Ken Wilson BRM/Gilbern GT V8 & Brian Jenkins Morgan +4

Hi guys I have a meeting with Brian Jenkins this month coming and I’d like to bring him some images or stories he may have not seen or forgotten, also to educate me before I meet him so we have common ground.
If anyone has anything that can help I’d be very grateful.

I’m also looking for any info or pictures of Ken Wilson and his Gilbern GT v8.

A quick two or three minutes with Mr Google throws up a lot of stuff. 
Best of luck.

Roger Lund

A quick two or three minutes with Mr Google throws up a lot of stuff. 
Best of luck.

Roger Lund

 

In reference to which gent?

Ive been googling and not found anything on Brian.

Very little if anything on Ken and a Gilbern also.

Have you tried TenTenths Motorsport Forum ? In the Historic Racing section there is a thread 'Gilbert the Gilbern - the ongoing story' and on page 14 the third post is from a gent by the name of MikeL (Mike Lamplough) who has apparently just bought the ex Ken Wilson Gilbern and is in the process of restoring it.

1962 address: 70 Nolton Street, Bridgend, Glamorgan

 

Pembrey Speed Trials, Swansea Motor Club, 8 April 1962, 440-yard course

Ken Wilson's ex-Ray Fielding Lister Jaguar, which made B.T.D. with 14.13 seconds

Castle Combe 1962?

Weston-super-Mare National Speed Trials, organized by the Burnham-on-Sea Motor Club, 29 September 1962

Ken Wilson's ex-Equipe Nationale Belge Lister-Jaguar doing 22.03 secs

Jaguar E-type, 23.51 secs

Pembrey Speed Trials, October 1962: FTD Lister 13.69 secs, course record

Castel Farm, 1st meeting 1963

Lister:  Ken's best run, in 27.65 secs., was

dangerously near the B.T.D. of 27.62 secs.

returned by Peter Cottrell in his ex-Mike

Taylor 2-litre Lotus-Climax 15.

Castel Farm, 15 April 1963: Joint FTD in the Lister with 28.23 secs, shared with Peter Cottrell, Lotus 15.

Also ran at Castel Whitsun.

St. Athan, Whit Sunday, 1963: 2nd in the Lister.

Wellesbourne (B.A.R.C. West Midlands Centre), 7 July 1962: Lister, 43.7 secs, class win

St. Athan, Sunday, 28 July 1963: 2nd in the Lister.

St. Athan, ?

FTD in the newly-acquired 2,500 cc, ex-Tony Marsh B.R.M. 36.85 secs, course record

Silverstone, 7 September 1963

SATURDAY's national race meeting at

Silverstone, organized by the Jaguar

Drivers' Club, includes the 60-lap Colibri

Trophy Race for saloon, G.T., sports and

sports-racing cars. Among the entries are

John Coundley (Lotus 19), Peter Sargent

(Lister-Jaguar), Roger Mac (Jaguar E), Ken

Baker (Jaguar E) and Ken Wilson (Lister

Jaguar). Meeting starts at 1 p.m.

Castel Farm, final 1963: FTD B.R.M, 26.69 secs

Weston-super-Mare National Speed Trials, organized by the Burnham-on-Sea Motor Club, 28 September 1963: B.R.M.

A full entry of 75 cars has been received for the West Lancashire M.C.'s Southport speed trials tomorrow. Entries include

Tony Griffiths, Ken Wilson, Paul Pycroft and John Sharp. Sprinting starts at 12 noon.

Autosport, 8 November 1963, Page 635

Wilson drove the B.R.M., wet.

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 30 March 2023 - 05:05.

I/we have discussed Ken Wilson before now on TNF.  Ken was a builder from Bridgend who did well enough to buy some serious racing cars and also indulge in some powerboat racing. His stable included an ex-Ecurie Belgique Lister Jaguar, ex-Tony Marsh BRM P48, Lotus 30 & McLaren M1C. He was a regular at Llandow and proficient enough to win several races (albeit often with his competitors at the wheels of more humble machinery).  Maurice Charles was doing similar things in South Wales at the time with his ex works D Type, E Type and, then, GT40. 

 

The story goes that Ken arrived in Llantwit Fardre with a small block Chevy in the boot of his Gilbern GT and politely asked the factory to install it. I'm sure it was slightly more complicated and less romantic than that but, whatever, the Gilbern Chevy was born. I'm not sure that it ever ran at Llandow but I remember watching it, over the Bristol Channel, competing at the Weston Super Mare Speed Trials. Weston was a great day out for us Cardiffians, as a kid I would take the bus down to Penarth pier and then enjoy a shortish sea crossing on a Campbell (paddle) steamer to the corresponding pier head at Weston.  P&A Campbell briefly operated an SRN-2 hovercraft on the same route but my father, an ex Navy man, considered hovercrafts the work of the devil so it was conventional steamers for me. 

 

Happily the Gilbern has survived albeit without the original V8. Allegedly Ken transplanted the engine into one of his powerboats for a weekend of aquatic sport but, unfortunately, the boat including its American anchor sank without trace. A guy called Mike Lamplough is now restoring the car down in the South West somewhere. If you head over to 'Pistonheads' and search for "Readers' Cars" within the forum section you can keep abreast of developments.

Edited by moffspeed, 04 April 2023 - 09:05.