Bucklers!

[Roger Dowding]

Roger Dowding, I have tried to send you a message. Your inbox has "exceeded capacity", can you please clear at least ne so that I can send it?

Rhys, Hi, try again now - have cleared a bunch of messages in my TRS inbox,
Have also found another photo of 418.067 in White with Blue stripe.

Roger

[Roger Dowding]

Another photo of the Ivy Stephenson Buckler, back in the early 1960's well no later than mid 1961. - on the old 5 yearly issue plates - the 1956 - 61 issue. From Graham Woods archives.
Goes with Post #318.

Others may know the location, the Humber 80 Saloon Racer #24 and Austin Seven special in the background, may help.



Have this one as well from OLD NZ Motor Racing - not my spelling of StePHenson, with her number " 38 ". Photographer not stated - may have been posted before.
In the back left corner the Ruddspeed 3000 now 4 litre Austin Healey of P A T McLoughlan.
Think the location is Pukekohe, so Jan 1963 at earliest. Cannot read any number plates to assist in the date.

[Oldfart]

To clarify a few things in relation to the "Ivy Stevenson DD1" from research as opposed to memories.
Derek Buckler was one of the pioneers of specials era racing cars, and his company Buckler Cars was very advanced in its thinking. The DD1, which was destined to race at the Le Mans 24-Hour in 1955, was one of its highest specification builds of the time – and it remains in very original condition today.

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The DD1 was commissioned by Adrian Liddell and was specified as a significant development of the existing Buckler 90. Its DD1 designation offers a hint of its rear suspension, which is a De Dion with Watts linkage. The rear brakes are inboard. It was fitted with the then-new all-aluminium Coventry Climax engine driving through the gearbox and differential from the 1953 Le Mans Aston Martin.

The story goes that, when repatriating the Aston Martin after Le Mans, the team smashed a hole in the gearbox, rendering it unsellable to avoid customs duties. Liddell later got hold of the gearbox, and the Buckler team patched up the hole with a very neat copper plate. The gearbox remains today complete with that repair.

Throughout the 1954 season, the DD1 was raced at various circuits throughout the UK – including Goodwood – to prove it with the intention of competing at Le Mans the following year. Liddell was being funded by his friend Pip Ravenshaw, who sadly perished in another car before the end of 1954. That put an end to plans to enter the 24-Hour, although the car is still often referred to as the Buckler Le Mans.

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With financial support gone, Liddell asked Buckler to sell the car, and they did so via their busy distributor in New Zealand. It was campaigned by Ivy Stephenson, the country’s most successful female racer, but the rough circuits took their toll on the delicate aluminium bodywork. It was replaced with a fibreglass body made locally by Ferris de Joux, and the lightweight fibreglass resulted in just a 100kg penalty – a lot less than it could have been. The car now weighs around 550kg.

Bruce Ellwood bought the car in 2009 after it had been through some more owners and researched the car thoroughly to confirm its racing history and its originality. It came back to the UK in 2012 when Chris Jaques bought it, and 2017 saw its first outings in the UK. Success in hillclimbs preceded its return to Goodwood 63 years since it was last here.

Finally, there’s one coincidental link between the car’s current owner and its first. Adrian Liddell was a descendant of Alice Liddell who inspired Alice in Wonderland, and Chris Jaques is related to its writer, Lewis Carroll. An unrelated but almost literally poetic connection.

AND
1955. The year of the DDI

Bucklers were very busy during 1954 with building the chassis for their
new model, the Type 90. At the same time they were developing a
successor for Adrian Liddell. A new chassis to accept a Climax engine
and a De Dion rear end. At Christmas 1954 Derek Godfrey saw the 'New
90' chassis being worked on by Bob Drew at Crowthorne. MOR 456 was
already being offered for sale. The first recorded outing for the DDI,
registered OAA 300 was to the silverstone meeting on 4 June 1955. The
car was entered by A Liddell/P Ravenshaw as the black lion stable. By
September the same year OAA 300 was being advertised for sale in
Autosport, and would go to New Zealand. A recent letter to the
Register from Adrian Liddell sets the scene.

Westover Farm
Goodworth Clatford
16 Nov 1994

Dear Peter
Thank you for your letter. Yes, the DDI forty years old, Gosh ! Well I
find my memory is so gappy that I doubt I could could write anything
accurate about it. Yes she was built by Bob Drew and his righthand man
at Crowthorne and I spent much more time there than I should have done.
1 think I was largely responsible for pursuading Derek Buckler to have
a go at the new model because I managed to persuade Pip Ravenshaw to
put some money up and I wanted a climax engine. Ihere were three
reasons for selling the car. Pip killed himself on the road in his TR2
at Bordon and never drove the car. I had to find the money to pay
Bucklers in the event of Pip's sudden withdrawal of support. Ihird
reason, I had decided to get married and had to sort out my finances a
bit !
I think you are right about the first outing being the 4 June and it
was on this day that Pip was killed. He was on his way to drive at
Silverstone. The car I took to Brockenhurst earlier in year was DDP
201, and both Pip and I drove her there. Why Black Lion Stable ? Black
for Ravenshaw and Lion for me - being the family crest. I dropped that
after Pip's death.
OAA 300 went to New Zealand but I don't remember who to. I think Derek
Buckler arranged the sale.
With your records and my memories perhaps we could produce something.
I have no records at all to refer to. Would you like to ring me and
perhaps you could pop over for a chat.
Yours
Adrian Liddell

[Roger Dowding]

" To clarify a few things in relation to the "Ivy Stevenson DD1" from research as opposed to memories. "

Thanks for that information " Oldfart " - I have managed to download some of the photos from the Goodwood article
- not sure how as every second one didn't works as I normally do it, but they appeared in another function on my laptop -
" Operator Error ? " as it included a whole bunch of photos i hadn't even viewed.

A couple of the photos.

[Roger Dowding]

Found these photos - a set and did not note the details, [ my apologies for that, will try to find out the photographer and also where and when. It is in New Zeakland - see the number plates on some of the cars including " 54DD1 "

#38 features, but it is not the Ivy Stephenson car, in fact two cars run #38 - one with a headrest.
#57 is the former Graham Currie car of which Rhys Nolan posted photos a while back.
#90 is well known, need to check whose currently.

Any details are most welcome.

The group;



another group view



One on its own;



" 54 DD1 ". image a bit blurry.



" Year: 1955
Make: BUCKLER
Model: DDI
Colour: White
Second Colour: Blue
Body Style: Sports Car / Sports car
VIN:ⓘ
Plate:ⓘ 54DD1
Engine No:ⓘ 6808
Chassis:ⓘ 10821
CC rating:ⓘ 1,100cc (1.1l)
Fuel Type:ⓘ Petrol "
" Plates History
Plate Effective Date
54DD1 11-Jan-1999
BL4993 18-Sep-1956
Subscribe to see the personalised plate history as it jumps from vehicle to vehicle.

Registration Status:ⓘ Get Report
Plate:ⓘ 54DD1
Plate Type: Personalised
Origin: NZ New
Used as: Private Passenger vehicle
Cause of Latest Registration: New
NZ First Registration: 18-Sep-1956
NZ Last Registration: Get Report "

Have seen more images of BL4993 so that helps with any History,

Lastly not from the same event - a Graham Woods photo of a 90 Reg " CY2945 ".



More details may follow, as I find out, or others contribute..

The Registration check is strange as according to other records BL4993 which was Green with yellow stripes at one time became KA6377 and went to Europe, now with Bart Jonkers.
So which car is DD1 really. ? more to find out.