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Shelsley Walsh nostalgia


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#1 Morris S

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 08:22

Anyone going to this event ?

http://www.shelsley-...n...s=21&ei=132

I'm running on the Sunday in the Hornet, looking forward to it. Sun hats at the ready !

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#2 cdrewett

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 09:17

Anyone going to this event ?

http://www.shelsley-...n...s=21&ei=132

I'm running on the Sunday in the Hornet, looking forward to it. Sun hats at the ready !


I'll be there, on the microphone in Vox Villa some of the time. It's a great event and if you've never been to Shelsley before it's a must do for any enthusiast. Unlike Silverstone, it's in glorious countryside, the people are friendly, you can get near the cars and talk to the drivers.
Incidentally, if you have never seen top level hillclimbing, come to the National meeting on August 19. To see the top boys approaching the bottom Ess at nearly 140mph is mind blowing.
Chris

#3 Perruqueporte

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 20:10

I shall be there also, running on the Sunday in my Jaguar, and can only echo Chris Drewett's comments. In particular, hillclimbing folk are extraordinarily friendly - spectators, competitors and officials alike. My first outing at Shelsley was in June last year for the C- and E-Type celebrations, and on the Satuday a chap came up to me in the paddock and asked if everything was okay, was I enjoying myself, did I need any help? I was very touched and said yes, yes and no, and asked if he was a fellow competitor. "No" he said, "I'm the Clerk of the Course". That was a first for me in 40 or so years of wobbling about on two wheels and four, and was the icing on a cracking good cake. I had a similar experience shortly after that event, at Gurston when a very pleasant commentator called Chris Drewett came and said hello and asked how I was getting on and wanted to know about me and the car. And then of course there's the countryside and those million-dollar views. And the machinery, some of which shows as much ingenuity and creativity and craftsmanship as I have ever seen at so-called top level (and extremely expensive) motor sport, reflects a very healthy and refeshingly economical (there's little or no money in hillclimbing by comparison) sporting culture. My only regret is that I didn't take the trouble to learn about all of this when I was a lot younger!

Christopher Wigdor.

#4 elansprint72

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 21:25

I only wish that I could be there but we will be in Le Mans... yes I have got the correct dates. :smoking:

This event really is something not to miss, unless you have a very good reason to be in Le Mans.

Hopefully the Summer has arrived now and; that being the case, the best place to be is at Shelsley.

#5 Morris S

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 19:05

Hopefully the Summer has arrived now and; that being the case, the best place to be is at Shelsley.


Forecast isn't quite so scorchio for Sunday but still looking pleasant.

#6 simonlewisbooks

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 20:46

Forecast isn't quite so scorchio for Sunday but still looking pleasant.


Thats good - I shall be there in Sunday with my bookstall. Everyone welcome to call in for a chat. :wave:

#7 Morris S

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 10:31

Nice to meet you Simon, (I bought a couple of books at the very end of the day on Sunday). Fantastic event in beautiful surroundings , a 'must do' for next year, I just need a little more grunt ! Unfortunately I didn't take many snaps but as usual there's a nice selection on Flickr...

http://www.flickr.co...=shelsley&s=rec

Nice to see some of the original Broadspeed team meeting up in the paddock also, engineers and drivers like John Terry.

Pete

Edited by Morris S, 30 July 2012 - 10:32.


#8 Macca

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 10:46

But what on earth is the car that looks like a Chapparal? #109

Paul M



#9 Tim Murray

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 11:57

According to the results it's Ian Wright in a 'Chap 2':

http://www.resultsma...mp;CompID=80220

As Ian was also running the Chaparral Mk1 in which he's done a lot of events in recent years, I assume that 'Chap 2' is a genuine Chaparral - no doubt someone here will know definitely.

#10 simonlewisbooks

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 12:18

According to the results it's Ian Wright in a 'Chap 2':

http://www.resultsma...mp;CompID=80220

As Ian was also running the Chaparral Mk1 in which he's done a lot of events in recent years, I assume that 'Chap 2' is a genuine Chaparral - no doubt someone here will know definitely.


It's a replica which isn't called a Chaparral as it's an 'unofficial' one created for/by Mk1 owner Richard Falconer. He said he would probably call it a 'Road Runner' when it first appeared early this season. Looks like he's changed his mind.


#11 Tim Murray

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 12:23

Thanks Simon

#12 bradbury west

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 13:25

ISTR a photograph of a similar/same device in the recent report in one of the comics of the Crystal Palace Sprint event. Is it the same car? I cannot check it as I only keep the articles etc which I want for archive purposes.
Did we ever resolve the question of the Mk1 Chap as opp to the Walton Mercury, 400WB, which featured some time ago?
Roger Lund

Edited by bradbury west, 30 July 2012 - 13:26.


#13 cdrewett

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 13:41

But what on earth is the car that looks like a Chapparal? #109

Paul M


I had a good chat with Richard Falconer about both Chapparals. Chap 1 started life ordered by Phil Scragg for hillclimbing but he didn't like it and quickly sold it. When Richard found it it was minus body and the chassis had been chopped around a bit. He paid £120 for the remains and found that Walter Wolf had a body buck which he swapped with Richard for a washing machine.
Chap 2 is certainly a replica, but built around the almost unique 2-speed GM transmission which was never offered for sale. It has a torque converter that locks up at 3500rpm. The tub is fibreglass as the original was.
Sadly it only got one competition run at Shelsley because Ian Wright was at the top of the hill with Chap 1 when he was due to run. Bit of a muddle really but I think it's agin the rules for one driver to compete in two cars.
Otherwise it was a great meeting with masses of lovely cars in the car park Concours and lots of people in period dress. The hope is that it will develop into a social gathering for Classic enthusiasts in the same style as vintage Prescott for the VSCC. Maybe HSCC could get interested.
Chris

#14 bradbury west

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 14:02

See post 23 here.
http://forums.autosp...est be Thankful
Along with some excellent period photos at Rest and be Thankful. They are worth airing again, IMHO, as they are good period shots, plus the origional poster had some fairly short shrift from TNFers.
I think it is on a Bo'ness photo archive that I recall 400WB listed as the Chapman Mercury, and I have already posted ages ago a shot of it at Prescott.
Roger Lund

#15 simonlewisbooks

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 14:03

Otherwise it was a great meeting with masses of lovely cars in the car park Concours and lots of people in period dress. The hope is that it will develop into a social gathering for Classic enthusiasts in the same style as vintage Prescott for the VSCC. Maybe HSCC could get interested.
Chris

Agree with you there Chris. It was a bit of an unexpected bonus as the same date last year was very low key. This was a distinct step forward.
For the Prescott-style garden party feel it needs to be a proper 2-day (rather than 2x1 day)meeting because the paddock was almost empty Saturday night, as was the bar by 8pm, which isn't normally the case with a normal 2 day event. The whole bar/paddock/restaurant area at Shelsley has so much compact charm that it lends itself to long lazy summer Saturday evenings with food, drink and racing cars all close at hand. Nowhere else has it.
A lot of people liked the jazz band in the courtyard. If they were on hand for Saturday evening next year it would add another element.
Certainly an event with promise and all of us traders enjoyed it. How about a regular 'public service announcement' for us over the PA - so people on the hill and in the paddock know we are actually there (they often don't...) ?

#16 simonlewisbooks

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 14:39

But what on earth is the car that looks like a Chapparal? #109

Paul M

Posted Image

With George Tatham's ex Scragg McLaren M8 (131) alongside.
White cars are a bugger to photograph on a sunny day.....

#17 cdrewett

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 15:41

Certainly an event with promise and all of us traders enjoyed it. How about a regular 'public service announcement' for us over the PA - so people on the hill and in the paddock know we are actually there (they often don't...) ?


That's a good point Simon, we do often mention the MAC shop but other traders do miss out. I will have to speak to the President (and chief commentator) since it might be seen as advertising. Certainly there would be a fee involved...... into my back pocket !
Chris

#18 D-Type

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 17:19

With George Tatham's ex Scragg McLaren M8 (131) alongside.
White cars are a bugger to photograph on a sunny day.....

Try a polarising filter or even through polaroid sunglasses (with a digital you can correct the colour cast later). It should hopefully cut the glare and reflections if I remember correctly.

#19 simonlewisbooks

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Posted 30 July 2012 - 21:08

Try a polarising filter or even through polaroid sunglasses (with a digital you can correct the colour cast later). It should hopefully cut the glare and reflections if I remember correctly.

Don't currently have a camera that takes filters I'm afraid - just a compact one :blush: but thanks for the tip - buying a new camera is on the list of things-to-do.

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#20 Falconer2

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Posted 06 August 2012 - 10:13

I had a good chat with Richard Falconer about both Chapparals. Chap 1 started life ordered by Phil Scragg for hillclimbing but he didn't like it and quickly sold it. When Richard found it it was minus body and the chassis had been chopped around a bit. He paid £120 for the remains and found that Walter Wolf had a body buck which he swapped with Richard for a washing machine.
Chap 2 is certainly a replica, but built around the almost unique 2-speed GM transmission which was never offered for sale. It has a torque converter that locks up at 3500rpm. The tub is fibreglass as the original was.
Sadly it only got one competition run at Shelsley because Ian Wright was at the top of the hill with Chap 1 when he was due to run. Bit of a muddle really but I think it's agin the rules for one driver to compete in two cars.
Otherwise it was a great meeting with masses of lovely cars in the car park Concours and lots of people in period dress. The hope is that it will develop into a social gathering for Classic enthusiasts in the same style as vintage Prescott for the VSCC. Maybe HSCC could get interested.
Chris


I would be pleased to answer any queries anyone has about Chaparral 1 and Chap 2. However I would like to make one minor correction to Chris's comment above. He has misunderstood my story about Walter Wolf. In the mid-70s a friend of mine, who was an unofficial scrap man to the Formula One teams, acquired several sackfulls of polyurethane from the Wolf team. I swopped him this for a washing machine. Later I took a week off work, went to a corner of a shed on the West Wilts Trading Estate, made up some profiles on the Chaparral chassis, and infilled between them with said polyurethane foam.
Some years later,mainly through the work of Pat Cuss, we ended up with a finished body. Of course only the 1963 Sebring Chaparrals had glassfibre bodies, but when the car was comprehensively wrecked in 1989 I was very glad not to be stuck with the bill for repairing an aluminium body. Funnily enough, my car does have surprisingly original features. I supplied 3 complete pairs of seats copied from mine to American restorers, and the first comprehensive work my engine has had was changing the head gaskets last year.
Richard Falconer

#21 cdrewett

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Posted 26 March 2013 - 14:01

Anyone going to this event ?

http://www.shelsley-...n...s=21&ei=132

I'm running on the Sunday in the Hornet, looking forward to it. Sun hats at the ready !


There's a nice piece about Shelsley on Escape to the Country on the Beeb next weekend. Or watch it herehttp://vimeo.com/62079042
Chris