70 replies to this topic

[wildman]

On a related note, does anyone know the whereabouts of the Wolf-Dallara WD1 Can-Am single-seater that Amon (for one race) and GV drove during 1977?

[RA Historian]

Originally posted by wildman
On a related note, does anyone know the whereabouts of the Wolf-Dallara WD1 Can-Am single-seater that Amon (for one race) and GV drove during 1977?

Dino Crescentini in California apparently owns and races it. There is a photo of Dino in the car in the current issue of Vintage Motorsport.

[Andrew Smith]

rhegra

Hope to get a copy of Motorsport aktuell! Not available in the UK. While I wait did the article have any pictures of the car being restored?
WR8/9 was WR8 fitted with the rear suspension of crashed WR9. That one became F7/1. Most of the Canadian accident damage was caused by the front suspension being torn out by the roots. On the F7 cars they bonded in aluminium cross members that stick out of the tub as the lower arm pick ups so I expect that's why WR9 was repaired. It seems curious that F7/3 was only raced once when a new tub would surely have been better than a shunted one.

[rhegra]

Hallo Andrew, no, sorry, no pics of the car beeing restored. Just one historical with Hunt at Monaco, one with Keke at Silverstone, one of the engine and two with driverHelmut Zwickl.


Sorry for the poor quality, but size of the magazine is larger than my scanner allowes. If you want I can send you this issue. Seller was Sepp Greger jun., son of the well known german hillclimber Sepp Greger.
Best regards, Christian

[mp4]

Originally posted by Allen Brown
I think that's the car that used to be in the Donington Museum.

Behind it is the Horst Kroll Can-Am Frissbee.

Allen

I once tried to buy a Porsche 911 from Horst Kroll. He is a COMPLETE character. He tried to throw in a free kitten as part of the deal. I kid you not...

[mp4]

Originally posted by Huw Jadvantich
Slightly OT I'm sorry, but can someone post a picture of the Olympus Hesketh 308 (E?) that Davina Galica drove - from memory it looks very similar to the WR1 above. If this is true, was it purely the pedigree of the driver and a high pecking order Cosworth that made the difference between an out of the box competitive car and a complete also ran?

The late Harvey P. designed the Hesketh before he merged it into the WR1...
Ian Ashley (sp?) crashed quite badly at Mosport in '77 driving a Hesketh. Jody went on to win the race in what was a development of the same car.

At some point, Davina probably cut her teeth in a further developed version of Ian's car.

The two cars were very similar.

The '78 version of the Wolf was nothing like any 308.

And while we are at it, what was with the little knobby thing that was on the middle of Jody's front spoiler, in '78? It stood up a good 2 inches. I have never got my head around it. Was it for adding compressed air to raise the car up during pit stops.

We need to know, dammitt!!!

There must be someone out there who can set us straight.

[PeterElleray]

"The late Harvey P. designed the Hesketh before he merged it into the WR1...
Ian Ashley (sp?) crashed quite badly at Mosport in '77 driving a Hesketh. Jody went on to win the race in what was a development of the same car.

At some point, Davina probably cut her teeth in a further developed version of Ian's car.

The two cars were very similar.

The '78 version of the Wolf was nothing like any 308."


Not quite...

HP designed the Hesketh 308 over the winter of 1973/74,and Hesketh Racing ran the car for James Hunt and others during 1974/5 .

In 1975 Harvey designed the 308C (the original 308 having been updated to 308B in late 1974). It was the 308C that then morphed into the Williams FW05 in 1976.

Hesketh Racing carried on running the original car, minus James Hunt as the 308D in 1976.

In 1977 , after a disastrous year with the FW05/308C, Harvey returned to his roots and designed the Wolf WR1 that clearly drew from the original 308 series of 1974. This was a very copmpetitive car in 1977 with Jody Scheckter driving.

Meanwhile, over at Hesketh, a new 308E was designed (by Frank Dernie and others) that owed very little to the 308D (a revision of the original 308). It was this 308E that Ashley and Galicia drove, as did Rupert Keegan, Harald Ertl and Hector Rebaque, during 1977, and Derek Daly/Eddie Cheever in 1978.

Thats how, having bought the rights to the 308C as Wolf Williams, Walter Wolf ended up having all of his success with a Wolf that was heavily influenced by the preceding 308. which he hadnt bought. And Hesketh ended up with a car that owed little to either.

Or something like that.

[arttidesco]

Last year someone posted some info on TNF about an FW7 at the Cotswold Motoring Museum, I can't find the original post to thank that person but I went and saw it a couple of weeks ago.



Until I read this thread I was content to believe the Cotswold Motoring Museums blurb that they had WR7, complete with 1979 era Goodyears, which they may well have, but it appears to have under gone some serious revision re the wings added to the front



and centre pillar on the rear wing, I'd completely forgtten the original rear wing was mounted on end plates



Some of the sign writing looks a bit shaky in hindsight too, does anyone know if this car is a reverse engineered Fittipaldi F7 or what it's correct chassis number in Wolf or, if relevant, Fittipaldi guise might be ?

Relevant answers maybe used and credited in a forthcoming blog.

Thanks in anticipation of your responses.

[f1steveuk]

Assuming there is a real car under the bodywork?

[arttidesco]

Assuming there is a real car under the bodywork?

Are you thinking Fittipaldi Show car Steve ?

[f1steveuk]

Are you thinking Fittipaldi Show car Steve ?

There's certainly and odd quality to it, bit "bitser" must admit, it has the 'look' of a show car

[arttidesco]

There's certainly and odd quality to it, bit "bitser" must admit, it has the 'look' of a show car

I suppose the fact that the car is mounted on a turntable might add to the show look, but looking at the second photo looks like something has been leaking which makes me believe it is a real car, though there is no guarantee that whatever has leaked has come from this 'entity'.

Edited by arttidesco, 18 July 2011 - 15:01.

[f1steveuk]

I suppose the fact that the car is mounted on a turntable might add to the show look, but looking at the second photo looks like something has been leaking which makes me believe it is a real car, though there is no guarantee that whatever has leaked has come from this 'entity'.

I've seen pictures of Rosberg in this car wit the central rear wing support, but it's the front bodywork that looks "wonky" to me, and as has been said, the logos/signwritng looks suspect too, or maybe I'm just being picky!!

[arttidesco]

The reflected colours on the bodwork does not help either.

I tried ringing up Costwold Motoring Museum just now but only got a recorded message I'll try again in the morning :-)

[f1steveuk]

Maybe they were busy dusting the exhibits??

[Norman Jones]

The wolf F1 car in the Cotswold motor museum had this info alongside when I was there last year. Does this help?





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Apologies, this is poss the blurb you are refering to, however am I being thick or is the originator of this thread and the owner's name on the info one and the same?

Edited by Norman Jones, 18 July 2011 - 21:29.

[arttidesco]

The wolf F1 car in the Cotswold motor museum had this info alongside when I was there last year. Does this help?





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I do not know how I missed the info board Norman I am in the habit of looking out for them and taking pics when I come across them. I'll PM you to see if you have a higher resolution photo that you could e-mail me

[arttidesco]

Here is a brief rundown of the text that Norman kindly posted above.

'According to the blurb' the car at the Cotswold Motoring Museum is WR7 which got turned into F7-2 for Rosberg when Fittipaldi merged with Wolf.

The monocoque and some of the running gear was retained while the gearbox, bodywork and suspension were altered from the WR7 spec.

F7-2 is credited with a 3rd place finish in Argentina for Rosberg in 1980 (ORC says F7-1 finished 3rd in Argentina with Keke at the wheel ?)

The blurb quoting from Andrew Smith the owner of the Cotswold car goes on to say Emerson raced F7-1 which was the old WR9 and that Walter Wolf kept WR8 which has recently appeared in European Historic events.

Andrew acquired the car from ADA engineering, who bought all the Fittipaldi assets from administrators in in 1982, without ADA having done anything to it, he says as the car appears today it has a Wolf style honeycomb bodywork refitted, but with F7 running gear.

Apparently Andrew has a DFV and reckons this car could be made to run, though he would have to chose to return it to either '79 or '80 spec and that the cost would be prohibitive.

[arttidesco]

Thanks to Norman and Steve for their contributions to todays blog

[f1steveuk]

I'm "u"-less

Ta!

[arttidesco]

I'm "u"-less ;)

Ta!

Your welcome 'u' less Steve