V.S.C.C. Measham Rally

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V.S.C.C. Measham Rally (JAN. 7th-8th) —Last Year’s Winners Win Again

THE Vintage S.C.C., Midland Section, held its 7th Measham Rally under wintry conditions this year. An excellent entry of 78, of which 33 drove vintage, nine thoroughbred postvintage, and 36 modern vehicles, took the usual stiff course into Wales and finished in time for breakfast at Mr. G. A. Hill’s Measham Motor Sales Organisation, where there is ample space for driving tests, apart from breakfast.

On arrival competitors faced a brake test to discover how much the fast driving over secondary roads had worn away those useful components. Some evidence of the rigours of the night was to be seen in the competitors’ car park, for M. C. S. Barnard’s decently. original Type 40 Bugatti had a dented front mudguard and grass growing from one front tyre, J. J. Woodcock’s well-known 14/40 Humber had also damaged a front mudguard, R. C. Batho’s Riley Nine had started an agricultural growth from its front numberplate, while real dents had changed the appearance of G. A. Busk’s Ford Anglia.

After breakfast, Felix Day set people off on a timed run round pylons spaced according to the size of the competing car. The moderns rolled about exhibiting their under parts and many of the vintage cars lacked sufficiency of steering lock. The Type 40 Bugatti had a good turning circle, however, and some of the best runs were put up by N. R. Buckle’s forcibly-abbreviated 1929 Lancia Lambda, Woodcock’s Humber, C. B. Taylor’s Triumph TR2, which was thrown about, D. Wilson-Spratt’s Triumph which indulged in tail slides, B. Day’s extremely fast TR3, F. J. Hook’s Standard Ten, in spite of excessive roll, T. A. Gold, who skilfully slid the tail of his TR2 round, and A. L. Yarranton, who really” had a go” in his Morgan Plus Four. Oversteer spragged C. B. Taylor’s TR2, P. G. I3artleet’s 1927 2-litre Lagonda accelerated well, M. J. Whiteman blipped and rolled his Ford Consul round fast, W. A. Machin’s TR2 slid round the circles, but H. M. Sinclair’s very original 1927 Chrysler coupe, with hydraulic contracting front brakes, missed its way, and G. G. McDonald was somewhat untidy in his not-original 4-litre Bentley.

The last test was a fast lap of Mr. Hill’s emporium, broken by a pit-stop to jack up a front wheel. This tended to reduce the vintage. car enthusiasts to hysterics as weird and wonderful jacks were produced from modern vehicles. After a very fast run Day’s Triumph lost time when the handle came out of an inefficient jack. Dr. Cameron’s Sunbeam-Talbot went up and up, the luckless passenger making countless turns on the jack handle and the car nearly falling off the jack before a wheel would rotate. The Ford Consul’s passenger got excellent exercise from a side-jacking device, Macworth swung his 1938 Lancia Aprilia into a good position for using a jack brought from the luggage boot, J. M. Hill’s 1927 O.M. needed lots of winding before one of its huge wheels would spin, A. Fender’s passenger fell flat on his tummy before applying himself to a very anaemit piece of lifting apparatus, while J. R. Crow’s navigator did some fascinating things under the bonnet to raise their M.G.

Both S. T. Farmiloe’s Austin Westminster and W. H. Morgan’s noisy Standard Ten were seen to possess excellent jacks, Yarranton’s Morgan was lifted speedily with a garage jack after playing racers, but best of all was A. Polack’s Morgan, which went up, then down, in a trice. Machin’s Triumph fell off the jack, R. H. Stretton’s passenger performed prodigies with the Fiat 1,100’s side-jack, spinning the wheel with one foot, D. H. Holland relied on rolling a huge jack under the site of his Austin A40 and was quick, some of the chaps seemed to have shares in a racing jack and some drivers absentmindedly kept the brake applied, to the mortification of their hard-working passengers.

Altogether an enlightening test and it would be good to see a contest of this kind organised for jack manufacturers, using only one car.

Of the vintage machinery at Measham, MacNaughtan had his heavily-disguised 3-litre twin-cam Sunbeam, Pilkington a vast sleevevalve 4-litre Voisin tourer which ticked over at 300 r.p.m. and hid its dignity behind a blue smoke-haze, and Waine was there in his interesting Rhode Hawk, while Chief Marshal J. E. Lloyd arrived in a period 23/60 Vauxhall saloon endowed with enhanced energy by reason of a 30/98 engine. The V.S.C.C. President, Cecil Clinton, made the journey to the middle of England in his Porsche intending to ” broadblast,” but, slack, the p.a. system had run down. It was cold at Measham. Results in opposite column. Results The Measham Challenge Trophy (for best Vintage Car) t P. W. blucNaughtan

(1926 Sunbeam), 821.marks lost. Silver Cup (for best car m any class) t A L. Yarranton (1955 Morgan), 94 marks

lost. Cass 1 (Vintage Cars) I

let R. E. B. Noble (1930 Alvis). 851 marks lost.

2nd : G. G. McDonald (1927/30 Bentley), 1061 marks lost.

3rd : J. W. Rowley (1929 Lancia), 1181 marks lost. Clam 2 (Thoroughbred Post-Vintage ears)

let : S. B. Bowskill (1932 Riley), 231* marks lost. Class 3 (visitors’ care) t

1st : A. Polack (1952 Morgan), 25 marks lost.

2nd : T. A. Gold (1954 Triumph), 28* marks lost.

3rd : C. B. Taylor (1954 Triumph), 33* marks lost. Vintage Touring Clam I

let : .J. J. Woodcock (1928 Humber), 207 marks lost.

2nd : H. Clarke (1925 Alvis), 229 marks lost. Best Driving Test (not having won another award) s P. J. E. Binns (1927 0.M.),

32 marks lost.

Navigators’ Awards t To navigators of P. W. MacNaughtan (Sunbeam) and A. L.

Yarranton (Morgan).