19 replies to this topic

[hipperson]

This is a Nick Loudon photo taken at The Revival in 2003 or 2004
It has now been signed by Stirling and Suzie for charity auctioning next year...it will make £800/1000 for the kids.

For labelling I need to know about the car.......PLEASE.
I cannot find it anywhere. Is it real ?

[Andrew Kitson]

Is it the 1955 DB3S that was / is owned by Frank Sytner....Doug?

[Tim Murray]

Certainly, if it was the 2003 or 2004 Revival, the only possible match is the Freddie March Memorial Trophy of 2003, where Stirling drove DB3S no 7 entered by Frank Sytner.

[hipperson]

Thanks so far.....any history to speak of ?

[bradbury west]

The best source would be the Palawan DB3S book, or ring Sytner.......... or AMOC's archivist. I do not know the curent one, but the late Roger Stowers was just brilliant
Roger Lund

[David McKinney]

Sytner owned DB3S 88HME in 2003, when it was driven by S Moss

It was one of the production models (DB3S/116) first sold to the Rank Organisation for Checkpoint

[alansart]

It appears to be a bit of a film star - if it's the same car.

http://imcdb.org/veh...artin-DB3S.html

Sold at auction in 1999.

http://www.motorbase...-id/1951258658/

Edited by alansart, 14 October 2009 - 15:50.

[Dutchy]

Oddly this useful site doesn't even mention DB3S/116 http://www.racingspo...artin/DB3S.html

I recall this car was in Scotland with Tom Henderson in the 1960s

Edited by Dutchy, 15 October 2009 - 12:14.

[Red Socks]

No real history-it was with Rank from 1956 after it was in the film Checkpoint from 1956 until 1961-kept in the 'prop store' apparently
Then appears in club racing in 1962. Begins its Henderson history in Scotland as above in 1966-Bo'ness , Rest and be Thankful and Doune until 1968 when it stops being used in competition.It went through a restoration in 1990.
Not the most exciting history

[hipperson]

Thanks for all that....enough information to cause interest.

[Alan Cox]

Judging from the photograph, it also featured with Stan and Ollie.

[Red Socks]

Judging from the photograph, it also featured with Stan and Ollie.

Its bloody Stan and Ollie which are the final turn off for me at Goodwood and the reason why I find myself incapable of treating the event anyting other than a total farce.

[roger_valentine]

Forget the ID of the Aston Martin. Can anybody ID the driver in this photo? Is is The Stig or Le Pilote Sans Visage?

Stirling usually makes himself pretty accessible to fans at Goodwood, so it isn't dificult to get a decent photo or an autograph. So £800 to £1000 for this photo seems a little optimistic.

[JtP1]

No real history-it was with Rank from 1956 after it was in the film Checkpoint from 1956 until 1961-kept in the 'prop store' apparently
Then appears in club racing in 1962. Begins its Henderson history in Scotland as above in 1966-Bo'ness , Rest and be Thankful and Doune until 1968 when it stops being used in competition.It went through a restoration in 1990.
Not the most exciting history

While discussing DB3S in film. What was the history of the DB3S used by Terry Thomas in "School for Scroudrels"?

[buchanan holden]

While discussing DB3S in film. What was the history of the DB3S used by Terry Thomas in "School for Scroudrels"?

The "Bellini", as it was named in the film, started life as a fiberglass bodied DB3S built for David Brown as a road car. I've been doing some research on the Aston Martin DB3S the Buchanan body is based on. It appears Aston Martin tried building fibreglass bodies for the DB3S back in 1953/54. Unfortunately it was an abject failure and the only 2 bodies built were scrapped. They laid the fibreglass up over a wooden body buck, rather than building a mould, and then had to sand down the outside of the body to get it smooth. The first body didn't have enough hardener in the mix and the body collapsed.

Terry Hadley, a mechanic in the racing department at Astons back then, filled me in on the details. Seems no one had any experience working with fibreglass so they were starting from scratch. The only completed body was extremely heavy and had no door or bonnet openings, it was fitted to a chassis but never went on the road. Astons were more adept at building alloyed bodied cars so the "plastic" DB3S sat unfinished at the Feltham works for a number of years. David Brown was having trouble with the union that controlled the panelbeaters so fiberglass was a cost effective alternative he explored while negotiations continued with the union.

After the team's DB3S race cars were wrecked at Le Mans in 1954, they removed the glass body from DB3S/5 and fitted a used alloy body to the chassis to continue racing that season. AM never used fibreglass again.

Two years later and Buchanan's body first appeared a much more professional job than the factory effort. Aston Martin never found out about the fibreglass wonder from Down Under!

DB3S/5 continued its racing career as a team car with wins at Goodwood with Moss in 1956, 1st at Silverstone, a 2nd at Spa and another win at Aintree with Salvadori who now owned the car after buying it from Aston. In 1958 it was involved in a fatal crash at the Gosport Speed Trials where Alan Overton perished after driving it into the sea. It was pulled out of the mud by Bob Owen and rebuilt with a new body found lying on a shelf at the factory. The distinctive front end was style by Carrozzeria of Touring and in this form found its way into the movie as the "Bellini".

In 1981 Bill Lake dispensed with the Touring front end and had a new body made in the style of the 1955 works specification. It passed on to Erich Traber of Switzerland who retains it to this day using it in the Mille Miglia Retro and other historic events.


Moss winning with DB3S/5 at Goodwood

A shot from the movie showing the "Bellini: name

Edited by buchanan holden, 18 October 2009 - 00:32.

[JtP1]

Thank you for the info. Is the photo of Moss in 9046H DB3S/5?

Another aside on early glaas fibre is that the fellow who apparently set up the Lotus glass fibre shop started off repairing Glasgow Corporation buses, which used a GF moulding ends on the upper deck

[buchanan holden]

Thank you for the info. Is the photo of Moss in 9046H DB3S/5?

Another aside on early glaas fibre is that the fellow who apparently set up the Lotus glass fibre shop started off repairing Glasgow Corporation buses, which used a GF moulding ends on the upper deck

Yes it is Moss in DB3S/5 winning at Goodwood.

[hipperson]

'....Forget the ID of the Aston Martin. Can anybody ID the driver in this photo? Is is The Stig or Le Pilote Sans Visage?

Stirling usually makes himself pretty accessible to fans at Goodwood, so it isn't dificult to get a decent photo or an autograph. So £800 to £1000 for this photo seems a little optimistic........'


In reply to roger_valentine..

Charity auctions do not exist for 'value' they exist to help others.
A point that has obviously escaped you..............

Last year Jack Sears book made £500............the JYS book £200.......the DCN donated Targa photo £1250.....and so on.

An Online auction we are running this week for the terminally ill children ..the same pattern..new Moss book donated by Alan Henry £200...................we are over £4000.

We are all Lotus owners...maybe you should buy one !

[roger_valentine]

'....Forget the ID of the Aston Martin. Can anybody ID the driver in this photo? Is is The Stig or Le Pilote Sans Visage?

Stirling usually makes himself pretty accessible to fans at Goodwood, so it isn't dificult to get a decent photo or an autograph. So £800 to £1000 for this photo seems a little optimistic........'


In reply to roger_valentine..

Charity auctions do not exist for 'value' they exist to help others.
A point that has obviously escaped you..............

Last year Jack Sears book made £500............the JYS book £200.......the DCN donated Targa photo £1250.....and so on.

An Online auction we are running this week for the terminally ill children ..the same pattern..new Moss book donated by Alan Henry £200...................we are over £4000.

We are all Lotus owners...maybe you should buy one !

No criticism of charity auctions intended, but nobody seems to have picked up on my point that this is a fairly dreadful photo of Stirling Moss. Those big un-Moss-like goggles, the windscreen glare (?) which makes it appear that he is wearing a full-face balaclava (or maybe he is?)

[hipperson]

The photo of Stirling and the Aston made £1,250..the auctioneer was Richard Noble OBE

The purchaser was a classic car restoration company who plan to hang it in their showroom

Our fundraising weekend raised a tad over £30,000 for two children's hospices.

QED !