Author: Harlo

Categories
Historic Racing Photos

Just One More Thing to Make the Monza Banking More Treacherous.

At first glance I thought it was sunny on the Monza banking, and cloudy on the straight—but of course that straight line separating the two shows how ridiculous I was. Then it occurred to me that this dramatic shift in color is the transition from the concrete surface of the banking to the asphalt surface of the start-finish straight. Quite an abrupt transition that must have been felt by the drivers coming out of the extreme suspension distress and jarring bumps between sections of the banking.

Categories
Vintage Racing Advertising

$1.00 per Second of Driving Time

Gurney and Lotus Crack Nassau Record with Autolite Spark Plugs!
Dan Gurney averages a record 89.54 miles an hour, wins the International Nassau Trophy Race, his first major solo victory in six years. Dan’s reward: some $10,000—more than $1.00 per second of driving time. His car: a flame-colored 2½-liter rear-engine Lotus. His spark plugs: Autolite. Lesson for the day? Makes no difference if you own a Lotus or your name is Dan, Autolite Spark Plugs can’t be beat. There’s a set made especially for the car you drive. As Gurney and the Lotus well prove, you’re always right with Autolite.
Autolite
Spark Plug Division · Toledo 1, Ohio

Categories
For Sale Porsche

Ebay Find: 4-Cam Porsche Engine

It’s not often that a Porsche 4-cam pops up in my occasional Ebay Motors searches, but here it is. She looks like a miraculously beautiful sculpture.

Assembled by Porsche restoration specialist, Paul Willison, the engine is claimed to turn 169 HP and 150 ft. lbs. of torque on the dyno after raw assembly with no performance tuning. The engine’s current owner seems have sold off his RS60 before the engine was completed. So here she sits on the stand with zero miles.

$170,000 opening bid is no small change, but would be worth it just for the sound.

More photos on the Ebay listing.

Categories
Classic Cycle

…And I Thought Regular Boardtrack Racing Looked Dangerous

Ok so this isn’t technically a board track, but the high banked curves makes me think the race technique was similar. Brooklands maybe? I can’t imagine what it would be like to be the monkey in this early sidecar racing.

Categories
Restoration

Reader Restoration: Beach Mk. 5 Formula Vee

Nigel Cass wrote in with this lovely set of photos of the 1965 Beach Formula Vee that he and his father restored as a hillclimber. With a 1915cc engine, I’m guessing she’s a touch faster up a hill than my old ’73 VW Thing was.

These shots of the car in action make me realize what a good photo opportunity hillclimbs are for vintage racers. If I just showed you these photos without the backstory, you might think that they are of a country road-racing circuit. The low stone walls and banners along the roadside only serve to make it look more like a mini Nürburgring or Spa.

She’s a beautiful car. I can’t wait to see Nigel and his father’s next project: a Lola 342

Categories
Vintage Racing Advertising

The Twists and Turns of English Roads

The winding, twisting, narrow roads of England make the TR6 solid, tough and beautiful to drive.
In England, we’re not enthusiastic about driving in a straight line. Here cars must be built with an uncanny ability to handle and perform, safely and accurately.
As epitomized in the classic Triumph TR6.
At its heart, a beautiful high-performance 6-cylinder engine developing 106 horsepower and 133 ft. lbs. of torque. Two powerful reasons for its quick response.
To that, add precise rack & pinion steering, plus 4-wheel independent suspension, and the twists and curves of English roads become more than just negotiable. Triumph engineering keeps the TR6 four-square in the groove on the hairiest hairpin turn.
In addition, because you don’t know what’s around the next bend, it’s good to know the TR6 has big 10.9 inch disc brakes up front to stop you even more quickly than it goes.
If you share our passion about driving, test drive a TR6.
On the winding, twisting, narrow roads of America.
The Classically British Triumph TR6.
British Leyland.
We maks sports cars for everybody.
For name of your nearest Triumph dealer call 800-487-1700. In Illinois call 800-322-4410. British Leyland and Motors Inc, Leonia NJ 07605

Categories
Lost Track Video

Unseen Footage: El Salvador’s San Benito Road Races, August 1958

Pretty amazing to see Beetles sharing a field with ’57 Chevys. I’m not turning up much information on the race featured in this latest clip from the George Kehler archives but seeing these big American sedans running a road circuit is something that we don’t see enough of. We’ve all seen clips of the big Jaguar Mark 2s working around Goodwood, but in the States the big cars are largely associated with NASCAR’s ovals. So seeing these big Chevys and Buicks and Fords hang the rear end out or spin in a corner is a real treat.

Categories
Grand Prix Video

Stirling’s Cooper

I started out looking for a photograph of the Cooper team in 1958 & 59. Not just the drivers, mind you, but the entire team.

It seems like the kind of thing that must exist but I haven’t managed to dig one up. You see, I was playing in my mind the notion of Ferrari’s dreaded garagistas that were making his life difficult and I had this mental image of a dozen or so chaps in a garage piecing the Championship winning Cooper together. I wanted some visual representation of that; of this handful of hot-rodders coming together to compete on the international stage; and figured that there must be a group photo of the team. I still haven’t found one.

But you know how Googling goes… One link leads to another which leads to another and I ended up on this video of Sir Stirling Moss taking us through the paces in a ’59 Cooper Climax at Donnington. That’s worth passing along, right?

Categories
Grand Prix Historic Racing Photos

Let's Just Knock it Back Together Quick

Here’s something you aren’t likely to see again: A team owner and his pit crew rebuilding a gearbox in pit lane.

Just because Colin Chapman was in a shirt and tie doesn’t mean he couldn’t get his hands dirty in a Hewland from time to time.

Categories
Grand Prix Historic Racing Photos

Roy Salvadori. 1922—2012

Man, it’s been a rough few months for vintage motoring enthusiasts.

Salvadori is perhaps best known for his 1959 LeMans victory sharing an Aston with Caroll Shelby but his long career included races in all manner of cars. From Formula cars to Touring, to Sports Racing, to… Hell… anything with wheels, “Salvo” was an intimidating competitor and well liked racer.

The BRDC’s notice summarizes his career in concise terms, which might seem incongruous with the enormous variety of successes that he achieved: “He established outright or Class records for every circuit he raced on in England and won 98 races during his career, including the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hour race in an Aston Martin DBR1, co-driving with Carroll Shelby.”

Not many drivers from those days make it to 90, and Roy was nearly one of those statistics. He had two serious crashes at Silverstone 4 years apart. After a roll at Stowe Corner in 1951, Salvo suffered a severe head injury which resulted in lifelong hearing loss in one ear and tinnitus in the other. Again at Stowe, this time behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F in 1955, Roy’s crash was so gruesome and his prognosis so poor he was administered last rites.

In today’s racing environment when drivers are so specialized, it’s difficult to comprehend Roy Salvadori’s variety. Again from the BRDC notice: “At the Goodwood International Easter Meeting in 1955 he won the F1 Glover Trophy race in a Maserati 250F, the Chichester Cup for F2 cars in a Connaught and the Sports Car race in an Aston Martin. Furthermore, he was second in the other two races that he entered that day.”

Truly a great racing driver, and a truly great loss.

Here’s an interview Roy did with Cars for the Connoisseur in 2003.