Veteran Edwardian Vintage, March 1970
A Section Devoted to Old-Car Matters
VSCC DRIVING TESTS, CHARTERHOUSE (Feb. 1st)
THE Vintage SCC season opened at Charterhouse School with driving tests under umbrella-and-heavy-coat conditions. Under these circumstances I preferred to walk about photographing the competing and spectators’ cars instead of standing still watching the tests and freezing. However, I did note that the garaging frolic was tough on Frazer Nashes, Harding’s, Townsend’s, which has a separate reverse lever, and Arnold-Forster’s all shedding a chain in attempting to go backwards, although Hare’s Anzani ‘Nash, on b.e. boots, got through unscathed.
The most interesting competitor was Howell’s great 1924 Tipo 519 Fiat fabric saloon, with a great many unusual features, including the huge brakes actuated via a gearbox oil-pressure servo, with one pump per wheel, but not the gate for the brake lever as on the Fiat Museum’s model. Non-dicers to catch the eye included a well-known 40/50 Napier, a rare Bean which looked more like an American tourer except for Perrot f.w.b. and a r.h. gear-lever, the ex-Smith 1911 Rolls-Royce in test-chassis form, and two unusual open Royces. The sight of the latter, the folded screen on the Brixia-Zust, and no screen at all on Cameron’s ABC made me feel so cold that I Alfa Romeo-ed off without opening the notebook. But some of the pictures I took are appended. W.B.
Results:
Standard and Modified Sports Cars:
First Class Awards: G. Weightman (1928 twin-cam Salmson), R. A. Pilkington (1931 Alfa Romeo) and T. Ely (1934 Riley).
Second Class Awards: W. S. May (1926 Fraser Nash). J. A. Haynes (1930 Aston Martin). D. Collins (1935 Flat) and P. G. Cole. (1935 Bentley).
Third Class Awards: B. Sismey (1934 Alvis), A. D. Jones (1923 Vauxhall) D. H. Gahagan (1926 Bugatti) and H. G. Conway (1928 Bugatti).
Touring Cars:
First Class Awards: R. A. Collings (1912/13 Brixia-Zust) and D. Macmillan (1928 Rolls-Royce).
Second Class Awards: C. C. Buckoke (1938 Riley) and C. P. Marsh (1925 Austin).
Third Class Awards: B. M. J. Andrews (1928 Riley) and B. Gray (1925 Austin).