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Mostly unsuccessful.
The fly in the ointment is that my racing days ended in 1996, when I realised that I not only couldn't really afford it, but wasn't that great either, and amongst the carrier bags and shoeboxes full of old photographs, I could find just two of me racing, presumably taken by ex-wife version 2.0, at what looks like Snetterton in the mid 1970s. I will see what I can do regarding internet photos of similar cars to mine (much more difficult than with road cars), and bring in a few photos of cars which I helped others to develop and race, particularly in more recent times, more images of which I have in digital form on the cloud.
The first, an Austin based special which looked a bit like a Lotus Mk6, if one had really terrible eyesight, and squinted. Pic later, if I can find something in the ether.
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Last Edit: Dec 8, 2021 8:58:04 GMT by etypephil
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Here's one, apparently a barn find
This one seems to have a spaceframe chassis, mine didn't, it was built straight onto a (slightly) stiffened Austin 7 chassis. It did have twin SU carburettors and a seat. £5 from the Exchange and Mart. I was going to be the next Jim Clarke, or John Gott in this, despite not being from a wealthy family, nor a Chief Constable, nor having much talent. I entered sprints regularly on MOD land somewhere near Sevenoaks around 1969 / 1970, with a resounding lack of success, being slaughtered by standard road cars such as Sprites and Spitfires, although I didn't always get slowest time of day.
Period advert for the body:
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This sounds interesting. I really enjoyed reading the book Building and Racing My '750' and there's another one I've got along the same sort of lines [edit: it’s called One Off], so this is right up my street!
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Last Edit: Dec 20, 2021 8:22:29 GMT by Jonny69
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My step mother's brother was a moderately successful amateur racer (John? Birchnall), guiding me through a start in circuit racing, and loaning me his "old" car, a Lola which I had taken to be a Lotus XI when I had first seen it some years previously, not his, but very similar:
I raced it at Brands Hatch (which was very close to where we lived), in 1970 / 71, abandoning the idea of racing as the financial realities of marriage, mortgage and sprog started to bite.
Sprinting and hillclimbing, with something like a Terrier, seemed to be the answer; cheaper, less formal, and not at risk of one's "investment" being destroyed by somebody else's error:
It was fitted with a Ford 1,500cc pre crossflow engine, which was a pita most of the time. I sprinted it at various locations, whenever and wherever I could afford the entry fees, parts for the poxy engine, tyres, and other costs involved. It seemed to me that sprints and hillclimbs, although on the face of it inexpensive, as motorsport goes, was actually more costly per racing mile and minute, than circuit racing which is what I really wanted to do.
Divorce #1 sealed its fate, and I sold it.
By then (1975) I was quite well known in Jaguar circles as having a talent for fixing them, and making them go better, mostly because I badgered Jaguar's technical department, then available to anyone taking the trouble to phone them, whenever I wanted to know something, or try something new.
I became friendly with one John Pearson, and helped prepare the XK120 which he raced in Modsports.
Well it looked a bit like an XK120, had an XK120 chassis, converted to coil over damper rear suspension with longitudinal and lateral locating links, rack and pinion steering, a triple 45DCOE weber equipped, but otherwise fairly standard, 3.8 E-Type engine,
and a GRP approximation of the Jaguar body.
The car cost less than £1,000 to build, but was so successful that it embarrassed dealer sponsored current model 911s on the circuits.
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Last Edit: Dec 12, 2021 8:31:08 GMT by etypephil: Lame typing, followed by even more lame proof reading.
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Dec 12, 2021 10:36:59 GMT
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Very cool. I happened to have pics of that XK120 on my computer already ( and a lot more if it was red at some point...)  |
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Dec 12, 2021 10:48:14 GMT
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Very cool. I happened to have pics of that XK120 on my computer already ( and a lot more if it was red at some point...) The red one may have been John’s later XK140; very much along the lines of the earlier car, but living overseas, I had lost touch with him by then. |
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Dec 12, 2021 12:48:17 GMT
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See, told you we'd be interested in this thread,
😁😁
Nigel
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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Dec 12, 2021 13:25:31 GMT
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See, told you we'd be interested in this thread, 😁😁 Nigel Apparently, although there must be many here who have done more than I, and probably with far greater success.😎 |
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Dec 12, 2021 16:01:47 GMT
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The red Lola is gorgeous
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John's ultra light XK inspired me to attempt a similar (ish) excercise with an E-type, using a rusted out early FHC as a mechanical donor, grafting the rear of an Elva? spaceframe to the Jaguar engine bay frames:
Light the running chassis was (less than 600kgs, most of which was engine and gearbox), testing at RAF Northolt revealed that this was a really bad idea, and I abandoned the project before spending money on plastic panelwork.
Much better was the lightened Jaguar structure of this one:
My next attempt at circuit racing involved a real Lotus:
tail end Charlie, just for a change, somewhere I have a photo taken by my then wife, of me hitting the Armco in it with pieces of car airborne. If I can find it, I'll post it for entertainment value.
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The demise of the Lotus, courtesy of the Snetterton Armco and my ambition exceeding my skill, gave me a profit by breaking the car for parts, and a reminder that ordinary people with family responsibilities don't go motor racing for a reason; they can't afford it, so I "retired" for a few years.
I had a relatively wealthy customer, who one might describe as a "gentlemen farmer"; always pleading poverty, yet living in a Georgian mansion surrounded by several hundred acres, buying his Jaguars and Range Rovers new every other year. He also fancied himself as a latter day Ian Appleyard and had an XK120 which he wanted to use for "a bit of fun". It was delivered to my workshop with instructions to make it as quick and reliable as possible for sprints, hillclimbs, classic rallying, and sports car racing. A tall order as some of the requirements are mutually exclusive. Essentially, I fitted rack and pinion steering from an XK140, disc brakes from an XK150, the engine from a 3.8 E-type, and removed all non essentials to reduce weight. The deal was that he entered whatever he fancied, I
did whatever I perceived appropriate, letting him know in advance if the
bill was likely to exceed £xxxx, transported the car to the event and supported him there. It was great; the preparation I found more satisfying than the driving in any case, and someone else with apparently limitless funds was picking up the tab. Not a single photo in my meagre collection, and Peter is long since dead so I can't ask him.
My next foray involved the GT6 mentioned in my road car thread, which led to this one.
I eventually rebuilt it as a pure racer
paying a lot of attention to brakes, suspension, and aerodynamics, removing external seams, gutters and making subtle shape changes. At great expense and with endless grief, I contested the TWMC Lydden Sports Car Championship with it in 1996, became disillusioned with it and sold it on.
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After a 17 year break from racing, much of it spent mooching around Europe doing a bit of this and a bit of that, I settled back in Colchester, car dealing and doing a few repairs when they came my way. I landed a sub contract for a restoration company, which also had a small racing team comprised of one of the bosses, and a couple of customers, entered in the "Swinging Sixties" series. My involvement in this was limited to a bit of preparation, fabrication, and race day support.
Two of the cars:
MGC fitted with independent rear suspension using afair, a Sierra differential, all housed in a really neat tubular frame which bolted to the standard suspension pick up points.
MGB, about which I remember almost nothing.
The subbing was not an entirely happy arrangement, and I quickly moved on.
My final prep job being making an exhaust and sorting out a few niggles on this Rally MG Maestro, run by a Flight Lieutenant based in Colchester.
Apart from still being a registered race marshall, that was almost certainly my final motorsport involvement.
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smith4
Part of things
Posts: 268 
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Jan 15, 2022 12:53:32 GMT
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My step mother's brother was a moderately successful amateur racer (John? Birchnall), guiding me through a start in circuit racing, and loaning me his "old" car, a Lola which I had taken to be a Lotus XI when I had first seen it some years previously, not his, but very similar: I raced it at Brands Hatch (which was very close to where we lived), in 1970 / 71, abandoning the idea of racing as the financial realities of marriage, mortgage and sprog started to bite. Sprinting and hillclimbing, with something like a Terrier, seemed to be the answer; cheaper, less formal, and not at risk of one's "investment" being destroyed by somebody else's error:
It was fitted with a Ford 1,500cc pre crossflow engine, which was a pita most of the time. I sprinted it at various locations, whenever and wherever I could afford the entry fees, parts for the poxy engine, tyres, and other costs involved. It seemed to me that sprints and hillclimbs, although on the face of it inexpensive, as motorsport goes, was actually more costly per racing mile and minute, than circuit racing which is what I really wanted to do. Divorce #1 sealed its fate, and I sold it. By then (1975) I was quite well known in Jaguar circles as having a talent for fixing them, and making them go better, mostly because I badgered Jaguar's technical department, then available to anyone taking the trouble to phone them, whenever I wanted to know something, or try something new.
I became friendly with one John Pearson, and helped prepare the XK120 which he raced in Modsports.
Well it looked a bit like an XK120, had an XK120 chassis, converted to coil over damper rear suspension with longitudinal and lateral locating links, rack and pinion steering, a triple 45DCOE weber equipped, but otherwise fairly standard, 3.8 E-Type engine,
and a GRP approximation of the Jaguar body. The car cost less than £1,000 to build, but was so successful that it embarrassed dealer sponsored current model 911s on the circuits.
I do like this Modsport XK120. Did it become red at some point? |
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smith4
Part of things
Posts: 268
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Jan 15, 2022 12:59:42 GMT
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The demise of the Lotus, courtesy of the Snetterton Armco and my ambition exceeding my skill, gave me a profit by breaking the car for parts, and a reminder that ordinary people with family responsibilities don't go motor racing for a reason; they can't afford it, so I "retired" for a few years.
I had a relatively wealthy customer, who one might describe as a "gentlemen farmer"; always pleading poverty, yet living in a Georgian mansion surrounded by several hundred acres, buying his Jaguars and Range Rovers new every other year. He also fancied himself as a latter day Ian Appleyard and had an XK120 which he wanted to use for "a bit of fun". It was delivered to my workshop with instructions to make it as quick and reliable as possible for sprints, hillclimbs, classic rallying, and sports car racing. A tall order as some of the requirements are mutually exclusive. Essentially, I fitted rack and pinion steering from an XK140, disc brakes from an XK150, the engine from a 3.8 E-type, and removed all non essentials to reduce weight. The deal was that he entered whatever he fancied, I
did whatever I perceived appropriate, letting him know in advance if the
bill was likely to exceed £xxxx, transported the car to the event and supported him there. It was great; the preparation I found more satisfying than the driving in any case, and someone else with apparently limitless funds was picking up the tab. Not a single photo in my meagre collection, and Peter is long since dead so I can't ask him.
My next foray involved the GT6 mentioned in my road car thread, which led to this one.
I eventually rebuilt it as a pure racer paying a lot of attention to brakes, suspension, and aerodynamics, removing external seams, gutters and making subtle shape changes. At great expense and with endless grief, I contested the TWMC Lydden Sports Car Championship with it in 1996, became disillusioned with it and sold it on.
Also, was this GT6 silver before it went yellow? I think I've seen it on the internet - I was searching for Modsport GT6s at the time. Great thread by the way, I have enjoyed it. Love proper racing cars from the 60s/70s. The wheels on the GT6 are great too - can you remember if they were the 3.75" pcd, or did you change the hubs and therefore the wheels were a different pcd? I think a number of cars used the Triumph/early Lotus pcd in previously, including Formula Ford, but light/split rim wheels like this are more difficult to find in the Triumph pcd now. Thanks |
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Jan 15, 2022 15:37:48 GMT
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It was interesting to read that you went hillclimbing and sprinting to avoid other peoples "mistakes" hitting you....that was one of the reasons that I chose to go drag racing, starting in 1973.
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Jan 15, 2022 20:49:19 GMT
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The demise of the Lotus, courtesy of the Snetterton Armco and my ambition exceeding my skill, gave me a profit by breaking the car for parts, and a reminder that ordinary people with family responsibilities don't go motor racing for a reason; they can't afford it, so I "retired" for a few years.
I had a relatively wealthy customer, who one might describe as a "gentlemen farmer"; always pleading poverty, yet living in a Georgian mansion surrounded by several hundred acres, buying his Jaguars and Range Rovers new every other year. He also fancied himself as a latter day Ian Appleyard and had an XK120 which he wanted to use for "a bit of fun". It was delivered to my workshop with instructions to make it as quick and reliable as possible for sprints, hillclimbs, classic rallying, and sports car racing. A tall order as some of the requirements are mutually exclusive. Essentially, I fitted rack and pinion steering from an XK140, disc brakes from an XK150, the engine from a 3.8 E-type, and removed all non essentials to reduce weight. The deal was that he entered whatever he fancied, I
did whatever I perceived appropriate, letting him know in advance if the
bill was likely to exceed £xxxx, transported the car to the event and supported him there. It was great; the preparation I found more satisfying than the driving in any case, and someone else with apparently limitless funds was picking up the tab. Not a single photo in my meagre collection, and Peter is long since dead so I can't ask him.
My next foray involved the GT6 mentioned in my road car thread, which led to this one.
I eventually rebuilt it as a pure racer paying a lot of attention to brakes, suspension, and aerodynamics, removing external seams, gutters and making subtle shape changes. At great expense and with endless grief, I contested the TWMC Lydden Sports Car Championship with it in 1996, became disillusioned with it and sold it on.
I do like this Modsport XK120. Did it become red at some point? Also, was this GT6 silver before it went yellow? I think I've seen it on the internet - I was searching for Modsport GT6s at the time. Great thread by the way, I have enjoyed it. Love proper racing cars from the 60s/70s. The wheels on the GT6 are great too - can you remember if they were the 3.75" pcd, or did you change the hubs and therefore the wheels were a different pcd? I think a number of cars used the Triumph/early Lotus pcd in previously, including Formula Ford, but light/split rim wheels like this are more difficult to find in the Triumph pcd now. Thanks As far as I know, the red XK was a later XK140, also raced by John much later.
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Jan 15, 2022 21:14:28 GMT
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The wheels on the GT6 are great too - can you remember if they were the 3.75" pcd, or did you change the hubs and therefore the wheels were a different pcd? I think a number of cars used the Triumph/early Lotus pcd in previously, including Formula Ford, but light/split rim wheels like this are more difficult to find in the Triumph pcd now. Thanks The wheel PCD was the original Triumph 3.75". I have no idea where one might find anything similar now.
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smith4
Part of things
Posts: 268
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Thanks[/quote] As far as I know, the red XK was a later XK140, also raced by John much later. [/quote] That's great, thanks so much. |
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smith4
Part of things
Posts: 268
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The wheel PCD was the original Triumph 3.75". I have no idea where one might find anything similar now.
Thank-you - Racecarsdirect has some lovely wheels on there!! I will have a look, cheers. |
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