Tag Archives: Max

Suspension by Chris Lawrence – Morgan Aero 8

Up until 2000 the last time Morgan had introduced a new body style was 1964, only 26 glass fibre bodied +4+ cars were built over 4 years and since that time Morgan have successfully focused on improving a design that dates back to 1936.

In 2000 Morgan launched a genuinely ground up new ‘retro’ design the Morgan Aero 8, a clear nod to Morgan’s successful past with an eye on the future.

The heart of the Aero 8 was a 325 hp 4.4 litre / 268.5 cui BMW V8, with fake Morgan cam covers, capable of accelerating the car from rest to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and on to a top speed of over 170 mph.

The all new aluminium chassis, completely unrelated to the steel ladder chassis of earlier models, was developed with the help of Morgan’s best known racing exponent and tuner Chris Lawrence. Unusually for a vehicle with this kind of performance the chassis and suspension are so stiff that the suspension does not have anti roll / sway bars.

The Aero 8 has since been offered as a limited edition coupé the Aero Max, of which just 100 have been built and the Targa topped Aero SuperSports. Production of these cars is coming to an end at the Morgan factory, in anticipation of a new Morgan 4 wheel model.

An insight into some of the work of Chris Lawrence, who passed away on August 13th, can be found on this link.

Thanks for joining me on this edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Traffic Light King – GMC Syclone

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Max Grabowsky established the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company on the 22nd December 1901 which built a truck powered by a single cylinder motor. In 1909 the company was taken over by General Motors to form the General Motors Truck Company from which the GMC Truck brand was born. In 1916 a GMC Truck was driven from Seattle to New York City in just 30 days, ten years later a 2 ton GMC Truck took five days and 30 mins to travel from New York to San Francisco.

In 1990 GMC identified a niche market for a ‘performance’ truck based on the GMC Sonoma complete with lowered suspension, four wheel drive, fog lights and under the bumper corner spoilers.

The Syclone model was powered by a 280 hp 4.3 litre / 262 cui turbocharged V6 motor that was coupled with a 4 speed automatic transmission. ABS brakes, to keep all those horses under control, were used for the first time on an all wheel drive truck application.

Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit GTi inspired, to European eyes, red detailing inside and out was rounded off with 16 inch alloy wheels carrying comparatively low profile tyres.

Car & Driver famously pitted the $26,000 Syclone against a $122,000 296 hp Ferrari 348ts and in all the acceleration tests up to and including the 1/4 mile drag the Syclone came out best only loosing out with a top speed of 126 mph against the Ferrari’s 166 mph !

Built in Troy MI by Production Automotive Services, unlike the regular Sonoma which was built in Shreveport LA, the only downside of the Syclone was that it’s lowered suspension limited the carrying capacity to just 500 lbs, still considerably more than a Ferrari, but considerably less than that 1700 lbs plus of a regular GMC Sonoma.

It is thought just 2998 Syclones were built between 1991 and ’92, with just 3 made in 1992 ! 113 are thought to have been exported, with 31 returned, making today’s vehicle seen in Bristol one of just 82 Syclones thought to be outside the USA.

Patrick Bedard of Car & Driver summed up the Syclone as the pick up that would ‘do a Ferrari blur on the local scenery’ and ‘makes this capability seem like a perfectly wonderful idea.’ Sounds good to me, a very good idea indeed.

Thanks for joining me on this `Traffic Light King’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Direct Injection Of Kudos – Mercedes Benz 300 SL

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In 1952 the underpowered 115 hp carburettor 3 litre / 183cui Sport Leicht Mercedes Benz W194 demonstrated remarkable versatility by winning the Le Mans 24 hours, the Eifelrennen sports car race at the Nurburgring and the Carrera Panamerica in Mexico racing against more powerful opposition from Ferrari and Jaguar.

These successes lay in the lightweight tubular steel chassis and a low drag body which was facilitated by canting the straight six cylinder motor at a 50 degree angle.

New York Mercedes distributor Max Hoffman suggested a road going version of the W194 would make a viable commercial impact in the United States and so the 300 SL was launched in 1954 with a the worlds first mechanical direct injection petrol engine which produced 175 hp.

In order to accommodate the high sided tubular steel chassis, designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, distinctive aluminium gull wings were used in conjunction with a tilt away steering column to facilitate access.

The spare tyre fills the boot / trunk space entirely meaning one had to travel light in the 300SL as demonstrated by the suitcase on the parcel shelf.

The 300SL was not without problems derived from it’s racing heritage the large volume oil system rarely got up to proper operating temperature on shorter journeys and in turn the oil would get diluted by the mechanical fuel injection by unburned petrol that remained in the cylinders when the engine was switched off. This meant that the 300 SL needed an oil change every 1000 miles.

But for all of it’s problems the aerodynamic shape of the 300 SL meant that with a 160 mph capability it was easily the fastest road car of it’s day when it was launched. 80% of the nearly 1400 units built went to the USA changing the image of Mercedes Benz from staid to sporty overnight forever.

For a look at a contemporary interpretation of the 300 SL checkout Dave Wolin’s wild Chevrolet powered 300 SL I blogged about a couple of weeks ago.

If your interested in the pre war silver arrows racing vehicles I strongly recommend a visit to Paul Chenard’s Automobiliart website and check out his ‘Silver Clouds‘ illustrated book of the 1934 Grand Prix season.

Thanks for joining me on this Direct Injection edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

50 Foot Special – Mercedes Chevy 300SL

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Back in the 1950’s US Mercedes Benz importer Max Hoffman is credited with encouraging Daimler Benz AG to build the Mercedes 300 SL (W198) based on the successful 1952 Le Mans Winning 300 SL (W194).

Chuck Porter amongst a few other US racing drivers took wrecked 300 SLs and turned them into full blown race cars giving them the ‘SLS’ moniker.

The body of today’s car owned by multi championship winning driver and owner Dave Wolin is thought to have possibly started as such a project. The body is said to have been abandoned in a San Gabriel Valley back yard for 50 years after incurring the legal wrath of Daimer Benz AG for being too close a copy of the original.

When Dave found the body it had a tree growing in it ! After the body was rejuvenated it was fitted to a modern chassis powered by a Chevrolet small block crate motor. The power is transmitted through a four speed Richmond T 10 gearbox and Speedway Engineering Quick Change rear axle.

Dave successfully competes with this cool car in races, hill climbs and surprisingly, given that he modestly calls his Merc a 50 Footer*, also enters his Mercedes into Concours events such as the Sacramento State Capital Concours as seen here.

* Looks good from 50 feet but it’s a racing car not a show car.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for the photos, for introducing me to Dave Wolin and to Dave for the additional photos and information about this ultra cool 300 SL.

I hope you have enjoyed todays Gull Wing edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow for a trip to the Donnington Park Museum. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Recommend aficionados of the 1930’s era Silver Arrow’s visit my friend Paul Chenard’s blog about his limited edition book ‘Silver Clouds‘ on the 1934 season.

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring

Tag Archives: Max

Suspension by Chris Lawrence – Morgan Aero 8

Traffic Light King – GMC Syclone

Direct Injection Of Kudos – Mercedes Benz 300 SL

50 Foot Special – Mercedes Chevy 300SL