I am very interested to see photos of the sports car made by HW during the winter of 1947/48 from Heath's older s/c Alta.
He modified the 2-litre Alta chassis, removed the blower and built a dish-pan body.
The car was raced at Jersey, Stockholm and 24 hrs of Spa where Abecassis crashed it, during 1948.
I would like to know also the relation of this car with the 1949 "HWM-mother" [same engine?].
Does a good HWM book exist?
HW-Alta 1948
Started by
alessandro silva
, Mar 20 2004 22:33
3 replies to this topic
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#2
GIGLEUX
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Posted 21 March 2004 - 09:22
Two pictures of John Heath, Jersey 1948
#3
GIGLEUX
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Posted 21 March 2004 - 15:03
From Doug Nye in "HWM-The half-forgotten trail-blazer" in T&CC 08/1980:
"Abecassis acquired Geoffrey Taylor latest GP Alta for 1948 while Heath built himself a streamlined envelope-bodied sports model. It has been suspected that this car used the chassis from EOY8 but this was not so-"I seem to recall a pre-war experimental Alta frame which had been hidden away in Geoffrey Taylor's store at Surbiton, I think we bought it for ten quid...". Heath completed the new car with help from a mechanic named John Powell, and fitted an unblown 2-litre four carburattor Alta engine. This was MPB77."....
"That winter of 1948-49 saw John Heath building an all-new dual-purpose car for Formula B-cum-sports car racing. It was to use the 4-cyl Alta engine from the sreamliner mated to a pre-selector gearbox in a new Alta-like twin tube chassis which Heath welded together. Cooper Cars'panel-beaters at Surbiton built a slipper body with detachable cycle wings and Alf Francis did the assembly while Abecassis refeered the frequent "discussions" between "Alphons" Francis and Heath...
Heath was an avid Citroën Light-15 fan. He adopted Citroën rack-and-pinion steering for the new car, mounting it on a box-section front cross-member actually fabricated from scrap wartime Anderson shelter stock! Wishbones fabricated from the same material accepted Standart-Triumph uprights, stub axles and transverse leafspring. Roy Eccles'pretty Lagonda Rapier single-seater was in the workshop at the time, and its stock of spares included a back axle which Heath adopted and located by a single torque-arm and quarter-elliptic springs, just like Abecassis'Bugatti. The new car was christened "HW-Alta". It was completed that Christmas and registred NPA5.".
"Abecassis acquired Geoffrey Taylor latest GP Alta for 1948 while Heath built himself a streamlined envelope-bodied sports model. It has been suspected that this car used the chassis from EOY8 but this was not so-"I seem to recall a pre-war experimental Alta frame which had been hidden away in Geoffrey Taylor's store at Surbiton, I think we bought it for ten quid...". Heath completed the new car with help from a mechanic named John Powell, and fitted an unblown 2-litre four carburattor Alta engine. This was MPB77."....
"That winter of 1948-49 saw John Heath building an all-new dual-purpose car for Formula B-cum-sports car racing. It was to use the 4-cyl Alta engine from the sreamliner mated to a pre-selector gearbox in a new Alta-like twin tube chassis which Heath welded together. Cooper Cars'panel-beaters at Surbiton built a slipper body with detachable cycle wings and Alf Francis did the assembly while Abecassis refeered the frequent "discussions" between "Alphons" Francis and Heath...
Heath was an avid Citroën Light-15 fan. He adopted Citroën rack-and-pinion steering for the new car, mounting it on a box-section front cross-member actually fabricated from scrap wartime Anderson shelter stock! Wishbones fabricated from the same material accepted Standart-Triumph uprights, stub axles and transverse leafspring. Roy Eccles'pretty Lagonda Rapier single-seater was in the workshop at the time, and its stock of spares included a back axle which Heath adopted and located by a single torque-arm and quarter-elliptic springs, just like Abecassis'Bugatti. The new car was christened "HW-Alta". It was completed that Christmas and registred NPA5.".
#4
Davidabecassis
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Posted 30 January 2011 - 11:48
Re a good HWM book, all those interested in the cars built at Walton will find A Passion for Speed - the life and times of George Abecassis, by David Abecassis, of interest. Appendix 3 is specially important. It is published by P J Publishing - see either www.georgeabecassis.com or www.paulskilleterbooks.co.uk.
