GALPOT Weekly #13

Another busy week at GALPOT Towers has simply flown by so fast I have almost forgotten my weekly review !




Last week started with a look at a hot 1959 Chevrolet El Camino estimated to be capable of 130 mph when it was first launched !



On Tuesday I started an ongoing series of Tuesday MG blogs with a look at the 8/33 M - Type Midget that personifies the pre WW2 British Sports Car.



'The Car You Always Promised Yourself' in the form of a Ford Capri 1600 L was the subject of Wednesdays post, a pony car for us Europeans that became a smash hit particularly with medallion men in the 1970's.



Despite it's success on the track with the MT900 GT3, Mosler cannot generate sufficient sales to enter GT3 races without special dispensation, the Mosler MT 900 GT3 above, which I looked at on Thursday, belongs to Paul White who with Calum Lockie won Class A of the Britcar Championship in 2011.



Thanks to the launch of the Honda NSX, Ferrari had to significantly up their game in order to become a world class sports car leader when they replaced the 348ts with the Ferrari 355 two of which were featured on last weeks Ferrari Friday post.



On Saturday I took a look at one of the iconic Formula One designs of the 1960's the Lotus 25, both of the million dollar cars featured having fascinating well documented histories involving Jim Clark.



I rounded out last week with a look at a contender for one of the most beautiful models ever devised in Turin the extremely rare SIATA 400F.

This week I'll be announcing the winner of the Automobiliart GALPOT Seasonal Quiz and continuing the stories of MG and the Ford Capri.

Thanks for joining me on this 13th GALPOT Weekly edition of 'Gettin a li'l psycho on tyres' I hope you will have fun checking out some of last weeks posts, linked by the highlighted text above and that you will join me again in the week ahead. Don't forget to come back now !

Piccoli Ferrari - Siata 208S

Today's photograph by Carlyle Blackwell comes from Ed Arnaudin's collection and I'd like to thank his son Steve for sending it to me.



Photo Carlyle Blackwell, Publised Courtesy Blackwell Archive, for sales enquiry's please e-mail infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk and your contact details will be forwarded to the Blackwell Archive.

Just 35 Siata 208S's were manufactured in Italy from 1953 to 1955. Of those 25 were imported into the USA by Ernie Mcafee.

The cars were fitted with a 105 hp FIAT 70 degree V8 2 litre / 122 cui '8V' engine which allegedly was so named because FIAT erroneously believed Ford owned the V8 trade mark.

The 208S is known to have been driven to victories by among others Bob Kuhn, Dick Hayward and Douglas Diffenderfer who was winning races as late as 1960.

Probably the most famous owner of a 208S was Steve McQueen who apparently replaced the badges on his car with Ferrari badges and called it 'Little Ferrari'.

It should be noted that Ernie Mcafee and Jack McAfee, who appeared on this blog a couple of weeks ago, were not related, though the younger Jack did work for Ernie and on one occasion raced with Ernie sharing a Parravano Ferrari in the 1952 Panamericana.

They often raced against each other right up until Ernie's last race at Pebble Beech on April 22nd 1956 in which he was killed when his car hit a tree. A crash incidentally that heralded the end of Pebble Beech as a venue for racing and led to the development of racing at Laguna Seca in 1957.

Hope you have enjoyed todays piccoli edition of getting a lil' psycho on tyres and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

28 07 12 PS My thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo's her father took.

Prize Winning Brazilian - Avallone 11 #A1110 016

It's always a thrill to bring you the rare and unexpected and today thanks to Peter M in Switzerland it is a tremendous honour to share with you the photos and the story behind this 'Best Replica' prize winning Brazilian vehicle from the 1978 Geneva Motor Show.



In 1924 William Morris later Lord Nuffield, founder of Morris Cars and Cecil Kimber general manager of Morris Garages in Oxford (owned by William Morris) sold their 48th specially modified Morris Cowley 'Old Number One' with bodywork by Carbodies of Coventry with a special octagonal badge, thus launching MG Cars as a marque in it's own right.



In 1936 MG launched the successful 'T' range with the TA an attractive 50hp two seat sports car featuring a steel body on an ash frame. Production of the TB was interrupted by WW2 but it was not until 1955 with exports outnumbering home sales by more than 10 to 1 that production of the final incarnation of the 'T' range, the 63 horsepower TF 1500 with independent front suspension, was halted to make way for the MGA. Some cars when they go out of production are never heard of again but the MG TF has proved over 50 years since production ceased to be an inspiration of sturdier stuff.



After some market research in 1968 a small volume Italian manufacturer Siata, up until then best known for building 40 odd Crosley powered 300 BC Barchetta Sports cars, went in to production of a MGTF replica called the Siata Spring using the mechanical components of the rear engined FIAT 850 ! The Spring continued in production until 1970 when Siata failed and continued under the ORSA name until 1975.



In 1974 the Brazilian furniture manufacturer Lafer created a fibre glass TF based replica again with running gear from a rear engined vehicle the VW Fusca (Beetle to the rest of us) ! Some 4300 MP Lafers were built with 1,000 thought to have been exported over a 16 years production span.



A couple of years later Brazilian racing driver / racing impresario and hitherto racing car constructor Antonio Carlos Avallone put the feeble but fun efforts of both Siata/ORSA and Lafer to shame by constructing his Avallone 11 an MG TF replica with a Brazilian spec Chevrolet engine at the front and additional Chevrolet do Brazil mechanical running gear all round.



The fibre glass panels were so strong that Antonio used to delight in handing potential clients at his factory and at motor shows a large rubber mallet and invite them to do their best to inflict some damage to the body panels.



Unlike the Siata/ORSA Spring or PM Lafer the Antonio Carlos Avallone paid a huge amount of attention to the details of the TF and then replicating them on his Avalone 11 which included not only the instrumentation ...



but also the switch gear.



All of his dedication and hard work was rewarded when probably this very vehicle #A1110 016 was rewarded with the Best Replica Award at the 1978 Geneva Motor Show. An achievement recognised by MG with a letter of congratulation personally addressed to Antonio Carlos Avallone.



The intention of Swiss Importer Huber to introduce Avallone to the Swiss market some how got lost in the midst of time and this vehicle was found lying around in a building in 1982. With a lot of effort the previous owner managed to get the car legally registered for use on the road and drove it for some 20 years until he sold it to Peter M who informs me that the original steering wheel has been replaced with one of larger diameter, the original steel wheels have been replaced by larger wire wheels and that the original seats have been replaced with ones mounted lower in the cockpit.



Just as there seem to be a never ending stream of manufacturers making replica AC Cobra's and Porsche 356's so it is with replica MG TF other notable replica's include the Naylor 1700 of the mid 1980's and even today there is a company, TG, in new Zealand making TF kits using Maita MX5 running gear, yet none, so far as I am aware, of the other TF replica's have been awarded a prize at the Geneva Motor Show.

I'd like to thank Peter M for furnishing me with the details and photographs of his highly praised car.

Thank you for joining me on todays Brazilian edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' I hope you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at another award winning French vehicle.

23rd Jan 2011 PS I have a friend who is looking to purchase a Radiator Grille for another one of these Avallone 11 vehicles, if you can help anyway with either the supply or location of such an item please leave a message below or send me an e-mail which can be accessed through my personal profile page.

Thanking you in anticipation of your responses.

23 de janeiro de 2011 PS: Eu tenho um amigo que está olhando para comprar uma grade de radiador para outro desses 11 Avallone veículos, se puder ajudar de qualquer maneira com qualquer fonte ou localização de um item deste tipo, por favor deixe uma mensagem abaixo ou envie-me um e--mail que pode ser acessado através da minha página de perfil pessoal.

Agradecendo antecipadamente as suas respostas.