14 replies to this topic

[RS2000]

GRX309D was a new works rally Cooper S built at Abingdon for the Rallye dei Fiori in Feb 1966 and driven by Paddy Hopkirk. It then served as a works recce car.

It was then a new car for the Rajd Polski in August 66.

Then it was a new car for the RAC Rally in November 66, driven by Graham Hill.

It was then a new race car sent to the USA....

Keep up. You thought racing car chassis history was difficult?

 

The original shell was found fairly recently and was verified by Bill Price of BMC Comps as the original body number used for the first car. The body number is stamped into the panel and is not a plate that can be switched, unlike the "chassis" number (later to become a "VIN" and made a legal requirement in the UK in 1978).

 

We are looking into the fate of the shell that was new for the 66 RAC and was (near enough 100% certain) then crashed by Tony Fall on the Welsh International 3 weeks after the RAC in a failed attempt to win the British Rally Championship. The question is: does anyone have photos of or recall anything about that car on the Welsh. Were you at "Grimshaw's Bend" on Epynt on Friday 9th December 1966? The car went off on water and "the rear sub frame was badly damaged" according to reports. That almost certainly entailed rear body damage too that may have caused the shell to be scrapped afterwards. 

 

The car would have had a replacement engine/transmission after the RAC (Hill stripped a tooth from the diff on the Porlock stage and punctured the casing causing an oil leak then retired in the Lake District with diff failure). That replacement might well have come out of one of the other 7(!) works cars on the RAC, 4 of which went the distance, 2 retired for mechanical reasons late on (so 6 mechanically and under bodily knackered) and 1 rolled early on and the shell a write off. The last may have donated its engine/box for the Welsh entry.

 

The actual registration number (that was on the car in the USA and still is) was much later re-issued by DVLA to a fine replica of the 66 RAC NGH car.

 

One who was there that night was forum member Nick Wa - but he was otherwise engaged conducting his Lotus Cortina through the stage as a competitor. 

Edited by RS2000, 12 December 2015 - 23:02.

[RS2000]

Does anyone have the "Motoring News" report of the 1966 Welsh (ran 9-11 December)? I assume it was written by Gerry Phillips (by then "Verglas"?) who co-drove Ron Clift on the event.

[Doug Nye]

I will have that report.  What do you want to know?

 

DCN

[RS2000]

Many thanks. Would be grateful to know exactly what was said in MN (by Gerry P, or was it still Atis Krauklis then?) about Fall's off, particularly any indication of the damage. It may simply say "went off: stayed off". Roger Clark went off similarly around the same time and totalled his RAC car NVW242C by clipping a deep puddle with one wheel. 

 

I've since learnt there is an Autosport report too (16/12/66 - John Davenport?). I don't recall if I saw that in period but I would have seen the MN report. All I can remember is both works cars crashed terminally around the same time on water. Ex-Abingdon guys (Bill Price, Brian Moylan) have helped so far but the full history of replacement cars still escapes the owner of the original one.

 

I hear they hope to re-unite Paddy Hopkirk MBE and Ron Crellin with the first car at the end of this month. Someone else is chasing Mike Wood (who co-drove Fall on that Welsh and is thus the possibly only remaining eye witness to the actual off). 

 

Much of the confusion has come from both Bill Price and Peter Browning's books placing the Welsh before the RAC in 66. There are plenty of experts on which switch should be where etc. on these cars but no one had realised that continuity error until I pointed it out so it's a different story now to track from what everyone had thought. If it was badly damaged the car was almost certainly scrapped and even if damage was light it is a stretch to believe it was rebuilt as a racer for the Sebring 4 Hours in April 67. Browning wrote "we rebuilt one of our Gp2 rally cars" but that needs to be reviewed against a background of not then acknowledging the true extent of number plate swapping to new cars.

[D-Type]

~ true extent of number plate swapping to new cars.

Surely they could also swap chassis plates over to an un-numbered replacement shell and stamp it to match.

[RS2000]

They did swap "chassis plates" (what we now call the VIN plate) to new cars along with registration plates. Abingdon did not use bare shells to replace existing cars - they had complete red and black new Cooper S delivered. These new cars already carried new body numbers which were not recorded at Abingdon but the first "car" to be actually registered there did have its body number recorded. Subsequent ones carrying the same plate did not. Hence only the first "car" to carry a particular chassis plate and registration plate has a full traceable identity. BMC production records only show unregistered cars delivered from Longbridge (no Cooper or S built at Cowley) to Abingdon to be converted. Some will have been newly registered by the Comps Dept, others will have received existing reg numbers and the corresponding chassis plate. Some cars were sold complete. Other cars not scrapped were sold off unregistered. They also swapped plates on existing cars to align with existing carnets etc. then required for foreign sorties... and swapped them back. In general reg numbers were used until they looked too old - to confuse BMC accountants as to how many new cars were on hand at one time. Much as other Comps Depts. did.

 

Ford Boreham at that time were getting batches of Mk1 Cortina shells strengthened on the production line to build into rally cars. Later bare standard Escort shells came to them via Maurice Gomm extensively modified. Abingdon really only added one piece of strengthening to a Mini body and did that on site, so didn't need to strip to a completely bare shell. They didn't do extensive body repairs either after shunts.

 

Hence actual recollections of when cars were "renewed" is all that remains to confirm when a car was "changed" after its first registration. Add that to those building "log book replicas" and calling them "the" car....   

[Tim Murray]

I've since learnt there is an Autosport report too (16/12/66 - John Davenport?). I don't recall if I saw that in period but I would have seen the MN report. All I can remember is both works cars crashed terminally around the same time.

I've dug out the Autosport report (by Paul Stephens) but it doesn't contain very much info on Fall's accident:

There was a long run out through Caerphilly to the first stage on the tarmac ranges over Eppynt where the excitement really began. Tony Fall/Mike Wood (1293 Mini-Cooper S) started it when they rolled out of the rally on a right-hander near the end of the stage and left things wide open for Fidler and Malcolm Gibbs in the RAC Rally Championship.

John Steadman and Martin Evans went off almost in the same place as Fall, but were able to continue.

These are the only incidents reported on the first stage. Roger Clark's crash was on Stage 6 (Eppynt 3).

[Morris S]

"The original shell was found fairly recently and was verified by Bill Price of BMC Comps"

 

Just to clarify, the 'shell' is actually a car with all panels, subframes, works hydro suspension, a works engine, glass etc though missing it's works dash panels and wiring loom. It was sold from Abingdon as a complete car after it's short career on the '66 Flowers and subsequent recce duties for several other rallies including the Acropolis so beautifully captured on film by Paul Easter.  The refreshing thing about this car is that it was found in such a transparent way with no hidden mystery of suddenly appearing in a restored state with a brand new logbook applied for only a few years before sudden appearance as happens with so many others. Yes subsequent to this car being disposed of by Abingdon the number plate was applied to at least two other works rally cars and a Sebring racer (which still exists in the U.S) but this is the original as registered by Comps and driven by Paddy. There's very little history in the public domain about the car currently wearing the number plate, which is presented as the ill fated Graham Hill '66 RAC car. Even an in depth article on that car in Miniworld in 2005 fails to reveal anything of it's past whatsoever.

[Nick Wa]

Wales '66 a very wet and windy night once one was soaked the wind chill made you very cold. Saw very little and remember even less. As usual Jim warned me well in advance of "Grimshaw's".

The repairing of registration & chassis (vin) plates to show room condition was not to confuse the company's auditors but to avoid the liability for purchase tax on a new registered vehicle.

However swapping number plates was not confined to physical vehicles. When Ford wished to advertise a success on an Alpine Rally they found that there were no shots of the successfull car only the expected successfull one (Elford's?). So those photos were used with number plate image changed and the drivers' faces blured.

[RS2000]

Thanks Tim Murray. (I still can't do quotes on here...) The simple fact it rolled (if the report is correct) probably tells us what we wanted to know ie. it was the end of the road for that particular version of the car. (Abingdon didn't seem to undertake major body repairs). The plate was then re-used by the works team.

The R. Clark Cortina's plate NVW242C did re-appear later too but on a private car, Boreham having sold a pile of scrap. (That fact also gave rise to the thread that appeared on here some time ago "Jim Clark's RAC Rally car found?". Evidence points to that particular pile of scrap (NVW241C) having been cut up at Boreham.   

Edited by RS2000, 05 January 2016 - 17:14.

[RS2000]

Yes Morris S. I didn't explain the exact state of the first GRX309D to save typing/space. The shell was the vital bit. Hopefully it will be seen at Stafford County Show Ground, Bingley Hall (which is nowhere near Bingley...) on 31st of this month along with Ron Crellin and Paddy Hopkirk MBE.

[RS2000]

Welcome back to Nick Wa from a rained out internet connection in one of the drier places on earth!

[Morris S]

Yes I'm trying to see if Paddy is going to Bingley Hall to complete the line up.

[Morris S]

...and how fitting that the car wore number 50 on Paddy's first event with Ron Crellin 50 years ago, the pair going on to form a very successful partnership .

[Morris S]

I can confirm that both Paddy Hopkirk and Ron Crellin will both reunite with the car on 31st January at Bingley Hall. Biggest thing to happen there since Queen blew the roof off in 1978!