Monthly Archives: August 2014

Exhilarating Motoring – Allard Palm Beach

The launch of the Allard Palm Beach in 1952 promised ‘exhilarating motoring with complete safety’ for up to three occupants.

Allard Palm Beach, Silverstone Classic

Power options came from two British Ford parts bins the 47 hp Ford Consul 1500 cc / 92 cui 4 cylinder or 68hp Ford Zephyr 2.3 litre / 138 cui straight 6 as seen above. One exception was made for a one off special order Palm Beach fitted with a Dodge Red Ram V8.

Allard Palm Beach, Silverstone Classic

The power to weight ratio was good but this was at the cost of adequate creature comforts, the ventilation, with the hood and windows up, was described as inadequate.

Allard Palm Beach, Silverstone Classic

With the hood up and the window’s down the hood flapped about so much that speeds of over 35 mph were not advised in contemporary reports.

Allard Palm Beach, Silverstone Classic

In 1956, as we shall see next week, a Mark 2 version of the Palm Beach was introduced and in all 80 units are thought to have been built up until 1958.

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

Powered By Holbay – Ginetta G21S

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When it was launched the Ginetta G21 was well received in the British press albeit as the ‘poor mans Porsche’, while one esteemed journalist described it as the best car at the 1970 British Motor Show.

Ginetta 21S, Silverstone Classic

Refined and practical the well finished fibre glass body sits on a steel back bone chassis as pioneered by the Renault Alpine and Lotus Elan models of the early 1960’s.

Ginetta 21S, Silverstone Classic

The double wishbone and coil front suspension is based on items from the Triumph parts bin while the rear suspension is a five link Ginetta design that locates a Hillman Hunter rear axle.

Ginetta 21S, Silverstone Classic

The handling has been compared to the Lotus Elan although the sturdiness and build quality of the Ginetta is said to be far superior. Regular readers might recognise the increasingly famous vertically hinged door handles as coming from the Morris Marina parts bin.

Ginetta 21S, Silverstone Classic

Three engine options were available for the G21 the Ford Kent 1600 cc / 97 cui 4 cylinder, Ford Essex 3 litre / 183 cui V6 and the G21S, as seen here with the Ginetta Owners Club at Silverstone Classic, came with a Hillman based 1750 cc / 106 cui 4 cylinder with Holbay modified alloy cylinder head, Holbay camshaft, twin Weber carburetors lightened and balanced fly wheel to produce 120 hp good enough to go from rest to 60 mph in under 8 seconds and a top speed of 120 mph.

Ginetta 21S, Silverstone Classic

Just short of 70 G21s were produced at in Witham Essex though at least as many again appear to have been produced by later incarnations of the Ginetta marque.

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

Ojeda City Winner – Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta #1035GT

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77 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinettas were built from 1956 to 1959 in four series. To make things interesting Carrozzeria Scaglietti built the model with; no louvres in the C panel, 1 louvre in the C panel, 3 louvres in the C panel or 14 louvres in the C panel across the four series.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta, Silverstone Classic

To keep things simple the 250 GT Berlinetta is also known as the Long Wheelbase Berlinetta (LWB) and Tour de France (TdF), an event for motor vehicles won by 250 GT LWB’s from 1956 to 1959.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta, Silverstone Classic

Today’s featured 1958 1 louvre model, seen at Silverstone Classic, appears to be chassis #1035GT with which Cuban sugar baron Alfonso Gomez-Mena and a co driver known only as Meyer competed on the 1958 Tour de France.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta, Silverstone Classic

The pair did not finish the event but Alfonso is known to have competed in at least 6 further events with the car.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta, Silverstone Classic

In March 1959 Alfonso shared #1035GT with fellow Cuban Juan Montalvo in the Sebring 12 Hours where they finished 20th overall and 2nd in class. The pair shared the same chassis the following month in the 1000km race at Daytona were classified 12th though their engine expired before the finish.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta, Silverstone Classic

Alfonso then took the car to Cuba where he finished second in the 1959 4 hour Almar race, 2nd in the 1960 Havanna GT race and finally 11th in the 1960 Cuban Grand Prix.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta, Silverstone Classic

Racingsportscars.com also shows results for a 1959 race in Venezuela called the Ojeda City Grand Prix, no precise date is given for the event but Alfonso is credited as the winner beating the only other known contestants Venezuelan’s Lino Fayen and Ettore Chimeri who were also both driving Ferrari 250 GTs though the order in which the latter finished is also unknown.

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

US Powered European GTs – Silverstone Classic

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For today’s Americana Blog I thought it would be fun to look at some of the US powered pre 1966 GT cars that took part in the 50 minute Chopard International Trophy at Silverstone Classic a couple of weeks ago.

AC Cobra, Chopard International Trophy, Silverstone Classic

Fastest of the seven 289 cui Ford V8 powered AC Cobras in the race was the 1963 #94 example driven by Micheal Gans and Andy Wolfe which came home in 4th place.

Bizzarini, Jaguar, Corvette, Chopard International Trophy, Silverstone Classic

One place further back at the finish was the blue 327 cui Chevrolet V8 powered 1965 #71 Bizzarini 5300 GT driven by Roger Wills, seen above heading an Jaguar Coupé and Craig Davies’s Corvette Stingray.

Iso, Aston Martin, Chopard International Trophy, Silverstone Classic

Jamie McIntyre drove the fastest of the two Chevrolet 327 cui Iso Griffo A3C’s in the race to a 12th place finish, he is seen lapping the 1963 #118 Aston Martin DP214 driven by Robert Rawe above.

Sunbeam Tiger, Chopard International Trophy, Silverstone Classic

Driving a genuine Le Mans bodied 259 cui Ford V8 powered Sunbeam Tiger to a 24th place finish were Chris Beighton and Tony Ekford, seen above ahead of an Jaguar E-Type and AC Cobra.

TVR Griffith, McInerney,Chopard International Trophy, Silverstone Classic

Winner of the Chopard International Trophy was Sean McInerney in the 289 cui Ford V8 powered 1964 #64 TVR Griffith seen above.

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

Classic Clubs – Silverstone Classic

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Today’s blog is dedicated to all the hundreds of car clubs and thousands of classic car enthusiasts who brought classic cars along to Silvertone Classic as we take a look at some of the clubs present.

Aston Martin Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

No less than three, from a total production of 100, of the 2002 limited edition Aston Martin DB7 Zagato’s headed the Aston Martin Owners Club parade.

Berkeley Enthusiasts Club, Silverstone Classic,

Celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary in style was the Berkeley Enthusiasts Club, above a Berkeley Foursome and B105 lap the Silverstone Circuit.

BMW Car Club, Silverstone Classic,

Complementing the 40 metre BMW wheel and Village Green the BMW Car Club was out in strength, above a Z3 and Z1 lap the circuit during one of the parades.

Classic Corvette Club UK, Silverstone Classic

Classic Corvette Club UK was celebrating it’s 35th anniversary, the ’78 Indy 500 Pace Car Limited Edition above was built a year before the formation of the club. This one has the desirable 220hp L82 motor option, the 1978 Indy 500 was won by Al Unser in his Cosworth DFX powered Lola T500.

Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

The Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club always have a fine display of SP250s at this event and this year was no exception.

Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain, Silverstone Classic

The Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Pony Car, above a ’70 convertible stands next to a ’69 Shelby GT 500.

Ginetta Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of the Ginetta G33, one day when I’m in a position to buy one I’ll become a member of the Ginetta Owners’ Club.

Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, Club, Silverstone Classic

John James of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club was able to help me out with an Otter Switch for GALPOT’s most famous XK140 owner Geoffrey Horton in California.

Lamborghini Club UK, Silverstone Classic

The original competition spec prototype Lamborghini Muira Jota burned to the ground on the, unopened, Brescia ring road in April 1971, a member of Lamborghini Club UK has built this wonderful replica of the Prototype originally built by Bob Wallace.

Mercedes Benz Club, Silverstone Classic

Amongst the Mercedes Benz Club members vehicles was this imperiously tailfined 1967 Mercedes Benz 200.

Morgan Sports Car Club, Silverstone Classic

Wecoming Morganeers was the Morgan Sports Car Club with 5,000 owners world wide.

Piper Sports And Racing Car Club, Silverstone Classic

Catering for just 80 examples ever built is the Piper Sports And Racing Car Club which is primarily concerned with preserving the marque for whom Tony Hilder designed the 30″ GT’s first seen in 1968.

Porsche Club Great Britain, Silverstone Classic

Porsche Club Great Britain is the UK’s only officially recognised club for the marque and has close links with Porsche AG and the marques official importer Porsche Cars Great Britain.

Stag Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

Driven by a zest for life for those united by a common interest in the Triumph Stag classic car is the Stag Owners Club.

Karmann Ghia Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

The Karmann Ghia Owners Club attempts to support all aspects of ‘KG’ ownership from purists who want to see original cars to those whose interests include customisation, lowering and performance modifications.

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

Uhlik ‘Praha’ Roadster – Bugatti Type 54 #BC-70

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It is said that the first two Bugatti Type 54s were put together in just 13 days, using Type 45 chassis frames and Type 50 motors, prior to the 1931 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.