Tag Archives: King

Ferrari Friday – Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance

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Welcome to another Ferrari Friday this week brought to you courtesy of Geoffrey Horton who took today’s photographs at the recent Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance.

Ferrari 166 MM, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Regular GALPOT readers might remember the 1949 Ferrari 166 MM chassis #0022 M as a Hillsborough regular having appeared there in 2012.

Ferrari 340 Vignale Mexico Berlinetta, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

In 1952 Vignale built 3 Berlinetta bodied and one Barchetta bodied Ferrari 340 Mexicos for the Carrera Pan America, above is the first Berlinetta bodied chassis #0222AT which started the 1952 and 1953 events and retired from both.

Ferrari 342 America, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

This gorgeous, even in black, Ferrari 342 America with bodywork by Pinin Farina was delivered to King Leopold III. of Belgium in May 1953, he appears to have kept it for only a year or so.

Ferrari 750 Monza, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

From 1954 this Ferrari 750 Monza chassis #0462MB above was the first to be delivered into private hands and it allegedly ended up being covertly inspected at the Jaguar factory before being sold to Jack Brabham in 1955.

Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Geoffrey first sent me a photo of this 1958 Testa Rossa chassis #0754 TR in 2009, but I have never heard anyone complain of looking at a Testa Tossa too often.

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

A completely new to me builder of bodies for Ferrari’s is “Nembo” otherwise known as Neri and Bonacini of Modena who built this Spyder body, styled by Californian Tom Meade, on a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta chassis #3771 GT between 1966 and 1968, only two other Ferrari’s received a Nembo body.

Ferrari 250 LM, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Carrying the #8 it wore at Reims in 1964 for the 12 hour race above is the 1964 Ferrari 250 LM chassis #5909 which was driven to, it’s greatest success on it’s third outing, a 2nd place finish by works drivers John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini.

Ferrari 500 Superfast, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

After being taken to the 1966 Brussels Motor Show in Belgium this Ferrari 500 Superfast chassis #8019 was purchased by Judge Samuel Simon Leibowitz, Glen Cove, NY, USA from US dealer Chinetti later the same year, since then I believe it may have had only three other owners.

My thanks to Geoffrey for supplying so many photo’s for future Ferrari Friday blogs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ferrari Friday” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting Hillsborough for a third time to look at another selection of European Cars at the event. Don’t forget to come back now !

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T4 Turbine – Rover T4

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To their credit while Rover must have realised the cost of producing a gas turbine powered motor car for the masses was prohibitive because of the cost of the exotic materials required and because of the high fuel consumption they continued experimenting with the technology until 1966.

Rover T4, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

Today’s featured 1961 T4 prototype was their final attempt at making a gas turbine vehicle for production to replace the Rover P4 models that had been in production since 1949.

Rover T4, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

For this application Rover engineers had their gas turbine producing 140hp enough to power the T4 from rest to 60 mph in 8 seconds, about the same as would be achieved 7 years later with the 155 hp aluminium Rover V8.

Rover T4, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

Designers Spencer King and Gordon Bashford carried a number of ideas over from the Rover T3 I looked at last week including all wheel disc brakes and de Dion rear suspension.

Rover T4, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

Even though the fuel consumption was improved from 13 mpg on the T3 to 20 mpg on the T4 the notion of a gas turbine powered car was eventually put to rest with the T4 and the nose was redesigned to accept a variety of petrol engines for the P6 series Rover 2000’s launched in 1963 and later Rover 3500’s launched in 1969.

Rover T4, Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon,

Rover’s experiments continued with their Gas Turbine powered BRM Le Mans project which achieved 7th and 10th place finishes in 1963 and 1965 respectively.

Thanks for joining me on this “T4 Turbine” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another rallying Triumph. Don’t forget to come back now !

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13 mpg – Rover T3 Coupé

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Today’s featured Rover T3 Coupé was Rovers third gas turbine powered car.

Rover T3 Coupé, Heritage Motor Center, Gaydon,

Spencer ‘Spen’ King and Gordon Bashford are credited with the design of the Coupé which first saw the light of day in 1956.

Rover T3 Coupé, Heritage Motor Center, Gaydon,

Among the designs novelties are all wheel drive, all wheel disc brakes and de Dion rear suspension which offers some of the advantages of independent sear suspension, but with additional complexity.

Rover T3 Coupé, Heritage Motor Center, Gaydon,

The T3 was powered by a variant of Rovers 1S gas turbine which produces 60hp that was used for fire pump, auxiliary power for aircraft like the Vulcan B2 nuclear bomb delivery system, hovercraft and as the main engine for light aircraft.

Rover T3 Coupé, Heritage Motor Center, Gaydon,

The motor, mounted behind the passenger cabin, has an operating speed of 46,000 rpm, unfortunately this gave a fuel consumption of 13 – 14 miles per gallon of paraffin.

Rover T3 Coupé, Heritage Motor Center, Gaydon,

Some features of the T3 including the all wheel disc brakes, and de Dion rear suspension found their way into the Rover P6 production model but unfortunately the gas turbine did not.

06 Rover T3 Coupé_6737sc

The T3 is seen in these photographs at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon where it is usually to be found unless it is on loan.

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Methanol Motion – Delage SS Special

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Rod King’s potent Delage SS Special featured in today’s blog is built on a 1938 Delage chassis.

Delage Special, Rod King, VSCC, Loton Park,

The 2664 cc / 162 cui straight 6 motor appears to have been donated from a contemporaneous Jaguar SS100.

Delage Special, Rod King, VSCC, Prescott,

Unlike most Jaguar SS100 motors, which produced 100 hp when new, the one in the SS Delage Special has been supercharged.

Delage Special, Rod King, VSCC, Prescott,

The orange dot on the side of the car indicates to safety marshals in the event of an emergency that the motor runs on performance enhancing methanol which burns without visible flames.

Delage Special, Rod King, VSCC, Prescott,

Almost exactly a year ago Rod King’s Delage SS Special had a minor part in the second series finale episode of Father Brown called The Laws of Motion.

Thanks for joining me for this “Methanol Motion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be reviewing my Christmas reading. Don’t forget to come back now !

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The Worlds Oldest Bristol ? – Bristol 16/20 Type T Tourer

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Every once in a while I stumble across something that leaves me speechless as I struggle to ditch old assumptions and or beliefs. Until I visited the M-Shed Museum on the sight of Bristols Docks last week I was absolutely convinced that the oldest car bearing the “Bristol” name dated back to no earlier than 1947 in the shape of a Bristol 400 not unlike the 1948 example that featured in very first post 2 years ago.

Bristol 16/20 Type T Tourer, M Shed, Bristol

So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across the placard for this 1906 Bristol 16/20 Type T Tourer that was manufactured in 1906 by the Bristol Motor Company !

Bristol 16/20 Type T Tourer, M Shed, Bristol

It turns out that the Bristol Motor Company was founded by a cycle maker William Appleby and his assistant Arthur Johnson and that the company built at least four different models between 1902 and 1908 when they focused on distributing motor vehicles for other manufacturers including Morris from whom Johnson was to order their first model having only seen the blueprints.

Bristol 16/20 Type T Tourer, M Shed, Bristol

Only 18 hand built 16/20 models are thought to have been built, this 1906 example is fitted with coachwork by Perry & Co who used to operate in Stokes Croft from a site that has long been an eyesore in the area thanks to a fire that destroyed an abandoned office block that stands behind the coach works frontage.

Bristol 16/20 Type T Tourer, M Shed, Bristol

Colonel William Rolleston is thought to have replaced his horse drawn carriage with this car which was chauffeur driven by a Mr Harold King. 14 years after it was first purchased the Colonels car was converted into a pick up for an engineering company in Bedminster called Keetch & Turner.

The car eventually found its way on to blocks on a farm and one of the rear wheels was attached to a drive belt which powered a sawbench. The Bristol Motor Company which had long since stopped manufacturing motor vehicles acquired the car again and in 1937 presented it to Bristol Museum.

Fred Lester and Bob Lewis are responsible for restoring the car to it’s former glory.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Worlds Oldest Bristol ?” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1949 MG. Don’t forget to come back now !

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E-Type – Vauxhall 30-98 Velox Tourer

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In 1913 Vauxhall announced their replacement for the Vauxhall D-Type known officially as the 30-98 or E-Type. 13 chassis were built before the Great War of 1914 – 1918, during which period Vauxhall fulfilled orders from the War Department to build the older D-type models for the use of nobility and Generals alike.

Mark Butterworth, Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

Between the cessation of hostilities and 1922 it is thought around 270 further 30-98 E-types were built with 90 hp 4,525 cc / 276 cui four cylinder side valve engines which gave the car when striped down a 100 mph capability. Above Mark Butterworth negotiates the Pardon Hainpin at Prescott in his 1921 model. Unlike the equally fast contemporary Bentleys, Vauxhall 30-98 models only acquired front brakes during the production span of the model.

Phil Dobbin, Vauxhall 30/98 OE, Loton Park

The 30-98 E type was fitted with an improved 115 hp overhead valve engine in 1922, known as the OE to distinguish it from its older side valve engined siblings. Above Phil Dobbin can be seen lining up his 1924 30-98 OE for the start of a run up the hill at Loton Park.

Nicola Quartermaine , Vauxhall 30/98, Loton Park

1924 was the most successful year for the 30/98 E-type when 111 examples were built. Nicola Quartermaine’s 30-98 seen above negotiating the Triangle at Loton Park above comprises an older 1921 pre OE chassis and a 1924 4224 cc / 258 cui OE motor.

Roger Thorpe , Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

Around 60% of all 30-98 E-types, like the 1924 chassis OE 102 driven by Roger Thorpe at Prescott above were exported to Australia, some have since made their way back to the mother land.

Adam Jones , Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

Vauxhall 30-98 E-types were available with either 4 seater tourer or 2 seater ‘Wesum’ boat tail body work with a ‘dicky’ (fold out) seat in the boat tail from the factory, alternatively a chassis could be ordered and sent to a coachworks for a bespoke body. Grosvenor Carriage Company for example, part of the Vauxhall dealer Shaw & Kilburn empire, built bodies for Vauxhalls exclusively during the production life of the 30-98. Above Adam Jones drives a 1925 4 seater with a tourer body, similar to all the vehicle bodies featured in today’s post. Note the absence of a drivers door on all of the vehicles featured in today’s post !

Dr Nick Bell, Vauxhall 30/98, Prescott

The class leading speed and later 4 wheel braking of the 30-98 was not enough to deliver consistent earnings for Vauxhall and in 1925 the company was sold for US$ 2.5 million to General Motors who set about challenging Ford at a lower end of the UK market than Vauxhall had hitherto catered for. Above Dr Nick Bell above drives a 1927 30-98 OE tourer, chassis OE 304, one of the last of the in total 312 OE’s built since 1922.

Thanks for joining me on this E-Type 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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Automobiles, Planes, Trains and a Giraffe – The Bugatti Trust

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On our way back from Mallory Park, Tim and I dropped by the Bugatti Trust which is housed next to the site of the Prescott Speed Hill Climb venue.

Bugatti Trust, Prescott

The Trust’s raison d’etre is to encourage research into Bugatti’s works, by experts and novices alike, an aim facilitated by a large archive of photographs, drawings, letters and articles accumulated by the father of the Trusts current chairman Hugh Conway.

Bugatti King Aero engine

The trust also houses a fascinating collection of Bugatti artifacts including this vertical 16 Bugatti King Aero engine designed by Ettore in 1916 and further modified for production by Charles King at Duesenberg Motors. This 500 hp 24.3 litre / 1482 cui leviathan featured two pairs of four cylinder blocks mounted side by side with two crankshafts geared to a central propellor shaft.

Bugatti T35,

A small rotating selection of top quality cars is on loan to the Trust from Bugatti Owners Club members, this T35, which was built up from an assortment of pieces from a variety of T35’s, belongs to the well known drummer Nicholas Berkeley Mason who’s vehicles have featured in previous GALPOT blogs. Apparently, like all of his other vehicles, this car can be hired for film, television, and the media from Ten Tenth’s.

Bugatti T37A, Bugatti Trust

T37A, chassis #37282, on loan from Charles Trevelyan, was delivered to Omnia-Kraftfahrzeug-Handels GmbH of Munich in September 1927 for 48,930 FF.

Bugatti T37A, Bugatti Trust

Details in this photo of the T37A’s 1496 cc / 91 cui motor include the camshaft drive, top left at the rear of the motor, which is connected to both the dash board mounted magneto and the revolution counter which is driven by the pulley and rubber belt that can be seen on the left of the photograph.

The supercharger, lubricated by a drip feed, for the 4 cylinder motor can be seen beneath the vertical copper coiled pipe, the carburettor that mixes the air and fuel is mounted beneath the supercharger.

Bugatti T38, Bugatti Trust

Contemporary to both the racing T35 and T37 is this T38 2 litre / 122 cui 8 cylinder touring car, unfortunately I did not get any clear shots of the detachable trunk at the back but it is a real work of art the finish of which I have only seen a copy of on The Pet MINI.

Bugatti Record Car, Bugatti Trust

Rising to the challenge of beating Mercedes Benz and Auto Union Jean Bugatti sketched out the vehicle seen here with no less than three supercharged straight 8 motors with which to attack the speed record for vehicles driven on public roads in 1935. His still born car would have had around 1000 hp and should have been capable of around 250 mph.

Below the speed record vehicle is a model of Ettore Bugatti’s successful motorised railcar.

Bugatti T59 Wheel, Bugatti Trust

I am not entirely sure what the thinking was behind the T59 piano wire wheels first seen in 1933, it seems the wire spokes handled the cornering loads while the teeth of the outer wheel rim meshed with the teeth of the brake drum to transmit the power from the drive shaft to the tyres. How this was advantageous over the regular alloy wheels Bugatti had used up until this date I am not sure.

Rembrandt Bugatti, Bugatti Trust

While most of the Bugatti Trust collection focuses of Ettore and Jean’s work there are some interesting pieces of work by other Bugatti family members including this sculpted giraffe by Ettore’s brother, Rembrandt Bugatti.

I really can’t recommend a visit to the Bugatti Trust highly enough and can’t wait to go back with a raft of new questions for the friendly and helpful members of the trust who make a visit such a delight.

Hope you have enjoyed this Bugatti Trust edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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