Tag Archives: 100

Out Of Obscurity – Elva FJ 100

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In 1959 Frank Nichols hitherto sports racing car manufacturer Elva turned it’s attention to building single seaters for the emerging Formula Junior Championship.

Elva 100, Mark Woodhouse, Chateau Impney Hill Climb,

Their first single seater model was the Elva FJ 100, like the one seen driven by Mark Woodhouse at the recent Chateau Impney Hill Climb in these photographs.

Elva 100, Mark Woodhouse, Chateau Impney Hill Climb,

Victories for Bill de Selincourt in his British Motor Corporation ‘A-Series’ example and Peter Arundell in his DKW, supplied by Gerhard Mitter, powered example saw a flood of orders for the 1960 season.

Elva 100, Mark Woodhouse, Chateau Impney Hill Climb,

However by then the rear engined Lotus 18 and Cooper T52 were emerging as the superior machines leaving Jim Hall at Sebring and Roger Loyer at Montlhéry as the only winners for the marque in their DKW powered examples.

Elva 100, Mark Woodhouse, Chateau Impney Hill Climb,

Mark Woodhouse’s Elva was built in 1960 and spent it’s early life in relative obscurity in the United States. Since returning to the UK in the 1970’s Mark Woodhouse has driven the car to four championship successes in the front engined class and winning the outright Historic Formula Junior Championship with this car in 1999 as did his son Jack in 2009.

Thanks for joining me on this “Out Of Obscurity” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Stanley-BRM. Don’t forget to come back now !

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San Diego Pride – San Diego Jaguar Club 51st Concours d’Elegance

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At the end of July the San Diego Jaguar Club convened a pride of cars to celebrate it’s 51st Concours d’Elegance and Geoffrey Horton kindly sent us these photographs to share.

Jaguar Mark 2,SDJC, 51st, C d'E, San Diego,

Above the slim bumpers on the Jaguar Mark 2 above tell us this is a post 1967 example, it could be a 240, or a 340, but is unlikely to be one of just 12 non standard 380s.
SS 100, SDJC, 51st, C d'E, San Diego,

The SS Jaguar 100 was in production from 1936 to 1940, the 100 name derived from it’s capability to exceed 100 mph, though there would have been few places on British roads where one might have cared to put that stat to the test.

Jaguar 3 1/2 litre, SDJC, 51st, C d'E, San Diego,

This SS Jaguar 3 1/2 litre was built in the same time frame as the ‘100’ model above, unfortunately the British License plates attached to the back of both of these cars have long since been removed from the DVLA data base.

Jaguar, XK120, SDJC, 51st, C d'E, San Diego,

The 120mph+ Jaguar XK120 like the Roadster above were in production from 1948 to 1954.

Jaguar XK140,SDJC, 51st, C d'E, San Diego,

The most famous, on this blog at least, Geoffrey Horton owned ’55 Jaguar XK140 above is soon to go up a notch in authenticity when Geoffrey fits a period correct otter switch to the carburetor that he has managed to locate with help from John James of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club in Wales.

Tempero, XJ13, SDJC, 51st, C d'E, San Diego,

Finally a neat Jaguar XJ13 Replica, I believe this one may be one of a handful built by Tempero in the 1990’s going on nothing more concrete than the mirrors.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “San Diego Pride” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow.

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Holy Terraplanes ! – Triumph Dolomite 14/65

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After Donald Healey was invalided out of the Royal Flying Corps at 18 he took a correspondence course in automobile engineering and then opened a garage in his home town Perranporth, Cornwall, upon the cessation of hostilities at the end of WW1.

In the early thirties his reputation as a consultant engineer and designer led to an appointment at the Triumph Motor Company where he was responsible for Triumphs new vehicles including the Dolomite launched in 1936.

The design of the radiator grill of the Dolomite 14/65 appears to have been influenced by the contemporary US gangsters automobile of choice the Hudson Terraplane, as was, to a lesser extent, the grill on Healey’s post WW2 Healey Elliot and to a lesser extent still the grills on early four cylinder Austin Healey 100’s.

It is believed that 33 Dolomite 14/65 roadsters with a twin carburettor 13 hp 4 cylinder motor were built and this 1938 example driven by Derry Aust is one of 13 known to have survived.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s waterfall grill edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’, and I hope that you’ll join me tomorrow on a tropical island paradise in the Pacific to see what happens when the brakes fail on an 1850 hp jet powered vehicle weighing 250,000 lbs (two hundred and fifty thousand pounds). Don’t forget to come back now !

PS I’d like to thank Tim Fulcher who got back to me about the identity of the driver of last weeks Jaguar XK 140 in Northern Rhodesia, turns out the name of the gentleman driving the car is Ken Livingstone. Thanks again Tim 🙂

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