1970 Atkinson Viewline

This was one of the participants in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1993.

It's not listed in the programme of the event, but it took part again in 1995, and the note in that programme reads as follows:

Atkinson Viewline T3046X, 1970                                                                                BVB457H

Entered by     C.J. Gardner for W.H.Bowker Limited, Bamber Bridge, Preston

This is one of the last of a small number of distinctive "View-Line" tractor units built by Atkinson.

Withdrawn from service in 1983, bought for preservation 1984, restored 1986. The vehicle carries

the livery of East Lancashire Roadways of Oswaldtwistle.

Cooper

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1986, but I've not been able to identify the car shown.

The programme of the event doesn't have a number 50 in the race for which the car would have been eligible - the Historic Car Championship race. John Harper's Cooper number 27 is listed for that race, but his was a green car and a T53 that I featured on 2 September 2021. The number 50 car in this photograph appears to be a Cooper T59 Formula Junior car, but despite a search of the internet I've not been able to positively identify it. The transporter behind the Cooper shows the name of John Charles who had a Connaught entered in the Historic Car Championship race, but I've not been able to ascertain if he also had a Cooper. An internet search for  Barry Simpson Engineering Ltd also produced no results.

Pre-War Le Mans Cars Team Race

I took this photograph during the Christie's Cup Le Mans Cars Team Race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

Leading here is the 1932 Invicta S Type of Bob Wood followed by the 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C Le Mans driven by Peter Hannen. Behind that seems to be the 1931 Bentley 8 litre of Keith Schellenberg with the red 1935 Aston Martin Ulster of Nick Mason on the outside.

1913 Standard Cheltenham Cabriolet

This car was one of the participants in the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1990, organised by the Lancashire Automobile Club and starting at the Exchange Station car park in Manchester.

It’s a Standard Model O with a 4-cylinder inline 3,336cc engine, and the programme of the event gives this information about the car:

1913 Standard Cheltenham Cabriolet

Reg: C 7655  4 cylinder  20 hp

(P. Dawson, Leyland, Lancashire)

I understand that the car is now one of the exhibits in the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

Friday's Ferrari

This was one of the competitors in the GT Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2018.

It's the 1999 Ferrari 360 of Matthew Wilton and John Cowan receiving some attention in the pit garage prior to the start of racing. The Ferrari 360 was produced from 1999 to 2004 and has a 3,586cc Tipo F131 V8 engine.

1978 Arrows A1

This is one of the cars that took part in the Grand Prix Masters F1 Cars 1966-1985 race at the Silverstone Classic Race in July 2010.

It's the 1978 Arrows A1 of Steve Allen and has a 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine. The car was driven by Riccardo Patrese and Rolf Stommelen in the last 5 races of the 1978 season, and by Riccardo Patrese and Jochen Mass in the first 7 races of the 1979 season. The best results were a fourth place in the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix and a fifth place in the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix, both times by Riccardo Patrese.

1970 McLaren M8D

This car is pictured on the approach to Lodge Corner in the HSCC Atlantic Computers Historic G.T. Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

It's the Haslemere Sports Cars Ltd's 5-litre 1970 McLaren M8D driven by John Foulston. The car was designed for the Canadian-American Challenge Cup Series (or Can-Am) that was contested from 1966 till 1987. Bruce McLaren died in one of these cars in an accident during a testing session at Goodwood just a few days before the first of the 1970 Can-Am races, but the M8D went on to win 8 of the ten races in the series - 6 by Denny Hulme and 2 by Dan Gurney - and one race was won by Peter Gethin on a McLaren M8B. Tony Dean in a Porsche 908 was the only non-McLaren driver to win a race.

Three Maseratis

Three Maseratis spotted in the paddock at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

On the left is the 1955 Maserati 300S of Michael Hinderer which was powered by a 2,991cc 6-cylinder engine that was based on the 2½ litre unit of the 250F Grand Prix car with a longer stroke. The Maserati 300S took part in the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1957 and this car is chassis #3057 that was originally owned by Swiss driver Benoit Musy. The middle car is Alan Minshaw's 1959 Maserati T61, chassis #2453, and is a car that was almost completely destroyed in an accident at Daytona in 1959. The parts that could be salvaged were used to reconstruct the car in the UK in the early 1990s. The car on the right is the 1953 Maserati A6GCM of David Bennett, chassis #2044 that was at one time owned by Prince Bira, and has the blue and yellow Siamese racing colours.

Drag Racing 1965

In 1964 and 1965 the US National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association organised an exhibition tour of Britain which in 1965 included a drag race meeting on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. This is a photograph of one of the American dragsters that took part.

It's Starlite III, built in 1964 by Chuck Griffiths and driven by him at Woodvale. He made 4 runs that day, the best being 8.11 seconds for the ¼ mile with a terminal speed of 198 mph.

1978 Williams FW06

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

After the Williams Team had competed with a customer March 761 in the 1977 season, Frank Williams got Patrick Head to design a car for the 1978 season, and the result was this Williams FW06. The car was powered by the 2,993cc V8 Ford-Cosworth DFV engine and just one car was entered for each of the 16 races that season, driven by Alan Jones. His best place was a second place in the penultimate race of the season, the United States Grand Prix, and he finished the season in eleventh place in the Drivers' World Championship with Williams in ninth place in the World Constructors' Championship.

1931 Bugatti Type 51

This car competed in the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1984.

It's David Heimann's 1931 Bugatti Type 51 and is chassis 51146, the car with which Louis Chiron won the 1931 Monaco Grand Prix. It has a supercharged 8-cylinder inline 2,262cc engine.

Friday's Ferrari

This was one of the cars present at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS and has the F105CB 3,186cc 32 valve V8 engine with twin overhead camshafts per bank. The Ferrari 328 was produced between 1985 and 1989, 5,526 left-hand drive and 542 right-hand drive, replacing the 308 model and was superseded by the Ferrari 348.

1936 Ford CX Tourer

This car was on the stand of the Ford Y & C Model Register at the Northern Classic Car Show at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester in August 1993.

It's a 1936 Ford CX Tourer, a de-luxe version of the Model C, identifiable by the chrome strips across the radiator. It has the 4-cylinder inline 1,172cc Ford side valve engine that was used by many builders of 1950s 'specials' including the early Lotus cars.

1973 ERF LAG

This lorry took part in the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1996.

It's a 1973 ERF LAG with Gardner 100 diesel engine. I understand that the '100' refers to the bhp of the engine, in which case it would seem to be a 6LW 102hp 6-cylinder 8,370cc engine. The programme of the rally said this about the vehicle:

ERF LAG 160/12, 1973                                                                                                       RTS 457

Entered by     G. Davison for David G. Davies & Sons Ltd, Old Glossop

New to Scottish haulier  Joseph Grant Ltd. of Broughty Ferry and restored by the owner to their livery.

1955 Lotus Mk IX

This was one of the competitors at the British Empire Trophy meeting at Oulton Park in April 1956.

It's the 1955 Lotus Mk IX of Six Mile Stable and was driven by Tom Barnard. About 30 of these cars that were built between 1954 and 1955 and several different engines could be provided - 1½ litre MG and Connaught engines and 2 litre Bristol engines were used, but the one most commonly fitted, as in this car, was the 1,098cc Coventry Climax engine. At this British Empire Trophy meeting there were three heats for cars of different engine sizes with a final run on a handicap basis. Tom Barnard failed to qualify for the final, which was won by Stirling Moss in a 1½ litre Cooper T39 Mk II Climax.

1966 Porsche 906

This was one of the competitors in the Classic Gold Pre 1974 Le Mans Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's Austrian driver Dieter Eissner-Eissenstein's 1,991cc flat-6 1966 Porsche 906, also known as a Porsche Carrera 6. The earlier Porsche 904 with a flat-4 1,966 engine was too heavy and underpowered to compete with the Ferrari Dino 206 SP so the 906 was designed with a lighter chassis and body, and the six-cylinder engine was also lighter as well as being more powerful. These new cars took Porsche to 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th places in the Le Mans 24 Hour race behind three Ford GT40 Mk II cars with engines 3½ times their size.

1936 Albion 30cwt Linesman's General Utility Vehicle

I took this photograph before the start of the Lancashire Automobile Club's annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in May 1981 at the assembly area off Sackville Street.

It's a 1936 Albion 30cwt Linesman's General Utility Vehicle and was used by Post Office Telephones from 1936 to 1950. I no longer have the programme of the event, but its history is recorded here.

1914 TT Humber

This was one of the competitors in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Kenneth Neve's 1914 TT Humber, the only survivor of the three Humbers that took part in the Tourist Trophy race in the Isle of Man in that year and it has a 4-cylinder inline 3,295cc engine. It's pictured at Lodge Corner during the race and a note in the programme of the event says this about the owner:

'Finally Kenneth Neve, who lives near Northwich and is a pre-war VSCC member and a Past President, drives his 1914 twin overhead camshaft TT Humber, the star with its owner of a recent BBC Manchester television film called "To Oulton with Love".'

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of the cars in the Ferrari display at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's the 1990 Ferrari 641/2, chassis #121, that was driven  that season by Alain Prost. It was developed by a team led by Steve Nichols from the previous season's Ferrari 640 that had been designed by John Barnard, and has a 3,498cc V12 engine. Alain Prost won 5 of the 16 races to finish in second place behind Ayrton Senna in the World Drivers' Championship, and his team mate Nigel Mansell won just one race to finish in fifth place. Ferrari ended up in second place in the World Constructors' Championship behind the McLaren-Honda team.

1990 Williams FW13B

This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in March 1996.

It's a 1990 Williams FW13B, a car that was designed by Enrique Scalabroni and was powered by a 3,493cc Renault RS2 V10 engine. The number 6 car was driven by Riccardo Patrese who won the San Marino Grand Prix and finished in seventh place in the World Drivers' Championship. Thierry Boutson drove the number 5 car, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix and finished in sixth place in the Championship. Williams ended the season in fourth place in the World Constructors' Championship.

1962 Lotus Elite

I took this photograph in the one of the car parks at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1975.

It's a 1962 Lotus Elite which has a 1,216cc 4-cylinder inline Coventry Climax FWE engine. 1,030 of these cars were built between 1957 and 1962, although some sources say there were 1,047. The DVLA record shows that this car has not been taxed since August 1987.

1961 Cooper T53

This was one of the competitors in the Pre-1966 Grand Prix & Tasman Cars race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's the 1961 Cooper T53 of Douglas Mockett with a 4-cylinder inline 1,475cc Coventry Climax engine and is chassis #F1-3-61. Originally built for Lucky Casner's Camoradi team it was driven by Masten Gregory in the 1961 season and on 25 March 2018 I showed a photograph of the car that I took during practice for the 1961 British Grand Prix at Aintree.

1931 Austin Swallow

I took this photograph at a Vintage & Historic Vehicle Display in Saddleworth organised by organised by the Saddleworth Museum in June 1987.

It's a 1931 Austin Swallow, one of about 3,500 cars produced by William Lyons' Swallow Sidecar Company between 1927 and 1932 before he started making cars using the SS name. The car was based on the chassis of the Austin Seven with the 7hp 4-cylinder inline 747cc Austin engine, though the DVLA record says that KF4626 now has an engine of 858cc. A note in the programme of the event says this about the car:

'1934 Austin Swallow, 7 h.p., KF 4626. The car was found in a barn in

Saddleworth 10 years ago. It has been totally renovated by the owner.

It took six years to get it into the condition it is in now'

1929 Bentley Napier

I took this photograph at Old Hall Corner on the first lap of the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1974.

Leading is Peter Morley in the 1929 Bentley Napier, a vehicle that he and David Llewellyn created in 1968 using a 24 litre Napier Sea Lion engine which has a 'W' configuration - two banks of four cylinders in a 'V' with a third upright bank between them. The car was originally built on a Sunbeam chassis but after an accident was rebuilt using the chassis of a 1929 8 litre Bentley. The nose of the car was later altered to resemble that of the Napier Railton. The car behind it is Ron Footitt's Cognac Special, a 1925 AC/GN constructed in 1925 using the chassis of a GN Cyclecar and an 1,991cc AC engine.

1959 Messerschmitt KR200

This is one of the cars on display at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1959 Messerschmitt KR200, the Kabinenroller, which was designed by Fritz Fend. Since Willy Messerschmitt was not allowed to produce aircraft after the war the car was built in his factory at Regensburg by Fend, Messerschmitt having little to do with production other than lend his name to the project. When Messerschmitt was allowed to produce aircraft again in 1956 he sold the Regensburg works to Fend who continued with production there until 1964. The first Kabinenroller built by Fend was the KR175 which had a 173cc Fichtel & Sachs single-cylinder two-stroke engine, and for the subsequent KR200 the engine was enlarged to 191cc. Two people could travel in these cars, sitting in tandem one behind the other.

Friday's Ferrari

This car was lined up alongside several other Ferraris at the Ferrari Owners Club's area in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It appears to be the replica of a 1961 Ferrari 250 TRI/61 that was created together with a 1961 Ferrari 156 F1 car for Chris Rea's film 'La Passione' about Wolfgang von Trips. That car was built using Chris Rea's own 1966 Ferrari 330 GTC chassis #9251 as a donor car.

1934 Maserati 8CM

This was one of the competitors in the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1970.

It's the 1934 Maserati 8CM of Bill Summers and has a 2,995cc supercharged straight-8 engine. The car, chassis number 3013, originally belonged to Earl Howe and the programme of the event says this about it:

'.....another 8CM Maserati, driven by Bill Summers. Once the property of the late Gavin Maxwell, author of "Ring of Bright Water" and other books, this car has just been restored by Bill Summers with monoposto bodywork, and this is its first appearance at a V.S.C.C. meeting.'

1948 Albion Valiant

This is one of the vehicles that took part in the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1993.

It's a 1948 Albion Valiant, and the programme of the event says this about it:

Albion Valiant CX39N, Assoc. Coachbuilders C33F, 1948                         HUP236

Economic, Whitburn No 7

Entered by          Mr Purvis, Seaburn, Sunderland

Used on coach work and service duplication until 1963 and now restored to original livery.

Economic Bus Service was a partnership between two former Northern General employees, G.R.Anderson and E.W. Wilson, based in Whitburn, Co, Durham. HUP 236 was one of three Albion Valiant coaches that were purchased between 1948 and 1950, and it was withdrawn from service in 1963. After 10 years in storage it was purchased by A.L.Purvis in 1973 and restored by Purvis Bros. between 1975 and 1979.

1948 Alfa Romeo 158

This was one of the competitors in the HGPCA Pre-1952 Grand Prix Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1948 Alfa Romeo 158 of Carlos Monteverde and was driven in the race by Willie Green. The Alfa Romeo 158 was originally designed in 1938 to compete in the pre-war Voiturette class of racing and has a 1,479cc supercharged straight-8 engine. It also competed at the Coys meeting at Silverstone in 1997 when a note in the programme said this:

'The final two seasons of pre-war voiturette racing were dominated by Alfa Romeo's Tipo 158, a scaled-down version of one of its GP designs. Whenever it ran it won, leaving the Maserati and ERA opposition to fight over the pickings. Alfa carried on in the 1940s where it had left off before the war, for the 'Alfetta', as it was known, now complied with the new Grand Prix regulations. It retired in one 1946 race, but from then on was unbeatable until, famously, an unblown 4.5 litre Ferrari dealt the death blow here at Silverstone in 1951.'

This is the only Alfa Romeo 158/159 in private hands, and it was given by Alfa Romeo to Michel Poberejsky (who had raced under the name Mike Sparken) in exchange for the ex-Lord Doune 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Le Mans Berlinetta which had competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race that year. Michel Poberejsky later sold the car to Carlos Monteverde, and it has since been purchased by Carlo Voegele.

Three each of the Alfa Romeo 158 and 159 cars still exist, and this one is chassis 158.107 and has engine 159.227 - the others are as follows:

158

Chassis 158.005 on display in the Alfa Romeo Museum at Arese with engine 158.102.

Chassis 158.109 on display in the Biscaretti Museum, Turin.

159

Chassis 159.109 on display in the Alfa Romeo Museum as a chassis without bodywork, with engine 159.211.

Chassis 159.111 on display in Alfa Romeo Museum.

Chassis 159.112 on display in Alfa Romeo Museum and used in events.

1927 Bugatti T37A

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1973.

There's no number on the car, and the only note I made at the time was that it was a Bugatti T37A, so it's possibly the car of Martin Dean that competed in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race. The programme of the event says that Martin Dean's car is a 1927 Bugatti with a 1,497cc supercharged engine. 

2004 Williams FW26

This is one of the large number of Williams F1 cars that were in the Donington Park Museum the last time I went there in September 2014.

It's a Williams FW26 that was campaigned by the Williams team in the 2004 season. The car was designed by Patrick Head, Gavin Fisher and Antonia Terzi, and had a 2,998cc V10 BMW engine. It was driven by Juan Pablo Montoya in all 18 races while the driving of the second car was shared by Ralf Schumacher, Antonio Pizzonia and Marc Gené. Juan Pablo Montoya finished in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship winning the last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, while Ralf Schumacher had a second place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix to end up in ninth place in the Championship. Williams finished in fourth place in the World Constructors' Championship.