GALPOT Weekly #54

Welcome to GALPOT Weekly #54 a review of the last seven posts at "Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres". The week started with a trip to Malta to look at a Škoda Favorite Pick Up which arrived just in time for new owners Volkswagen to make a series of improvements to a design that was commissioned from Bertone when Škoda was still in the ownership of the Czechoslovakian government. The MG TC Midget, which I looked at on Tuesday, was a huge success, by UK standards, thanks to the large numbers US Army personnel who had been stationed in the UK during the 1939-45 war and been impressed with cute li'l English criters like the pre war MG TA. In 1955 Stirling Moss and Dennis Jenkinson won the Mille Miglia road race run on the streets of Northern Italy averaging an all time record of 97.96 mph for the 992 miles driving the #722 Mercedes 300 SLR. A great reason to make a tribute car, though the choice of a 20 hp Goggomobil TS, which I looked at on Wednesday, seems to be a perverse vehicle with which to start. On Americana Thursday I looked at the forth and final iteration of the Chevrolet Corvette C1 which was marketed with the strap line "Finest, Fiercest Yet" which was backed up by plenty of Race wins on the track in 1962. Ferrari Fridays post featured of one of eleven 1953 Ferrari 375 Americas built. Chassis #0372AL being one of three built by Vignale and the only built with the combination of low bumber and low recessed headlights. Saturdays post was about the Lotus Ford 72E Grand Prix car of a type which Ronnie Peterson drove to seven Grand Prix victories in 1973 and 1974 and which I saw Jackie Ickx drive to a memorable victory in a non championship race at Brands Hatch in 1974. Today's post features a well known sight in Bristol a positively gothic looking Austin Sheerline which was built as a cheep alternative to the contemporary Rolls Royce and Bentley models of the immediate post '39-'45 war years. Thanks for joining me on this "GALPOT Weekly #54" edition of "Gettin a li'l psycho on tyres" I hope you have enjoyed catching up with the last seven posts using the links provided and that you will join me again daily during the week ahead. Don't forget to come back now !

GALPOT Weekly #53

Welcome to GALPOT #53 a review of the last seven posts at "Gettin a li'l psycho on tyres". The week started under California Skies thanks to Geoffrey Horton who sent photo's from Niello Concours at Serrano which featured the achievements of Pierce Arrow and Carroll Shelby. However it was this little sports car that proved most difficult to identify, you can find out what it is on this link. MG's TA Midget model built from 1936 to 1939 was the subject of Tuesdays post. 3,000 of these 80 mph Midgets were built with easy to use synchromesh gearboxes and easy to maintain hydraulic brakes. This Trabant Tramp, which I looked at on Wednesday, started life as an all purpose vehicle for civilian use and has been converted into it's military Kübwelwagen equivalent complete with decommissioned AK47 and Russian built field telephone. Thursday's featured car was Chevrolet's second iteration of the C1 Corvette, which was the first American production car to offer over 1hp per cubic inch of swept volume cylinder capacity when fitted with the optional GM Rochester Fuel Injection. Ferrari Friday featured a Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale with what must rank as amongst the coolest bumpers ever devised mounted high on the front wing/fender. This is one of 37 212 Inters with body work by Vignale. Yesterday's featured car was a B Spec Lotus Ford 72, which when upgraded to C Spec helped Jochen Rindt to four Grand Prix wins and the 1970 World Drivers Championship and Lotus to the 1970 World Constructors Championship. Today's post visits last weeks Avenue Drivers Club meeting at Queen Square, Bristol where this 1938 Austin Seven was seen braving the coble stone square. Thanks for joining me on this "GALPOT Weekly #53" edition, I hope you have enjoyed catching up with the last seven posts of "Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres" using the links and that you will join me daily during the week ahead. Don't forget to come back now !

GALPOT Weekly #52

Welcome to GALPOT Weekly #52 a review of the last seven posts at "Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres". The week started at Bristol's M-Shed which houses what might be the worlds oldest surviving Bristol a 1906 16/20 Tourer. On Tuesday I looked at an MG PB a model that was in production for just 12 months, despite this the cars were used in competition for a period spanning nearly years. Last Saturdays Autumn Classic meeting at Castle Combe was reviewed on Wednesday. This was the first time the VSCC had visited the venue in thirty years. Above Tom McWirter driving his six wheel Jaguar SS 100 is seen leading the opening lap of the VSCC Pre War Sports Car race. Thursdays post was all about the original Chevrolet Corvette C1, above is the six cylinder triple carburetor Blueflame motor that powered the featured 1954 model. Ferrari's competition oriented 212 Export was the subject of Friday's post, chassis #0158ED above was seen by Geoffrey Horton at the recent Danville Concours d'Elegance gala dinner. Yesterday's post featured a Lotus 69 open wheeler which was designed to compete in a variety of Formula for the 1970 season. Despite it's considerable success on the track particularly in Formula 3 the Lotus 69 proved to be the last Lotus customer competition model. Today's mega post is about a pilgrimage I made last week to Bourne in Lincolnshire home of British Racing Motors (BRM) where the town was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Graham Hill's and BRM's World Championship victories. Above Graham Hills son, 1996 World Champion Damon, drives his fathers BRM P578 chassis #P587/1 known as 'old faithful'. Hard to believe a year has gone by since I started these GALPOT Weekly blogs, I look forward to seeing what the year ahead brings as GALPOT enters it's third year. I hope you have enjoyed using the links to catch up with the last seven posts on "Gettin a li'l psycho on tyres" and that you will join me daily during the week ahead, don't forget to come back now !

GALPOT Weekly #51

Welcome to GALPOT Weekly #51 a review of the last seven blogs that have been published at "Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres". The week kicked off at the recent Goodwood Revival where I spotted the 1955 Series E Vauxhall Velox Pick Up seen above. Tuesdays post featured this 1938 MG VA some of which were supplied with synchromesh on the top two gears and others with synchromesh on the top three gears of the four speed gearbox. On Continental Curiosity Wednesday I looked at this 1962 Trabant P60 which was rescued from on top of a pile of cars in Gatebeck, Cumbria. Americana Thursdays blog was about Jerry Grant who not only drove this Lola Ford T70 for Dan Gurney's All American Racers team in 1966 but also recorded the first open wheel 200 mph average lap speed at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1972. On Ferrari Friday I looked at, what for my money is, the coolest Ferrari ever built, Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata's Ferrari Breadvan which FIAT's Gianni Agnelli had painted black by his butler because he thought it looked like a hearse ! Yesterday post was about the promising but ultimately ill feted all wheel drive Lotus Ford 64 which would prove to be Colin Chapman's final attempt at building a car for the Indianapolis 500, one which he threatened to personally cut up and bury after failing to negotiate a sale with Andy Granatelli. Today's blog features the Dodge Charger Daytona that Buddy Baker recorded the World First 200 mph race lap with at Talladega in 1970. Thanks for joining me on this "GALPOT Weekly #51" edition of "Gettin a li'l psycho on tyres" I hope you have enjoyed using the links to catch up with the last seven posts and that you will join me daily during the week ahead. Don't forget to come back now !