Tag Archives: 1500

Lunar Asparagus – Abarth 1500 Biposto

In 1951 Nuccio Bertone gave former student in aeronautical engineering and ex sapper, combat engineer, returned from Tobruck via internment in India, Franco Scaglione his big break by hiring him as an automotive stylist.

Abarth 1500 Biposto, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Franco’s first job was to design a headline grabbing body on an Abarth chassis #214-01 for Carlo Abarth to promote his business.

Abarth 1500 Biposto, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Chassis #214-01 is powered by a FIAT 1400 four cylinder engine, apparently inherited from the failed Cistilia organisation in lieu of severance pay, bored out to 1500 cc / 91.5 cui and fitted with an Abarth intake manifold that accommodates a pair of Weber carburetors to produce 75 hp.

Abarth 1500 Biposto, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

The experimental Abarth 1500 Biposto was taken to the 1952 Turin Shown where it’s public debut was a sensation on the FIAT stand, the car also caught the eye of Packard’s Engineering Vice President Bill Graves and Chief Designer Edward Macauley who bought the Abarth which they saw as worthy of study in an effort to revitalise sales of their own flagging brand.

Abarth 1500 Biposto, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Later in 1952 Fortune magazine sent it’s associate editor Richard Austin Smith to visit Packard for a profile on it’s new President James C. Nance who had been head hunted from GE Hotpoint, Smith’s visit coincided with the Abarth’s arrival and display to senior Packard management under a photo in the November 1952 issue of Fortune Smith wrote the caption “Its value is now largely ornamental; under Nance, Packard styling will stick to lines that are ‘architecturally correct,’ forgo the lunar asparagus.”

Abarth 1500 Biposto, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

To be fair the lunar asparagus was not that different in several aspects to the contemporary Starlight coupé built by Studebaker a company Packard would acquire in 1954, during his visit Smith suggested various strap lines for Packard products which were taken up by the company and the following July Packard President Nance, who had no further use for it, gave the Abarth to Smith as payment in kind.

Abarth 1500 Biposto, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Smith drove the car sparingly and retired to Groton, Connecticut where the car sat unused in a garage from 1977 until his death in 2003.

Thanks for joining me on this “Lunar Asparagus” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Monterey Porsches – Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

On our fourth visit to this years Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion I’ll be looking at some of the Porsches and Porsche powered cars present.

Porsche 1500 Super Continental, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

First up the 1955 Porsche 1500 Super Continental owned and driven by Clinton deWitt, US Porsche importer Max Hoffman had the 1500 Continental supersede the 1500 America in 1955 with the less powerful ‘normal’ motors because he thought they would give his customers better low engine speed performance than the more powerful “Super” motors, the inverse of what a race car needs. The Continental name did not last long because objections from Ford who used the Continental name at that time for a stand alone brand.

Porsche 550A, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Porsche 550’s have a long tradition of being raced on the East and West coast of North America the 1955 34 F Modified 550 A belongs to Tom Tarbue a regular visitor to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

Denzel Roadster, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Strictly speaking the 1958 Denzel 1300 Roadster owned and driven to Terry Sullivan does not belong in this blog since Wolfgang Denzel came up with his Roadster completely independently of Porsche and like Porsche developed his own range of performance parts for use in motors sourced from contemporary Volkswagen Beetles, but I included it just for the benefit of disambiguation.

PAM Platypus Porsche, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Scooter Patrick, Hans Adam, and Don Mitchell are credited with building the Porsche powered 1964 PAM Platypus out of P.A.M. Foreign Cars of Hermosa Beach, California for NO FEAR pilot Miles Gupton who raced the car with a number of different Porsche motors finishing 1964 as runner-up West Coast Champion, second only to Frank Monise’s Lotus 23B. The car was latter fitted an Oldsmobile V8 but as since been restored with a 2 litre Porsche 901 motor and is currently run by owner driver Arthur Conner.

Porsche 935J, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

From 1977 the story of the Porsche 935 became increasingly confusing with the works offering 10 ’76 935 spec customer cars known as 935/77A’s while proceeding with their own development plan on the works 935/77 that featured improved aerodynamics that necessitated a more inclined second rear screen which covered the mandated original. The works 935/77 also adopted a twin turbo motor to stay ahead of the expected competition from a turbocharged BMW CSL. Meanwhile the Kremer brothers had been developing it’s own K series of 935’s which were the class of the field at Le Mans in 1979 when a K3 took overall honours, to keep up Joest Racing, better known these days for their exploits at Le Mans with Audi, developed there own version of the 935 known as the 935J above is the 935 J 000 00012 one of two cars that appeared in 1980 for the Momo sponsored Electrodyne racing. This car, now owned by William Chip E Connor, only recorded the one race win at Daytona in July 1981 when Mauricio de Narvaez and Hurley Haywood drove the now DeNarvaez entered car to victory lane in the Paul Revere 250 at Daytona.

Porsche 962C, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Finally we have the 962C chassis #962-170 being offered for sale by Canepa said to be an unraced spare, one of the last four 962’s built in 1991. While I do not doubt it was never raced I wonder if as well as being sent to Team Trust in Japan sans engine it was also sent sans factory body work since to the best of my knowledge no factory supplied 962 was ever supplied with a central pillar mounted rear wing or a nose with single head lamps on either side, where as the likes of Britten Lloyd Racing, from whom Trust also bought a 962 chassis, Kremer and Joest all built a variety of body variants for the 962 with unusual headlight arrangements and centrally mounted rear wings.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton and Karl Krause for organising and taking today’s photographs respectively.

Thanks for joining me on this “Monterey Porsches” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Bigger Faster 124 – FIAT 125

Like the FIAT 124 I looked at last week, the FIAT 125 launched in 1967 shared some parts with it’s predecessor notably in this instance the longer chassis from the FIAT 1500.

Fiat 125, BIAMF, Bristol,

The doors and passenger compartment of the FIAT 125 are identical except that the rear seat is mounted 3 inches further back thanks to the slightly longer wheel base.

Fiat 125, BIAMF, Bristol,

The 90hp twin overhead cam 1600 cc / 97 cui 4 cylinder motor was shared with some of the later FIAT 124 Sport Coupé and Sport Spider models as was the initial 4 speed gearbox.

Fiat 125, BIAMF, Bristol,

Like the FIAT 124 the 125 was a global car with examples built in Argentina, Columbia, Chile and Morroco while further 125P variants with less powerful motors were built in Poland, Yugoslavia and Egypt. FIAT stopped building the 125 in 1972 but production continued elsewhere until the early 1990’s.

This particular car seen at the Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival was built in 1969 and first registered in the UK on April Fools day of the same year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Bigger Faster 124” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking for answers to the story about a mysterious 500 Formula 3 car. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Worlds Best Midget – MG Midget 1500

Regular readers will remember previous blogs on Mr Len Millers MG PA and it’s earlier restoration with storm damage repairs by TJK Repairs in Purfleet in Essex. Today’s featured Federal Spec MG Midget 1500 belongs to Trevor Kirk the proprietor of TJK Repairs and the story of his car was kindly past on by Suzanne Fogg who also works at TJK Repairs.

MG Midget 1500, Essex

His 1976 Midget is seen above in 1995 after Trevor had spent 10 years bringing it up to scratch. After taking it on the Regency Run in 1996 and on a few other events Trevor parked the Midget up in his garden in 2001 and let his MG Owners Club membership lapse.

MG Midget 1500, Essex

Over the next five years the car remained in Trevor’s garden getting covered in moss and filling up with water. In February 2006 Trevor decided he wanted to take his Midget on the Regency Run 12 weeks later and so began a second restoration which required draining out all the water, replacing the bonnet / hood and a new differential.

MG Midget 1500, Essex

The interior had to be completely stripped out all the interior trim, panels, and both seats were cleaned by Suzanne while the car had second bare metal respray in a slightly lighter shade of green. At 6:30 on the morning of the Regency Run from Brooklands to Brighton his car was ready and Trevor completed the run as seen in the photo below.

MG Midget 1500, Regency Run Brighton

In 2010 Treveor changed the gearbox and revamped the motor which can be seen in revamped condition in the second photo above.

MG Midget 1500, International Midget 50, Burghley House

In June 2011 Trevor took his Midget to the International Midget 50 celebration at Burghley House where it weather was so bad he spent almost the entire day inside Burghley House. As Trevor was about to leave a steward flagged him down and asked Trevor to make himself known at the event organisers marquee.

MG Midget 1500, Regency Run, Epsom

When he did so Trevor was surprised to learn his car had not only been voted best in class but also having attracted more votes than each of the 800 other cars put together easily won the best car of the event.

My thanks to Suzanne Fogg and Trevor Kirk of TJK Repairs UNIT 3A, TANK HILL ROAD, PURFLEET, ESSEX, RM19 1SX for sharing the story and photo’s of Trevor’s Midget, TJK Repairs offer customers car and light commercial servicing alongside MOT testing services and can be contacted on 01708 861810.

Thanks for joining me on this “Worlds Best Midget” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Big Rig Look – Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab

After extensive customer research chief designer Philip E Payne took a gamble and went with the big rig look for the second generation (BR) Dodge Rams launched in 1994. He knew that by pandering to the majority of his clients he might loose a few of those who preferred softer styling.

Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The Big Rig look gave the new range of Dodge Ram’s instant recognition that was quite distinctive form the main rivals built by General Motors and Ford, and the look is even more distinctive on this ’95 1500 extended cab with the bug deflectors and sun shield, the only thing missing are the christmas tree lights usually found on big rigs.

Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The second generation Dodge Rams were powered by the same motors as the first series this one, seen at last year’s Avenue Drivers Club meeting in June, is powered by a top of the 1500 range 230 hp 5.9 litre / 360 cui Magnum V8.

Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Second Generation Rams were available in 1500 half ton, 2500 3/4 ton and 3500 dually one ton forms. The 2500 3/4 ton and 3500 one ton was available with a 8 litre / 488 cui V10 that was used as the basis for the Dodge Viper sports cars.

Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Ram body options included 2 door, 2 door extended cab and from 1998 Quad Cab 4 door extended cab with front opening “suicide’ doors. Special attention was given to the storage area’s inside the cab with a large glovebox, central armrest storage and further storage space behind the seats.

Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

1500 Rams could be ordered with either 6′ or 8′ beds. THis truck will have been fitted with an A518 four speed automatic transmission a descendant of the TorqueFlight 3 speed automatic transmission first seen in 1956.

Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The 1996 film Twister featured a similar 3/4 ton Ram 2500 with club cab on the back to the one seen here, sadly it was destroyed near the end of the story nearly bringing some pick up truck fans to tears.

Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Philip E Payne’s gamble with the big rig look paid off handsomely as Dodge went from it’s traditional third spot in truck sales behind Ford and General Motors to first in three years and stayed at the top from 1996 to 1999 by which time both Ford and GM had caught up with the big rig look.

Thanks for joining me on this “Big Rig Look” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

I Am Not A Number – Lotus Super Seven 1500 Cosworth #SB1688

Series 2 Lotus Sevens were introduced in June 1960 and remained in production until August 1968, they could be ordered either ready made or as complete knockdown kits (CKD’s). In order not to attract purchase tax the CKD’s were not allowed to be sold with instruction manuals on how to assemble the car. Ever the genius Colin Chapman sold his CKD’s with instructions on how to ‘disassemble’ his CKD’s.

Lotus Super Seven 1500 Cosworth, Castle Combe C&SCAD

The Super Severn 1500 Cosworth variation of the Lotus Seven S2 was first seen in 1961 featuring 1498 cc / 91.4 cui pre coss flow Ford Motor that was more commonly found in the Ford Consul Classic, it’s two door sibling the Consul Capri and later the Ford Cortina.

Lotus Super Seven 1500 Cosworth, Castle Combe C&SCAD

Alongside the fast bits like the Cosworth camshaft and close ratio gearbox, came a Standard 10 rear axle with drum brakes, a Triumph Herald steering rack, front hubs, fitted with 9″ Girling disc brakes and on this particular car fetching optional wheels with hubcaps from the Lotus Elan.

Lotus Super Seven 1500 Cosworth, Castle Combe C&SCAD

Television buffs will recognise the Lotus Super Seven as the vehicle Patrick McGoohan selected as “A symbol of all The Prisoner was to represent; standing out from the crowd, quickness and agaility, independence and a touch of the rebel” for his character in ‘The Prisoner’ TV series.

This 1963 model, one of 1310 Series 2 cars built, is thought to have originally been sold to a Clubmans racing driver and was found and restored by the current owner eighteen years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “I Am Not A Number” edition of ‘Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

High End Half Ton – Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie

Ever since my Dad took me to see Vanishing Point way back in the day I have always paid attention when the name “Dodge” crops up, today’s vehicle is a tad more practical than the white Challenger driven by the ‘Soul Hero’ being chased by the ‘blue blue meanies on wheels’ on ‘the maximum trip at maximum speed’, though this 2005 pick up does have something in common with the 1970 Challenger beyond the manufacturers name.

Dodge Laramie,

The Dodge Ram name first appeared on a trucks in 1981 with a revamped version of Dodge D Series pickups, since then there have been three further generations of the Ram that appeared in 1994, 2002 and 2009, this is a preface lift 3rd generation Ram 1500 from 2005.

Dodge Laramie,

The built in to the front bumper fog lights are a give away that this might be a ‘fully loaded’…

Dodge Laramie,

… a suspicion underlined by the alloy wheels, not some thing I would expect to find on a four wheel drive work horse …

Dodge Laramie,

anymore than I would a 345 hp 5.7 liter / 345 cui Hemi V8, a name I’d more commonly associate with the white Challenger in Vanishing Point, in fact today’s HEMI’s are very different from those installed in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s the cylinder heads are now less than hemispherical and today’s HEMI’s feature Multi Displacement System technology which allow’s two cylinders on each bank of four cylinders to be switched off under light loads to improve fuel economy.

Dodge Laramie,

The suspension on this half ton pick up is classic independent coil springs at the front and live rear axle mounted on longitudinal leaf springs.

Dodge Laramie,

I have to admit that when I saw this truck last year I assumed it had been imported from some where west of Cheyenne Wyoming but it turns out that Larimie is the name given to fully loaded Luxury Spec Doge Ram trucks…

Dodge Laramie,

which are supplied with woodgrain dash and door trim, leather seats, chrome clad wheels, leather seats, autodimming center rear view mirror, Homelink garage door opener, steering wheel mounted audio control and around $5k worth of useful stuff that is not commonly available on the SLT spec Dodge Rams.

My thanks to Dodge Dealership manager James R for his help with today’s blog.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘High End Half Ton’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’. I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share