwickshire. Subsequently, BHL132 passed through Roger Brierley-Jones to fellow Briton Ed Hubbard, owner of Waxoyl S.A., who campaigned the Lister in Europe and later in Florida during the 1990s, before selling it to Variety publisher, vintage racer and Lister collector and enthusiast Syd Silverman. Following export to the U.S., BHL132 received a high-quality restoration by John Harden, the noted racing-car specialist in Oklahoma, including original Costin-Lister front and rear bodywork and refitting of a period-style Chevy small-block V8 racing engine and 4-speed manual gearbox.
