Monthly Archives: December 2010

Six Carb Standard – Ferrari 275 GTB/4 #10577

8 Replies

It’s great to return to Ferrari Friday with a vehicle that resembles the entity that left the Ferrari factory.

The 275 GTB/4 was the penultimate of the ‘275 GT’ vehicles Ferrari built between 1964 and 1968, at it’s heart was a 3,286 cc / 200 cui V12 with 2 valves per cylinder but with twin cam heads to operate them, making 4 cams in all hence the /4 suffix. Fuel was fed through 6 carburettors as standard giving the engine a 300 horsepower rating.

Designed primarily as a road car, featuring cast magnesium wheels in place of the older wire wheels, the Scarglietti body work of the 275 GTB/4 could be powered up to 165 mph. Only 280 examples of this type were built.

Hope you have enjoyed your 165 mph Ferrari edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow to look at the Austrian influence on a very British sports car. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

The Mini Challenger – Citroen DS3

4 Replies

The Citroen DS 3 launched in 2009 is the first of the ‘Different Spirit’ range and replaces the C2 models.

It competes in the market place against the Alfa Romeo MiTo, Audi A1 and MINi.

Top of the range DS 3’s have 150 hp capable of 0-62.5 in 7.3 seconds with a top speed of 133 mph and 155 g/km CO 2 emissions.

It is award time of the year and this applies as much to motor vehicles as any other field of endeavour, in an act of unparalleled hubris Europe’s top motoring magazine writers have managed to vote a vehicle called a ‘Leaf’ that is not yet for sale or on the roads as European Car Of the Year. For once, and this happens very rarely I am in agreement with Top Gear magazine which has handed it’s gong for 2010 to the DS3 describing the car as ‘The peoples champion’.

The DS 3 was launched to an unsuspecting British public with the first product placement in a video by a British recording artist. You can see this same view at 2 mins 31 secs in Pixie Lott’s ‘Broken Arrow‘ video.

For those like me who believe competition on or off the track is the best place to prove a vehicles worth, Citoren have kindly built seven, consecutive, time World Rally Champion Sebastian Loeb from Alsace in France a 202 hp DS Racing version with which to defend his title, I expect the DS will remain in the public eye for a while yet.

Thanks for joining me, hope you’ll join me tomorrow for Ferrari Friday, don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Prize Winning Brazilian – Avallone 11 #A1110 016

3 Replies

It’s always a thrill to bring you the rare and unexpected and today thanks to Peter M in Switzerland it is a tremendous honour to share with you the photos and the story behind this ‘Best Replica’ prize winning Brazilian vehicle from the 1978 Geneva Motor Show.

In 1924 William Morris later Lord Nuffield, founder of Morris Cars and Cecil Kimber general manager of Morris Garages in Oxford (owned by William Morris) sold their 48th specially modified Morris Cowley ‘Old Number One‘ with bodywork by Carbodies of Coventry with a special octagonal badge, thus launching MG Cars as a marque in it’s own right.

In 1936 MG launched the successful ‘T’ range with the TA an attractive 50hp two seat sports car featuring a steel body on an ash frame. Production of the TB was interrupted by WW2 but it was not until 1955 with exports outnumbering home sales by more than 10 to 1 that production of the final incarnation of the ‘T’ range, the 63 horsepower TF 1500 with independent front suspension, was halted to make way for the MGA. Some cars when they go out of production are never heard of again but the MG TF has proved over 50 years since production ceased to be an inspiration of sturdier stuff.

After some market research in 1968 a small volume Italian manufacturer Siata, up until then best known for building 40 odd Crosley powered 300 BC Barchetta Sports cars, went in to production of a MGTF replica called the Siata Spring using the mechanical components of the rear engined FIAT 850 ! The Spring continued in production until 1970 when Siata failed and continued under the ORSA name until 1975.

In 1974 the Brazilian furniture manufacturer Lafer created a fibre glass TF based replica again with running gear from a rear engined vehicle the VW Fusca (Beetle to the rest of us) ! Some 4300 MP Lafers were built with 1,000 thought to have been exported over a 16 years production span.

A couple of years later Brazilian racing driver / racing impresario and hitherto racing car constructor Antonio Carlos Avallone put the feeble but fun efforts of both Siata/ORSA and Lafer to shame by constructing his Avallone 11 an MG TF replica with a Brazilian spec Chevrolet engine at the front and additional Chevrolet do Brazil mechanical running gear all round.

The fibre glass panels were so strong that Antonio used to delight in handing potential clients at his factory and at motor shows a large rubber mallet and invite them to do their best to inflict some damage to the body panels.

Unlike the Siata/ORSA Spring or PM Lafer the Antonio Carlos Avallone paid a huge amount of attention to the details of the TF and then replicating them on his Avalone 11 which included not only the instrumentation …

but also the switch gear.

All of his dedication and hard work was rewarded when probably this very vehicle #A1110 016 was rewarded with the Best Replica Award at the 1978 Geneva Motor Show. An achievement recognised by MG with a letter of congratulation personally addressed to Antonio Carlos Avallone.

The intention of Swiss Importer Huber to introduce Avallone to the Swiss market some how got lost in the midst of time and this vehicle was found lying around in a building in 1982. With a lot of effort the previous owner managed to get the car legally registered for use on the road and drove it for some 20 years until he sold it to Peter M who informs me that the original steering wheel has been replaced with one of larger diameter, the original steel wheels have been replaced by larger wire wheels and that the original seats have been replaced with ones mounted lower in the cockpit.

Just as there seem to be a never ending stream of manufacturers making replica AC Cobra’s and Porsche 356’s so it is with replica MG TF other notable replica’s include the Naylor 1700 of the mid 1980’s and even today there is a company, TG, in new Zealand making TF kits using Maita MX5 running gear, yet none, so far as I am aware, of the other TF replica’s have been awarded a prize at the Geneva Motor Show.

I’d like to thank Peter M for furnishing me with the details and photographs of his highly praised car.

Thank you for joining me on todays Brazilian edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for a look at another award winning French vehicle.

23rd Jan 2011 PS I have a friend who is looking to purchase a Radiator Grille for another one of these Avallone 11 vehicles, if you can help anyway with either the supply or location of such an item please leave a message below or send me an e-mail which can be accessed through my personal profile page.

Thanking you in anticipation
of your responses.

23 de janeiro de 2011 PS: Eu tenho um amigo que está olhando para comprar uma grade de radiador para outro desses 11 Avallone veículos, se puder ajudar de qualquer maneira com qualquer fonte ou localização de um item deste tipo, por favor deixe uma mensagem abaixo ou envie-me um e–mail que pode ser acessado através da minha página de perfil pessoal.

Agradecendo antecipadamente as suas respostas.

Share

Bristol Blue Hackney Carriage – LTI TX1

8 Replies

A hackney carriage is a taxicab licensed by a local authority to ply the streets looking for passengers to pick up.

London’s stringent Public Carriage Office licensing authority has always been at the fore front of legislation demanding particular qualities of licensed taxicabs which have led to the evolution of a London Taxi. These include a max 28 foot / min 25 ft turning circle in order to be able to safely maneuver round the entrance of London’s Savoy Hotel and most recently, a wheel chair accessibility requirement.

London’s Black Cabs have mostly, but not exclusively been built by a company called Carbodies now known as London Taxis International (LTI), in Coventry since 1948, and are almost as well known as London’s bright red AEC Routemaster RML buses.

This model is a 2.7 litre / 164 cui Nissan powered TX1 built from 1997 to 2002 the retro lines recall the classic Carbodies FX4 / LTI Fairways design that dates back to 1958.

Recently the Bristol Hackney cab licensing authority issued an edict declaring that all of Bristols 780 Hackney Carriages would be Bristol Blue Glass blue by May 2011. There were attempts to appeal this decision in the courts on grounds of the repainting costs incurred by cab drivers, but the legal process proved too expensive to fight the decision.

Hope you have enjoyed this Bristol Blue edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me tomorrow for a look at an award winning Brazilian in Switzerland. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Bristol disambiguation – Bristol RE & Bristol 400.

3 Replies

I received an e-mail form Hans in Oldenburg asking if there is any connection between the Bristol Car Company and Bristol Commercial Vehicles to which the answer in German is ‘jaein’, yes and no.

In 1874 George White, born in Kingsdown, Bristol, round the corner from where yours truly lives, was working for a firm of solicitors responsible for the promotion of the Bristol Tramways Company and became involved with the Imperial Tramways Company operating across parts of England and London United Tramways operating in West London.

These horse drawn tram operators were merged in 1887 into the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company of which George White was Managing Director. By 1900 he had been promoted to Chairman of the BT&CC.; BT&CC; started building vehicles, initially with chassis from Filton fitted with bodies from it’s Brislington works in 1908 after the Thorneycrofts and FIATs it had been operating were found to be too unreliable.

Bristol Commercial Vehicles, based wholly in Brislington, was separated from the bus operating company Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company in 1955. This 1969/70 Bristol RE (Rear Engine), with bodywork by Eastern Coach Works of Lowestoft, was the most successful first generation rear engined bus, production started in 1962 and continued until 1982 though in it’s last years it was only supplied to customers in Northern Ireland and New Zealand after being absorbed by British Leyland in 1972.

After witnessing a flight by Wilbur Wright in France in 1909 the now titled Sir George White Bt (Baronet, 6th division of aristocracy below Lords above all but two levels of Knights, a hereditary title issued to commoners of wealth originally but public service latterly) founded the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1910 for commercial aircraft production.

The Bristol Car Company was born out of the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1947 under the leadership of Sir George White Bt’s grandson George Stanley Midelton White although the cars were marketed for several years as being made by the Bristol Aeroplane Company run by his father Sir George Stanley White, Bt.

So the two companies manufacturing vehicles bearing the ‘Bristol’ name are connected through the White family but not through any commercial or technical arrangements, of course the Bristol Car Company is the only one that survives. The blue car in the photo’s is one of the 487 Bristol ‘400’ models made between 1947 and 1950.

Thanks for joining me on today’s commercial disambiguation edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you’ll join me for tomorrow’s Bristol Blue, edition. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Special Drophead – Bristol 401 Cabriolet

4 Replies

Continuing the Centenary Celebration of the Bristol Aeroplane Company out of which Bristol Cars was born, today we are looking at another unique car a Bristol 401 Drophead.

Between 1948 and 1953 Bristol Cars built 611 401 coupes and 23 mechanically identical 402’s cabriolets.

Sources close to the Bristol Owners Club assure me that this vehicle, seen at a VSCC meeting at Prescott, is a one off special 401 coupe converted into a cabriolet.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s special drophead edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and will join me again tomorrow for some Bristol disambiguation. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

You can’t go wrong with a Bristol under the bonnet – Lister Bristol

6 Replies

It’s a great pleasure to present another couple of photo’s today by Ed Arnaudin courtesy of his son Steve.

In 1954 Brian Lister produced an MG powered sports car at his Cambridge iron works for Archie Scott Brown to drive. Disappointed with the results on it’s debut Brian had a 6 cylinder 2 litre Bristol engine installed and Archie won his class next time out at a meeting supporting the 1954 British Grand Prix beating half a dozen more powerful C-type Jaguars.

For 1955 a handful Lister Bristol’s were built for customers and the vehicle pictured at Thompson CT is one of those cars, driven to a class win on 20th July 1958 by Ray Cuomo who raced a huge variety of interesting vehicles from the mid 50’s to mid 70’s.

The #132 in the back ground top picture is the Lester MG driven by F Stone and the #32 is an Alfa Romeo Veloce driven by R Anderson in a different race.

My thanks to Vince H and Terry O’Neil at The Nostalgia Forum for helping me with some of the background information and as ever to Ed and Steve Arnaudin for taking and furnishing these photographs.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Bristol powered edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, tomorrow I hope you will join me tomorrow for a look at an unusual Bristol 401.

Share