The Contestor was Danner Bunch's last engine design. He also designed the many variations of the "Bunch Tiger" .45 cuin engines beginning pre-war.
The Contestor was offered in both the side-port and the rear rotary valve configurations. Unfortunately, the engine came out about the same time as the commercial glo plug. Everyone was suddenly using glo, and the Contestor was a commercial failure.
Lucas & Smith was just a manufacturing company in Los Angeles, which built the engines.
The rotary valve Contestor is actually a fairly strong engine, and extremely well made.
Here is my contestor D60-R running on the test stand.
Prices for all old spark engines are very soft nowadays. Collectors are always looking for one with the decals in place, and in "clean" condition. Price for a new-looking Contestor can be up to $150.