Tag Archives: 1000

Unit Beat Policing Panda – Morris Minor 1000

In 1968 the City of Bristol Constabulary bought a fleet of Morris Minor 1000s to implement a new Unit Beat Policing Policy that was being rolled out by Constabularies across the country, where by a single officer in a Panda car was to cover an area previously covered by several “bobbies” on the beat.

Morris Minor, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

The withdrawal of foot patrols, to save man power, marked the end of Community Policing in Bristol until it was reintroduced by the renamed and merged Avon and Somerset Police decades later.

Morris Minor, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

Today’s featured “Moggie Thou”, registered on the 1st of February, served in Bristol for three years and is believed by the The Police Vehicle Enthusiasts Club, to be the only survivor of the batch bought in 1968.

Morris Minor, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

In 1971 a second batch of Minor 1000s was bought by the City of Bristol Constabulary to replace the first and it is believed only one of that batch also still exists, note cheaper two door Minor 1000s were used for the new unitary beat policing, presumably in the event of an arrest a Black Maria had to be called to haul arrested suspects away.

Thanks for joining me on this “Unit Beat Policing Panda” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a Star Wars edition of Mercedes Monday. Don’t forget to come back now !

The Noisy Terror From Poissy – Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77

SRT the Simca Racing Team was founded in 1972 to “To restore the joy of young people participating in motorsport” for owners and fans of the Simca 1000 chaired by Daniel Cébile the club grew to have 4,000 members with in two years.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Part of the clubs programme was to encourage members to compete in motorsports events with their vehicles in a variety of disciplines, unlike most manufacturer supported programmes of a similar nature it was not designed to manufacture professional drivers more to provide young drivers a framework within which to compete.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The SRT ’77 is the ultimate evolution of the Simca 1000 Rallye 2 which was a non street legal kit made available in 1977, the year before production of the entire Simca 1000 range was brought to a halt.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

It comprised engine modifications which boosted the power output from 84hp of the standard Rallye 2 to 110hp including a noisy exhaust.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Front and rear spoilers were also augmented by plastic wheel arches which enabled the fitting of wider tyres that included slicks for track applications.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The SRT ’77 Kit allowed Rallye 2 owners to move up from the production orientated Group 1 to the more racing orientated Group 2 class, perhaps the greatest exponent of the SRT ’77 was German Ernst Thierfelder who drove his SRT ’77 to victory in the first VLN championship, Langstreckenmeisterschaft, at the Nurbürgring in 1977.

The road registered SRT ’77 in these photographs was seen at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Noisy Terror From Poissy” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when we will be visiting the Niello Concours at Serrano. Don’t forget to come back now !

Championship Dinger UnStuck – Brands Hatch 1000 Kilometers

Thirty years ago this weekend give or take a day or two I found myself at Brands Hatch for the 1000 kms race, only the second Group C race I had seen, thanks mostly to the fact that my mate Sven was racing his Ford Capri in the supporting Uniroyal Production Saloon car race.

Jaguar XJ6, Brands Hatch 1000 kms

My pit pass from the support race got me into the pits prior to the start of the main event and I wasted no time taking pics of the leading runners from Lancia, Porsche and Jaguar who had locked out the first three rows of the grid in Noah’s Ark fashion during qualifying, above is the Tony Southgate designed Jaguar XJ6 driven by recent Formula One returnee Alan Jones who joined TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) regular Jean-Louis Schlesser in the leading TWR entry that qualified 5th, but retired from the event early with engine damage after the throttle jammed open.

Porsche 962C, Brands Hatch 1000 kms

Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass qualified 4th on the grid in the #1 Porsche 962C seen above and finished second in the race experiencing only one problem, a faster than mandated refueling stop, which the team corrected by holding the car in the pits for an additional 10 seconds on the cars final fuel stop.

Lancia LC2 85, Wollek, de Cesaris, Baldi, Brands Hatch 1000 kms

The Lancia LC2’s with 800 hp qualifying motors, against Porsches 720 hp qualifying spec, locked out the front row with the #4 driven by Ricardo Patrese and Alessandro Nannini on pole, but in the final hour when the Lancia’s were running 3rd and 4th team mate Andrea de Cesaris ran into the pack of Patrese’s car damaging the exhaust on the #4 forcing a quick stop for repairs to secure it again which left the #5 Lancia Andrea shared with Brilliant Bob Wollek and Mauro Baldi to claim 3rd one lap down on the leading Porsches.

Gebhardt JC843, Adams, Taylor, Harrower, Brands Hatch 1000 kms

One car I had been particularly looking forward to seeing in the flesh was the super slippery Group C2 #75 Gebhardt JC843 seen above driven by Nick Adams, Ian Taylor and Ian Harrower, on this occasion the 3.3 litre / 201 cui Cosworth DFL car finished tenth, 46 laps behind the winning Porsche, from 15th on the grid.

Ecosse C285, Wilds, Mallock, Brands Hatch 1000 kms

Winners of the Group C2 class were Ray Mallock and Mike Wilds in the Ecurie Ecosse #79 Ecosse C285 which was similarly Cosworth DFL powered, starting from 14 on the grid Ray and Mike came home 6th, 19 laps behind the winning C1 car, but crucially 11 laps ahead of the C2 turbocharged Carma powered Alba AR6 driven by Martino Finotto, Almo Coppelli and Carlo Facetti.

Porsche 962C, Derek Bell, Brands Hatch 1000 kms

Starting from third on the grid thanks to the efforts of Hans Stuck was the #2 Porsche 962C he shared with local boy “Dinger” Derek Bell who crossed the line less the 12 seconds ahead of the #1 Porsche and in the process Hans and Derek more or less secured their first World Endurance Drivers Championship, this would become Derek’s first drivers championship ever in over 18 years as a professional.

My belated thanks to Sven who got me into see the show.

Thanks for joining me on this “Championship Dinger Unstuck” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be locking at a Formula One Toleman that nearly never ran for the want of a tyre contract. Don’t forget to come back now !

Out Of Hours Melissa – Saleen S7-R #610

Launched in 2000 the carbon fibre Saleen S7 was the brainchild of Steve Saleen designed by Phil Frank with a chassis engineered by Ray Mallock Limited and financed by Hidden Creek Industries.

The car was powered by a 427cui / 7 litre all aluminium derivative of Ford’s 351 Windsor block that produced 550hp in normally aspirated form or 750hp post 2005 twin turbocharged form.

Alongside the production cars 21 S7-R race chassis were manufactured between 2000 and 2009 and initially completed by Ray Mallock Limited in the UK and later by ORECA in France, seven of these chassis were given vehicle identification numbers (VIN), but never completed as race cars.

Saleen S7-R, Sébastien Dumez, Roland Bervillé, Laurent Groppi, Silverstone 1000 Kms,

S7-Rs were raced by teams including; Ray Mallock Limited (RML) 2001 European Le Mans Champions (ELMS), Saleen-Allen Speedlab 18th Le Mans 2006, Fordahl Motorsports, Konrad Motorsport, Park Place Racing, Graham Nash Motorsport 2002 British and Spanish GT Champions, Dominique Dupuy’s DDO team, Vitaphone Racing, ACEMCO Motorsports 11th Le Mans in 2006, ORECA 2006 FFSA GT Champions, Zakspeed, Balfe Racing, Racing Box, and Larbre Compétition who won the GT1 class at Le Mans in 2010 with today’s featured chassis #610.

Due to a funding shortage fabrication of chassis #610 was carried out by Saleens engineering team at Irvine, CA as an out of hours project and named Melissa after one of the girl friend of one of the Saleen engineers working on the project in 2006/7.

Chassis #610 was then built up into a complete race car by ORECA at their base in Magny-Cours, France and delivered to Labre Competition for the 2009 season.

Saleen S7-R, Sébastien Dumez, Roland Bervillé, Laurent Groppi, Silverstone 1000 Kms,

Sébastien Dumez, Roland Bervillé and Steve Zacchia debuted the car in the 2009 Catalunya 1000 Kilometres where it finished 22nd from 26th on the grid, for the Algarve 1000 Kilometres Sébastian and Roland were joined by Stéphane Lémeret and they finished 23rd from 22nd on the grid.

For the ADAC 1000KM-Rennen at the Nürburgring Roland and Sébastian were joined by Laurent Groppi where they finished 1st in GT1, 23rd overall from 21st on the grid, at the Silverstone where today’s photographs were taken, the same trio finished 21st from 20th on the grid.

At the 2009 season ending Okayama 1000 Kilometres Roland was rejoined by Stéphane Lémeret and with Dutchman Carlo van Dam they retired from Heat One and finished 10th in heat two.

Saleen S7-R, Sébastien Dumez, Roland Bervillé, Laurent Groppi, Silverstone 1000 Kms,

Gabriele Gardel, Patrice Goueslard and Julien Canal drove #610 at the 2010 season opening Le Mans Series Test at Paul Ricard finishing with 32nd fastest time a month later the same trio finished the 8 Heures du Castellet at the same venue 24th from 26th on the grid.

At the 1000 Km de Spa Francorchamps Gabriele and Patrice were joined by Brazilian Fernando Rees and together they finished 31st from 46th on the grid before the car was sent to Le Mans.

For the French classic Julien Canal was back in the third seat and from 46th on the grid they finished 1st in GT1 and 13th overall, Fernando then replaced Julian for the 2010 Algarve, Hungaroring and Silverstone 1000 km races and the car was driven to 3 more straight GT1 class victories.

Laurent Groppi was then joined in #610 for it’s final known appearance by Pedro Lamy and Patrick Bornhauser for the 1000kms race run at Zuhai in the Peoples Republic of China and Melissa rounded out her career with a 5th straight GT1 class victory from 12th on the grid she finished 18th overall.

Thanks for joining me on this “Out Of Hours Melissa” 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 !

Rowing Minor – Morris Minor Pick Up

Morris Minor Pick Ups were manufactured between 1953 and 1971.

Morris Minor Pick Up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

Like the Minor Van, Minor Pick Ups feature a separate chassis on which to mount the body panels unlike the Morris Minor passenger vehicles which had a unitary / monocoque body construction.

Morris Minor Pick Up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

The single piece windscreen and large indicator side light cluster point to this model seen at the Malta Classic Car Museum in Qwara being built post 1961.

Morris Minor Pick Up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

The varnished wood paneling in the rear along with the oars are a give away that this vehicle was probably used by on of the seven rowing clubs that take part in Malta’s annual Victory Day Regatta which can be traced back to 1822.

Morris Minor Pick Up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

If you know which club this vehicle used to belong to please do not be afraid to chip in below.

Morris Minor Pick Up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

Morris Minors were imported to Malta new and used, there was a small industry built around rebodying vehicles to suit Maltese needs which included Morris Minor Pick Ups fitted larger pick up boxes than the original as seen in this link featuring a Maltese bodied Minor Pickup being rescued from a field.

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

Everything Is Fresh – MG-B Roadster

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In 1962 MG replaced the MG-A with the MG-B roadster which featured unitary monocoque body construction.

Despite being three inches shorter than the A series cars the MG-B had more interior space for the occupants and their luggage.

Mk 1 models initially came with a 95 hp motor with a 3 bearing crankshaft which in 1965 was replaced by a 5 bearing crankshaft for improved reliability with no gain in power.

The 95 horsepower motor coupled with softer suspension gave the car a higher, 100 mph, top speed and smoother than the MG-A which it replaced. The brakes of early MG-B’s are notoriously heavy to use because servo assistance was not added until 1975.

MG-B’s of the ’67 – ’68 period seen here had 12 volt electrics courtesy of a pair of 6 volt batteries wired in series that were to be found behind the seats, making access difficult but aiding the handling. Windows that could be wound up and down was a novelty for the MG-B when it was launched.

The only way of telling if this model is a MK1 or MK2 would be too look under the Tonneau to see if it has the flat topped transmission tunnel of the fully synchronized four speed Mk2 gearbox.

Everything was not quite as fresh about the MG-B as the brochure would have had us believe but the MG-B did prove to be another export success and competition success with a class win in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally, 1966 Targa Florio and Spa 1000 kms and outright wins in the 1965 Guards 1000 miles and at Brands Hatch and 1966 84-hour Marathon de la Route at the Nurburgring.

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

More bodywork with an ash frame – Morris Minor 1000 Traveller

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The Morris Minor was conceived by Sir Alec Issigonis, best known as the father of the revolutionary ‘Mini‘ and entered production in 1948.

There were 3 series of ‘Moggie thou’ this particular 67/68 model is one of the third series, distiguishable by a single piece windscreen and officially known as Minor 1000.

Powered by a 4 cylinder BMC A series 1098 cc / 67 cui motor the car could achieve 77 mph.

The two door Estate/Stationwagon version was introduced with the second series of the Minor in 1952.

Minor Travellers like the later Mini Traveller featured a varnished ash framework, the same timber as used internally by Morgan.

At the time production of Morris Minors was discontinued each vehicle was estimated to be losing the British Leyland Motor Corporation around £9.

One might be forgiven for thinking the door lock was an afterthought, but I can remember public awareness campaigns on television advising us to lock cars at all times in the late 1960’s early 1970’s long before the crime of ‘joy riding’ had been thought of.

I have driven a couple of Minors and they are very easy to handle at a sedate pace, they do not feel anywhere near as solid or purposeful as a VW Beetle, great for tootling around country lanes all day but not so comfortable on an Autobahn as the Beetle was.

Minors have featured on a number TV series the Traveller probably most famously on ‘Heartbeat’ a series about the Police in Yorkshire set in the 1960’s. There is even a Corgi die cast available complete with Sergeant Oscar Blaketon figure.

For the serious Moggie Thou fan there is also a 1:12 scale model available complete with opening doors !

Thanks for popping by today’s sedate edition of “Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres”, hope you’ll join me tomorrow for more, don’t forget to come back now !

Please note :- I do not in anyway endorse, or have any commercial interest in the products or distributors highlighted in today’s feature, I am merely passing the information on as an enthusiast of all things motoring, I have no experience of handling these products nor have I used these vendors. I recommend anyone interested in these items or distributors do their own thorough investigation into suitability, reliability and particularly prices of both products and vendors before making any purchasing decisions.