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Bill Blydenstein


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#1 Gregor Marshall

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Posted 12 September 2007 - 21:51

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post on and please someone put this in the correct thread where it is due but I had some very bad news this evening about probably the straightest person you would ever have met in motor racing and probably the best ever engineer to never make it into F1 through his morals; unfortunately Bill Blydenstein passed away last night....

A bloody good bloke, a brilliant engineer, innovator and too often looked over as a bloody good racing driver too.

Apologies if this is the incorrect forum; without Bill Dad would never have got to where he did (and he was on record saying that) and I think there would be quite a few innovations we all would have missed out on.

If there is a better place to post this then please move it; I know Bill's family would love to hear from people and the funeral is a week on Friday, just outside Royston, all race and rally cars welcome, I'll post again in whichever forum this is moved to with the details and hopefully Autosport and Motoring News for once will do the right thing and post correct details.

GM

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#2 Tim Murray

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Posted 12 September 2007 - 22:23

As far as I'm concerned this is definitely the right place, Gregor. Thanks for passing the sad news on. Another brilliant motor sport engineer and driver has left us.

RIP, Bill, and sincere condolences to all his family and friends.

#3 kevthedrummer

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Posted 12 September 2007 - 23:02

Very sad news. Condolences to his family and friends.

#4 Vitesse2

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Posted 12 September 2007 - 23:16

Originally posted by Tim Murray

RIP, Bill, and sincere condolences to all his family and friends.

Sad news. I can't put it better than Tim did. :cry:

#5 RTH

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Posted 13 September 2007 - 06:14

Sad news indeed he was a major and well known figure in the world of tuning and competition saloon cars in the 60s and 70's I believe he was still working up until recently.

#6 Bloggsworth

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Posted 13 September 2007 - 07:14

He didn't give me a job once - He was quite right not to do so.

RIP

#7 Allan Lupton

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Posted 13 September 2007 - 07:39

A nice, clever and helpful man who was happy to follow up supplying reprofiled camshafts for my older car with long telephone calls about all sorts of things, such as why he had given up on recovering his numerous master cams when Reece went out of business, and who to go to for cylinder head work now he had stopped doing it.

Last time I talked to him, he did sound pretty poorly, but I got no impression it would be terminal that soon.

#8 hiteknz

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Posted 13 September 2007 - 08:02

Sad news,my condolences to the family,a great source off knowledge and help when I was running a 2 litre SOHC Vauxhall in my sports-racing car over here,indeed a sad passing

#9 petefenelon

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Posted 13 September 2007 - 08:53

Very sad news, thanks for posting this, Gregor. Bill and your father were a truly unique combination.

#10 Gregor Marshall

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Posted 13 September 2007 - 08:56

I've just had it confirmed that Bill's funeral will be at 2pm on the 21st September at Therfield Church in Therfield, just outside Royston, Herts.

#11 hipperson

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Posted 13 September 2007 - 13:25

I had the good fortune to visit Bill a couple of times this year
The first was to ask him to sign an Andrew Kitson print 'Marshall Art' ( donated by Andrew for our charity auction) depicting all Gerry Marshall's race winning cars..see photo

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I was so touched by his deteriorating breathing condition during hours of chat that I decided to get another print and get it signed by various luminaries for his birthday in March..the following signed..
Andrew Kitson
Paul Michaels...Marshall's Lister entrant
Gerry Johnstone..he built Marshall's winning Vauxhalls
Gregor Marshall and me.
He was very touched when I presented it to him.


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There is a moral here....if you want to do something do it now

#12 ReWind

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Posted 20 September 2007 - 19:42

Originally posted by hipperson
I was so touched by his deteriorating breathing condition during hours of chat that I decided to get another print and get it signed by various luminaries for his birthday in March.

I know Willem Benjamin Blydenstein was born in the Netherlands.
Obviously you know WHEN.
Would you mind to tell us?

#13 Gregor Marshall

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Posted 20 September 2007 - 20:17

Bill was born on the 3rd March 1929.

#14 ReWind

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Posted 20 September 2007 - 20:34

Thanks.

#15 Ray Bell

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Posted 20 September 2007 - 21:31

My only contact with him was through a third party... unfortunately...

When I did my biography of Peter Brock in 1978/79 I needed a quote from Bill as a team manager for whom Brock had driven. He obliged, of course, but I'm sure the result would have been more personal and meaningful had I been able to talk to him directly.

Communications those days certainly were different to now!

My condolences to all who knew him.

#16 sterling49

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Posted 21 September 2007 - 21:05

Another sad passing, I grew up watching Bill's superbly engineered and prepared cars, he made Vauxhall a marketable young brand and GM put them on the top podium.It was great to see the early HB Vivas in contrast to Minis and Fords, and they were so very good, Shepreth turned out great cars and the rally cars were driven by most of the stars of the day, perhaps he is now "discussing tweaks" with Tony Pond.......R.I.P.

#17 hhh

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Posted 22 September 2007 - 14:53

Few people in Holland probably know what an impact Bill had on Motorsports in the UK.

I remember him racing his VX 4/90; both were quick, Bill as a driver and the cars he built. A brilliant engineer and a gifted driver; it's there where it all started for Gerry Marshall.

Very sad to see him go, RIP.

John Hugenholtz

#18 René de Boer

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Posted 22 September 2007 - 16:05

As Hans rightfully points out in the previous post, hardly anyone in The Netherlands knows what significance this man has had. Therefore, I would like to write a brief obituary about Bill on my Dutch motorsport website, autosport.nl. Does anybody know where in The Netherlands he was born? And hipperson, when you read this, would you allow me to use that magnificent picture of Bill's with the Andrew Kitson print?

#19 hipperson

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Posted 22 September 2007 - 19:05

No problem Rene..............................Michael H

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#20 Henk

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Posted 23 September 2007 - 16:39

Originally posted by René de Boer
Does anybody know where in The Netherlands he was born?

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NRC 05-03-1929

#21 Andrew Noakes

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Posted 03 October 2007 - 14:38

Just heard the sad news about Bill. I can only agree with all those who have already paid tribute to his industry and integrity.

I did some magazine articles with him over the years - first I wrote one about him, and later he wrote for me when I was editing a magazine - and it was always a pleasure to work with him. I spoke to him for the first time in ages earlier this year, when he was after a copy of that first feature for his archives and I realised he wasn't 100% then - but I never realised we would lose him so soon.

#22 bradbury west

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Posted 03 October 2007 - 14:59

Being of an age, I recall an excellent article on Bill from the very early 60s in which he told opf his exploits with his Borgward from the late 50s. There was a super shot of him measuring the flow rate on the ports on the cylinder head , timing the period taken for a gallon of water to pass through each port. The gallon can had a piece of metal tube welded to the neck, I think with a tap on the end, so he just turned the tap and started the stopwatch.

Whatever, it worked very well as the Isabella was very quick, what with his mods, and the Michelin X tyres blown up to about 45/50 psi, and his brave driving style. All from a different world. I suspect that recognising skill and resolute driving is a reason why he regarded Gerry Marshall so highly.

RIP

Roger Lund.

#23 Allan Lupton

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Posted 22 November 2007 - 16:36

And for those who remember but can't find the photo, here's Bill and Borgward in perfect harmony

#24 Gregor Marshall

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Posted 11 September 2008 - 11:13

A year today since sadly Bill passed away -gone but not forogtten (Bill with Old Nail at Thruxton, May 1999 - 25th Annivesary of the Droop Snoot selling plate race).

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