Friday's Ferrari

This is a car which took part in the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's a 1962 Ferrari 268SP, serial number 0798, which started off as a 248SP but was very quickly modified to 268SP specification. It was owned by Bernie Carl and driven at this meeting by Gregor Fisken.

Liberace's Cadillac

One of the star attractions at the SSAFA Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014 was this Cadillac, described as being once owned by the late American pianist Liberace.

All the articles I've found about this car say 'believed to have belonged to' Liberace, but I suppose there's no reason to doubt that it's the genuine article. Here's what the board in front of the car says:

Liberace's

Classic

1931 Roadster

Golfers Coupe

Hand Guilded in 28.6 carat Gold Leaf

Mr Showmanship

May 16th 1919 - February 14th 1987

This Rare Classic Car from Las Vegas

Now part of the.....

Mike & Shaun's Classics

It's a 1931 Cadillac Series 355A and the Wikipedia article about that car makes no mention of a 'Golfers Coupe', although there was apparently a 2-door Club Coupe.

Austins at SSAFA Car Show

More photographs of cars at the Car Show at Ewen Fields on 19 Oct 2014, this time some of the Austins that were present.

The Austin Healey 'Frogeye' Sprite Mk I was produced between 1958 and 1961

The Austin 7 was produced between 1922 and 1939 and there were several models - this is a 'Ruby' from 1934

A late model Austin 7

The Austin A35 Saloon was produced between 1956 and 1959 and this is a 1956 model

Ford GT40

Here are a couple more photographs of the Ford GT40, this time at the Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 2001.

Both these cars took part in the Italy v Rest of the World race for 1960s World Endurance Cars and this is the 1965 car of David McErlain.

This is the car of Allen Lloyd, also a 1965 model, and this photograph illustrates once again the problems of trying to take photographs in a crowded paddock.

Friday's Ferrari

There was a Classic Car Show in support of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen Family Association in the Hyde United football ground car park at Ewen Fields on Sunday 19 October 2014. Amongst the vehicles on display was the Ferrari pictured below.

It's a Ferrari 360 Spider, a model that was produced between 1999 and 2005, and the 'W' in the number plate suggests that it was registered between 1 March and 31 August 2000.

OSCA 20

After the death of Alfieri Maserati in 1932 the remaining Maserati brothers Ernesto, Ettore and Bindo encountered mounting financial problems which finally came to a head in 1947 when the company, together with the Maserati name, was sold to Adolfo Orsi. Their desire to build cars remained, however, and they formed a new company, OSCA (Officine Specializzate Construzioni Automobili), which began by constructing cars for the 1100cc racing class. The urge to build a Grand Prix contender was still there though, and in 1951 they introduced the OSCA 4500G and then, when the World Championship of 1952 was contested by Formula 2 cars, the OSCA 20. Neither car was particularly successful and when new Formula 1 regulations were introduced for the 1954 season OSCA withdrew from Grand Prix racing to concentrate on building sports cars.

The Osca 20 is sometimes seen in Historic racing events, however, and here is one which competed at the Richard Seaman Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in August 1992:

The car was then owned by Anthony Mayman but according to the programme of the meeting was driven that day by T S Fellows, here seen approaching Lodge Corner.

T-55 Tank

This T-55 tank sits outside the Imperial War Museum North on Trafford Wharf Road on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal opposite Media City and The Lowry. The information board in front of the T-55 tells you about it:

It says:

T-55 TANK

The T-55 tank was designed and made by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, 1947-1989. It is the most widely used tank of all time and is still in use around the world today.

It has a crew of four, a commander, driver, gunner and loader. It weighs 34,000kg (33.5 tons), is 2.4m high, 3.27m wide and is 9m in length including the gun.

This gun was captured from Iraqi forces by the Royal Engineers during Operation Telic, in Iraq 2003.

The T-55 was predated by the T-34 and an example is on display inside the museum.

Please do not climb on the vehicle as you may get hurt  The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum will not accept responsibility if you do.

Friday's Ferrari

The VSCC Seaman Trophies meeting at Donington Park in June 2003 included three races on both of the two days of the meeting for different categories of the Shell Historic Ferrari/Maserati Challenge. Here is a photograph taken in the pit lane during practice showing two of the cars which took part in these races.

Number 66 is the 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta of Gregor Fisken, serial number 2443GT. Car number 90 behind it is the 1964 Ferrari 250LM which the programme of the event says was driven at this meeting by Andre Lara Resende. The car is serial number 5899 and www.barchetta.cc says that the car was at that time jointly owned by Andre Lara Resende and Frederico della Noce, but driven on that day by Frederico della Noce. In the distance you can see the nose of Carlo Vögele's 1963 Ferrari 330LM.

Police Helicopter

Where we live in Hyde we are near to the Werneth Low Country Park, the main road from Hyde to Stockport, the River Tame, The Peak Forest Canal and various wooded areas. It's no surprise to us, therefore, when we occasionally see the police helicopter circling overhead searching for someone who's been up to no good and is proving difficult for the police on the ground to trace. Here are some photographs I took about 3 years ago of one such incident.

This particular helicopter (G-CPAO)  is the one operated by the Cheshire Police and is based at Hawarden, near Chester. It's a Eurocopter EC135 P2+, about which Wikipedia says the following:

'EC135 P2+ (Marketing name EC135 P2i)

Latest current production version with 498 kW (667 shp) PW206B2 (new power ratings based on a FADEC software upgrade), plus a 2,910 kg (6,415 lbs) M.T.O.W. upgrade, extended component time between overhaul (TBOs), and a change in the main transmission lubricating oil. Built in Germany and Spain.'

It's probably more usual in these parts to see the Greater Manchester Police helicopter (G-GMPX), based at City Airport (Manchester Barton), but there is an arrangement in place in the North West for aircraft from 4 different locations to be used across the region, as this Wikipedia article about the Cheshire Constabulary details:

'On 27 February 2009, the Constabulary confirmed that the Home Office had agreed to jointly fund the purchase of a new £1 million Eurocopter EC135 aircraft, to be operational 24 hours a day.

On 18 July 2011, the North West Air Operations Group (NWAOG) was launched. The NWAOG is a regional collaboration between five forces and police authorities. The service dispatches aircraft from a regional command desk to incidents across Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and North Wales.

The five forces in the North have four helicopters, based at four different locations throughout the North West, providing a service anywhere in the region, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

With 24-hour cover, the collaboration will enable the five forces to cope better with demand, with efficient use of all four helicopters, whilst enabling forces to make further savings and maintain resilience across the region. This is a move away from the concept of having one helicopter serving one region, to adopting the identity of one unit with support provided to all five forces

The collaboration allows for considerable savings, while offering an improved air support service. Benefits of the arrangement include the facility to have the closest helicopter deployed quickly to any incident and if there are two incidents in the same force area, then two helicopters can be deployed as necessary.'

Incidentally, when I was looking at the photographs above I enlarged part of the first one to see a face peering down at me taking the photograph:

Alfa Romeo

Here is a car that took part in the 2 hour long 'VSCC White House Memorial Pre-war Sports Car Team Relay Race' at the Donington Park SeeRed meeting in May 2008.

It's a 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport, driven in the race by Nicholas Eden, and you can read here about the Alfa Romeo 6C.

Friday's Ferrari

Here are a couple of photographs of one of David Piper's confusing Ferraris, this time at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's shown in the programme of the event as a Ferrari 365 P1 entered by David Piper in the 10 lap Motor Sport Pre-'70 Le Mans Car Race for the John Woolfe Trophy. A driver change during the race was mandatory, but both drivers for this car as shown in the programme as 'TBN' (To Be Nominated). David Piper owned two cars with the serial number 0824 - as www.barchetta.cc explains:

David Piper owns two P1 with the chassis number 0824. One has a new frame (built in 90) and one uses the original frame (finished in 98).

- and it looks like this is the one with the new frame.

NB: The Ferrari 365 P1 is a 1964 model, but the 'H' at the end of the registration number 'UKT 66H' indicates a car first registered between 1 Aug 1969 and 31 July 1970.

SS2 Swallow

On the Jaguar Drivers' Club stand at the Northern Classic Car Show at the Belle Vue Exhibition Halls in September 1986 was this 1933 SS2 Swallow.

Swallow Coachbuilding Ltd was founded by William Lyons in 1922 and he founded SS Cars Ltd in 1933, the companies being combined in 1934. After 1945 the company changed its name to Jaguar Cars Ltd. You can read here what Wikipedia says about SS Cars Ltd.

Bedford TK Truck

The end of Edna Street in Hyde, where it meets Market Street, is a popular stopping place in the middle of the day for drivers to leave their vehicles and pop across Market Street to Kongs Fish & Chip Shop to buy their lunch. I've often seen the local council's refuse wagons stopped there, and even the occasional fire engine. A couple of weeks ago I saw this truck parked there, but whether he'd gone for his fish and chips I know not.

It's a Bedford TK truck which was apparently produced by Bedford from 1959 to 1986, and if the registration number LWT 308P was issued when it was new this particular vehicle was made between 1 August 1975 and 31 July 1976.

Friday's Ferrari

I've photographed this car several times, and here it is seen at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

It's Nick Mason's 1962 Ferrari 250GTO, originally owned by the Ecurie Francorchamps racing team of Belgian Jacques Swaters. You can read here the full history of this car, serial number 3757GT.

East Midland Aeropark

It's been several years since I paid a visit to the Donington Collection at the Donington Park racing circuit and I'd been promising myself for some months that I'd go there again. I found out recently that there's a collection of aircraft on display at the East Midland Aeropark viewing area so I decided a last week to make the effort and visit the Aeropark as well as the car museum. I went on Wednesday and first went to Donington Park where I spent a couple of hours going round the Donington Collection. The photograph below shows the display of McLaren F1 cars there and I'll show more of the photographs I took there some time in the future.

After I left there I drove the two minute journey just round the corner to the Aeropark to find it..........closed. It's my own fault for not checking before I went, but even in the summer (1st May to 30th September) it only opens Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. From October to April it only opens at weekends. Fortunately from the car park at the front of the Aeropark there's a footpath through a wooded area running round the side of the site and I managed to get a few photographs of some of the aircraft from there.

Avro Vulcan B.2A XM575 and behind it a BAe Nimrod R1 XW664

Vickers Varsity T.1 WL626 and the Vulcan & Nimrod behind it

English Electric Lightning F.Mk53 ZF588 with a glimpse of a Hawker Hunter behind it

Hawker Hunter FR.10 XJ714, Westland Wessex HC.2 XT604 & Westland Whirlwind HAR.3 XG588 to the left, There's an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy immediately behind, and the nose of the English Electric Lightning to the right.

Hawker Hunter T.7 XL569 with a Blackburn Buccaneer to the left and the Westland Wessex & Westland Whirlwind to the right.

Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B XV350 with a Morane-Saulnier Rallye MS880 to the right

The Morane-Saulnier MS880 G-BBED with the Buccaneer to the left, Hawker Hunter XL569 to the right and Argosy behind.

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy G-BEOZ with the Vulcan behind it and Hawker Hunter XJ714 at front left.

Hawker Hunter FR.10 XJ714 with the Argosy in the background

English Electric Lightning F.Mk53 ZF588 with the Argosy to the left and the front section of Vickers VC10 XV108 to the right.

Here is a view of the Aeropark, courtesy of Google Earth