Centralised Chassis Lubrication

Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan

Rudge Wheel Roadster

Mercedes Benz (W198) 300 SL

Parisian Show Car

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé

Ferrari Friday

Hartz Avenue At Its Finest

Danville Concours d‘Elegance

It Is A Free Camel

Ferrari 500 Superfast

GALPOT Weekly #50

Welcome to GALPOT Weekly #50 a review of the last seven posts at "Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres".



The week started with a trip to Danville Concours d'Elegance with Geoffrey Horton where this Aston Martin DB2/4 with coachwork by Serafino Allemano was one of several one off vehicles on display.


The MG NA which I looked at on Tuesdays blog features a hidden rear petrol tank making it easy to distinguish from it's K-Type predecessor.



On Wednesday it was a huge thrill to welcome Jay 'California Streets' Wollenweber to the GALPOT contributing team, Jay also attended the Danville Concours d'Elegance where he met Geoffrey and his XK140 FHC SE MC.



Jay's photographs also featured on Americana Thursdays Land Yacht blog which included this 1957 pillarless estate / station wagon Buick Century Caballero.



Ferrari Friday's blog overdosed on California Sunshine and also included an error, I erroneously had the spyder above down as a 330 GTS, it has since transpired that the car is one of just 20 365 GTS models, essentially a slightly updated 330 GTS body with faired headlights and a larger 4.4 litre /267 cui motor.



Yesterdays blog featured a couple of 1958 Lotus 16's with oblique mounted motors.



Today's Sunday Special feature is about a six cylinder Aston Martin DBS that outwardly appears to be a V8 DBS for the benefit of viewers of the television series "The Persuaders".

I hope you have enjoyed catching up with the last seven "Gettin' a lil psycho on tyres" posts using the links in this 'GALPOT Weekly #50' edition of "GALPOT" and that you will join me daily in the week ahead. Don't forget to come back now !

Ice Maiden - Ferrari 500 Mondial Spyder PF Series I #0408 MD

The 1953 Ferrari 500 Mondial used a version of the 2 litre / 121 cui 4 cylinder engine that powered Alberto Ascari to the 1952 & 1953 World (Mondial) Championship run to Formula 2 open wheel regulations. With body work by Pinin Farina a Mondial Spyder finished second in the 1954 Mille Migllia driven by Vittorio Marzotto despite giving a 1 litre / 60 cui in engine size to the top class vehicles tipped for overall victory.



So far as I can tell the vehicle in Geoffrey Horton's photo above taken at Danville Concours d'Elegance in 2007 is chassis #0408 MD completed in March 1954 and sold to Valdemar Stener in Sweden who in 1955 set a class Swedish Speed Record in the car. This vehicle has had many owners one of whom Mas-Olle Persson won the 1957 Swedish Ice Racing Championship in this car.

In 1958 0408 MD was rebodied with a copy of a later Scaglietti body in fibreglass and just over 30 years later the Pinin Farina Spyder spec body by Carrozzeria Bachelli & Villa was fitted.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sending today's photograph and to toggie at Ferrari Chat for pointing me in the direction of the cars probable chassis number.

Hope you have enjoyed today's Ice Racing Champions edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

PS Belated congratulations to Geoffrey and his Jaguar XK 140 on winning class B at Palo Alto Concours last weekend !

What goes around - Ferrari 250 MM Vignale #0260MM

The Ferrari 250 MM was launched with a tube frame chassis carrying a 237 hp V12 with a Barchetta body by Carrozzeria Vignale in 1953 weighing just 850 kgs / 1874 lbs.



http://www.psychoontyres.co.uk/im-in-the-wrong-business-ferrari-860-monza-0604m/ pictured here by Geoffrey Horton at Danville Concours d'Elegance in 2007 was supplied with this vehicle by US Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti and drove this Vignale 250MM to victories at Pebble Beach and Santa Barbara in 1953 and scored a class victory at Stead AFB Reno, Nevada the same year.

There after the car was retired from racing and resurfaced on the Concours circuit, at Pebble Beach in 1983. Phil appears to have driven the car competitively for the last time at the Monterey Historic races in 1984.

For the 2007 Danville Concours d'Elegance, an annual event which raises money for the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center, Sunnyvale, California, Phil's former employers Road & Track created the Phil Hill Trophy for the winner of the Concours event.

Phil, who suffered from and died as a result of complications from Parkinson's disease, may have been understandably a little biased when he selected the Vignale 250MM car he had once owned and raced to victory to be the inaugural winner of the trophy named after him.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton who kindly sent me this image.

Thanks for stopping by today's Phil Hill Trophy edition on 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now!

Classic Acid - Dodge Challenger

I was reminded of today's photograph by Geoffrey Horton at the 2008 Danville Concours d'Elegance yesterday by my response to a blog about movies beginning with the letter V by Chief 187. One of my all time favorite movies is "Vanishing Point" (1971) which features a white Dodge Challenger in the 'maximum trip at maximum speed'.



I believe the #77 Dodge 'Classic Wax' Challenger seen here is owned by Ken Epsman was originally prepared by Dan Gurney's All American Racers for the 1970 Trans Am championship and driven by Sam Posey.

Back then teams would acid dip their cars to make them lighter and allegedly after this car had passed tech inspection at the first race of the season at Laguna Seca the team offered the Chief Technical Inspector a beer, who then relaxed, resting his elbow on the roof of this car which dimpled in as a result of having spent a little too much time in the acid bath.

The Technical Inspector promptly informed the team that they could no longer run until the roof had been replaced. Within an hour the roof of a brand new Challenger in a Monterey Dodge Dealers show room was being torched off before replacing the offending dimpled roof.

Sam drove the 3200 lb 460 hp car to 6th place in the race and claimed 4th place in the championship standings at the end of the season.

My thanks to Chief 187, Geoffrey Horton and to the Historic Trans Am website.

Thanks for joining me on today's 'Acid Bath' edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Grazin' Arizona - Ferrari 166 MM #0052M

Thanks to more photographs from Geoffrey Horton today we are looking at possibly one of oldest and most original known Ferrari race cars, one which regular eagle eyed reader Racer 187 spotted in my blog last week on the Phil Hill XK120.



This is a Ferrari 166 MM chassis #0052M shown here at the 2007 Danville Concours d'Elegance some 3 years after it was credited as having been identified by Ferrari Expert Marcel Massini in Arizona in 2004 where, it had been grazing in a barn for forty five years.

An unusual right hand drive model this 166 MM appears to have been delivered to Chinetti & Plisson in Paris and originally purchased by the 1949 Le Mans 24 hour winner, who famously won aboard another 166 MM #0008M after driving for just 20 mins, Lord Selsdon. Selsdon, real name Peter Mitchell-Thomson, raced #0052 at Le Mans in 1950 with Jean Lucas, a race from which the car retired after accident damage.

The car then was turned over to Luigi Chinetti and Jean Lucas who won the Paris 12 hours race. It came second in the 1950 Daily Express Trophy race at Silverstone driven by Dorino Serafini before Chinetti took the wheel and drove it to some 2 litre class speed records at Monthlery in France.

In 1952 owner TASO Mathieson finished 8th in the Targa Florio driving this car and in 1954 the car was fitted with a larger 2.3 litre / 142 cui Colombo V12 from the 195 S model. In 1955 the car was converted back to 166MM spec with a 140 hp 2 litre / 121 cui V12 by the factory.



By 1958 this Touring Superleggera bodied car was known to be owned in Switzerland and in 1959 a couple of owners later it was with Chinetti Motors in New York, Chinetti sold it to a Mr RL Litton of Scottsdale, AZ and despite being registered for road use in Arizona in 1964 it apparently was never seen on the road in his hands.

When the car was found in 2004 it transpired that the engine was not an original 166MM type rather a 2 litre V12 more commonly found in a Ferrari Formula 2 open wheel racer, while it is not unusual for Ferrari racers of this period to swap engines, as indeed has been recorded for this vehicle it is still a mystery as to why this car should have an engine common to an open wheel Ferrari.

Under the stewardship of Manny del Arroz the car was preserved and returned to working condition and won the Preservation Award at Pebble Beach in 2007.

#0052M is last known to have transferred ownership in Germany to Mr J Pawluk of Poland in 2008 for a reputed € 3.5 million, approx £ 3 million or US$ 5 million at todays prices.



Readers of my 2009 Rowdy posts might remember the freshly restored 166 MM chassis #0040M Reg YPY 333 belonging to the Mason - Styrrons at Goodwood.

This is a clear case where, in my humble opinion, the preserved bucket of rust is worth far more than the restored brand new machine. More photo's of #0052 M, as it was found by Marcel Massini, in Arizona can be seen on this excellent thread at Ferrari Chat, you will probably have to sign up to see the thread.

My thanks to Geoffrey for today's photo's, to Michael Platzer for the chassis number and to every one who posted on Marcel Massinis Ferrari Chat thread.

Hope you have enjoyed another original patina edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Black Cat - Jaguar XK120 #670138

I'd like to thank Geoffrey Horton for sending me these photographs of Phil Hill's Jaguar XK120 at the 2007 Danville Concours de Elegance.



This chassis #670138 is known to have been raced by Phil, who was guest of honour at Danville in 2007, in at least 3 races in 1950 in which he scored two second place finishes and a win in the 100 Mile race at Pebble Beach in November 1950.



Last week it came to light that I had overlooked something in my original blog on the XK120, namely that while the standard XK 120 took it's name from it's 120 mph capability, it has transpired that Norman Dewis was bolted into an XK120 with a streamlined roof and recorded a production car record speed of 172.412 mph on the 21st October 1953 driving along a stretch of Belgian Motorway known as the Jabbeke Straight, between Bruges and Ostend.

My thanks to Terry, Tim, Allan, and Tony at The Nostalgia Forum for the additional details and thanks again to Geoffrey for today's marvellous photographs.

Hope you have enjoyed today's Black Cat edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow, Ferrari Friday, for a look at my favourite road going V8 Ferrari. Don't forget to come back now !

Scaglietti Pontoon - Ferrari 250 TR #0754

I'd like to thank Geoffrey Horton for today's photograph of David Love's 1958 Ferrari 250 TR seen here at Danville Concours d'Elegance in 2008.



The 250 TR powered by the lightweight 276 hp 2,953 cc /180 cui Colombo Tipo 125 engine was a hugely successful sports car winning the Le Mans 24 hour race, with Phil Hill and Oliver Gendebien at the wheel in 1958 and further variations winning the endurance classic in 1960 and 1961.

#0754, originally painted blue, was sold to Yugoslavian born Guatamalan Jaroslav Juhan co driver of the car, under the 'Equipe Los Amigos' banner, in the 1958 Le Mans 24 hours with Frenchman François Picard who collided with the Lotus of Jay Chamberlain in heavy rain six hours into the race.

After Le Mans #0754 returned to the factory for repairs to the Scaglietti pontoon bodywork and was re painted red before being shipped to Vasek Polak a friend of the now retired from racing Juhan.

Once in the USA #0754 was driven to numerous overall and class victories by Jack McAfee, George Keck and Jack Graham.

Jack Graham comprehensively damaged the car on the October 22nd 1960 when he locked his brakes at Laguna Seca and came to rest against an oak tree. After surviving serious injuries Jack retired from racing.

Bob Gengami had the car repaired and raced it in 1962 selling it on to Bob Allen who advertised #0754 TR as 'freshly overhauled' in 1964 when David Love acquired it.

David described the car he purchased as 'completely unusable' and after unsuccessfully suing the vendor began the slow process of restoration to the condition in which we see the car here. Along the way David raced the car from 1965 to 1968 and since 1974 he has raced #0754 in historic events.

The 250 TR is generally accepted as one of the two most desirable Ferrari's amongst auctioneers, behind the 250 GTO, a 1957 250 TR was sold for US$ 12,100,000 in May 2009.

Thanking Geoffrey for sharing this sumptuous photograph, more details and photographs on the history of #0754 TR can be found on Tams old race car site here.

I hope you have enjoyed today's Scaglietti pontoon edition of Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres and that you'll join me again tomorrow when I'll be celebrating the life of one of this blogs earliest contributors Mr Edwin Arnaudin. Don't forget to come back now !