VINTAGE VEERINGS

VINTAGE VEER INGS

TIE vintage e% en! of Angus,. was the parade ot. Ilistoric It :wit ig Cars berm, 15(),000 peiq de at SilVerstone I he o,easion or I he IThily ExpressIlt.14.1).(•. Ateet ittg. Latirence Pomeroy, President of Ike Vito agr• Sports Car Chub, was asked to organise it and Ile P(111111 at short notice 26 people with suitable ears willing to particitottc. Francis Dutton Stoll brought a 1902 de Dietrieh, said to have rim in the Paris-Vierma race. I ut. actually, we believe. It replitta I hose earS. If was very ” period,” with gilled-ttilw radiator and high bucket seats. Itonald Harker went In eonsideralde troulde to persuade the It Its allow him to prepare and drive that extremely exciting car, the 1903 Gordon 13ennett Napier. It is the car whielt Earp (trashed during the eliminating tests and it was nice to see snell ali alit heist ie 111141 historic possession ill action again, after its long retirement. Its ignition sYsl vitt, itworporal glatiti-blalbai baX-14.-11111gie ( Ilitirri(cakur) on be (lash, was energised by a modern lawas 0-1.toll bait cry for (tic oveasion, but this ” mod..con.” was hidden from view. Harry Ferguson. the tractor manufacturer, vas ‘’cry interested, beeause lie saw those cars in action fort y S. F. Scars en tereil the s ev o en years ag, 1901. Niereisies tic reeently acquired from C. R. Abbott, but it. didn’t arrive. Delisloun took the ’08 Dut(on, 1)r. and Mrs. Ewett the Ilala, Gibbs tool Ileal’s 1910

chain-drive lienitellt Neve his 1111-1 T.T. Dumber with. NI.Its. Nevi’ as passenger. Abbott ran his beautifully resIttred 1111-1. T.T. Sunbeam, an impressive sight as it. roared into action tweontioutied Icy Sir Fratwis Satittielson’s sister car. also nieely restortal. The latter car formerly had a four-seater body on it and was dealt with in No. 2 of our ” Veteran Types ” ;series. Peter Ilattipl on came in a magni ficently restored Type 13 three-seater Iltwatti, one of the most delightful EdWardisuis We have Set eyes on (it is of 191-1; vita:we). The programme said a similar car ran seeurid in the 191011911 ?• (;.1′.. -hut not as it three-seater, surely. Peter’s other (1911) rl’ype 13 being nearer to I hat mark. Ilear.s 1921 st raight :1-lit re ‘1’1% Avas etartisted to D. It. liiirrage, .-1-11en drove his 1922 .four-eylinder 2-litre Sunbeam and Ilcal piekell 1 Iii 192.1. Silpereharged Slitibeatit (‘cur Fred Ellis hail hoped to bring 1V0 ilk earefll by rebuilt III.valve ‘,Will 0.11.e. Aston-Martins, 11111 ” liaZOr Mule Was 1101 ready, so he earn(‘ cci he (i.P, car, tvhielt he let Clive Gallup

handle, (‘Ii ye sporting st011.4! socks 111111 It?• Wow ‘when lie raced hitls car circa 1922. It sent out a big smoke-sereen and was on low-ltressure tyres. A. 11, Vt’itliers provided a G.N. with the historic Vitesse ‘-t.vviii engine

whose ii. h. vanish:iris are it by long

exposittl chains. Tile rest, of the car was more renditiseent of it sprint. G.N. cci the 111811s than lie racing G.N. of 1922, which ii was intewled to represent. Cceil 1.1)II drove his immaculately tirned-out V12 101-litre 1 telzwe. 1 endered hy Alan Soul lion’s E ” 3098 ” Vauxhall. II .was a very quick and ins tressive car. Hull Delage .P. De111011 brought, on it trailer behind a ” 1951) Al.vis saloon, one of the exeeedingly interesting. 1924 A his racing cars that ran in that year’s .I.C.C. 200•.N1ile Race at. Brooklands. It. Inks I Ill! :LW WIll it! eXpOSed-itriving.shalls hack-itsle sitrung on I-elliptic springs, a unit gearbox vitt, behind it, a transmission brake having two contracting shoes (tperated

riti ii (111111: -ILIA ion worm. This car not only went and sounded well, but. held the I rack impressively. INe didn’t see S. G, VItillin,tr,ton”s 1923 At’., which the organisers presumably thought Was Ile famous Joyce tit:whine which lives these days al balleatilli re (MA %V hid( 1V:Pi, we believe, act cullv (tic’ ” Itossil Cr Special ” tut’ about. 1929 specilittat ion and. il Was tialli. ‘Wit II a 14(rWer, WI lid( ill! Joyce car of circa 1925 didn’t have. although Raymond Mays .k.C, of that perilid Finch bought. in van and on trailer, the Ivvo A.milear Sixes that 11:1 Ve so ((hell Ulla as sports cars. but which on this 4.1e.41Piiial ptl•tiela(41 (111111SeiVe$ ati (Very “) raving cars. The immortal ” Champion tdtip (In 111(tild 1 .1,-litrit ‘,my-designed st raiglit.eight Ihtlage wits represented Iv It. It. C. l‘alker’s mollified car, with i.f.s.. but. Its this W:Lti raejlig I ler sante day, woultin’t It owley’s car, will’ the sort of front axle Itenoist and S..•311pia ntied, I laVe heel( IlltIre mucpurcc I ‘t The Type 35C G.1’. Itilgat.ti naturally had to be represented. and Byrn”, and obliged, although Ilic

cit (VT.!: tit Ili) ti Were 11101 c1ciutc keepillg, cit Iler ici appearance or note. This very inspiring parade was cont. pitied by Dutt’s I vo-seater 2.0-litre and MocAlpitte’s 2.9-litre single-seater NIaseratis. As the Awnter -a forward set radiator and lengthened bonnet these days, Crainptoit’S beautiful and ‘unspoiled ” 2.9 ” of’ tlie kind Itirkin drove vvould have been a happier choler, tool it tad been iti proves,: of being rebuilt, and vvIty uuu onontoposto 1’3 Alfa-Itotticos to keep the ” Masers ” elmipati)? I lowever, it is easy to ttrilicise and Llw parade utas 1111.(tit elljOyal ‘le Os it vvas and thorotwItly enjoyed by everyone. front the Continental visitors to the 150,000 racegoers seated behind the ropes. ‘file only hitch 1Vati i (ti brevity and the fact that the numbers loid got jInnhloil in the prows:mune, eatise of irritation to those who had taken the trouble to have their ” rioting numbers” properly painted on II trim c.ars. Also, Ilte faster, imisier mist-11125 ratters taus!. haVe beell el cnfucsiicg b) I be 1111104% la whom they seemed its fatii ati car.; racing seriously I hal day. Perhaps the V.S.C.C, will lie asked Icc slag,i• this ills’ ruelive eXhilti(ion atimodly, when Iiny mistakes like these (tan be eradieated. If NO, there are quite a number ()I’ historic raeing ears We should like to seeNash’s 1912 :rand Prix Lorraine-1)iet rich, Rancid Pratley’s 35011.p. V12 Sunbeam, ” Chitty BangBang 11,” the 190s G.P. .’tutst iii. a Ninety Napier, the Sluittlewortls de Dietrich, a 1’3 Alfa-11.(mwt) anal that 1911 3-litre Coupe de 1′,-(0/0 11cIage whirl’, 1 Ile. 10.,:t lime we saw it., was, alas, standing* in the ,11,011 ill a garde,’ in Leicester. Speed aniongst. these old (tars apparently frightens the I.t.A.C., otherwise We 11.1 alld ideall for a real rave

oext time . . ” TheSe (11W-eilielefley iallrerti, by their absolute hotiesty, have st 1(tiack of earning tutu’ deep tiffeel ion of t heir (turners. II is it trail which MI 111,•14.ril car is likely III (Wit (‘Iiittim in the ” (:orzette.” rcith oference to 1923

19. ( Yrissley. Forrest 1,yeet t returned front his holiday abroad to well-deserved congratulations from the vintage-minded on his XI< 120—beating Belgian National records with his evergreen 8-litre Bentley. Congratulations, too, to L. C. McKenzie, who as USUILI prepared the car, wldelt, the older it gets the faster it goes ! The figures achieved were : f.s. mile, 133.828 m.p.h. ; Ls. kilometre, 134.755 m.p.h.. ;

93.48 ; s.s. kilometre; 82.210 m.p.h. These are the mean speeds; the fastest one-way run was over the kilometre, at 135.8 m.p.h. The car ran road-equipped, on pump fuel, in gusty conditions, and had too low an axle ratio for the f.s. runs. It has generally sunk in that this makes this 1930 Bentley the world’s fastest. sports car but what is not yet. fully comprehended is that these Belgian speeds are higher than those at which the equivalent British (lass 11 records staial. Lyeett, holds the s.s. kilometre and mile records himself in the latter category, at. 0.71 and 0,51 m.p.h. lower speeds, respectively. The British Class it f.s. records for these dist:LnVOS still belong to the late J. G. Parry Thomas and his I,eyland-Thomas, but at speeds 3.05 and 3.53 m.p.h. lower than Lyeett put U p at, Jabbeke. So clearly Forrest could raise these any time he felt inclined if sufficient space were available in this country in the absence of Brooklands for the purpttse. His famous Bentley

is certainly ” evergreen.” In 1937 it covered a Mean s.s. kilometre at Brooklands in 27.46 sce., and in 1939 did a Mean S.S. Mile in 38.77 see. Now, on MIMIc fuel acid fully equipped it has dom• 27.21 and 38.54 sec., respectively, in lielgium. The car has done lour sa, kilometre runs in this country since it Itas.emerged from its war-time hiberiett ion, clocking 29.8 and 30.2 see. at the 11.D.C. Silverstone meeting and 28.8 and 28.6 sec. at Brighton last month. Inferior British petrol probably accounts for these somewhat slower times. Old-Car In.s-urance : Our remarks made on this subject last month have resulted in considerable correspondends. Mcsccy readers are clearly having difficulty in obtaining fair cover for vintage ears ;ci contemporary has also had soinethitig to say 1,11 this subject recently. stating :

the insurance companies, VIM walk iii IllTad a nationalisation, should have a care t hat they are not preparing a gibbet for themselves. Their special position as a public service from which they are permitted to make profit places upon thenk special obligat ions, wlinth on present form the Stale might plausibly offer to fulfil more satisfactorily.” So We are not. alone in our grumbles. Certain insurance companies have, with commendable acumen, quoted us their terms, but we hardly feel disposed to mention them individually, in fairness to other firms who possibly offer equally attractive terms Imt who have !wen more reticent. An exception may be nut& in respect. of Hyde-East and Partners, Ltd., of Teddington, in view of (he Mel I hal I hese brokers apparent ly have the I dessing of the Som.etitry of the V.S.C.C., and of the Lagonda Register and welcome business from VilliRgc-car folk. A selection of readers’ experictiecs follows 11128 11 orris I 8-h .p. : Third party ellver

with only 50 per cent. excess, engineer’s report required, but immediate cover issided. Ifitto on 1926 Riley (Commercial :Ilion). 1927 V a uxhall 14-h. p : Third party only, immediate cover issued at £4 18s. 9d. on ” basic imly,” eligiTii•er’s report wanted. No part ()I’ cover limn by proposer. (The London and Lancashire Insurance Co.) 1933 M.G. ” .11 ” : First, £5 of any claim born by proposer. Comprehensive policy, one driver only, issued for £9 Os. per annum. Claim for 1150 met and no-claim bonus still Valid. (Renown.) 1924 lir umber 8-h.p. : comprehensive cover ofkred at I:15 19s 3d., or third party, fire and theft at ,4:.1) 2s. 6(1. No special clauses eNVOpt. ellgineor’s report. (law Union :ind Rock.) 1930 P.1..1.’1′. : Immediatc third party cc cver. l’11,111e(T’S rePOil later ; 25 per CCIlt. t•NeCSS for age of car, .1:7 12s. per annum. (Thompson, Graham and :17’25 lumber It : Acet.i,tol with no report for approximately £7 per 8111111111. third party. (Army, Navy arid ( ;eneral.) 1929 G m-Pai .5-11.1) . : luunediate

cover. excess, without report, for just over .1:6. (Army, Navy and General.) Sallie car, third party, lire and (hell with. engineer’s report, £7 17s. Oct tier annum. Whieh shoal(‘ be enough to show that it. eau be done I” in Inge Ligh I r.5. The early light car meeting of Iii,Lagonda C.C.. reported tic Mirron Seoul. last month. may have started something. ‘• Something ” in this ease Ming the formation of a Light Car Sect ion of t V.S.C.C. At least, that is what he customers, who on that occasion C3Ille in five ” 11.9 ” Lagondas, two A.C.s, 1 wo ” tif •”l’albots, a Trojan, a Bayliss Tliontas, ci CalCott and a Stelae, seemed to want. This meeting, incidentally, organised at short notice by J. Fisher. ” 11.9 ” Lagonda enthusiast, arose from MoTort SPoier’s suggestion that a replica of an early lands End or Exeter trial, confined to a handful of ancient light ears, might, roost dole a lot of fun. Whether light -car cultists will go as far afield as that in imrsuit, of mnusement remains to be seen, hut if the V.5. CC. thoN decide to further :mother ” lost cause.” namely. I lie vintage small car, it will lind IInd sioecially-pieked trials courses and SPeeIl VelilleS will not be necessary l’i)r the entertainment of the owners ,,r such cars. ( Icc Ii IlitrY Main road gradients will constitute a gimd enough test, Inc such examples of ” motoring for the million ” as members (duty unearth. part ieularly if re-starts and brief timed acceleration sections are inelffiled. As a matter or (‘act. imc tic,’ ,ariy and mid iweifiks, own thc more ambitions clubs sought fame and fortune Icy putting WI would IMMOTrade ent ties from altiongst, light-car nuomfaeturers, all kinds of iogenious tests were introduced. The SIN Days”I’rial finished at. Brooklands, where tests for inechanieal condition, easy-startimd and speed had l.0 in• undertaken. Marks Weri• eVell 11411110(11 for wear in king-pin swivel bearings and the like. The I.C.C.. put over a smalbear trial which had only (me ” colonial section ” and that a surprise. ‘Me rest ()I’ the competition was deeided on fuel consumption On a measured gallon, easy -starting, maraud’ vent I di lily, speed up the test-hill, driving over a plank (to check suspension-action) and speed over a flying lap at Brooklands. Whether to-day’s owners of small ears. of the sort that took part. would welcome a repetition of these for old-1intes Sake, or whether, not having to sell the ears this drive, they will prefer something less elaborate, would be for I lie Secretary of any body formed to serve them to decide. But either Way.. 1.1111 al111 gaTIWS W011111 seem to be there for the asking. The pre-I927 car of 12 rat ed Ic,tc. cr it’SS is wor111 Pretierk ing. possessing as much character as most vintage ears. and making up in economy what it lacks in performance. There is only one snag in developing the cult and that is the high prices which the ittiscropulous may try to obtain for

suitable veltieles. The solution would seem to be irt the hands of the cultists themselves. The top price for a vintage light-car in average second-hand order should be set at £50, and rougher specimens, needing appreviable restoring. should not be bought for more than half’ that sum or thereabouts. l’relot cars have a value that post-1911 vehicles never achieve, and a tilltall vintage car does not. (must itute as pract ical cc t rat ;sport proposition as its larger brethren. If V.8. CC. members bear these things in mind. a lieW field (if aetiVily will open to t hem wit ‘tout embracing an exorbitant outlay. But if Mr. Moneybags just has Lo join in and rushes off to buy a 1921 l’onypattern for £210 in order to do so. inflation is likely to fond ay. And when that happens you might as well return to your 3-litres and ” 30,98’s.”

Lt Mille Commence: Jaguars have sent, Forrest Lyeett, the following telegram:– Warmest congratulations on your very line achievement. Pleased to lose our reel )rd tonrs,rardy Jo .i.ch a grand car.”