V-E-V miscellany, June 1982, June 1982

Information is sought relating to a vee-eight-cylinder Cadillac which a reader has almost finished restoring, the Log Book has been lost but it is thought that the car may have been used by an Embassy, as it has two mounts for pennants and some British and American flags came with the car. The Reg. No. is AXX 7, the body by Fisher (No. 159) is similar to those we recently published pictures of in MOTOR SPORT in connection with America’s prestige cars, but with a sloping radiator shell, plated wheels, wing-shaped bumpers, and elaborate front wings with the spare wheels sunk therein. The car was dismantled some ten years ago but is now, we hear, almost complete again. Old cars still exist on the island of Ibiza and a reader offers to give the exact location of a large box-shaped saloon, yellow with black wings and running boards, that he saw derelict in a field there. Letters can be forwarded. The Bognor Regis Rotary Motor Gala is due to take place on July 27th and will have classes for most kinds of early vehicles and stationary engines, etc. All profits go to local charities, previous such Galas having provided equipment for the disabled at Donald Wilson House and a lung diagnostic analyser for St. Richard’s Hospital. Entries close on June 25th, details being available from Clive Seter, 1, Balmoral Close, Bognor Regis, W. Sussex, and the rally field in Went Park will be open from around 11 a.m.

Even rare cars seem to get encouragement from one-make organisations sooner or later. We now hear that there is a Scripps-Booth Register with, so far, 15 entries, of which 11 appear to be either in fine restored conditions, or runners. The Register has made contact with a 79-year-old gentlemen who owned one of these cars, a 1918 Model-G roadster, in 1921. The Registrar is Ledyard H. Pfund, PO Box 363, Alpine, NJ 076 20. In connection with our articles about the 1920 motoring experiences of “Owen John”, a reader has kindly sent us a copy of the Introduction of “Motor Trips at a Glance”, published for the Dunlop Tyre Company in 1911, written by presumably the same “Owen John”. In this the points he makes are that hotels might be graded by symbols, which perhaps pre-dates current methods of marking-up such establishments, and that as smooth or grooved tyres are so much more comfortable(!) than studded tyres, the Dunlop detachable rim makes it possible quickly to dismount and change over to a studded tyre in the event of sudden rain, or grease being encountered, a task taking three minutes with such rims! A reader who owns a 1933 James Young Rover Speed-20 sports saloon, Reg. No. JR 577, which was last used around 1947 seeks information about all six-cylinder Rovers of the 1927 to 1934 period that are still in existence — letters can be sent on. Another reader has sent us a photograph of a curious badge, presumably commemorating a sporting contest, as part of the motif embraces a racing car, which is attached to the radiator of a late-1920 Chevrolet languishing in sad state in a garage in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The badge is inscribed “Zuverlässickeitsfahrt ens Eulengebirge, 1932,” with “25.9.1932” also inscribed on it, together with an owl with wings spread and a DRCA badge. Can anyone enlighten us?

An interesting account of motor racing in Auckland appears in the 40th Anniversary Bulletin of the Auckland CC, with photographs showing cars engaged in sand racing there. These include a V12 Packard, a Brooklands-model Austin 7 wrongly captioned as an Ulster, the Thomas Special that went out there (actually a Marlborough Thomas, with unchanged body, but very oversize tyres to those used by Parry Thomas at Brooklands in the JCC 200 Mile Race), an early, possibly Edwardian, Cadillac, a Brooklands model Riley 9, a very racy Essex driven by T. Cooper, an unusual-looking, presumably Brescia Bugatti, a Rugby, and a stripped 25 h. p. Vauxhall, etc. Another car is described as a Thomas, but isn’t the Marlborough Thomas. There is a reproduction of an admission-ticket to racing at Henning’s Speedway, by the New Zealand Motor Racing Drivers’ Association, and another article about the Zborowski Miller that went out to New Zealand, etc. A former owner of the 3-litre Bentley Red Label, Reg. No YK 2473, would like to know whether the car has survived and, if so, its whereabouts.

June fixtures of note include the Daimler and Lanchester OC’s National Rally at Tatton Park, Knebworth, in Cheshire on the 13th, and the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s “Festival of 1,000 Bikes” at Mallory Park circuit, Leicestershire on the same day, commencing at 8.30 a.m., with the Club’s Banbury Run on the 20th. The Bristol Austin Seven Club Ltd. are holding their 5th Annual Berkeley Castle Rally on Sunday June 20th, 1982. 200 Austin 7s are expected together with other pre-war cars, autojumble and motor vehicle oriented stalls and displays. Entry forms for the Rally can be obtained from Ken Warren, 288 Two Mile Hill Road, Kingswood, Bristol. The Riley Register reminds us that its annual Coventry Week-end takes place on July 3rd / 4th. And for those with aviation leanings as well as liking for vintage cars the Vintage Aeroplane Club has its combined annual gathering of both kinds of fun-transport at Finmere Aerodrome, Tingewick, Bucks, on June 6th. Bob and Sally Wood have opened their West Wycombe Museum, which exhibits around 12 to 14 cars and 15 to 20 motorcycles, the cars ranging from a 1922 Aston-Martin to the F1 V12 BRM which Rodrigues drove in 1968, together with the Semmence Special, the Halford Special, etc. The BSA FWD Club is due to rally there on July 4th, the VMCC on July 18th, and the VSCC Light Car Section on September 25th, etc. — W.B.