Tag Archives: GALPOT

Peripatetic Exile – Daimler 32 hp Straight Eight Limousine

Chassis or Aerodynamic Aid – Lotus Ford 88

The Lotus 88 was a development from the ideas tested with the twin chassis Lotus 86. It differed, and was developed, in two crucial respects from the Lotus 86 it was designed to run with out skirts to seal the flow of air and would meet the 6 cm minimum ride height mandated by rules around late in 1980 for the 1981 season.

By having a secondary independently sprung chassis Lotus hoped to avoid the need to run their car with solid suspension which aided the road holding of ground effects pioneered by the Lotus Ford 79 which were sucked to the road surface as they moved through the air.

Gordon Murray designer at Brabham also came up with a solution to the 6 cm ride height rule which involved using hydraulic rams to raise the car above the minimum ride height in the pits, the only place the measurement could be checked, and lowering the ride height out once out on the track. This left the Brabham running effectively solid suspension once out of pit road.

All of the teams protested that the second Lotus chassis was in fact an independently aerodynamic aid and eventually the ruling body changed it’s mind having accepted the idea of a twin chassis car before the season started.

As a consequence after being protested during practice for the the United States West, Brazilian and British Grand Prix Lotus withdrew the 88 bodies with out ever having raced and used the more conventional Lotus 87 which used inner Lotus 88 chassis but with conventional side pods to generate ground effect and a similar hydraulic ram system for the suspension as used by Brabham.

Colin Chapman is said to have been disappointed that the twin chassis Formula One cars developed with Peter Wright, Tony Rudd and Martin Ogilvie were never allowed to compete believing that Formula One was supposed to be a proving ground for new innovation.

Thanks for joining me on this “Chassis or Aerodynamic Aid” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t for get to come back now !

Raced, Crashed, Stolen & Returned – Ferrari 250 GTO #3387

1 Reply

With the price of Ferrari 250 GTO’s in the 20 – 30 million US dollar range it occurred to me recently that to be a mere millionaire is probably no longer enough to purchase one of the 39 cars built.

Today’s featured Ferrari 250 GT0 #3387 was sold to Luigi Chinetti in March 1962 after the factory had done some testing with it at Monza earlier in the month.Chinetti entered the car for Phil Hill and Oliver Gendebien in the Sebring 12 hours under his NART banner and came home 2nd OA, 1st in class.

Bob Grossman bought the car and entered it for himself and George Roberts jr in the ’62 Le Mans 24 hours coming home 6th overall 3rd in class behind two more GTO’s. Grossman scored one more class win at Bridgehampton in ’62 before selling the car to the Gammino family.

Mike Gammino raced the car through ’63 and ’64 scoring 4 class wins and 2 outright victories, during practice for ’64 Daytona 2000kms Mike crashed the car and ended up replacing the body with a new body from Scaglietti

Gammino sold the car back to Grossman who drove #3387 to another class victory at Nassau in 1965 before the car retired from active competition and was sold to K F White.

In 1979 R Finger bought the car and eleven years later a Kawasaki motorcycle dealer masterminded a plan to relieve Dr Finger of #3387 after offering the car to interested parties from his fax machine.

Six men from the Savanah manged to steal #3387 and K F White showed up with a US$ 4.3 million cashiers cheque, but backed out of the deal when he suspected the car was a fake because the “real” #3387 was confirmed to be with Dr R Finger. The FBI picked up #3387 later that afternoon returning the car to it’s rightful owner and sending the perpetrators on their way to a Federal Penitentiary.

The car as seen today is seen wearing the colours the original body wore at the Sebring in 1962.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for his photo of #3387 seen at the Petersen Automotive Museum in 2011, the two other photo’s were taken at the 2012 Goodwood Revival.

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

Highland Green 302 – Ford Mustang Fastback

5 Replies

In 1968 a Highland Green Mustang GT Fastback running on Torque Thrust alloy wheels with Steve Mcqueen in the drivers seat became one of the motorised film icons of all time when it starred as the pursuit vehicle in a 10 min 53 sec car chase through the streets of San Francisco in the film Bullit. Thanks in no small part to that chase sequence the films editor Frank P Keller won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing.

In 1967 the Mustang was given it’s first face lift with more aggressive styling the Mustang became larger, thanks to a Ford Thunderbird type big block 6.4 litre FE V8 heavier, but now with 320 hp also more powerful.

For 1968 the Mustang gained mandatory side reflectors, the ’67 only brushed steel interior trim was replaced with woodgrain interior trim, 3 point seat belts became standard for the front seats as did seat belt warning and door ajar warning lights. Those last two safety items were way ahead of their time, I did not see those sorts of warning lights on any vehicle at all until I sat inside a brand new Honda while I was working as a car valet at a Honda Dealership during a college break in the summer of 1979.

Unlike Lt Bullit’s Mustang today’s 1968 model is powered by a, then new addition to the Mustang range, 4.9 litre / 302 cui Windsor V8 a motor. The 302 was designed to meet Federal Standards being introduced and would become a regular for the option for mustangs through to the end of third generation Mustang production in 1993.

Although two Mustangs were supplied by Ford Motor Company to the producers of Bullit both cars were debadged of all Mustang lettering logo’s that normally appeared on the model.

If one were foolish enough to steal this Mustang one would be disappointed to find that one could not recreate the double declutching sounds that are a strong aural feature of the Bullit car chase, not only is the motor smaller but this car has an automatic transmission. The Bullit film soundtrack also won an Academy Award.

In the United Kingdom Ford made a promotional film to launch the new Ford Puma in 1997. The film used some of the San Francisco Bullit film sets and edits from the Bullit film to make it look like Steve McQueen, who died in 1980, is driving a Silver Puma, pulling into his garage next to which is parked Lt Bullit’s Highland Green Fastback GT ‘stang, as can be seen in this link.

Thanks for joining me on this “Highland Green 302” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now.

Cotswold Classic Car Club – Frogmill Andoversford

1 Reply

Forgoing a New Years day hangover I a woke yesterday just in time to throw a bucket of water over my Golf and head down to Queen Square in Bristol where I met my friend Ted and his friend Ron with a few other Avenue Drivers Club regulars.

Ford, Queen Square Bristol

The meeting was not a regular Avenue Drivers Club event, they only happen on the second Sunday of every month the next one is scheduled for Sunday 13th. We were meeting with the intention of heading 40 miles north to the Frogmill Inn, Andoversford where the Cotswold Classic Car Club was having it’s annual New Years Day Meeting.

Scimitar GTE, Queen Square, Bristol

Ron led the way in his recently acquired 1972 Reliant Scimitar GTE Automatic.

Cotswold Classic Car Club, Frogmill, Andoversford

After a pleasant drive under unusual blue skies we arrived at Frogmill an hour ahead of the advertised time to find the car parks filled with a variety of veteran, vintage and classic vehicles.

Bristol 411, Frogmill, Andoversford

Some of them will be familiar to regular GALPOT readers like this Bristol 411 which I featured a couple of years ago.

Amphicar, Frogmill, Andoversford

This time last year the United Kingdom was preparing for a drought but the weather has since conspired to make 2012 the wettest since records began which should be good news for owners of amphibious vehicles like this Triumph powered 1967 Amphicar.

Invicta, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

Amongst the vintage vehicles present was this Meadows powered 4.5 litre 1931 Invicta which would have been capable of 100mph when new.

Vauxhall Victor, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

The 1961 Vauxhall Victor F type above was originally sold by Haines & Strange in Cheltenham, it spent 10 years in Switzerland before being found in a barn in the UK by it’s present owner in 1999. It has been undergoing restoration ever since.

Morris Marina 1.3 Coupé, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

One of the stranger classics was at the meeting was this 1972 Morris Marina 1.3 Coupé, once a familiar sight on British roads and the subject of a fair amount of derision for rust among other issues. The Maurice Morihno Racing Team logo appears to be pointing further fun at the model examples of which were used in competition rally events back in the day.

Jaguar XK 140 FHC, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

Signs are that this 1956 Jaguar XK140 FHC may have spent some time in the USA, the UCLA sticker on the back window being an obvious example.

Studebaker Commander, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

This 1950 Studebaker Commander was only imported into the UK a couple of months ago it would appear to be powered by a 5.7 litre / 347 cui V8.

Wolseley 1500, Frogmill, Andoversford

This 1959 Wolseley 1500 is built on a Morris Minor floorplan and fitted with a larger motor and gearbox from the MG ZB.

Pontiac Firehawk, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

According to it’s ‘Birth Certificate’ this manual Pontiac Firehawk Mapleleaf Transam was built on February 28th 1999 at LaSalle in Quebec with speedo reading in kilometers for the Canadian market, it’s capable of covering a quarter mile in 13.4 secs and has a restricted top speed of 160 mph.

Triumph Mayflower, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

Conceived as a small car, same size as a Morris Minor, but following the styling queues of contemporary large Rolls Royce and Bentley models the Triumph Mayflower was aimed squarely at the US market, only 35,000 were built between 1949 and 1953 well below the targeted numbers.

Gilbern Genie, Frogmill Inn, Andoversford

Finally in the overflow car park I found this 1968 Gilbern Genie, built in Wales and powered by a 3 litre 183 cui Ford (Essex) V6 beneath the fibre glass bodywork the suspension is largely inherited from the MG B.

My thanks to Ted Walker for alerting me to the Cotswold Classic Car Club New Years Day meeting.

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

PS Details of some of the vehicles seen at Frogmill can be seen on this link.

Turbo PKD – MG6 TSE GT Turbo

Engineering Adventure Get Involved – The BLOODHOUND Project

Leave a Reply

Earlier this year a team of 300 workers in the Hakskeen Pan in the Nothern Cape of South Africa set about clearing rocks and obstacles from 9,500,000 square meters of desert, by hand, in order to prepare a 19 km long surface 500 meters wide in anticipation of the arrival in the new year of what may well prove to be the biggest land based engineering adventure of the decade.

The Hakskeen Pan was chosen by former World Land Speed Record Holder Richard Noble, 633 mph in 1983, and present World Land Speed Record Holder Wing Commander Andy Green, 763mph in 1997, and their BLOODHOUND Project team as the most suitable venue to realise a £15 million pound dream in just over 80 seconds by driving their six and a half ton vehicle at a two way average speed of over 1,000 mph in 2 consecutive runs.

In order to achieve this goal some lateral thinking was required in order to get some basic backing. The BLOODHOUND project was announced in 2008 as one who’s primary mission is too inspire future generations of engineers with a program of school projects in both the UK and South Africa which are designed to inspire youngsters to see the possibilities and realise their dreams through engineering and team work. One school has already broken the Land Speed Record, for a model car.

Serving RAF pilot Wing Comander Andy Green will be taking the wheel of the BLOODHOUND SSC when it gets to Hakskeen Pan and to train for the 2.5g he will experience during acceleration and 3g he will experience during breaking he will be engaged in stunt flying exercises that expose his body to similar forces.

To propel the 6.5 ton BLOODHOUND SSC to 300 mph the team have acquired a prototype Eurojet EJ200 jet engine which produces 90 kN / 20,000 lb/f of thrust with the after burner on.

Allegedly the motor was destined for a Museum before getting reassigned to Land Speed Record breaking duties.

Two such motors are usually to be found in the Eurofighter Typhoon.

In order to accelerate another 700 mph this device will pump a ton of High Test Peroxide (HTP), highly concentrated hair dye, at 820 psi in 20 seconds through a silver catalyst which instantly decomposes the HTP into a 600°C stream of steam and oxygen which ignites the rockets fuel grain hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, like rubber pellets which will generate another 111 kN / 25,000 lb/f of thrust.

Already dubbed the most expensive fuel pump on a four wheeled vehicle in the world the pump is powered by a 2.4 litre / 146 cui Cosworth CA 2010 V8 motor which was designed for Formula One applications where the revolutions are restricted to 18,000 rpm.

The 18″ rocket was designed by Manchesters Daniel ‘Rocket Dan’ Jubb a self taught roketeer who has been building rackets since he was 5 years old. The first test of the BLOODHOUND SSC rocket were carried out earlier this year and the results exceeded expectations.

The vehicle shown here is a full scale mock up of the real thing which is being built a few miles down the road for me here in Bristol next to the SS Great Britain.

The 95 kg / 209 lb , Alimex aluminium wheels have been designed with the help of Lockheed Martin, at 1000 mph they will rotate at 10,000 rpm and the rims will experience 50,000 radial G !

In order to take the world record over 1,000 mph the car will have to make two runs in opposite directions with a combined average timed speed over the flying mile of over 1,000 mph. With only 19 kms of straight desert on which to play with stopping the car safely and turning it around, with in one hour, is crucial to slow the car down air brakes will be deployed once the car has slowed down to 800 mph and once the car has been slowed to 600 mph parachutes will be deployed with disc brakes available at speeds below 250 mph.

Early next year should see BLOODHOUND SSC being given it’s first test runs in the UK before being shipped to South Africa for a crack at setting a 1000mph Land Speed Record.

If you’d like to get involved with this Land Speed Record Engineering Adventure check out the BLOODHOUND SSC website linked here, the legend ‘psychoontyres’ will be appearing on the car as part of the Name on the Tail Fin program.

Wishing all GALPOT readers and contributors all the best for the New Year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Engineering Adventure Get Involved” edition of “Gettin a li’l psychoontyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring