Tag Archives: Mark III

Danville Detailing – Danville Concours d’Elegance

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Last month Geoffrey Horton took his trusty Jaguar XK140 to the 10th anniversary Danville Concours d’Elegance, an event designed to raise funds for Parkinsons research and patient care.

Jaguar XK140 FHC, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

Above Geoffrey’s nephew’s Luke and Jack help out with a bit of detailing as the show get’s underway.

Bentley Mk VI, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

As we saw earlier this year most of the 4000 odd post war Bentley Mk VI’s fell victim to inferior steel supplied for their bodies by government edict. Above is the interior of the only Bentley Mk VI, a 1948 example, fitted with an opulent Sautchick body in France.

Maserati 250F, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

I believe Juan Manuel Fangio drove the Maserati 250F above to two race victories on home soil in Argentina in the space of two weeks in January 1957, his fifth and final World Championship winning season.

Aston Martin DB 2/4 Mk III, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

Between 1957 and 1959 Aston Martin produced 84 DB 2/4 Mark III Convertibles powered by a six cylinder motor, it is believed only 10 of these vehicles were fitted with optional triple carburetors, as seen above, which boosted the output from the standard twin carb 162hp to 195hp.

Land Rover 88, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

The 1963 88″ short wheel base Land Rover at our school was an oft over abused vehicle that used to carry the sailing kit for upto seven dinghies plus up to fourteen school boys plus a member of staff. It might have been a considerably faster vehicle if, like the one above it had been fitted with a a post 1989 200Tdi motor like the one above. The high turbo installation indicates this motor was originally sourced from a Defender rather than the SUV Discovery, in which the iron block aluminium head 200Tdi first appeared with the turbo mounted much lower down in the engine compartment.

RS Design Corsa Spyder, Danville Concours d'Elegance,

Most difficult to identify was this gorgeous red vehicle, from the front it looks a tad like a Maserati and from the rear not unlike a Ferrari P4/P412, but the pushrod motor, possibly a Ford, going on the depth of the rocker covers, gives the game away that this vehicle was unlikely to have been built in Italy. In fact the car is a one off special, made to exceptionally high standards and is known as an RS Design Corsa Spyder. Unfortunately all links to further info on RS Design and the Corsa Spyder built in 2009 have expired so if you know more, please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Geoffrey tells me he had the good fortune to enjoy spending a considerable amount of time with Alma Hill widow of 1961 World Champion Phil Hill who also drove for Geoffrey’s Uncle George Tilp. My thanks to Geoffrey for sharing his photographs, more of which will appear on Friday.

Thanks for joining me on this “Danville Detailing” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at what the Dodge Boys cooked up for the . Don’t forget to come back now !

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Rolls Royce Grill On A Thunderbird – Lincoln Continental Mark III

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After coming a cropper and loosing US$1000 on each of the 3000 odd ultra luxurious ’56 and ’57 Continental Mark II’s the Continental name reverted to model name under the Lincoln brand and it was not until 1969 that the Lincoln Continental Mark III would see the light of day, although there had been a 1959 Continental III that retrospectively became known as the Lincoln Continental Mark III just to confuse the issue.

Lincoln Continental Mark III

When the 1967 fifth generation Ford Thunderbird started under performing in the market place Ford President Lee Iacocca decided the best way to recoup the companies investment was to use to use the 4 door Thunderbird’s floor plan for the new Lincoln Mark III. Allegedly Iacocca instructed Ford Design Vice President Gene Bordinat to ‘put a Rolls Royce grill on a Thunderbird’ in September 1965.

Lincoln Continental Mark III

The Continental Mark III’s 2 door body worked out 300 lbs / 140 kg heavier than the 4 door Thunderbird but it was powered by a larger more powerful 365 hp 7.5 litre / 460 cui V8 motor than the 345 hp available to Thunderbird owners.

Lincoln Continental Mark III

Interior trim included leather and real wood on the dash which kept the cars press rating above the nearest nylon cloth trimmed Cadillac Eldorado competitor as late as the Mark IIIs final year 1971, with a Cartier branded clock becoming standard soon after the cars launch in 1968.

Lincoln Continental Mark III

Sales of the Mark III never bettered the lesser trimmed Eldordo but were over 20,000 a year for 1969/70 they rose to a high of 27,091 in 1971 which coincidentally marked Lincoln’s Golden Jubilee Year.

Lincoln Continental Mark III

Today’s featured 1971 model belonged to my facebook acquaintance Lori Munro in the 1980’s when the photo’s were taken. Lori, who co founded Race Talk Radio, says that her Mark III “was great …. when fuel was just US$0.60 a gallon”, but decided to sell it after it had been in storage for a couple of years.

My thanks to Lori Munro for sharing her photographs and story, please drop by Race Talk Radio’s facebook page and “Like” to show your appreciation.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rolls Royce Grill On A Thunderbird” 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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Norma Ann Sykes – MG B Mark III

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For 1974 US federal regulations mandated low impact bumpers which led to some seriously non collectible vehicles being built like the Volvo 240, aand US spec Jenson Healey, FIAT X1/9, MG B and MG Midget.

MG B, BMW Plant

The Mark III MG B was introduced in 1972 with the biggest benefit being a new and improved heater for the occupants.

MG B, BMW Plant

In 1974 chrome bumpers were replaced with steel reinforced rubber items that formed part of the restyled nose at the front. Apparently in MG circles these bumpers are referred to as ‘Sabrinas’ a name derived from a well endowed British model Norma Ann Sykes who was better known as Sabrina in her acting career which started with a small role in the 1955 film Stock Car.

MG B, BMW Plant

To complete the transformation from cool low slung roadster to the dork car look US Federal regulations mandated a minimum height for head lights and so the MG like many other sports car manufacturers that decided to simply raise the ride height of their cars rather than start with new designs or heavily restyled versions to meet the regulations.

MG B, BMW Plant

Like Concorde sports cars as they had been known were effectively ruled out of the market in the USA, manufacturers did not seriously look at the Sports Car market again until the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and since then the minimum ride headlight regulations have been dropped.

MG B, BMW Plant

MG B manufacture came to an end in 1980 and MG did not replace it until 1992 when 2000 limited edition MG B like R8’s were manufactured.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Norma Ann Sykes’ 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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