Tag Archives: Joyce

Patrick Joyce Rally Car – Citroën Xantia SX

In 1987 Dan Abramson working for Bertone drew the first sketches of the X1, the car that would become the Citroën Xantia.

Citroën Xantia GX, The Plinth, Bear Pit, Bristol,

The Xantia replaced the popular mid range BX series, designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone that was in production from 1982 to 1994.

Citroën Xantia GX, The Plinth, Bear Pit, Bristol,

The most innovative feature of the stylish Xantia was the Citroën DS derived “Hydractive” suspension first seen on the Citroën XM.

Citroën Xantia GX, The Plinth, Bear Pit, Bristol,

Hydractive suspension computer-controlled version of Citroën’s famous hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension that now includes a programmed self-steer rear axle to enhance the cars responsiveness and driving pleasure.

Citroën Xantia GX, The Plinth, Bear Pit, Bristol,

Sold with a wide range of engine options, mostly 4 cylinder, the Xantia range was topped by a 3 litre / 183 cui V6.

Citroën Xantia GX, The Plinth, Bear Pit, Bristol,

Xantia’s were manufactured from 1993 to 2001 at Citroën’s factory in Rennes factory in Brittany, France with additional units being built in Iran’s capital Tehran.

Citroën Xantia GX, The Plinth, Bear Pit, Bristol,

With a name derived from the Greek Xanthos meaning light it seems highly appropriate, however coincidentally, that Bristol artist Patrick Joyce should use his 1996 Xantia, seen in these photographs on The Plinth in the centre of Bristol Bear Pit, to shed light on the Motor Nuerone Disease he was diagnosed with in 2008.

Citroën Xantia GX, The Plinth, Bear Pit, Bristol,

The statement for this work reads “… A life long lover of cars, he (Patrick) designed this piece for a Rally around the coast of Ireland – his last serious driving trip before the progression of the condition meant he had to hang up his crochet backed driving gloves. The markings on the car are all riffs on existing Rally Car branding altered to reference the challenge of his (MND) condition…”

You can follow Patrick’s MND awareness activities on his Patrick The Incurable Optimist website linked here.

Thanks for joining me on this “Patrick Joyce Rally Car” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Chrysler. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Under Australian Influence – Lotus 41

The Lotus 41 was designed and built to meet the second and third tier European open wheel Formula’s 2 and 3 along with the US Formula B regulations for the 1966 to 1968 seasons.

Lotus 41, Race Retro

Designed by Australian John Joyce assisted by Dave Baldwin the Type 41 featured a space frame constructed from welded steel tubes with stressed steel plates around the foot well, instrument panel and rear bulkhead. Steel was chosen in favour of lighter aluminium to ensure the car met the minimum weight limit requirements stipulated by the Formula regulations for which the car was built.

Lotus 41, Race Retro

Brewery heir Piers Courage driving a works backed Lotus 41, for the same Lucas Engineering team that was involved with the Martin V8 powered Lotus 35 I looked at a couple of weeks ago, won the French Craven ‘A’ Formula 3 series.

Lotus 41, Race Retro

Back in 1966 drivers names were mandated on the sides of open wheel Formula cars to help spectators identify the drivers, the name ‘Williams’ seen here refers not to the Piers Courages team mate and driver of the camera car in Steve McQueens film Le Mans Jonathon Williams, but to Dr Gareth Williams, owner of today’s featured car.

Lotus 41, Race Retro

Dr Williams car chassis 41/F3/12b, seen here at Race Retro, is known to have been used competitively by Swiss driver Jean Blanc in 1966 and ’67 and passed through the hands of four further owners before being restored in 1993.

Lotus 41, Race Retro

History records, Courages success in France not with standing, that the Lotus 41 was out classed by the more numerous Brabham 18A designed by another Australian Ron Tauranac. After returning to Australia in 1968 John Joyce founded Bowin Designs Pty where he built a string of successful cars that dominated the 1970’s Australian Formula Ford scene.

Lotus 41, Race Retro

Sixty One Lotus 41’s are thought to have been built some were still running in much modified form in the early 1970’s Formula B regulations complete with additional bodywork and wings like the one seen in the thread on The Nostalgia Forum linked here.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Under Australian Influence’ 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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RR two is company – Rhodes Ridley Road Train Tractor.

Todays blog comes courtesy of Ken Devine a Nostalgia Forum acquaintance from in Australia who posted this fabulous photo of the truly ‘unique’ Rhodes Ridley truck built in Western Australia in 1955.

The story goes that Don Rhodes was a mining, haulage and road building pioneer around the Pilbara, in Western Australia and that his fleet of British 40 ton trucks were not up to the rough dirt roads which Don’s men were constantly regrading just to keep them open.

Don & Harold Ridley a workshop manager for DFD Rhodes Pty Ltd conceived a fleet of road train vehicles that could carry between 4 – 6 times the iron and manganese ore loads their existing trucks could carry, there were no drawings as such anything that needed to be built for the Rhodes Ridley was drawn in chalk by Harold on his work shop floor.

Construction started in 1955, using custom made axles, a chassis fabricated from 5/8″ steel plate 16″ deep and 4″ wide. Two army surplus 200 hp 6/71 GM diesel motors designed for the M3 General Lee medium tank which had in this instance been originally fitted into a tank landing craft, as had the five speed gearbox and twin differentials fitted to give the vehicle a 32 mph capability.

The truck measuring 33 ft long and 11 ft wide weighed 21.5 tons with a 230 ton carrying capacity was the largest road vehicle in the southern hemisphere when it was completed in 1958.

During the period of construction the laws governing most of the roads intended for use by the Rhodes Ridley had changed, with a restricted area in which to operate plans to build further examples were scrapped and the Rhodes Ridley was reassigned, fitted with a powerhouse on it’s back, an ore screening trailer and a jaw crushing trailer to process freshly recovered ore for further transportation.

It’s not clear exactly when the Rhodes Ridley was abandoned but it’s resurrection came about thanks to former Rhodes employee Terry Joyce who formed a club for people to help him with his enormous task of putting the abandoned vehicle back on it’s wheels at the turn of the millennium.

The vehicle still needs a ‘wide vehicle’ permit to go to shows, more photo’s and the rest of the story can be seen at the Rhodes Ridley website linked here.

My thanks to Ken Devine for bringing this fascinating twin engined vehicle to my attention and for letting me share his photograph of it with you.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s two is company edition of ‘Getting a lil’ psycho on tyres and that you’ll join me tomorrow for the first in a short series of home built vehicles. Wishing all the romantics out there a happy Valentines Day, don’t forget to come back now !

PS slightly off topic Pocono Raceways Solar Photovoltaic System has turned the motor sports facility into the largest Solar Powered sport facility in the world, Pocono has been nominated to receive the 2011 Excellence in Renewable Energy Readers’ Choice Award at the 2011 Renewable Energy World North America Conference & Expo on March 8th. Voting for this event closes today February 14th if you have not voted do so now at http://awards.renewableenergyworld.com/readerschoice/ select ‘Vote’ button and then go down the list and click ‘Pocono Raceway Solar Photovoltaic System’, no registration required no unpleasant advertising either. Thanking you in anticipation of your response. Go Pocono !

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