8 replies to this topic

[Magee]

Historic fans,
Back in the 60's I raced several cars in the Pacific North West. One of the race cars was a Cooper SR with a 1100cc Climax engine very similar to Lovely's Pooper.
I'm trying to connect the Cooper with the land speed cars brought over to the US for land speed trials and left there. Unfortunately, I do not have the engine nor more importantly the chassis s/n.
I did run across an ad showing a Cooper land speed car for sale in Vancouver in 1958 for $900. Two contact names were Verney, living in Vancouver, and Bill Knight whose address was Jersey, Channel Islands.
I will email the ad to anyone able to provide more information of this car along with serial numbers etc. And I have pics of my car for comparison if anyone needs to look at them.
Apparently Doug Nye frequents this list, and I suppose that he, with his extensive research of Cooper cars, might be the linch pin. I would contact Doug directly, but I don't have his email address.
Thanks for your assistance.
Michael Gee

[Darren Galpin]

You don't need his e-mail address to e-mail him. Let me explain.....

You'll notice when viewing a thread on this forum that there is a row of icons for each post, one of which is marked e-mail. Go and find a Doug Nye post, and then click on the e-mail icon. Type in your message, and hit send - the mail will head in his general direction.

[Magee]

Darren,
Thanks for your pointers. I've been able to find the way to email Doug Nye; however, I also want to attach several files showing the Cooper in question. Perhaps in waiting for Doug to reply to the Cooper thread I can attach the jpg's to a regular off-line email with his permission.

[Magee]

Just yesterday an acquaintance made a summary of the Cooper streamliners based on information from the Owen and Nye books. Apparently, all the clues lead to my old car being number six on the list. What else do I need to make it official? Of course, I'm rushing to judgement. That's human.

COOPER STREAMLINERS by G. S. Measures, February 4, 2003

A summary of the cars and their particulars as known today

Car 1 Bill Aston 1951
Stretched Mk V chassis T 17 Alloy body
350 cc JAP
500 cc Norton
Montlhery
John Cooper at Avus & Gezlandring
To John Fox Jr. San Francisco
Bonneville
This car became the Pete Lovely Pooper

Car 2 Eric Brandon 1955
Prototype Mk VIII chassis T28 Alloy body (1951 style)
350 cc Norton
500 cc Norton
600cc Norton
Montlhery

Car 3 Owen & Knight 1955
Bobtail (uprated) Alloy body
Montlhery

Car 4 Fred Sowrey 1956
Mk VI chassis Fibreglass body (patterns from 1953 car)
Supercharged 1100cc JAP

Car 5 Owen & Knight 1956
Bobtail Mk II
1100 cc Climax
1530 cc Climax
Monza
Ron Searles killed and car burned out

Car 6 Owen & Knight 1957
1955 Mk IV Hillclimb chassis
Fibreglass body by Eric Bisson & Underhills
Monza
Probably the Mike Gee car

[Magee]

More news on the Monza Cooper

Here's an article from the Vancouver Province dated Sept 12/60

One and a half years after arriving in Vancouver, the Monza Cooper was given an engine transplant. This is six years before I bought the car which then had a Climax 1100 engine coupled to a Porsche transaxle.

Rebuilt Cooper on show at Westwood on Sunday
The Vancouver Province, September 10, 1960

A car that once held 13 world records will make its first run at Westwood sports car circuit Sunday. The car is the Cooper, completely rebuilt into a Cooper-Porsche (Cooper body, Porsche plant) by Vancouver businessman Roy Shadbolt.
Originally a Mark IV Cooper with a J.A.P. engine, the car was driven to world 250 c.c. class records by previous owner Bill Knight of Jersey, Channel Islands.
Knight, famed internationally as record-breaker in Coopers, set the standard in time-vs-distance runs from one mile to 600 miles on the banked Monza Track in Italy.
Shadbolt and the new Cooper-Porsche roll in both Open Modified and Senior Le Mans, Sunday, feature events on the eight-race card. First race goes at 12:30 p.m., rain or shine.
The Westwood circuit also introduced a unique new entry direct from British manufactures Sunday. Making the quick hop into Formula Junior class is an eye-catching silver gray racer powered by an Anglia 105E engine, capable of developing 60 h.p. and 8,000 rpm's.
The car, acquired this week by Kent Dyer of New Westminster, weighs a mere 800 lbs, and is being distributed in kit form by a New Westminster firm.
Shadbolt acquired the car from Knight, had it shipped direct to Vancouver from Jersey, and set to work a year and a half ago, in a complete building program. A Vancouver syndicate pitched in to help - drivers Jim Rattenbury, Jack Walkem, Russell Moody and mechanics Andy Bell and Heintz Portman.
Knight would never recognize his "baby" now. The old engine has been scrapped in favour of a Porsche RS Spyder 4-cam plant developing 130 horsepower.
She's geared for 160 mph, but Shadbolt will not have her flat out Sunday. "This will be our first shakedown run," he said. "And we'll just be feeling our way. Top speed won't come at this stage."
Shadbolt will be behind the wheel, and in the driving department he knows his onions.
Roy, 47, is an ex-professional, one of the few drivers in the northwest to hold a triple A license - the passport onto the track in the classic Indianapolis "500"
Roy drove in the U.S. National Pike's Peak (Colo.) Hill Climb in 1950 and 1951. He managed a highly creditable sixth out of 26 entries in time trials in the second year British Grand Prix Alta, before the car failed in the final run due to engine failure.

[ron6827]

More news on the Monza Cooper

Here's an article from the Vancouver Province dated Sept 12/60

One and a half years after arriving in Vancouver, the Monza Cooper was given an engine transplant. This is six years before I bought the car which then had a Climax 1100 engine coupled to a Porsche transaxle.

Rebuilt Cooper on show at Westwood on Sunday
The Vancouver Province, September 10, 1960

A car that once held 13 world records will make its first run at Westwood sports car circuit Sunday. The car is the Cooper, completely rebuilt into a Cooper-Porsche (Cooper body, Porsche plant) by Vancouver businessman Roy Shadbolt.
Originally a Mark IV Cooper with a J.A.P. engine, the car was driven to world 250 c.c. class records by previous owner Bill Knight of Jersey, Channel Islands.
Knight, famed internationally as record-breaker in Coopers, set the standard in time-vs-distance runs from one mile to 600 miles on the banked Monza Track in Italy.
Shadbolt and the new Cooper-Porsche roll in both Open Modified and Senior Le Mans, Sunday, feature events on the eight-race card. First race goes at 12:30 p.m., rain or shine.
The Westwood circuit also introduced a unique new entry direct from British manufactures Sunday. Making the quick hop into Formula Junior class is an eye-catching silver gray racer powered by an Anglia 105E engine, capable of developing 60 h.p. and 8,000 rpm's.
The car, acquired this week by Kent Dyer of New Westminster, weighs a mere 800 lbs, and is being distributed in kit form by a New Westminster firm.
Shadbolt acquired the car from Knight, had it shipped direct to Vancouver from Jersey, and set to work a year and a half ago, in a complete building program. A Vancouver syndicate pitched in to help - drivers Jim Rattenbury, Jack Walkem, Russell Moody and mechanics Andy Bell and Heintz Portman.
Knight would never recognize his "baby" now. The old engine has been scrapped in favour of a Porsche RS Spyder 4-cam plant developing 130 horsepower.
She's geared for 160 mph, but Shadbolt will not have her flat out Sunday. "This will be our first shakedown run," he said. "And we'll just be feeling our way. Top speed won't come at this stage."
Shadbolt will be behind the wheel, and in the driving department he knows his onions.
Roy, 47, is an ex-professional, one of the few drivers in the northwest to hold a triple A license - the passport onto the track in the classic Indianapolis "500"
Roy drove in the U.S. National Pike's Peak (Colo.) Hill Climb in 1950 and 1951. He managed a highly creditable sixth out of 26 entries in time trials in the second year British Grand Prix Alta, before the car failed in the final run due to engine failure.

[ron6827]

The Mk viii Cooper record car, the last time I saw this car was at the SCCA 1964 Riverside Raceway runoffs. It still had the Porsche transmission, wheels and brakes but was powered with an Austin-Healey Sprite motor.

http://www.tamsoldra...perPorsche.html

Ron Cummings, Southern California

[Mistron]

is the body off one of the record cars (in fairly poor condition, and attached to a different, and fairly 'agricultural' chassis) not in Myreton Motor Museum in East Lothian, Scotland?

[David Birchall]

Wasn't there another thread on the Mike Gee car? After years of Mike, myself and others looking for it it turned up in the collection of a guy who spent his honeymoon at my Inn on Galiano island! The car is under restoration now.