477 replies to this topic

[PAUL S]

Thought this thread could do with a quarterly bump to see if any new members have any period photos.

New website dedicated to the RS500 is also now online with a lot of the Group A owners on board if anyone wants to take a look

http://rs500owners.com/index.php

Quite a few original cars now being unearthed, restored and being made race ready for 2013

It would be great if some of the ex race drivers that are on the autosport forum, and the respected writers of all things Ford would sign up and make themselves known over on the owners forum

Edited by PAUL S, 19 November 2012 - 16:32.

[Phil Rainford]

Oulton earlier this year.....




PAR

[PAUL S]

Lovely Phil, its not a car I have seen before. A replica but looks nicely done, just needs a 500 front bumper and lower fin to complete the look, and the steering wheel on the other side

[Zippel]

Absolutely love those two cars. Seeing those on TV at Bathurst are what got me interested in motor sport from the beginning.

[Graham Clayton]

Manfred Winkelhock and Jeff Allam's Wolf-entered RS500 at the 1987 Silverstone Tourist Trophy:



Source: http://touringcarrac...ilverstone.html

[PAUL S]

Thanks Alan the Mahoney car was reputed to be the best modified RS500 in period. It was not his original group A RS500 but actually the ex Bristow Labatts Rouse. Ended up in NZ then back to the UK in Labatts colours for a while, now being converted to its original BTCC Labatts spec.

2013 is looking to be a good year to see lots of original BTCC RS500s out on track and competing again

[Alan Cox]

April 1988 Graham Goode Oulton Park

[Phil Rainford]

Request via Facebook.....does anyone know the history of this car?

PAR

[Alan Cox]

I don't recognise the livery of that particular car, Phil, but on account of the sponsorship, presume one of the drivers is Roger Williams (the founder of Willhire) during one of the Willhire 24/25-hour races at Snetterton. Was it actual chassis numbers etc that you are after?

[PAUL S]

Not a scheme I recognise either. Its a group N spec 3dr so as mentioned probably one of the 24 hr cars.

[LittleBertha]

I don't recognise the livery of that particular car, Phil, but on account of the sponsorship, presume one of the drivers is Roger Williams (the founder of Willhire) during one of the Willhire 24/25-hour races at Snetterton. Was it actual chassis numbers etc that you are after?

I'm sure this is RW car in the '89 event extended to 25 hours....celebrating 25 years of Willhire also explains the silver livery and the number.

Won by a Sapphire I believe - a car which will be out at Snett again on Sunday!

Edited by LittleBertha, 24 May 2013 - 20:01.

[PAUL S]

Manfred Winkelhock and Jeff Allam's Wolf-entered RS500 at the 1987 Silverstone Tourist Trophy:



Source: http://touringcarrac...ilverstone.html

Martin Johnstone now has a pair of wolfs so this could be one of his. Its now been decalled up in that scheme. I think he is still researching its history

[PAUL S]

April 1988 Graham Goode Oulton Park

A year earlier Alan (1987) as its still in 3dr spec. That car was upgraded to 500 spec in August 87 and then wiped out in a testing accident later on.

Edited by PAUL S, 24 May 2013 - 19:57.

[Tim Murray]

Request via Facebook.....does anyone know the history of this car?

PAR

I'm sure this is RW car in the '89 event extended to 25 hours....celebrating 25 years of Willhire also explains the silver livery and the number.

Won by a Sapphire I believe - a car which will be out at Snett again on Sunday!

There's a photo in the MN report of the 1989 25 Hours showing car #25 in identical livery to Phil's photo. The car was driven to 8th place by Roger Williams, Peter Sugden, Mike Littlewood and Dave Wallis.

[Phil Rainford]

Many thanks Tim


PAR

[Phil Rainford]

Friday at the Silverstone Classic ....



PAR

[Graham Clayton]

Dick Johnson and John Bowe have some interesting comments regarding the RS500 in the current issue of the Australian magazine "Unique Cars":

 

 

We used to run them [the 1.9 litre Cosworth engine] on the dyno without the turbo hooked up and flat out they made 90 horsepower. I kid you not. Put a turbo on it with 2.4 bar of boost and it made 680 horsepower. And it used to come on like a light switch.......Many good drivers would jump into one of these things, and they wouldn't get around a lap before spinning it. They'd put their boot into it and it would go from nothing to 600-plus horsepower in a nanosecond and they'd be backwards somewhere.

 

 

There was a technique to getting thing off the line. I was having terrible starts and Dick eventually told me....you had to bounce the throttle as fast as you could move your foot, and pop the clutch. If you just revved it and dropped the clutch it would smoke the tyres and if you didn't it would just stop.

[Hamish Robson]

Not photos from the ‘80s, but this was a gathering of genuine Group A cars at Donington at the RS Owners Club National Day in 2005.
 

 

 

 

 

[Lee Nicolle]

There seems to be more Sierra racecars left now than what was raced in about 89!
And the Eggenberger one is different to all the others!

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 21 October 2013 - 04:09.

[Hank the Deuce]

And the Eggenberger one is different to all the others!

As it was in the day... hehehe

[arttidesco]

As it was in the day... hehehe

Left hand drive, if Eggenberger were building their RS500's today you can guarantee they would still be putting the steering wheel in on the wrong side of their cars

[boatsman]

Hi Guys,

 

Been having a look at this thread again, pleased it's still going strong with some great photos being posted.

 

Seems my old Thundersaloon (Ex Labatts BTCC)  is back in the UK again and being restored back to it's original Group A spec, which is great but it was an awesome 'beast' in T/saloon spec. Saw Tim (Harvey) on TV racing the RS 500 at Silverstone in the summer, must have been interesting to get back in one again, I have been meaning to give him a call.

 

I am revving myself up to get a lot of my unseen in-car footage of the 88/89 BTCC races put on DVD, I think it's time to share some of this great footage such is the following of these cars.The Grandstand programs (filming done by BHP) only showed a very small percentage of what was actually filmed. I believe I may have the only unseen footage left of the races of this period, albeit all from inside and the bumper-cam of my car. If there is enough interest I may start to put bits of this on You Tube. I also have my own highlights film of the 88 season which was different from the one that was sold to the public funded by Kaliber, this also contains some unseen footage. We used  this film to help raise my sponsorship budget for 1989 ( I raised close to £250,000 for 1989) a figure I don't believe the existing teams in the BTCC are able to raise these days. Somewhere I also have a film called 'Hawks on Fire' , this film was produced by Firestone and is a review of the 2 Firestone Cosworths  of 88/89 driven by Mark Hales and myself, they were Group N or Production saloon cars, we pretty much dominated both series in those cars and I think this may be the only footage of those cars as well. The film was never sold to the public but was used for promotion purposes I think. ....Great stuff...........

[PAUL S]

Get it all up please Jerry, you will be very popular as we are always hunting new pics and vids.

 

Your race  car has yet to surface, but about 3 or 4 a year are now coming out of the woodwork, so its only a matter of time    your old loon changed hands a few times over the last couple of years but externally is now going back to the 89 spec, although internally the larger wheel tubs etc are going to remain I believe.

 

If you have the time can you pop over to the RS500 forum as there are a lot of the owners of the original RS500 touring cars now on there as well as us road car owners. They will be over the moon if you sign up

 

http://rs500owners.com/index.php

[boatsman]

Hi Paul

 

OK, I will sign up on there and bore you all to death with my stories. By the way are you the guy who runs a workshop and restores the cars?

 

bets wishes

Jerry

[PAUL S]

Hi Paul

 

OK, I will sign up on there and bore you all to death with my stories. By the way are you the guy who runs a workshop and restores the cars?

 

bets wishes

Jerry

Great, no thats Paul Linfoot up in North Yorkshire (he owns the website), I am listed as an admin on the site "Paul S"  I look forward to your stories from back then. We like pics over there as well if you have any, including your road car 

[boatsman]

Hi Paul (S)

 

I think you may still have my email, could you send me a mail please as I have not got yours anymore.

 

Thanks

Jerry

[PAUL S]

Hi Paul (S)

 

I think you may still have my email, could you send me a mail please as I have not got yours anymore.

 

Thanks

Jerry

Sent you a pm Jerry 

 

anyway its cybersourced500@googlemail.com if anyone else has an original RS500 touring car they want to donate to my cause 

[coffeeman]

Rob gravetts car hitting the bank at thuxton i think ?yep I know that car we repaired it and what a pig of a job that was . It left the workshop on a trailer friday night and the trakstar boys assembled it and if my memory serves me well it won at silverstone on the sunday , we were sat in the stand and malcolm called us over and we all had a swig of the bubbly , how I wish I had a photo can anyone help ?