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Down Payment Protection – FIAT Dino Coupé 2000

In order to help Ferrari homologate, get competition type approval for, it’s 2 litre / 122 cui 65° V6 Enzo Ferrari concluded a deal with FIAT to manufacture the required number of units in March 1965.

FIAT Dino Coupé, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The engines would then be fitted to the Pininfarina bodied Ferrari 206 Dino and FIAT Dino Spyder 2000 and the Bertone bodied Dino Coupé, such as the one featured in these photographs, which was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

FIAT Dino Coupé, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The 2+2 Dino Coupé body, first seen in March 1967 sits on a slightly longer chassis that the 2+1 Dino Spyder first seen in October 1966, initially the Coupé also had superior internal trim which included a wood rimmed steering wheel unlike the plastic rimmed item in the Spyder.

FIAT Dino Coupé, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

This particular 1967 Coupé was purchased in 2014 by it’s present owner in Lisbon, Portugal and is believed to have previously resided in Monaco.

FIAT Dino Coupé, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

3,670 2.0-litre coupés, notably used by the Mafioso protecting a $4 million Chinese gold bullion down payment for a FIAT factory in The Italian Job staring Micheal Cane, were built up until 1969 when production of the larger 2.4 litre V6 Dino engines began for the Ferrari 246 Dino, Fiat Dino Spyder and Coupé plus the Lancia Stratos.

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

Clever Canadian – Sadler BMC Formula Junior

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When Clever Canadian Bill Sadlers Dad was ready to junk the family business Sadler Auto Electric 1939 Austin panel van Bill asked to take on the vehicle he had been delivering parts with and turned it into a convertible.

Later he converted his Hillman Minx to take a 150hp flathead Ford V8, the cars original brakes proved too small on his competitive debut at Watkins Glen.

Sadler BMC Formula Junior, Stephen Bulling, Autimn Classic, Castle Combe,

This led Bill to building a number of sports cars to race, he was an early adopter of both the small block Chevy V8 and the engine behind the driver layout which would become part of the formula for any half way decent Can Am car many years later.

By 1959 MENSA International member Bill was producing sports cars in small numbers when he decided to build a batch of 12 open wheel cars to the international Formula Junior specifications that were announced in 1958.

Sadler BMC Formula Junior, Stephen Bulling, Autimn Classic, Castle Combe,

The Sadler Formula Junior’s were built to a tuned version of the 1098 cc / 67 cui 46hp BMC A series engine more commonly found in Austin A35 van’s, Austin A40 Pininfarina Countryman’s, Morris Minors, Austin Healey Sprite’s, BMC’s various badge engineered 1100’s, later Mini Clubmans, Australian built Mini Mokes and Austin Allegro’s.

The engine and similarly sourced 4 speed gearbox sits in a tubular frame and is covered by an aluminium body.

Sadler BMC Formula Junior, Stephen Bulling, Autimn Classic, Castle Combe,

Details of 1959 Formula Junior races in which Sadlers took part are extremely hard to find, but by 1960 G Hag, Vic Yachuk, Ernest Donnan, James Walter and George Roberts, had all recorded starts in Sadler Formula Juniors in North America.

According to Dutchy and Steven W at The Nostalgia Forum, today’s Sadler seen in these photographs with Stephen Bulling driving at Castle Combe, was at one time driven by Canadian Dave Rodgman.

Thanks for joining me on this “Clever Canadian” 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 in a new Sunday Healey series. Don’t forget to come back now !

Jack’s 500 – Waye JAP

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Based in Adelaide, Australia Jack Waye built today’s featured Waye 500 in 1953 and painted it red.

Waye 500, Doug Yates, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Featuring a pair of conventional if no longer on trend transverse leaf springs front and rear the Waye was orignally powered by a JAP speedway engine fitted with a Norton gearbox.

Waye 500, Doug Yates, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Jack sold the Waye 500 to Kevin Fuss in 1955 and in the ’56 / ’57 off season Kevin swapped the JAP motor for a Manx Norton, and made sprockets with different ratio’s for hillclimbing and circuit racing.

Waye 500, Doug Yates, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

While Kevin mostly drove the car while it was in his ownership, until 1966, on one occasion Bernie O’Hare was credited with recording a top speed of 98mph at the wheel of the Waye 500 at Collingwood.

Waye 500, Doug Yates, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

John Vinall became the third owner of the Waye 500 but only raced it until the end of 1967 when he discovered cracks in the flywheel.

Waye 500, Doug Yates, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

John and his fiancee were killed in a road accident four years later and it was not until 1993 Waye 500 ran again after his brother David had the engine overhauled.

Waye 500, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The overhauled engine did not run well after it’s second practice run and the car was put back into storage until it was bought by David and Andrew Halliday in Sydney, Australia.

When they removed the Manx Norton to fit it into a Cooper they discovered that the timing had slipped which is what had caused the engine to malfunction in 1993.

In 2011 Andrew Halliday advertised the Waye now fitted with a JAP engine again and it was bought by Doug Yates, who is seen at the wheel in these photographs at Castle Combe.

My thanks to members of The Nostalgia Forum who contributed to the Motorbike powered race cars 1950 to 1980 thread, particularly Greg Mackie and John Medley and to one lung who contributed to the Personal photos of Australian motor racing ’50s to ’70s thread all of which helped lead to discovering that J Waye was the most likely candidate to have built the Waye 500.

I’d also like to thank John Bolly Blog Low for helping me establish that J stood for Jack and finally previous owner Andrew Halliday for :-

a) advertising the Waye for sale on Loose Fillings PDF in 2011

and

b) sharing details about the Waye 500 with editor Graham Howard, producer Terry Wright and publisher Garry Simkin who ran a small article, on which most of today’s blog is based on, in the 2nd edition of Loose Fillings published in Winter 1999.

Thanks for joining me on this “Jack’s 500” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Leyland Concept car with a square wheel. Don’t forget to come back now !

Around The World In Five Years – Mercedes Benz W180 220S

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From 1954 to 1959 it’s second generation 220 models known as the 220a and 220S on the W180 chassis all powered by 2.2 litre / 134 cui six cylinder motors upgraded from the first generation W187 to produce 84hp and 99hp respectively.

The more powerful 220S was introduced in March 1956, a twin carb 105hp engine was introduced the following year, with 4 speed column shift and an optional highly expensive to maintain Hydrak clutch which used micro switches to disengage the clutch, other differences included simplified chrome work with a single piece front bumper.

Mercedes Benz W180 220S, The Little Car Show, Pacific Grove, CA

Today’s featured 220S photographed by Geoffrey Horton at the The Little Car Show, Pacific Grove, CA a couple of years ago was built in 1957 and registered in New Zealand on the 8th of November the same year.

Current owners Fred and Elisabeth Smits from the Netherlands now based in Wellington, New Zealand bought the car in 2003 and drove it over 24,000 miles before embarking on a thorough restoration in 2011.

Mercedes Benz W180 220S, The Little Car Show, Pacific Grove, CA

The body off restoration included replacing every bearing, bush and rubber component, rebuilding the engine which included replacing the complete cylinder head and all of it’s ancillaries along with the cam shaft, pistons, crankshaft, oil and water pumps.

The purpose of the restoration was to prepare the car for a 90,000 mile 5 year drive around the world crossing five continents, all except Antarctica.

Mercedes Benz W180 220S, The Little Car Show, Pacific Grove, CA

After much research the Smits chose to tow a light weight Zambezi Cross-Road tent trailer manufactured by Aart Kok of Heemstede, the Netherlands, to make themselves comfortable on route.

The 220S and the trailer were shipped to the USA in 2014 and at the time of writing they should be driving through South America before sailing to Europe having driven a loop around North America in 2015.

Mercedes Benz W180 220S, The Little Car Show, Pacific Grove, CA

The Smits have set up a website about there travels linked here www.classicstrider.com

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Around The World In Five Years” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at a captivating concept car from Renault. Don’t forget to come back now !

Refrigerator White #1 – Chevrolet Camaro

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Never one to rest on his laurels after winning two Trans Am championships for Chevrolet, Roger Penske and his engineer driver Mark Donohue accepted the challenge of turning the AMC Javelin into a Trans Am winner for the 1970 season, leaving Chevrolet to do a deal with Jim Hall and his Chaparral team in Texas to develop the second generation Camaro into a Trans Am challenger.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

During the 1970 season Jim employed Ed Leslie, Joe Leonard and Vic Elford to share the driving duties with himself after building and preparing three cars in the customary Chaparral Refrigerator White.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Ford recaptured the 1970 Trans Am title thanks to 5 race wins accumulated by Parnelli Jones and on from George Follmer, AMC finished the championship second with three race wins from Mark Donohue and Chevrolet third with two wins one from the American Racing Associates entry driven by Milt Minter at Donnybrook and the other at Watkins Glen by Vic Elford at the wheel of today’s featured car.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Vic only made four starts for Chaparral in the 1970 series alongside his Trans Am win at Watkins Glen he also won the Nurburgring 1000kms race with Kurt Ahrens in a works Porsche 908, Interserie (European Can Am) race at Hockenheim in the Paul Weston Racing Organisation McLaren M6B and the under 2 litre 500 km race at the Nurburging in the Escuderia Montjuich Team Chevron entered Chevron B16.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Today’s featured car, seen in these photographs taken by Geoffrey Horton, is believed to be the only one of the three 1970 Chaparral Trans Am Camaros still remaining.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs taken at Concours on the Avenue at Carmel by the Sea a few years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Refrigerator White #1” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a FIAT 128. Don’t forget to come back now !

Changing The Numbers Around Again – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

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In 1968 Roger Penske’s Trans Am team turned up at the Sebring 12 hours with two Trans Am spec Z/28 Camaro’s one a lightweight car that had been very successful in 1967, and the other a new car that had not had a weight saving acid bath.

Mark Donohue is reported as saying the Penske Team put the heavy #15 car through tech inspection first and then went back to their garage and swapped the #15 decals for #16 decals on the heavy car and put the car through tech inspection again.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Having successfully pulled off this stunt for tech inspection Mark says the process was successfully repeated again during qualifying so that both the Penske driving crews qualified using the single lightweight car, which allegedly never went through tech inspection.

I believe Mark and Canadian Craig Fisher then drove the lightweight #15 Penske Godsall Camaro to a third place finish from 13th on the grid 6 laps behind two works prototype Porsche 907’s while the heavy #16 Penske Hilton Camaro driven by Joe Welch and Bob Johnson with Craig also taking a stint behind the wheel finished 4th from 17th on the grid 10 laps down.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, RMMR, Laguna Seca

Penske pulled off a remarkable feat and the SCCA deserved their comeuppance because as can be clearly seen from this linked period photo showing the Penske team cars bore different logo’s on the front wing panels Penske Hilton Racing for the #15 and Penske Godsall Racing for the #16 as seen in this photo.

It should also be noted that the acid dipped lightweight car can be distinguished by the absence of side marker lights which were mandated for US road vehicles in 1968 as described in paragraph six of this linked article.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Evidence that the race numbers were swapped between the subtly different cars during the meeting is confirmed by this linked photograph from the Revs Institute showing the #15 running with Penske Godsall sponsorship on the front wing and without the side marker lights, and in this second linked photo from Car and Driver clearly showing a #16 during a pit stop with the ’68 side marker lights.

Today’s featured Camaro is believed by the owner to have been the 14th Z/28 to have been built, rolling off the assembly line on December 30th 1966 and into the Gorries Chevrolet-Olds, LTD dealership in Toronto where, the son of the GM-Euclid distributor for eastern Canada, Terry Godsall purchased it.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

The owner believes this car was raced for Terry Godsall by Craig Fisher and followed Craig to the Penske Team mid way through 1967, he also believes this is the lightweight car Craig and Mark Donohue drove to 3rd place overall and a well deserved class win at Sebring in 1968.

After Sebring the car returned to Godsall in Canada is believed to have appeared in Trans Am events up until 1972, the current owner identified the car as the much raced lightweight Camaro by an obviously acid dipped wing / fender, an unusual rear axle housing which turned out to be one of only 22 and a one off brake master cylinder that had been shipped by GM to Penske for the Penske Godsall Racing Camaro.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s taken at Carmel by the Sea Concours on the Avenue and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion a couple of years ago, note the engine shown is not in the same car as seen at Carmel by the Sea.

Thanks for joining me on this “Changing The Numbers Around Again” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for FIAT Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS I hope you will join me in wishing Geoffrey Best Wishes and a Happy Birthday today !

RIP – Hill Cosworth GH2

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After serving an apprenticeship with Smiths Instruments and rising to the rank of Petty Officer in the Royal Navy Norman Graham Hill passed his driving test aged 24 in 1953.

The following year he got the motor racing bug driving a 500 Formula 3 Cooper and joined Team Lotus as a mechanic where he eventually talked his way into the cockpit, in 1956 Graham, as he is better known, made his Grand Prix debut at the wheel of a Lotus 12.