Tag Archives: GALPOT

Some Synchromesh – MG VA

In 1937 the MG VA succeeded the MG N-type I looked at in last weeks MG Blog.

VA’s were fitted with a twin carburetor 54 hp 1548cc / 94 cui straight 4 motor that sans twin carburetors was shared with MG’s parent companies Morris 12 and Wolseley 12/48 models.

The motor was attached to a four speed gearbox some of which had synchromesh on the top two gears but most of which had synchromesh on the top three gears.

The VA was available with either four door saloon, 4 seat tourer, like the 1938 model seen here or drophead coupé bodies, further Tickford drophead Coupés and 4 seat tourers, distinguished by spare wheels mounted ahead of the passenger door were also offered.

With the windscreen folded down a tourer could accelerate to 50 mph in under 16 seconds and reach a top speed of over 80 mph.

MG ceased production of the VA in 1939 and it was replaced after the 1939/45 war by the Y-type in 1947.

Annual Face Lift – Vauxhall Velox Series E Pick Up

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The Velox Series E was launched in 1951 with 4 door saloon/sedan, 2 door tourer and Coupé pick up versions.

In 1955 Vauxhall owners General Motors mandated annual face lifts for it’s Vauxhall models and the car seen here is a 1955 model with a less clumsy front grill than it’s predecessors.

Power came from a six cylinder motor that produced 64 hp or 68 hp if specified in high compression spec. Note the faux sculpted chrome bonnet trim, a throw back to Vauxhalls built in 1911.

Velox’s were assembled in Vauxhall’s home town of Luton, Australia and New Zealand. Utility pick ups were and are particularly popular in the farming communities of Australia where they were sold with Vauxhall badges by Holden.

The Series E Velox was phased out in 1957 to make way Velox and Cresta PA models introduced for 1958.

Thanks for joining me on this “Annual Face Lift” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me for a look at an MG tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

The Straight 6 V8 – Aston Martin DBS #DBS/5636/R

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Brett Rupert George Robert Mark Anthony Andrew Sinclair, 15th Earl of Marnock better known as Lord Brett Sinclair followed a traditional aristocratic path through Harrow School, Oxford University, the Guards Regiment before dabbling and failing as a Grand Prix driver moving into race horse ownership.

While on holiday in the South of France he ended up destroying a hotel bar after meeting and fighting with a self made oil millionaire from the Bronx called Danny Wilde. To avoid a ninety day prison sentence the Judge persuades the two playboys to help him put right some ‘errors of impunity’.

Brett Sinclair owned this 1970 Aston Martin 6 cylinder DBS which bears his personalised registration number while Daniel Wild drove a Ferrari Dino 246 GTB.

Thus was set in motion one of the most expensive, British, television series with Roger Moore playing the refined role of Lord Brett Sinclair and none other than Tony Curtis playing the gruff role of Daniel Wild. However as can be seen Lord Sinclair’s car has the wheels ….

and badges usually found on the Aston Martin Aston Martin V8 DBS.

In fact in every respect apart from the 6 cylinder motor the car used by the production company was a V8 DBS spec.

It turned out that having agreed to supply the latest V8 DBS spec model, along with a works mechanic to look after it, Aston Martin were unable to keep up with the demand for V8 motors and so decided to supply an V8 DBS upgraded DBS with straight six motor without telling anyone at the production company.

The registration BS1 was used with the consent of the real owner of the registration Circus impresario Billy Smart, the real BS1 still belongs to the Smart Family. While the original PPP6H registration on the DBS, which accidentally appeared in one episode of The Persuaders, is the one with which the car still appears when driven on the open road.

While The Persuaders was a big success in Europe it failed to capture the imagination of it’s intended American audience and so it died after just one season. Just as well for Roger Moore as there was a vacancy for the role of James Bond waiting to be filled.

Thanks for joining me on this “Straight 6 V8′ edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a pick up. Don’t forget to come back now !

Oblique Mounted Engine – Lotus 16

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The Lotus 16 was Colin Chapmans second single seat / open wheel design built for the 1958 season with lessons learned from the Lotus 12.

Unlike the 12 which had an offset motor fitted so that the driver could sit next to instead of on top of the prop shaft running to the rear of the car, the Lotus 16 has an obliquely mounted motor running right side front to left side rear which made a big difference to the way the car handled.

Above Eddie McGuire is seen at Silverstone in the remains of the very first Lotus 16 chassis #362.

The Lotus 16 did not prove particularly successful with Graham Hill scoring a best 6th place in the 1958 Italian Grand Prix. Though it should be noted the cars motors were giving away 500cc / 30.5 cui to their rivals. Lotus persevered with the 16 the following season, now with full size 2.5 litre / 152.5 cui Coventry Climax motors with Innes Ireland scoring 4th and 5th place finishes in the Dutch and Portugese Grand Prix respectively.

For 1960 the Lotus 18, with it’s motor in the back replaced the 16 but the 16’s were used on four further occasions with out any further success. Bruce Halford who made an ill feted start in the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix driving a private John Fisher entered Lotus 16, bought a similar model in the mid 1970’s and turned it into a regular winner of historic events.

Jochuln Folch-Rusinol can be seen in the #12 above overtaking the 1959 Technica Mechanica Maserati of Tony Wood at the Goodwood Revival. These two cars along with the 1959 Ferrari 246 Dino represented the pinnacle of front engined Grand Prix racing cars that were comprehensively beaten and superseded by the rear engined Coopers in 1959 and 1960 when Lotus joined the rear engined revolution with the Lotus 18.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Oblique Mounted Engine’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 6 cylinder V8 star of the small screen ! Don’t forget to come back now !

California Sun – Danville Concours d’Elegance

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One of the things that has stuck me all week looking at the photo’s that Geoffrey Horton and Jay Wollenweber have kindly sent me from the Danville Concours d’Elegance is the sheer beauty of the California Sunshine, so at the risk of being accused of publishing car porn, to round out a long week of toil I thought to put all of the two photographers best Ferrari photo’s together for Ferrari Friday.

Photo Jay Wollenweber
Above is one of 20 1968 Ferrari 365 GTS spyders fitted with a 4.4 litre / 267 cui V12, that would soon be replaced in the Ferrari line up by the sharper 365 GTS/4 bodystyle.

Photo Jay Wollenweber

Like wise the Dino 246 GTB featured in one of my earliest blogs above is the Targa top GTS.

Photo Jay Wollenweber

One of my favorite’s is the Ferrari 365GTB/4 in one of which Dan Gurney once drove 2,876 miles from New York to LA at an average speed of 80.1 mph !

Photo Geoffrey Horton

Sharing a slightly detuned motor, inorder to accommodate a lower bonnet / hood line, with the GTB/4 is the Ferrari 365 GTC/4.

Photo Jay Wollenweber

For some reason among my memories of working in the motor trade are a couple that in which gold painted cars were rarely ordered new in that colour and always hard to shift in the second hand market, I don’t know if that rule applies to high performance vehicles like the Bertone designed Ferrari 308 GT4 seen above.

Photo Jay Wollenweber

While Bertone’s 308 GT4 is probably one of the cheapest Ferrari’s to purchase in the pre owned market place the Ferrari 328 GTS like the one above is one of the more reliable, 6068 of these targa tops of the 160 mph plus cars were made between 1986 and 1989.

Photo Geoffrey Horton

Ferrari lost ground to it’s competitors with the Ferrari 348 that succeeded the 328, particularly to the Honda NSX, but bounced back with Ferrari F355 Berlineta, Targa and

Photo Jay Wollenweber

and soft top spyder models.

Photo Geoffrey Horton

The Ferrari 360 Spider was the 12th road going convertible offered since Enzo Ferrari moved into road car production in 1949.

Photo Geoffrey Horton

Ferrari’s 360 Challenge Stradale like the one above was intended for those lucky enough to spend 20% of their time in the car at track day’s and only 80% of their time in the car in normal road conditions. The Challenge Stradale comes with an additional 20 hp, improved throttle response, steering feed back and chassis balance which made a significant difference in achievable lap times over the standard 360.

Photo Geoffrey Horton

For 2004 the the Ferrari 360 was replaced by the F430 in the model line up, and in 2007 the 508hp Ferrari F430 Scuderia filled the niché that had been left vacant since the demise of the 360 Challenge Stradale.

Photo Geoffrey Horton

Allegedly the Ferrari California started as a Maserati project but when it was realised how expensive the finished car was going to be it was decided to launch it as a Ferrari in 2008. Either way it is a stunningly attractive car to look at in the California sun.

Photo Geoffrey Horton

Of the current range the Ferrari 458 Italia launched in 2009 is without doubt the most attractive of the lot on the road or on the track, it is powered by the most powerful per liter/cui normally aspirated production motor in the world.

Photo Jay Wollenweber

I only know one person who has ever driven a Ferrari FF, unfortunatley Michele Rahal at The Drive Channel has removed the clip from youtube, needless to say he was grinning from ear to ear the whole time he was in the car.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton and Jay Wollenweber for sharing their photo’s form Concours d’Elegance.

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

Land Yachts – Danville Concours d’Elegance

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Once again today’s photographs from the recent Danville Concours d’Elegance come courtesy of ‘California Streets‘ blogger Jay Wollenweber.

To get through the Great Depression Packard decided to produce a midsize vehicle known as the One Twenty, many think it was a mistake to use the Packard reputation for excellence for the venture instead of coming up with a new brand.

I mistakenly identified this pick up as a Terraplane, Jay pointed out that it is actually a rare REO Speedwagon. While it looks totally stock on the outside the motor axles and air conditioning are a mix of Chevrolet and Ford parts that allow this pick up to travel comfortably faster than the 35 mph it would have achieved when new in 1935.

First of today’s genuine land yachts is this low riding 1957 Buick Century Caballero Station Wagon. high production costs of this car featuring unusual, for an estate / station wagon, pillarless styling stymied production after just two years with the Caballero name remaining dormant since 1958.

Not quite in the land yacht category is this ’57 Ford Thunderbird, with the first series, last year of production, heavily restyled front bumpers.

If your in the market for a rare Cadillac then a 1957 Series 70 Eldorado Brougham might be a great place to start. Only 400 of these hand built cars were built in 1957, they cost more than a contemporary Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

1958 saw the Pontiac Bonneville launched as a separate model, with a standard electric clock, priced at less than US$3,000. The 300 hp Bonneville Convertible was chosen as the 1958 Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500.

The ‘aerodynamically different’ Avanti by Studebaker also got an early airing at Indianapolis in 1962, as the “Honorary Pace Car alongside the Studebaker Skylark Convertible ‘Official Pace Car’. Production of the Avanti was shut down in December 1963 with 2,500 vehicles still in the dealer chain this particular model above appears to have been one of those 2,500.

Pontiac Sales Manager Frank Bridge insisted on limiting production of the GTO option package for the 1964 Pontiac Tempest to 5000, by the beginning of 1964 10,000 had already been sold and the vehicle above is one of the 32,450 total first year sales. Surprisingly despite all the performance upgrades the GTO option offered it retained the standard Tempest drum brakes.

Jay tells me this 1965 Chevrolet Corvette C2 was equipped as an SCCA racer in the 1970’s and is fitted with a 5358 cc / 327 cui small block V8.

Last of today’s featured vehicles from Danville Concours d’Elegance is this understated, sports stripe option deleted, 1970 Fathom Blue Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 which packed a 350 hp Turbo Jet big block V8 when it left the factory.

My thanks again to Jay Wollenweber for sharing his photographs with us.

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

Continental Curiosities – Danville Concour’s d’Elegance

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It’s a great thrill to welcome Jay Wollenweber to ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’. Jay has been running a blog called ‘California Streets‘ since 2009 and has kindly sent me some of his photo’s from the recent Danville Concours d’Elegance and a lot of information to use in today’s “Continental Curiosities” blog.

H Mann Esq lost an arm in the 1914/18 Great war and so when he ordered his 1937 Rolls Royce 23/30, seen above, with James Young coachwork he had the gear stick mounted on the floor in the center of the car instead of it’s usual position between the driver and the drivers door.

Jay tells me the 1939 ALFA Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Touring Berlinetta seen above won the Best In Show Award the weekend before last, chassis #915030 also won the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1998.

In 1950 Allard introduced the K2 to replace the side valve V8 Ford powered K1. 118 similar K2 cars were built with the very first one having an earlier K1 body fitted as part of a rush order making 119 K2’s in all. This particular car is fitted with a 5424cc / 331 cui Cadillac V8.

The Bentley above started life as a four seat 106 mph 1954 R-Type. Chassis #B77ZX was modified for competition with a new coupé body by Robert Peel for Bob Gooda with the registration RG27, that number plate now hangs on a Mercedes. Brian Dumps can be seen racing the car at Silverstone in this linked photograph.

Above is an Austin Healey 100/6 2+2 BN4, distinguished by the smaller distance between the rear of the cockpit and the boot / trunk lid.

In 1962 Chris Lawrence and Richard Shepherd-Barron won their class at Le Mans in a hard topped Triumph powered Morgan +4 similar to the 1962 model above.

The 1965 Lotus Elan S2 was a slightly more refined, quieter and more docile, model of the first series of Elans introduced in 1962. Average Joe motorist would have been put off the fun little car by the price, if he had not one Lotus representative at the time is alleged have said “we’re in big trouble!”

The black London Cab is an icon of London in much the same way as the bright red double deck buses and Buckingham Palace. I do not ever recall seeing one like this 1967 Austin FX4D with white wall tyres, the narrow London streets of 1967 would have made a mockery of the additional expense.

1n 1969 Zagato began manufacturing the ALFA Romeo Junior Zagato based on a shortened 1300 GT Junior chassis pan with a steel shell, aluminium bonnet / hood and door skins. The 1972 model above appears to be one of the last of the 1,108 cars built, before production switched for 12 months to a similar but longer car built on a full length 16 GT Junior chassis of which 402 examples were built.

The Rover 2000 TC above is a one owner car that has lived in San Francisco since new in 1969, you can see more photographs and find out more about this particular car on this link.

The first patent for an exhaust driven turbocharger to force air at more than atmospheric pressure into the cylinder head of an internal combustion motor was awarded to Swiss Engineer Alfred Büchi, who was head of diesel engine research at Gebruder Sulzer, in 1905. Despite the significant increases in performance seen in both commercial diesel and piston powered aircraft. General Motors is credited with bringing turbo technology with first the Oldsmobile F85 Jetfire and a month later on Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spider in 1962. BMW was the first European manufacturer to use a turbocharger for a passenger car application in 1973, the 170 hp BMW 2002 above dates from 1975, not the reverse 2002 turbo stickers on the airdam, a crude attempt to inject the car with ‘eingebaute vorfahrt’ a ‘built in right of way’ normally the preserve in Germany for the 3 pointed star of Mercedes Benz.

Finally it is always great to hear about two GALPOT regulars meeting up, especially on the far side of another continent as Jay did with Geoffrey Horton and his Jaguar XK140 FHC SE MC seen above.

My thanks to Jay Wollenweber for his photographs and the information about today’s featured cars. More of Jay’s photographs will feature in tomorrow’s Americana blog while Geoffrey’s photographs will feature on Ferrari Friday’s blog.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Continental Curiosities’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” 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

Tag Archives: GALPOT

Some Synchromesh – MG VA

Annual Face Lift – Vauxhall Velox Series E Pick Up

The Straight 6 V8 – Aston Martin DBS #DBS/5636/R

Oblique Mounted Engine – Lotus 16

California Sun – Danville Concours d’Elegance

Land Yachts – Danville Concours d’Elegance

Continental Curiosities – Danville Concour’s d’Elegance