13 replies to this topic

[Mistron]

I've just picked up a set of panels for a Chevron B8. They have been heavily modified and subsequently crashed, so i'm not sure what I'll do with them, but hey ho!

They have had a prominent 'chin' spoiler moulded into the front, wider wheel arches (the original narrower arches remain underneath) and what looks like a petrol filler hole on the front panel

It looks like it has suffered a frontal impact as there is damage to the front edge and the rear edges of the front panel which looks like it may have occurred when the panel distorted, ripping off the mountings.

The rear has had flared arches grafted on, and whilst has some localised damage from storage, it's in better shape.

I understand that the panels were abandoned on the property of Allan MacGreggor many years ago by a friend of his, but I'm not sure who this was. I bought them from a friend of his who discovered them in a bush behind a shed, and had plans to build a 'special'

The panels are currently white but I've not had a chance to have a proper look at them to see if other colours lurk beneath.

I'll post some photos in the next few days, but does anyone recognise the description? I'm curious to know which car they came off.

Oh, and following the path of the Lotus 30 thread, I feel I should emphasise from the off that I only have the 2 panels, no chassis, no ID and I am not in any way suggesting that I have any claim to anything other than my own stupidity to take on another project when all I have is a single garage!

I'm interested to know which car and driver they were associated with, but not to make any claim on that history.

[Derwent Motorsport]

Was he the guy who was a proprty developer and owned a numbe rof nice racers about 15 years ago including the BRP BRM but lost hem due to a divorce?

[Mistron]

I'm not 100 sure, but I think so. I got the panels from a guy who was a friend of the family, and who is more into bikes than cars. He mentioned a BRM, and him winning a race at Monaco in the '80s, but wasn't sure on details.

He thought the shell may have belonged to one of the 3 guys that set up the Scottish incarnation of Chevron, but I thought they all raced later cars than B8?

[Allen Brown]

I'm not 100 sure, but I think so. I got the panels from a guy who was a friend of the family, and who is more into bikes than cars. He mentioned a BRM, and him winning a race at Monaco in the '80s, but wasn't sure on details.

He thought the shell may have belonged to one of the 3 guys that set up the Scottish incarnation of Chevron, but I thought they all raced later cars than B8?

Robin Smith was one of that trio and he also raced a B8 - but ten years earlier. Smith's B8 was converted to Spyder spec iirc so that. At be why a set of B8 bodywork was discarded.

[Mistron]

I did read in Graham Gauld's book that Robin Smith raced a B8 Spyder, but I just assumed it was built as such from new, but I suppose that is a possibility. wouldn't cutting the coupe frame down take a lot of the stiffness out of the frame?

[thirtytwo]

30+ years ago in a garage workshop behind Victoria Motors S/H car showroom in New Barnet Herts there was a sports car chassis hanging on the wall was told it was a Gropa any info, just wondered as when B8 threads appear always think of it.

[Giraffe]

The Groupas were re-bodied and the only B8 that I can ever recall being 'chopped' as it were was "Doctor on the Grid" Tony Goodwin who IIRC did it for extra start money at the 'Ring!

[Peter Morley]

Was he the guy who was a proprty developer and owned a numbe rof nice racers about 15 years ago including the BRP BRM but lost hem due to a divorce?

Would that be Marshall Bailey, who also owned JBWs?

[Alan Cox]

The Groupas were re-bodied and the only B8 that I can ever recall being 'chopped' as it were was "Doctor on the Grid" Tony Goodwin who IIRC did it for extra start money at the 'Ring!

Indeed, as Tony's truly excellent autobiography recounts he had noticed tht the 'Ring organisers were paying twice as much start money for open cars so he and his man George arranged to decapitate his B8 and obtained some sponsorship from Redex via one of his patients, and christened the resulting conversion the Redex RPA. Anyone who has a soft spot for the amateur enthusiast who will do anything to pursue his dream to keep racing for racing's sake will be fascinated by the book - Highly recommended.

Sorry to have kept slightly OT

[Mistron]

front 1 by alastairbrownuk, on Flickr


rear 4 by alastairbrownuk, on Flickr


sticker detail by alastairbrownuk, on Flickr

The first one shows the prominent splitter and arches, as well as the darker 'smile' shaped stripe across the front air intakes.
The last shows the only decal which has survived, albeit faded, does anyone recognise the logo? loks very 'space age' / NASA!

sanding through the paint on the front wing top shows that it was originally white, may have had a thin coat of green then been a 'forth bridge' red, possibly grey(or a primer coat) then the current white. rubbing down the spliter shows it was possibly initially the red colour, then grey, then white

Al

Edited by Mistron, 04 March 2012 - 13:59.

[Allen Brown]

Chris Smith has asked me to say on his behalf:

I bought a B8 in France in 79. the body colour was sort of white but maybe light beige...it had a front spoiler and flared arches..could this be its old body?

[Mistron]

on the face of it, possibly. I assume from this that Chris Smith restored that car with a new body?

[Stephen W]

on the face of it, possibly. I assume from this that Chris Smith restored that car with a new body?

Or possibly with a Gropa kit?

[Mistron]

Looking at photos of B8s on flickr, I notice that my rear panel has had a very large rectangle cut into it, rather than it being a smooth panel between the butresses all the way from the rear window to the tail.

Don't want to lift someone elses photo from Flickr to post here to illustrate the point.

I wonder if the car maybe had an engine swap? the big hole might imply a V8? Porsche with a flat fan??? but the rear valence has only one hole which looks to be for an exhaust, which would rather rule out both these options. ?

Simon Hadfield has suggested that Alan Eisner ran in Thundersports in the '80s in a B8 with a big chin spoiler, and with Apollo Racewear sponsorship. Might this 'space age' name tie in with the NASA style logo on the sticker? Does anyone havs a copy of one of their adverts which I believe used to appear in Autosport back in the '80s or recall his car?

I see from P7 of the 'Personal photos of club racing' thread that Apollo racewear had a multi car team of silver Chevrons, with a B16 pictured, but with 'lee Cooper' jeans stickers, rather than Apollo.

Al

Edited by Mistron, 07 March 2012 - 22:48.