Monthly Archives: September 2015

The Crumpled Cup Auto Solo – Rolls Royce Car Park Filton

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On Sunday I headed down to Queen Square for the regular second Sunday of the month Avenue Drivers Club meeting only to find all access roads blocked by Bristol Half Marathon stewards one of whom apparently had no idea where Queen Square was, which made for an interesting point of departure for a conspiracy theory which I shall refrain from repeating here.

MCW Metrobus MkII, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Later at mid day I made my way over to the Rolls Royce Car Park at Filton for the Bristol Pegasus Motor Clubs first Crumpled Cup Autosolo. Upon reflection I wish I had stopped off longer at The Ark Bus, 1982 MCW Metrobus, a faith in motion project, to ask for some much needed devine intervention to help me to remember the three different routes through the 31 cones that were to make up the three timed tests of the event.

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The Volkswagen Golf Mk IV Estate is not an obvious choice of vehicle for this type of event and certainly not when carrying more than half a tank of fuel, but I determined that I would have fun and that I did in spades despite the fact that of my nine runs, three times through each of the three routes I actually only managed to complete the course correctly on five occasions ! Fortunately this was still better than some so I did not come last in the front wheel drive class.

Honda Civic, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton,

Martyn Mitchell warned me that his Honda Civic would only be in contention for the slowest time of the day and perhaps next time he will join me by the bus in some requests for devine intervention on the memory front.

Citroen Saxo, George/Ashley Pope, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Father and son George and Ashley Pope shared their Citroën Saxo to take front wheel drive honours with Ashley only scoring two clean runs on the final test which ironically was the only test on which George scored only one clean run, George was the comfortable winner of the front wheel drive class and would have finished 3rd overall had the event been run as an open competition between all eight competitors.

Westfield SEiW, Andy Moss, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Struggling with the turning circle of his self built Westfield SEiW was club chairman Andy Moss.

Vauxhall VX220, Martyn Lidbury, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Despite having the smaller Lotus Elise size front tyres on his Vauxhall VX220 Martyn Lidbury also struggled with the turning circle of his car which otherwise made all the right noises as he drove it to third in class on his first event with the club.

Westfield SEiW, Ben Bishop, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Second in the rear wheel drive class was Ben Bishop in his Westfield SEiW with the second best score overall too.

Mazda MX5, Chris Buckley, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Lowest scores of the day were recorded by Chris Buckley in his supercharged Mazda MX5 who only scored maximum points on his very first run of the afternoon.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the event which I hope shall be the first of many to come, my thanks to Pete Goodman for getting permission from Rolls Royce to use the venue, to Alan Spencer for organising the event, to Tim Murray the events secretary and score keeper, marshals Ann Mitchell and Nick Woods and not least my fellow competitors who made the 4 hours of the competition fly by.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Crumpled Cup Auto Solo” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Mercury Monterey. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Floride – Renault Caravelle

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After the run away success of the Volkswagen, Beetle based, Typ 14 Karmann Ghia launched in 1955, particularly in the United States, Renault thought they might be able pull off a similar feat by building Coupé and Convertible versions of the humble rear engined Renault Dauphine that succeeded the 4CV.

Allegedly the idea for the new Coupé and Cabriolet Dauphine variants was suggested at a convention of North American distributors that took place in Florida where Renault Chairman Pierre Dreyfus picked up the ball for the idea which instantly became known as the “Renault Floride”.

Renault Caravelle, Haynes International Motor Museum

The design was the work of Pietro Frua working for Ghia in Italy and the production of the bodies for the Dauphine chassis was by Société des usines Chausson in Paris while final assembly was completed by Brissonneau and Lotz at Creil in Picardy.

Not wishing to offend the other 49 states in the US of A Renault called the new model the Caravelle in all English speaking markets a year after the Floride was launched at the Paris Motor Show in 1958.

Initially powered by a standard 37 hp motor or Gordini tuned 40hp version the Floride / Caravelle remained in production until 1968 by which time only 117,000 units had been built compared to the 445,000 Karmann Ghia’s Volkswagen built between 1955 and 1974.

The example seen above at the Haynes International Motor Museum was registered in the UK on the 25th of January 1968.

Thanks for joining me on this “Floride” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be competing in my first Auto Solo. Don’t forget to come back now !

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

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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 !

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Wanted Gofer – Lola Hart THL1 #85-002

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It must have been soon after I had helped my school friend Sven by cleaning the windscreen of his Ford Capri during the 1985 Willhire 24 hour race at Snetterton that I realised a year after leaving college my life did not appear to be going anywhere particularly fast and that I ought to expand my horizons when I saw a vacancy for a gopher for Carl Haas’s FORCE Formula One team being run by Teddy Meyer, in Autosport.

Without hesitation and in possession of the aforementioned experience, along with the requisite van driving experience, a clean driving licence and a B.A. Hons in European Business (2,2) from Trent Polytechnic I applied the same day thinking no one on gods great earth could possibly match my credentials… I was of course completely wrong, I got a nice letter from Mr Meyer informing me I had not been selected for interview and wishing me luck for the future, I can’t say I was not disappointed, but at least I had made one attempt, no matter how ill judged, to run away with the circus.

Lola Hart THL1, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Late in 1984 Carl Haas secured sponsorship for his Champ Car Team which won the ’84 Championship with Mario Andretti from Beatrice Foods, part of the agreement included a deal to part fund and expansion by Haas into Formula One with Carl Haas’s FORCE being responsible for the design, Ford for the exclusive supply of a new Cosworth turbocharged V6 motor and 1980 World Champion Alan Jones who was to make his second return to Formula One since officially retiring at the end of 1981.

For some reason probably not unconnected with the fact that Haas had been the long time US importer of Lola, Andretti drove the T800 in 84 and T900 in ’85, Lola was nominated as the car’s manufacturer although they had no input to either it’s design or manufacture, ex Williams employee Neil Oatley designed the THL1 which was initially adapted to take the Hart turbocharged 4 cylinder engine while the Cosworth was readied for the 1986 season.

Lola Hart THL1, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

The THL1 appeared at the Italian, European, South African and Australian Grand Prix at the end of 1985 and retired from all but the South African event where Alan Jones qualified a season high 18th but was unwell and did not take the start.

At the start of the 1986 season the Cosworth V6 was still not ready and so Alan was forced to soldier on with the Hart motor in Brazil and Spain, he qualified 17th for the latter, but was involved in a collision with Jonathon Palmers Zakspeed which saw both cars retire on the opening lap.

Alan, 1978 Can Am2 Champion driving a Haas Lola, was joined in 1986 by Patrick Tambay who had also won Can Am2 championhships with Haas in 1977 and 1980. Like Alan he had to make do with a Hart powered THL1 for his first three starts, Patrick out qualified Alan qualifying a promising 11th at San Remo where he retired, as in Brazil, but he brought his THL1 home to a non points paying 8th from 18th on the grid and in so doing became the only driver to bring a THL1, chassis #85-002 seen in these photographs taken at Goodwood, across the finish line of a Championship Grand Prix.

The teams fortunes improved moderately with the arrival of the new turbocharged Cosworth V6 powered THL2, Alan scored a best 4th at Monza where he was followed home by Patrick in 5th, at the following Belgian Grand Prix Alan finished 6th and by the end of the season a change of management and policy at Beatrice saw them terminate their sponsorship leaving Haas with little option but to close his team down, while Alan sold his Ferrari and headed home to Australia.

Thanks for joining me on this “Gopher Wanted” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the very first Mercedes Benz 300 SLR. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Monterey ALFAs – Rolex Monterey Motorsposts Reunion

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For our fifth visit to this years Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion I’ll be looking at some of the ALFA Romeo cars present snapped by kindly snapped for us by Karl Krause.

ALFA Romeo Monza, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

From 1932 the battle worn 8 cylinder ALFA Romeo Monza, of the type that won the 10 hour 1931 Italian Grand Prix driven by Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari, the #31 seen here is owned and driven by Peter Giddings.

ALFA Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Seven years later ALFA Romeo built the 120 hp 6C 2500 Super Sport owned and driven by Conrad Stevenson, the development and production of the 6C 2500 continued after the 1939-’45 hostilities until 1952.

ALFA Romeo Guilia Spyder, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

ALFA Romeo introduced the Giulia Spyder alongside the Giulia Saloons / Sedans in 1962 although they were actually more closely related to the Giulietta’s that remained in production from 1954 to 1965, the 1963 Giulia Spyder above is owned and driven by Peter Inshaw.

ALFA Romeo TZ1, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

In 1963 ALFA Romeo launched the Giulia TZ also known as the TZ1 to replace the Giulietta SZ, unlike the Giullia Spyder the Giulia TZ was based on the chassis pan and running gear of the Giulia Saloons / Sedans, pay attention at the back I shall be asking questions later ! The #3 ’63 Giulia TZ is owned and driven by Joe Colasacco.

ALFA Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

The sinuous curves and dihedral opening butterfly doors all made the 1968 ALFA Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale one of the worlds most expensive cars in 1968, which maybe why the one seen above is one of only 18 built.

ALFA Romeo GTV, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Jon Norman started racing ALFA’s in 1968 and in 1971 started racing this 1971 ALFA Romeo GTV in the Trans Am series 44 years later he is still racing it in historic events.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for organising these photographs for me and to Karl Krause for their execution.

Thanks for joining me on this “Monterey ALFAs” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a turbocharged Formula One Lola. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Alan’s Spyder – Ferrari 275 GTS #07395

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With it’s looks more closely related to the Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet than any of it’s similarly 3.3 litre V12 powered 275 siblings, as I noted earlier this year the 200 275 GTS convertibles built are the odd balls of the Ferrari 275 family.

Ferrari 275 GTS, Silverstone Classic,

Today’s featured car, seen at the recent Silverstone classic was imported into the UK by Maranello Concessionaires in 1965 and first registered in the UK on the 19th of July the same year, #07395 appears to have kept it’s original registration ever since.

Ferrari 275 GTS, Silverstone Classic,

The only named owner detectable for chassis #07395 is shown as 1980 Formula One World Champion Alan Jones though no specific dates are given for when he acquired or disposed of the car. The car is shown as having been at Christie’s Beaulieu auction on the 14th of July 1986 by which time, if Alan still owned the car, he had probably come to the conclusion that restarting his Formula One career with Team Haas was probably not going to bear the fruits he was expecting, #07395 is said to have been sold for £47,500 including buyers premium to an undisclosed purchaser.

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

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Monterey Porsches – Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

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On our fourth visit to this years Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion I’ll be looking at some of the Porsches and Porsche powered cars present.

Porsche 1500 Super Continental, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

First up the 1955 Porsche 1500 Super Continental owned and driven by Clinton deWitt, US Porsche importer Max Hoffman had the 1500 Continental supersede the 1500 America in 1955 with the less powerful ‘normal’ motors because he thought they would give his customers better low engine speed performance than the more powerful “Super” motors, the inverse of what a race car needs. The Continental name did not last long because objections from Ford who used the Continental name at that time for a stand alone brand.

Porsche 550A, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Porsche 550’s have a long tradition of being raced on the East and West coast of North America the 1955 34 F Modified 550 A belongs to Tom Tarbue a regular visitor to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

Denzel Roadster, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Strictly speaking the 1958 Denzel 1300 Roadster owned and driven to Terry Sullivan does not belong in this blog since Wolfgang Denzel came up with his Roadster completely independently of Porsche and like Porsche developed his own range of performance parts for use in motors sourced from contemporary Volkswagen Beetles, but I included it just for the benefit of disambiguation.

PAM Platypus Porsche, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Scooter Patrick, Hans Adam, and Don Mitchell are credited with building the Porsche powered 1964 PAM Platypus out of P.A.M. Foreign Cars of Hermosa Beach, California for NO FEAR pilot Miles Gupton who raced the car with a number of different Porsche motors finishing 1964 as runner-up West Coast Champion, second only to Frank Monise’s Lotus 23B. The car was latter fitted an Oldsmobile V8 but as since been restored with a 2 litre Porsche 901 motor and is currently run by owner driver Arthur Conner.

Porsche 935J, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

From 1977 the story of the Porsche 935 became increasingly confusing with the works offering 10 ’76 935 spec customer cars known as 935/77A’s while proceeding with their own development plan on the works 935/77 that featured improved aerodynamics that necessitated a more inclined second rear screen which covered the mandated original. The works 935/77 also adopted a twin turbo motor to stay ahead of the expected competition from a turbocharged BMW CSL. Meanwhile the Kremer brothers had been developing it’s own K series of 935’s which were the class of the field at Le Mans in 1979 when a K3 took overall honours, to keep up Joest Racing, better known these days for their exploits at Le Mans with Audi, developed there own version of the 935 known as the 935J above is the 935 J 000 00012 one of two cars that appeared in 1980 for the Momo sponsored Electrodyne racing. This car, now owned by William Chip E Connor, only recorded the one race win at Daytona in July 1981 when Mauricio de Narvaez and Hurley Haywood drove the now DeNarvaez entered car to victory lane in the Paul Revere 250 at Daytona.

Porsche 962C, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,

Finally we have the 962C chassis #962-170 being offered for sale by Canepa said to be an unraced spare, one of the last four 962’s built in 1991. While I do not doubt it was never raced I wonder if as well as being sent to Team Trust in Japan sans engine it was also sent sans factory body work since to the best of my knowledge no factory supplied 962 was ever supplied with a central pillar mounted rear wing or a nose with single head lamps on either side, where as the likes of Britten Lloyd Racing, from whom Trust also bought a 962 chassis, Kremer and Joest all built a variety of body variants for the 962 with unusual headlight arrangements and centrally mounted rear wings.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton and Karl Krause for organising and taking today’s photographs respectively.

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

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