From a box in the attic

Saturday afternoons in the late 60s, I used to toddle off to Silverstone to watch any likely sounding clubbie event. There was some good stuff, and I still have all the programmes. It often amuses me to scan through the pages to see what memories the names listed evoke. Perhaps other TNFers do the same?

I have here the programme for the BARC meeting held on 7th October 1967 In good condition compared with some…it can’t have been raining!)

Going through each race, picking out a few names…memories come trickling back.

Event 1. Special Grand Touring Car Race
J. Wolfe. Shelby American Cobra………..I can think only of the Le Mans tragedy…too soon for a privateer to tackle a 917?

Event 2 Formula Vee Race
N. Brittan…I first heard of Nick Brittan when he was promoting karting in it’s early days in the UK…had a short lived magazine called Karting News & Record. Then that Green Bean Anglia..

Someone in a Nike Vee..another Ken Nicholls production, Gary C?

Event 3 Sports and Clubman’s Sports Car Race
Bluebelle Gibbs in her Lola…..as always
Howard Heerey in his Chevron …also of Cox GTM fame?…years later I was to up-end his son Brian in a kart race.

Event 4 Formula 3 race
G V Coaker in a Brabham…Is that the C in March?
N. Abbot in an Abbot…lovely skinny F3 car…a one off?

Event 5 Saloon Car Race “A”
J. Markey …. 2.5 Anglia Climax….weren’t special saloons of this era great?
A.Poole…Wolseley Hornet 1293 …just to be different to the mini hoards?

Event 6 Marque Car Race
R Harvey-Bailey…Jaguar E…had a big shunt at one of these clubbies…perhaps not this one.
W Nicholson…King of the MGBs?
J. Britten…MG Midget…remember those Arkley ads in motorsport?

Event 7 Saloon Car Race “B”
L. Hickman …Anglia…any relation to Ron Hickman of Lotus and Workmate fame?
G Mabbs…Mini Ford….the things they used to do! Wasn’t there also a Mini with 2/3 of a Jag motor..Rod Embley?

Happy days.

Anglia Climax? Mini Ford?

I thought this kind of concoction was limited to New Zealand in those days? We got some weird stuff here starting about 1968, but the Kiwis had plenty before that...

One of the priceless ones was the Mini of John and Ken Laws. Or is that Lawes?

It had a Holden 179 engine mounted longitudinally and driving the front wheels through a VW gearbox, the uprights and driveshafts being from an Austin 1800.

Yeah, you're right, the engine did stick into the cabin a ways... by the way, anyone know the whereabouts of John and/or Ken? I'd like to catch up with them again...

You probably didn't see much of John Wolfe:

Some weird stuff happened to Anglias, notably the Jaguar-engined car of Mick Hill, known inevitably as the Janglia.

Hodges says Norman Abbott was still running that car in F3 in 1970!

Names from the past ... John Markey, Alec Poole ... etc etc

Originally posted by Roger Clark
You probably didn't see much of John Wolfe:

[

Thanks Roger!

I see what you mean. I don't think I saw the incident. Wolfe was also entered in Event 3 with the Cobra...but I see I have crossed him out as a non starter in my programme.

I had forgotten that the Ford in the Mabbs mini was actually an SCA.

Originally posted by David Beard
.....I had forgotten that the Ford in the Mabbs mini was actually an SCA.

Was this car ever written up in a magazine?

I recall reading about one somewhere, maybe this one, or was there more than one? The Ford engine adapted to the top of the Mini box as I recall...

Originally posted by Ray Bell


Was this car ever written up in a magazine?

I recall reading about one somewhere, maybe this one, or was there more than one? The Ford engine adapted to the top of the Mini box as I recall...

Yes. I'm sure there were more than one. Of course a Ford Kent type block is a lot longer than a BMC A series...used to dangle over the end of the box by a fair amount. Don't know how they managed at the clutch end.

Well, as the BMC block was deeper (the crankcase going well below the crank centreline), they could do a lot with a casting or fabrication that acted as an adaptor.

I'd doubt that they made a crank with that awful taper etc setup on the end, maybe they did it a bit more like the Austin 1800 setup?

'Someone in a Nike Vee..another Ken Nicholls production, Gary C?'
It certainly was!!

Originally posted by Ray Bell


Was this car ever written up in a magazine?

I recall reading about one somewhere, maybe this one, or was there more than one? The Ford engine adapted to the top of the Mini box as I recall...

The Ford conversion became reasonably common, well considering what was involved. The first was shown at the racing car show in 67 with an SCA, but at the moment I can't remember who did it.

As for the flywheel/ crank, there were two methods. A bolt on adapter on the Ford crank or a new crank with the mini taper incorporated on the end. MAE conversions became regular after the demise of the 1 lt F3. The ultimate conversion was Eric Smith's Gordon Allen 1300 BDA, abley assisted by Eric's driving. Jim Dryden also had a 1300 SCA conversion by Longman, check the Ingliston photo site for 77 for photo.

Much info and photos in John Baggot's book "Mini, the racing story"

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Well, as the BMC block was deeper (the crankcase going well below the crank centreline), they could do a lot with a casting or fabrication that acted as an adaptor.

I'd doubt that they made a crank with that awful taper etc setup on the end, maybe they did it a bit more like the Austin 1800 setup?

Ray, remind me next time you are down here and I will show you how it is done from a book.

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Well, as the BMC block was deeper (the crankcase going well below the crank centreline), they could do a lot with a casting or fabrication that acted as an adaptor.

I'd doubt that they made a crank with that awful taper etc setup on the end, maybe they did it a bit more like the Austin 1800 setup?

The bottom face of a mini block is the centreline of the crank, just like the Ford. The diemension that matters is the primary gear meshing with the idler gear on the gearbox drop gears.

What was ever good about the 1800 system?

Now that surprises me... I was sure the BMC block descended below the crank centreline... so that the main bearing caps were above the level of the sump face.

I didn't mean to imply there was anything 'good' about the 1800 setup, just that it had the flywheel and clutch mounted in the same manner as the Cortina does, and most cars do, not back to front and unusual like the Mini.

While we're in this area, I almost hesitate to mention the crank detail of the engine from which the Mini was derived... the Peugeot 204/304 etc. While the Mini has a nice round taper, this thing has a horrible 3-sided or triangular taper with rounded corners, a beastly thing to machine, I have no doubt, and I simply have no idea how the female of the species is made.

Originally posted by JtP


The Ford conversion became reasonably common, well considering what was involved. The first was shown at the racing car show in 67 with an SCA, but at the moment I can't remember who did it.

As for the flywheel/ crank, there were two methods. A bolt on adapter on the Ford crank or a new crank with the mini taper incorporated on the end. MAE conversions became regular after the demise of the 1 lt F3. The ultimate conversion was Eric Smith's Gordon Allen 1300 BDA, abley assisted by Eric's driving. Jim Dryden also had a 1300 SCA conversion by Longman, check the Ingliston photo site for 77 for photo.

Much info and photos in John Baggot's book "Mini, the racing story"

What about the twin-cylinder half-BDA the Allens used at one point? Indecently quick, powerful and EXTREMELY noisy!

Another vote for John Baggot's book here - full of great pics, stories and pen-portraits of Mini nutters through the ages.

pete

The "half-BDA Mini" that I recall was the one driven by Peter(?) Day. Would that be the same car, Pete? I think at some time it ran with 13" wheels on the front and 10'' on the back.

Long-time Mini stalwart Peter Baldwin (who is stil racing) was a noted racer of a 1300 BDA Mini, which I believe Gordon Allen had something to do with.

The first such device I was aware of, was the John Hipkiss BDA-engined Riley Elf (a 'booted' Mini, like the aforementioned Wolsley Hornet) - this was a notable 1300cc lap record breaker.

I remember, too, a couple of Imp-engined Minis; and a longitudinally-mounted Lotus Twin-cam powered, rear-wheel drive Mini used in hillclimbing.

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Now that surprises me... I was sure the BMC block descended below the crank centreline... so that the main bearing caps were above the level of the sump face.

I didn't mean to imply there was anything 'good' about the 1800 setup, just that it had the flywheel and clutch mounted in the same manner as the Cortina does, and most cars do, not back to front and unusual like the Mini.

While we're in this area, I almost hesitate to mention the crank detail of the engine from which the Mini was derived... the Peugeot 204/304 etc. While the Mini has a nice round taper, this thing has a horrible 3-sided or triangular taper with rounded corners, a beastly thing to machine, I have no doubt, and I simply have no idea how the female of the species is made.

Well I'm just about to go and split a mini engine and box and have noticed on previous occasions that the bottom face is the c/l of the crank. Block is burnt through nos 1/2 cylds.

I take it you have never changed the clutch in situ on an 1800. I haven't but have done an Allegro which uses the same removal tools. The 1800 I had the misfortune to fix was a 2200 auto, a job never to be repeated. Give me a mini anytime.

Surely a mini predates a Peugeot 204/304 by at least 15 years?

The Mini came out in 1959, I think...

The 204 was released about 1966. But that's only a part of the story. BMC had to settle out of court for infringement of Peugeot's patents relating to the transverse engine front wheel drive arrangments.

Seems the 204 had been in the pipeline for a very long time...

And no, I've never done that job on an 1800 at all. But I did see a Tasman on the highway yesterday, that was a rare treat...

Catalina Park's the one with the skinned knuckles, he can explain it all to me.

Originally posted by 2F-001
The "half-BDA Mini" that I recall was the one driven by Peter(?) Day. Would that be the same car, Pete? I think at some time it ran with 13" wheels on the front and 10'' on the back.

Long-time Mini stalwart Peter Baldwin (who is stil racing) was a noted racer of a 1300 BDA Mini, which I believe Gordon Allen had something to do with.

The first such device I was aware of, was the John Hipkiss BDA-engined Riley Elf (a 'booted' Mini, like the aforementioned Wolsley Hornet) - this was a notable 1300cc lap record breaker.

I remember, too, a couple of Imp-engined Minis; and a longitudinally-mounted Lotus Twin-cam powered, rear-wheel drive Mini used in hillclimbing.

Not sure who drove the 2-cylinder Mini but the engine was by Allen wasn't it?

That twink in an rwd mini sounds amusing - bit like a device I saw rallying in the early 90s called by its creator a "Vauxhall Avon" - it was a Nova with an Astra GTE engine in the back and rwd.... - hence a backwards Nova ;)

pete

Ho Hum! Odd engined Minis. Well in a moment of lunacy I bought the Cooper Buick from Rodney Bloore at Sports Motors Manchester. This device had been built by Harry Ratdcliffe with money from British Vita. It had a 3.5 litre Buick V8 in the boot driving forward through a Jaguar gearbox to a reversed E type diff where the original engine should have been. It had 13" wheels on the front and 10" on the rear and was beautifully made. The only rear engined front wheel drive car I can recall.
BUT driving it was likened to throwing a hammer shaft first. When the engine was reved whislt stationary it was possible to watch the shell twist even though it had been strengthened with RSJs.
Eventually I gave up and traded it with Gerry Marshall for Jackie Olivers Diva. Even he couldn't tame it.

Originally posted by RJH
Ho Hum! Odd engined Minis. Well in a moment of lunacy I bought the Cooper Buick from Rodney Bloore at Sports Motors Manchester. This device had been built by Harry Ratdcliffe with money from British Vita. It had a 3.5 litre Buick V8 in the boot driving forward through a Jaguar gearbox to a reversed E type diff where the original engine should have been. It had 13" wheels on the front and 10" on the rear and was beautifully made. The only rear engined front wheel drive car I can recall.
BUT driving it was likened to throwing a hammer shaft first. When the engine was reved whislt stationary it was possible to watch the shell twist even though it had been strengthened with RSJs.
Eventually I gave up and traded it with Gerry Marshall for Jackie Olivers Diva. Even he couldn't tame it.

Amazing..I remember reading reading about that car when it first appeared but precious few reports of it actually performing. How could it possibly have done anything but melt it's front tyres? Did you actually race it, RJH?

Did I imagine the 2/3 (ie 4cyl) Jaguar engined Mini I mentioned at the start of all this? Or even that it might have had TWO 2/3 Jag engines, one at each end!

beat me to it with the Mini Buick ! Must have been the Mini with the most oversteer in history..I believe it was road registered as well !

British Vita built some fantastic Minis..I still recall the sight of Jeff Goodliff hurling his 180 bhp supercharged Mini sprint up various British hill climb venues in 1969. One of the most impressive competition cars I have ever seen..did it survive ?

Geoff Wood raced a very quick ''Vitamini'' which, I assume, was related in some way to British Vita - we used to see this quite often at Mallory Park (my 'home' track) when I was a child.

When the ''Supersaloon'' initiative began to gather momentum, Geoff progressed to a ''Ford Escort'' which was a spaceframed device, with (I think) a Brian Hart-built 2-litre Cosworth BDG mounted so far back the the timing belts were level with the base of the windscreen (so the whole engine was inside the passenger compartment).

The whole car was much lowered by the method I believe drag racers called ''chopped'', except that all the windows were the original shape - all the depth was taken from the doors and wings. The drivetrain position meant that the driver sat very close to the edge of the spaceframe. I looked really purposeful, but I think it was overhauled by the plethora of mid-engined stuff based on Skodas or 2-litre Group 6 cars. I can't imagine anyone doing such a thing as turning a Chevron B23 into a Hillman Imp these days...

Originally posted by 2F-001
Geoff Wood raced a very quick ''Vitamini'' which, I assume, was related in some way to British Vita - we used to see this quite often at Mallory Park (my 'home' track) when I was a child.

When the ''Supersaloon'' initiative began to gather momentum, Geoff progressed to a ''Ford Escort'' which was a spaceframed device, with (I think) a Brian Hart-built 2-litre Cosworth BDG mounted so far back the the timing belts were level with the base of the windscreen (so the whole engine was inside the passenger compartment).

The whole car was much lowered by the method I believe drag racers called ''chopped'', except that all the windows were the original shape - all the depth was taken from the doors and wings. The drivetrain position meant that the driver sat very close to the edge of the spaceframe. I looked really purposeful, but I think it was overhauled by the plethora of mid-engined stuff based on Skodas or 2-litre Group 6 cars. I can't imagine anyone doing such a thing as turning a Chevron B23 into a Hillman Imp these days...

Ah, SuperSaloons!

Good old Tony Sugden - I remember him back when all he had to play with was an Escort-BDA for Brook Hire - before he got into those Tiga-based "Skodas"

To be fair, I don't think you can call those cars "based on Skodas" - most of them were based on G6 or S2000 chassis, the 130 bodyshell just happened to fit nicely over the bits ;)

Apropos of disguised Chevrons... Doc Knutsen (Norway's racing car industry!) recently mentioned a B54 that he turned into a "Lotus Esprit" at some point... actually, you should see the spaceframe Clio V6 he and his little band are building with a 420R in the back at the moment - gorgeous! here for more info.

David,
Yes I did race it at Brands, Castle Combe and Lydden. I also hill climbed it. At Firle the Clerk of the Course wrote back on my entry form saying 'By no stretch of his imagination could he conceive it as a saloon' and thus put me in the unlimited single seater class.
Yes there was lots of tyre smoke off the line, but it flattered only to deceive!!

Originally posted by RJH
David,
Yes I did race it at Brands, Castle Combe and Lydden. I also hill climbed it. At Firle the Clerk of the Course wrote back on my entry form saying 'By no stretch of his imagination could he conceive it as a saloon' and thus put me in the unlimited single seater class.
Yes there was lots of tyre smoke off the line, but it flattered only to deceive!!

LOL - sounds like the sort of rulemaking that put the late Tom Hammonds' gorgeous Audi Quattro up against sports racers!

Originally posted by petefenelon


Apropos of disguised Chevrons... Doc Knutsen (Norway's racing car industry!) recently mentioned a B54 that he turned into a "Lotus Esprit" at some point... actually, you should see the spaceframe Clio V6 he and his little band are building with a 420R in the back at the moment - gorgeous! here for more info.

I met Doc Knutsen last year in a pub in Manchester, together with some other notables from the strange world of the RASF1 newsgroup. When is he going to turn up here?

There was a March F2 (802 maybe) car too that had a Lotus Esprit replica body dropped over it - complete with ground-effects tunnels and, I think, the sliding skirts too. Apparently it could be turned back into an F2 car in a matter of minutes which does seem to be pushing the spirit of the regs a touch!!

re: Tony Sugden...
I'm told that he has, in the last week or so, announced his retirement from racing.

re: Norman Abbot...
I associate that name (correctly or otherwise) with a really quick Specail Saloon Escort, FVA motor and - very controversially - a transaxle, which other drivers objected to. Anyone else remember this? Or am I confusing my memories?

Other saloon oddities I recall include:

The aforementioned Chevron-based Hillman Imp (driven by Group 2 star Jonathan Buncombe).
A front-mid engined "Jaguar XJ6" with a Can-Am style V8 with 'Team Surtees' on the heads (forget the owner - might have been Tony Hazlewood).
Various "Daf" and "Skoda" lookalikes with FVCs, Chevrolet V8s etc.
Ian Richardson's 7.6 litre V8 "Corvair" (never knew what chassis that was based on... the first time I saw that, it was up against Gerry Marshall's Firenza/Magnum whatever - pre-Baby Bertha - an Gerry got lapped... I was quite shocked!).
Mick Hill's Capri and then his spaceframed, F5000 engined "VW Beetle".
Big Bertha and Baby Bertha, of course.
Colin Hawker had a DFV engined Capri and later a curious VW Variant-shaped thing, which I always believed was based on one of the De Cadanet sportscars (Gordon Murray?) with a Tasman spec-DFW.

Originally posted by 2F-001


re: Tony Sugden...
I'm told that he has, in the last week or so, announced his retirement from racing.

...

Other saloon oddities I recall include:

Colin Hawker had a DFV engined Capri and later a curious VW Variant-shaped thing, which I always believed was based on one of the De Cadanet sportscars (Gordon Murray?) with a Tasman spec-DFW.

Awwww. Mind you, what's Tony got left to prove?

Thinking of Supersaloons and Tonys - Tony Strawson comes to mind as the man behind various weird machinery, but I can't remember any of his cars. Hazlewood I associate with the DAF...

As for Hawker's Capri - was it front-engined? - I recall a very long debate with various gearheads about whether anyone had ever managed a front-engined DFV-powered car - but there should be no reason why, given that a GA fits into the front of a Capri and they're not utterly dissimilar as far as shape and exhaust arrangements are concerned ;)

We need a photo gallery for some of this high weirdness...!

Couple of recent shots of Baby Bertha guesting at Silverstone last year:




pete

Originally posted by RJH
David,
I also hill climbed it. At Firle the Clerk of the Course wrote back on my entry form saying 'By no stretch of his imagination could he conceive it as a saloon' and thus put me in the unlimited single seater class.

Jeff Goodliff's Minisprint suffered a similar fate during the '69 hill climb season. This 180bhp device weighed under 1/2 ton and stood just 42" to the roof. It was thus consigned to the small GT class but still proved ultra competitive....despite the drum brakes on the rear !

and does anybody recall the "Fraud Cortina" ?

Hawker's Capri, I'm pretty sure, would have been nominally front-engined since that was one of the few rules they had! That the engine was in vaguely the same place as the original. I think Hawker had a V6 Escort prior to that. I don't think I ever saw the Capri and it wasn't around for long before the ''DFVW'' came along.

Somebody told me that Ford had put a DFV into a Group 2 Capri themselves, but I've never seen any evidence for it.

Ah yes... Hazelwood and Daf. Strawson had a big V8 Capri (as did Doug Niven) - maybe that's the name that goes with the ''Jag'' then?

Didn't Sugden run an Escort for a time (red and silver?) - a regular sparring partner for Nick Whiting ('All Car Equipe' Escort FVC)?

Somewhere I must have a stack of pics of this stuff. I must sort out some webspace - and learn how to use it...

Originally posted by 2F-001


Didn't Sugden run an Escort for a time (red and silver?) - a regular sparring partner for Nick Whiting ('All Car Equipe' Escort FVC)?

Somewhere I must have a stack of pics of this stuff. I must sort out some webspace - and learn how to use it...

Sugden ran his Escort for several years under the colours of Brook Hire which were, if I recall rightly, pale blue, white and orange. His team-mate Dave Millington (who emigrated to Canada I think) had a Firenza (with, I assume, all the Blydenstein goodies).

The pair of them were usually unbeatable round Aintree (certainly by anything that didn't have a V8 in it!) - until one day in about '77 or so a certain yellow Mk 2 Escort bearing copious Kent Messenger signage, driven by Nick Whiting and tended to by people who sounded very Southern to our provincial ears turned up and blew Tony away....

pete

Originally posted by 2F-001


Didn't Sugden run an Escort for a time (red and silver?) - a regular sparring partner for Nick Whiting ('All Car Equipe' Escort FVC)?

Somewhere I must have a stack of pics of this stuff. I must sort out some webspace - and learn how to use it...

Sugden ran his Escort for several years under the colours of Brook Hire which were, if I recall rightly, pale blue, white and orange. His team-mate Dave Millington (who emigrated to Canada I think) had a Firenza (with, I assume, all the Blydenstein goodies).

The pair of them were usually unbeatable round Aintree (certainly by anything that didn't have a V8 in it!) - until one day in about '77 or so a certain yellow Mk 2 Escort bearing copious Kent Messenger signage, driven by Nick Whiting and tended to by people who sounded very Southern to our provincial ears turned up and blew Tony away....

pete

Originally posted by bill moffat
and does anybody recall the "Fraud Cortina" ?

Yes..Doc Merfield...and his earlier twin cam Anglia which I have recalled on another thread somewhere..the Oranges and Lemons battles with Chris Craft's similar car.

Terry Sanger had a similar Cortina beast?

Brian Cutting's Martin V8 powered Escort?

And what about that fearsome V8 Austin A40 of Brian Tarrant? ( I think it was Brian...the recent TV Tarrant has confused me) I think he was killed when he crashed it at Thruxton.

Big engined minis and stuff

I think the chap who started the big engined mini thing might have been Rodney Embley who ran a 1400cc? Ford based engine in a Mini back in 1962/63, probably a Classic 109E block etc. I remember one of the early saloon races televised by the Beeb from Silverstone showing him running off into the distance at huge speed down the Club straight. I think he started off with a bored out Downton BMC engine at around 1340cc before moving on to Ford, via Gordon Allen. I may of course have it all wrong. Time of life etc.

Is he the same Rod Embley who is a motor sport photographer of note and advertises in Autosport/Motor Sport etc, based in Northampton -ish area? If he is he should be telling the story to us.

I believe a chap called Piers Martin, possibly a motor trader, now living in in the Lake District used to drive the ex Ratcliffe Vita-Buick around Lancaster as an every day car.

How is it that there has never been a full biog. or good write up at least, in the historic comics on dear old Harry Ratcliffe, the original Morris 1000 racer of renown, glass fibre wings etc. I remember him at Rufforth and the like. I'll wager he could tell some good stories. Marvellous man, with his pipe smoking all the time. I believe he is still based in Littleborough, and does historic rallies in a Bentley the last I heared.

The first Jag engined mini was based on a 2.4litre motor, I think, but with the two rear end cylinders cut off. It might have been Gordon Allen's handiwork, Motor Sport article on him 1963/4 ish?

At Castle Howard hillclimb in 1960 there was a chap moaning about his Mini, bored out to 960cc, same as some BMC FJ motors and Sebrings, being moved into the GT class as the scrute would not accept that it was standard.

The real gem I saw was in the Yorkshire Rally in Jan/Feb 1961/62, where there was a superb Mini in metallic dark blue with an overbored motor, only to around 1000cc I think, but it was absolutley stunning, everything to almost show standard. Chap said it was built and developed by Broadspeed, first I had heard of the firm. It had a large box shape built into the front of the bonnet looking like an air box, but no holes. Man would not let anorak schoolboy look under the lid.

Marvellous halcyon days for a regional rally, straight after the Monte. Pat Moss in MGA 727 LBL one year, Cooper Mini 737 ABL the next, Carlsson in 2 stroke SAAB, Tony Fall and Woods Bros in two ex works Rapiers, in the 5190/1//2/3/WK series of cars, Anne Hall n hot 105E Anglia et al, and David Hepworth, later national hillclimb champion in a Healey Chev small block I think, dark blue, yes on a winter rally, with Leo Bertorelli in an early Elan. Marvellous stuff. Got the photos somewhere.

The wonderful rallying reverend Rupert Jones, in his Mini Traveller was there, and the likes of Roy Fidler and the rest were regulars. I met Rupert Jones in France, in the mid 1980s, both staying near Pau, and he was driving a Lada with twin Webers on it, and a suspension mod pack, went like stink, but you needed an Arab as a relative to keep filling it up. It was a development car built to pilot a Lada rally series, oh yes it was!, built and developed by Jeff Goodliffe's workshops for Lada, which brings us back to the hot, big engined Mini. Rupert was press officer for British Vita at the time as well as being a clergyman, a teacher at a school in Bradford, and chaplain to part of the Bolton constabulary.

Rupert, by the way, reckoned David Seigle Morris was the fastest and best BMC works Healey 3000 driver, bar none. Why have we never seen an article on him either? or been told why he was called badger?

Jeff Goodliffe competed fiercely in the 1968 and 69 hillclimb championship against the brilliant Peter Voigt, Peter Voigt in the mk 6 DRW Imp, a marque about which I am compiling a history, so if David Beard , or anyone else with programmes from the 60s and 70s is reading this, I would welcome details of DRW entries/results in clubmans/sports 61/72, especially Peter Vale 64/66 on the Northern circuits in the BRSCC series, FJ in 1961, anything after 1972, especially the Bevans bros.
Ex Lotus mechanic jack Murrell and Dave Warwick ony built ten cars, 1959/1970. I have a good database built up but additional details will be welcome.

I am struggling to trace David (DJV) Lewis who raced a DRW in 1961/64 with Jim Donnelly. Believed to be from Fulham, I think he went on to a Mallock in 1966

If you have got this far, thanks for your patience.

Keep up the work on TNF

Roger Lund

From the same box in the attic...Brush Fusegear FF race, 1st October 1977. Very dilapidated programme.....obviously a wet day. I was there as a Hanger On to Andy Best in his Getem...anyone remember that car? Did Brush sell extra Fusegear as a result of their sponsorship?(There must be a story behind their attachment to a Formula Ford series)

Just look at the list of drivers...a few very well known names, a few "Where are They Nows", a name we see at TNF....

I didn't fill in the results....anyone?

Originally posted by RJH
Ho Hum! Odd engined Minis. Well in a moment of lunacy I bought the Cooper Buick from Rodney Bloore at Sports Motors Manchester. This device had been built by Harry Ratdcliffe with money from British Vita. It had a 3.5 litre Buick V8 in the boot driving forward through a Jaguar gearbox to a reversed E type diff where the original engine should have been. It had 13" wheels on the front and 10" on the rear and was beautifully made. The only rear engined front wheel drive car I can recall.
BUT driving it was likened to throwing a hammer shaft first. When the engine was reved whislt stationary it was possible to watch the shell twist even though it had been strengthened with RSJs.
Eventually I gave up and traded it with Gerry Marshall for Jackie Olivers Diva. Even he couldn't tame it.

I had always wondered what happed to the car. There is a photo of the Mini Buick device on the Minilite site exiting the chicane at Croft.

Unfortunately it was never any faster than a normal full race Cooper S round Mallory. There is a track test of the car in Motor or Autocar of the period. I have an original article from Autocar or Motor about the car, including the public road test. If anyone wants a scanned copy please let me know.

Originally posted by David Beard
.....Just look at the list of drivers...a few very well known names, a few "Where are They Nows", a name we see at TNF.....

Yes, where is this Mansell chap now?

And Peter Argetsinger, of course, being Mike's brother.

Originally posted by David Beard
From the same box in the attic...Brush Fusegear FF race, 1st October 1977. Very dilapidated programme.....obviously a wet day. I was there as a Hanger On to Andy Best in his Getem...anyone remember that car? Did Brush sell extra Fusegear as a result of their sponsorship?(There must be a story behind their attachment to a Formula Ford series)

Just look at the list of drivers...a few very well known names, a few "Where are They Nows", a name we see at TNF....

I didn't fill in the results....anyone?

The winner was some chap named Mansell.

In fact to beat Van Rooyen for the Brush Fusegear title Mansell had to win and set fastest lap - which he did, taking the title by one point.

Van Rooyen was second, Sarazin third and Acheson fourth.

Much more important to us Kiwis was the winner of the F3 race that day.

Brett Riley won in a March 773 Toyota from Derek Warwick, Stephen South, Nigel Mansell and Patrick Gaillard. And he set fastest lap.

That boy should have made it into Formula One.

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Catalina Park's the one with the skinned knuckles, he can explain it all to me.

Ray, this webpage shows how it is done ;) Big engined Mini

BLOODY HELL YOU WOULD HAVE TO REMOVE THE MOTOR TO CHECK THE OIL.!!!!!
now that ,s what you call a tight fit

Didn't I mention skinned knuckles?

And there's still nothing about how the 1800 clutch was arranged, which was the point of it all.

Originally posted by Milan Fistonic


Brett Riley won in a March 773 Toyota from Derek Warwick, Stephen South, Nigel Mansell and Patrick Gaillard. And he set fastest lap.

That boy should have made it into Formula One.

So should Stephen South

Nice comments about our little Clio projects For all you Special Saloon buffs here, I've also uploaded some pics and vid clips from last weekens round of the Nordic Thunder Cars at our local track. It's looking just like the 70s all over again, thankfully. Esprits with V8s, Renault 5s that stand less than a metre off the ground etc.

I believe we have quite a cache of Super Saloon pics from the UK in the 80s when we often went to watch when David Enderby was racing his VW Karmann Ghia (Tiga Sports 2000 / BDA). I remember Mick Hills Skoda V8, The Mints beautiful Escort RS2000, David Simpson in a Maguire Imp with a mid-mounted 1300cc BDA to mention a few. I'll see if I can dig out te pics and a scanner and post them all.

Those were the days - looks like theyre coming back, at least in Scandinavia!

Originally posted by Matt Knutsen
Nice comments about our little Clio projects For all you Special Saloon buffs here, I've also uploaded some pics and vid clips from last weekens round of the Nordic Thunder Cars at our local track. It's looking just like the 70s all over again, thankfully. Esprits with V8s, Renault 5s that stand less than a metre off the ground etc.

I believe we have quite a cache of Super Saloon pics from the UK in the 80s when we often went to watch when David Enderby was racing his VW Karmann Ghia (Tiga Sports 2000 / BDA). I remember Mick Hills Skoda V8, The Mints beautiful Escort RS2000, David Simpson in a Maguire Imp with a mid-mounted 1300cc BDA to mention a few. I'll see if I can dig out te pics and a scanner and post them all.

Those were the days - looks like theyre coming back, at least in Scandinavia!

Welcome Matt! Always good to see the kind of saloons that can cause shock and awe ;)

Hope to see you and your dad at Le Mans!


pete

Originally posted by Matt Knutsen

I believe we have quite a cache of Super Saloon pics from the UK in the 80s when we often went to watch when David Enderby was racing his VW Karmann Ghia (Tiga Sports 2000 / BDA). I remember Mick Hills Skoda V8, The Mints beautiful Escort RS2000, David Simpson in a Maguire Imp with a mid-mounted 1300cc BDA to mention a few. I'll see if I can dig out te pics and a scanner and post them all.

A Maguire Imp! John Maguire did build the most beautiful special saloons. He was something of a wizard with Group A cars as well...

Another programme from the same box...the 210 National kart race at Shenington, near
Banbury, 16th January 1976. You will note, like the Formula Ford programme page that I posted earlier, we have Mansell plus a name you might recognise from TNF. (but a different one)

This is a gearbox kart category. Nearly all of the hotshoes that use karting as a stepping stone to car racing don't bother with it, moving straight from the 100c direct drive jobs to FF or similar. Mansell was unusual in that he spent a year or two racing these things. Usually the drivers of gearbox karts are older, and stay in karting without moving to bigger stuff. In fact Mark Allen, who is also in this entry, is still very successfully racing gearbox karts today.

Provapr,
The Maguire Imp was indeed a very well engineered car, IIRC Tom Shepard was very quick in one.
A few years ago when i was attending a BTCC round at Thruxton, i noticed that there was a gentleman walking around in the scrutineering bay, that looked remarkably like John Maguire. Whoever it was appeared to be involved quite heavily. If this was Maguire, this must be a great case of "Poacher turned Gamekeeper".
David Beard, your last post could be a good thread in its self: "Name F1 drivers who raced Gearbox karts". I will start this off with Emerson Fittipaldi.

Originally posted by char76
Provapr,
The Maguire Imp was indeed a very well engineered car, IIRC Tom Shepard was very quick in one.
A few years ago when i was attending a BTCC round at Thruxton, i noticed that there was a gentleman walking around in the scrutineering bay, that looked remarkably like John Maguire. Whoever it was appeared to be involved quite heavily. If this was Maguire, this must be a great case of "Poacher turned Gamekeeper".

I remember Tom Shepard bringing his Imp to Ingliston. After testing on the Saturday Tom knew the track pretty well backwards. Tom welded the frames hence the TS chassis numbers. Did John not become a technical scrutineer in the Btcc?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by David Beard
[B]From the same box in the attic...Brush Fusegear FF race, 1st October 1977. Very dilapidated programme.....obviously a wet day. I was there as a Hanger On to Andy Best in his Getem...anyone remember that car? Did Brush sell extra Fusegear as a result of their sponsorship?(There must be a story behind their attachment to a Formula Ford series)

Blimey, the Getem. Remember it well. Didn't it feature wooden bodywork and a very narrow chassis? And wasn't there a production version made by one of the better known manufacturers?

Another one-off FF car from a few years before was the Cougar, built and driven by one Peter Harrington. This car was unbeatable at places like Rufforth and Croft in the early/mid 70s. A yellow device with one side radiator.

Rufforth (oh I did love that place) also saw another qualifier for the "Minis with weird engines" stakes. A Wolseley Hornet with a Fiat 124 engine. Preseumably one of the twin cam ones, otherwise it would all have been very silly. It also had a Mini Clubman front end, which was a bit naughty as that never appeared in production with the Hornet rear end. Can't remember what year, or how well it did, but the driver was (I think) Ernie Whymark. Why indeed?