83 replies to this topic

[Barry Boor]

The first of the 'matters arising' from the Oulton Park historic meeting today was the mention of this very good F3 driver from way back when.

The question is, why did he never progress in racing and where is he now?

[Mac Lark]

I bet he's not short of a bob

[Dave Ware]

Nick Brittan edited a couple of books around '70, '71, "Motor Racing the International Way." One chapter was penned by Vandervell and in it he indiated that he was turning his attentions to business and retiring from single-seater racing. That's all the explaination he gave and I don't know if he raced anything else afterwards.

Don't know how well he did as a business man, but also in that chapter he said that since his father wanted him to make his own way in the world, the only inheritance he received was a grandfther clock.

Dave

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Dave Ware
Don't know how well he did as a business man, but also in that chapter he said that since his father wanted him to make his own way in the world, the only inheritance he received was a grandfther clock.

Dave

Which was the same sort of inheritance his father had.

[dmj]

One can only hope that this clock wasn't kept at the same place where Christoper Walken hide clock he will eventually give to young Bruce Willis in "Pulp Fiction"...
(I know, I know, sorry, but I just couldn't resist...)

[FEV]

Originally posted by Dave Ware
Nick Brittan edited a couple of books around '70, '71, "Motor Racing the International Way." One chapter was penned by Vandervell and in it he indiated that he was turning his attentions to business and retiring from single-seater racing. That's all the explaination he gave and I don't know if he raced anything else afterwards.

Don't know how well he did as a business man, but also in that chapter he said that since his father wanted him to make his own way in the world, the only inheritance he received was a grandfther clock.

Dave

He made to F2 around 1973-74 when he had a semi-works March-BMW (same kind of deal as Jacques Coulon and the Scuderia Filipinetti had. When Filipinetti died during the season his widow closed the racing activities right away and I think Coulon joined forces with the Vandervell stable). Results were not great as I recall it and I don't think Vandervell raced a lot anymore after that (at least on an international level). A shame.

[Ian McKean]

In about 1975 or 6 Colin Vandervell drove a full-spec Gp. 4 Escort RS1600 in the RAC. It was a one-off to have some fun, but he was taking it pretty seriously and I am almost certain he crashed out.

I know he had had an interest in rallying in the late 60's because he had an ex-works Volvo PV544. Patrick Head (the Williams man) then bought the car (this must have been in about 1967).

I navigated for Patrick on the Ebworth Chase rally in this car. Although it was an ex-Tom Trana works car (or so Patrick was told) it did not have much if any rally equipment on when Patrick got it, but it was built like a tank. I think that the PV544 must have been a lot tougher than even the 120 and 140 series Volvos. Patrick and I built a sumpguard before the Ebworth Chase which was also suitable for a tank. IIRC it was built from half inch sheet steel. We would have been happy with half inch dural but couldn't find any near Leafield (where Pat lived at the time) in a hurry.

Just as well the sumpguard was so massive because Patrick got confused at the end of one stage and thought we had passed the flying finish warning board when we had actually passed the flying finish itself. Pat kept his boot down (and the Volvo was just about flat out) until well after he should have applied the anchors. Up ahead in the middle of the road was a sign pointing left into the service area, attached to a huge rock. We were still doing about 50 mph when we hit the rock and signpost smack-on. Most cars would have been written-off, but our Volvo and its massive steel sumpguard smashed the rock into smithereens.

What was extraordinary about that Volvo was that it was built in 1960 but used as a works car on the Gulf London Rally in 1965. You can't imagine Ford using a five year old Escort as a works car, can you?

[Ian McKean]

Happened to be leafing through Autosport dated 18th April 1974 today and found out that Colin Vandervell did the Escort Mexico (Race) Championship that year. He won at the Snetterton round reported on in that week's issue.

Interestingly the feature event at Snetterton that week, for Formula Atlantic, was won by Richard Scott driving his Scott from John Nicholson. And whatever happened to Richard Scott?

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by Ian McKean
Happened to be leafing through Autosport dated 18th April 1974 today and found out that Colin Vandervell did the Escort Mexico (Race) Championship that year. He won at the Snetterton round reported on in that week's issue.

Interestingly the feature event at Snetterton that week, for Formula Atlantic, was won by Richard Scott driving his Scott from John Nicholson. And whatever happened to Richard Scott?

Ah but more interestingly what happened to Scott's designer? Young
gentleman by the name of P. Head, Esq. I'm sure he went on to greater
things than designing the tub that eventually became the Delta FFord!


pete

[Ian McKean]

Pete, the Scott tub had nothing to do with the Delta design. The Delta was very wide.

When Pat designed the Delta, I think he worked on the principal that 80% of the drag comes from the wheels (pre-wings, of course) so a smooth shape was better than a small cross-section. This principle had been proved (at least to my satisfaction) by Arthur Mallock when he won a FJ race at Rheims in the narrow track but wide bodied U2. I think it was also proved to some extent by the speed of the 1960 Cooper compared to the narrower-bodied Lotus 18. And Vanwall of course, inter alia.

However a lot of people criticised the Delta for being too fat and although Pat is not one to be affected by other people's opinions, I think he felt he should follow a different approach with the Scott. So the Scott was a very compact, neat and small design.

I can't remember now for sure, but surely the Scott was a monocoque, whereas the Delta would have been a space frame, being an FF.

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by Ian McKean
Pete, the Scott tub had nothing to do with the Delta design. The Delta was very wide.

[...]

I can't remember now for sure, but surely the Scott was a monocoque, whereas the Delta would have been a space frame, being an FF.

I'm quoting Hodges here (which could be wrong, admittedly) where the
article on Scott ends:

"...later the design was used as the basis for the successful Delta
FF2000 car."

Various sources out there cite Patrick as the designer of the Sark
FF2000, but there's a good few years between Scott ('73), Sark ('76) and
Delta ('78-9).

Seems you're right though - the SCCA forbid monocoque construction as
does the 750MC's pre-83 championship!


pete

[Vicuna]

Did you know the Colin once got kidknapped as a young lad but escaped.

[Ian McKean]

I'm not sure if I am right, actually. I am not sure if the fat FF that Pat designed was the Delta. I am pretty certain that whatever it was called it preceded the Scott, so if the Delta was '78-9 it is not the car I was thinking of (on second thoughts).

I think that the Head FF design was then taken over by McLeod (was his version the Sark?) and did much better than the original version.

What was the Safir? Was this the name of the original version?

I am pretty sure (90%) that the fat car that Pat designed was a FF not a FF2000.

As Norman Wisdom said on the radio t'other day, there are 3 things that happen to you as you get older. The first is your memory goes ... and I can't remember the other two.


PS

Editing after Memory returns!

The fat FF car that Pat designed before the Scott was the Starfire. Are you sure that Pat had anything to do with the Delta? I now feel sure he didn't.

[charles r]

Could we resurrect this one and see if anyone knows hat he is up to now...?

[Cirrus]

The fat FF car that Pat designed before the Scott was the Starfire. Are you sure that Pat had anything to do with the Delta? I now feel sure he didn't.

Sorry - this has nothing to do with Colin Vandervell, but I can clear up the Scott/Sark/Delta confusion. The Scott was a monocoque F2/Atlantic car designed (I think) in '73/74. It must have been pretty good because Ron Tauranac employed Patrick Head to work with him at Trojan on the strength of it.

The Starfire was a "fat" design for the new FF2000 category in 1975. It was renamed Sark when Richard Piper acquired the rights to it, and a number of Sark FF2000s were produced. Don McLeod bought the Sark project, and ran in FF2000 a few times, but concentrated on his own FF1600 version of the car, winning the soaking wet 1979 FF Festival.

The FF2000 Deltas were a development of the Starfire, and the similarities are clear. The Deltas were successful for a number of seasons in the late 70s. To complicate matters, the original Safir F3 car was initially known as a Delta, but had no connection with Mr Head.

But anyway, back to Colin Vandervell - I think Fris the Whizz mentioned him recently in one of his posts.

[Andrew Kitson]

Originally posted by Vicuna
Did you know the Colin once got kidknapped as a young lad but escaped.

Yes, have read that before. He was bundled into a car on the road by Stowe school in 1959 when he was a pupil. He had his hands and feet tied and was later thrown over a hedge into a field. He managed to struggle free and made it back to the school and said that the men were left wing agitators in an industrial dispute with his father. The press claimed they had information to disprove his story, however failed to come up with any evidence.

[kayemod]

Originally posted by Cirrus

The Starfire was a "fat" design for the new FF2000 category in 1975.

I suspect the the last few posts have been perpetuating a typo, surely the name was 'Safire', not 'Starfire', the latter was a Lockheed built jet fighter with a somewhat dodgy reputation. I may be getting my dates mixed up here, but I think that Patrick Head designed the Safire while he was working as a draughtsman at Lola in Huntingdon. While working half a mile down the road at Specialised Mouldings, quite often on Lola stuff, I was once the slightly embarassed witness to an argument between PH and Eric Broadley, I was doing my best not to listen, but I think it was all about Patrick's outside interests, which EB seemed to think was affecting his work at Lola.

[Alan Cox]

If it's the car I'm thinking of, it's definitely 'Safir'

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by kayemod


I suspect the the last few posts have been perpetuating a typo, surely the name was 'Safire', not 'Starfire', the latter was a Lockheed built jet fighter with a somewhat dodgy reputation. I may be getting my dates mixed up here, but I think that Patrick Head designed the Safire while he was working as a draughtsman at Lola in Huntingdon. While working half a mile down the road at Specialised Mouldings, quite often on Lola stuff, I was once the slightly embarassed witness to an argument between PH and Eric Broadley, I was doing my best not to listen, but I think it was all about Patrick's outside interests, which EB seemed to think was affecting his work at Lola.

The plane with the dodgy reputation was the F-104 Starfighter - notably in German service: the Luftwaffe seemed to lose one a week at one point.

And are you not confusing this with the Safir? The first of which was originally the Token RJ02. They later built a couple of F3 cars.

[kayemod]

Yes, you're both right and I'm wrong. Now you mention it, the name was Safir, and I was confusing the F104 Starfighter with the much earlier F94 Starfire, I'm putting it all down to my age. I'm getting away from Colin Vandervell, but did the Safir have anything to do with Safir Engineering? They used to make lovely Ford GT40 replicas that some claimed were better than the originals, certainly they were much better finished, though I imagine they probably cost more as well. Safir bought the name GT40 from Ford, who tried to buy it back for their recent lardy reincarnation of the original. Whoever owns the name now apparently wanted more than Ford were prepared to pay, which is why the new car was named the Ford GT. But going back to the PH designed cars, I only saw the Safir once or twice, and it definitely wasn't an F1 car, so that must have been something completely different.

[Andrew Kitson]

I definitely remember an FF2000 car named the Starfire when the class started. As Cirrus says, it became the Sark. Pretty sure he is correct.

[Chris Townsend]

Safir was a derivative of a Rondel Motul M1 chassis, wasn't it then taken up as the Token? Certainly nothing to do with Head.
The Scott designed by Head appeared in F2 in 1973 and then did Atlantic.
I too remember the Starfire as a potential FF2000 car, though not sure if it ever raced under that name, and sure it did indeed become the Sark in Richard Piper's Hands. Not sure if the McLoed car raced by him and John Davis was a continuation of that design, but remember a few finding their way into private ownership in FF in the late 70s

Regarding Vandervell: didn't he do a season of G1.5 RAC saloons with a Dolomite Sprint?

Chris

[sterling49]

Originally posted by Chris Townsend

Regarding Vandervell: didn't he do a season of G1.5 RAC saloons with a Dolomite Sprint?

Chris

I seem to recall that he did, as well as the 1971 Escort Mexico Championship?

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Barry Boor

..... where is he now?

http://forums.autosp...402#post1589402

See, Barry - it was here all the time!

[Cirrus]

Sorry to perpetuate the "OT" aspect of this thread, but there was an FF2000 car called the Starfire, and there was a F3 car called the Safir. They were completely unrelated. The Safir F3 car was designed by Rondel Motul and Token designer Ray Jessop, but had little in common with the Rondel Motul, being a purpose-built F3 car. There was a short-lived Safir F2, which was a modified Rondel Motul.

The prototype F3 car was due to be sold by Glenn Hyatt's "Low Cost Racing" concern as a Delta F3 car. He was also selling a spaceframe F4 car, designed by Ian Reed, called the Delta IRF4. When the Delta F3 car came out it resembled a scaled-down Token, with a narrow nose and wings (it was exhibited in this form at the 1975 Racing Car Show). For whatever reason the Delta conection didn't last long, and by the time the car actually raced in 1975, it had grown its familiar wide nose, and was called Safir. Safir Engineering did, indeed, go on to produce their GT40s (and chassis for the Panther Lima).

As I said above - sorry, back to CV...

[MCS]

Vandervell always struck me as a little odd in that his cars were always immaculately turned-out and yet there he was in his rather well-worn plain overalls and somewhat tatty green helmet !

There was a certain modesty to his appearance - a throwback really to times when driver overalls/suits weren't covered in adverts and team jackets hadn't become the order of the day.

He must have been pretty enthusiastic though.

To have embarked on his Formula Three season in 1972 with the Potterton Ensign - 3 separate UK-based championships in those days alone, plus the opportunity of other races abroad e.g. Monaco, where he finished third and set fastest lap - plus a full season's racing in the fabulously hectic Escort Mexico championship would certainly have kept him busy.

Pity he didn't continue - he was clearly very talented.

[ian senior]

Was Colin one of those drivers who started his FF career in the famous(ish) "Magic Merlyn"?

[Andrew Kitson]

Yes he did. Emerson Fittipaldi had it new from the factory in '69 - he was persuaded to go for a Merlyn by his engine builder Denny Rowland. Vandervell had it for a very successful 1970 season and sold it to Jody Scheckter. Andy Marriot advised Jody to go for it when it came up for sale in early '71. Jody paid £1300 for it and Colin left it at Brands for him as Jody did not have a trailer! He got a late entry on the day of his first race here, put it on pole and won first time out. Wonder what became of the car? Surely one of the most famous FF cars ever, along with Senna's RF81 which Ralph still owns.

[Tim Murray]

Didn't Frank Sytner own it at one stage?

[Simon Hadfield]

Frank did have the car and tells a good story about collecting it (apparently Jody really, really wanted cash) . The Sark story; Richard Piper and Chris Parsons purchased the Starfire F2000 project (from Gavin Someone?) and raced the prototype-until late season Snett-and built I think 4 more, for Victor Gonzalez, Gabriel Mora, Jeremy Gambs and Mike Smith. Mikes car surrendered at Oulton Park but I think all the others survive. Don M bought the rights from Richard and Chris and reinvented the car in his own idiom (in the process losing all the niceties of Patricks design). While Sark were based at Greenwich Patrick was building a ferro-cement boat in Woolwich and would pop in on occasion. Patricks down to earth commonsense attitude made the most incredble i mpression on this 17 year old! (How far ot?)

[petestenning]

Just to add to the Famous Merlyn , after Frank Sytner, it was raced by Murray Sandman from then on i dont know where it went .

Pete

[flightlessbird]

What model was the Magic Merlyn??

[kayemod]

Originally posted by flightlessbird
What model was the Magic Merlyn??

Mk 11A.

[flightlessbird]

I have seen 11A 164/ff/69 is this the magic Merlyn??

[Stephen W]

Brands 1970 Race of Champions and Tony Trimmer in the Lola dives inside of Colin Vandervell in the Merlyn.

[Phil Rainford]

A trio of shots of the Safir from a Historic F3/Northern FF2000 race at Oulton Park......











Kind regards

Phil

[malcolm6]

Colin did at least three RAC Rally -1973 - 1974 - 1975

74 & 75 in David Sutton cars

1974 John Gitten Co drove reitred with broked halfshaft first evening in Wales - As service crew we found the car parked outside a cottage and Colin inside enjoying a cup of tea - replaced the shaft but they were out of time.

1975 cannot recall what happened.

Malcolm

[zoff2005]

A historic FF driver in South Africa who seemed to know what he was talking about said that Frank Sytner did not buy Jody Scheckter's Merlyn (the Magic one), but Ian Scheckter's Merlyn. He posts on another website but I will try and drag him over here to comment.

All the best
Marcus

[Alan Cox]

[Alan Cox]

Colin Vandervell leads an Escort Mexico race at Oulton, 1974

[sterling49]

What a great championship that was, all the names were competing, back in the day

[zoff2005]

I just showed Colin this thread and here are his comments:

Originally posted by Dave Ware
…. the only inheritance he received was a grandfther clock.

Dave

CV – correct!

Which was the same sort of inheritance his father had.

CV - also correct!

Originally posted by FEV
He made to F2 around 1973-74 when he had a semi-works March-BMW (same kind of deal as Jacques Coulon and the Scuderia Filipinetti had. When Filipinetti died during the season his widow closed the racing activities right away and I think Coulon joined forces with the Vandervell stable). Results were not great as I recall it and I don't think Vandervell raced a lot anymore after that (at least on an international level). A shame.

CV - correct - Coulon was a quick driver.

Originally posted by Ian McKean
In about 1975 or 6 Colin Vandervell drove a full-spec Gp. 4 Escort RS1600 in the RAC. It was a one-off to have some fun, but he was taking it pretty seriously and I am almost certain he crashed out.

I know he had had an interest in rallying in the late 60's because he had an ex-works Volvo PV544. Patrick Head (the Williams man) then bought the car (this must have been in about 1967).

What was extraordinary about that Volvo was that it was built in 1960 but used as a works car on the Gulf London Rally in 1965. You can't imagine Ford using a five year old Escort as a works car, can you?

CV is amazed that anybody knows about all this! - Correct except that at the RAC he finished 19th. All correct about the Volvo but of course he does not know the later bits with Head. Colin says it was a fantastic handling car.

Originally posted by Andrew Kitson


Yes, have read that before. He was bundled into a car on the road by Stowe school in 1959 when he was a pupil. He had his hands and feet tied and was later thrown over a hedge into a field. He managed to struggle free and made it back to the school and said that the men were left wing agitators in an industrial dispute with his father. The press claimed they had information to disprove his story, however failed to come up with any evidence.

CV - correct - his father had put all the "left-wing" people into one department then closed the department to get rid of them en bloc! Backfired. Incidentally Colin was expelled from Stowe as a result! The other parents thought it was dangerous for their dear little ones to be associated with Colin!

Originally posted by Stephen W


Brands 1970 Race of Champions and Tony Trimmer in the Lola dives inside of Colin Vandervell in the Merlyn.

The Magic Merlyn :

CV says it did not belong to him, it belonged to the works and was on loan. When he finished with it he (i.e. Martin Colville who ran the car) gave it back to Merlyn. At the end of the 1970 season Ford organized a “Sunshine” series in South Africa. Colin did not agree terms with Ford (Colin had a full time job all the time he was racing so he could not take the time off and wanted Ford to fly him back after each race – Ford finally agreed but it was too late). Peter Hull and Geddes Yeates went out from the UK. Anyway Jody won the series and Ford South Africa asked Martin Colville if Jody could have Colin’s car. Jody asked Martin to deliver it at Brands but insisted that Colin should also be there to test it in front of him. Jody wanted to be sure he would be getting a decent engine thrown in. If Colin was close to the record then Jody would take the car – Colin lapped consistently within a tenth of the record so Jody accepted the car. Colin did not sell it to Jody as it was not his to sell. Jody put it on pole for the race but spun off while leading.

Regarding the Brands Hatch Race of Champions funnily enough I was in the same race in my Pringett Mistrale (but somewhat further back!). Colin followed Trimmer for the whole race, unable to get past. He reckoned he could get past only on the main straight, so on one lap he took Trimmer’s slipstream, knew Trimmer would hug the inside into Hawthorn and went round the outside. When he looked in his mirrors Trimmer had disappeared. Colin won the race but said the whole grandstand booed him as they thought he had knocked the local hero off! Incidentally Colin was the only one to use Firestone tyres and only switched to Avon at the end of the season (he was paid a fortune to do so by Avon!).

Originally posted by Alan Cox


Colin Vandervell leads an Escort Mexico race at Oulton, 1974

Colin says the Escort Mexico was really quick. Everybody thought it was illegal. It had a very good Rowland engine and at the end of the season it was stripped down completely. They could not find anything wrong but in fact it turned out it was quick because of a mistake – the team ran the tyres at 40 lbs instead of about 28 – so the car really flew on the straights, although a bit of a handful in the corners.

In the photo Colin thinks it is McGraph (spelling?) and Rouse (in the dark car) – they (and Gerry Marshall) were the main competition.

All the best
Marcus

[David McKinney]

Thanks Marcus (and Colin)
A minor point perhaps, and completely OT, but

Originally posted by zoff2005
At the end of the 1970 season Ford organized a “Sunshine” series in South Africa....Jody won the series

Hull won the series. Jody won some sort of separate 'Driver to Europe' award for locals

[Mallory Dan]

Marcus, re the 74 Mexico series, IIRC Colin won it easily - was he ever beaten?? McGrath was Neil, I don't remember Rouse or Big Gerry racing much, if ever, against CV.

[zoff2005]

Originally posted by David McKinney
Thanks Marcus (and Colin)
A minor point perhaps, and completely OT, but

Hull won the series. Jody won some sort of separate 'Driver to Europe' award for locals

Yes come to think of it that is what the South African historic FF driver I mentioned before told me - it was Ian Scheckter who actually won the series the following year, and again won the Driver to Europe thing (and the Merlyn which went with it and which Frank Sytner bought - we are back ON T!).


Marcus

[Frank de Jong]

Colin's touring car career as far as my information goes is 1976 and 1977 BSCC with a Capri II; 2 overall wins and one class win. He raced two times in a Vauxhall (1977 Silverstone TT and 1977 Spa 600 km).

No Dolomite here ;)

[zoff2005]

Originally posted by malcolm6
Colin did at least three RAC Rally -1973 - 1974 - 1975

74 & 75 in David Sutton cars

1974 John Gitten Co drove reitred with broked halfshaft first evening in Wales - As service crew we found the car parked outside a cottage and Colin inside enjoying a cup of tea - replaced the shaft but they were out of time.

1975 cannot recall what happened.

Malcolm

Colin says the 1973 one he did in a fairly standard Mexico with Andy Marriott
The 1974 tea incident he remembers well - John Gitten was apparently the co-driver to Barry Lee
In 1975 he had a very quick car from Ford and was doing top 10 times then his co-driver called a fast turn ahead which turned out to be a hairpin - so they went straight into the forest. Colin says these people popped out from nowhere and put the car back on track - Ford flew in a new windscreen but they fell down to 100th place or so and worked back to 19th at the finish.

He cannot remember who was his co-driver in 1975 - perhaps John Gitten again? Or Marriott or ?

Marcus

[malcolm6]

Ian Cooper was Colin's co-driver in 1975

[Andrew Kitson]

Originally posted by zoff2005


Yes come to think of it that is what the South African historic FF driver I mentioned before told me - it was Ian Scheckter who actually won the series the following year, and again won the Driver to Europe thing (and the Merlyn which went with it and which Frank Sytner bought - we are back ON T!).


Marcus

I'm fairly sure I've read somewhere that Frank had used two ex-Scheckter FF cars.
Did he start 1972 in the ex-Emmo, Colin, Jody 'Magic' Merlyn Mk.11A?

In July 1972, he bought the ex-Ian Scheckter Mk.20A, that Ian had used to win the Sunshine series. He beat Tony Brise to that South African title. Ian ran it successfully in the first half of '72 in the UK, he then sold it to Frank and went F3 with a works Merlyn for the remainder of '72. Source: Autosport 20/7/72.

[Allen Brown]

Originally posted by zoff2005
I just showed Colin this thread and here are his comments:

...

All the best
Marcus

Marcus

Could you ask Colin a question for me? I've never been able to figure out what happened to his March 732 after his 1973 F2 season. Does he have any recollection of what became of it?

Thanks
Allen