Just A Mix Of Pics - Ray Green Collection

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Yet another from the Chick Wheelhouse car lot! End March 1972


Ignoring for a moment, the lovely Daytona, this was also taken on the road on which we lived, but this time about three quarters of a mile closer to town. This emporium was Frank Sytner's before he moved into the centre of town for many years. I remember well a car club evening at his city showroom when Frank Williams was the speaker. It seems that one of them managed to roll an Austin A40 in the city a few years earlier...

Frank has now moved out to the other side of town to an industrial estate on the fringe of the city. Frank of course, took part in the Wellington Street race in the BMW - that I still maintain, beat the Volvo... Frank's single seater was the one losing a wheel at Monaco this year on the start line when there was a false start by the Tyrrell and a McLaren came throough from row three.


Curborough, April 1972

This time , the Tech Craft BRM


Not sure, but possibly local Curborough expert Bob Rose.

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Beauty and

...the beast. Not all repowers are aesthetically successful... Curborough 1972. Quite why you'd bother to fire up a F1 BRM just for a 900 yard sprint course I am not sure, but it did add a touch of class. David Render also ran an ex F1 Lotus now and again.


Closer to home - the Bolwell Nagari mentiond earlier


I didn't note the details of this car, at the Ellerslie Car Show of 2008. Just a make would suffice so that I can file it.

[GeebeeNZ]

Ray, I think the little red single seater is the Rattlesnake Imp. it is powered by a Hillman Imp motor and box.
Graeme

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Thanks Graeme. Presumably locally built? I'll file it under specials then!!! Not sure what class it would run under as I presume it would be too new for VCC?

[David McKinney]

If it is the Rattlesnake, it first ran in hillclimbs in 1969

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Goodwood Festival 1996



The only time Porsche entered F1 was in the 1500cc era, from 1961-1966. Love this car.


Probably the most photographed Ferrari GTO of all, helped enormously by its celebrity owner - and also that Nottinghamshire numberplate!


Fast forward to 2012 and a visit to one of the most amazing car museums in the UK. Reputed to be the largest private collection in the country, it has some amazing exhibits, ranging from the totally unrestored and now quite tatty looking F1 BRM H16, as last run as an F5000 car, to a mint F1 Lotus 33.

The remaining exhibits are less sporting, but fascinating, with over 150 cars (including 4 steam cars), a good number of motor bikes (including a Vincent Black Shadow) and some amazing pedal cars. It was only after paying our $18 entry fee that we saw the notice declaring that you aren't allowed to take photographs inside the well laid out halls!!!! Each hall is policed by a volunteeer to make sure you don't take any. Many cars are very run of the mill but a great display and worth a visit.

The museum is at Caister, near Yarmouth, on the east coast.

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Trengwainton Hillclimb in Cornwall, April 1969. I have no idea who or what, but he seems happy enough! This was at the top of the hill where drivers entered a field prior to a return to the start area.


Trengwainton again. Note the very narrow track and the wooden Armco...


Silverstone Winter Sprints I think, November or December 1972. Quick Mini 1275 driver (who always beat my 998cc Cooper) poses by what I believe may have been the Ian Richardson McLaren. Ian Richardson was the creator of the Chev Corvair that ran in supersaloonsa and the Mclaren is the same metallic blue as the Corvair.


Even in a Silverstone Sprint (2 laps of the club circuit) you got interesting cars. The winter sprint series was always run over 5 consecutive Saturdays by 5 different clubs. MGCC, Herts County, Coventry and Warwickshire, Nottingham Sports Car Club and SUNBAC. Working alternate weekends, I used to try to commandeer a week of night shifts to cover the working weekends and used to drive up to Silverstone having finished my shift at 7am, then return after the sprints, grabbing a quick snooze and a bite to eat before going into work again at 8:45 pm....


Back to NZ for the annual Le Mans relay race, possibly 1985. Looks like Derek Atkinson's Morgan +4 steaming past Rob Douglas in the Daimler SP250. Note all the white coated "plombeurs" in the background. Clerk of the Course Debbie would have a fit today with so many people clustered around the start!

[Milan Fistonic]

Ray, I think the little red single seater is the Rattlesnake Imp. it is powered by a Hillman Imp motor and box.
Graeme

It is the Rattlesnake Imp. If you have a copy of Vercoe's book you will find it under Firth Specials.

"One final car was built. This was the Rattlesnake Imp that apperaed at Hunters Road Hillclimb in 1970. The Rattlesnake was powered by an 847cc Chrysler Imp motor with the same framework as the Scorpion. Bob Firth took a class second in that debut run. The car is currently owned by Ray Hawke and is a regular runner in historic races."

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Thanks Milan. I haven't seen it at a race meeting yet, but look forward to seeing it in action. I have a real fascination (but without much knowledge) for any one offs and limited run cars, whether they are single seaters, saloons or sports cars. It is one of the major strengths of historic and classic racing - variety.

I have the Vercoe book but must confess that I haven't delved into it as often as I should. My current emphasis is making sure I can date the massive pile of pre digital negs and slides as accurately as possible as I scan them, albeit just a few a day.

[Milan Fistonic]

Back to NZ for the annual Le Mans relay race, possibly 1985. Looks like Derek Atkinson's Morgan +4 steaming past Rob Douglas in the Daimler SP250. Note all the white coated "plombeurs" in the background. Clerk of the Course Debbie would have a fit today with so many people clustered around the start!

By a process of elimination I think this must be 1984. Rob Douglas' SP250 had number 181 in 1983, number 26 in 1985 and number 31 in 1986. I don't have the 1984 programme so I guess he must have had what looks like 51 that year.

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Thanks again Milan. I seem to be one or two programmes short too!

As mentioned earlier, it seems shame we don't see these sorts of cars out on the track now, though the Daimler Club were at the TACCOC Dec 9th meeting at HD.

The first time I met Tony Roberts back in 1983, his entry into the staff car park in a Daimler SP250 before getting his company Toyota, was duly noted. The late Nigel Roskilly's manual Daimler 250 V8 saloon was also a car I always fancied.

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Not sure when but probably 1988/89 again judging by the sight of my car in the background! Dick Jones Special and Maserarri. Looks like a trim Gordon Burr in the background!


Goodwood Festival 1996. Love these Offy engined Indy cars...


Connaught again. At least in those days, you could identify each car.


Tribute to upcoming Hulme Festival sponsors - genuine Gulf GT40

[Ross Hollings]

Yes it is the Rattlesnake Imp,built by Bob Firth,brother of Murray,built at the family orchard in Oratia,scared the hell out of Bob first time out as I remember,can remember Bob building it in the packing shed area,where we used to test our cars,[chain gang].The body was a altered Murray Firth Design.Ross

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Digital again... For many (me included) one of the most iconic of all car, driver, race number, entrant combinations. Goodwood 2009


My home town produced the Brough Superior motorbikes (and cars) and my first three motorbikes were all Velocettes. However, my LE Velocettes weren't really in this class.


2009 The annual Chelsea Hillclimb - no prizes for naming car or driver


Ditto for 2010...


And in 2012, the Riley Dobbs (I initially labelled this as Ransley Riley, hence the comments below) was another of those one offs or specials I added to my photographic collection. I think I probably have enough pics for a book on specials...!

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Looks as though this undesirable is trying to steal this lovely Mini...


Aerodynamics of a brick


Amazing that people paid a small fortune to upgrade a car effectively produced as a cheap runabout


Some made a good job of making the Mini more durable and attractive for speedsters. I think this is the Dizzy Addicott DART.


...whilst others made it stylish. The Ogle Mini had a fair bit of publicity at the time.

[David McKinney]

The car you've labelled Ransley-Riley looks more like the Dobbs Riley to me - or am I missing something?

[beowulf]

Re the first Mini photo, he drives it like he stole it!

[Racer Rog]

No David you are not, you are correct, as built by Hector Dobbs.
Roger

The car you've labelled Ransley-Riley looks more like the Dobbs Riley to me - or am I missing something?

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Whoops. Careless of me. Instant recall memory playing tricks again. You are of course correct. It went rather well too. It was as fast as the slower ERA's so I presume the ERA's Riley engine heritage has much to do with that? (Now corrected.)

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The Biota was probably not the best looking of the Mini kit cars, but this one seems to be very well presented.


Without delving down into my Mini books, I can't remember the name of this one! Apart from the front grille treatment, I rather like this.


The biggest cheer of all was for "Mr Bean" who obliged by doing his Mr Bean wave! I presume that the real driver was lying down inside the car, as it was going at a fair old lick!


So good to see this out on track. Is that that the constructor driving? Twin engined Deep Sanderson I believe, but happy to be corrected...


A Landar (with non period wheels), though it does look pretty good.