Bill Boddy

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Twin peak revs

An instrumental query over some early racing car dashboards

I have been rereading Rex Hays’ book Vanishing Litres (MacGibbon & Kee, 1956), and one item puzzles me. The maker of those excellent model racing cars, for which his book contains 31 scale drawings, states in his history of grand prix racing that as drivers might over-rev racing engines with dire results, the rev counters were duplicated in front of the riding mechanic so that to avoid this they could give their driver a tap on the  leg before an engine was wrecked. 

It seems that Hays is relating this duplication of the minor dials also to the 1924 GP Sunbeams. As he says he was lucky enough to have ridden with Segrave in the Sunbeam and also with Boillot in the Peugeot, he should know. However, I do not recall Anthony Heal referring to this duplication of dials in his racing Sunbeam ‘bible’ or seeing it anywhere else, and it was not on the 1922 GP Sunbeam I drove.

The GP Sunbeam which Jenks bought and left to Dr R C Howard, who took it to Canada and used to write to me about a meticulous restoration, also never mentioned this. Is my memory at fault?

VSCC Welsh Trial and Goodwood Sprint

In October the VSCC ran its very successful well-supported Welsh trial, with 146 entries, of whom seven retired.

Due to ties, only the Smatcher Trophy, for best climb up this section, was awarded to David Price in a Gordon England A7. First-class awards went to David Dye (A7), Richard Holgate (A7), Geraint Owen (Morris-JAP Special) and Brian Emerson (Ford A), Roy Newton (Ford A), Ben Collings (3-litre Bentley) and Craig Collings (3/4½-litre Bentley).

On October 21 the VSCC held a sprint at Goodwood, in which FTD at 110sec went to James Baxter’s 1934 single-seater ’Nash. Fastest vintage car was the 1928 Frazer Nash of Jonathon Cobb (115.4sec); best pre-war time was 113sec by Robert Cobden’s 1937 Riley Special. Quickest Edwardian was Nicholas Pellett’s 1914 TT Sunbeam, in 155.9sec; the aero-power Austin-Hall Scott made 148.7sec. David Biggins was there in an interesting 1912-13 Targa Florio Nazzaro.

Questions, questions

Here are some conundrums which I cannot answer, but perhaps our erudite readers can. The Spyker company used to claim that its cars had dust-proof bonnets, a good feature on the roads of the time. To this end they put the radiator behind the engine, Renault-style. But presumably very effective undershields were needed, with perhaps the crankcase sides extended to ensure full dust prevention. Maybe someone has a pre-1915 Spyker and can tell us?

What of Bugatti’s reversed quarter-elliptic suspension? It gave a longer spring-base, but was this of much importance? Maybe Ettore wanted better spring anchorage than that of side-member brackets and was thus able to attach the rear of those reversed springs to a rear chassis cross-member. Did Panhard-Levassor pay royalties to Bugatti for using this system on its smallest car in the vintage years? Also, some early Bugatti light cars had double half-elliptic front springs on both sides (left). Was this so as to be able to proceed if one spring broke, or give stiffer springing?

I passed this query to the Bugatti Trust, whose historian Richard Day tells me that in 1911 Bugatti took out a patent for “twin sets of leaf springs for motor vehicles”. Bugatti’s application claimed that this meant each spring carried half the load, making installation cheaper, neater, shallower and lighter. Both springs hung on the same pin at each end, with one end round and the other elliptical; he claimed this gave a secondary advantage of being able to provide slightly different rates on each spring. But why?

Badge of honour

I suppose I am old-fashionable and terribly out of date, but I find it remarkable that replica rally plates are available for those who might want to attach them to their Minis. Very realistic, these plates will make you look as if you took part in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally or drove your Mini Cooper in the 1963 Coupe des Alpes.

I suppose it would be possible for those displaying bogus rally plates to trace who competed in the respective events with those competition numbers and be tempted to pretend they were those individuals.

Fool I may seem, but I have the same view about replica 120 and 130mph Brooklands badges. Surely only the original badges should remain, being personal to those to whom they were awarded or their relatives, if such pre-war badges still exist? I can just about accept that collectors may want to buy reproductions of the ordinary BARC members’ badges, a different one for every year from 1907 to 1939.

History repeating

An old name in F1

I wonder how many who watched Albers and Monteiro driving the renamed Spyker cars from the Chinese GP on were aware that another Spyker car existed in Amsterdam from 1900 to 1925, and that Frits Spyker made the first four-wheel-drive car, with an 8.7-litre engine driving the wheels by shafts. It may have been intended for the 1903 Gordon Bennett race but never made the circuits. It later came to England and was, I believe, exhibited at the Crystal Palace before WW1.

The production Spykers were notable for dust-sealed bonnets and unusual body styling. After WW1 the 3.3-litre 13/30hp was a respected car, as was the 5.6-litre 30/40 six-cylinder model with Maybach engine of which Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands bought two in 1921. Another was used in 1922 by S F Edge to set a Double-12 Hour record at Brooklands at 74.27mph. And now you can purchase a two-seater Spyker road car for £185,000. 

Steam survivor

Many years ago when driving on the Embankment I saw a stationary Foden steam tractor. Having attended the first-ever race between traction engines I had become keen on them, so I stopped to snap this Foden. Its driver told me they were changing to petrol trucks and that this one would be sold or scrapped. At that time we had a charlady whose husband had just retired from driving a steam-roller, so I decided I must have this Foden, as I had a driver who would instruct me. But my wife was not so keen…

However, I am pleased to know that this Foden has survived. Owned by Camross, coal merchants, when I saw the vehicle, it was found by Peter van Houten’s father in 1956 and after a long restoration it is now in pristine order. Peter is a regular rally competitor, always steaming on the road, not taking it by trailer, usually averaging 13mph, with a top pace of 30mph. 

A comprehensive history

Austin Seven history has been told in a wide variety of books, including the Pre-War A7 Club’s reprint of the Motor Sport one which includes Charles Mitchem’s account of trying to be the first 750cc entrant to finish the Le Mans 24 Hour race.

But when I thought there were no more to come I received an enormous manuscript describing A7 competition achievements in events of every kind all over the world. All I knew was that an anonymous ‘CC’ had written this tour de force of 370 pages.

I later discovered that the author was a Ms Canning Brown, who took some 36 years to write the book, staying for a week in a town, such as Southport for example, to obtain past newspaper reports of the local racing there. Her interest in these little machines began when, as a girl, she drove an aunt’s Chummy into a haystack, which resulted in a painful punishment at a time when such reasonable response was permitted. 

‘CC’ soon had Austin Sevens of her own. Her book Austin Competition History – the cars and those who drove them 1922 to 1939 is published by Twincam Limited of Petworth (ISBN 0955407400). It is a formidable work, for which I was asked to write the Foreword. The cost is a very reasonable £35, with a deluxe edition signed by the author at £75, postage and packing extra.

The events covered are in chronological order, and there are many splendid photographs, some of them seen before but so well reproduced that new features show up. 

If any disappointment arises it is that some leading events get less space than the majority, and a few minor errors have crept in. 

‘CC’s family knew Chris Staniland and she spent time at Brooklands gaining information for this amazing account of racing A7s of every kind. Dedicated exponents of Sir Herbert Austin’s baby, so often modified for racing, will no doubt spend absorbing hours in the company of ‘CC’s astonishing recall.