Tag Archives: Titterington

Giving Up Secrets – Ferrari 750 Monza #0462M

On September 4th 1954 Joe Kelly to took delivery of today’s featured 3 litre / 183 cui 4 cylinder Ferrari 750 Monza chassis #0462M in Dublin, Ireland.

This car was the second of the total 31 750 Monza’s built by the factory and a week after delivery Joe entered the car for himself and Desmond Titterington in Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in Northern Ireland where they retired with gearbox issues.

Ferrari, 750, Monza, Hillsborough, Concours, d'Elegance,

Joe entered the car for Desmond to drive in the Leinster Trophy a week later celebrated his second week of ownership with a win, Mike Hawthorn drove the car for Joe in the Goodwood Trophy and retired with a broken rear axle.

The cars next owner was the Jaguar Car Company who disassembled the car and repaired the damaged rear axle and then put it back together after closely inspecting it to see why it was so much better than the Jaguar C and D types which had been comprehensively thrashed by Ferrari in the 1954 World Sports Car Championship.

Ferrari, 750, Monza, Hillsborough, Concours, d'Elegance,

After giving up it’s secrets to the engineers at Browns Lane in Coventry Peter Whitehead acquired the car and it then went via Jack Brabham to Australia where it was raced by Stan Coffey in 1956 without any success and Norm Crowfoot in April 1959 who recorded a third place finish in a race at Bathurst.

Oliver Steel also raced #0462M in 1959 but retired from his race, in 1963 Geoffrey Davis bought the car and kept it until 1980, by the mid 1980’s it had found it’s way to the USA where it remained until 1998 when it returned to Italy where it stayed until 2012.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photograph’s of #0462M taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance earlier this year. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Development & Publicity – Mercedes Benz 300 SLR # no.1

Earlier this year Geoffrey Horton kindly forwarded some of today’s photos taken by Otto A Rentsch a tool and die maker at Adam Stamping in Union, New Jersey.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, Adam Stamping, Union, New Jersey.

Adam Stamping was owned by Geoffrey’s uncle George Tilp who was selected by Mercedes Benz to run a highly successful team of works built and supported 300 SL’s driven by Paul O’Shea and Phil Hill from 1955 to 1957.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, Otto R Rentsch, Adam Stamping, Union, New Jersey.

In 1958 Mercedes Benz shipped a 1955 World Sports Car Championship winning type 300 SLR complete with the “Blue Wonder Rennwagen Schnelltransporter” to Georges facility in New Jersey prior to the vehicles being loaned to the Ford Museum in Michigan, Otto A’s son Otto R is seen above at the wheel of the car with it’s distinctive sign writing down the side.

Mercedes 300 SLR, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

It turns out that the 300 SLR sent to the USA for the loan to the Ford Museum was none other than the original 300 SLR chassis no.1.

Mercedes 300 SLR, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

No.1 was used for extensive pre 1955 season testing and later for practice on the Mille Miglia, where of course there was no qualifying, but according to Mercedes this car was never raced.

Mercedes 300 SLR, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Along the side of the car the five one – two victories scored by no.1’s siblings are recorded; the Stirling Moss / Denis Jenkinson partnership beat the solo Jaun Manuel Fangio on the Mille Miglia, Fangio then beat Moss at the Eifelrennen where Karl Kling finished fourth in a third 300 SLR behind a Ferrari 750 Monza driven by Marsten Gregory, Fangio also finished ahead of Moss in the Swedish Grand Prix.

Mercedes 300 SLR, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Moss partnered by John Fitch beat Fangio and Kling at the Tourist Trophy where Kling was joined by Wolfgang von Trips and André Simon in the third placed 300 SLR, before Moss teamed up with Peter Collins to beat Fangio and Kling again on the Targa Florio where Fitch and Desmond Titterington finished fourth behind the Ferrari 857 S driven by Eugenio Castellotti and Robert Manzon.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, Adam Stamping, Union, New Jersey.

The one omission from these results being of course the 1955 Le Mans race where the 300 SLR driven by Fangio and Moss was leading the Jaguars by two clear laps when it was withdrawn on the orders of the board of the Mercedes board of directors after parts of the sister car driven by Levegh ploughed into the spectator enclosures killing 82 spectators and injuring 100 more following an accident involving a slower car.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for initially forwarding Douglas Rentsch’s photographs and to Otto R Rentsch’s son Douglas for kindly giving me permission to use them, the remaining photo’s of no.1 were taken at Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Thanks for joining me on this “Development & Publicity” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Renault. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Thirty Year Restoration – Lotus Mark 6 #JZ 7890

The Lotus Mark 6 represented Colin Chapman’s first attempt at building a vehicle which customers could purchase in kit form.

Lotus VI, Bristol Classic Car Show

Chassis #JZ 7890 was one of the first eight built, therefore one of the first 13 Lotus cars ever built. The car was originally assembled with a 4 cylinder Ford Consul motor and Austin Gearbox by Patrick Stevens for owner Denis Wilkins. Wilkins competed in the car at numerous events in England during 1953 and in 1954 took the car to Ireland where he shared it with Ian Titterington. It’s best result that I could find is a third place at Kirkistown in an Open Handicap Final in June 1954 with Wilkins at the wheel. In 1955 the car returned to England and competed in the hands of George Pitt, Rodney Bloor and Ken Coffey before being sold, in 1963, to an owner in Bristol who intended to fit a six cylinder motor from a Ford Zephyr.

Lotus Mark 6, Bristol Classic Car Show

Despite the original engine and gearbox being stripped out and sold on the conversion was never completed and the current owner bought the engineless remains in 1976 and then spent thirty years piecing it together with another Ford Consul engine and an MG TC gearbox. A couple of months after returning it to the road in 2006 he drove it to Le Mans in France.

Lotus VI, Bristol Classic Car Show

110 Lotus Mark 6 kits were eventually sold, including a one off trials version, scoring many competition victories and establishing Lotus as a specialist vehicle manufacturer.

Thanks for joining me on this “Thirty Year Restoration” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me for a Drag edition tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share