Tag Archives: Type

Bugs In Malta – Mtahleb Hillclimb & Mdina Grand Prix

A couple of weeks ago Barry Boor found himself at the Mtahleb Hillclimb & Mdina Grand Prix, in between his marshaling duties he managed to take a few photographs of the Bugatti’s which visited Malta to take part in the events and has kindly agreed to share them with us.

Bugatti T35B R, Mtahleb Hill Climb, Malta

Genuine Bugatti Type 35’s are extremely hard to come by, even Nick Mason’s example is a bitza made up from an assortment of parts from various cars into a complete vehicle, so it is no surprise to find that according to the best information I have available all the cars captured by Barry are replica’s like Gregory Ramouna’s Type 35B R, seen here on the Mtahleb hillclimb, which appears to have been built in 1998.

Bugatti T35 R, Mtahleb Hillclimb, Malta

Type 35’s were first seen at the Grand Prix of Lyon in August 1924 powered by a 2 litre / 122 cui straight 8 motor. Novel features of the car included the alloy spoked wheels and hollow front axle which all saved unsprung weight to the benefit of the cars handling. Above is a Type 35 R with a 2 litre motor unlike the type 35B which has a 2.3 litre / 140 cui supercharged motor.

Bugatti T51 R, Mtahleb Hillclimb, Malta

The Type 35’s were very successful allegedly clocking up to 14 wins a week with the Likes of “Williams” and Louis Chiron leading the way in major Grand Prix. The Type 35’s were replaced by the Type 51’s in 1931 but with only 160 hp from their supercharged motors the Type 51’s were soon to be overpowered by the government sponsored Auto Union and Mercedes Team’s. Above is the Type 51 R of Phillipe Brebant.

Bugatti T35B R, Mdina Grand Prix, Malta

Type 35’s and 51’s are very difficult to tell apart externally and even the experts can disagree, to show how difficult this is the Mdina Grand Prix entry list tells us that JM Laffonts car above is a 1931 Type 35B while the Bugatti builder site tells us that his car carrying the same registration is a Type 51 from the now defunct Blaydon Engineering, further more the car is listed on yet another Bugatti Builders post as a Type 35B R. If the truth on the identity of this car were to be decided by popular vote Type 35B R would win with two votes. Though in my humble opinion the car we are looking at is either a Type 35 or 35B because if it was a Type 51 it ought to have an easily discernible  second fuel filler behind the passenger seat what ever the vintage.

Bugatti Type 35 R, Mdina Grand Prix, Malta

One rough and ready way to tell a Type 35 from a Type 51 is to look at the rear fuel filler behind the seats, if there is one it’s most likely a Type 35.

Bugatti T35 R, Mdina Grand Prix, Malta

Barry was told the reason many of these vehicles, like this 2007 replica Type 35B about to head on up the hill towards the walled citadel of Mdina, appear with so much patina is to keep the value down in the eyes of the taxman.

My thanks to Barry for sharing this fascinating in sight into Maltese Motorsport.

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

Share

E-Type – Vauxhall 30-98 Velox Tourer

In 1913 Vauxhall announced their replacement for the Vauxhall D-Type known officially as the 30-98 or E-Type. 13 chassis were built before the Great War of 1914 – 1918, during which period Vauxhall fulfilled orders from the War Department to build the older D-type models for the use of nobility and Generals alike.

Mark Butterworth, Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

Between the cessation of hostilities and 1922 it is thought around 270 further 30-98 E-types were built with 90 hp 4,525 cc / 276 cui four cylinder side valve engines which gave the car when striped down a 100 mph capability. Above Mark Butterworth negotiates the Pardon Hainpin at Prescott in his 1921 model. Unlike the equally fast contemporary Bentleys, Vauxhall 30-98 models only acquired front brakes during the production span of the model.

Phil Dobbin, Vauxhall 30/98 OE, Loton Park

The 30-98 E type was fitted with an improved 115 hp overhead valve engine in 1922, known as the OE to distinguish it from its older side valve engined siblings. Above Phil Dobbin can be seen lining up his 1924 30-98 OE for the start of a run up the hill at Loton Park.

Nicola Quartermaine , Vauxhall 30/98, Loton Park

1924 was the most successful year for the 30/98 E-type when 111 examples were built. Nicola Quartermaine’s 30-98 seen above negotiating the Triangle at Loton Park above comprises an older 1921 pre OE chassis and a 1924 4224 cc / 258 cui OE motor.

Roger Thorpe , Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

Around 60% of all 30-98 E-types, like the 1924 chassis OE 102 driven by Roger Thorpe at Prescott above were exported to Australia, some have since made their way back to the mother land.

Adam Jones , Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

Vauxhall 30-98 E-types were available with either 4 seater tourer or 2 seater ‘Wesum’ boat tail body work with a ‘dicky’ (fold out) seat in the boat tail from the factory, alternatively a chassis could be ordered and sent to a coachworks for a bespoke body. Grosvenor Carriage Company for example, part of the Vauxhall dealer Shaw & Kilburn empire, built bodies for Vauxhalls exclusively during the production life of the 30-98. Above Adam Jones drives a 1925 4 seater with a tourer body, similar to all the vehicle bodies featured in today’s post. Note the absence of a drivers door on all of the vehicles featured in today’s post !

Dr Nick Bell, Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

The class leading speed and later 4 wheel braking of the 30-98 was not enough to deliver consistent earnings for Vauxhall and in 1925 the company was sold for US$ 2.5 million to General Motors who set about challenging Ford at a lower end of the UK market than Vauxhall had hitherto catered for. Above Dr Nick Bell above drives a 1927 30-98 OE tourer, chassis OE 304, one of the last of the in total 312 OE’s built since 1922.

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

Share

A little bit of this and a little bit of that – Vauxhall A/D Type 1914/1918

The Vauxhall A type was one of the preeminent 3 litre / 183 cui cars of its day competing for a share of a limited market for prestige vehicles alongside Bentley, Rolls Royce, Daimler for favour amongst European nobility.

Vauxhall A/D Type, James Gunn, Prescott

The A-Type was the first production car designed by Laurence Pomeroy, it evolved through 4 distinct stages between 1908 and 1914 along the way amongst its notable achievements were many wins in a variety of events from trials and reliability events in the hands of customers while the factory built a single seat streamlined version that became the first 20 hp car timed at over 100 mph over a flying half mile at Brooklands.

Of the 940 total production less than two dozen are thought to have survived many of them are in the Antipodes where these rugged vehicles were extremely popular.

In 1912 Pomeroy introduced a new 4 cylinder engine design featuring a chain drive for the cam and magneto. The new engine was built in 3 litre / 183 cui and 4 litre / 244 cui sizes with the smaller engine being fitted to A types and the larger engine to the larger D-Type chassis, remember body work was usually supplied separately to customers bespoke requirements by independent coach builders. The D-Type won a contract from the Ministry of Defence for Staff Cars during the Great War 1914 – 1918.

This particular car owned by Dr. A. N. Lockhart and driven by James Gunn seen here at Prescott last year, comprises a 1914 A-Type chassis one of just four thought to be in the UK, with the larger 4 litre / 244 cui 1918 D-type motor.

My thanks to Dr A.N. Lockhart who’s web page on the Vauxhall Type A and D‘s proved indispensable.

Thanks for joining me on this 244 cui edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

1914 Indy Winner – Delage Y

Continuing this months series of blogs celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 today’s photograph by Ed Arnaudin was taken in 1964 and shows the most famous of the Delage Y’s which, in the hands of Rene Thomas, won the 4th running of the Indy 500 in 1914.

Indy64 6s

Designed by Arthur Michelat four Y models are thought to have been built between 1913 and 1914 at the Delage factory on Boulevard de Verdun in Courbevoie in NW Paris.

This one was fitted with a 113 hp, 4 cylinder 4.5 litre 275 cui motor, featuring 4 valves per cylinder, was connected to a 5 speed gearbox making it one of the most advanced racing cars of it’s time.

In 1913 Paul Bablot drove the pictured vehicle to victory in the, latter of two, French Grand Prix held at Le Mans.

With support from British journalist in Paris WF Bradley, the Indianapolis 500 attracted the first foreign entries in 1913 which in 1914 included two Delage Y’s, the 2nd Delage driven by Albert Guyot placed 3rd in the race.

Rene Thomas prior to winning the Indianapolis 500 at his first attempt is also known for surviving the worlds first mid air collision near Milan in 1910 after his Antoinette monoplane ‘fell’ onto the Farman biplane of Captain Bertram Dickson who was not so lucky.

Thomas went on to record a land speed record of 143 mph in 1924 at Arpajon south of Paris aboard another Delage. Amazingly after a full life of risk taking Rene Thomas died aged 89 in 1975.

The story goes that as this winning car was being loaded on to a ship to return to France it was purchased and ultimately remained in the USA. The car was later ‘found’ by Edgar L. Roy a founding member of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and restored by him prior to the car finding it’s way to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.

My thanks to Steve Arnaudin for sending me the scan of his Dad’s photo and to E.B. of The Nostalgia Forum for identifying this vehicle.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s 1914 edition of ‘Getting a lil psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for a look at a 1915 White Squadron Stutz. Don’t for get to come back now !

Share

Rustproof & Secure – Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type UK

01 Image2241sc

Top of the 2007 Subaru Impreza range was the WRX STi with 260 hp, considered at the time the default Rally Replica of Choice in some circles.

02 Image2244sc

The STi Type UK was available with an optional 300 hp engine with Prodrive re engineered engine parts that were stronger and or lighter than the originals including a larger air intake and intercooler.

03 Image2242sc

Unique to the Type UK is a Thatcham Category 1 alarm, satellite tracking system, enhanced rust proofing …

04 Image2240sc

and 10 spoke gold alloy wheels attached to a reengineered suspension which is more stable than the standard Subaru Impreza WRX STi.

05 Image2239sc

Prodrives Driver Control Centre Differential System (DCCD) allows the driver to control the oversteer (loose) and understeer (push) characteristics of the car by adjusting the front to rear torque balance delivered to the four driven wheels.

06 Image2236sc

Against the contemporary Mitsubishi Evo the STi Type UK appeared the the more reasonable value.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this Type UK along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Type UK edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share