Tag Archives: Loton

Airways to Highways – GN JAP Grand Prix

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A cycle car was a vehicle that weighed between 150 kg / 331 lbs and 350 kgs / 772lbs powered by an engine no larger than 1.1 litres / 67 cui that often qualified for reduced taxation. GN made such cars between 1910 and 1920 with proper wooden chassis.

On August 6th 1910 Britain’s first qualified aviator E T Willows became the first man to fly across the Bristol channel in his dirigible airship the 30 HP JAP V8 powered ‘Willow’s No.2‘ on the way from his home town Cardiff to London. He accidentally dropped his packed lunch over Bristol. Willow’s No 2 was rebuilt into Willow’s No.3 ‘City of Cardiff’ and became the first airship to cross the English Channel on it’s way from London to Paris. Willow’s celebrated his achievement on new years eve 1910/11 by flying his JAP powered airship round the Eifel Tower.

Richard Scaldwell brought together a 1919 wooden GN cyclecar chassis and E T Willows 1908 5112cc / 3111 cui JAP V8 to create the GN JAP Grand Prix special which he races in the Pre 1941 racing car class at VSCC events.

Amazingly after a days fun on the track Richard then drives his road legal racer home !

With thanks to Martin Squires for back ground information.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s high flying edition of Getting a lil’ psycho on tyres and will join me tomorrow for a look at a 200 hp Land Speed Record Breaker. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Real Fast Lorry – Bentley 3/4.5 litre Fixed Head Coupe 1924

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For a carceaologist like myself vintage Bentley’s, referred to by Ettore Bugatti as ‘the fastest lorries in the World’ are a bit of a nightmare because the original bodywork of many of them has long since rotted away, many of those bodies have been replaced with replica Van den Plas Le Mans bodies. A few of Bentley’s have chassis with not much in the way of original fabric either.

One disputed Bentley chassis recently turned up in the law courts which had chassis members from three different models front, middle and rear ! Unless you have an exceptionally strong belief in the concept of ‘entity’ you may struggle to accept that some vintage Bentley’s are vintage and or indeed Bentley’s at all.

Gareth Graham is seen here driving a vehicle owned by BJA Collings, not to be confused with the BBC comedy ‘Stig’ character Ben Collings, during the VSCC meeting at Loton Park in September.

The Fixed Head Coupe featured today has a 1924 chassis but with a 110 hp 4,398 cc / 268 cui 4 cylinder engine that was not available with these 3 litre chassis until 1927. If the vehicle is on its original licence plates it was first registered in Essex.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s vintage edition of ‘Getting a lil’ psycho on tyres’, and that you will join me tomorrow for a look at a gargantuan contemporary Bentley. Don’t forget to came back now !

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Halloween Special – Fafnir Machtigen Werke Special

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To put you into the mood for the weekends festivities here is Oliver Way driving BR Thompsons Fafnir Machtigen Werke Special with a non automobile 10 litre / 610 CUI engine seen here at Loton Park.

The car does does always appear with the scary radiator cover, as can be seen here at Prescott.

Fafnirs in production from 1908 – 1927 had in line 4 cylinder engines no bigger than 3990 cc 243 cui.
I am wondering if anyone knows where the huge engine came from, or what type of circa 1918 chassis, with only rear wheel brakes this is?

Thanking you in anticipation of your responses.

Thanks for dropping by, wishing everyone a scary Halloween weekend, don’t forget to come back now !

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The Ultimate Laxative – Napier Bentley

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This year marked the first time I have witnessed a hill climb event in fact I liked it so much the first time I went to two the first at Prescott and the second at Loton Park. Both were VSCC run meetings and highly entertaining despite the fact that no over taking is guaranteed.

The reason I enjoy these events is because of the breath taking variety of vehicles many by manufacturers long since disappeared and probably most models are completely unknown to me. Falling into the category vehicles unknown to me is this beautiful Napier Bentley driven by Christopher Williams which races in the Pre 1941 Racing Cars over 3000cc 183 cui class.

The car easily qualifies for the big engined class as it is powered by a Napier Lion Marine engine rescued from a WW2 Motor Torpedo boat. The 550hp engine is a 24,000 cc / 1464.5 cui, Arrow 12 with 3 banks of 4 cylinders that was originally developed in 1917 for aircraft applications being used in over 160 different aircraft types, the engine was also used to power Sir Malcom Cambell to over 250 mph in 1932, and John Cobb to 394 mph in 1947.

This car was originally built by David Llewellyn in 1968 with a Sunbeam chassis but after an accident the Sunbeam chassis was replaced by a 1929 chassis from an 8 litre Bentley. Chris Williams , see the man in the bowler hat, has been looking after it since 1999.

It would appear a sense of humour is essential to drive such a fearsome beast…

….easily capable of spinning its wheels in any gear.

Just noticed that Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres has somehow made it through it’s first month and has just had it’s 1,000 th page view ! Thanks to everyone who has popped by and especially all those who have contributed to making this so much fun, looking forward to tomorrow’s instalment of Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres already, don’t forget to come back now !

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