Tag Archives: MGCC

MGCC Speed Champion – Kayne Special II

After selling the original MG J2 with a PB motor Kayne Special, which I looked at last week Colin Cooper started work on Kayne Special II.

Kayne Special II, Oulton Park, Copyright Frank Hall 1981 C213/9

Photo Copyright Frank Hall 1981

Colin began with a scrap 1965 MG B found in Cheshire from which he cut out the engine sub frame and added a pair of chassis rails around which he built up the rest of the car with an under slung rear axle featuring a limited slip differential. Kayne Special II ran on specially made bespoke wire wheels.

Kayne Special II, Baitings Dam, Copyright Frank Hall 1983

Photo Copyright Frank Hall 1983

The motor was a 4 cylinder MG B unit which was eventually fitted with an HRG Cross Flow cylinder heads and twin 45 Weber Carbs. Colin notes this car, his favorite, was always totally reliable.

Kayne Special II, Colin Cooper

Among many successes were winning the 1981 MG Car Club (MGCC) Speed Championship, 1981 Ellison Trophy at Oulton Park, see Frank Halls top photo, the 1979 Kimber Trophy, 2nd 1983 Kimber Trophy at Baitings Dam, see Frank Halls second photo, named after MG founder Cecil Kimber, and several awards for fastest MG in Sprint and Hill Climb events.

Kayne Special II & III

Colin said of Kayne Special II it was “a bit of a shed but it didn’t half go, (it was) timed at 115 mph at Blackpool Sprint.”

The car was eventually sold to a sprinting novice and is thought to have been eventually broken up with many of it’s parts going into a road going MG B.

Colin’s third special, Kayne Special III, seen towing Kayne Special II in the photo above will be the subject of next Tuesdays blog.

My thanks to Colin for sharing his memories and photographs and to Tony Gallagher for putting me in touch with Chris Winstanley who kindly gave me permission to use Frank Hall’s photographs of Colin in action at Oulton Park and Baitings Dam.

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

24 04 12 Added Frank Halls photo’s from Oulton Park and Baitings Dam.

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Wessex Sprint – Castle Combe

This week I will be catching up with a couple of days activity at Castle Combe, a morning at Mallory Park and a visit to the Bugatti Trust at Prescott.

A couple of weeks ago I took some advice from our Prime Minister, David Cameron, and had great fun doing my bit for the motor racing community by marshaling at the Wessex Sprint, organised by the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club, of which I am a new member and the MG Car Club (SW).

A sprint is an event in which competitors race against the clock on this occasion around a single lap of the Castle Combe Circuit. Here are a few snaps taken during the lunch break and suspension of the competition.

MG J2, Castle Combe

Jeremy Hawk told me his MG J2 above has been in his family since 1953 when it was acquired for the princely sum of £85 some years later it made STD at a sprint at Castle Combe just like it did last week.

Peugeot 309 GTi,

This #73 Peugeot 309 GTi was shared by Tom Siebert and Henry Siebert Saunders was completely stripped out and running with plastic side window’s to reduce weight.

Audi Quattro

Car of the day IMHO, if only because of the sound of it’s 5 cylinder turbocharged motor, was the #75 Audi Quattro shared by Tim Clark and Andy Tanner, wondering if anyone knows if this a genuine works car ? It certainly looked and sounded the part. Andy just beat Tim to win the Modified Limited Production Class.

MGB Kayne Special, Castle Combe

The Rover V8 powered MGB Kayne Special shared by John and Jonathan Biggs ran in the Sports Libre Class.

Terrapin Kawasaki, Castle Combe

Tim Moreton and Dean Robertson shared the ‘Dick’ Terrapin a Kawasaki powered vehicle with a Wharholian paint job.

Royale Vauxhall RP 30

I do not remember the last time I saw a Royale RP 30 in action, but the first time was around 31 short years ago ! This example driven by Bob and Anne Adams is powered by a Vauxhall 16v motor in place of the Ford Pinto with which it was originally supplied to race in Formula Ford 2000 events. Bob took the Racing Cars over 1600 cc class honours.

Pilbeam Vauxhall MP62

Proudly displaying it’s V8 kills from a couple of years ago was the similarly Vauxhall, 4 cylinder, powered but methanol fuelled Pilbeam MP62 chassis #14, built in the late 1980’s, of Kevin Lealan who won the Fastest Time of the Day award.

Start line marshalls

Running cars one at a time in batches of four meant my fellow start line marshals and I only got a break from the action for lunch, very nice sweet and sour chicken with rice & chips, then again later when the weather turned sunny, the sunlight interfered with the timing beam until the beam receiver was fitted with a shroud and on a couple of occasions when the Castle Combe farmer wanted to cross the track in order to bring in his hay bales.

I would recommend volunteering to be marshal to anyone who is interested in getting involved in motor sport, you will probably have a fun day and get to make a few good friends in the local motor sport community.

Thanks for joining me on this Wessex Sprint edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at this weekends racing at Castle Combe. Don’t forget to come back now !

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