Etceterini; Small Italian race cars built from 1937 to 1965

Cliff Reuter gave me permission to enter the Jerry Melton photo collection here on TRS.
He has been pleased with how they have been presented and received and now has given me the OK to attempt to input some of his vast resources and knowledge on the Etceterini collection.
By definition etceterinis are hand made small displacement Italian racing cars which were produced from the late 1940's to the early 1960's. Most of these beautiful cars used Fiat running gear and had their own chassis, hand hammered aluminum bodies, and engines. They raced throughout Europe in races such as the legendary Mille Miglia and also competed heavily in American SCCA racing.
In general, Etceterinis were raced in only two places; in Italy and post war, in the U.S. In Italy to compete in the Italian Championship for sportscars, and in the U.S. to find success in the SCCA’s H modified classes, for many years limited to 750 cc. G modified classes accommodated 1100cc sports racers and there too, one would find a variety of Bandinis, Abarths, and Nardis.
Some etceterini examples.
Attachment 63672

Attachment 63673

Attachment 63674




( Ken H )

The underpinnings of Formula Junior there?

When the desire to race is strong and the wallet is skinny, there has to be an answer and this was obviously one answer.

Keep 'em coming...

Cliff Reuter's site is great reading for the fans of "mobile chicanes".

There were at least 84 different constructors of small displacement racing cars to compete in the Italian National Championship races. . Etcetera, from which the word Etceterini is derived, means ‘and so on’ or ‘and the like’.
I can't cover each constructor but will enter some when time permits. (I am off to get my beauty sleep before the All Black V England game starting at 1 am our time !)
Attachment 63685

Attachment 63686

Attachment 63687

Attachment 63688

Attachment 63689

Attachment 63690


(Ken H)

Ken H .. Etcetera Etceterini .. The All Blacks play 9;00 pm in Aotearoa - the broadcast is on free to air TV and starts at 7;00pm with a lot of preamble - hope I last long enough !! .

The Kiwitahi connection - sent you an Email - will send John Mitchinson [ Mitchison ] a copy of that School List..
The Small world thing - you have dealings with Eric that I met in California in 1982 and your brother was in the same class as John - my companion at Pukekohe and neighbour .. Cheers
Roger

Some Etceterini vehicles on the historic Mille Miglia course 2010-2011.
Beautifully shown in these Hugues Vanhoolandt photos.
Notice how large the occupants appear in these tiny Italian racers !
Attachment 63692

Attachment 63693

Attachment 63694

Attachment 63695

Attachment 63696

Attachment 63697

(Ken H)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Roger Dowding

Ken H .. Etcetera Etceterini .. The All Blacks play 9;00 pm in Aotearoa - the broadcast is on free to air TV and starts at 7;00pm with a lot of preamble - hope I last long enough !! .

The Kiwitahi connection - sent you an Email - will send John Mitchinson [ Mitchison ] a copy of that School List..
The Small world thing - you have dealings with Eric that I met in California in 1982 and your brother was in the same class as John - my companion at Pukekohe and neighbour .. Cheers
Roger

---

Pity about the result Ab's vs my Fathers Team = England .. hope you got to get back to sleep - I did manage to stay the distance here in NZ ..

Cliff Reuter writes; " This magnificent Bandini was produced by the legendary Ilario Bandini. Bandini lovingly created 75 cars by hand from 1946 until 1986. The Siluro (torpedo) had removable fenders and was therefore eligible for both the Italian formula 3 series (open wheel 750 cc) and sports car races such as the Mille Miglia. These little cars also raced in America where they won the SCCA class H Modified national championship in 1955 and 1957. Jack Reuter has owned this example for over 20 years. It features a Bandini 750cc DOHC engine. It is all original".
Attachment 63715

Ilario Bandini driving his 750 Siluro in 1956.
Attachment 63716

An early Bandini 750 engine.
Attachment 63717

A beautiful wee car from any angle.
Attachment 63718




(Ken H )

Ken,
" Bandini 750cc DOHC engine. " That is brilliant - and look at that engine - twincam with style .. Testa Rossa = Red Head.

Attachment 63724

Makes a more Modern take look bland - Bandini has those Glorious Webers hanging off the side of it - compared to all complexities of EFI. 1989 on ..

Attachment 63723

The valve angle is obviously 'old school' and extreme compared to modern engines...

But anyone who does that sort of thing is worthy of commendation.

The second Bandini Siluro built in 1947 now beautifully restored. "The Italian Torpedo".
Attachment 63741

Attachment 63743
( 2008 Autoweek article.)

Only in America !
Not all Bandini Siluros had 750 cc engines as seen here in these 1961 scenes of a slightly modified 1954 Bandini.
Attachment 63758

Attachment 63759

Attachment 63760

Attachment 63761

Attachment 63762

One would have to be brave with the lack of safety features etc. to drive this little beast !

(Ken H )

" Cut and Shut " Nah !! " Cut and stretched " - what a sad fate for a beautiful little car .. but then where else in the world would a single seater Ferrari GP car become a Corvette powered Morris Minor Special ?? Allcomer Saloon
-he was only travelling in a " sort of " straight line.
Where do you find this stuff Ken H ??- supposed to be working I thought .. he he ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_EuVzTiTTM

Give me a break Roger, I get off at 4 pm and did this at about 4.15 pm. CA time.
I'l be 71 in 3 weeks and you guys are all retired, playing lawn bowls, darts or down at the pub,while I struggle away over here trying to put food on the table,so back off. OK.:cool: (Just kidding Roger.)

Anyway here is another Bandini Special.
1953 Bandini Siluro MG 1250cc "Uihlein Special"

The David V. Uihlein Special
" David Uihlein was a sports car enthusiast living in Wisconsin. At the age of 16 he landed a summer job in the Milwaukee shop of racing legends Carl and Tudy Marchese. Following his formal education and an apprenticeship at the family brewing business (Schlitz),
The Uihlein XPAG twin cam engine
The interesting part about the Uihlein special is its engine. The bottom end is an MG TD 1250-cc XPAG unit, chosen for its reliability and also because it was significantly less expensive than an Offy engine. On top of this block sits a hemispherical head with dual overhead camshafts. The head and cam housings are cast in nickel-alloy steel. The stock cam was left in the block to drive the oil pump and distributor while the two overhead camshafts are gear driven. Dual S.U. carburetors feed the fuel mixture to the intake ports on the left side while four ports lead to four straight pipes on the right side of the engine. The hemispherical head allows valves that are approximately 40 percent larger than original. Published reports of the time claimed the Uihlein engine would produce 90-bhp, significantly more than the 54-bhp of a standard XPAG engine, although the compression ratio was not reported. Don Marsh, a Columbus, Ohio racer who drove MGs in the early 1950s remembers seeing the bright purple Uihlein special at a race at Cumberland in the mid-fifties. We were pretty worried about it, with its special engine. But it wasnt very fast and we had no trouble beating it.

David Uihleins intention was to offer a competition model built in Milwaukee to customers and to also provide the twin-cam head in kit form so that others could build their own twin-cam T-types. Neither plan came to fruition. "

Attachment 63763

Attachment 63764

Attachment 63765

Attachment 63766

Some comparison photos of a 1960 "Birdcage" Maserati and a beautiful 1955 Bandini Siluro owned by the Reuter family.
(Cliff Reuter photos )
Attachment 63777

Attachment 63778

Attachment 63779

(Note the tyre width difference )



(Ken H)

" Give me a break Roger, I get off at 4 pm and did this at about 4.15 pm. CA time.
I'l be 71 in 3 weeks and you guys are all retired, playing lawn bowls, darts or down at the pub,while I struggle away over here trying to put food on the table,so back off. OK. (Just kidding Roger.) "

All good Mate

Ken H - I clocked 72 last month and as of today 1st November - have been retired for 5 years - so if you are still doing it -
" what you enjoy "- at 71 Good on You - my last couple of years of work were hard - the people were mainly good but the Corporate Bulldust was not .. My occupation these days [ apart from the Motoring Archives - unpaid ] - is a bit of dog minding and lawnmowing for a lady who travels a bit - pocket money not wages.

Cheers from NZ
Roger D

as the post #15 is full of engines here is another one -not Italian though.

Attachment 63774

The Bandini Siluro was an early race car for a young Mark Donohue about 1960. Note it is RHD and has a special roll bar.
I found this comment about this car.
"1. stephen griswold says
August 26, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Thanks for the photo of Mark in the Bandini Siluro (Torpedo) that I used to own. I bought it from Bob Satava in Ohio years ago and Burge Hulette was one of the listed owners. The car was originally ordered by Hank Rudkin ( Pepperidge Farm Bakery) in Norwalk Conn. The car is easily recognized because it is the only RHD Siluro that was built and for the horrible roll bar ( seen in the picture) that was still on it when I bought it. Hank ordered the car without an engine and put a Crosley mounted to an MG TC gearbox in it after it arrived. Shortly thereafter he installed a 2 Cyl Saab to make it more competitive. I brought it to Europe and it now resides nearby in Desenzano del Garda. Had I know of its Donohue history I would have asked for more $$$$."

Attachment 63785
The RHD Bandini before the roll bar.

Attachment 63786


Attachment 63787
A young Mark Donohue with his Bandini Siluro in the background.


(Ken H )

In the US the need for more engines in the 750 cc SCCA class racing was met when Ilario Bandini and US industrialist Powel Crosley, Jr combined to produce some fascinating engines. The Bandini used both a modified single overhead cam almost stock looking Crosley and the highly modified dual overhead cam version where Bandini built the block and head assembly. Some reports are that the true Bandini Single Overhead cam engines also had a removable head like the dual engines and were 4 port intake.
Attachment 63960

Crosley also built what was known as the "Tin Engine"
Crosley CoBra Engine 1945-1949

The post-war Crosley models were powered by an innovative four-cylinder, overhead-camshaft engine, originally designed by Lloyd M. Taylor during WW2 to run generators. Instead of being cast as most other engine blocks were, it was built up from an assembly of steel tubing and stampings. These parts were assembled in a jig, then copper brazed together at high temperatures. The copper brazing process gave the engine name, CoBra.

With a 2.5" bore and 2.25" stroke, engine displacement was 724cc, or 44 cubic inches. A vertical shaft with bevel gears was used to drive the overhead camshaft instead of a more conventional chain drive so that the lubricating oil could be fed up through it to pressure feed the cam bearings. The CoBra engine had a compression ratio of 7.5:1 making 26 horsepower at 5200 RPM.

Attachment 63961


Read more at this site.; http://crosleyautoclub.com/Mighty_Tin.html




(Ken H.. )

The Crosley engine continued.
Crosley CIBA Engine 1949-1952

In 1949, the Cobra engine was replaced by the new and more reliable CIBA (Cast Iron Block Assembly), a water-cooled inline-four cylinder engine utilizing five main bearings. Displacement was 44 cubic-inches, or 724cc.
Attachment 63971

Throughout the early fifties, Crosley cars dominated 750cc sports car racing, winning 10 out of 12 SCCA west-coast races alone. A Crosley HotShot also won the 1950 Sebring endurance race, an event that used a formula to measure cars against each other based on engine displacement. After six hours of racing, a stripped-down HotShot finished ahead of others in its class with an average speed of 52 mph ! (Wow )
1949
Attachment 63970
More Crosley CIBA engine information.
http://crosleyautoclub.com/EngineTre...ng_Tree-2.html

A Bandini Siluro with a Crosley also did well at Vero Beach, Florida, in 1955.
(Ernie McAfee was a popular driver here at the local Santa Barbara Airport races.)
Attachment 63972


(Ken H)

This thread doesn't get the attention it should, Ken...

A real shame, these are very interesting cars by their very nature.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ray Bell

This thread doesn't get the attention it should, Ken...

A real shame, these are very interesting cars by their very nature.

---

Ray Bell agree .. Both You and I like it, cheers.

Thanks Ken H for the " inputs " too !!

Attachment 63984
As they do in Facebook Land .. Like - like ..

Thanks for the encouragement Gentlemen.
They may not have been the fastest cars on the tracks but they were certainly interesting and I am enjoying the research and trying to make the photos presentable etc. etc. on a subject I knew "zilch" about when I started and especially thanks to Cliff Reuter's encouragement.
I hate to disappoint you but there is a whole lot more to come and if you watch all the film clips you may have learnt the Italian language by the end of the thread !

But often waiting to overcome "THIS IS NOT A SECURE SITE" and having to reload again can be a real pain and I hope a permanent fix can be found really soon !
I would hate to think that all this wonderful "stuff" could be suddenly lost.
I have faith in you Steve.:cool:

(Ken H)

Enjoy this thread very much Ken, love the photos and text. The little cars are like jewels!
Keep up the good work. Much appreciated.

Bandini Formula Junior.
The Formula Junior class was introduced in 1959. The formula was a junior category designed at first for Europe and United States to start young drivers racing careers. For this reason, the technical regulation contained rules that restricted the project costs and operational expenses. In an effort to flatten the differences between different cars, engines had to come from auto series produced in a large number of units and they were also only allowed limited alterations. The choice for Bandini, as well as that of many other European cars was the Fiat 1100 / 103 engine.
Attachment 64029
Ilario Bandini preparing a Fiat engine for his FJ racer.
The engine Fiat 1100/103 is inclined along the longitudinal axis of 15 °, allowing positioning at the center of chassis for better weight distribution

Positioning: forward longitudinal, 4-cylinder in-line tilted 15 °
Bore: 68 mm (2.7 in)
Stroke: 75 mm (3.0 in)
Displacement: 1089.5 cc
Compression ratio: 9.8:1
Power: 2 carburettors Weber 38DCOE body double / 40DCOE
Power: 90 hp (67 kW) @ 6900 rpm
Lubricate: Carter wet with pump gear.
It was a good looking car.
Attachment 64036

Attachment 64037




(Ken H )

A restored 1959 Bandini Formula Junior YouTube clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-tXTYWb5MI



(Ken H)

An Italian FJ in New Zealand ... does this qualify for Etceterini ?? ..Please focus on the FJ not the home grown Car ..Ardmore 1989 the Reunion Meeting ..

Attachment 64042

Volpini ?... Colin Waite was there with his Stanguellini too !! .. no photo though !!

I don't know so much about 'limited alterations'...

Manifolding and carburetion were free (though injection wasn't allowed), from memory the stroke had to be standard but they could be bored or sleeved, any form of modification to the head was allowed as long as you didn't add material, camshafts were free, all reciprocating and rotating parts were free.

I think it started in Italy before 1959, too. It went big Internationally in 1960.

Count Johnny Lurani was behind it as I recall.

A bit more regarding Formula Junior.
" Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (International Sporting Commission, the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports).
The rules for the class required the cars to be powered by production-based engines with a maximum volume of 1000 cc with a 360 kg (792 lb) car or 1100 cc with a 400 kg (880 lb) car – in practice the latter was used in almost all successful FJs (the USA adopted other cc/weight ratios but they were rarely used). Parts like engine block, head and cylinders had to come from a production car; single or twin overhead camshafts, limited slip differentials and modifications to the number of main bearings were all forbidden. The brakes and transmission also had to be production-based. Constructors were allowed to increase the number of gears, but only inside a production gearbox casing. In Italy the popular Fiat 1100 engine was the obvious choice and in 1958 there were few other suitable engines in Italy; elsewhere the 1000 cc Mini engine as well as the DKW and the Saab three-cylinder two-stroke engines were obvious choices, as was the new over square Ford engine from the 105E Anglia. The first Italian FJ cars were very much in the front-engined tradition of contemporary Grand Prix cars; the first international Formula Junior championship in 1959 was won by the Swiss driver and engineer Michael May in an Automobili Stanguellini. "
(As per Wikipedia.org ).

I thought Italian driver Lorenzo Bandini would have been related to Ilario Bandini and driven the Bandini FJ in his early days of racing but he was not related and instead drove Volpini and Stanguellini FJ race cars to his early successes.
Lorenzo did get to give Ilario an award in 1964 for his contribution to motor racing as a constructor, designer, race driver like Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren.
Attachment 64066
Lorenzo Bandini on (R) presenting Ilario Bandini with an award in 1964.

Early in his career Lorenzo came out to NZ for the 1962 Grand Prix at Ardmore and I noted this in the race programme.
" He speaks good English !"
Attachment 64067

Sadly this popular driver was to die from injuries 3 days after a horrible accident during the 1967 Monaco F1 Grand Prix. May 1967.
http://theinsideline.com/story/mauri...atal-afternoon


(Ken H)

I think he actually lingered for three weeks after that accident at Monaco...

His death was, as I recall, the first of a string of F1 tragedies. Bob Anderson, Jo Bonnier, Jim Clark, Mike Spence, Bruce and others kept us all wondering about why we follow the sport.

It must have been galling, when you think about it, that the introduction of FJr didn't lead to domination by an Italian engine. Johnny Lurani could easily have surmised that the Fiat 1100 donk would be superior to anything else about, and it was pretty good. It was the right size and it had an alloy head with decent porting, and it had a good history of being 'tuned' by a variety of Italian engine builders.

French prospects were minimal, Renault's engines were still a bit on the small side and neither Peugeot or Citroen built anything that small. Apart from the 2CV, of course, and that would have been a real laugh. Simcas were based on the Fiat anyway, but were already enlarged to 1300cc. Germany didn't have much to offer.

The Poms had the A-series lump to work with, and they were to work it hard, but nothing else. Until a few weeks after the International acceptance of the formula was announced and then the 105E came on the scene.

A copy of the first Formula Junior guidelines as per Count Johnny Lurani. October 1958.
(Reading glasses required.)

Attachment 64104

Lorenzo Bandini in his Cooper T 51 waiting at the pumps at Joel Wakely’s Boomerang Service Station at Concord,Sydney. Jan. 1962.
Is that Spencer Martin next to him in a Holden Special ?
Attachment 64170
(Joel Wakely photo )



(Ken H)

I'm pretty sure that's not Spencer in the Prad, Ken...

More likely Joel himself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ray Bell

I'm pretty sure that's not Spencer in the Prad, Ken...

More likely Joel himself.

---

Who is in the Humpy FX FJ then ??

Perhaps that is the FX that Spencer drove for the "Boomerang Service Station"in 1963.
Attachment 64185
Spencer in the ‘Boomerang Service Station’ Holden FX, Catalina Park, Katoomba 1963. It was consistent ‘giant killing’ performances against Norm Beechey and the like which attracted McKay to Martin. (Autopics.com.au Collection)

A good read here about Spencer Martin;
https://primotipo.com/2015/04/30/spe...hampion-19667/

(Ken H)

I'm not so sure Spencer ran against Beechey's early Holden more than once or twice...

But he dominated the special series held for these cars at Catalina Park.

Thinking back, I'm not sure when Spencer raced the Prad, either. I know Ross McNair had it after him. And I don't recall Spencer's Holden ever being anythiing other than the darker green with a yellow stripe.

Lorenzo Bandini first showed his driving talents in Formula Junior driving a Volpini FJ in 1959.

Attachment 64199

Attachment 64200

Attachment 64201

Attachment 64202
( From a 1959 ad. )
Attachment 64203
Showing the offset driving position.
Attachment 64204
A 1959 Volpini FJ at Laguna Seca 2008.
(From the Cliff Reuter collection.)

(Ken H)

Geoff Manning in his Volpini FJ at Whenuapai in 1994

Attachment 64205

1958/59 Volpini Formula Junior #013 Geoff Manning collection.
Attachment 64206

Some sources say it is a 1958 car and others say 1959 and I will say it is a 1958/1959 Volpini FJ beautifully restored.



From the 2013 Leadfoot Festival programme.
" 1958 Volpini Formula Junior – This car is one of just fifteen built. Chassis No’s 006 and 013 were the Volpini works cars, driven by Lorenzo Bandini, who went on to drive in Formula 1 for Ferrari. Bandini won the Italian Formula Junior Championship in 1959 with #013, including fourth place in Monaco. Count Johnny Lurani, the originator of the Formula Junior formula, then purchased the car. It spent the next three years as a ” Hire and Drive” racing car, years that included a spell of ice racing in Sweden. Lurani sold the car to Mr Lombardi in Genoa, northern Italy. His daughter Lella Bombardi, is still the only female Grand Prix driver to ever earn World Championship points. The car languished for a number of years, slowly falling into disrepair, until purchased in the mid- 1980s by Geoff and Barbara Manning. They brought it back to New Zealand where Geoff completely restored the car. It made its debut at the 1989 Ardmore Grand Prix re-union. Since then it has been raced in Historic meetings throughout New Zealand. It has won its class in the Thoroughbred & Classic Car Owners Club (TACCOC) Historic four times since 1990, driven by Geoff. Considering the Volpinis vintage with engine and drum brakes from the 1950s its 88 hp really does it proud. Perhaps the fact that it was designed by the great Gioacchino Columbo, who was responsible for the Alfa Romeo 158, among others, has something to do with the cars wonderfully handling characteristics. Geoff Manning built and raced specials in New Zealand before going to England in 1962. There he worked on historic, sports and racing cars, and for teams in Formula 1 and 2 and Group 6 sports cars, plus hillclimb and sprint cars. He built the awesome Cooper Chrysler with which Jonty Williamson won the 1970 British Sprint Championship. He worked as mechanic for Jaques Lafitte, Graham Hill, Bruce Mclaren, Chris Amon, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis (in Formula 2). He has prepared historic racing cars for Stirling Moss, John Harper, Richard Bond and Robert Cooper. He worked for the Ford competitions department in the 60s under Fords famous designer Len Bailey, and was chief mechanic for Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon in the team that won Le Mans with the GT40 in 1966. He was also involved with the development of the Mk. 1 Escort for racing. In 2004 Geoff and Barbara took the Volpini to Monaco for the Classic Grand Prix and an amazing achievement with Geoffs health failing. In 2005 the Volpini was sold to Allan Woolf and with its classic appearance attracts a lot of attention and great to drive."

I wonder if Geoff would have enjoyed seeing the new Ferrari versus Ford movie as he played such an important part back in 1966.
I have my own opinion about this movie beginning with the fact there were 3 Kiwi drivers of the 4 that were in the first and second Fords in 1966. See how much that is noted or how McLaren and Amon were cruising ahead by one minute when the first instructions went out to slow down for the photo finish fiasco.
But it was good to see a motor racing movie have some success over here.


(Ken H )