16 replies to this topic

[VDP]

I ve just found at a swap meet 3 tojeiro climax in kit form 1 43rd. I would like to build them one
The classic One at Lemans 1962
The Jackie Stewart one
The sport one in 1965 drove by Bill Stein not long.

Questions how many were build, I think 2 but not sure.

Any pictures would be helpful for the two last versions

Thanks already


Robert

[D-Type]

Graham Gauld's Ecurie Ecosse contains a few pictures of them and describes the complicated history.

Here's a summary

Car 1

Chassis TAD-4-62 had a 2.5 litre Climax engine. It was raced twice in 1962 and made an unsuccessful record attempt at Monza.
In 1963 it 'morphed' into TAD-2-63 when it was re-bodied and fitted with a Buick engine and raced seven times in 1963, 3 times in 1964 and 4 times in 1965
It was sold as a Tojeiro-Buick to a Canadian in about 1966. Later owned by Hugh McCaig and occasionally raced. Registration number TSU 719.

Car 2

TAD-1-63 (possibly TAD-5-62) The second chassis was originally fitted with 3.5 litre Buick engine
raced 3 times in 1963
In 1964 it became TAD-1-64 when it was modified and fitted with a 4.7 litre Ford engine. It had acquired a rear spoiler by then.
Raced 6 times in 1964 and 3 times in 1965
In 1966 it became an Ecosse-Ford open 2 seater and was crashed at Brands Hatch and destroyed.

It was rebuilt and turned back into a coupe by Jim Tester some years later and was later owned by Tom McWhirter of Nairn

[Robin Fairservice]

In 1956 a rear engined Tojeiro-Buick was sold by Ecurie Ecosse to a Canadian for £1140. Who bought it and what has happened to it since?

Edited by Robin Fairservice, 04 February 2012 - 01:02.

[David McKinney]

I presume you mean 1966?

One of the cars had been re-engined with a Ford V8 by then, and was crashed that year by Bill Stein at Brands Hatch

AFAIK (and I'm not an expert) the other hadn't raced since 1964, so is your likely candidate

Cue Graham Gauld...

[Tim Murray]

In this thread:

Tojeiro rr engined car

Duncan (D-Type) quoted the relevant info from Graham Gauld's book:

Graham Gauld's Ecurie Ecosse contains a few pictures of them and describes the complicated history.

Here's a summary

Car 1

Chassis TAD-4-62 had a 2.5 litre Climax engine. It was raced twice in 1962 and made an unsuccessful record attempt at Monza.
In 1963 it 'morphed' into TAD-2-63 when it was re-bodied and fitted with a Buick engine and raced seven times in 1963, 3 times in 1964 and 4 times in 1965
It was sold as a Tojeiro-Buick to a Canadian in about 1966. Later owned by Hugh McCaig and occasionally raced. Registration number TSU 719.

Car 2

TAD-1-63 (possibly TAD-5-62) The second chassis was originally fitted with 3.5 litre Buick engine
raced 3 times in 1963
In 1964 it became TAD-1-64 when it was modified and fitted with a 4.7 litre Ford engine. It had acquired a rear spoiler by then.
Raced 6 times in 1964 and 3 times in 1965
In 1966 it became an Ecosse-Ford open 2 seater and was crashed at Brands Hatch and destroyed.

It was rebuilt and turned back into a coupe by Jim Tester some years later and was later owned by Tom McWhirter of Nairn

[Ted Walker]

I know that one of the Buick cars was owned at one stage by John harper who bought it from Rodney Tolhurst.

[Mistron]

The 2nd car (rebuilt from Steins wrecked open spyder) currently resides in Gregor Fisken's Showroom and was recently on display at the RAC club.
http://www.fiskens.c...l.aspx?pid=1551.

Motorsport did a test feature on one of them (owned sat the time, I think, by Hugh McCaig) a couple of years ago.

Graham also discusses them in some detail in his book on Tojeiro. Anthony Pritchard similarly discusses them in his book on 50's and 60's British sportscars.

Maybe it's their 'local history' value, but they are amongst my favourite cars of all time.

Edited by Mistron, 04 February 2012 - 11:11.

[Leigh Trevail]

The 2nd car (rebuilt from Steins wrecked open spyder) currently resides in Gregor Fisken's Showroom and was recently on display at the RAC club.
http://www.fiskens.c...l.aspx?pid=1551.

Motorsport did a test feature on one of them (owned sat the time, I think, by Hugh McCaig) a couple of years ago.

Graham also discusses them in some detail in his book on Tojeiro. Anthony Pritchard similarly discusses them in his book on 50's and 60's British sportscars.

Maybe it's their 'local history' value, but they are amongst my favourite cars of all time.

The car on Fiskens website was styled by the artist Cavendish Morton RI, Hon. ROI, Cavendish lived at Eye in Suffolk; about one mile from where Bryan Wingfield restored it.

[Robin Fairservice]

I apologise for the typo, yes it was 1966 at the Grand Prix event. I should know the date; I was waving a yellow flag for the Stein accident. Thanks for the information that has beenposted.

[Robin Fairservice]

Duncan (D-Type) quoted the relevant info from Graham Gauld's book:
[/quote]

Thanks for the quotation which explains that the car did not stay in Canada,and is now back in England. I had to re-read the book to satisfy myself as to this explanation. I now wonder who owned it in Canada.

[Graham Gauld]

I apologise for the typo, yes it was 1966 at the Grand Prix event. I should know the date; I was waving a yellow flag for the Stein accident. Thanks for the information that has beenposted.

This is what the car looked like before the accident. Bill Stein did not race again but now lives in Spain.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Doug Nye]

It is perfectly understandable, considering the nature of his severe injuries, but I recall that at the time the noises he was making while they carefully cut him out of the wreckage were considered by some of the RAC/BRDC/BRSCC glitterati standing nearby to be something of "a poor show". I have no doubt the poor chap was in absolute agony but even at that time "a proper British chap" was generally expected to exhibit rather more restraint, and a "stiff upper lip" despite such traumatic adversity... The "only a graze" syndrome was still then a potent echo of wartime experience... What's that old boy? Trod on a mine, oh well, don't make a fuss, it might dent the other ranks' morale.

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 08 February 2012 - 20:51.

[Graham Gauld]

It is perfectly understandable, considering the nature of his severe injuries, but I recall that at the time the noises he was making while they carefully cut him out of the wreckage were considered by some of the RAC/BRDC/BRSCC glitterati standing nearby to be something of "a poor show". I have no doubt the poor chap was in absolute agony but even at that time "a proper British chap" was generally expected to exhibit rather more restraint, and a "stiff upper lip" despite such traumatic adversity... The "only a graze" syndrome was still then a potent echo of wartime experience... What's that old boy? Trod on a mine, oh well, don't make a fuss, it might dent the other ranks' morale.

DCN

Doug, you are of course quite right. In fact the reason Bill was screaming was that he was totally soaked in petrol, could not move, and there were guys trying to cut him out the car. For over a year afterwards he admitted he had nightmares every night about the car catching fire.

[Mistron]

As this thread started as a query relating to models of the Tojeiro coupe, here is a photo of a model body I picked up a few years ago. Perhaps the hardest thing to photograph well! It's 175mm long, so I'm not sure of the scale, but I asume it's for scalextric or similar.

it's in a brittle vac formed poly carb I think, slightly yellowed with age. Does anyone know who made it?

I would say it could politely be described as 'Naive' in it's detail

[Doug Nye]

I must say that considering the number of horrendous accidents that befell Tojeiro-designed and Tojeiro-influenced competition cars a natural conclusion is that John Tojeiro's fundamental design capability must have been suspect. I remember being assured way back in the 1960s that Tojeiros in general were "bloody dangerous" and sadly such drivers as John Ogier, Bert Rogers, Percy Crabbe, Masten Gregory, Bill Stein and of course the very unfortunate Mrs Vivienne Lewis discovered how true that appears to have been.

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 10 February 2012 - 18:52.

[Mistron]

Never thought of them in those terms, but that's rather a chilling point.

Perhaps more so when you think the most infamous / famous tojeiro imaqge features Mr Gregory's rather dramatic exit .

A marque who's reputation makes the Lotus 30/40 look easy, now who'd have thought!

[Alan Cox]

Would this be TAD-2-63 then?