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Longbacon photos sought


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#1 EDWARD FITZGERALD

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Posted 25 August 2010 - 22:31

Writing in the Irish magazine Motoring Life OCT 59, Colin Carter reports that English visitor N. Moores ,in a 948cc Longbacon , the special consisted of a Lotus chassis, powered by a tuned BMC 'A' type engine, with a neat 2 seater body,the rear half of which was lotus . Moores won both the open handicap final and the Production Sports Car Handicap at the meeting , N Moores is presumably Nigel Moores of Longbacon Engineering in Liverpool , has anyone a photo of the car and what Lotus was used as a basis ?

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#2 Michael Oliver

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Posted 26 August 2010 - 20:31

Writing in the Irish magazine Motoring Life OCT 59, Colin Carter reports that English visitor N. Moores ,in a 948cc Longbacon , the special consisted of a Lotus chassis, powered by a tuned BMC 'A' type engine, with a neat 2 seater body,the rear half of which was lotus . Moores won both the open handicap final and the Production Sports Car Handicap at the meeting , N Moores is presumably Nigel Moores of Longbacon Engineering in Liverpool , has anyone a photo of the car and what Lotus was used as a basis ?


I knew there were some bells ringing somewhere in my head about this - I covered it in Tales from the Toolbox p72! Arthur 'Butty' Birchall, who became a leading mechanic for Team Lotus, particularly on the Indy side of things, started off his career as a mechanic working for Littlewoods Pools as an apprentice. Nigel Moores from the family that owned Littlewoods decided he wanted to race a Lotus Seven but Lotus wouldn't sell him one, so he built his own, called the Longbacon Mk 1. They built the chassis themselves in the Littlewoods Pools garage and it had a coupe-type body in rolled aluminium. He said they did some races at Aintree and Oulton Park and then he left go and work for someone else. So, according to Butty, it wasn't a Lotus chassis, although it could well have been a good copy. On the other hand, you wouldn't have thought Moores would have had a problem getting hold of a chassis and other parts from somewhere other than Lotus...so maybe the chassis was all Lotus.

Michael


#3 Simon Hadfield

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Posted 26 August 2010 - 20:46

There is a photo of the Longbacon on page 69 of Bernard Cowdray's book, Formula Junior the complete A-Z, and the accompanying story is a little different!

#4 EDWARD FITZGERALD

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Posted 26 August 2010 - 20:49

There is a photo of the Longbacon on page 69 of Bernard Cowdray's book, Formula Junior the complete A-Z, and the accompanying story is a little different!


many thanks for your replies.

#5 Michael Oliver

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Posted 26 August 2010 - 22:11

There is a photo of the Longbacon on page 69 of Bernard Cowdray's book, Formula Junior the complete A-Z, and the accompanying story is a little different!

Simon

Do tell! You've got me intrigued now...

Michael


#6 bradbury west

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Posted 26 August 2010 - 22:24

The Longbacon which I recall was an open car rather than a coupe, rather like a Terrier/Yimkin style, driven by Paul ? Kelly. Longbacon Eng was a different outfit IIRC, and without checking it, coming down to Rufforth etc from somewhere over near Newton Stewart .
Roger Lund

#7 David McKinney

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 05:20

Paul Kelly was Nigel Moores's mechanic, and often lent his name to the guv'nor for racing purposes...

#8 Michael Oliver

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 06:53

The Longbacon which I recall was an open car rather than a coupe, rather like a Terrier/Yimkin style, driven by Paul ? Kelly. Longbacon Eng was a different outfit IIRC, and without checking it, coming down to Rufforth etc from somewhere over near Newton Stewart .
Roger Lund

Perhaps they chopped the top off it later on? Or perhaps my mechanic's recollection is wrong then? Photos anyone?!


#9 bradbury west

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 07:27

ISTR that DCN did a piece some time back on disposing of the Moores' collection, and Paul Kelly's role there.
Roger Lund

#10 bill p

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 12:31

Writing in the Irish magazine Motoring Life OCT 59, Colin Carter reports that English visitor N. Moores ,in a 948cc Longbacon , the special consisted of a Lotus chassis, powered by a tuned BMC 'A' type engine, with a neat 2 seater body,the rear half of which was lotus . Moores won both the open handicap final and the Production Sports Car Handicap at the meeting , N Moores is presumably Nigel Moores of Longbacon Engineering in Liverpool , has anyone a photo of the car and what Lotus was used as a basis ?

Could this be it?? Hint of Lotus 6 or 7 but bulkhead and bonnet look different, note louvred front wings. Photo copyright Bill Patterson

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#11 Simon Hadfield

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 16:36

That looks like it, but the Cowdray book shows it with a different tail - an 11 headrest shape tail but with the overwheel sections cut away. This he states was Longbacon 1, based on Lotus 11/201. He mentions Longbacon 2 which he suggests was a "Climax engined GT" and which appeared in 1960. The story of the re-naming was , according to Cowdray, that Chapman refused to sell Moores a replacement nose badge....

#12 bradbury west

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 16:40

Bill, in all probability it is the Longbacon sports car. Morris 1000 reg 353 AKB was a car which I know was used to tow their small cars. If anyone knows James Allen, ex ITV f1 chap, his father Bill was a big pal of Nigel Moores, I believe, so there may be some family archives.
Roger Lund

Edited by bradbury west, 27 August 2010 - 16:59.


#13 bill p

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 17:15

Bill, in all probability it is the Longbacon sports car. Morris 1000 reg 353 AKB was a car which I know was used to tow their small cars. If anyone knows James Allen, ex ITV f1 chap, his father Bill was a big pal of Nigel Moores, I believe, so there may be some family archives.
Roger Lund


Yep, definitely the Longbacon at Long Kesh racetrack in N.Ireland 19 September 1959 as confirmed by fellow TNeffer, Simon Thomas.

Interesting sidebar on the Nigel Moores' Minor, "Ever the enterprising driver, he once found himself at the Nurburgring after qualifying with a racing car that could not start the race. Not wanting to go home without a drive, he took the tow-hitch and bumpers off his tow car – a Morris Minor – and raced that instead!" - taken from descriptive on the ex-Moores D-Type XKD 509 when being auctioned by Bonhams

#14 Rupertlt1

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Posted 17 January 2014 - 16:11

7th Members Meeting, Aintree, 20 June 1959

Event 8 - Scratch Race

(For sports cars up to 1000 c.c. o.h.v. and 1200 c.c. sidevalve.)

1st N. Moores (Longbacon) 9 min 34.2 sec, 71.97 m.ph.

 

8th Members Meeting, Aintree, 29 August 1959

Event 8 - Scratch Race

(For sports cars up to 1000 c.c. o.h.v. and 1200 c.c. sidevalve.)

1st N. Moores (Longbacon) 9 min 33.4 sec, 72.08 m.ph.



#15 Charles Helps

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Posted 19 January 2014 - 17:32

These photos were sent to me about five years ago by a member of the family of the then-current owner.  The car had by then been rebuilt as a Lotus Eleven.

 

The first two show the car in the two different guises mentioned above. 

 

12033459434_6ff612eb7f_c.jpg

 

12033089685_d4ec15971e_c.jpg

 

The next two are at events, identification of this one welcomed...

12033457384_277c5eb83d_c.jpg

 

and this one that came with the comment "the one showing the car outside a cafe is at Brighton Speed Trials and that's Paul Kelly standing next to the car"

12033091545_78a2e71181_c.jpg



#16 bradbury west

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Posted 19 January 2014 - 20:12

Charles, this is probably wrong, but the oil drums, the sparse bales and the secure spectator protection provided by a length of rope brings Rufforth to mind. The change of direction from one runway to another fits, but the hangars etc will probably be a good guide for those with a better idea.
Roger Lund

Edit. Wonderful photos, btw, many thanks. RL

Edited by bradbury west, 19 January 2014 - 20:13.


#17 Rupertlt1

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Posted 19 January 2014 - 20:44

The car is listed at Brighton Speed Trials, 5 September 1959:

Class 3, Sports Cars up to 1200cc, #187 Nigel Moores, Long-Bacon, 948 cc

Class 7, Ladies Sports Car Class - Unlimited, #251 N.F. Moores, Driver Josephine Miller, Long-Bacon, 948 cc



#18 Charles Helps

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:43

Thanks Roger and Rupert.

 

The second picture in post 15 above presumably shows the car in single-seater configuration for Formula Junior.

 

Nigel Moores raced at Rufforth at least once, winning his class in September 1959 according to this report http://www.mountgree...th_26th_Sep.jpg that I found via the So what about Rufforth? thread http://forums.autosp...-about-rufforth


Edited by Charles Helps, 22 January 2014 - 10:01.


#19 Charles Helps

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Posted 18 August 2018 - 11:32

Has anyone come across any photos of Longbacon Mk II, a red coupe raced in 1960 according to this article in MotorSport?

 

https://media.motors...961/full/17.jpg



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#20 Charles Helps

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Posted 24 October 2018 - 17:49

N. Moores raced at Brands Hatch on 29th June 1958 with a Lotus Eleven, racing number 93.  The meeting was organised by the Trio Clubs (750 MC, Club Lotus and 250 MRC). 

He ran in 3 races:

Race Four for 1172 c.c. Lotus Elevens and Sevens,

Race Eleven, 1172 Formula Sports Cars Heat 3 5 laps where he finished 3rd according to the marked up copy of the programme I have seen.

and I believe he took part in the 1172 Final, Race Seventeen, 7 laps (73 is listed twice in the marked up programme and I think that one of them was 93).

 

In the Chapman Cup results for the 1172 championship N. Moores is listed with 4 points.  The points system appears to be 10 for a win, 9 for 2nd place and down to 2 for 9th.  1 point was probably awarded to finishers: there were at least nine drivers awarded 1 point for that race meeting.

 

There is a George Phillips photo of what appears to be race 4 https://library.revs...ion=p17257coll1 .  I think that Moores is in the white Eleven with the full width screen on the outside of the track just starting to turn into Paddock Bend in front of the Shell grandstand.  There may be another photo of the same car in the Pjillips collection for that day but the car is too small in the photo to be sure.

 

1958 was the final year that the Lotus Nines and Elevens were eligible to compete in the 750 Motor Club's 1172 championship.  When Moores had his accident at Snetterton in August (probably at the 250 MC organised meeting on 3rd August) he may well have decided not to rebuild the car as an Eleven but to create what became the Longbacon I.

I don't have programmes for the previous two races in June: Oulton Park on 7th June and Silverstone on 28th June - it is possible that Moores competed in one of these 1172 races.



#21 terry mcgrath

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Posted 03 November 2018 - 22:40

nigel moores in later years when chasing and buying D types used the name Longbacon engineering



#22 Doug Nye

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Posted 03 November 2018 - 22:50

I remember Nigel Moores explaining to me that he chose the 'Longbacon' name from the Lancashire saying "making longbacon at the mayor" - in other words thumbing one's nose at authority or at established custom - cocking a snook is another English saying which refers to the same thing.  Nigel love winding up authority, especially the self-appointed kind that one encounters so often around the racing circuits of the world. 

 

DCN



#23 Charles Helps

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Posted 23 January 2020 - 15:55

This is an awfully long URL but I'm pretty sure that's the Longbacon 1 coming round the curve starting at about 8:24.

https://drive.google...75nuSHaIp/view?

 

Racing Number 83

 

Marvellous footage of Rufforth anyway


Edited by Charles Helps, 23 January 2020 - 15:58.


#24 Michael Oliver

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Posted 25 January 2020 - 13:13

"Longbacon Special. The famous Ex Moore's B.M.C. road racing car is now available. This car gained 18 awards out of 20 consecutive events. Full details and demonstration on application." David Buxton Ltd, Derby. Autosport 30th June 1961 p885.