Tag Archives: Concours

Refrigerator White #1 – Chevrolet Camaro

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Never one to rest on his laurels after winning two Trans Am championships for Chevrolet, Roger Penske and his engineer driver Mark Donohue accepted the challenge of turning the AMC Javelin into a Trans Am winner for the 1970 season, leaving Chevrolet to do a deal with Jim Hall and his Chaparral team in Texas to develop the second generation Camaro into a Trans Am challenger.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

During the 1970 season Jim employed Ed Leslie, Joe Leonard and Vic Elford to share the driving duties with himself after building and preparing three cars in the customary Chaparral Refrigerator White.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Ford recaptured the 1970 Trans Am title thanks to 5 race wins accumulated by Parnelli Jones and on from George Follmer, AMC finished the championship second with three race wins from Mark Donohue and Chevrolet third with two wins one from the American Racing Associates entry driven by Milt Minter at Donnybrook and the other at Watkins Glen by Vic Elford at the wheel of today’s featured car.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Vic only made four starts for Chaparral in the 1970 series alongside his Trans Am win at Watkins Glen he also won the Nurburgring 1000kms race with Kurt Ahrens in a works Porsche 908, Interserie (European Can Am) race at Hockenheim in the Paul Weston Racing Organisation McLaren M6B and the under 2 litre 500 km race at the Nurburging in the Escuderia Montjuich Team Chevron entered Chevron B16.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Today’s featured car, seen in these photographs taken by Geoffrey Horton, is believed to be the only one of the three 1970 Chaparral Trans Am Camaros still remaining.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs taken at Concours on the Avenue at Carmel by the Sea a few years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Refrigerator White #1” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a FIAT 128. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Changing The Numbers Around Again – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

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In 1968 Roger Penske’s Trans Am team turned up at the Sebring 12 hours with two Trans Am spec Z/28 Camaro’s one a lightweight car that had been very successful in 1967, and the other a new car that had not had a weight saving acid bath.

Mark Donohue is reported as saying the Penske Team put the heavy #15 car through tech inspection first and then went back to their garage and swapped the #15 decals for #16 decals on the heavy car and put the car through tech inspection again.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Having successfully pulled off this stunt for tech inspection Mark says the process was successfully repeated again during qualifying so that both the Penske driving crews qualified using the single lightweight car, which allegedly never went through tech inspection.

I believe Mark and Canadian Craig Fisher then drove the lightweight #15 Penske Godsall Camaro to a third place finish from 13th on the grid 6 laps behind two works prototype Porsche 907’s while the heavy #16 Penske Hilton Camaro driven by Joe Welch and Bob Johnson with Craig also taking a stint behind the wheel finished 4th from 17th on the grid 10 laps down.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, RMMR, Laguna Seca

Penske pulled off a remarkable feat and the SCCA deserved their comeuppance because as can be clearly seen from this linked period photo showing the Penske team cars bore different logo’s on the front wing panels Penske Hilton Racing for the #15 and Penske Godsall Racing for the #16 as seen in this photo.

It should also be noted that the acid dipped lightweight car can be distinguished by the absence of side marker lights which were mandated for US road vehicles in 1968 as described in paragraph six of this linked article.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Evidence that the race numbers were swapped between the subtly different cars during the meeting is confirmed by this linked photograph from the Revs Institute showing the #15 running with Penske Godsall sponsorship on the front wing and without the side marker lights, and in this second linked photo from Car and Driver clearly showing a #16 during a pit stop with the ’68 side marker lights.

Today’s featured Camaro is believed by the owner to have been the 14th Z/28 to have been built, rolling off the assembly line on December 30th 1966 and into the Gorries Chevrolet-Olds, LTD dealership in Toronto where, the son of the GM-Euclid distributor for eastern Canada, Terry Godsall purchased it.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

The owner believes this car was raced for Terry Godsall by Craig Fisher and followed Craig to the Penske Team mid way through 1967, he also believes this is the lightweight car Craig and Mark Donohue drove to 3rd place overall and a well deserved class win at Sebring in 1968.

After Sebring the car returned to Godsall in Canada is believed to have appeared in Trans Am events up until 1972, the current owner identified the car as the much raced lightweight Camaro by an obviously acid dipped wing / fender, an unusual rear axle housing which turned out to be one of only 22 and a one off brake master cylinder that had been shipped by GM to Penske for the Penske Godsall Racing Camaro.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s taken at Carmel by the Sea Concours on the Avenue and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion a couple of years ago, note the engine shown is not in the same car as seen at Carmel by the Sea.

Thanks for joining me on this “Changing The Numbers Around Again” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for FIAT Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS I hope you will join me in wishing Geoffrey Best Wishes and a Happy Birthday today !

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Unknown History – Ferrari 250 GT/E #3509

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Today’s featured 1962 Series 2 Ferrari 250 GT/E chassis #3509, was supplied to a person or entity known only as Berlet in Italy.

Ferrari 250 GT/E, Niello Concours at Serrano

Exactly when current owner Bill Finkbeiner bought the car, or even who from, is not known at this time, if you know any further history about the car please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Ferrari 250 GT/E, Niello Concours at Serrano

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs of #3509 taken at Niello Concours at Serrano last year.

Ferrari 250 GT/E, Niello Concours at Serrano

Thanks for joining me on this “Unknown History” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres.” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at a one off Formula 5000 car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Tom Meade Special – Ferrari 250 GT SWB NeMBo Spyder #3771GT

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Today’s featured Ferrari started life as a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta with a steel Berlinetta body that was supplied to E Molozzi.

By this time a Californian Tom Meade had hitched from Norway to Rome in pursuit of a dream to own an Italian exotic car with his savings from a four year stint in the US Navy.

Tom eventually got to the Maserati factory at Modena where he managed to procure an old Maserati 350S sans engine and fit it with a Corvette motor that was surplus to Lloyd “Lucky” Crasners requirements.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Nembo Spyder, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

With input from Gentilini and Fantuzzi Tom’s first special was completed and sent to San Fransisco where Tom briefly settled until some friends landed the car in a Marin County tree top.

With the proceeds from the sale of the wreckage Tom returned to Italy in 1963 where he bought two less than perfect Maserati’s and made them roadworthy before acquiring chassis #3771GT.

It is not clear why #3771GT needed a rebody but it may have been due to flood damage from the 1966 disaster that struck Florence, it appears that a William Dixon was involved in commissioning Tom to rebody the car to his own specifications which included fitting a Ferrari 250 GTO/64 windscreen.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Nembo Spyder, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

My understanding is that Neri & Bonaccini got the car mechanically back on it’s feet by 1968 two years after William Dixon from Seattle bought it.

The contraction of the Neri Mead and BOnaccini names that gives #3771GT it’s NeMBo sorbriquet which coincidentally is also the Italian name given to the Superman cartoon character and equally coincidentally means ‘coat’ in Swahili.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs of #3771GT taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance last year.

“Thanks for joining me on this “Tom Meade Special” 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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Intercooled IMSA GTO Racer – Porsche 934/5 930 770 0954

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Two years after the introduction of the Porsche 930 street car marketed as the 911 Turbo Porsche manufactured a run of 400 Porsche 934 street cars mandated by a set of rules known as Group 4 in order that it’s customers could compete with a 550 hp race version of the 934 in 1976.

In 1977 Porsche built a further 10 white 934/5’s for it’s US customers who raced to the more liberal IMSA GTO series, aside from differences in the front and rear wheels arches and the rear wing which supplemented the tea tray spoiler the 934/5 was fitted with an intercooler which helped cool the combustion charge and raised the output to 600hp at 7000 rpm.

Porsche 934/5, Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance

George Dyer took delivery of 934/5 #930 0954 in 1977 to supplement the non turbo charged 911 Carrera RSR which he had been racing since 1973 and co drove to victory in the 1977 Sebring 12 Hours with Brad Frisselle.

Records at RacingSportsCars.com show George raced the 934/5, which I believe to be today’s featured car, on nine occasions in 1977 with a win in the 250 mile Paul Revere race at Daytona being the cars stand out success.

Porsche 934/5, Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance

Current owner Bruce Canepa raced #0954 once in 1978 finishing 7th at Sears Point before driving the car with Rick Mears and Monte Shelton to a third place finish in the 1979 Daytona 24 hours which seems to have been the cars final race appearance.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for arranging for me to share these photo’s of the car taken by Karl Krause at Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance a couple of years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Intercooled IMSA GTO Racer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Jaguar powered special that anticipated the arrival of the E-Type Jaguar. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Parisian Show Car – Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé #0295EU

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Visitors to the 1953 Paris Motor Show will have no doubt been impressed by the sight of today’s featured Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé #0295EU.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

#0295EU has the lowest chassis number of any 250 Europa and is one of only two such chassis with a Vignale Coupé body the other being #0313EU which I looked at a couple of years ago.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

After the 1953 Paris show #0295EU was shipped to the USA where at some as yet unspecified date in the 1950’s race car driver George Reed from Midlothian, Illinois who ran RRR Motors, Reed’s Race Rats, which dealt in Ferrari’s and later Shelby Cobra’s acquired the car.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

By 1971 Gilbert Walton in Danville California acquired the #0295 and to date became it’s longest custodian, in 1986 Crockett Auto Restoration commenced a four year restoration.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

More recently Kentucky property developer Kevin D Cogan became the custodian of the car and he appears to have been the first owner to take #0295EU to a Concours D’Elegance event entering it a Pebble Beach in the Ferrari Grand Touring Class earlier this year.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

#0295 is seen in these photographs back in it’s spiritual home town Danville where the car won the Award of Excellence at the 2015 Danville Concours d’Elegance.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs taken at Danville Concours d’Elegance.

Thanks for joining me on this “Parisian Show Car” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the last in the current series on Chevron’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

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2 Door 4 Seat – Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B

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In February 1937 Mercedes Benz launched the first two, of an eventual four, variations of the W142 Typ 320, that replaced the W18 Typ 290, with either 2,880 mm / 113″ or 3300 mm / 130″ chassis both of which remained in production from 1937 to 1938.

The new models were powered by enlarged 77hp 3,208 cc / 195 cui six cylinder side-valve engines that were fitted with manual all synchromesh 4 speed gearboxes.

Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B, Dana Point Concours d'Elegance

As with the W18’s W142 were fitted with numerous Cabriolet options the long wheel base chassis cabriolet options included 2 door 3seat Cabriolet A, 2 door 4 seat Cabriolet B as seen in these photographs, 4 door 4 seat Cabriolet D and four-door 6-seat with three rows of seats Pullman-Cabriolet F.

With a top speed of 81 mph the W142’s had hydraulic brakes on all four wheels to slow then down and made use of the same suspension as the W18, transverse leaf and coil springs on the front and swing axles at the back.

Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B, Dana Point Concours d'Elegance

The third W142 variant manufactured from 1938 to 1940 was for military use with 4 front hinged door, a canvass roof and off road tyres that reduced the top speed of the vehicle to 73 mph.

The final variant of the W142 built from 1938 to 1942 was powered by a motor enlarged to 3,405 cc / 207 cui, the power output remained the same thanks to a reduced compression ratio in anticipation of the increased use of fuel synthesized from coal which had a lower octane rating than the fuel refined from oil.

The military W142/III was also fitted with the larger engine in 1939 but tuned to give 79hp in order that the top speed remained at 73 mph.

Mercedes Benz W142 320 Cabriolet B, Dana Point Concours d'Elegance

4,326 of the W142’s were built with the smaller engine and 885 with the larger engine, additionally 1,806 military variants were built.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs of the 1937 320 Cabriolet B belonging to Mercedes Benz Classic Center taken at Dana Point Concours d’Elegance a couple of years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “2 Door 4 Seat” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a three seat Talbot. Don’t forget to come back now !

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