Tag Archives: Continuation

Cracked Exhaust – Broadley T76 Continuation

A month before the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours Roger Penske took delivery of a brand new Lola T70 Mk3b GT chassis #SL76/139.

Under driver Mark Donohue’s guidance the team worked 18 hours a day in the run up to the race preparing the car and it’s fuel injected 5 litre / 302 cui Traco Chevrolet motor of the endurance classic.

Broadley T76 Continuation, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham,

Chuck Parsons and Mark qualified the immaculately prepared royal blue with gold pinstripes #6 2nd on the grid, alongside a factory Porsche 908 driven by Vic Elford and Brian Redman.

Mark and Chuck dropped back to seventh in the race with fuel pick up problems and then lost an hour while the cracked exhaust was repaired.

Broadley T76 Continuation, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham,

Despite these problems and with the Porsche’s having a myriad of issue’s of their own including cracked exhausts the #6 came through to take the checkered flag by 30 laps from the older #8 American International Racing, actor James Garners AIR team, Lola T30 Mk3 GT driven by Ed Leslie and Lothar Motschenbacher.

For the Sebring 12 Hours, #SL76/139’s final legal race appearance, the fuel injection was replaced by carburetors and Mark was joined by Ronnie Bucknum and the pair qualified 2nd alongside a Ferrari 312 P driven by Chris Amon and Mario Andretti.

Broadley T76 Continuation, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham,

During the race the Penske entry and Sportscars Switzerland Mk3b, driven by Swedes Ulf Norinder and Jo Bonnier
retired with broken radius arm mountings.

After the race the two Penske team members taking the Lola back to the Penske shop in Philadelphia made an overnight stop at a motel in Daytona Beach and awoke the next morning to find their truck and car along with two race motors had all been stolen.

Broadley T76 Continuation, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham,

The car was found within 48 hours with the engine, wheels and other parts removed evidently without much mechanical sympathy and the perpetrators were apprehended and arrested by Police acting on a paid for tip off from a stooge in Maryland a month or so later.

Penske had chassis #SL76/139 repaired by a third party and afterwards his shop fitted a stock 350 Chevy and sold the car as a street car, still painted dark blue with gold pinstripes to a chap in California known as Wolfman.

Broadley T76 Continuation, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham,

Wolfman and his mates founded a group of unsanctioned racers called “Banzai Runners” who had a penchant for running at a 150 mph on the LA freeways at 3:30 am.

Wolfman is variously described by those who knew of him as a some sort of record producer, covert LAPD drug squad officer with the Daytona winning Lola a part of his cover and being owned covertly by the LAPD, and yet another as a busted pot dealer who did some kind of deal to stay out of jail.

Broadley T76 Continuation, Autosport International, NEC Birmingham,

Wolfman was last seen driving a Ford Mustang and what became of #SL76/139 remains a mystery, one has to wonder how many car sleuths have had a go at trying to locate such a well known vehicle.

Curiously James Garners AIR chassis #SL73/117 was used as a cop car in the George Lucas film THX 1138 and was then also converted to road use for Dan McLoughlin.

Today’s featured car which is painted up to look like the ’69 Daytona winner is a Broadley T76 Continuation manufactured, with Eric Broadley’s blessing and eligible to race in FIA sanctioned historic events, by Broadley Automotive.

My thanks to everyone who contributed to the “Penske Lola Coupé” thread of The Nostalgia Forum.

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

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Once Round The Clock – Cunningham C4-R C3 #5238 Continuatuation

Legendary American Sportsman Briggs Swift Cunningham II was introduced to motor racing by his uncle as a teenager just after the 1914/18 war and in 1930 he started racing cars founding the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1933 which was renamed Sports Car Club Of America (SCCA) in 1944 with his college friends Miles and Samuel Collier.

By 1940 he was building specials including the Bu-Merc which featured a Buick chassis and Mercedes SSK chassis. In 1950 Cunningham took to Cadillacs one Le Petit Pataud a Series 61 Coupé the other Il Montre fitted with a special body to Le Mans where the cars finished 10th and 11th.

Cunningham C4-R, Goodwood Revival

Such was the success and popularity of the Cunningham Cadillacs that Brigg announced he would build an American car to challenge for over all victory at Le Mans in 1951. The first challenger the Cunningham C2R of which two were built managed an 18th place finish and retirement between them in 1951.

The Cunningham Continental C3 was a road car using a chassis derived from the racer with a Chrysler Hemi motor and an Italian body built by Vignale. 25 C3’s were built.

Cunningham C4-R, Goodwood Revival

In 1952 Cunningham entered 3 Chrysler Hemi powered C4R cars into the Le Mans 24 hour race one of which had a Coupé body fitted. Like Pierre Levegh driving a Talbot Lago Briggs Cunningham spent over 12 hours racing at the wheel of his #1 entry unlike Levegh at that point he handed the #1 over to his co driver William Spear and between them they a 4th place finish behind the two winning Mercedes Benz team cars and a Nash Healey.

The C4-R’s would continue to be raced until at least 1956 clocking up at least 12 overall wins the best known of which was at the 1953 Sebring 12 hours where John Fitch and Phil Walters were at the wheel of the winning car. In 1954 Bill Spear and Sherwood Johnston finished 3rd to record the models best finish at Le Mans. Surprisingly Jaguar D-type designer Malcom Slayer observed that the C4-R chassis had “no effective diagonal bracing. It therefore twists so much that the door cannot work if one rear wheel is jacked up”.

Cunningham C4-R, Goodwood Revival

Cunningham entered vehicles including Jaguars, Listers and and an OSCA among many more dominated SCCA racing for a period but never did win Le Mans. Briggs went of to win the 1958 America’s cup on his 12 metre yacht Colombia.

The car seen in these photo’s is a Continuation model, built with the co operation of the Collier Museum around the last Cunningham C3 chassis #5238 which never received it’s intended Vignale bodywork after Briggs shutdown the C3 manufacturing operation.

Cunningham C4-R, Goodwood Revival

#5238 has been built as an exact recreation of a C4-R by Jim Stokes Workshops, Waterlooville, Hampshire, UK using a many parts donated by the Collier Museum and a body built by Roach Manufacturing who used a digital scan of one of the original C4_R’s as a template. Even the wheels have been cast in magnesium using the original Cunningham wheel moulds.

Ben Shuckburgh is seen driving the car at the Goodwood revival in 2011 and 2012, it is the fifth C4-R continuation to be built four examples were built in the 1990’s by Cunningham Historic Motor Cars, owned by Larry Black & Briggs S. Cunningham III that were authorized by the Cunningham family.

Cunningham C4-R, Goodwood Revival

My thanks to Cunningham Motorsport Historian Lawrence W. Berman for the information on the build of today’s featured car.

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

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