Tag Archives: Singapore

Rodney’s Racer – Warrior Bristol

Between 1952 and 1953 Rodney Nuckley, believed to be related to one of the directors of the Warrior Tap & Die Company in Hertfordshire, was carving out a winning reputation as a driver of Cooper Cars in the open wheel Formula 3 and Formula 2 series, particularly in Scandinavia. He crashed his Cooper Bristol Formula 2 car at the end of season Snetterton meeting in October 1953.

Rodney, who had driven under the Ecurie Richmond banner, commissioned engineer and Ecurie Richmond mechanic Bernard Roger to design a 2 litre sports car chassis using the Bristol engine and transmission from the Cooper.

The Warrior chassis featured de Dion rear suspension and Cooper 4 lug wheels, the sinuous body is said to have been the handy work of Williams and Pritchard.

Warrior Bristol, Sonoma Historics

Known race records for the Warrior show that Formula 3 driver Roger Biss drove the Warrior on it’s debut at Siverstone in May 1954 to a 4th place finish.

Rodney’s only outing in the car, appears to have been, at the British Grand Prix meeting at the same venue two months later where he recorded a 9th place finish (3rd in class), soon after winning at least once more in a Formula 3 race run at Västkustloppet in Sweden in July 1954 Rodney appears to have stopped racing.

Roger Biss then appears to have taken over ownership and the driving duties of the Warrior scoring best finishes of 2nd at Brands Hatch and Silverstone in 1955.

Warrior Bristol, Sonoma Historics

By August of 1955 the Warrior was acquired by JD Lomas and from the only known results appears to have won the 2 litre sports car race at Aintree on the cars debut and finished at the some venue on the same day in the handicap event.

The Warriors next owner, Bernie Arnold, took the car to Macau where it appeared in the 1956,’57 and ’58 Macau Grand Prix and in 1960 Bernie won the Johore Coronation Grand Prix driving the Warrior.

When the Bristol motor expired Bernie replaced it with a Jaguar motor and in that form Tim Robertson drove the car to win the sports car event at the 1970 1970 Singapore Grand Prix.

Warrior Bristol, Sonoma Historics

The Jaguar motor was replaced with an original spec Bristol motor when the Warrior was restored by Ian Boughton in Western Australia after he bought it in 1978.

The Warrior painted red remained in Australia from the 1970’s until 1999 when Dick Willis sold it to Jack Perkins in California.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s of the Warrior Bristol which were taken at Sonoma Historics earlier this year and to Dick Willis and everyone who contributed to the Rodney Nuckey thread at The Nostalgia Forum.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rodney’s Racer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for the story behind a unique Formula 5000 car tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Soon after this blog was posted Cooper997 posted a press cutting from Motor Racing December 1953 on The Nostalgia Forum which reports the build of the Warrior and goes on to say that Rodney and Bernard projected building a Formula One Car with a “modified Lagonda (David Brown type) engine.

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150 MPH ex POW – MG K3 #K3007

In 1933 today’s featured record breaking MG K3 chassis #K3007 was sold new with a two seater body to successful amateur racer Ron Horton who in 1932 had won a British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) Gold Star, which would be the same as calling him British Motor Racing Champion in today’s terminology.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

The car appears to have never been registered for road use but extensively raced and hill climbed. Driving K3007 in 1933 Horton set a 1100cc class Outer Circuit Record at Brooklands of 115.55 mph and class wins on the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

For 1934 Ron Horton had an offset single seat body manufactured by Jensen of West Bromwich and made numerous other upgrades. In March 1934 Ron set six international class records, four of which still stand as British class records, at Brooklands from 50 kms to Hour averaging 117 mph with a best lap average of over 119 mph. Unusually Ron received not only a customary letter of congratulation MG’s Cecil Kimber but also another from Lord Nuffield of Morris Motors Ltd who’s Overhead Cam Wolseley 6 Cylinder motors were supercharged and tuned by MG for use in the K3 model.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Later in 1934 Ron won a Brooklands Whitsun Meeting race at an average speed of over 110mph and set a new 123.88 mph lap record later the same day which earned him the first 120 mph badge given to the driver of a car fitted with 1100cc / 67 cui motor.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

In 1935 Goldie Gardener acquired K3007 and had it continually updated, in 1937 he became the first driver to record a one way 150 mph average in an MG at the October Frankfurt Speed Week with a two way class record breaking average of over 148 mph timed over the flying kilometer and mile distances.

MG K3

In 1939 Gardener had the the motor taken out of #K3007 and fitted in to K3023/EX 135 which had a lower seat thanks to an offset gearbox and had been used by George Easton. Goldie set a 200 mph record with his new bolide. The chassis of K3007 along with the discarded motor from K3023/EX 135 ended up at the Abingdon MG factory and reassembled into a complete car with an ENV Crash gearbox from an MG K1 and sent to Singapore where a contemporary Mercedes Grand Prix single seater style body was fitted for it’s new owner Mic Jennings.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

After recording fastest lap in the rain shortened 1940 Johore Grand Prix Jennings was forced to abandon K3007 at Singapore Docks while fleeing the incoming Japanese invasion. A Japanese Imperial Army Officer commandeered #K3007, after which it appears to have been liberated by MG racer Lim Peng Han who broke it up and kept in storage ‘for the duration’. Jennings was offered the car back after the war but declined. The original #K3007 motor was destroyed in a bombing raid during the ’39/’45 war.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

In 1969 MG J2 owner Mike Hawke was sent to Singapore with the Royal Navy and secured the very rusty ex K3023/EX 135 motor with a bottle of whiskey without any knowledge of it’s history. The motor had at one point been buried and then been kept at the bottom of the previous owners garden. It was only when Mike started to dismantle the engine that it’s identity became clear.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Having established the identity of his rusty motor Mike recovered the chassis which had the front cut off with the remains being used for a trailer, the ENV gearbox was discovered being used as a door stop at a veterinarian’s surgery.

After many adventures by 1985 Mike had salvaged enough bit’s and pieces to restore #K3007 to something approximating it’s 1934/37 single seat specification and the the car ran for the first time in just over 40 years under it’s own power and has since recorded 125 mph laps at Millbrook.

Mike says he considers himself fortunate to have discovered, recognised and put back together one of the worlds more historic MG’s.

My thanks to Jeremy Hawke for his time and patience retelling the story of the storied K3, found by his father, seen in today’s photographs at the recent Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint.

Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the year ahead to all “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” readers and contributors !

Thanks for joining me on this “150 MPH ex POW” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the first Formula One car that Peter Connew was involved with. Don’t forget to come back now !

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