Two Timing – Shakespeare County Raceway

1 Reply

The day before Memorial day I attended the Yanks and Gary’s 34th Picnic at Shakespeare County Raceway for an afternoons two timing entertainment.

Situated just outside the Shakespeare central known in the tourists guides as Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare County Raceway is built on the site of Long Marston Airfield which served as a Wellington Bomber base during the 1939/45 war.

Looking like it had just come off the set of “Two Lane Blacktop” was this 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. The crew running it told me the 7.4 litre / 451 cui V8 was “misfiring all over the place”, a possible victim of cavitation in the fuel system thanks to the phenomenal weather we were experiencing.

A strong contingent of European based vehicles were present at the “Yanks and Gary’s 34th Picnic event including this first generation 103E Ford Popular Coupé rig powered by a 5.7 litre / 347 cui V8. The Popular was a post ’39/’45 war austerity vehicle that was only ever offered as a saloon / sedan.

There were not many cars present at Shakespeare County Raceway that could boast Farina styling, but this 1098 cc / 67 cui Austin A40 Countryman van was one of them.

Another novelty vehicle was the NC Engineering Ford V8 powered Trabant that was being given it’s first run after it’s former Cadillac motor had been replaced. interestingly everybody who was involved in the preparation of this vehicle has been invited to to drive it in competition.

Among the fabulous US vehicles running at the event was this 1932 High Boy “Roadster” which like the Popular Coupé is powered by a 5.7 litre / 347 cui V8. This car reminded me of Leonard Williams High Boy Roadster before it became the worlds first privately owned Gas Turbine Car.

From the plethora of vehicles bearing original patina was this 1948 Plymouth Special De Luxe Coupé complete with a 5.2 litre / 317 cui V8.

My undoubted “Star of the Car Park” was this 1958 Buick Special Convertible which looked, as did several other cars present, like it had just come off the golf course at a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Sporting a top of the Le Mans range 5.7 litre / 350 cui motor was this Pontiac, like many competitors present the driver was wielding his own spanners to keep this fine looking car in a top state of tune.

I did not know it when I took this photo but going on the engine size of 7457 cc / 455 cui this is a rare, though I am not at all sure exactly how rare Hurst Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. In 1972 following a fatal accident with the Indy 500 no manufacturer was keen on providing a pace car so transmission specialists Hurst stepped in with a couple of hot 455 cui Cutlass Supremes in both Coupé and Convertible forms. The 1972 pace car became well remembered after Linda Vaughan was hired to appear on the back of one of the convertibles with an outsize Hurst Shifter on the boot / trunk.

One reason I was keen to attend this meeting was to get a photo of fellow Bristol Pegasus Motor Club member Crazy Chris Hartnell pulling a wheely in his slingshot Backdraft, his weather helmet was present, dry, casting a shadow, and not shaking but just like the last time he tried this the cameraman was too slow and will have to try again next time. Chris managed two 145+ mph practice runs on the day.

Since this was a practice day many interesting combinations of vehicles were being run, like the Caterham above which got well and truly dusted by the 425 cui Buick Nailhead powered slingshot ‘Soul Town Shaker’ driven by Keith Crampton.

After doing a lovely burn out while being watched by the driver of the, probably Rover V8 powered, Fiero Euro 427, the seen was set for a slightly more competitive run off than the previous Caterham Slingshot combination.

However all present were to be reminded of Shakespeare’s quote from King Lear “As Flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods, they kill us for their sport” as soon after leaving the Fiero Euro 427 standing on the line the Camaro made a dramatic exit stage left,

punched straight in to the guard railing …

and eventually came to rest at the quarter mile mark. Fortunately “th’ gods’ who would kill us for their sport’ were in benevolent mood and after he had been released from the Camaro the driver was seen walking unaided to the ambulance for a precautionary medical.

The camera gods were also smiling, after the accident I foolishly took my camera strap off to stretch out on my perch in the grandstands, waiting for confirmation that there would be no further activity on track before the curfew. When the announcement finally came I forgot that I’d taken my camera strap off got up and heard the sickening thud of my camera bouncing off the grandstand decking and into the 20 foot void beneath the grandstand and eventually hit the surface below.

I went to survey the damage and amazingly although the battery had dropped out the camera was fine as demonstrated by the fine shot of the 1938 Ford V8 Pickup above.

After all the excitement it was time to head home, but there was one final surprise as I left the gate …

… a Dodge Challenger STR8 bedecked in wedding bands, a perfect car for a wedding.

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

Thirty Year Restoration – Lotus Mark 6 #JZ 7890

Leave a Reply

The Lotus Mark 6 represented Colin Chapman’s first attempt at building a vehicle which customers could purchase in kit form.

Chassis #JZ 7890 was one of the first eight built, therefore one of the first 13 Lotus cars ever built. The car was originally assembled with a 4 cylinder Ford Consul motor and Austin Gearbox by Patrick Stevens for owner Denis Wilkins. Wilkins competed in the car at numerous events in England during 1953 and in 1954 took the car to Ireland where he shared it with Ian Titterington. It’s best result that I could find is a third place at Kirkistown in an Open Handicap Final in June 1954 with Wilkins at the wheel. In 1955 the car returned to England and competed in the hands of George Pitt, Rodney Bloor and Ken Coffey before being sold, in 1963, to an owner in Bristol who intended to fit a six cylinder motor from a Ford Zephyr.

Despite the original engine and gearbox being stripped out and sold on the conversion was never completed and the current owner bought the engineless remains in 1976 and then spent thirty years piecing it together with another Ford Consul engine and an MG TC gearbox. A couple of months after returning it to the road in 2006 he drove it to Le Mans in France.

110 Lotus Mark 6 kits were eventually sold, including a one off trials version, scoring many competition victories and establishing Lotus as a specialist vehicle manufacturer.

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

But Is It A Real Car ? – Ferrari 330 GT #7123

Leave a Reply

I never had children but I imagine anyone who does who also has a leaning towards the rational must have a few heart strings pulled when their dearly beloved little might is struck with doubt and asks “Is Father Christmas real ?”

Last year I went to a friends daughters wedding, the only wedding present she asked for from her family was a pair of shoes, I’ll be honest the price of them nearly brought tears to my eyes. When I was talking to my friends daughter afterwards she candidly let slip that she would have been perfectly happy if they had been fakes because they were so uncomfortable she could only imagine wearing them the once.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and I was looking at what was labelled as a Shelby Cobra thinking there is something about those funky stripes that is not quite right even if the license plate is correct for the period, turns out the car really was a Shelby Cobra with a small amount of history, but it’s owner had chosen to deviate from the common Cobra straight pair of stripes. I felt a little silly having my suspicions raised by those non standard stripes.

Somewhere in the late ’80’s early ’90’s a titled gentleman who’s family motto is “A cat stroked is gentle” sold a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, to the president/director of a well known software company for top dollar, over $500,000. Sometime later a real 250 SWB emerged in France bearing the same chassis number and it became evident upon further inspection that the titled gentleman had in fact sold a replica based on on a 250 GTE and so had another 2 years added to his five year sentence.

I guess the moral of these anecdotes is that it is very easy to be deceived by what we see, deceptions can happen for all sorts of reason’s some good some bad, therefore it is always wise to adhere to the Roman saying ‘Caveat Emptor’. For a car nut like myself it means always keeping an open mind and enjoying the process of finding out the stories behind the paintwork.

The car featured in these fabulous photo’s by Geoffrey Horton taken at the recent Marin Sanoma Concours d’Elegance started life as a Ferrari 330 GT chassis #7123 just like the one John Lennon once owned.

In 1965 chassis #7123 was originally sold to Auto House Becker in Germany painted silver with a black interior.

The next time #7123 surfaced was in 2002 in California. I am not sure when the replica ’59/’60 250 TR body was added but the interior looks well weathered suggesting the owner/s have had a lot of fun with her.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for the photo’s.

Thanks for joining me on this “But Is It A Real Car” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Lotus VI. Don’t forget to come back now !

“Tender At Heart” – Ford V8 30 Saloon

Leave a Reply

The 1938 Ford V8 30 Saloon appears to be a 1938 Ford de Luxe Sedan built for the British market complete with right hand drive.

Like the Deluxe the V8 30 was powered by a ‘flathead’ V8 with either 60hp or 85hp options.

New for 1938 was the distinctive heart shaped grill which is easily distinguished from the V shape grill of the 1937 models.

The remaining panels were identical to the earlier 1937 models, not even a new dash with recessed controls for safety could do much to stimulate sales. After the 1939/45 war the British built Ford V8 30 updated and given a brief new lease of life in the UK, marketed as the Ford Pilot.

In September 1939 Lenham, in Kent, Auxiliary Fire Station had a budget of £60 to acquire a Fire Tender and a Mr Hulland managed to acquire a Ford V8 30 hp Saloon for £30 and spent the remainder on having it converted. The depreciation from the new value of the vehicle at £230 in 1938 showing how desperate the times were at the commencement of the 1939/45 war.

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

Minimalist, Cheap & Rugged – Citroën 2CV

2 Replies

My friend Candice, who just became a member of the National Motorsports Press Association, writes a regular Tuesday blog called “Simple Joys”. I know her Simple Joy on wheels would probably be a Morgan three wheeler, mine would definitely be a Citroën 2CV.

The Citroën 2CV was designed as an uncompromisingly utilitarian vehicle designed to move agricultural France on from dependence on the horse and cart.

A market survey of Frances largely agricultural population in the 1930’s revealed that there was a demand for an umbrella on four wheels, that could carry 50 kgs / 110 lbs of farm produce to market at 30 mph and be driven across a ploughed field carrying a basket of eggs without breaking them, all while wearing a pair of clogs.

Pierre-Jules Boulanger set about guiding the same design team that had devised the Citroën Traction Avant to come up with a radical solution to the design criteria for a “Toute Petite Voiture” – very small car.

The original 2CV (2hp) made largely of aluminium was to have had a water cooled 2 cylinder engine and was scheduled for launch in 1939 but these plans were abandoned with the onset of the 1939/45 war. During the war it was realised the the price of aluminium would become prohibitive for post was production so the car was redesigned to make use of steel and the engine redesigned to be air cooled with a four speed gearbox.

A 2CV was finally launched in 1948 with a pull chord starter that was soon replaced with an electric starter. Despite much humour and scorn in the press Citroën were flooded with orders and the Deux Cheveau became a huge success with a three year waiting list built up in just three months !

Amazingly Citroën 2CV’s were used in competition events like the Mille Miglia in the early to late 1950’s, though they did not experience any overwhelming success.

2CV’s were developed into a large number of variants the Fourgonette van pioneered the use of a large rear box section that has seen many passenger vehicles reconfigured to commercial use, there was a pickup and a Sahara off road road version with two engines to provide four wheel drive.

The 2CV remained in production, much modified from this 1954 iteration, seen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, until 1990. Of all the cars I have owned the half a dozen minimalist cheap and rugged 2CV’s easily gave me the most smiles per mile.

Thanks for joining me on this “Minimalist, Cheap and Rugged” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Americana Thursday. Don’t forget to come back now !

Diamond Jubilee – Austin A40 Somerset Coupé

Leave a Reply

Welcome to the Diamond Jubilee edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”.

Today’s featured car is an Austin A40 Somerset was launched in 1952 built on a chassis with separate body.

The 42 hp motor was described as providing “a virile performance to excite the young enthusiast and a smooth flexibility that enables it to be handled with confidence” in the sales brochure.

Running on the low octane fuel of post war austerity Britain the claimed top speed for the A40 Somerset was 69 mph though a convertible was independently tested in 1953 with a top speed of 74 mph and rest to 60 mph time of 28.6 secs.

This particular vehicle, seen at the Malta Classic Car Collection, was delivered to a customer in Malta and legend has it that in 1952 Queen Elizabeth II drove it, though it is unclear if this was during a state tour or a private visit to Prince Phillip and or his friends who had been stationed on the British Protectorate.

Since finding out that this model was marketed as a ‘Coupé’ I have been unable to find out why. Somethings are obviously set to remain a mystery.

Thanks for joining me on this “Diamond Jubilee” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at one of my favourate models a Citroen 2CV. Don’t forget to come back now !

Silver Jubilee – Middle Barton Garage

Leave a Reply

The self styled “Italian Shrine” Middle Barton Garage celebrated its Silver Jubilee last weekend and I joined fellow members of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club at Delamare services on the M4 at 8:30 am last Saturday to join in the fun.

Arthur in his 2006 Mustang GT led a couple of MX5’s a Westfield and yours truly in his humble Golf Mk IV Estate along some beautiful country roads as we took an indirect route with some challenging curves towards the newly relocated Middle Barton Garage which now lies just outside Somerton in Oxfordshire.

We arrived early to find an eclectic assortment of vehicles accumulating including this 1924 Bentley fitted with a normally aspirated 4398 cc / 268 cui six cylinder motor. If I ever get to drive a vintage car of any sort this would be one I’d choose, it looked all set to go like a steam train with little in the way of refinement or creature comfort.

Among the Middle Barton Garage friends and customer cars to turn up was this FIAT 124 Spider, one of at least two I saw on the day, a Barchetta, 128 3P and 500. Being polished in the background is a turbocharged racing Abarth 500.

The Abarth Osella PA2 was built for the 1974 European 2 litre / 122 cui sports car championship, there does not seem to be much agreement on exactly how many PA2’s were built a chassis #013 was offered by Bonhams 5 years ago. The Osella PA2s running with four cylinder engines from Abarth, BMW or Ford were outclassed by the works V6 powered Alpine Renaults in 1974 the final year of the championship. This car chassis #011 is painted in the colours used by Georgian Prince in Spanish exile Jorge de Baragation who drove chassis #001 to a victory at Jarama in 1974.

Alongside the production of their Talisman sports cars Tornado Cars of Rickmansworth, not to be confused with Tornado Sports Cars of Kidderminster, offered a FIAT 600 D conversion to a more powerful spec. David Render bought the one of seen here and his friend Colin Chapman suggested and organised fitting an even more powerful Lotus Twin Cam motor to this car, with which David won more than 50 trophies in sprint and hill climb events.

The 1950 GMC 100 Pickup above is being finished off by one of Middle Barton Garages neighbours.

As I left the Silver Jubilee celebration the Ferrari California Convertible and Maserati Bora 4th from right pulled up to join in the fun.

My thanks to Tony Castle-Miller of Middle Barton Garage and Nick of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club for organising the event.

Thanks for joining me on this “Silver Jubilee” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be taking a close look at a car driven by Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation year. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring

Two Timing – Shakespeare County Raceway

Thirty Year Restoration – Lotus Mark 6 #JZ 7890

But Is It A Real Car ? – Ferrari 330 GT #7123

“Tender At Heart” – Ford V8 30 Saloon

Minimalist, Cheap & Rugged – Citroën 2CV

Diamond Jubilee – Austin A40 Somerset Coupé

Silver Jubilee – Middle Barton Garage