Arturo Merzario

Interesting,
But the second and third photos are a different car or an evolution. Notice the roll hoop, and the outboard front suspension a la March, rather than the rocker system in the last two pictures.

Originally posted by RJH
Interesting,
But the second and third photos are a different car or an evolution. Notice the roll hoop, and the outboard front suspension a la March, rather than the rocker system in the last two pictures.

The first picture is titled as an a2, whilst two and three are a3's. I think the A2 looks better personally!

It's interesting that first photo (A2 - 1979) looks quite different from my second drawing (A2 - 1978).
According to my third picture, Merzario started 1979 season with A2/B: he modified chassis, suspensions and aerodinamics. I would add also he added front radiator.

Ciao,
Guido

My (new) current guesstimates on the Merzario chassis history:

Thanks to gdecarli - you (and Autosprint) has added much to my thoughts on this!

First chassis:
A1-01: The original car for Argentina 1978 through to Sweden 1978. 4 starts, 4 dnq/dnpq.
A1-01B: The same chassis uprated to 'B' spec, for France 1978 through to the end of 1978. 4 starts, 4 dnq.

Second chassis:
A2-02: New chassis introduced in Austria 1978. 0 starts, 1 dnq, 2 spare car.
A2B-02: Uprated to A2B spec for 1979 season. 1 start, 1 non-start, 2 dnq, 3 spare car.

Third chassis:
A3-03: New chassis for Long Beach 1979. 0 starts, 5 dnq/dnpq, 4 spare car (used or unused).

Fourth chassis:
A4-01: New chassis for Great Britain 1979, based on the Kauhsen WK-004. 1 start (non-championship Imola), 6 dnq, 1 spare car.


If only Autosprint had said A4-04 instead of A4/01 - then I could have explained the whole thing as a Wolf numbering system - all called 'A' + a chassis number to differentiate them.... :

The only one who can clear this up is Art himself - doesn't he still race occasionally, so that it wouldn't be totally impossible for a TNFer to ask him?


dolomite, I have always wondered how Art could see out of any cockpit - some said that the reason for him being as quick as he was, given decent machinery, was that he couldn't see the dangers...

Originally posted by gdecarli
It's interesting that first photo (A2 - 1979) looks quite different from my second drawing (A2 - 1978).

Guido - that's the point! Was the early 1979 car the same as the late 1978 car or was it a new car?

Do I understand correctly that there are no photos in AUTOSPRINT showing the car Merzario introduced in Austria/Netherlands 1978 and used from Italy to Canada 1978? Otherwise that would enable us to compare the cars.

Who said there are no photos?

I have photos of new A2 just before Austrian GP 1978 (Autosprint 32/1978 page 24) and of new A3 just before Long Beach GP 1979 (Autosprint 13/1979 page 28); surely there are photos taken at Argentina 1979 and maybe more.
It's very late now, so please wait for a while and I will give you more info (I post Autosprint link for my quicker seach on next days).
Reading very quickly 1979 Argentina GP report I think that that car was the same used in 1978, quite changed (front radiator and so on), but I'm not sure about it, I need more time to read more carefully the whole article.

Ciao,
Guido

I scanned 1978 photos of Merzario. They are obly about A2 (but Colombo at Monza), so I don't look for previous Autosprint issues. As usal, click to enlarge:

• Merzario A2: presentation, just before Austrian GP - beginning of August (from Autosprint 32/1978, pages 1 and 24)
  
  
  
• Austrian GP (August 13th) : Arturo Merzario on his Merzario A2 (from Autosprint 33-34/1978, page 30)
  
  
  
• Italian GP, prequalify (September 3rd) : Alberto Colombo on old Merzario A1. He didn't qualified, as he was the slowest because of problem at gearbox, but his time (1'42"558) was better that any Arturo's time with A1 at Monza. (from Autosprint 36/1978, page 34)
  
  

If you want to see 1979 photos... please wait some more time

Meanwhile, you can enjoy also early Kauhsen pictures:

• Kauhsen WK 1: early tests made by Gianfranco Brancatelli. I don't know where and when these photos were taken; it should be late October or early November and they could be taken at Lommeln (Belgium), Luxembourg or Nivelles (from Autosprint 45/1978, page 37 - Autosprint 46/1978, page 16)
  
  
  
• Kauhsen WKRT (WK 1). Le Castellet (3263 m), December 5th and 6th: test made by Patrick Neve, that replaced Brancatelli because of sponsor reason. Neve's best time was 1'11"3; the quickest driver was Laffite (Ligier JS11 Ford) 1'06"8 (from Autosprint 50/1978, page 39 - Autosprint 51-52/1978, page 16)
  
  

Great photos Guido - bravo! I can see the March similarities in the A2 much better now.

Yes, Guido, great photos!

Is it only I who can't see the pic of Colombo at Monza? I get the dreaded 'x' instead.

I'm especially interested as Sheldon has him in A1-02, the chassis that I now call A2-02. If it's the 'old A1' then it would be A1-01B...

OK, Colombo is back!
Autosprint said that after Austria Merzario went on with two cars: the new A2 and the old A1 "unchanged" (I mean that old A1 chassis was not converted in a new A2 one).
Monza was the only GP with two drivers in entry list, so Arturo drove A2 and Colombo A1.

By the way, seven drivers (plus two retired before going to Monza) had to run prequalify session (only three were admitted to qualify), on Sunday September 3rd (one week before the race).
They were:

• Hector Rebaque (Lotus 78-Ford #25) 1'39"883 - QUALIFIED
• Nelson Piquet (McLaren M23-Ford #29) 1'40"110 - QUALIFIED
• Brett Lunger (McLaren M26-Ford #30) 1'40"242 - QUALIFIED
• Harald Ertl (Ensign N177-Ford #23) 1'40"274 (but he replaced Jochen Mass on ATS HS 001-Ford #9 and he run practice and qualifying session)
• Keke Rosberg (Wolf WR1 Thedore-Ford #32) 1'40"751
• Rolf Stommelen (Arrows FA2-Ford #36) 1'40"935
• Alberto Colombo (Merzario A1/01-Ford #34) 1'42"558
• René Arnoux (Martini Mk23-Ford #31) - not present at Monza
• Danny Ongais (Shadow DN9-Ford #39) - not present at Monza

Ciao,
Guido

Thank you again, Guido.

Originally posted by gdecarli

Yes, that is definitely an A1, as can be seen by the 'ears' near the front suspension.

Also, thank you for the 1000th part of the pre-qualifying times; I only had them down to the 100th before... also that Colombo had #34 rather then #38 as Sheldon has it.

Originally posted by conjohn
Also, thank you for the 1000th part of the pre-qualifying times; I only had them down to the 100th before... also that Colombo had #34 rather then #38 as Sheldon has it.

#38 at Monza was Gimax (Surtees), but I think I have no photos about him...
You can find all my data on statistics page on my website. It's in Italian only, but I think it is not so difficult to understand

Ciao,
Guido

Originally posted by gdecarli
I scanned 1978 photos of Merzario. They are obly about A2 (but Colombo at Monza), so I don't look for previous Autosprint issues. As usal, click to enlarge

Fantastic rare pictures Guido, thank you!

Sorry for my late arrival on this thread.

In November 1993, I discussed all this in some detail with Simon Hadfield, who was Art's chief mechanic in 1979.

Although Motor Sport's Alan Henry said that the first A1 was "not a re-worked March", Simon was certain that one of the two A1s was based on parts of the old 761B. It was this car that was later rebuilt again as the A3 while the other car became the A1B. It seems that the first A1 was the one brought back out in early 1979, as the A1B, which would then suggest that the March car was the second A1. In the absence of better information, the theory we put together was that the all-new A1/01 was reworked as A1B/01 for 1979 and would probably have become the second A3 if Merzario hadn't bought a Kauhsen instead. Meanwhile, A1/02 (or A2 or A2/02) was built using the March 761B tub and was consumed in the construction of the A3.

However, the following November, Emilio Ronchi acquired an ex-Art Flor Bath show car that had been the A1B earlier in its life and asked Simon to work out what he had. Detailed examination of this car led us to believe that it was the old 761B. The tub was essentially intact although the outer skins had been removed so that the Merzario bodywork could be attached. All the original skins, corners, tanks, deformable structures and even bodywork were included, right down to the trick steering column that its diminutive driver required. Also with the car were many of the titanium parts used on it when it was the Merzario A1 and A1B.

So that means 761B/2 became A1/02 which became the A1B which became the show car and ended up with Simon. The only completely-Merzario Merzario was A1/01 which then became the A3.

I'd be interested in comments on this as we approached the problem from a completely different direction to you guys.

Allen

Originally posted by conjohn
also that Colombo had #34 rather then #38 as Sheldon has it.

If you look closely at the 4...does it look to you like an upside down 7 with a stick on it? The horizontal bar of the 4 looks level with the bottom of the 3...

Originally posted by Allen Brown
I'd be interested in comments on this as we approached the problem from a completely different direction to you guys.

This is very interesting, Allen, and I would put more trust in your research than in my musings from afar. You have had access to someone involved and also to some of the hardware, whereas all I have are magazines and books, second hand information, and a lively, albeit hopefully logical, imagination.

So, now we're down to three...

First chassis:
A1-01: The original car for Argentina 1978 through to Sweden 1978. 4 starts, 4 dnq/dnpq.
A1-01B: The same chassis uprated to 'B' spec, for France 1978 through to the end of 1978. 4 starts, 4 dnq.
A3-01: Converted chassis for Long Beach 1979. 0 starts, 5 dnq/dnpq, 4 spare car (used or unused).

Second chassis:
A1-02: New chassis, based on March 761B/2, introduced in Austria 1978. 0 starts, 1 dnq, 2 spare car.
A1B-02: Uprated to A1B spec for 1979 season. 1 start, 1 non-start, 2 dnq, 3 spare car.

Third chassis:
A4-01: New chassis for Great Britain 1979, based on the Kauhsen WK-004. 1 start (non-championship Imola), 6 dnq, 1 spare car.


If the early 1979 car was called A1B, it is logical to assume that the predecessor was the A1. And if it was the second chassis, then there must have been two A1's - 01 and 02 - and no A2.
Also, if the A3 was built from the A1-01, it is not illogical for it to retain it's 01 chassis number - goodbye A3-03.
And after 3 comes 4, so A4-01 is also a logical name...

...but what became of the A2?

When I started this thread I thought that the Merzarios were called A1 (A1B) and A2, and possibly A4. No A3 in sight. Then I thought it was A1 (A1B), A2, A3 and A4. The the B got shifted from A1 to A2. Now it seems that the B is back with A1 again, and A2 has disappeared....

This is getting complicated. I think we have to acknowledge that Merzario didn't pay much attention to logical consistency in naming his cars. If we go with Allen Brown then there is the problem of having only three different chassis but at least four different numbers.

How about the following explanation?

			 1st chassis 2nd chassis 3rd chassis

[U]year[/U] [U]races  [/U] [U](Merzario) [/U] [U](ex-March) [/U] [U](ex-Kauhsen)[/U]

1978 ARG-SWE A1/01

	 FRA-ITA A1/01B

	 ITA-CAN			 A1/02

1979 ARG-USW			 A2

	 USW-GBR A3

	 GBR-USA						 A4

The chassis used at the beginning of 1979 obviously looked rather different than the chassis used at the end of 1978. Why not call it "A2" instead of A1/02B (the logical choice)?

The chassis introduced at Long Beach 1979 looked even more different. Why not call it "A3", thereby hiding the fact that it was merely a further development of A1/01 (and therefore should have been called A1/01C)?

All numbers from A1 to A4 are there owing to (supposed) Merzario-logic.

Originally posted by ensign14
If you look closely at the 4...does it look to you like an upside down 7 with a stick on it? The horizontal bar of the 4 looks level with the bottom of the 3...

I can't understand what do you mean.



However, I have found a better copy of the same photo also on Autosprint 21/1980 page 81, so I have just replaced pic I uploaded last week with a little better one.

Ciao,
Guido

Tonight I made a jump to 1980. I think that Arturo Merzario was present in F.1 entry list with his Merzario A4 #24, even if he never went to a GP.
In February 1980 (so between Brazil and South Africa GP) he said that he couln't have gone to Argentina and Brazil because he had no money. At this moment he was looking for sponsors and he hoped to run european GP (first one was Belgium, May 4th). A4 was modified during winter and new A5 chassis was already ready. A5 should have been Merzario F.1 for 1981 (these info are from Autosprint 6/1980 page 6; there are no photos).

Few weeks later, at middle of March, Merzario was at Misano for the first test of his F.2 car, called M1, with BMW engine (click to enlarge) :



Autosprint wrote: "This F.2 has the same monocoque as F.1, modified according to F.2 needs".
I couldn't find any reference to F.1 car (neither something "I give up with F.1 because I have no money" or similar). I'm not sure if M1 use the same chassis of old A4 (as I think, even if I have no proof) or if it is a new one derived from it.

Technical data are as follows (Sorry, I copy them in Italian because I can't translate all technical words but I hope you can understand as well) :

• MERZARIO M1 - BMW (FORMULA 2 - 1980)
• Telaio monoscocca (monocoque chassis) in lega leggera (Amperallum) incollata e rivettata
• Sospensioni anteriori (front suspensions) con bilancere superiore e triangolo inferiore; molle (springs) e ammortizzatori Koni interni
• Sospensioni posteriori (rear suspensions) con quadrilatero articolato superiore; triangolo inferiore, molle (springs) e ammortizzatori Koni interni
• Carrozzeria: muso-cockpit in un pezzo unico in fibra di vetro (fiberglass) cassoni laterali e profili laterali in honeyomb
• Motore (engine) BMW Osella 75x932 305cc (?) a 9600 giri (rpm)
• Cambio (gear) Hewland FG400
• Freni (brakes) Lockheed doppie pinze anteriori e posteriori
• Serbatoio (fuel tank) centrale Pirelli da 108 litri
• Radiatori laterali, acqua a sinistra, olio a destra (side radiators; left: water - right: oil)
• Passo: 2500 mm
• Carreggiata anteriore: 1560 mm
• Carreggiata posteriore: 1520 mm
• Peso (weight) : 518 kg
• Pneumatici (tyres) : Pirelli P7

(All info and pics about M1 are from Autosprint 12/1980 pages 14-15)

Ciao,
Guido

Looking for info about Merzario I discovered that also Alberto Colombo thought to have his own F.1, called Riviera and payed from some business man from Brianza (one of the richest Italian area, around Monza)
This car was drawn by Giorgio Valentini and Riviera bought a monocoque from Thompson and he received in at November 1979. Meanwhile he bought three Cosworth engine (one new, two used) and a gear box. He bought also something (including a chassis) from Kauhsen.
Then they had... money problems: they sold engines and gear box to Osella and they kept only two chassis: the Thompson one (drawn by Valentini) and the Kauhsen one.
I don't know what happened to these chassis. Do you have more info?
Another question: so, how many Kauhsen chassis were sold?

Ciao,
Guido

(All info from Autosprint 3/1980, page 26; there is only a photo that shows Giorgio Valentini, but nothing about chassis)

Great work again Guido! I tend to agree with you that knowing Arts recycling policy that F2 car is probably the A4 underneath.

I never heard of that Riviera before - didnt ColOmbo go on to run San Remo racing in F2 and F3000?

Originally posted by gdecarli
I can't understand what do you mean.

That the number looks a little like 3 /_ rather than 34. I may be dreaming.

Originally posted by Ghinzani
I never heard of that Riviera before - didnt ColOmbo go on to run San Remo racing in F2 and F3000?

I don't know, I have never heard about Riviera too, I found yesterday and I thought it was interesting.
I don't know anything about SanRemo Racing (well, I know its existance, but no more info), but as SanRemo is in Riviera (Liguria), it could be the same team that changes its name o something like this. I wonder why Riviera and SanRemo, because Colombo is from Brianza, region around Monza, quite far from Liguria. Maybe some sponsors came from there? I don't know; I let you know if I find more info!

Originally posted by ensign14
That the number looks a little like 3 /_ rather than 34. I may be dreaming.

Thank you! If you look original photo, you have no doubt it's a 34, vene if I agree with you that horizontal line of '4' is quite low.

Ciao,
Guido

Originally posted by gdecarli
I don't know, I have never heard about Riviera too, I found yesterday and I thought it was interesting.

I think so too! If there is more I'd like to know - as I'm sure we all do. Perhaps you could post your comments here.

This thread is fantastic ... it will come in very handy for the Merzario update when we get around to it ...

Great picture of Colombo in the Merzario at Monza too, although his helmet appears different from the one he used when he drove for ATS earlier in 1978:

http://www.forix.com...806010_jmb_.jpg

If anyone can confirm whether or not Colombo really did run San Remo Racing after his last season racing F2 in 1980, we'd love to know. So too if there are more details of that Riviera effort.

BTW, I know this is a Merzario thread more than a Kauhsen thread, but our understanding is that those initial tests Brancatelli did were at Paul Ricard as well:

http://8w.forix.com/kauhsen.html
http://www.research-...e/kauhsenf1.htm

The latter is perhaps the most detailed Kauhsen story I can find anywhere, but it's only available in German.

I am 99.9% certain he ran San Remo - initially himself, then people like Carlo Rossi in a Toleman/Lola F2 car 81-83, then they ran Marches into F3000 for every Italian ever who held a licence it seemed!!

Pretty certain San Remo Racing was Colombo's team. I think he started it in 78, after he'd had a bad 77 with AFMP/Pavanello March semi works effort. He had 2 782s in 78, bought 2 792s the next year, but pretty soon went back to the 782s, slightly updated. For 80 he again used 782s, then bought a Toleman TG28o late in 80. For 81 he used this Toleman, plus a new 'Lola T850', also one of the 782s I think, Roberto del Castello rings a bell. As you say Carlo Rossi was one of his regular drivers, various other Italians too at times.

I rated Colombo pretty well, though obviously even in F2 he was never one of the stars. He always had a good finishing record, very consistent, and all the cars he had from 772 to Tolemans regularly reached the end.

OK, I'm back with some more 1979 photos. As usual, click to enlarge.

• MERZARIO A2 - 1979
  
  (from Autosprint 3/1979, page 14)
  These photos show old Merzario A2 with 1979 changes. They were taken at Carate Brianza, in Merzario's factory, just before being sent to Argentina for the first GP.
  Most important changes were made in order to try to transform this car in a wing car. Of course it was not fully possible, as this car was not intended to be a wing car.
  
  
  (Left: from Autosprint 4/1979, page 31 - Right: from Autosprint 5/1979 page 8)
  These photos are both from Argentina GP, a very unlucky GP for Arturo as he was involved in a big crash at first lap and he had to retire, together with Scheckter, Tambay, Piquet and Pironi.
  
• MERZARIO A3
  
  (from Autosprint 3/1979, page 14)
  This photo was taken at Carate Brianza together with previous A2 photos, in January 1979: A3 was already under construction!
  
  
  
  (from Autosprint 13/1979, pages 28-29)
  These photos were taken at Carate Brianza and at Fiorano (where Arturo made a short test) in March, between supposed Race Of Champions (Brands Hatch, March 18th) and Long Beach GP (April, 8th).
  Even if it was not complete, new A3 was sent to Brands Hatch, but the race was canceled due to snow and moved to April, 15th.
  
• KAUHSEN WK 1
  
  (Left: from Autosprint 5/1979, page 33 - Right: from Autosprint 6/1979, page 44)
  Brancatelli was back again on Kauhsen for some tests at Paul Ricard.

Ciao,
Guido

Back to 1978, Uwe Sautter sent me some pictures about A1. I don't know what GP they are about and where do they come from. As usual, click to enlarge.

• MERZARIO A1 - 1978
  
  

Ciao,
Guido

More pics from Uwe Sautter (click to enlarge). Identification is mine, I hope they are right

• MERZARIO A2 - 1978
  
  
  
• MERZARIO A2 - 1979
  
  

Ciao,
Guido

I just read this in Motor Sport July 2003 (which shows how waaaaaaay behind I am in my reading....)...

F1 Kauhsen set for return to TGP Race

Willi Kauhsen has bought back one of his Formula One chassis and plans to return it to the track at this year's Thoroughbread Grand Prix finale at Estoril in October. The car is being rebuilt by Mecauto in Belgium.

Designed by Klaus Kapitza, chassis number one (of five) was one of the most striking shapes in F1 when it was first tested at Paul Ricard at the end of 1978. However, the 'signature' positioning of its rear wing almost ahead of the rear wheels proved to be the car's downfall. It generated insufficient downforce and never raced in this format (in fact, 001 never raced). The subsequent and equally unsuccessful Kauhsens had their wings affixed further back.

The Kauhsen routinely failed to qualify. The marque's only F1 start came in the 1979 Aurora round at Zolder. It lined up eighth in the hands of Gianfranco Brancatelli, but posted the first retirement on only the second lap.

By midseason Kauhsen had sold his cars to Arturo Merzario, who reworked them into his eponymous A4.

Interesting things here are that there is a reference to 5 Kauhsen chassis, and that the Merzario is called A4... and it was published before this thread started....

I can't resist bringing this thread back to life!

I thought Merzario was great in the days when (especially initially) he was in F1; but I can't really explain why - although the fact that he sat so low in the cars probobly had something to do with it. I remember like it was yesterday seeing him net sixth place on his GP debut at Brands in '72, and duly picking up the 'Jo Siffert Prix Rouge et Blanc' for his efforts. Shortly after the race ended, I also recall watching the Ferrari mechanics drain no more than a pint of fuel from his 312B2's tanks...

Almost a decade later a buddy of mine, Jo Gartner, got a drive with him towards the end of 1981. I was chuffed to bits to hear that he would be driving for Arturo, but at the time I couldn't really understand why Jo's reaction was pretty much the opposite. However, in due course - and by then having seen things first-hand for myself - I couldn't really fail to appreciate why he felt that way...

Nevertheless, as a driver, I have many fond memories of him putting in some fighting performances driving the Ferraris, the Williams(es) and both his semi-works and private Marches plus his occasional appearances for the likes of Shadow and Fittipaldi. I'd rather not remember his own chassis - for his own sake!


(my pic)


(my pic)

Originally posted by Twin Window
[B]I can't resist bringing this thread back to life!

I thought Merzario was great in the days when (especially initially) he was in F1; but I can't really explain why - although the fact that he sat so low in the cars probobly had something to do with it.

I seem to remember reading a race report that opined the reason he was so fast was that he couldn't see what he would hit should he go off!

Hello to all,

For those who have the chance to go to see Le Mans Classic, Arturo Merzario
should be present with an Alfa Roméo T 33/3.

Concerning Arturo, can you say to me why on its helmet was a ''Cavallino
Rampante'' back to front ?

At the height of my F1 fanaticism, in 1974, I wrote my own (hand written) version of Autocourse, complete with photos hacked out of Autosport and Motoring News and my personal account of each race. I still have it. Reading it now is quite embarrasing, but I treasure it.

I had my own, very subjective, "star performance" awards for each GP, and astonishingly enough, Arturo was a regular feature. I thought he was great, he had style and he had charisma. Even in 1976, he put in some fine drives in a private March. As an eye witness of Lauda's accident, I can also testify that he is a very brave man (along with Ertl, Lunger, Edwards and a marshall).

The photo of him at the Targa in 1973 in this year's Motor Sport calendar is DEFINITELY a candidate for the photograpic hall of fame on the walls of my office as soon as the year is out.

Edward.

There have been a couple of interesting interviews to him in Italian and English magazines lately, where he hopes to continue racing up to his 70s, and express strong ideas on current vs. old days racing.

But I have understood from another thread that posting scans of those articles would be almost a crime and in any case an outrageous violation of intellectual property...


:

For the fans (count me in) : Arturo at Goodwood 2003

Thank you Pedro 917 for these beautiful pics where we find Arturo more
hairy than ever.

I always appreciated him and I see that he does not change.

:yawn:

Just wanted to resurrect this thread to thank everyone who contributed to it, because we have just posted our updated Merzario profile on our website, and rather than doing our own research for once, basically all it amounted to was merely making some sense of this thread (!) and trying to make the convoluted history of Merzario readable.

If anyone bothers to read it and spots any errors, please let me know...

Thanks also to Guido and dolomite for the pictures they scanned or posted, which we have organised together with other Merzario pics.

There is a monocoque labelled as a Kauhsen in the circuit museum at Stavelot.
The captioning there is fairly woeful but they don't usually get the marque wrong, so I'm assuming that's what it is.
When I was last there it was positioned such that you could not sensibly search for a chassis plate.

Originally posted by 2F-001
There is a monocoque labelled as a Kauhsen in the circuit museum at Stavelot.
The captioning there is fairly woeful but they don't usually get the marque wrong, so I'm assuming that's what it is.
When I was last there it was positioned such that you could not sensibly search for a chassis plate.

Mr Kauhsen has bought back both (?) of his F1 cars.
They will be restored for him by Mecauto. The tub in Stavelot is from one of them.

When I inspected one of the cars (at Roger Hurst's about 5 years ago) it didn't have a chassis plate - but that is hardly surprising a small team hardly needed to number their cars (it would be easy enough to tell the difference between the big & small fuel tank cars!!).

The 917 turbo that is sometimes in the same part of the musuem as the tub also belongs to Mr Kauhsen.

That's the yellow Bosch-liveried 917, Peter? I wondered about that. I don't think it was in evidence when I last visited in May, and I wondered if, perhaps, it was still in use in some way. I seem to recall it was labelled as 917-30 which I assumed was just a mistake: the bodywork was 917-10 style and it didn't look long enough to be a 917-30 underneath.
There were some rather nice models of both 917-20 and -30 there though. Actually quite an interesting, if eclectic (indeed, slightly oddball) collection of stuff at Stavelot - in pleasnt surroundings - for anyone passing that way.

So is the Stavelot museum still the museological nightmare it was when I visited it some five years ago? I.e. cram as much off-beat stuff as you can into an abbey basement, leave out any guidance or captioning, don't put any thought into the interior design and lay-out and then put a large museum sign out front...

Pretty much, yes.Although I thought of more as "quaint and unpretentious".

Originally posted by Racer.Demon
So is the Stavelot museum still the museological nightmare it was when I visited it some five years ago? I.e. cram as much off-beat stuff as you can into an abbey basement, leave out any guidance or captioning, don't put any thought into the interior design and lay-out and then put a large museum sign out front...

But the display is ever changing, as they rely on the owners to loan them cars the stock varies as and when the owners use their cars (more cars in winter, less in summer is the basic rule!).

It is not really a professional museum, more a use of facilities owned by the region. They had a building with wonderful cellars, near Francorchamps, and decided it would make a good museum. It does not have a large budget, just a couple (if that!) of staff and insurance & running costs. They rely on the genrosity of the owners to provide an attraction.

That's the yellow Bosch-liveried 917, Peter? I wondered about that. I don't think it was in evidence when I last visited in May, and I wondered if, perhaps, it was still in use in some way.

It was tested by Motorsport fairly recently (upto a year ago), seems it still goes pretty well!!

Not sure about being a 917/10 or 917/30, I think that they didn't always wear the 'correct' type of bodywork!

Originally posted by 2F-001
Pretty much, yes.Although I thought of more as "quaint and unpretentious".

That's another way of looking at it, and to which I'd like to subscribe with equal pleasure.

I'm glad that it's there in the first place!

Originally posted by Peter Morley

But the display is ever changing, as they rely on the owners to loan them cars the stock varies as and when the owners use their cars (more cars in winter, less in summer is the basic rule!).

Which would explain my claustrophobia on the day of my last visit - a cold and wet January 4...

Originally posted by 2F-001
There is a monocoque labelled as a Kauhsen in the circuit museum at Stavelot.
The captioning there is fairly woeful but they don't usually get the marque wrong, so I'm assuming that's what it is.
When I was last there it was positioned such that you could not sensibly search for a chassis plate.

I just talked to Stefan from Mecauto, who will restore the Kauhsens (but not immediately - my March 761 will hopefully be there next restoration).

Willi Kauhsen has now got two of his three F1 cars.
The very first one, which is pretty much untouched.
And the ground effects car, which Roger Hurst had.
The 3rd car went to Merzario (not sure if this is the 2nd or 3rd chassis).

Roger told me that the first car didn't have a big enough fuel tank, something that was corrected on the later cars.

Chances are they never had chassis numbers on them!

in an austrian mag of 1979 i read arturo merzarios infamous yellow flatty was sponsored by a mortician at the italian gp? could anybody confirm that story? thx

Hey, second time I've been able to answer your trivia question!

From the report on the 1979 Italian Grand Prix in Autoweek:

"Arturo Merzario.....boasted the most macabre racing sponsor of all time. Art's main benefactor is Flor Bath, the cosmetics and toiletries division of Parmalat. But for this race, a local undertaker - yes, that's right - paid for space on the rear wing. Entitled La Varesina, the company turned out to be high class funeral directors whose brochure was freely available in the paddock.

"Hey", called Merzario to this correspondent, "I give you a special discount. Ha, Ha."


From another report:

"Arturo Merzario was pushing his luck at Monza. He didn't actually switch his number to 13 but many thought he had gone one better by adding a new sponsor to his rear wing support - a local coffin maker and undertaker who weighed in with support for 'Little Art' and his decal design included a black cross. He didn't qualify."

renzo_zorzi

Yes that is correct as... JB Miltonian has comformed. At the time i was working for Hector Rebaque and we where down the slow end of the pits with Arturo and his( team) of helpers .He would come over to our motor home for a chat and Coffee and he told me about his new Sponsor an i nearly choked when he told me what the did for a living ( or in their caseDying) ,but as he said it keep me going so (Its' Good).he was one hell of a person and given the right car could throw it around just like the others.