Showing posts with label Tony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tony. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 February 2016
Monday, 3 October 2011
RIP WB - William Boddy Brooklands Tribute
On Saturday events conspired to allow me to visit for the first time the worlds first purpose built motor sport venue, Brooklands.
Brooklands was built in 1907, it was simultaneously also one of Britains first airfields. Brooklands became a centre of engineering excellence and racing continued their interrupted only by the Great War of 1914 - 1918. By 1939 what would become the all time lap record was set at 143.44 mph by John Cobb. A well known photo of John's record breaking run show's his 24 litre / 1461 cui Napier Railton, weighing several tons, flying along with all four wheels off the ground ! Such was the unevenness of the track. After the second world war racing failed to resume as industrial and residential pressures on the previously rural circuit took it's toll on the circuits fabric.
Enthusiasts gathered on Saturday to pay tribute to William 'Bill' Boddy MBE who in a career spanning 81 years served as editor of the publication Motor Sport from 1936 - to 1991. He famously kept the magazine going through out WW2 during his spare time while working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production.
Bill passed away in July and this Saturdays gathering included many of the actual cars, like this 1926 Sunbeam 3 Litre Super Sports, with which Bill had been associated during a career that played a significant part in firing this writers imagination during his miss spent youth. Owner of the Sunbeam Oliver Heal tells me WB was a passenger in this car one cold wet November day while being chaufferred by John Wyer future team manager at Aston Martin, Ford and of his own Gulf Sponsored JWA teams that successfully ran Ford, Porsche and Mirage chassis in sports car races.
In 1930 Bills first article published in Motor Sport was on the history Brooklands, the above 1907 Berliet V8 seen on The Hill is contemporaneous with the year the track opened 20 years before Bill made his first visit to Brooklands.
One of my favourite irregular features in Motor Sport is Bills 'Forgotten Makes' series into which category I would have to include this 1926 Gwynne 8 of which WB, as Bill was known to his readers, owned 3 using one as his transport through out WW2.
The 'racing dentist' Tony Brooks is seen above on the left retelling his memories of WB when his career was in the ascendant scoring the first Grand Prix win, since 1923, by an Englishman driving a British built car, the Connaught, at Syracuse in 1955.
While working at the Ministry of Aircraft Production WB met conscientious objector Denis 'DSJ' Jenkinson who was building a motorcycle by torch light in a shed during the WW2. WB would eventually employ DSJ, who was so obsessed with racing that when he settled down he eschewed both mains electricity and mains water, to become Continental Correspondent at Motor Sport. Among many cars that DSJ enjoyed was the red E-Type Jaguar above in which he drove 110,000 miles between 1965 and 1970 visiting all the top races and the best circuits in Europe during that time.
This 1947 Volkswagen was road tested by WB in 1952, he was so impressed VW's that he used them for editorial transportation. This particular vehicle is possibly also responsible for coining the 'Beetle' name for the model, VW importer and owner of this car John Colborne-Barber founded the VW Owners Club of Great Britain and published a magazine called 'Beetling' because contemporaries of his sons at school referred to this very car as a 'Beetle'.
Finally perhaps the greatest thrill of the WB tribute day was to see a few of the cars, including Cobb's Napier-Railton, that made history at Brooklands being demonstrated out on part of the remains of the famous 100 ft wide Brooklands banking. Sure they were only tootling about having fun, but the noise was absolutely unforgettable and sure to have been heard by the spirit of WB where ever it resides. A fitting tribute to the man who was involved in saving much of what remains at Brooklands for us to enjoy well into the future.
Thanks for joining me on this Bill Boddy edition of 'Gettin' a little psycho on tyres' I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Brooklands was built in 1907, it was simultaneously also one of Britains first airfields. Brooklands became a centre of engineering excellence and racing continued their interrupted only by the Great War of 1914 - 1918. By 1939 what would become the all time lap record was set at 143.44 mph by John Cobb. A well known photo of John's record breaking run show's his 24 litre / 1461 cui Napier Railton, weighing several tons, flying along with all four wheels off the ground ! Such was the unevenness of the track. After the second world war racing failed to resume as industrial and residential pressures on the previously rural circuit took it's toll on the circuits fabric.
Enthusiasts gathered on Saturday to pay tribute to William 'Bill' Boddy MBE who in a career spanning 81 years served as editor of the publication Motor Sport from 1936 - to 1991. He famously kept the magazine going through out WW2 during his spare time while working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production.
Bill passed away in July and this Saturdays gathering included many of the actual cars, like this 1926 Sunbeam 3 Litre Super Sports, with which Bill had been associated during a career that played a significant part in firing this writers imagination during his miss spent youth. Owner of the Sunbeam Oliver Heal tells me WB was a passenger in this car one cold wet November day while being chaufferred by John Wyer future team manager at Aston Martin, Ford and of his own Gulf Sponsored JWA teams that successfully ran Ford, Porsche and Mirage chassis in sports car races.
In 1930 Bills first article published in Motor Sport was on the history Brooklands, the above 1907 Berliet V8 seen on The Hill is contemporaneous with the year the track opened 20 years before Bill made his first visit to Brooklands.
One of my favourite irregular features in Motor Sport is Bills 'Forgotten Makes' series into which category I would have to include this 1926 Gwynne 8 of which WB, as Bill was known to his readers, owned 3 using one as his transport through out WW2.
The 'racing dentist' Tony Brooks is seen above on the left retelling his memories of WB when his career was in the ascendant scoring the first Grand Prix win, since 1923, by an Englishman driving a British built car, the Connaught, at Syracuse in 1955.
While working at the Ministry of Aircraft Production WB met conscientious objector Denis 'DSJ' Jenkinson who was building a motorcycle by torch light in a shed during the WW2. WB would eventually employ DSJ, who was so obsessed with racing that when he settled down he eschewed both mains electricity and mains water, to become Continental Correspondent at Motor Sport. Among many cars that DSJ enjoyed was the red E-Type Jaguar above in which he drove 110,000 miles between 1965 and 1970 visiting all the top races and the best circuits in Europe during that time.
This 1947 Volkswagen was road tested by WB in 1952, he was so impressed VW's that he used them for editorial transportation. This particular vehicle is possibly also responsible for coining the 'Beetle' name for the model, VW importer and owner of this car John Colborne-Barber founded the VW Owners Club of Great Britain and published a magazine called 'Beetling' because contemporaries of his sons at school referred to this very car as a 'Beetle'.
Finally perhaps the greatest thrill of the WB tribute day was to see a few of the cars, including Cobb's Napier-Railton, that made history at Brooklands being demonstrated out on part of the remains of the famous 100 ft wide Brooklands banking. Sure they were only tootling about having fun, but the noise was absolutely unforgettable and sure to have been heard by the spirit of WB where ever it resides. A fitting tribute to the man who was involved in saving much of what remains at Brooklands for us to enjoy well into the future.
Thanks for joining me on this Bill Boddy edition of 'Gettin' a little psycho on tyres' I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Sunday, 28 August 2011
'It should be a convertible !' - Bristol 407 Viotti Convertible
Among the many tales in Bristol Cars folklore several are connected with the actor Peter Sellers who one day after filming at Shepperton Studio's approached Tony Crook, Bristol Cars sole retailer, with a Buick asking if some improvements could be made to the handling, when Tony replied that he couldn't do much with the Buick Peter said 'Well I'm going to leave it here.'
Eventually Peter Sellers bought a Bristol 407 coupé but he soon returned to Tony with it saying 'It should be a convertible !'. Tony went to some lengths to explain that Bristol Cars did not make any convertibles, though in fact he was preparing one with coach work by Viotti for his daughter Carol.
Legend has it that Carol Crook was part of the London 'in' crowd and counted among her friends Britt Ekland, who posed with the Viotti 407 at Earls Court. Peter some how found out about this car and persuaded Tony to let him become the Viotti 407's first owner.
Tony Crook says that Peter, notorious for regularly acquiring new cars and leaving them with Tony who had two mechanics and a service bay dedicated to maintaining Sellers cars, 'drove it a bit - not an awful lot - and then we sold him other cars and we took the Viotti back'. All of this appears to have occurred before Peter Sellers had met the model who posed with the Viotti 407 at Earls Court his future wife Britt Ekland.
The unique Viotti 407 was very much a prototype, the suspension had not been modified to cope with the extra weight of the all steel body, the 88 other 407's had lighter aluminium bodies, when Peter Sellers had the car, however when Tony Crook got it back the suspension and brakes were upgraded to later Bristol 410 specification, and his daughter Carol owned it for many years when it was seen with the registration number 'AC 1'.
From what I can work out Tony Vaughan, seen in the Viotti 407 here at last weeks Bristol Owners Club Concours held at Greenwich, is the fourth owner of this car.
The one off styling exercise Viotti 407 appears to have strongly influenced future Bristol designs from the 408, 409, 410 and the early series 411.
Thanks for joining me on this Viotti edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Eventually Peter Sellers bought a Bristol 407 coupé but he soon returned to Tony with it saying 'It should be a convertible !'. Tony went to some lengths to explain that Bristol Cars did not make any convertibles, though in fact he was preparing one with coach work by Viotti for his daughter Carol.
Legend has it that Carol Crook was part of the London 'in' crowd and counted among her friends Britt Ekland, who posed with the Viotti 407 at Earls Court. Peter some how found out about this car and persuaded Tony to let him become the Viotti 407's first owner.
Tony Crook says that Peter, notorious for regularly acquiring new cars and leaving them with Tony who had two mechanics and a service bay dedicated to maintaining Sellers cars, 'drove it a bit - not an awful lot - and then we sold him other cars and we took the Viotti back'. All of this appears to have occurred before Peter Sellers had met the model who posed with the Viotti 407 at Earls Court his future wife Britt Ekland.
The unique Viotti 407 was very much a prototype, the suspension had not been modified to cope with the extra weight of the all steel body, the 88 other 407's had lighter aluminium bodies, when Peter Sellers had the car, however when Tony Crook got it back the suspension and brakes were upgraded to later Bristol 410 specification, and his daughter Carol owned it for many years when it was seen with the registration number 'AC 1'.
From what I can work out Tony Vaughan, seen in the Viotti 407 here at last weeks Bristol Owners Club Concours held at Greenwich, is the fourth owner of this car.
The one off styling exercise Viotti 407 appears to have strongly influenced future Bristol designs from the 408, 409, 410 and the early series 411.
Thanks for joining me on this Viotti edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Allard + Farrell + Maserati = The Farrallac MK2
The origins of the Farrallac featured today lie in the Allard J2, chassis J1911registration JWP 800, that rising star Peter Collins purchased and took delivery of in Kidderminster on March 29th 1951.
[Photo supplied by David Hooper copyright holder unknown, this photo will be credited or removed upon request]
Peter Collins seen above, possibly at Westwood Park, on the left drove JWP 800 to victories at two national events held at Gamston and at least one more at Croft where he set an outright lap record.
After passing through the hands of a businessman in the Midlands JWP 800 ended up in the hands of cycle manufacturer Don Farrell who with his wife Stella, a champion cyclist, used the car to compete in hillclimbs and sprints.
In order to improve the stability and straight line speed of the cycle winged J2 Don built an all enveloping body for the vehicle and with the unoffficial aid of Allard draghtsman, later Chief Engineer, Dave Hooper fitted the car with wishbone front suspension.
The Farrallac Mk1 was used by the Farrells for two years until October 1959 when crossing the finishing line on a hillclimb near Marlow, having set Fastest Time of the Day a track rod broke which consequently sent the car over a barbed wire fence rendering JWP 800 beyond repair and left Don Farrell nursing his wounds in hospital.
While recovering Don planned The Farrallac Mk2 which he subsequently built in 1960
[Photo Courtesy David Hooper]
using the 400 hp 5980cc Cadillac engine,
Alvis gearbox and some of the suspension salvaged from JWP 800 which were fitted to a new twin tube chassis along with Alfin drum brakes.
David Hooper tells me the rear body work came from a J2
while the front was sourced from a Maersati.
With a top speed of 165 mph
The Farrallac Mk2 was campaigned by the Farrells covering standing 1/4 miles in 12 seconds.
In the mid sixties the Farrallac Mk2 passed into the hands of Burno Ferrari who replaced the Cadillac motor for a Ford then the car disappeared,
resurfacing in the hands of Tony Bianchi in the late 1970's.
Tony spent seven years bring the car back to health finding a Cadillac engine and fitting it with "Offy" cylinder heads from a stock car. Tony still owns the Mk2 33 years later.
Bob Bull the passenger above tells me he saw an indicated 160 mph as he hung on to his helmet flying along Silverstone's Hangar Straight.
My thanks to Bob Bull, Colin Warnes of the Allard Register, Allard Chief Engineer David Hooper, Simon Taylor, Classic and Sportscar Magazine (July 1985), The Nostalgia Forum members C Drewett, and Fuzzi for their photo's and help with information for today's blog.
Thanks for joining me on today's Farrallac edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' join me again tomorrow for another visit to Castle Combe. Don't forget to come back now !
[Photo supplied by David Hooper copyright holder unknown, this photo will be credited or removed upon request]
Peter Collins seen above, possibly at Westwood Park, on the left drove JWP 800 to victories at two national events held at Gamston and at least one more at Croft where he set an outright lap record.
After passing through the hands of a businessman in the Midlands JWP 800 ended up in the hands of cycle manufacturer Don Farrell who with his wife Stella, a champion cyclist, used the car to compete in hillclimbs and sprints.
In order to improve the stability and straight line speed of the cycle winged J2 Don built an all enveloping body for the vehicle and with the unoffficial aid of Allard draghtsman, later Chief Engineer, Dave Hooper fitted the car with wishbone front suspension.
The Farrallac Mk1 was used by the Farrells for two years until October 1959 when crossing the finishing line on a hillclimb near Marlow, having set Fastest Time of the Day a track rod broke which consequently sent the car over a barbed wire fence rendering JWP 800 beyond repair and left Don Farrell nursing his wounds in hospital.
While recovering Don planned The Farrallac Mk2 which he subsequently built in 1960
[Photo Courtesy David Hooper]
using the 400 hp 5980cc Cadillac engine,
Alvis gearbox and some of the suspension salvaged from JWP 800 which were fitted to a new twin tube chassis along with Alfin drum brakes.
David Hooper tells me the rear body work came from a J2
while the front was sourced from a Maersati.
With a top speed of 165 mph
The Farrallac Mk2 was campaigned by the Farrells covering standing 1/4 miles in 12 seconds.
In the mid sixties the Farrallac Mk2 passed into the hands of Burno Ferrari who replaced the Cadillac motor for a Ford then the car disappeared,
resurfacing in the hands of Tony Bianchi in the late 1970's.
Tony spent seven years bring the car back to health finding a Cadillac engine and fitting it with "Offy" cylinder heads from a stock car. Tony still owns the Mk2 33 years later.
Bob Bull the passenger above tells me he saw an indicated 160 mph as he hung on to his helmet flying along Silverstone's Hangar Straight.
My thanks to Bob Bull, Colin Warnes of the Allard Register, Allard Chief Engineer David Hooper, Simon Taylor, Classic and Sportscar Magazine (July 1985), The Nostalgia Forum members C Drewett, and Fuzzi for their photo's and help with information for today's blog.
Thanks for joining me on today's Farrallac edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' join me again tomorrow for another visit to Castle Combe. Don't forget to come back now !
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Added Warrington - CGA Engineering
Thanks to Tony 'Giraffe' Gallagher at The Nostalgia Forum I found myself going to Warrington with fellow TNFer and secretary of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club Tim Murray. The purpose of the journey was to visit Colin Bennett and his sons who run CGA Engineering.
Colin who worked with Emerson Fittipaldi on a Brazilian excursion with the Lotus Formula 2 team in 1970 has run a huge variety of cars including March, Fittipaldi, Surtees, Williams and Ligier in a variety of British and European Series.
After a welcome which included tea and donuts Colin let half a dozen TNFers loose in his workshops to nose and poke around a mouth watering selection of vehicles, amongst the many demonstrations was how easy it would be to fire up an ex Schumacher 3 .5 litre / 213.5 cui Benetton 191 chassis #6 powered by a Ford HB engine, we were one click of a switch away from having our ears blown off !
At the opposite scale of the age range Colin was rebuilding a Lola T70 carrying the chassis plate SL76/143, there is something appealingly Romanesque about those knockoff wheel hubs.
Sitting outside the workshops was a Formula 2 spec March 71B chassis #71BM -08 painted at the behest of current owner Katsu Kubota in the colours carried by one of my hero's Ronnie Peterson who won the 1971 European Formula 2 Championship for open wheel 2 litre / 122 cui vehicles.
Back in 1976 I was extremely privileged to see this March 761 in action on a wet day of practice at the Nurburgring. The sight of this car driven by Ronnie Peterson in a series of controlled slides through a series of off camber blind apex corners is something I shall never forget. Ronnie qualified 11th and unfortunately was involved in a first lap accident.
I was at Le Mans in 1990 when this Nissan R90CK qualified 5th for the 24 hour classic unfortunately the car retired on the opening lap, like the March 71B and 761/6 today this car belongs to Katsu Kubota and is scheduled to appear at the Silverstone Classic meeting I blogged about yesterday.
The design details of the Williams FW06 by Patrick Head won much praise in 1978, although the car did not win any Grand Prix it marked the emergence of Williams Grand Prix Engineering into what would become a dominant force in Formula One in the 1980's and 1990's.
I shall look forward to bringing you more detailed blogs of some of these cars after I have seen them running in the weeks and months ahead.
My thanks to Tony, Colin and his sons for a memorable day.
Thanks for joining me on this Warrington edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Colin who worked with Emerson Fittipaldi on a Brazilian excursion with the Lotus Formula 2 team in 1970 has run a huge variety of cars including March, Fittipaldi, Surtees, Williams and Ligier in a variety of British and European Series.
After a welcome which included tea and donuts Colin let half a dozen TNFers loose in his workshops to nose and poke around a mouth watering selection of vehicles, amongst the many demonstrations was how easy it would be to fire up an ex Schumacher 3 .5 litre / 213.5 cui Benetton 191 chassis #6 powered by a Ford HB engine, we were one click of a switch away from having our ears blown off !
At the opposite scale of the age range Colin was rebuilding a Lola T70 carrying the chassis plate SL76/143, there is something appealingly Romanesque about those knockoff wheel hubs.
Sitting outside the workshops was a Formula 2 spec March 71B chassis #71BM -08 painted at the behest of current owner Katsu Kubota in the colours carried by one of my hero's Ronnie Peterson who won the 1971 European Formula 2 Championship for open wheel 2 litre / 122 cui vehicles.
Back in 1976 I was extremely privileged to see this March 761 in action on a wet day of practice at the Nurburgring. The sight of this car driven by Ronnie Peterson in a series of controlled slides through a series of off camber blind apex corners is something I shall never forget. Ronnie qualified 11th and unfortunately was involved in a first lap accident.
I was at Le Mans in 1990 when this Nissan R90CK qualified 5th for the 24 hour classic unfortunately the car retired on the opening lap, like the March 71B and 761/6 today this car belongs to Katsu Kubota and is scheduled to appear at the Silverstone Classic meeting I blogged about yesterday.
The design details of the Williams FW06 by Patrick Head won much praise in 1978, although the car did not win any Grand Prix it marked the emergence of Williams Grand Prix Engineering into what would become a dominant force in Formula One in the 1980's and 1990's.
I shall look forward to bringing you more detailed blogs of some of these cars after I have seen them running in the weeks and months ahead.
My thanks to Tony, Colin and his sons for a memorable day.
Thanks for joining me on this Warrington edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Monday, 23 May 2011
Gould Charge - Penske PC10
For 1982 Roger Penske had his manufacturing team in Poole, Dorset, England, where all his open wheelers were made, build 6 Penske PC10's designed by Geoff Ferris. The cars were ready in October 1981, drivers Rick Mears and Kevin Cogan completed 3000 miles of testing during the off season.
AJ Foyt said of the legendary Penske preparation "The rest of us are trying to do as much in six days as Penske took six months to do."
Photo by Ed Arnaudin.
Rick Mears, took pole at with a record 207 mph average speed in the #1 Gould Charge seen here on the warm up lap for the race, and Kevin Coogan started 2nd with a 204 mph 4 lap average. The first two spots on the grid were sown up just 9 minuets after qualification had started on Pole Day. AJ Foyt filled out the front row.
The 1982 is best remembered for an accident at the start that took out Kevin Coogan, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, Dale Whittington and Roger Mears.
Blame for the incident was placed on the inexperienced Penske new boy Kevin Cogan, though the cause of the accident has ever been satisfactorily explained, it came to light many years later that Rick Mears had a similar incident in another PC10 during private testing that was kept out of the media at the time.
AJ Foyt managed to get out for the second attempt to start the 1982 Indy 500 but neither the repairs to Foyt's #14 March nor the months of preparation at Penske were enough to keep Gordon Johncock, driving a Wildcat, from taking a photo finish victory in which Johncock held off Mears by just 0.16 secs.
During a 15 year Champ Car Career Rick Mears won 3 CART Championships, a record equalling, with Foyt and Al Unser, 4 Indy 500 victories and an unequalled six Indy 500 poles. Rick also took the most CART Championship race wins during the 1980's.
While Mears and Penske lost the battle at Indy in 1982, they took a second consecutive championship in 1982.
The following season Al Unser Snr won the championship driving a Penske PC10B after the intended replacement PC11 proved unequal to the performance of the older car after the 1983 Indy 500.
Those interested in what lies beneath the super streamlined body of the PC10 might be interested to see a series of photos, taken by the extraordinary cutaway artist Tony Matthews, posted on The Nostalgia Forum, see post three and down of this PC10 thread.
My thanks to Steve Arnaudin for the scan of his Dad's photo.
Thanks for joining me for this Gould Charge edition of 'Getting a little psycho on tyres' I hope that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Thursday, 5 May 2011
85% Stock Specials - Studebakers 1932 to 1933
Moving forward a couple of decades from yesterdays post today we are looking a couple of Studebakers that appeared at Indy in 1932 and 1933, thanks to photographs by Ed Arnaudin taken in 1962.
In 1932 Studebaker built and entered 5 boat tail specials for the Indianapolis 500.
Unlike most cars entered at Indianapolis at the time 85% of the mechanical parts used in these vehicles were stock items.
Indianapolis chassis specialist Hermann Rigling built the frames and bodies to accommodate the 200 hp 5.5 litre 336 cui straight 8 engines which were sourced from the Studebaker President along with most of the rest of the running gear. The finished cars were said to be capable of 140 mph.
The #22 above was entered for Cliff Bergere and riding mechanic Vern Lake who qualified 10th and finished 3rd in the highest ranking Studebaker at the end of the race.
Cliff from Toledo Ohio first ran at Indianapolis in 1927, this was his best finish which he equalled in 1939. By the end of his career in 1947 Cliff had competed in a then record 16 starts having led 25 laps of a record, at the time, 2,426 laps of racing at the Brickyard.
Cliff is remembered for having completed the 1941 race without a pit stop although he was overcome by fumes after taking the lead and dropped to 5th at the finish line.
He was due to drive a highly rated Novi in 1948, but an ill advised fuel tank enlargement rendered the car unsafe in his opinion, this was in part substantiated after he quit the team.
The popular and ultimately unfortunate Ralph Hepburn took the Novi over he ran at close to record speeds before fatally loosing control and hitting the wall.
In 1940 Bergere helped the 57 year old 'Racing Mayor' Ab Jenkins set a 24 hour average speed of 161 mph in the fearsome Mormon Meteor III powered by a 750 horsepower 12 cylinder Curtis aircraft engine at Bonneville.
After the modest 3rd place success in 1932 Studebaker returned to Indianapolis in 1933 with some improved cars.
For 1933 the factory supported cars again with a combination of Rigling chassis and and 336 cui straight 8 President motors appeared with more streamlined body work than in 1932.
The the Studebaker post race advertising and studebakerracing.com shows Studebaker entered a five car team.
The #34 shown here was driven by Tony Gulotta finished 7th highest place amongst the 5 cars with 336 cui President engines and one place behind a smaller 250 cui Studebaker Commander powered Rigling Chassis known as the Art Rose Special driven by Dave Evans.
Tony Gulotta from New Orleans finished a career high 8th in the 1927 American Championship Car Racing National Championship aboard a Miller.
Thereafter Tony focused his efforts primarily on the 'Indy 500' coming within 18 laps of winning the race in 1928 driving a Stutz Blackhawk Special Miller when a clogged fuel line sent him to the pits resulting in a 10th place finish. Tony's best finish at Indianapolis from 13 starts remained his 3rd place finish in 1927.
My thanks to Steve Arnaudin for sending me the scans of his Dad's slides and to E.B. of The Nostalgia Forum for identifying both vehicles.
Hope you have enjoyed today's 85% stock special edition of 'Getting a lil' psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don't forget to come back now !
In 1932 Studebaker built and entered 5 boat tail specials for the Indianapolis 500.
Unlike most cars entered at Indianapolis at the time 85% of the mechanical parts used in these vehicles were stock items.
Indianapolis chassis specialist Hermann Rigling built the frames and bodies to accommodate the 200 hp 5.5 litre 336 cui straight 8 engines which were sourced from the Studebaker President along with most of the rest of the running gear. The finished cars were said to be capable of 140 mph.
The #22 above was entered for Cliff Bergere and riding mechanic Vern Lake who qualified 10th and finished 3rd in the highest ranking Studebaker at the end of the race.
Cliff from Toledo Ohio first ran at Indianapolis in 1927, this was his best finish which he equalled in 1939. By the end of his career in 1947 Cliff had competed in a then record 16 starts having led 25 laps of a record, at the time, 2,426 laps of racing at the Brickyard.
Cliff is remembered for having completed the 1941 race without a pit stop although he was overcome by fumes after taking the lead and dropped to 5th at the finish line.
He was due to drive a highly rated Novi in 1948, but an ill advised fuel tank enlargement rendered the car unsafe in his opinion, this was in part substantiated after he quit the team.
The popular and ultimately unfortunate Ralph Hepburn took the Novi over he ran at close to record speeds before fatally loosing control and hitting the wall.
In 1940 Bergere helped the 57 year old 'Racing Mayor' Ab Jenkins set a 24 hour average speed of 161 mph in the fearsome Mormon Meteor III powered by a 750 horsepower 12 cylinder Curtis aircraft engine at Bonneville.
After the modest 3rd place success in 1932 Studebaker returned to Indianapolis in 1933 with some improved cars.
For 1933 the factory supported cars again with a combination of Rigling chassis and and 336 cui straight 8 President motors appeared with more streamlined body work than in 1932.
The the Studebaker post race advertising and studebakerracing.com shows Studebaker entered a five car team.
The #34 shown here was driven by Tony Gulotta finished 7th highest place amongst the 5 cars with 336 cui President engines and one place behind a smaller 250 cui Studebaker Commander powered Rigling Chassis known as the Art Rose Special driven by Dave Evans.
Tony Gulotta from New Orleans finished a career high 8th in the 1927 American Championship Car Racing National Championship aboard a Miller.
Thereafter Tony focused his efforts primarily on the 'Indy 500' coming within 18 laps of winning the race in 1928 driving a Stutz Blackhawk Special Miller when a clogged fuel line sent him to the pits resulting in a 10th place finish. Tony's best finish at Indianapolis from 13 starts remained his 3rd place finish in 1927.
My thanks to Steve Arnaudin for sending me the scans of his Dad's slides and to E.B. of The Nostalgia Forum for identifying both vehicles.
Hope you have enjoyed today's 85% stock special edition of 'Getting a lil' psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don't forget to come back now !
Friday, 4 March 2011
Millionaire Mystery - Scuderia Parravano Pt 2 of 2
Last Ferrari Friday we got a glimpse of a few of Scuderia Parravano's fabulous Ferrari's financed by building millionaire Tony Parravano.
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.
This week we are looking at Parravano's 750 Monza chassis number #0538 being driven by an as yet
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.
unidentified driver in a studio shot by Carlyle Blackwell.
The 750 Monza took it's name from the track on which Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli took a debut victory in 1954, powered by a 250 hp 3 litre / 183 cui version of the four cylinder engine that was also used in the 500 TRC in the 1954 season. The 750 Monza allowed Ferrari to retain the World Sports Car Championship in 1954 but was not strong enough against the onslaught of the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR's to give Ferrari a third consecutive championship.
Tony Parravano is rumoured to have paid Scaglieti over the odds for the unique body work on this particular vehicle which has a narrower radiator intake and a pronounced hump over the engine compared to a standard 750 Monza.
This unique car was crashed by one of the Caroll Shelby / Gino Munaron crew in the 1955 Targa Florio and does not appear to have been driven to any victories though Richie Ginther took 2nd place at New Smyrna Beach in 1957.
In December 1956 this photograph appeared on the cover of Road & Track magazine with the caption on the inside cover that reads "The closest photographer Carlyle Blackwell could come to a red sleigh for St Nick is this 3.5 litre Ferrari. The scene is a quiet village at Christmas Eve (on the 20th Century Fox's back lot), but if the kiddies are still awake, it's not the sound of sleigh bells they'll be hearing as midnight strikes."
Ed Arnaudin who purchased a copy of this photograph recently told his son Steve that there were rumours in the 1950's about Tony Parravano having connections to 'the mob' which never gained a foothold in Southern California where Tony lived and worked, these rumours are also present on the internet today. There is however no doubt that Tony might have legitimately made a lot of money from the post WW2 housing boom in California.
In mid 1957 Tony Parravano and an associate were charged with tax evasion by the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) and Tony went on the run attempting to take some of his 11 Ferrari's and 13 Maserati's with him. Some of these vehicles were seized in the US, others were sold in Mexico. All have since been accounted for.
#0538 M pictured here only made it as far as a Save On supermarket parking lot in Van Nuys, California where it was auctioned off by the IRS for $3500 to Sydney Coolidge along with a $275 trailer in 1958. The car is known to have been used in competition until at least 1963.
Tony Parravano disappeared for good in April 1960 three days before he was due to appear in court. In January 1964 Tony's associate paid 5 x $100 dollars in fines for 5 counts on a 27 count indictment and walked away a free man while Tony's wife settled with the IRS and ended up with most of Tony's assets.
There is no official record of what became of Tony, who, if he were alive today, would be a still credible 94 years old. He is reported to have been seen in a Rome launderette by a US racing journalist and there are reports on the net that the US Attorney General had a "Parravano Room" full of evidence against Tony though the fact remains his single indictment was on tax evasion charges and his associate had to pay $500 in fines on similar charges.
In 1986 #0538M resurfaced completely unrestored fitted with a Chevrolet V8 in the hands of a Mr Bill Shaker in Leesburg, VA who neither knew of the vehicles identity or it's value. In 1987 the vehicle acquired a new war wound the day before the Ferrari Club of America National meeting when it went on an unmanned trip down a drive way and hit Mr Shakers daily driver a Volvo.
David Smith #0538's next owner managed to reunite it with it's original motor and in 1993 #0538 won the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Richard J Fraser tells his part in the story very well on the Barchetta website here.
If anyone recognises the driver of the car in the photo please chime in below.
My thanks to Ed Arnaudin who purchased a copy of it and to his son Steve who forwarded a scan of the copy to me, my thanks also to all the contributors on various threads at Ferrari Chat and The Nostalgia Forum who have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to today's blog.
Hope you have enjoyed today's fugitive edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psyco on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at a Sebring Sprite. Don't forget to come back now !
28 07 12 PS Many thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo's her father took.
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.
This week we are looking at Parravano's 750 Monza chassis number #0538 being driven by an as yet
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.
unidentified driver in a studio shot by Carlyle Blackwell.
The 750 Monza took it's name from the track on which Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli took a debut victory in 1954, powered by a 250 hp 3 litre / 183 cui version of the four cylinder engine that was also used in the 500 TRC in the 1954 season. The 750 Monza allowed Ferrari to retain the World Sports Car Championship in 1954 but was not strong enough against the onslaught of the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR's to give Ferrari a third consecutive championship.
Tony Parravano is rumoured to have paid Scaglieti over the odds for the unique body work on this particular vehicle which has a narrower radiator intake and a pronounced hump over the engine compared to a standard 750 Monza.
This unique car was crashed by one of the Caroll Shelby / Gino Munaron crew in the 1955 Targa Florio and does not appear to have been driven to any victories though Richie Ginther took 2nd place at New Smyrna Beach in 1957.
In December 1956 this photograph appeared on the cover of Road & Track magazine with the caption on the inside cover that reads "The closest photographer Carlyle Blackwell could come to a red sleigh for St Nick is this 3.5 litre Ferrari. The scene is a quiet village at Christmas Eve (on the 20th Century Fox's back lot), but if the kiddies are still awake, it's not the sound of sleigh bells they'll be hearing as midnight strikes."
Ed Arnaudin who purchased a copy of this photograph recently told his son Steve that there were rumours in the 1950's about Tony Parravano having connections to 'the mob' which never gained a foothold in Southern California where Tony lived and worked, these rumours are also present on the internet today. There is however no doubt that Tony might have legitimately made a lot of money from the post WW2 housing boom in California.
In mid 1957 Tony Parravano and an associate were charged with tax evasion by the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) and Tony went on the run attempting to take some of his 11 Ferrari's and 13 Maserati's with him. Some of these vehicles were seized in the US, others were sold in Mexico. All have since been accounted for.
#0538 M pictured here only made it as far as a Save On supermarket parking lot in Van Nuys, California where it was auctioned off by the IRS for $3500 to Sydney Coolidge along with a $275 trailer in 1958. The car is known to have been used in competition until at least 1963.
Tony Parravano disappeared for good in April 1960 three days before he was due to appear in court. In January 1964 Tony's associate paid 5 x $100 dollars in fines for 5 counts on a 27 count indictment and walked away a free man while Tony's wife settled with the IRS and ended up with most of Tony's assets.
There is no official record of what became of Tony, who, if he were alive today, would be a still credible 94 years old. He is reported to have been seen in a Rome launderette by a US racing journalist and there are reports on the net that the US Attorney General had a "Parravano Room" full of evidence against Tony though the fact remains his single indictment was on tax evasion charges and his associate had to pay $500 in fines on similar charges.
In 1986 #0538M resurfaced completely unrestored fitted with a Chevrolet V8 in the hands of a Mr Bill Shaker in Leesburg, VA who neither knew of the vehicles identity or it's value. In 1987 the vehicle acquired a new war wound the day before the Ferrari Club of America National meeting when it went on an unmanned trip down a drive way and hit Mr Shakers daily driver a Volvo.
David Smith #0538's next owner managed to reunite it with it's original motor and in 1993 #0538 won the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Richard J Fraser tells his part in the story very well on the Barchetta website here.
If anyone recognises the driver of the car in the photo please chime in below.
My thanks to Ed Arnaudin who purchased a copy of it and to his son Steve who forwarded a scan of the copy to me, my thanks also to all the contributors on various threads at Ferrari Chat and The Nostalgia Forum who have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to today's blog.
Hope you have enjoyed today's fugitive edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psyco on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at a Sebring Sprite. Don't forget to come back now !
28 07 12 PS Many thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo's her father took.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
30% More Power - Bristol 411
The first blog I did on a Series 3 411 has been lost in the mists of Rowdy but a couple of photo's remain.
Today's model is a first series Bristol 411 built from 1969 to 1971 the first Bristol model to feature a big block B series 335 hp 6,277 cc / 383 cui motor with 30 % more horsepower than the previous model that gave this car a 140 + mph capability.
The original series 411 models featured slightly enlarged windscreens than the 410 an almost imperceptible difference that can be seen in this photo of a 411 in the foreground and 410 to the left of the photograph.
Sir George White one of the three Directors in Bristol Cars in 1969 suffered serious head injuries in a road accident in September 1969 so it was left to his partner Tony Crook to take over the reins at Bristol in Sir George's absence a process that ended with Tony buying his partner out in 1973.
To help feed all that power to the road the rear axle was fitted with a limited slip differential (LSD) that allows some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts as long as there is some traction available on at least one of the wheels.
With thanks to the PistonHead who kindly brought this car to the recent Sunday Service at the BMW Plant at Cowley and to Cristopher Balfour who's book 'Bristol Cars a very British story' provided many of the insights in today's blog.
Hope you have enjoyed today's TV detective edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Going it alone - Bristol 407
Just 88 Bristol 407's were built between 1961 and 1963.
The 407 was the first Bristol model launched after ownership of the Bristol Car Company had been taken over by the Bristol Aeroplane Company founders grandson Sir George White 3rd Bt in partnership with Bristol's preeminent retailer Tony Crook in September 1960.
The exterior of the Bristol 407 is distinguished from its predecessor the 406, which I have yet to write a blog about, by a horizontal bar across the radiator grill at the front and twin exhaust pipes at the rear.
Underneath the car could not be more different, the 407 is powered by a Canadian built 5130 cc / 313 cui Chrysler V8 connected to a push button operated Torqueflight transmission, a combination which first came to the attention of of Sir Reginald Verdon Smith the Bristol Aeroplane Company director in the 1950's on a private visit to Canada.
Bristol attempted to develop it's own aluminium block V8 in the 1950's but, insufficient experience casting aluminium and lack of capital thanks to the spiralling cost of aircraft development elsewhere in the Bristol group of companies meant that the V8 never got beyond an underdeveloped prototype stage at which crankshaft main bearing housing distortion presented an obstacle to production.
Changing to the Canadian V8 from the hitherto BMW inspired straight 6 necessitated replacing the former transverse leaf front suspension with a pair of coil springs and replacing the highly praised rack and pinion steering with Marles worm driven steering.
The chassis was fitted with Dunlop disc brakes all round and the aluminium body production was moved from Jones Brothers to Park Royal Vehicles in London.
The 407 chassis set out the basic architectural features for all Bristol's with many incremental modifications right through to the introduction of the Bristol Fighter in 2004.
This particular model photographed at a Loton Park VSCC meeting is registered in Sweden, notice that it is a Right Hand Drive model, Sweden switched to Left Hand Drive in September 1967 to bring it into line with it's Scandinavian neighbours.
My thanks to Christopher Balfour who's book 'Bristol Cars a very British story' provided many of the insights in today's blog.
Hope you have enjoyed today's Marles worm driven steering edition of 'Getting a lil' psycho on tyres and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at the even rarer Bristol 410. Don't forget to come back now !
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Memories of Tony Curtis - Ferrari Dino 246 GT
The TV industry of the sixties and seventies thought up all sorts of curiosities that are simply inconceivable in todays world.
In 1971 one such was a programme called The Persuaders an attempt at making a thriller series popular in the UK and US. The premise was that two playboys Lord Brett Sinclair an English all action (Soldier / Racing Driver) Aristocrat teams up with Danny Wild a Bronx self made millionaire to solve all sorts of 'errors of impunity' to avoid ninety day jail sentences for fighting in a bar ! A community service order for rich people.
The show was not a success in the States and was cancelled after the first series though it was immensely popular in Europe, in Sweden The Persuaders translated to 'Snobs on the Job', in Germany and France the translations of the shows were a comic departure from the original.
The lead roles were played by Roger Moore and Tony Curtis who's respective signature cars were an Aston Martin DBS registered 'BS 1' and a Red Ferrari Dino 246 GT registered 221400 MO. The Ferrari 246 was powered by a 175 hp 2.4 litre / 147.6 CUI 65 degree V6 which gave it a top speed of 146 mph, 3,761 were produced from 1969 to 1974.
The highlight of many a Sunday afternoon during my school days was watching the Persuaders and I still associate Tony Curtis with his Ferrari Dino no matter that he was actually far better recognised for his comedy films including 'Some Like it Hot' made around the time I was born.
Off topic I'd like to welcome all my readers from Belgium, particularly Wesley and Anja who's Mini Moke featured in this blog a last week, mention of which was made on the Belgian Mini Forum.
Thanks for dropping by, don't forget to come back now.
In 1971 one such was a programme called The Persuaders an attempt at making a thriller series popular in the UK and US. The premise was that two playboys Lord Brett Sinclair an English all action (Soldier / Racing Driver) Aristocrat teams up with Danny Wild a Bronx self made millionaire to solve all sorts of 'errors of impunity' to avoid ninety day jail sentences for fighting in a bar ! A community service order for rich people.
The show was not a success in the States and was cancelled after the first series though it was immensely popular in Europe, in Sweden The Persuaders translated to 'Snobs on the Job', in Germany and France the translations of the shows were a comic departure from the original.
The lead roles were played by Roger Moore and Tony Curtis who's respective signature cars were an Aston Martin DBS registered 'BS 1' and a Red Ferrari Dino 246 GT registered 221400 MO. The Ferrari 246 was powered by a 175 hp 2.4 litre / 147.6 CUI 65 degree V6 which gave it a top speed of 146 mph, 3,761 were produced from 1969 to 1974.
The highlight of many a Sunday afternoon during my school days was watching the Persuaders and I still associate Tony Curtis with his Ferrari Dino no matter that he was actually far better recognised for his comedy films including 'Some Like it Hot' made around the time I was born.
Off topic I'd like to welcome all my readers from Belgium, particularly Wesley and Anja who's Mini Moke featured in this blog a last week, mention of which was made on the Belgian Mini Forum.
Thanks for dropping by, don't forget to come back now.
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