22 replies to this topic

[Gary C]

Just leafing (again!) through Andrew Fergusons' glorious book ‘Team Lotus At Indianapolis’.
The photo on page 169 got me thinking. This picture shows a pitlane shot of Parenelli Jones in the no.40 ‘Silent Sam’ car, Andy Granatelli, ‘Chunky’ Chapman and Jim Clark in the type 56. I’m just wondering which ACTUAL chassis Jim tested that March. At the back of the book, the overview doesn’t mention Jim’s runs in either of the 4 chassis. Anyone??? And of course, any pics of Jim in the STP-liveried 56 would be just brilliant………………

[dolomite]

Have a look at page 173, Gary....

Crombac's 'Turbine Grand Prix' has several colour pics of Clark with the car in the pit lane, but nothing on track.

[Magee]

Gary,
Have you looked at what Mike Lawrence has in his book "Colin Chapman: Wayward Genius"? There are photos there of the Indianapolis racing.

[Marc]

By seeing new thread, I said myself, hourrah! I finally go to see pics of Clark with lotus 56 in action ! Unfortunately, pics of Jimmy Clark and Mike Spence with lotus 56 in action are indiscoverable, do they exist ?? I look for it for a long time...

[Gerr]

Ran across an interesting bit of Clark/Turbine info, Not quite in the theme of this thread, from an article titled "Tire Tests (and other oddities) in the 1980 Hungness yearbook.

"Car #40, the soon-to-be-legend STP Turbine, made its first Speedway bow ( March 1967 ) with potential permanent driver Parnelli Jones at the wheel. PJ hit 162 mph with the monster, then turned the controls over to Jim Clark and left for Sebring. Clark upped the speed level to 163.2, having nothing but praise for the machine. Parnelli officially signed to drive #40 in the May classic soon afterward."

Later the same year:

"To protest the 1968 turbine specifications (15.99 inch annulus area), Andy Granatelli brought car 40 back to Indy for a December test. Deliberately cutting the original 23.99 annulus down to the new limit resulted in a 161 top mark for driver Jim Clark."

Has anyone got a photo of Clark in the STP 40 ?

[T54]

I don't think Jimmy ever drove it with the number on it. I searched the EMS pictures a few years and they had no pictures with the number. All the books show pics of Jimmy in the virgin car. And he was only there one day, so the conclusion has to be that this was it, unless someone comes up with more evidence. However it SEEMS logical that the car tested would be #1...

T54

[DOHC]

To my knowledge, Jim's car never had any number of it. I have seen two pictures of Jim and the 56: one where he stands bewside it together with Parnelli Jones and Andy Granatelli, the other when Jim is in the car, Parnelli is in the previous year's Paxton turbine car and Granatelli stands next to them. That's the same picture as on the cover of Granatelli's book They call me Mr 500.

The only picture of Spence's car (#30) I have found on the web is the wrecked car.

Material on the web isn't always reliable though. I have also found a picture of a 56 (#20) claimed to show Mario Andretti in the 56. But as far as I can see it's Art Pollard, who drove the #20. Surely Mario Andretti never tested a 56, did he?

I have tried to find the website with the claimed Andretti pic but couldn't find it again. Fortunately, I have downloaded that picture earlier as I am interested in the history of the 56. If anyone is interested in seeing this pic, please send me a PM and I can mail it. But don't be disappointed if all you see in it is Art Pollard.

[dolomite]

Originally posted by dolomite
Have a look at page 173, Gary....

For those who don't have the book, Andrew Ferguson states that the car tested by Clark in March 1968 was 56/2. This was the one that was later to be crashed fatally by Mike Spence and then subsequently converted into the 56B F1 car, in which form it survives today at Donington.

[T54]

The only picture of Spence's car (#30) I have found on the web is the wrecked car.

The Floyd Clymer's Indy Year Book has some pictures of all four cars.

T54

[GIGLEUX]

Not so virgin afterall!!

[DOHC]

Clark in the 1967 Paxton turbine!

Is that the "December test" in car #40 mentioned above? If so, it's 1967.

[Marc]

Woaw ! Great picture, GiGLEUX Thanks !

[Henri Greuter]

About the Gigleux picture,


I am not so sure if this is Clark!
If so, then this is a 1968 picture of him in the car because this is definitely the 1968 version (at least for sure the version after the 1967 race!!!) of `Silent Sam`, eventually rejected by Parnelli Jones and crashed by Joe Leonard in practice.
The giveaway is the nose scoop, the Pre-May and May 1967 version didn't have that, the air intake was with a NACA shape inspired duct within the nose.
But I am not sure if Clark ever drove the 1968 car ( or Post-May 1967 car) too, he did drive the 1967 version before Parnelli was assigned to it.



Henri Greuter

[GIGLEUX]

Here Clark with the Lotus 56 for its first outing at Indy during private tests organized by Firestone.

About my preceding picture: Henri I'm sure it is Clark but you are right, it is the modified version of the car, after Indy 67, in december I presume.

[Marc]

Thanks ...

[David Lawson]

The picture of Clark in the Paxton is in Gerard Crombac's "Turbine Grand Prix" and other photos in the book show the 56 and the Paxton with the later nose intake together in the pitlane during the test in March 1968. I think this is the correct date rather than December 67.

David

[Henri Greuter]

Thanks for straighten things out Gigleux and David!

BTW, great shot of Clark in the Lotus. Simple car to see but awesome beautiful in its simplicity.
And yes dear Lotus Freaks, I only call the shape of the car simple, other than that I rate it as one of the top 10 cars in technical marvels ever at any track.


Henri Greuter

[DOHC]

Thanks for that beautiful picture, Gigleux!

Henri: I agree! (Although I think that the car looks even better without the rear view mirrors, like in this test.)

BTW, did Clark set any unofficial time (or rather, speed) in that March 1968 test?

[David Lawson]

DOHC

To quote from Crombac

"No very spectacular lap time was achieved, but this was at the time when the court case was going on a few miles from the test track, and it would have been insane to break records and therefore prove that USAC was right in curtailing the performance of the turbines".

David

[DOHC]

Interesting, thanks!

[barrykm]

Great pictures..

Whenever I see pictures of Jimmy in the 56 turbine I always feel that we really missed out on the next and undoubtedly great phase of his driving career.

[GIGLEUX]

During that test Clark reallized 256 km/h (159,105 mph) but it was the first time the car turned and as quoted Granatelli did'nt want the real potential of the car to be unveiled. For the race itself Joe Leonard qualified at 171,599 mph, Graham Hill at 171,208 and Art Pollard at 166,297. For me the most beautiful design of Chapman! But only a personnal view!

[DOHC]

Originally posted by GIGLEUX
For me the most beautiful design of Chapman! But only a personnal view!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! But I'd say you have excellent taste!