Tag Archives: K3

Anny-Charlotte Ralph And Bob – Porsche 935 K3/80 #009 00030

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It is quite perverse to try and write a comprehensive story about today’s featured Porsche 935 chassis #009 00030 which took part in 6 Daytona and 4 Le Mans 24 hour races, winning the former with Bob Garretson, Bobby Rahal and Brian Redman at the wheel in 1981 and hitting headlines around the world when Rolf Stommelen, Dick Barbour and a certain Paul Newman drove the car to a second place finish at Le Mans in 1979 in a single blog, so I will focus on some of the cars highlights, owners and star drivers for now.

Porsche 935 K3/80, Verney, Kent-Cooke, Garretson, Le Mans

Rolf, Dick and Paul proved their result at Le Mans was no fluke when they finished second on the cars second appearance in the ’79 Watkins Glen 6 Hour race.

French driver Anny-Charlotte Verney shared #009 00030 for the first timeApple, on it’s final appearance carrying customer Porsche 935/77A bodywork, with Bob Garretson and Skeeter McKitterick for a 9th place finish in the 1980 Daytona 24 hour race.

At the Sebring 12 Hour race #009 00030 was fitted with Kremer Brothers K3 bodywork which carried sponsorship from Apple Computer and was driven to a 7th place finish by Bob, Bobby Rahal and Canadian Kees Nierop.

At Le Mans in 1980 Bob and Bobby were joined by Australian Alan Moffat to qualify 14th on the grid but piston failure led to the cars only Le Mans retirement after it had completed 134 laps.

After winning the Daytona 24 hours in 1981 the same winning Bob, Bobby and Brian trio finished 17th from 4th on the grid in the 1981 Sebring 12 Hours.

Part owner Bob Garrettson, with Ralph Kent-Wood, stepped back from the driving seat to allow Bobby and Brian to share the wheel to finish 3rd and 4th at Riverside and Laguna Seca.

The #009 00030 was then shipped to Le Mans where owners Bob and Ralph teamed up with British Petrolium (BP) sponsored Anny-Charlotte Verney to set a qualifying time of 3 min 55.150, good enough for 33rd spot on the grid.

Anny-Charlotte sharing the car for the second time with Bob and Ralph drove the car, seen above 23 hours into the race, to 6th place finish.

The car remained competitive for the remainder of the 1981 IMSA season which included a 3rd place finish with Bob, Rick Mears and Johnny Rutherford in the 1981 Watkins Glen 6 hour race.

In 1982 Bob was joined at the wheel of #009 00030 by Columbian Mauricio DeNarvaez and Jeff Wood at Daytona where they finished 3rd in the season opening 24 hours race.

Bob teamed up with Anny-Charlotte for a third time in #009 00030 for the 1982 Le Mans 24 Hours and they were joined by Ray Ratcliff for the cars final Le Mans start, from 43rd on the grid they salvaged an 11th place finish.

Wayne Baker bought #009 00030 for the 1983 season and converted it from twin turbo 935 spec to single turbo 934 spec and ran it with a loose interpretation of 934 bodywork at Daytona where he drove the car with Bob and Jim Mullen to a 9th place finish and in the 1983 Sebring 12 hours where Kees replace Bob and with Wayne and Jim scored the cars second and final outright victory.

At the end of 1983 #009 00030 was returned to full twin turbo 935 K3 spec and on it’s fifth appearance in the Daytona 24 hours was driven by Wayne, Jim and Tom Blackaller to a 5th place finish from 12th on the grid, from the same position on the grid at Sebring the same trio finished a season high 4th.

#009 00030’s final appearance in the Daytona 24 hours was in 1985 when Jack Newsum, Chip Mead and Ren Tilton joined Wayne for a 9th place finish from 28th on the grid.

Midway through 1985 Chester Vincentz bought the car and converted it back to single turbo 934 spec and ran it IMSA GTO events with a 934 type body in 1985 and a hybrid 935 body in 1986 and ’87 as a 930 S.

On the October 4th 1987Chester drove #009 00030 to a 12th place finish from 12th on the grid on the cars 72nd and final known in period appearance.

Thanks for joining me on this Anny-Charlotte, Bob and Ralph edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when Ferrari Friday will be making a month long return. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Parts Bin Racer – MG Q-Type Replica

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One of the cars that attracted my attention at the very first Avenue Drivers Club meeting I attended in April last year was today’s featured MG. I had no idea which model it was and it took me until this January to finally catch up with the owner who kindly told me that “it’s a replica, look up Q-type”.

MG Q Type Replica, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

It turns out that in 1934 MG produced 8 or 9 Q-Type racing cars.

MG Q Type Replica, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The chassis were based on that of the MG K3 frame but narrower.

MG Q Type Replica, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

While the standard 113 hp overhead cam supercharged motors used MG PA blocks with crankshafts that reduced the swept volume of the cylinders to 746cc / 45.5 cui. A 149 hp sprint version of the motor was also available that had the highest specific out put per litre (just under 200 hp) in the world at that time.

MG Q Type Replica, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Rigid MG N-Type axles, which had some difficulty coping with the power, were fitted to the Q-types.

MG Q Type Replica, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

In single seater form George Harvey-Nobel lapped Brooklands at 122 mph in his Q-Type while a two seater achieved 120 mph on the same circuit.

MG Q Type Replica, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The replica Q-Type seen here uses a 1936 chassis and a more recent engine, it was originally intended that the owners wife should race the car but it took a little longer to complete than anticipated.

Thanks for joining me on this “Parts Bin Racer” 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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150 MPH ex POW – MG K3 #K3007

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In 1933 today’s featured record breaking MG K3 chassis #K3007 was sold new with a two seater body to successful amateur racer Ron Horton who in 1932 had won a British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) Gold Star, which would be the same as calling him British Motor Racing Champion in today’s terminology.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

The car appears to have never been registered for road use but extensively raced and hill climbed. Driving K3007 in 1933 Horton set a 1100cc class Outer Circuit Record at Brooklands of 115.55 mph and class wins on the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

For 1934 Ron Horton had an offset single seat body manufactured by Jensen of West Bromwich and made numerous other upgrades. In March 1934 Ron set six international class records, four of which still stand as British class records, at Brooklands from 50 kms to Hour averaging 117 mph with a best lap average of over 119 mph. Unusually Ron received not only a customary letter of congratulation MG’s Cecil Kimber but also another from Lord Nuffield of Morris Motors Ltd who’s Overhead Cam Wolseley 6 Cylinder motors were supercharged and tuned by MG for use in the K3 model.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Later in 1934 Ron won a Brooklands Whitsun Meeting race at an average speed of over 110mph and set a new 123.88 mph lap record later the same day which earned him the first 120 mph badge given to the driver of a car fitted with 1100cc / 67 cui motor.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

In 1935 Goldie Gardener acquired K3007 and had it continually updated, in 1937 he became the first driver to record a one way 150 mph average in an MG at the October Frankfurt Speed Week with a two way class record breaking average of over 148 mph timed over the flying kilometer and mile distances.

MG K3

In 1939 Gardener had the the motor taken out of #K3007 and fitted in to K3023/EX 135 which had a lower seat thanks to an offset gearbox and had been used by George Easton. Goldie set a 200 mph record with his new bolide. The chassis of K3007 along with the discarded motor from K3023/EX 135 ended up at the Abingdon MG factory and reassembled into a complete car with an ENV Crash gearbox from an MG K1 and sent to Singapore where a contemporary Mercedes Grand Prix single seater style body was fitted for it’s new owner Mic Jennings.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

After recording fastest lap in the rain shortened 1940 Johore Grand Prix Jennings was forced to abandon K3007 at Singapore Docks while fleeing the incoming Japanese invasion. A Japanese Imperial Army Officer commandeered #K3007, after which it appears to have been liberated by MG racer Lim Peng Han who broke it up and kept in storage ‘for the duration’. Jennings was offered the car back after the war but declined. The original #K3007 motor was destroyed in a bombing raid during the ’39/’45 war.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

In 1969 MG J2 owner Mike Hawke was sent to Singapore with the Royal Navy and secured the very rusty ex K3023/EX 135 motor with a bottle of whiskey without any knowledge of it’s history. The motor had at one point been buried and then been kept at the bottom of the previous owners garden. It was only when Mike started to dismantle the engine that it’s identity became clear.

MG K3, Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Having established the identity of his rusty motor Mike recovered the chassis which had the front cut off with the remains being used for a trailer, the ENV gearbox was discovered being used as a door stop at a veterinarian’s surgery.

After many adventures by 1985 Mike had salvaged enough bit’s and pieces to restore #K3007 to something approximating it’s 1934/37 single seat specification and the the car ran for the first time in just over 40 years under it’s own power and has since recorded 125 mph laps at Millbrook.

Mike says he considers himself fortunate to have discovered, recognised and put back together one of the worlds more historic MG’s.

My thanks to Jeremy Hawke for his time and patience retelling the story of the storied K3, found by his father, seen in today’s photographs at the recent Sunlight Textile Services Pegasus Sprint.

Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the year ahead to all “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” readers and contributors !

Thanks for joining me on this “150 MPH ex POW” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the first Formula One car that Peter Connew was involved with. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Goodwood Revival 2012 – #2 MGs

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Given that I have been blogging about MG’s most Tuesdays since at least January I don’t suppose it is that surprising that I noticed so many MG’s at Goodwood at the weekend. Here is a cross section of what I saw in the classic car park and a couple from the race track.

MG K3, Goodwood Revival

Oldest of the MG’s I saw was probably this 1933 MG K3 driven by Howard Maguire, it was in fact one one of two that appeared during practice for the Brookland’s Trophy on Friday.

MG PA, Goodwood Revival

What looks like an MG J2, above, with its cycle type mudguards, turns out to be a 1934 MG PA which is still used in competition.

MG PB, Goodwood Revival

The easiest way to externally differentiate an MG PA from an MG PB are the vertical slats of the PB’s grill which can be clearly seen on the 1936 PB seen above. The PB also has a 950 cc motor against the 847cc of the PA.

MG VA, Goodwood Revival

Like the MG PB the MG VA has not appeared in a GALPOT blog before, but will appear in the coming weeks so I’ll spare any further details until then.

MG TC, Goodwood Revival

I don’t have a year for the MG TC above but it was built somewhere between 1945 and 1950 being the first MG model to go into production after World War II.

MG TD, Goodwood Revival

From 1950 to 1953 the MG TC was replaced by the MG TD, like the 1950 example above, which used much of the running gear of the TC but the chassis and suspension from the MG Y-Type Saloon / Sedan.

MG ZA Magnette, Goodwood Revival

Rupert Keegan and Julian Thurgood shared this MG ZA Magnette for the St Mary’s trophy races. For some reason it is incorrectly described in the programme as a Mk 3 Magnette Farina with a 1840 cc motor.

MG A, Goodwood Revival

Identifying the the vehicle above I have noticed a major error in my MG A 1600 Mk II blog, the photo’s I used were all of an MG A 1600 without the distinctive lower grill seen on the MG 1600 Mk II above. This error has now been corrected. The car seen above comes from The Netherlands and I have been unable to identify the year of manufacture which will have been between 1960 and 1962.

MG Midget, Goodwood Revival

Surprisingly this is the first non fedral spec Midget I have come across since I started collecting photo’s for ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ the example above was built in 1965.

MG B V8 Roadster, Goodwood Revival

Rounding out this review of MG’s at Goodwood is this 1967 MG B Roadster which has been retrospectively fitted with a Rover V8 motor that was only made available from the factory with the MG B GT Coupé body between 1973 and 1976.

Thanks for joining me on this “Goodwood Revival 2012 – #2 MGs” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at some of the Continental Curiosities at Goodwood over the weekend. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Race Winning Body – MG K3 #K3001/K3003

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In October 1932 MG launched the K-Type Magnette at the London Motor Show, featuring a 48″ track and either a 94″ or 108″ wheel base the chassis was powered by a 6 cylinder 39 hp 1087cc / 66 cui motor with a cross flow cylinder head that originated from the 1930 Wolseley Hornet.The K1 Magnet was fitted with a saloon body on the 109″ wheel base and in all 181 were manufactured up to 1934 in KA, KB and lastly KD specifications which reflected a series of motor upgrades during the production run.

In 1933 the K2 a two seater on the 94″ chassis was launched, 16 were built with KB spec motors and 4 more with KD motors and pre selector gear boxes.

MG K3 K3001, Prescott

The princely sum of £795 could secure a supercharged K3 racing variant, as seen driven above at Prescott by Brandon Smith – Hillard, at first, as above, fitted with Powerplus superchargers just below the radiator and later with Marshall units. Fitted with pre selector gearboxes three K3’s including #K3001 above were entered into the 1933 where George Eyston and Giovanni Lurani driving chassis #K3003 came in 21st behind Tazio Nuvolari in an ALFA Romeo but took a class victory with Earl Howe and Hugh Hamilton coming in 22nd overall and 2nd in class in #K3001.

Subsequently #K3001 was raced at Brooklands, shared for the Shelsley Walsh by Land Speed Record holder and Mille Miglia class winner George Eyston with MM team mate Giovanni Lurani, raced throughout Europe by Bobby Kolrusche in 1934.

The Mille Miglia chassis #K3003 meantime had been given to the great Tazio Nuvolari to drive in the 1933 Ulster TT which he promptly won outright beating two 8 cylinder ALFA Romeo’s running in the 3 liter 183 cui class.

At some point after 1934 and before the commencement of the 2nd World War the body from the Mille Miglia and Tourist Trophy winning #K3003 replaced that on #K3001 which is how #K3001 appears in the photo above one of just 33 K3’s to have been built from 1933 to 1934.

My thanks to Ed of the Wessex MG Club Newsletter for details about this chassis.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Race Winning Body’ 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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1% Efficiency Gain – Porsche 935 K3 #00017

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The dominating sports car of the mid 70’s to early 1980’s was the Porsche 935, built for a set of regulations known as Group 5. The 935 was based around the Porsche 911, the works factory team developed three distinct versions in ‘76, ‘77 and ’78 when the Moby Dick version marked the high tide of factory 935 development. Porsche also built a customer version of the 935 the 935/77A.

Meanwhile the Kremer Brothers set about developing their own 935, the K1, based on the Porsche 934 model, that was available for the technically less demanding Group 4 regulations in 1976. In 1977 the Kremer brothers acquired a customer 935 and in 1978 followed their own development path based on the 935/77A to develop the K2.

Porsche 935 K3 #00017, Palo Alto

For 1979 their K3 model featured over 100 detail changes from the standard customer 935 ’77 which included a lighter air to air intercooler in place of the hitherto ubiquitous air to water sytem, composite carbon fibre panels which saved 30 kgs / 62 lbs. The DM 400,000 K3 was thought to have been 1% more efficient than the standard customer 935 ’77 which over an endurance distance of 6, 12 or 24 hours would accrue to a handy advantage.

The K3 scored the 935 models only win at Le Mans in the hands of the Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington Brothers Don and Bill and a string of customers were soon knocking on the Kremer Brothers door in Cologne asking for copies.

Porsche 935 K3 #00017, Palo Alto

It is believed the Kremer Brothers built 13 K3’s and supplied kits to update older 935 models. I have not managed to ascertain if this 935 K3 is one of the Kremer brothers built models or one built up from a kit around a donor car, it carries the paint work of a vehicle belonging to Ted Field that was raced by Ted, Danny Ongias and Milt Minter in the Daytona 24 hours that came in 3rd from 5th on the grid.

Canepa Design are known to have recently restored such a car and if as seems highly probable this is the same vehicle the chassis number of this vehicle is # 00017.

My thanks to URY914 at The Nostalgia Forum for confirming that this car may have been converted to Trans Am spec and entered by John Klug Racing in 1983 and to Geoffey Horton who kindly sent me these photos from Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance.

Thank you for joining me on this Interscope edition of Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, wishing you all a happy bank holiday Monday, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to to come back now !

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