Tag Archives: Rare

Perfect Car For A Wedding #8 – Rolls Royce Phantom I Gurney Nutting #44KR

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In 1925 Rolls Royce replaced the 40/50, retrospectively named as the Silver Ghost model that had been in production since 1906, with a model billed as the ‘New Phantom’.

Rolls Royce Phantom I Gurney Nutting Light Saloon, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

1926 saw production of the New Phantom commence at the Rolls Royce’s Springfield, Massachusetts works though the specification of the vehicles differed, the cars built in Derby all featured 4 wheel brakes with a servo assistance system built under license from Hispano Suiza.

Rolls Royce Phantom I Gurney Nutting Light Saloon, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The New Phantom was powered by a 7668 cc / 467 cui straight six motor with a seven bearing crank shaft and with overhead valves that produced 100hp. Later models like this 1929 model were fitted with aluminium cylinder heads.

Rolls Royce Phantom I Gurney Nutting Light Saloon, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The chassis of the New Phantom was similar to that of the 40/50 the UK models having up to 50 Enots Nipples requiring regular laborious lubrication from an Enots oil pressure gun, while US built New Phantoms had a Bijur centralized oiling system requiring a stroke from a single pump.

Rolls Royce Phantom I Gurney Nutting Light Saloon, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Like all Rolls Royces of the time it was supplied as a rolling chassis sans body. The original owner of this car had the Gurney Nutting body from his existing Daimler moved to his New Phantom, apparently not an unusual practice at the time.

Rolls Royce Phantom I Gurney Nutting Light Saloon, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Most UK built New Phantom chassis would have come with an exterior petrol gauge as can be seen inside the chassis rail here, US models mostly had their petrol gauges on the dash.

Rolls Royce Phantom I Gurney Nutting Light Saloon, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The New Phantom was replaced in by the Phantom II in 1929, with the New Phantom being retrospectively renamed Phantom I. Chassis #44KR seen here at the Rare Breeds Show at Haynes International Motor Museum last year will have been one of the last Phanom I’s to be built, it belongs to special occasions hire specialists RRElite Ltd.

Thanks for joining me on this “Perfect Car For A Wedding #8” 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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Four Rings Return – Auto Union 1000 S

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At the end of the 1939 – 45 the once great name of Auto Union disappeared off the map as a consequence of the new communist administrative arrangements that emerged in East Germany.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

What assets remained of Horch, Audi and the Auto Union racing departments in Chemnitz and Zwickau were liquidated and those in Zwickau were handed over to VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb = Peoples owned Enterprise) which went on to build a series of two stroke vehicles, starting with pre war DKW designs, that were eventually sold under the Trabant brand after a law suit compelled VEB to desist selling models with the DKW name.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Auto Union AG was reconstituted in 1949 with only the DKW brand name surviving which sold a variety of two stroke vehicles including a motor cycle and delivery van before moving back into automobile manufacture.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

In 1958 the now Daimler AG owned Auto Union brand returned to the market place with the Auto Union 1000 S powered by a 44 hp 1 litre / 61 cui two stroke straight 3 cylinder motor driving the front wheels.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The 1000 S model was available in 2 door saloon, as seen here, 4 door saloon, 2 door pillarless Coupé and Estate variations. There was also a “baby” thunderbird” sports car option which I’ll be looking at in a future Wednesday Continental Curiosity edition.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

As with most front wheel drive vehicles the Auto Union 1000S gave occupants greater interior space than their competitors which in this case was the Volkswagen Beetle.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

In 1960 a now 50 HP Auto Union was tested with a rest to 60 mph acceleration time of 23.6 seconds and top speed of 80.9 mph. Auto Union 2 stroke motors branded DKW were to be found in the proving ground open wheel series known as Formula Junior.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

1961 saw the introduction saw the introduction of a clean oil regulator which was intended to reduce the blue exhaust smoke haze, common to two stroke motors, by ensuring an exact 40 to 1 petrol to oil mix using a separate oil tank to feed the carburetor. Unfortunately because of the severe European winter in 1962/63 oil viscosity and flow through the narrower new carburetor feed was adversely affected resulting in crankshaft damage.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

This 1963 model seen at the Rare Breeds show at Haynes International Motor Museum a couple of years ago is said to have come to Britain from Sweden via Norway.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Between 1958 and 1963 171,008 Auto Union 1000 S models were manufactured at Auto Unions plant in Dusseldorf. By 1964 Volkswagen had acquired Auto Union and DKW and Audi. VW ditched the Auto Union and DKW brands as production of 2 stroke models was phased out in favour of new water cooled four stroke models that derived from the DKW F103 which was marketed as the Audi F103 in 1965 which transformed the fortunes of first Audi and then as the new motor was further developed later Volkswagen.

Thanks for joining me on this “Four Rings Return” 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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Scavenged and Salvaged – Trabant P60

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VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke in Zwickau, Sachsen, East Germany was named after the Sachsenring race track and made use of manufacturing plants that had once belonged to Horsch and Audi before the 1939/45 war.

Trabant P60, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

East Germany’s need for agricultural equipment led VEB Sachsenring to making tractors before moving into the automobile market with a variety of water cooled 2 stroke and 4 stroke vehicles.

Trabant P60, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The P60 was the second Trabant to be powered by an aircooled 594 cc / 36 cui 2 stroke motor which produced no more than 20hp.

Trabant P60, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Like all Trabants the petrol tank was mounted above the motor and used only gravity to feed the two stroke mixture to the engine. The fuel gauge was a piece of graduated wood which acted as a dip stick.

Trabant P60, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

This particular 1962 P60, seen at the Rare Breeds show held at Haynes International Motor Museum, was rescued in 1996 from atop a pile of cars in Gatebeck, Cumbria, after it had been scavenged for parts for another P60 that resided in the Isle of Man.

Trabant P60, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

P60’s were in production from 1962 to 1964 when they were replaced by the Trabant 601 that remained in production until 1991.

Thanks for joining me on this “Scavenged and Salvaged” edition of ‘Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow when I’ll be honoring the first man to record a 200 mph lap in an Indy Car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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5th Rare Breeds Show – Haynes International Motor Museum

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Last Sunday I managed to pop out for a couple of hours to catch the 5th Rare Breeds Show at the Haynes International Motor Museum.

Studebaker President 8 Limousine (FA), Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Back in 1928 $2,450 could get you this Studebaker President 8 Limousine powered by a 100 hp 5121 cc / 313 cui straight 8 motor. This car which competed on price with Chrysler and Buick but in interior finish with Packard and Duesenburg, was built in Walkerville Canada and is believed to be the only one of 2450 built still on the road. It is operated as a wedding car by vintage-wheels.co.uk.

Rolls Royce Phantom I, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Rolls Royce New Phantoms, built from 1925 to 1929 replaced the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost series, with a new overhead valve six cylinder motor replacing the side valve motors of the earlier models. These cars were built in Derby England and Springfield Massachusetts. This 1929 model would be one of the last New Phantoms built, they were replaced in 1929 by the Phantom II at which point New Phantoms became retrospectively known as Phantom I’s. I hope you are paying attention in the back there, this car was one of several at the rare breeds show operated by rrelite.co.uk.

Lea Francis 14HP Sports, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Weighing a ton but armed with a 87 hp motor a Lea Francis 14(taxable)hp Sports could reach 87 mph with steering and, rod operated, brakes to match. Unfortunately it’s price meant just 111 of these car were built between 1947 and 1949. This 1948 example is one of over 40 known survivor’s.

Trabant P60, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

With a name that translates from German to Russian into Sputnik the East German Trabant P50 was launched in 1958 with two cylinder 18 hp 500 cc / 30.5 cui aircooled two stroke motor derived from a pre war DKW. The body made extensive use of Duroplast made from recycled cotton waste from the Soviet Union and local phenol resigns from the dye industry. This 1962 P60 is fitted with the more power powerful 23 hp 600cc / 36.6 cui motor that would remain in production, from 1964 in the ‘updated’ 601 series bodies, until the collapse of the Berlin wall 1989.

Volkswagen Type 2, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Despite having only 27,000 miles on the clock this 1966 Volkswagen Type 2 has many stories to tell, it started out like as a fire truck at Zurich Airport, it has rare for the period sliding doors on both sides to facilitate access to the fire pump that used to be inside. It then served as a fire truck in a Swiss Village, with 15,000 miles on the clock it came to the UK in 2003 and was bought and returned to it’s original factory supplied colours by Ross Gammie who discovered that it’s 53 hp was not really enough to pull his Porsche 908 race car. Since it’s redesignation as a race support vehicle the van with it’s period correct Porsche 356 wheels has since changed hands again.

FT Bonito Special, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Amazingly the FT Bonito Special above also started life as a Volkswagen, a 1967 Beetle, before a conversion was started in 1986 to turn the bug into an FT Bonito, a kit car from a company called Fibrefab. The current owner found it unfinished in a garden in 1999 and has since brought it too life with a VW Golf motor. This is thought to be the only competition version of an FT Bonito ever to have been built.

Lenham ALFA Romeo, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

David Roots Lenham ALFA Romeo special was looking resplendent, even on a dull day, as usual.

Checker Marathon, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The New York ‘cab’ above is a 1978 Checker Marathon with a 160 hp 5735 cc / 350 cui V8 motor. The car is also operated for weddings and filming by rrelite.co.uk . Among it’s credits is an appearance in the 2008 Boyzone number Love You Anyway.

Chevrolet Corvette, C3 B2Z, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

I looked in detail at a Chevrolet Corvette C3 some weeks ago the 1978 model seen here has the $399 B2Z 25th Anniversary option two tone paintwork along with the 25th Anniversary mandatory $380 option aluminium wheels and sport door mirrors.

Tickford Turbo, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The Tickford Capri is a Ford sanctioned hand built Ford Capri with a 205 hp turbocharged motor that cost double the price of a standard 170 hp Ford Capri 2.8i. This 1984 example #002 was the first type approved version, ordered by someone desperately keen to have one built as close to the prototype show car before Tickfords had even moved into the planned production facility for the series.

Knight Industries Two Thousand, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The 1984 Pontiac Trans Am based Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T) was developed for the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) by Wilton Knight and was essentially an artificially intelligent electronic computer module installed in an advanced, mobile, robotic automobile.

The original 1982 K.I.T.T was a hard top, but no doubt in danger of getting a hot head due to his crime fighting success, it was deemed that Micheal Knight be given a Targa Top for the 1985 crime wave. This particular K.I.T.T thought to be one of thirty built is operated by rrelite.co.uk.

Midas Cortez, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

This 1991 Midas Cortez is the spiritual ancestor of the Mini Marcos with Rover Metro running gear.

Thanks for joining me on this “5th Rare Breeds Show” 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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Pick Up With Pedigree – Reef Engineering Cub

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Some times I just cannot believe some of the stories behind some of the cars I feature, today’s nifty li’l Cub designed by Yorkshireman extraordinaire John Crosthwaite, is a case in point.

Reef Engineering Cub, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

John’s CV included working at Lotus to refine and develop the Lotus XI and 14 Elite models, then spending some time in the States and designing the stock block Thompson Buick Indy 500 challenger Harvey Aluminium Special with which Dan Gurney made his Indy 500 debut.

Reef Engineering Cub, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

Following spells at BRM and developing the chassis for the Intermeccanica Italia sports cars John found himself at Reliant where his design legacy included the chassis for the Reliant Scimitar GTE and Reliant Kitten economy car.

Reef Engineering Cub, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

Like the Reliant Fox pick up I looked at back in November the Reef Cub is built around a Reliant Kitten chassis.

Reef Engineering Cub, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

John’s interest in watersports, including diving, water skiing and wind surfing led him to manufacture the Cub for holiday resorts in the Seychelles and West Indies, though the Cub, with bodywork design accredited to Peter Bailey, appears never to have gone into production.

Reef Engineering Cub, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

The car featured is thought to be one, the only one registered in the UK, of four prototypes all of which are / were allegedly different. This car was owned by John Crosthwaite’s daughter for ten years.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Pick Up Pedigree’ 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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Multi Tube Frame – Buckler MK V

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In 1947 CDF Derek Buckler from Reading built a special for rallying, racing, hillclimbs, trials and speed events, of his own design featuring an unusual, for the time, space frame chassis into which a four cylinder side valve 1172cc / 71.5 cui E93A Ford engine was fitted.

Buckler MK 5, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

After much competition success Derek placed an advert in ‘Motor Sport’ for an export version of his his special designed for competition car called the Colonial, while also offering independent front suspension conversions kits and go faster parts for Ford Anglias and Prefects.

Buckler MK 5, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

Orders soon started to flood in and at some point the Colonial name seems to have been replaced by the MK 5 name, allegedly to disguise the fact that this was Derek’s first design.

Buckler MK 5, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

Through the early fifties Buckler Mk 5’s could be purchased either ready finished by the factory, which moved to Crowthorne in Berkshire, or in kit form saving the purchaser a fortune in car sales taxes.

Buckler MK 5, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

Buckler went on to introduce two further models the enclosed body MK 90 and DD1 while building several one offs and single seater racing cars that fell outside this range along with a range of successful Karts for racing.

Buckler MK 5, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

After building the first cars for Jack Brabhams customer racing car business Brabham MRD Derek sold up due to ill health in 1961 and the company soldiered on until 1965. Derek died in 1964 aged just 53.

Buckler MK 5, Rare Breeds, Haynes IMM

It is thought around 500 Buckler cars of all types were built between 1949 and 1964. The model seen here at the Rare Breeds show at the Haynes International Motor museum is a 1957 MK 5.

My thanks to bucklercars.com for additional information on the MK 5 and the Buckler marque.

Thanks for joining me on this Multi Tube Frame 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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Forward Control Flathead – Fordson 7V

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The Fordson 7V truck built in Britain from 1937 to 1948 had two enduring innovations.

Fordson 7V, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The first was it’s flathead V8 the first Ford V8 which was originally built in the USA in 1932. This motor in various guises from 136 CUI / 2.2 litre to 337 CUI 5.7 litre was in production until 1973 when German built trucks with a variation of this motor ceased production. This easy to maintain and upgrade motor was popular with hot rodders and racers alike, indeed Allard amongst other special builders also installed a variation this motor in some of its most successful competition models.

Fordson 7V, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The second innovative feature of the Fordson 7V was the forward control cab which placed the driver alongside the motor which improved the drivers vision of the road and allowed for greater maneuverability in congested urban environments. This particular feature did not take off until the 1960’s Ford having taken a step back placing the driver in the traditional position behind the motor with it’s 1950’s Trader models. Note the cab also has an unusual for the period one piece windscreen.

Fordson 7V, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Fordson 7V’s like this particular one were the vehicle of choice for Britain’s National Fire Service during the 2nd World War and painted grey they were an all to familiar sight during the Blitz Krieg. The Fordson 7V chassis was also adapted during the 2nd World War to build the armoured flathead V8 powered tracked Loyd Carrier.

Fordson 7V, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

With the cessation of hostilities and the post war boom in motor racing Fordon 7V’s fitted with Flathead V8’s were much in demand for use as racing transporters giving many fire tenders a second lease of life.

Fordson 7V, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The Clarke family use this 1937 example, seen at the Rare Breeds Show, to transport their collection of replica Stock Cars as raced in the 1950’s.

Thanks for joining me on today’s transporter edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at British built variations of one of the worlds most popular cars. Don’t forget to come back now !

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