Tag Archives: Bentley

Unique Information Entrepreneur – Haynes International Motor Museum

Last week I popped down to the Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford, Somerset to look at some of the over 400 cars collected by John H Haynes, OBE.

Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset,

John’s interest in cars started with a Morris on his parent’s tea plantation in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and by the time he was 15 at school in England he had built himself an Austin Seven Special like the one seen below.

Austin 7 Special, Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset,

When he came to sell the car, with a two line advert in MotorSport magazine, he was overwhelmed by the 150 responses he got, after selling the car John wrote a 48 page booklet about building specials with his own illustrations then printed off 250 copies which sold in ten day’s.

Austin Healey Sprite, Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset,

Having learned his first lesson in selling unique information John was sent to Aden while serving in the Royal Air Force and there he helped a friend maintain an Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite, like the one seen in the Red Room, above and decided that the British Motor Corporation Manual could be improved upon and ended up photographing all the parts on his kitchen table for his first Haynes Workshop Manual selling all 3,000 copies in just 3 months.

AC Cobra, Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset,

Since then Haynes Publishing have published over one thousand different Workshop Manuals which have sold over 7 million copies world wide, among the favorite of the many cars John has owned since then is the 1965 AC Cobra above.

TVR Tuscan, Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset,

John had this 1968 TVR Tuscan fitted with a 350hp Holman Moody V8 and competed in it in Sprint events with John Blundell, he recorded a win with it in the last Yeovilton Sprint and a Fastest Time Of The Day (FTD) at the much missed Weston – Super – Mare Speed Trials.

Bentley Continental, Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset,

In 1987 John took delivery of his specially ordered Bentely Continental with a Mulliner Park Ward convertible body painted in Royal Blue and Regal Red Connolly leather interior, note the registration number is appropriate for a man who made his fortune in publishing Workshop Manuals.

Bentley Arnage Red Label, Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, Somerset,

John and I have at least one thing in common we both own cars built in 2000, I maintain mine with the help of one of his excellent manuals his is this Bentley Arange Red Label fitted with a 400hp Cosworth tuned 6.75 litre Rolls Royce V8.

Thanks for joining me on this “Unique Information Entrepreneur” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at another Packard, don’t forget to come back now !

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Shadows and Reflections – Silver Jubilee Silverstone Classic

Today’s post features some of the more off the wall stories behind last months Silver Jubilee Silverstone Classic.

Bristol MW6G, Silverstone Classic

Greeting VIP’s in the VIP car park on the Friday was this 1962 Bristol MW6G (Medium Weight originally fitted 112hp Gardiner 8.4 litre 6HLW 6 cylinder engine). Royal Blue operated out of Bournemouth from 1880 to 1986, this coach is one of at least two owned by the White Brothers in Gaydon.

Jaguar XK150, Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone Classic,

On the Thursday I attended the auction, for the first time since the 1980’s, and among the lots was this 1958 non matching numbers Jaguar XK150 in need of a little TLC which sold for a tad over £20,000 pounds, or the price of a couple of brand new Dacia’s.

Cooper Monaco, Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone Classic,

Waiting ready to race was the Cooper Monaco chassis CM/2/59, its early history is unknown to me, but more recent owners have included Frank Sytner and Bristolian Ted Williams. The Cooper was bought for just short of £220,000 by Justin Maeers who claims he only popped in to the auction for the free beer. After Charles Gillet blew the engine in his Willment Climax the following day Justin came to an agreement to enter his newly acquired Cooper in it’s place for the Stirling Moss Trophy race. Starting from the back of the grid Justin unfortunately damaged the gearbox after just two laps.

Porsche 911 RSR, Cooke, Dowd, Silverstone Classic

When the heavens seriously started to open during qualifying on Friday many of us with camera’s caught in the rain went for some reflection shots, above the Martini liveried 1974 Porsche 911 RSR of Jeremy Cooke and Mike Dowd which qualified 32nd for the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car race was probably my best effort.

Shadow DN8, Jason Wright, Silverstone Classic,

It was a pleasant surprise to see not one but two recently restored 1977 Shadow DN8’s taking part in the FIA Masters Formula One race, above Jason Wright which has a two race history at the end of 1977 when Jean Pierre Jarier replaced Ricardo Patrese at the Canadian Grand Prix and finished 9th and Ricardo finished a non runing 10th at the US GP the following week.

Bugatti T35, Duncan Pittaway, Bentley Blower, J Ernst, Silverstone Classic,

Taking time off from running his monstrous show stealing FIAT S76 was Duncan Pittaway who is seen wheeling his #13 Bugatti T35 passed the #47 Bentley Blower driven by J Ernst on his way to a 7th place finish in the Kidston Trophy for pre war cars, from 8th on the grid.

Arrows Megatron A10B, Mike Wilds, Silverstone Classic,

Demonstrating the Turbo Megatron (BMW) powered Arrows A10B was the severely underrated Mike Wilds who just made it to Formula One with the struggling Ensign team then to BRM when BRM was collapsing and since then he has been racing all manor of vehicles including a Shadow DN3, Can Am BRM, Production Saloon 16 Valve Mercedes Benz 190 and numerous Sports and Group C cars at Le Mans.

BMW 3.0 CSL, Peter Mullen, Ford Cologne Capri, Rick Wood, Silverstone Classic

Alpina, celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year, took a famous RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone in 1973 when Derek Bell and Austrian Harald Ertl driving an Alpina BMW 3.0 CSL claimed a 3 lap vicotry over solo driver Jochen Mass in a works Ford RS2600 Cologne Capri, on this occasion Ric Wood in the 1974 24 valve RS3100 Capri got the better of Peter Mullen in the Alpina BMW on their way to finishing 20th and 24th in the Super Touring Car Trophy.

Rover BRM, Silverstone Classic

Completely unannounced the Rover BRM which Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart drove to a 10th place finish in 1965 came whistling by on a demonstration lap, I have no idea who the driver was.

Bristol MW6G, White, Silverstone Classic

Finally the White brothers 1966 Hants & Dorset Bristol MV6G was on VIP duty all day on Saturday.

Thanks for joining me on this “Shadows And Reflections” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another 1975 Formula One contender. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Imports – Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance

Welcome to the third and final installment of our trip to Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance courtesy of Geoffrey Horton who has kindly shared his photographs from the event.

Rolls Royce 20/25 Vincent Van, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Among the imports this I find this 1933 Rolls Royce 20/25 Vincent Van charming in much the same way as the Paper Boys 1929 Rolls Royce Twenty I looked at earlier this year.

Bentley 4 1/4 Sports Saloon, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Austin and Barbra Kilburn’s 1938 Park Ward bodied 4 1/4 litre ‘Derby’ Bentley chassis #B165LE was awarded third place in the Bentley class.

Cisitalia 202 Aerodynamica Berlinetta, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Eight of the top nine positions in the 1947 Mille Miglia were secured by cars with an engine capacity of less than 1100 cc / 67 cui, this Cisitalia 202 Aerodynamica Berlinetta driven by Inico Bernabei and Tullio Pacini finished 2nd in class and 3rd overall behind the winning 3 litre Alfa Romeo and the class winning sister Cisitalia 202 Spyder driven by the legendary Tazio Nuvolari and Francesco Carena.

Allard K2 Roadster, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Winner of the Arcane Oddities and Rarities class was David Rossiter who’s 1951 Allard K2 Roadster strikes a pose above.

Jaguar XK140 FHC, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Despite his 1955 Jaguar XK140 FHC SE/MC looking more pristine than ever and being fitted with an all important otter switch judges decided to award Geoffrey and Gayle Horton 2nd place in the Jaguar Sports Cars class, I’m sure you will join me in offering them sincerest congratulations and better luck next time.

Porsche 911 E, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Finally above is a 1970 Porsche 911 E, I believe chassis # 911 022 0224, belonging to George Jewett who was awarded 3rd in the Porsche class.

My thanks again to Geoffrey Horton for sharing the photo’s that have graced these photo’s for the last three days.

I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1975 Formula One challenger. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Thrills ‘n’ Spills – Chateau Impney Hill Climb

A couple of weeks ago the Hill Climb at Chateau Impney which ran from 1957 to 1967 was revived by the Hagley and District Light Car Club attracting over 200 Edwardian, veteran, vintage and classic entries which ran over an exciting course that was nearly doubled in length from the original 550 yards to 967.8 yards, just over 1/2 a mile.

FIAT S76, Duncan Pittaway, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Stars on the hill included Duncan Pittaway’s stupendous flame belching FIAT S76 which proved an entertaining handful on the narrow winding course with it’s low revving 28.5 litre / 1,739 cui Goliath of an engine and spindly pram like wheels, Duncan was classified 197th overall and 13th in the Edwardian and Veteran class.

Bugatti Type 35B, Chris Hudson, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Cocking a front wheel going into Raven’s Nest above is the Type 35B Bugatti driven by Chris Hudson which was classified 72nd overall and 12th in the Pre 1940 up to 3 litre / 183 cui class which was won by…

ERA R4A, James Baxter, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

… James Baxter, who was classified 6th overall, seen above kicking up the verge driving Mac Hulbert’s ERA R4D.

AC Ace Ruddspeed, Steve Gray, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Steve Gray’s 1954 AC Ace Ruddspeed was on track just as an otherwise light spot of rain turned nasty, Steve’s afternoon time was 174th fastest overall of the day, 13th in class.

Mogan RIP Special, Charlie Martin, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Charlie Martin can always be relied upon to display thrilling sideways driving skills driving the Morgan RIP Special, on this occasion he was classified 37th overall and 2nd in the up to 1500 cc Pre 1940 racing car class to Paddins Dowling driving the ERA R10B.

Grannie, Gary Clare, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Gary Clare, who was classified 2nd in the Pre 1940 up to 1100cc racing car class and 91st overall, went one better than Charlie by managing to lift the inside rear wheel of “Grannie” exiting Raven’s Nest.

Frazer Nash TT Replica, Chris Batty, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Front wheel lifter Chris Batty, 110th overall and 4th in the over 1500cc Pre 1940 sports cars class, is seen above exiting the roundabout in his 1930 Fraser Nash TT Replica.

de Dietrich, Richard Scaldwell, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Richard Scaldwell, who regular readers may remember built the V8 powered GN JAP, used this event to debut his newly restored 1909 16.5 litre / 1006 cui de Dietrch which was classified 162nd overall and 4th in the Edwardian and Veteran class.

Napier Bentley, Chris Williams, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

King of the burn out’s at Impney was Chris Williams in his Napier Bentley which was classified 131st overall and 5th in the Pre 1940 racing cars over 3 litre / 183 cui class.

Kurtis Kraft KK 500G, Fred Harper, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Another car probably not best suited to the discipline of Hill Climbing was Fred Harper’s Kurtis Kraft KK500G designed to run on the wide open space of Indianapolis, above Fred appears to have remembered a bit too late that he and his 1957 Indy Roadster have a roundabout to negotiate, relying on his earlier morning time Fred was classified 5th in the pre 1961 over 1500 cc class and 128th overall …

Sunbeam Rapier Series III, George Shackleton, Chateau Impney Hill

… one spot overall ahead of George Shackleton seen drifting his 1960 Sunbeam Series III on his way to a 10th place finish in the pre 1968 production saloon car class.

Lotus 20/22, Jack Woodhouse, Chateau Impney Hill Climb

Local man from Bromsgrove and first time hill climber Jack Woodhouse is seen above setting fastest time of the day in his 1962 Lotus 20/22 Formula Junior car, the Woodhouse family had cause for a double celebration as Jack’s Dad Mark won the Pre 1961 up to 1500 cc class driving an Elva 100 Formula Junior car.

Plans for next years event at Chateau Impney are well underway, and if you have never been to a Hill Climb before this one should certainly keep you entertained.

Thanks for joining me on this “Thrills ‘n’ Spills” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another Mercury. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Convertible Concours – La Jolla Concours d’Elegance

A couple of weeks ago Geoffrey Horton dusted off his Jaguar XK140 and took it down to the La Jolla Concours d’Elgance, and kindly sent today’s photographs for me to share.

Jaguar, XK 140, XK 120, La Jolla Concours d'Elegance,

Above Geoffrey’s immaculate white XK140 is seen parked up next to the Steven Card’s XK class winning 1954 Jaguar XK 12O Convertible.

Bianchi S8 Cabriolet, La Jolla Concours d'Elegance,

Edorado Bianchi began manufacturing motor cars at his Milan factory in 1900, the Swiss Garber bodied 1929 Bianchi S8 convertible above was shown at the 1929 Geneva Motor Show, it was given the Aubery Taylor Award of Excellence for Best Upholstery at La Jolla, Bianchi became Autobianchi with FIAT’s help in 1955 nearly a decade after founder Edorado perished in a car accident.

Bentley 4 1/4 litre Roadster, La Jolla Concours d'Elegance,

Staying with the open top theme Brooke and Gary D. Moore’s French looking 1936 Bentley 4 1/4 litre with modern Roadster coachwork by Chalmers and Gathings built as a homage to Georges Paulin, above, won the Peoples Choice Award.

Mercedes Benz 300SL Roadster, La Jolla Concours d'Elegance,

The purple Hjeltness Restoration Incs 1957 Mercedes Benz 300SL Roadster above did not win any awards despite it’s unusually appealing, to my eyes, colour.

Ford Thunderbird Convertible, La Jolla Concours d'Elegance,

Warren Reidel’s 1963 Ford Thunderbird Convertible above was not a prize winner either.

Bizzarrini 5300GT Strada Barchetta, La Jolla Concours d'Elegance,

Giotto Bizzarrini supervised the production of 1 5300 SI Spyder and two Targa tops by Turin’s Stile Italia, Geoffrey’s photograph is the first I have ever seen of a 5300 GT Strada Barchetta I suspect it is either a post factory conversion or a new creation from old stock for owner Gerhard Eckstein.

McLaren 650S Spider, La Jolla Concours d'Elegance,

Last year, 2014, McLaren started building the 650S similar to the MP4-12C but with 25% new parts. The 650S Spider will reach 60 mph from rest in 3 exciting seconds and has a top speed of 204 mph.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this Convertible Concours edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an FIAT with a sting in it’s tail. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Silver Jubilee – Silverstone Classic

A couple of weeks ago I popped along to the Silverstone Classic Press Day to find out what will be happening at this years event that will be held on the 24th, 25th and 26th of July.

Benetton, Bentley, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

This years event will see Silverstone Classic celebrating it’s own Silver Jubilee and a programme of races and demonstrations which will include prewar sports cars like the 1928 4 1/2 Litre Bentley driven by Clive Morley and Duncan Wiltshire and demonstrations by early 1990’s Formula One cars like Lorina McLaughlin’s ex Micheal Schumacher championship winning Benetton B192.

Silver Sunday, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

One of the highlights of this years Silverstone Classic will be a parade for silver coloured cars of any age on “Silver Sunday“, might be tempted to enter my Golf IV for that one.

Maserati Quattroporte V, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

Porsche, Maserati and Caterham Cars are official partners of this years event with Maserati having the honour of supplying the official pace car a Maserati Quattroporte V.

Lister Jaguar Continuation, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

Above the first of the ten 2015 Continuation Knobbly Lister Jaguars is seen testing, this 1958 designed car is fully FIA compliant and should be taking part in the Stirling Moss Trophy for pre 1961 Sports Cars, I believe Stephen Bond may be the lucky owner of this one.

Alexis HF1, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

Duncan Ragabliati holds the distinction of being the only driver to have competed in every Silverstone Classic since 1990 driving his 1959 #7 Alexis HL1 Formula Junior car seen above.

John Denis, Berliet Curtiss, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

During the course of the day I took the opportunity of going on a couple of rides around the track, firstly aboard John Denis’s Curtiss OX5 V8 powered 1907 Berliet which was seriously sensational while sitting over three feet up with no windscreen when pulling all of 1,400 revs, fourteen hundred, hanginig onto a grab handle behind the drivers seat, on the Hangar Straight.

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

Equally sensational was Nicholas Pellet’s 1931 Talbot 105 team car which finished 3rd in the 1932 Le Mans 24 Hour Race, the cornering abilities of this car on the smooth Silverstone circuit have to be experienced to be believed.

VW Type 2, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

Along with three days of on track entertainment Silverstone Classic will be hosting live performances from Paul Young, Status Quo with tribute perfomances by Fleetwood Bacs and The ZZ Tops, in what promises to be the most full on advance ticket only Silverstone Classic yet.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Silver Jubilee’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Geoffrey Horton’s first concours d’elegance of the year. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Mavis – Packard Bentley

Today’s featured vehicle Mavis is a creation of Chris Williams, the owner of The Ultimate Laxative Napier Bentley I looked at a couple of years ago.

Mavis, Packard Bentley, Chris Williams, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Cholmondeley Castle

Mavis is built on a 1930 Bentley Speed 8 chassis which has been extensively modified to accommodate it’s 41.8 litre / 2563 cui V12 motor which was purchased by Williams at the suggestion of Duncan Pittaway.

Mavis, Packard Bentley, Chris Williams, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Cholmondeley Castle

This particular 1500 hp Packard 4M 2500 V12 is a marine variant of an aero engine that was orignally installed in a 45 mph 2nd World War PT, Patrol Torpedo, boat.

Mavis Packard Bentley, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Cholmondeley Castle

The supercharged Packard M4-2500 has twin exhaust ports and hence is fitted with 24 exhaust pipes, the faux torpedoes are actually oil tanks.

Mavis Packard Bentley, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Cholmondeley Castle

Up to 1500hp is transmitted to the rear wheels through a Bentley C type gearbox that has no synchromesh, note that this vehicle has no front brakes !

Mavis Packard Bentley, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Cholmondeley Castle

The rear wheels can be spun in any gear and Chris Williams “drive it like you stole it” attitude ensures that spectators are entertained with copious quantities of fire from the exhaust and clouds of smoke from the rear wheels at every opportunity.

Mavis Packard Bentley, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, Cholmondeley Castle

Chris says that Mavis was once lightheartedly described as “biggest automotive waste of time, money and engineering expertise ever built”.

Thanks for joining me on this “Automotive Waste Of Space” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an event which returned Motorsport to Hullavington in Wiltshire. Don’t forget to come back now !

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