The time came today for me to get the pics of the rear suspension of the Jenwin for Bob...
One concern I had was that I didn't know what colour the car might be now and whether or not it had been altered a great deal so that I might have trouble finding it. I needn't have worried, as it turned out:
Scrutineered. I walked into the paddock area and immediately I saw the Jenwin being scrutineered by Peter Herlihen.
Peter soon introduced me to the owner, Mick Weston, and I explained my mission to him. "So you want me to take a wheel off for you?" was the thrust of his next statement. He took the car to his area in the paddock and the wheel was soon removed...
Uprights like a Matich. It was all too predictable. At that time Bob's cars always had rear uprights with three cone-like structures welded onto the bearing carrier. Mick has subsequently braced between the lower two cones.
...and I got the pic Bob needed to jog his memory. I was able to look over some of the other changes which have been made to the car and Mick explained about the crashes and repairs it has sustained since the original owner sold it. Barry Badger was the next owner, racing it as the 'Leyford', and he managed to flip it under the bridge at Surfers. He was almost finished repairing it when Mick bought it, but Mick soon found that its handling was atrocious and he pulled it apart again and found one corner of the chassis well out of alignment.
On the track. It's still sufficiently like the original to be recognised. The Leyland V8 went into the car before Badger owned it.
Mick explained to me that he's now built three trailers to haul the car around. The 45 years he's owned it haven't all been good to him and he's had to sell two of the trailers to stay afloat. No, he wasn't selling the car!
And he also mentioned that the family of Don Jenkins have repeatedly asked him to sell it to them as it has sentimental value to them. I think a lot of Rennmax owners might say that.
No plans to sell! Despite offers, Mick will not be tempted to sell the Jenwin-Leyland. Totally understandable, really.
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Edited by Ray Bell, Yesterday, 21:18.
