Club news, February 1945

0.414 /laud

WE HEAR

Lt. Peter Hampton is now in this country again, invalided out, and it will be some time before he is able to handle a fast car. His wife drives him to hospital every day in. his ” 38/250 ” Mercedes-Benz; his views on the capacity tax are unprintable He has also acquired the ex-Boothby Brescia Bugatti. Dr. Tr. L. Frank is busy converting a 1926 Big Six Bentley (chassis No. FW2619) into what he describes as a.” high-speed drawing-room,” and he would be Most grateful to hear from anyone who can supply wheels with 18-in, rims and a 3.53-to-1 crown wheel and pinion. Advice

about converting wheels to 18-in. would be appreciated. This • car was originally owned by H.R.H. the late Duke of Kent, but the Gurney Nutting fabric saloon body suffered from five years’ exposure in a Colchester breaker’s and has been replaced by a body from a 1929 Humber, With V screen and division. Dr. Prank also has a 3-litre short-chassis Van den Plas 4-seater in regular use, and a friend of his owns four Bentleys. lie offers a slightly-bent. track rod and drag link and a few other small spares to anyone who cares to pay carriage on them ; his address is 1, Hamilton Terrace, Otley, Yorks. Yet another Type Ax 2-cylinder Renault, in not very good condition, has turned up in a Yorkshire breakers, and at Bournemouth there is a good Crossley Six saloon for sale for L17 Ins. Confirmation has now been received that a pre-1914 ex-racing Rochet-SclII1C I( ler, which was used in the early nineteen-thirties as a hose carrier by the Chalfont St. Peter Fire Brigade, ended its days at a Wembley dealers—local enthusiasts may care to continue the search. L. H. Muskett has been offered a 1922 “Silver Ghost” Rolls-Royce in nice order. The Sports Car Club of America inform us that the Connecticut meeting was made possible by Moron SPoter, as the COnneetient folk read of the club in Mown Sp o UT and immediately applied for memtership. President T. 11. Robertson tells us tbat his 1914 4.9-litre Mercer. we described last November, still does b el ter than 20 m.p. (imperial) g. lie mentions that all three of the 1923 Indiana’ olis 2-litre Merc6des are now in the club. One is owned by Charlie Fisher and was probably Werner’s car; it was raced on Boston dirt tracks up to about 1934 as the Oak Hill Special, using a Lancia ” Dilambda ” engine. (As Werner was said to have taken the engine back to Germany and to have put it in another chassis, with which he won the 1924 Targa Florio, this is probably the car Peter has in this country.) Then Joe Reutershan has a complete example, the actual car Sailer drove into 8th plaee at Indianapolis, and Al AValldats.one.of-,theso. cars in which a 3-litre Miller engine was installed by Zumbach’s, of New York, about 1934, when the car was owned by leUltire I talky. Then, in South Africa, 11.0y I tesketh, who finished 2nd in the 1938 Hand G.P., and who owned the only .11.A. in the Union and also an R-type 1.G. Midget, has been killed flying with the* S.A.A.F., as haVe Fred and Charles Allen. W. L. C. Miller. who drove an L-type M.G. Magna in South African road raCes, flies operationally with the S.A.A.F., as does .1. G. 0. Watson, who enthuses over a Fiat 500, into w filch he plans to install his special

ustin Seven engine, while hekeeps a ” San Sebastian ” Salmson.. Oliver is a flying instructor these days. I470 Arthur Rusling, who contributed to the September issue, has been invalided out, following a flying accident, and is back in this country, and, at Stevenage, Joe Lowrey recently met Hugh Hunter, who has his famous Alfa-Romeo and a 41-litre Bentley two-door saloon carefully stored. Hugh rather inclines towards a future bound up with motor yachting, but will run the Alfa-Romeo again. especially in sprint _events. He now uses a Fiat 500 with special windows in the rear quartet*, or, if it’s line, a Triumph “Speed Twin.” Appleton is hard at work on a war job, but finds a little time occasionally to plan improvements to the potent Appleton-Special, which is stored with Hunter’s motorcycle, its engine now dismantled. Incidentally, before the war 1-hinter had a grand dice against Phipps’s blown Cord when en route for the Nurburg Ring in the Bentley, doing 90 m.p.h. for some 30 miles, both cars having an identical maximum speed. Denis ,Ienkinson has acquired a Fernihough-built J.A.P. V

twin engine which he proposes to insert in a Norton frame. . We deeply regret to learn that Sqdn. Ldr. Abecassis is reported missing. ‘Alan Good has been granted his divorce. “Tupby ” Smith is said to be adding two M.V. triears to his collection of ireterans, and a breaker at Rush Green, Herts, offers a 2-litre Th. Schneider tourer for £80, while there is an 0.M. .saloon and an early Talbot-1 )arraeq on the Leeds-Tadcaster road. We recently bad a visit from F/Lt. Goodman, who is running an open Ford “Anglia,” but craves a vintage car ; he is rebuilding a 1923 Humber for his father to use as a farm car. The West Riding of Yorkshire proddees a number of early Humbers in varying stages of preservation, and an early 11.4 Standard has been seen. On a recent 540-mile dutr journey in his

1920 TE” ” Alvis saloon, Boddy encountered a blower 44-litre Bentley, of the H. M. Bentley and Partners conversion type, an early Bertelli AstonMartin, and a sporting saloon of quite unidentifiable make. An EnfieldAlldays 2-seater, in good condition, a V8 King, a Dixie Flyer, a Rover tricar, an early De Dion, a forecar of unknown make, a 1)ornian-cngined Westwood sports 2seater, and a flat-twin, belt-drive BroughSuperior motor-cycle are the latest ” finds ” in Yorkshire. Boddy hopes to acquire a 1926.-7.5 Citroen on which to teach his wife to dice when ” basic ” returns. In Ledhury an immaculate 4i-litre Bentley fabric saloon recently changed hands for £65 or so, and is now used on leave petrol. There is a 1924 Lanchester 21 tourer in as new condition, having had only one owner, for sale in the same town,

for about £50. A Czech engineer is using a 1939 2-stroke 6-h.p. Jaws, and claims 60 m.p.h. and 40 m.p.g. THE ” REMBRANDT “

Enthusiasts will meet once again at the ” Rembrandt,” Kensington, on February 11th, for the twelfth gathering at this venue and, after lunch, a “To Start You Talking” feature will be held.

S.C.C. OF A. The Sports Car Club of America held a meeting at Canton, Conn., in October last, which was attended by an open S.S.1, a B.N.C. with a Ford V8/60 engine replacing the original Ruby unit, an open S.S. “Jaguar,” three Mercers, a drophead Lagonda ” Rapide,” a blown Cord, an S.S.1 saloon, two Rolls-Royce “Phantom I,” and a special-bodied Hudson. The previous month a meet happened at Newton Centre, Mass., when a Duesenberg, two Mercers, a Rolls-Royce, a blown Cord sedan, and a Packard 116 attended. The September-October Sportswagen contains a photographic supplement, a specification of the Model A Duesenberg, and announces -16 new members, owning Type 57 Bugatti, ” 2.3 ” Alfa-Romeo, Vwo 1921 Mercers, 1924 Rolls-Royce, 1922 racing 2-litre Mercedes, S.S.1, 1916 Mercer, Ford B.N.C., Model A Duesenberg, blown Auburn, 1924 Pierce-Arrow, 1940 Lagonda ” Rapide,” 6i-litre Bentley, 1928 Lincoln, 1926 “Red Label” Bentley, 1922 Mercer, 1915 Mercer, and

1929 Packard cars. On November 14th last membership stood at 52, with 123 cars, of which there were 20 Mercers, 14 Stutz, 13 Mercedes, 13 Packards, 8 Duesenbergs, and 7 Rolls-Royce. When we get our ” basic ” again British clubs must show similar enthusiasm for social meetings. Secretary and treasurer : A. IL Engborg, 20, Bedford Street, Lexington, 73, Mass. ” M.S.” LIBRARY

When t he Editor was posted north he found it impossible to operate the loan scheme of instruction books in the Moron SPORT Library, which he instituted when he was in the south. It has now been possible to recover a small number of these books, and they can be loaned free of charge for a period not exceeding three weeks, to readers who are genuinely in need of them, providing adequately stamped and dimensioned envelopes are sent. Address requests to W.B., 123, Bilton Lane, Harrogate, Yorks. The following cars are covered : 11-litre single-cam and It-litre supercharged Alfa-Romeo ; Alvis “Fire Bird” ; 3-litre Bentley ; 41–1itre Bentley ; 15.7 and 18.2-h.p., Type DR Delage Six ; 1,500-c.c. Fiat ; 508C Fiat, 1,100-c.c. Balilla 1914-16 Model T Ford ; 3-litre, Type AM80 Hotchkiss ; 12.45, 12.90, 3-litre and 4i-litre Invicta ; 1935-7 M Jowett ; 2litre and 3-litre ” 14/60 ” Lagonda ; 1923-4 Lancia ” Lambda ” ; 6-cylinder Lorraine-Dietrich; M.G. Six Mk. II and M.G. Midget up to 1931 ; Morgan :3-wheeler ;

1929-31 Morris Minor and Family Eight ; Rolls-Royce “Silver Ghost ” ; Sunbeam 25; 3-litre twin o.h.c. Sunbeam ; Talbot ” 14/45 ” ; 1936 Triumph ” Gloria ” 4and 6-cylinder ; also Lucas electrical equipment and Excelsior 1933-4 motorcycles. Additional books will be gratefully accepted. APPEAL

If anyone has a copy of “Monte Carlo Rally,” by H. K Symons, for disposal, will they please eommunicate with the Editor. ENCOURAGING ENTHUSIASM

It is pleasing to be able to record that the B.A.C. Motor Sports Club, open to employees of the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd., is receiving considerable help from the directors of that company, while a similar organisation flourishes in Derby. Let us not forget that mechanisation wins wars.

E.C.C.

David Gandhi informs us that Raymond Mays is now president of the Enthusiasts’ Car Club. A meeting was scheduled for January 80th in Stockport and, in future, meetings will be held in Manchester, greater support being hoped for. Bulletins will be sent to members bi-monthly, and the annual subscription is 5s.

Hon. secretary : D. L. Gandhi, 134, Heaton Moor Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport.