WB Rumblings, October 2005
The lnvicta Car Club’s 75th anniversary of the S-type was supported by these impressive sportscars, with owners bringing cars to England from Germany and the Netherlands, another flown over from America. They went in convoy to join another of the home contingent for the rally at Charlecote Park, Stratford-on-Avon, where there was ample space to line them up with other lnvictas facing them. Every type was represented, including a very rare Black Prince and the modern S-type and even an SI/600 coupé. Prizes were presented by Pamela Gregory, daughter of William Watson, the Invicta designer, and the Ahern Trophy for best Invicta overall by Douglas Irvine, won respectively by Dean Edmunds’s S-type and from Germany Walter Schneider’s open S-type. In all 30 S-types and 16 other Invictas attended this memorable birthday party, which reminds us that even the smaller one-make clubs can excel in such matters.
***
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the MG ‘Cream Cracker’ and ‘Three Musketeers’ trials teams, the Triple-M Register of the MG Car Club is having a weekend meeting in the Chilterns on October 29/30. Details from Alan Grassam on 01935 863 673.
***
A reader who has a 1934 MG PA, registration number APP 186, which was originally supercharged by the factory but which has had its supercharger removed, has been told that it was raced at Brooklands. I can find no record of this, but it is possible that it was driven in the JCC and/or MCC High-Speed Trials, perhaps by a Mr J K Rushbrooke or his father. Can anyone confirm this?
***
With two Kings having been Patrons of Brooklands and the present Prince of Wales frequently in the news, did you know that in 1930 the Prince of Wales Gold Plate was awarded for a race at Brooklands? It was won by Dudley Froy in his 8.3-litre Leyland Thomas with a best lap of 120.88mph.
***
The Rootes Archive Charitable Trust has acquired, with Peugeot’s help, records covering the cars made by Rootes from the 1930s to the 1980s. This important historic archive took several lorries to transport, and there was difficulty in finding 2000sq ft of storage space, with furniture and pictures, manuals, books, a sectioned Imp engine, etc among the collection. Help is needed; contact Tim Sutton, the Trust’s secretary, on 01993 878471.
***
Two pictures in the summer edition of the A7CA’s magazine are reminders that when the last days of Longbridge were at hand, 411 Austin 7s of all types lined up as far as the camera could see on both sides of the reserved space allocated to them on the Madeira Drive at Brighton, on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of Austin. Surely the biggest-ever gathering of one-make, one-model cars? The A7CA caters for 15 leading A7 organisations and 39 associate clubs and registers worldwide. Its president is Bob Wyatt. the secretary Hayden Morgan, Glynteg, 90 Ammanford Road, Llandybie, Carmarthen SA18 2JY. The editor of its quarterly magazine is Ruairidh Dunford.
***
As a follow-up to our recent references to Buckler Specials, Cedric Brierley has sent me a picture of the chassis of the racing Buckler he built using Derek Buckler’s drawings, a twin-cam British Salmson engine and a cut-down 22hp Ford back axle.
***
There was a time when the VCC of GB catered only for pre-1905 veteran cars, but later it widened the field and embraced Edwardians, though the inimitable Brighton Run is confined to pre-1905 survivors. On its recent 75th Welsh Rally only nine of the 53 participants were veterans. The VSCC similarly extended its operations, from being open to those with pre-1931 cars, preferably of sporting type, to bringing in Edwardians, and it had a racing class for 250F Maseratis and for 1980s sportscars to enliven its See Red Donington meeting earlier this month. But all this does encourage the use and preservation of more historic cars.
***
The Triumph OC, like most of the one-make clubs, has its own magazine from which we learn that at its annual rally at Stanford Hall the Triumphs ranged from 1934 to 1940, including 17 Glorias, three Dolomites and two Vitesses. The secretary is Tony Miles, Spring Lodge, Stonehills, Fawley, Hants S045 1DU.