GALPOT Weekly #32

Welcome to the review of blogs at "Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres", known as GALPOT Weekly #32.




This week started of at the at the Simply Italian parade at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Where GALPOT regular David Root's ALFA Romeo 4C Special, above, won second place in an audience vote for best car present. You can see some of the competition David's Special was up against on this link.



Almost unbelievably the MG 14/40 MK IV sports, which won the Bristol Classic Car show Best Vintage Car Award winner, spent an unknown number of years disassembled and care fully stored under the concrete base of a shed until it was found in 1999.



The first ever DAF passenger car, seen above at last years Goodwood Festival of Speed, was only the second ever production vehicle to be offered with a variomatic gear box, more about the DAF 33 Luxe can be on this link.



For Americana Thursday we traveled back 50 years for the first of two visits to the 1962 Indianapolis 500. Honorary Pace car for the month of May was the recently launched Studebaker Avanti about which you can read more on this link.



The kink in the top rail of the door of the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta was the give away clue as to the identity of the car in the photo above. Strangely this is the only photo I took of a Ferrari on track between 1983 and 2011.

For all it's beauty no sooner had the works Cosworth DFX engine been installed in the back of the Lotus 96 Indy Challenger than the money ran out and the project was halted. Find out more about the still born Lotus 96 on this link.



Pole position for the 1962 Indy 500 went to Parnelli Jones who was given one hundred and fifty silver dollars by a rival owner being the first person to average 150 mph on all four of his qualifying laps, at the time a world record. Parnelli can be seen starting the race from the inside of the front row while the race winner Roger Ward starts right next to him. Find out what happened on the Roger's way to victory lane on this link.

I hope you have enjoyed catching up with last weeks events on "Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres" and I hope you will join me again next week when I'll start by looking at some of the exhibits on display at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu. Don't forget to come back now !

My name is - #1 Carden Sport

One of the interesting things I have learned about Farnham the town closest to to my senior school this year is that it once appears to have had a budding motor industry. First I learned that it was home to the coach builders Abbots of Farnham when I was researching fourth blog on a BMW Fraser Nash, and now I find this cute little Carden cyclecar was originally designed by Sir John Carden, 6th Baronet who founded Carden Engineering in Farnham.



Sir John Carden Bt 6 is most famous for designing the Carden Loyd tankette which evolved into the well known WW2 Bren Carrier. He was also interested in building affordable light aircraft and cyclecars, this model, his side by side two seater, is his third and final cyclecar design. Readers of my previous Rowdy blogs might remember the AV Monocar which was his first design. Note the vehicle seen here has a semblance of independent front suspension a la Morgan, but no front brakes.



Despite being aimed at economy, the plan was for the car to cost just £100 on the road, notice the decorative brass electrical switches on the dash board.



The driver sits atop a 7hp 707cc / 43 cui two cylinder two stroke engine each cylinder sits either side of the transmission.



To get the motor started there is a kick start and being a two stroke apparently one can never be entirely sure which way the vehicle will proceed as the motor will happily spin the crankshaft clockwise or anticlockwise.



The bodywork was constructed of wood and fibreboard, the weight of vehicle is just 182 kgs / 400 lbs.



There seems to be a little doubt about what this little beauty is called, in the VSCC programmes Gerry Michelmore is listed as being the owner driver of the #1 Carden Sport, RM Auctions and others believe the model is called Carden Model 7 Cyclecar, Wiki makes reference to the car being called New Carden after the design was sold to Arnott & Harrison in 1922 and one owner R Dallas Brett painted the name Scarab on the bonnet of his which was purchased unpainted.

My thanks to TNFers Tim Murray, Vitesse2 and Markpde for helping me find out about the #1 Carden Sport.

Wishing 'Gettin' a lil psycho on tyres' contributor John Aibel a Happy Birthday and everyone who has played a part in this blog, however great or small, peace and goodwill.

Hope you enjoyed this 7hp edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' on the first day of Christmas and that you will join me for a look at my favourite Formula One car tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !