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 !

Fibreglass Transformer - Austin Healey Sprite #ANJ/6378

Today I am looking at this Austin Healey Sprite fitted with an Ashley nose and a Lenham Fastback, a body style also apparently known as a Lenham GT which found a new owner at last weekends Race Retro exhibition for £10,450 / $ 17,000 thanks to auctioneers H&H.



Sporting a twin carb 1,100cc / 67 cui A series motor up from the original 948 cc / 57 cui fitted to a four speed gearbox which all points to a competition history.



This undated and uncaptioned photo taken from the H&H website of a vehicle bearing the same registration number (888 HPA) gives a tantalizing insight into an interesting race history that is said to have included preparation by the 'Naylor Brothers' and modification to Sebring Spec prior to the Lenham Fastback bodywork being fitted.



More recently this vehicle was driven to 5th in class in the 20th Classic Marathon by Peter & Betty Banham along a route from Belgium to the Dolomite mountains of Italy.

I'd like to thank David Birchall over at The Nostalgia Forum who came up with additional information on the identity of the nose type. If you have any interesting info on this vehicle in either of the photographs please add your comments below.

Hope you have enjoyed today's transformer edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at another Great British sports car. Don't forget to come back now !

Special Kit - Lenham Healey ALFA Romeo Special

Continuing yesterdays 'one off' theme today's photo's are of what is so far as I know a unique vehicle based on a Lenham Healey kit car. Built to use Austin Healey 100 motor and running gear the original kit vaguely resembled an Allard at the front and a boat tailed Bugatti at the back. The owner of this one installed a twin cam Alfa engine and completely reworked the nose as a homage to 1930s vintage racing ALFA Romeo's.



I understand that Lenham manufactured a variety of kit cars starting in the 1960's, the best known of which is probably the Lenham Sprite a Fast back GT fibre glass body built to accept Austin Healey Sprite or MG Midget running gear, they are also well known for making hard tops for Austin, MG and Triumph convertibles.

Lenham also made an outstandingly attractive sports prototype racing car the Lenham P70 in the late 60's early 70's which Vincent Mausset's Darnval Cars brand became involved with the intention of manufacturing a road going variant. Darnval went on to become named entrants of the Connew Grand Prix car featured a couple of months ago.

My thanks to 'trashbat' at the ALFA owners forum without whom I might have spent months trying verify the identity of the kit upon which today's special is based.

Hope you have enjoyed today's unique special and that you will join me again tomorrow for a look at another home built car. Don't for get to come back now !