HERE AND THERE, January 1939

HERE AND THERE

A REMARKABLE SPORTS-CAR

A reader of this paper, Mr. J. Eisner, is building a sports-car which will challenge Forrest Lycett’s 8-litre Bentley and Sir Lionel Phillips’s Leyland-Thomas, as a road car which is both potent and unique. He has purchased the old racing V12 Delage from Gerald Sumner and is making it into a touring machine. This Delage was built as a sprint car in 1923, took the Land Speed Record in 1924 in the hands of Rene Thomas and, coming to this country, was successful at Brooklands in the care of John Cobb and, later, Oliver

Bertram. Later still, the now defunct Junior Racing Drivers’ Club was said. to have bought it, fitting a two-seater body, though anything less suited to learners can hardly be imagined. The Delage had remarkable accelerative properties and lapped at 183.8 m.p.h. Mr. Eisner will use a new chassis, with independent suspension all round, and will add real brakes. Ramponi, of High Speed Motors, is in charge of the conversion work, which will occupy six or nine months. A new two-seater body will be installed and twin Powerplus compressors are being fitted. The speed is expected to be in the region of 160 to 170 m.p.h.

THE DECEMBER VINTAGE S.C.C. BULLETIN

The December Bulletin of the Vintage S.C.C. arrived on December 31st, too late for mention in the correct part of the paper. We confess to reading it from cover to cover as soon as it comes, and the latest number is as good as the nine printed Bulletins that have preceded it. Twenty full members and seven associates have been elected since Septem ber, including three ladies. Their cars comprise : two 4i-litre Bentleys, three 3-litre Bentleys, two 12/50 Alvis, a Silver Eagle Alvis, two Lancias, a Ballot, a 2.3 Bugatti, a 3-litre Sunbeam, a 1912 Renault, a 1910 15/20 Mercedes, a 36/220 Mercedes-Benz, a Salmson, a Riley Nine, a Frazer-Nash, an M.G. Six and John Fry’s” Red Biddy.” There is a description of Peter Clark’s trials 3-litre Bentley, a report of the Gloucester Trial which the Vintagents won from the Harrow C.C. by one mark, some notes on the H.E. marque (which provide material for the present writer’s book ” Automobiles—Their Shortcomings “), the Veteran Notes, the Northern Notes, notes on the Brighton Run, and an extremely funny article on the Show, written by a contributor who had vintage interests essentially to the fore. Also some Assorted Nonsense and a poem. Clive Windsor-Richards takes the Forrest Lycett Trophy for the highest aggregate performance during 1938, with 143 marks. He drove various 38;98 Vauxhalls

and a 5-litre Delage. A. S. Heal gets the Runner-Up Trophy with 120 marks, driving a 30/98 Vauxhall, and the Veteran Trophy, with his 1910 10-litre Fiat. Denyer takes the Pitchford Cup for the best performance using the same *litre car—his Lea-Francis, for which Wrigley (Lea-Francis) is runner-up.

C. W. P. Hampton has acquired a 1910 Type 13 Bugatti and Fitzpatrick runs a supercharged Phantom II RollsRoyce.

Tim Carson has moved to ” Egarston,” Park Lane, Basingstoke, and proposes to open a room there as Club headquarters.

An award for the best-kept vintage car owned by a member is under consideration and the Club hopes to have the use of Prescott for a speed hill-climb again in 1939. Entry fees and membership are notably reasonable, especially so in view of the growing prestige of this very live club.

WILL THEY BE BARRED?

Interest in non-slip differentials, such. as the ZF, is increasing now that the R.A.C. has banned the competition tyre in trials. Naturally, lots of trials competitors are anxious to know whether, in trials in which solid axles have been. prohibited in the past, these new-type differentials will also be barred. Perhaps the R.A.C. or the B.T.D.A. would like to let us have their views on the subject, while we would like to know what action the leading organisers of solid-axlebarred trials propose to take, if any. S. H. Allard is believed to rather scorn specialised differentials, though we believe he is not entirely disinterested in. the ZF device.

CORRECTION

In the article on “Tuning the Austin Seven,” published last month, which was extremely well received, we referred to copper-asbestos jointing washers as C of A, instead of C.A., washers. Enthusiastic Austin Seven speedmen are assured that such washers need not be up to Certificate of Airworthiness standards