Hemp in the Fast Lane, 1954

Bob Sorrell sitting in his unfinished Sorrell Custom Roadster

Hemp in the Fast Lane

Bob Sorrell turned the automotive world upside down in 1953 by unveiling his special new SR-100 sports car to a stunned crowd. It wasn’t under the hood that made this car so special but the hood itself…

To the amazement of everyone Sorrell’s new sports car was made of hemp!

1954 Sorrell-Manning SR-100 Special
Sorrell not only chose to build his car from hemp, he also showed the world how to make one themselves in their own garage!

Documenting the process of building his hemp car beginning in the October 1954 issue of ‘Car Craft’ magazine, the article would provide step by step instructions for anyone wanting to build their own hemp car.

The first step in making Sorrell’s hemp sports car was to make a mock up body. This mock body would be the foundation to lay down the hemp cored fiberglass in the right form.

First wooden templates were set every 10 inches the length of the car.

Bob Sorrell’s wooden mock-up of the Sorrell SR-100 body with wood templates set every 10 inches

Placing heavy paper and chicken wire in between the wooden templates gives the desired shape. To get a smooth surface to lay the fiberglass down on, plaster is filled in past the wooden templates of the mock-up body.

After the plaster has had time to dry, the surface is scraped and sanded until a solid body is formed.

Scraping the plaster off Sorrell’s mock-up

With the solid mock-up frame, it is now time to make the hemp cored fiberglass body.

Clay is used to separate the areas of the car as seams. This is done to get separate pieces that will fit together after completion. If using a singular body, this step can be skipped.

After a light dusting of powder on the mock-up surface, a thin layer of fiberglass plaster is applied to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.

Sorrell Applying fiberglass plaster to the SR-100 mock-up

While the first thin layer of plaster is still wet, the core of the car body is put into place. The core holding the whole project together is made of Hemp!

Taking cut pieces of hemp cloth, the hemp is dipped into and soaked in the fiberglass plaster. The saturated hemp is then laid in a single layer on the still wet mock-up. This second layer will act like a core holding the fiberglass body together.

Hemp cloth soaked in fiberglass plaster is applied in a single layer

Next the final layer of fiberglass plaster is added on top of the hemp core. This is a rough layer making sure to have the depth needed for the mold.

Layering fiberglass plaster on top of the hemp core

Cutting, scraping and sanding, the hemp cored fiberglass body is now shaped into its final form.

Cutting basic shape in the formed fiberglass plaster

Scraping and smoothing the formed fiberglass plaster body of the Sorrell SR-100

With the body shape done, a primer and paint job complete the look for Bob Sorrell’s 1954 SR-100 hemp cored fiberglass roadster!

Dick Lane’s, 1954 Sorrell SR-100

Sorrell’s design made it easy for many options including vertical style doors as presented in his concept car in 1953.

1954 Sorrell SR-100 with top and doors shown at a 1953 car show as a concept kit car

Sorrell’s hemp cored fiberglass bodies would be sold in both the original designed SR-100 and the newer SR-190 Coupe. The hemp bodied cars were not only strong but affordable, both models were priced under $500 dollars!

Original Sorrell SR-100 advertisement

Sorrell SR-190 Coupe advertisement

Sorrell’s hemp fiberglass bodies were made to fit right onto a Austin Healey frame making this custom kit car a cinch to bolt and play anywhere in the world.

Stylish singular body models were fitted with a hydraulic lifted body to make working on the engine that much easier, of course this also upped the cool factor.

1954 Sorrell-Manning SR-100 Special, body lift to work on engine

In 1956 Fred Lavell took a J2 Allard frame fit with a hempen Sorrell SR-100 body to Bonneville Flats to test the cars performance.

The hemp car hit an amazing 174mph before busting its driveshaft ending the testing early. Some believe it would have broken the world record that year if it had not prematurely busted the driveshaft…