10 replies to this topic

[Hse289]

Hi,
im curious about John Rowley who built Emeryson 500`s in 1951 with Ken Miles for Paul Emery. Can anyone shed any light on him, is he still alive?
Paul

[David McKinney]

Either the John Rowley who had Seaman-type Delages in 1949/50 and ran a 2-litre ex-GP Delage in VSCC events between 1954 and 1959 (and still had it in 1974), or possibly the John Rowley who raced in the southeast US in 1957

[Jerry Entin]

Unlikely to have been the U.S. John Rowley, David.

John was the son of Elton Rowley, one of the founders of the Wichita, Kansas, chapter of the SCCA. They did race a very interesting Rowley Special, powered by MG. Later in life the MG was replaced by a Chevy V8.

all research: Willem Oosthoek

[Dutchy]

The English John Rowley was later a President of the VSCC and resurrected the 1913 GP Th. Schnieder later campaigned by Tom Threlfall and more recently Roger Firth. John Rowley died some years ago but his name lives on in the form of the annual trophy awarded to the top points scorer in the VSCC under the age of twenty three.

The 2 litre V12 Delage referred to in David McKinney's post was , I believe I am correct in saying , fitted with LMB split axle front suspension in the 1930s. Julian Majzub has owned it for many years.

[fuzzi]

... and I couldn't find any mention of his involvement in 500cc racing in the Obit published in the VSCC Bulletin in 1983.

[Hse289]

Thanks guys, hmm maybe John Rowley is not the same man who was a mechanic who worked with Ken Miles on the Emeryson 500`s. Ah well.

[Marticelli]

John Rowley ... resurrected the 1913 GP Th. Schnieder...

Time is a great distorter of facts, of course. The front half of a TH Schneider chassis was unearthed and it was used to recreate what could be described as an homage to the 1913 GP TH Schneider. AFAIK it was not then nor will ever be anything more than an evocation of those cars, although I grant you the recreation has had a long and illustrious career as a VSCC Edwardian competitor ever since, which gives it a provenance of sorts...

Marticelli

[motorsporthistoryaddict]

Thanks guys, hmm maybe John Rowley is not the same man who was a mechanic who worked with Ken Miles on the Emeryson 500`s. Ah well.

Two links which may help further research (or not) include this one http://www.500race.o...es/Emeryson.htm, that mentions John Rowley of Walsall was given the task of building cars for Emeryson and his friend Ken Miles was employed in the task as well, and this one http://www.formula2.net/F248_5.htm, showing a 1948 race where Paul Emery was entered, as well as a John Rowley of GB who drove an Aston Martin for N. Bond-Williams. It wouldn't seem unreasonable to assume the John Rowley in this 1948 race could be the same one who built the 500's in 1951. The first link also mentions who the cars Rowley and Miles built were intended for, if that info might lead somewhere.

[Hse289]

Thanks Motorsporthistoryaddict,
I have seen the link to the Emery page before. I would like to learn more about Ken Miles involvement in working on the Emeryson 500`s with John Rowley. I wonder if John Rowley`s family know anything. Does anyone know how to contact them?
Paul

[Dutchy]

Time is a great distorter of facts, of course. The front half of a TH Schneider chassis was unearthed and it was used to recreate what could be described as an homage to the 1913 GP TH Schneider. AFAIK it was not then nor will ever be anything more than an evocation of those cars, although I grant you the recreation has had a long and illustrious career as a VSCC Edwardian competitor ever since, which gives it a provenance of sorts...

Marticelli

My apologies. I wasn't sure about the provenance of the car and I should have checked my facts first.

[LittleBertha]

Time is a great distorter of facts, of course. The front half of a TH Schneider chassis was unearthed and it was used to recreate what could be described as an homage to the 1913 GP TH Schneider. AFAIK it was not then nor will ever be anything more than an evocation of those cars, although I grant you the recreation has had a long and illustrious career as a VSCC Edwardian competitor ever since, which gives it a provenance of sorts...

Marticelli

Further thread hijack - apologies

I think it was the front half of the car not just the chassis - my recollection is that it was spotted from a passing train and rescued.

The car as it is now is a short wheelbase - no idea if it was similar for the period GP car - which makes for very twitchy handling. During Roger's tenure I rode shotgun for some laps at the Nurbugring and we were FWO on several corners.

After Roger sold the car it went to former VCC President Nick Ridley who used it thoroughly and the car is now I believe in Italy.