Tag Archives: Brown

’69 Spoiler – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

No sooner had Chevrolet announced the arrival of it’s Camaro model in 1967 to compete against Ford’s Mustang than racers in the USA were lining up to challenge the Mustang’s hegemony in the Trans Am series with the 302 cui / 5 litre Z/28 variant like the example seen here at a Silverstone Classic Press Day a couple of years ago.

Among those racing Z/28’s in 1967 way Bobby Brown whom records show raced a Penske Z/28 with George Wintersteen and Joe Welch in the 1967 Daytona 24 hours where they qualified 22nd but retired.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Bobby also raced a Robert Chevrolet entered Z/28 in the 1967 Sebring 4 Hour race in which he finished 6th from 9th on the grid.

Records show Bobby racing a Z/28 on two further occasions at Lime Rock in 1967 winning his class in a SCCA event in mid May.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Today’s featured car is believed to have been raced by Bobby in 1967 before being shipped to the UK in 1968 where Malcolm Wayne drove it in the British Saloon Car Championship the following season Mike Kearon did likewise.

In 1970 the car went to Bill Davis Racing where it was part of a two car stable that included a Z/28 built from scratch that was driven by Roy Pierrepont.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Adrian Chambers acquired the car in 1971 for his SCA Freight team that was joined midway through the season by Australian Frank Gardner who won two British Saloon Car Championship races with it.

Frank also raced the car in a couple of rounds of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft 1972 finishing a best 2nd at Diepholz.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

After it was replaced in the SCA team by a second generation Camaro Frank had today’s featured car sent first to New Zealand and then to Australia where he raced it into 1973.

John Pollard appears to have been responsible for fitting the larger ’69 spec rear spoiler in preparation for his entry into Australian Super Sedan races somewhere around 1976.

Thanks for joining me on this “’69 Spoiler” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Airship Powered Belgian – Métallurgique 60/80 Maybach

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In 1898 the Belgian manufacturer of railway locomotives and rolling stock Métallurgique in an effort to diversify unveiled it’s first prototype car that resembled the contemporary German two cylinder Daimlers.

Encouraged by the public’s enthusiastic response Métallurgique built a factory for car manufacture in 1900 and launched it’s first 2 cylinder model for sale in 1901 before expanding it’s range to include four cylinder models with pressed-steel chassis, swing axles, high-tension ignition and with a novel for the period electric dynamo option to facilitate electric lighting.

Métallurgique 60/80 hp Maybach, Brian Moore, Chateau Impney

The companies pre 1914/18 range was topped by the 60/80 model that was powered by a 4 cylinder 10 litre / 610 cui motor that could reach speeds of 62.5 mph.

Métallurgique 60/80 hp Maybach, Brian Moore, Chateau Impney

The engine today’s featured 60/80 car is said to have been swapped for it’s current 6 cylinder 21 litre / 1281 cui Maybach airship motor in 1910 when the motor was new, one source suggests this was allegedly done to satisfy run away school boy turned racer David Loney Bruce Brown’s requirement that the Métallurgique should have a 100mph capability, but I have not seen any independent corroborating evidence backing the allegation.

Métallurgique 60/80 hp Maybach, Brian Moore, Chateau Impney

MM 1907 was first registered for use on British roads on 17th of May 1950, thanks to the “YoungManGoneWest” blog published in August 2011 we know that Douglas Fitzpatrick, believed to be Douglas Bader’s flying instructor, appears to have owned this Métallurgique from at least 1957 as evidenced by a Pathé newsreel that show’s him polishing the car at Beaulieu and that he drove it in the Brighton Speed Trials in 1959, ’61 and ’64, Douglas reckoned his Métallurgique was capable of 120 mph in one report on Bizarre Cars in 1966.

Métallurgique 60/80 hp Maybach, Brian Moore, Chateau Impney

A Dutchman Ad Schuring who visited Douglas Fitzpatrick at Sheringham Hall in Norfolk and was taken for rides in the Métallurgique seems to recall that the 60/80 appeared in non staring rolls in the films Around the World in 80 Days 1956 and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 1968.

Douglas Fitzpatrick had a German called Gerry, who lived above the garages at Sheringham Hall, look after the Métallurgique along with his other cars that included an Achilles, a Wolseley Siddley, a brace of Rolls Royces and a supercharged Singer Gazelle.

Brian Moore is seen at the wheel of the Métallurgique 60/80 Maybach in these photograph’s at Chateau Impney Hillclimb last year, if you happen to know anything about the veracity of the story about David Loney Bruce Brown’s involvement with the fitting of the Maybach engine to this Métallurgique in 1910 please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Airship Powered Belgian” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for another visit to Aust Services. Don’t forget to come back now !

Archbishop – Ford Consul Cortina Super Estate

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In the early 1960’s Ford of Britain’s Project Archbishop the code name given to the family car designed by Roy Brown Jr that was to be launched on the 20th of September 1962 as the Ford Consul Cortina range.

Ford Cortina Estate, Sherborne Castle

Initially the car was offered only with a 1.2 litre / 73.2 cui 3 bearing Kent engine until January 1963 when the 60hp 1498 cc / 91.5 cui 5 bearing Kent engine became available for the Cortina Super models like the 1963 Estate / Wagon seen in these photographs at Sherborne Castle last year.

Ford Cortina Estate, Sherborne Castle

The Ford Consul Cortina Estate was launched in March 1963 and like the Anglia 105E Estate first seen in 1961 it was built in house at Dagenham rather than contracted out to Abbott’s of Farnham, as had been all other post war Ford Estates.

Ford Cortina Estate, Sherborne Castle

Today’s featured Consul Cortina Super Estate, complete with original imitation wood panels, was registered for the road in the UK on the 16th of May 1963.

Ford Cortina Estate, Sherborne Castle

The Consul Cortina was mildly face lifted in October 1964 and fitted with superior “Aeroflow” through-flow ventilation.

Thanks for joining me on this “Archbishop” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a couple of acres of Town ‘n’ Country. Don’t forget to come back now !

Libre, Hillclimbing, Guernsey Bus – Chevron Cosworth B17C #F2-70-2

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Alongside the production of nine Formula 3 Chevron B17 1 litre / 61 cui “Screamer” Formula 3 cars Chevron built 5 examples of the B17B powered by Vegatune Ford Twin Cam engines in 1598cc / 97.5 cui form for US based SCCA Formula B competitors and two B17C’s one with a 1598 cc / 91.5 cui Cosworth FVA engine to compete in Formula 2 and the other today’s featured chassis #F2-70-2 which was originally supplied to compete in Formula Libre events.

Chevron Cosworth B17C, Silverstone Classic, Press Day

Steve Thompson had the car fitted with a 1790 cc / 109.2 cui Cosworth FVC engine and is believed to have won at least 14 Formula Libre races with the car in 1970. The ownership trail then includes Frank Mumford and Alex Seldon, the latter is believed to have fitted the car with a 2 litre / 122 cui BDA in 1972, but neither owner is known to have competed with the car.

Chevron Cosworth B17C, Martin Bullock, Silverstone Classic, Press Day

In November 1972 Malcom Brown is believed to have raced the car at Brands Hatch and in April the following year Richard Leech drove the car in a Libre event as Castle Combe, Deryck Cook advertised the car for sale now powered by a Ford Twin Cam before Philip Sandwith in Guernsey bought it from Spencer Elton in Wiltshire.

Chevron Cosworth B17C, Martin Bullock, Silverstone Classic, Press Day

Philip competed in hill climb events from 1975 to 1978 with #F2-70-2 now fitted with a Holbay twin cam engine that helped him secure numerous class records, Guernsey Bus garage manager Mike le Cras ran the car at the Le Val des Terres hill climb in St Peter Port Guernsey in 1983.

Chevron Cosworth B17C, Martin Bullock, Silverstone Classic, Press Day

The ownership trail then leads to Australian Martin Bullock who is seen driving the car in these photographs at the Silverstone Classic press day in 2013, with a 1967 – 1971 Formula 2 spec Cosworth FVA fitted. More details on this car can be found on Allen Brown’s Old Racing Cars.com website.

Thanks for joining me on this “Libre, Hillclimbing, Guernsey Bus” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be revisiting Nottingham circa 1985. Don’t forget to come back now !

Scottish Hillclimb Champion – Chevron Holbay B17 #F3.70.08

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1967 Chevron started building cars with 1 litre / 61. cui “Screamer” motors to comply with the tertiary international Formula 3 regulations.

The manufacturers first Formula 3 model was the one off B7 driven by Peter Gethin towards the end of 1967, this was followed by a batch of 8 production versions of the B7 built in 1968 known as B9’s

A one off B9B with stressed panels incorporated into the frame was built at the end of 1968 and again raced by Peter Gethin who drove the car to a debut win.

The following year Chevron built 14 production versions of the B9B known as the B15 and in 1970 9 upgraded Formula 3 cars followed known as B17’s.

I believe today’s featured car seen in these photographs at the recent Grand Finals Castle Combe meeting where it was driven by Jim Blockley is the same car as that advertised by David Pullen in October 2013.

Distinguishing features include the one piece top body work from the back of the cockpit to the nose, the exhaust, and the universal joint with sliding spline driveshafts in place of the more common for the period Rotoflex driveshaft couplings.

According to former Derek Bennett Engineering employee Kevin ‘Ossy’ Hodge, who was involved in building nearly all the B17’s, the car formerly belonging to David Pullen is the eighth Formula 3 B17 to be built and was originally supplied to Ken Sedgley.

Kevin also established recently that unlike Chevron’s GT’s chassis frames for the B8, B16 and later B19 models which were built by sub contractor Arch Motors the frames for the open wheelers were subcontracted out to Racing Frames in Ware, Hertfordshire.

In his notes on Ken Sedgley’s B17, see note 13 on this link, Allen Brown records that #F3.70.08 was raced by Ken in Formula 3 and Libre events with Holbay motors and upgraded the following year with a 1600 cc / 97 cui Holbay motor compliant with the new for 1971 spec Formula 3.

John Finch of Chesterfield bought and raced the car midway through 1971 and shared it with Graham Lynch in 1972, the following year a Formula Atlantic Spec production based twin cam was fitted and the car was raced in both Formula Atlantic and Formula Libre events.

Alan Thompson bought the car for hillclimbing campaigning it in 1975 and 1976 which culminated in him securing the 1976 Scottish Hillclimb Championship.

Russell Paterson acquired the car in 1977 but crashed it before it passed through the hands of Bobby Howlings and M Wakefield-Brand in 1978.

David Pullen bought the car in 1991 and in the spring of 2009 the car was significantly rebuilt with a 1964 to 1970 F3 spec 1 litre / 61 cui Holbay R70 MAE engine rebuilt by Stuart Rolt and Mk8 Hewland 4 speed gearbox by Cavan Riley.

John Pearson raced this car in 2014 prior to selling it to Jim Blockley who raced a Brabham in Historic Formula 3 events up until appearing in the Chevron at Castle Combe.

The 1964 to 1970 Formula 3 engine specs required the use of a production engine block and a single choke carburetor fitted with a 36mm restrictor twixt the carburetor and inlet manifold.

The cylinder heads were free to be modified with gear driven cams replacing cam chains and dry sump lubrication for the crankshaft, the 1 litre / 61 cui Formula 3 motor’s were known as “screamers” because they could occasionally be buzzed up to 13,000 rpm with little or no damage.

By far the most popular blocks used in the “Screamer” formula were the three crank bearing 105E and 109E blocks from Ford, Cosworth built a Modified Anglia Engine known as the “MAE” based on 105E but the term “MAE” appears to have carried over onto products for the same market from both Holbay and Novamotor who also used Ford 3 bearing engine blocks.

It was soon realised that the least resistance to flow was offered by a twin choke Weber IDA down draught carburetor with a blanked off choke, for which special inlet manifolds were built to fit engines that were tilted over at 30 degrees along the crankshaft axis in the chassis.

My thanks to all who contributed to the B17 thread at TenTenths and to the Ford 105E thread at The Nostalgia Forum especially Snakedriver, Ray Bell, John Saunders and David Birchall who kindly answered my question regarding the use of the blanked off twin choke carburetors.

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

Ken’s Samaritan Karma – Ford Escort RS1800

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When Ken Jones set off from Nottingham with his mates in his 1970 3 litre / 183 cui Ford Capri registration “EVO 281J” to spectate on the Lombard Esso Scottish Rally in June 1976 he could have had little idea how his Samaritan spirit would either enter rallying folklore or be rewarded.