Schoolboy Legend - Triumph Dolomite Sprint

June 1975 was examination month for what we in England used to call ' O Levels' a wretched set of national examinations for 16 year olds to see if they were clever enough to progress on to studying for 'A levels' another wretched set of national examinations used to determine if one clever enough to progress to University education.



One of my 'O Levels' was in the subject of geography, being ridiculously well travelled it was a subject I found relatively easy. On the morning of my geography examination all those sitting the examination were sat in a large mock Tudor examination hall that also doubled as the chapel and library from time to time if I remember correctly.



At 8:55 am the examination invigilator dressed in the customary university gown over an ill fitting jacket and chalk stained trousers proceeded to read through the list of candidates but there was a problem, Student A first on the list was not present.



As soon as it transpired that Student A had not been seen at morning prayers our geography teacher was summoned and the rest of the attendance register proceeded with out incident. Our geography teacher Mr B was informed of the situation and it became apparent that Student A was still at home some miles away.



At 9 am the Geography examination proceeded as planned and some 15 mins later Student A sheepishly put in an appearance having been collected in Mr B's cream, might have been white, Triumph Dolomite Sprint and driven poste haste along the country lanes of Surrey into school. The ride into school in Mr B's Dolomite Sprint was later described by Student A as 'expletive fast'.



The Triumph Dolomite Sprint; powered by a 127 hp 1998cc /122 cui four cylinder iron block motor with an alloy head that featured 16 valves run off a single overhead cam, possibly the worlds first mass production 16 valve cylinder head, was a direct challenger to the BMW 2002 Tii on performance but at 2/3rds the price.



Performance figures included 0 - 60 mph in 8.4 seconds with a top speed of 119 mph faster than the fuel injected 2002 in acceleration to 60 mph by over 1 second, with a marginally faster top speed.



Of the 22,941 Dolomite Sprints made between 1973 and 1980 this 1979/1980 model is thought to be one of just 1,300 road worthy examples left.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mr B for teaching me some valuable lessons about writing which I try and apply to this blog every day.

Hope you have enjoyed today's 16 valve edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

RIP Eddie Stobart - Ford Escort RS 1800 Replica

No trip along a British or European motorway is complete without seeing one of an immaculate fleet of Eddie Stobart trucks.


Eddie Stobart (Snr) founded an agricultural business in the 1950's and his son Eddie Stobart (Jnr) built the company into one of the best known haulage companies in Europe over a period of 30 years.


Eddie (Jnr) sold the company to his brother William and business partner Andrew Tinkler in 2004. It is sad to record that Eddie (Jnr) predeceased his father aged just 56 last week.


This Ford Escort MKII RS1800 Replica appears to have started life as a 1972 Ford Escort MK 1 1100L and been reshelled with a post 1975 style body.


This Eddie Stobart sponsored car was successfully campaigned in 2006 and 2007 in selected historic rallies by 5 time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae, father of World Rally Champion Colin McRae.


Most recently this Escort has been run by Whelan Historic Motorsport in historic rally events for Jim Whelan and co driver John Atherton.

Slightly off topic congratulations to Kevin Harvick who made it two Sprint Cup wins in a row yesterday when he won the traditional Grandfather Clock at Martinsville last night. This was the first time I have ever seen my man win a Cup Race on TV. I hope you'll join me again for another edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres'. Don't forget to come back now !

Stop press ! It is with a heavy heart that I have to report Mr Ed Arnaudin contributor of many fabulous photo's to 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' passed away during the red flag period of the Martinsville race.

A proper appreciation of Ed will follow in due course, in the meantime I hope you join me in honouring and celebrating his life by typing his name in the 'Search psycho on tyres box', in death as in life Ed has much to share. Condolences to the best friend I have never met, Steve Arnaudin and his family.

UK Limited Edition - Subaru Impreza P1

Last week I looked at the Prodrive P2 which was based on a Subaru R1 with Impreza WRC running gear.



The Subaru Impreza P1 (Prodrive One) is a limited edition of just 1000 models based on the Impreza WRX.



The power of the AWD flat four turbo P1 was boosted from 218 hp to 280 hp.



The front and rear spoiler designs are credited to Peter Stevens who was responsible for the latter Prodrive P2.



The P1 was the result of a collaboration between Subaru Technica International (STi) the racing department of Subaru and Prodrive who ran the Subaru WRC rally campaign.



When the car was launched in 1999 just 500 units were envisaged for the UK market only however demand was so high that production ceased with the 1000th P1.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this UK Spec only P1 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed UK Limited Edition of ' Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Stovebolt Special - HWM Chevrolet #49 ?

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.

On Wednesday when I started today's blog I thought lovely black car rare make, probably not too much history. As you'll see below I could not have been more wrong in my assessment of the task ahead.

Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) acquired an Aston Martin Dealership in 1951 reputedly making it the oldest such franchise.

Racing drivers & HWM owners George Abecassis and John Heath first built a streamlined body on an Alta sports car chassis in 1948.

The first proper HWM's were also 4 cylinder Alta powered and built for the second tier European open wheel series called Formula 2 in 1950.

This is one of those 1950 open wheel cars allegedly driven by none other than Sir Stirling Moss at the start of his career.

Thanks to information passed on by David McKinney, it appears that this vehicle still fitted with an Alta engine was purchased in 1953 by 20th Century Fox and used in the film 'The Racers' staring Kirk Douglas and Bella Darvi, this film was also known as 'Such Men Are Dangerous' in some countries.

During filming the car was heavily damaged, later Tom Carsten purchased all the vehicles from the film, selling most of them on, but keeping the HWM because it had independent suspension and fitting it with a 302cui /4900 cc Chevrolet V8 which was then bored out to 4994 cc / 305 cui by Edelbrock.

The car was also fitted with a quick change rear axle and experimental disc brakes by Hallibrand.

Bill Pollack, seen in this photograph by Carlyle Blackwell, confirmed as having to be at Pebble Beach by Bill himself, is known to have driven the at least twice in 1956 during which time chassis acquired the nome de course 'Stovebolt Special'.

Bill was a regular winner at events such as Pebble Beach (two times), Golden Gate Park, Reno, Torrey Pines, Stockton, Madera, Willow Springs, Palm Springs, and the Santa Barbara road races, the most famous of which was in an Allard J2 at Pebble Beach from which his book 'Red Wheels and White Sidewalls' takes it's title.

JB Miltonian informs me that a version of this photo with the driver in an obviously retouched red shirt appeared on the cover of Sports Car Illustrated in September 1956 with the caption "Rounding the last turn at Pebble Beach is Bill Pollack in the latest Carstens bomb, the HWM-Chev V8. A complete breakdown of the car starts on p12. Ektachrome is by Carlyle Blackwell."

The Stovebolt Special is known to have been raced until at least 1963.

In 1980 John Matherson restored the car which appeared in the Pebble Beach Concours in 2003.



As seen in this photo by Alan Raine most recently the Stovebolt Special has reappeared in the UK driven by Simon Taylor.

According to one source Simon's car is now listed as having a 5737 cc / 347 cui motor.

There is some disagreement as to the chassis number of the Stovebolt Special with options including #49 - 001 ,49/02 and even FB 102, should Simon Taylor get in touch I'll ask him and add a post script.

My thanks to Carlyle Blackwell for the photo, Ed and Steve Arnaudin who kindly sent it on to me and TNFers David McKinney, Alan Raine, fnqvmuch, Tim Murray, Roger Lund, Mark Godfrey, JB Miltonian, and Vince H, who helped reveal the story behind the 'Stovebolt Special'.

Please keep the Arnaudin family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.

Hope you have enjoyed today's Stovebolt Special edition of 'Gettin' 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.

Louder Option On Demand - Ferrari 360 Spider

Surprisingly the Ferrari F360 Spider introduced in 2000 was only Ferrari's twentieth road going convertible model.



The aggressive timeless lines were drawn up by Pininfarina.



Despite the chassis strengthening required to maintain rigidity and safety of the all aluminium space frame the 360 Spider weighs only 60 kgs / 132 lbs more than the 360 Coupé upon which the Spider is based.



Power comes from a 400 hp 3.6 litre / 219 cui V8 fed fresh air by these side grills.



The electrically powered roof folds away between the roll bars and engine in just 20 seconds.



Options for the 360 Spider included a Tubi Style exhaust system which provided a modest increase in peak horse power and made the car sound louder.



If any one wants to swap their 360 Spider for my entire collection of Hotwheels Ferrari's please leave a message below.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this timeless beauty along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

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

Original Lightweight - Jaguar Lightweight E - Type 9/12

In 1962 Jaguar built a Low Drag Coupé E-type, with a steel inner tub but aluminium outer pannels, that was more in the spirit of the D-Type from which the E-Type styling and design had evolved. The car was not any more competitive than it's all steel namesake despite it's higher performance and the prototype was sold.



From 1963 - 1964 12 Lightweight E- Types were built that evolved from the Low Drag Coupé, again making extensive use of aluminium body panels and other components.



The standard 265 hp iron block straight six engines were upgraded to 300hp aluminium block XK6 specs fitted with fuel injection.



The cars failed to emulate the international success of earlier 'C' and 'D' types at Le Mans or Sebring but they were moderately successful in club racing.



Of the 12 Lightweights built and two additional bodies it is thought 'at least one' was a Coupé some of the open top cars were converted to Low Drag Coupes with even more powerful 340 hp motors.



The vehicle featured in these photographs was the 9th of the 12 originals and carries the chassis number 850666.



The car was purchased and raced by Peter Sutcliffe from 1963 to 1965.



This was the most successful Lightweight E-type in the 1964 season scoring victories at Mallory Park, Zolder and Montlhery out side Paris, France.

Hope you have enjoyed another Lightweight edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', and that you'll join me again, for Ferrari Friday, tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Out of Africa - Noble M12 GTO 3

After his involvement with replica Ferrari P4's, Lotus 23's and original Ultima and Ascari cars Lee Noble founded Noble Automotive in 1999 to build relatively affordable but really fast cars.

He kept the prices of his light weight space framed chassis vehicles down by using the Hi Tech Automotive manufacturing facilities in Port Elizabeth, South Africa to assemble the basic chassis and body and then shipping them to England for drive train installation and testing.

The M12, originally planned in Coupé and Convertible forms, was in production from 2000 to 2008, only one M12 Convertible, a prototype was ever produced.

All M12's are powered by twin turbo Ford V6 Duratech engines this GTO 3 model is a 3 litre / 185 CUI 365 hp variant the top end M400 left the factory with 425hp.

The Nobel M12 production rights were sold to 1G Racing who manufacture & market their M12 as the Rossion Q1. Salica Cars also manufacture M12 derived vehicles known as the Salica GT, 550hp Salica GTR and Salica GTC convertible.

In 2006 Lee Noble sold Noble Automotive and resigned from the company in 2008, setting up Fenix Automotive in the Meridian Business Park in Leicester, a V8 powered <a href="http://noblesportscarsgallery.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&amp;updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&amp;max-results=2">Fenix GT</a>, again using the Hi Tech manufacturing facilities is expected to be launched on the market this year.

My thanks to the <a href="http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/">Pistonhead</a> who brought this vehicle along to the <a href="http://psychoontyres.blogspot.com/2011/01/sunday-service-mini-plant-car-park.html">Sunday Service</a> at the BMW plant back in January.

I hope you have enjoyed today's Twin Turbo Duratech edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !