1936 ERA R7B

This is a photograph I took at The Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1969.

It's the 1936 ERA R7B of Dudley Gahagan and has the 6-cylinder inline supercharged 1,980cc ERA engine. This car was originally built for Arthur Dobson with the 1,488cc engine and was owned by Dudley Gahagan from 1960 to 1998. It has since been returned to its original colour of white with a chrome plated radiator.

1950 BRM Mk 1

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000 celebrated 50 years if F1 racing and this is one of the cars that were on display covering this period.

It's a 1950 BRM Mk1 and is appears to be the one usually on show at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu - if so it's the first car built, BRM Mk1 No. 1 or V16/01 and which is also known as the P15.

1993 Volvo 480 ES

This is one of the vehicles I photographed at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1993 Volvo 480 ES, a car that was produced from 1986 to 1995 and has a 4-cylinder inline 1,998cc engine. It is the first Volvo to have front-wheel drive and the only one to have pop-up headlights.

1924 Bugatti T35B

This is a photograph I took in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1961.

As usual with these older photographs any note I made about it has long ago disappeared but it's a Bugatti, and although you can't read the number on the tail of the car the only Bugatti listed in the programme that it seems to match is the number 52 on John Horton's 1924 Bugatti T35B. The programme says that it's a 2 litre car which would have the 8-cylinder inline 1,992cc engine.

1936 AEC Monarch

This is a photograph I took at the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1988.

It's not shown in the programme of the event, but it's an AEC Monarch which I've seen described as a 1936 vehicle 'with a post-war-style cab and an age-related registration number' 

Friday's Ferrari

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

It's a 2001 Ferrari 550 Maranello, which has a 5,474cc V12 engine and is one of 3,083 produced between 1996 and 2001.

1954 Maserati 250F

This is a photograph that my brother Peter took at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in September 1955.

It's Maserati chief mechanic Guerino Bertocchi behind the pits in the 1954 Maserati 250F that Luigi Musso drove in the race, finishing in 8th position. It has the 6-cylinder inline 2,491cc Maserati engine and is chassis 2501.

1905 Alldays and Onions

This is a photograph that I took during the Lancashire Automobile Club's  Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1966 at the roundabout that at one time stood at the junction of the A6 and Cross Lane in Pendleton.

It's a 1905 Alldays & Onions and the only information about it in the programme of the event reads as follows:

'10.  Mr L. Gleave, Wybunbury, Cheshire. (Driver - Air-Commodore R.L. Kippenberger).

1905 Alldays and Onions open four-seater 11 h.p.'

 

Onions (formed by John Onions in 1650) and William Allday & Co. (formed by William Allday in 1720) joined in 1889 under the ownership of Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Company Limited and produced its first car in 1898. The company hit commercial success with the 1.6-litre, vertical-twin side-valve 10/12, which was made from 1905 to 1913.

1970 BRM P153

This was one of the competitors in the F.O.R.C.E.Pre-1972 Classic Grand Prix Cars race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's a BRM P153 which was designed by Tony Southgate and had BRM's own 2,998cc V12 engine. The P153 was campaigned by the BRM team from 1970 to 1972, but its only victory was in the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix driven by Pedro Rodriguez. The car at this Silverstone meeting was driven by Bobby Bell and appears to be chassis P153/04.

1948 Alvis Goodwin Special

This was one of the competitors in the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy Race for Post-War Racing Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2019.

It's the 1948 Alvis Goodwin Special of Alex Simpson - I've not been able to find out much about the history of the car but it was built by the Goodwin brothers in 1948, apparently using the 6-cylinder inline  4,387cc engine that powered the Alvis Speed 25 in the late 1930s.

Here's the car at Druids Corner during the race.

1935 Brough Superior Dual Purpose

This is one of the cars I photographed in the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It's a 1935 Brough Superior Dual Purpose, one of only 19 cars that were produced. The chassis and 8-cylinder inline engine were supplied by Hudson, the capacity of the engine being 4,168cc, although the DVLA record shows it to be 4,250cc. H&H Classic Car Auctioneers sold this car in October 2013, which presumably is when it was acquired by the Museum.

1968 McLaren M6B

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during qualifying for the HSCC Pre'80 Endurance Challenge race at the Gold Cup Meeting at Oulton Park in August 2018.

It's Anthony Taylor's 1968 McLaren M6B which the programme of the event says has a 5 litre engine. The M6B was the customer version of the Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Team's M6A which was built for the 1967 Can-Am season. The customer car was developed in conjunction with McLaren's technical partner Trojan and sold without an engine, but the M6A had a Chevrolet engine and it's likely that this car also has the 307 cu in Chevrolet small-block V8 engine.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB with the 3,902cc twin turbocharged 32 valve F154 V8 engine which has two overhead camshafts per bank. Manufacture of the 488 started in 2015 and ended in February 2019. Its successor is an updated version of the 488, the Ferrari F8 Tributo.

1982 Chevrolet Corvette

This was one of the cars that took part in a Classic Car Show in Hyde, Cheshire in October 2022.

It's a Third Generation Chevrolet Corvette

It has a 350 cu in (5.7 litre) V8 engine

1958 MGA Twin Cam

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

It's the 1958 MGA Twin Cam of Bob Lines which the DVLA record says has a 1,622cc engine, but the programme of this event says is 1,900cc. The MGA was first produced in 1955 and the Twin Cam version was introduced in 1958 with a 1,588cc Twin Cam version of the B-series engine.

Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally 1995

This is a photograph that I took in Heaton Park, Manchester, at the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in September 1995.

I didn't make a note of the vehicles at the time, but the Green bus on the right is a 1961 Bristol Lodekka FS6G originally a Crosville Motor Services bus, registration AFM402A: 'Originally Reg 319PFM and worked out of Liverpool depot for much of its life until conversion to training bus. Transferred to Chester during late 1970s and secured for preservation in 1990'. Next to that is a 1959 AEC Regent V, LJX198, originally owned by Hebble Motor Services: 'The white front to this otherwise red vehicle was applied to remind drivers that it was a highbridge vehicle which would not fit into a certain part of the company's depot.' The green bus next to that is a 1958 Leyland PD3/6, GEN201: 'Acquired for preservation in 1975 following withdrawal by GMPTE. Recently repainted into original 1958 style livery at St Helens Transport Museum.' The blue bus next to that doesn't seem to be noted in the programme of the event, but appears to have the livery of Birkenhead Corporation Transport. The Red bus next to that is a 1959 Leyland Atlantean PDR1/1, UNB629, originally Manchester City Transport 3629: 'One of the first batch of rear engined buses to enter service in the Greater Manchester Area, 3629 was exported to Australia in 1972. The present owner completed the relatively simple task of returning it to the UK in 1990 for preservation. A repaint has been completed.'

1958 BRM P25

This was one of the competitors in the Magneti Marelli UK Race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1958 BRM P25 of John Harper and is a car that was said to be the fastest of the 1954-1960 Formula 1 era, partly due to the oversquare (102.87 mm bore x 74.93 mm stroke) 2,491cc engine allowing for larger valves to be fitted. The car was plagued with reliability problems, however, and the only Grand Prix win was Jo Bonnier's victory in the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix.

1929 Fiat 509A Torpedo

This is a photograph that I took at the Northern Classic Car Show at G-Mex, Manchester in August 1987.

It's a 1929 Fiat 509A which has a 4-cylinder inline 909cc engine. The Fiat 509 was produced from 1924 to 1929 and about 90,000 were sold in that period. The DVLA record says that this car as not been taxed since February 1990.

1978 March 79B

This is a photograph that I took at Brittens chicane during the Derek Bell Trophy Race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2017.

It's Andrew Smith in his 1978 March 79B which has a 4-cylinder inline 1.6 litre Ford Cosworth engine and was designed for the Formula Atlantic racing series.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in two rounds of the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge series of races at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's the 1962 Ferrari 268SP of Bernie Carl and was driven in the races by Gregor Fisken. The car is chassis #0798 and was built in February 1962 as a Ferrari 248SP but by April of that year the engine had been modified to 268SP specifications, which involved increasing the 2,459cc V8 engine to 2,645cc. It was driven in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hour race by Giancarlo Baghetti and Ludovico Scarfiotti but retired with clutch problems after 18 hours.

1964 Ginetta G10

This was one of the competitors in the Innes Ireland Cup race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2017.

It's the 1964 Ginetta G10 that was driven in the 45 minute race by James Guess and James Hilliard. The Ginetta G10 has a 4,727cc Ford V8 engine and was intended for the US market, but only 3 cars were made because of changes to the SCCA race categories.

1906 Gladiator

This was one of the vehicles that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in April 1965 and I took this photograph at the roundabout that at one time stood at the junction of the A6 and Cross Lane in Pendleton.

It's a 1906 Gladiator and the Programme of the event had this note about it:

16 1906 Gladiator (W. Eric Offley)

Three-litre engine, twin camshaft, dual ignition. Four-speed gearbox. Made by a French firm which commenced manufacture in the 1890s. Winner of the Ford Trophy last year.

(The Ford Trophy was awarded for the best road performance by an Edwardian car)

The Gladiator Company was founded as a cycle manufacturer in 1891 and in 1895 began to produce motorized vehicles. It was eventually taken over by Vinot et Deguingand and the Gladiator name was dropped in 1920.

The DVLA record says that the car has been untaxed since November 1989.

1957 Kurtis KK500G Offenhauser

This car took part in the Flockhart Trophy Race for Pre-1961 Front-Engined Racing Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's the 1957 Kurtis KK500G Offenhauser of Stuart Harper, which was shown in the programme of the event as a 4.2 litre Kurtis Indy Roadster, and here is having a tow back into its place in the paddock. It was driven in the race by Frederick Harper. This is the car that Ray Crawford took to the Indianapolis 500 race in 1957 and 1958 as the Meguiar Mirror Glaze Special, but failed both times to qualify for the race. Ray Crawford took part in the Race of Two Worlds round the banked oval at Monza with the car in both 1957 and 1958, one-sided exhibition events that pitted American Indianapolis cars against a motley collection of European cars. The race in both years consisted of three heats with the winner being the best car over the three races. In 1957 Ray Crawford's results in the heats were seventh, fourth and retired, and in 1958 tenth, eighth and fourth.

Historic Grand Prix Car racing at Silverstone

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield corner during the Chopard HGPCA 100 Mile Grand Prix Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

Leading is Lindsay Owen-Jones in his 1958 Maserati 250F #2534 followed by Nigel Corner's 1956 Maserati 250F #2528 and John Harper in Vijay Mallya's 1958 Vanwall. The car in the background is another Maserati 250F, and it appears to be Jeffrey Pattinson in #2508, the car originally owned by Stirling Moss.

1927 HRG 1½ litre

This car competed in two races at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in July 2015.

It's the 1927 HRG 1½ litre of P.C.Mitchell which has a 4-cylinder inline 1,496cc Meadows engine and was driven in the two races by Andrew Mitchell. The HRG company was founded in 1935 by Ted Halford, Guy Robins and Ron Godfrey and a total of 241 hand built cars were made, the last one in 1956. 

45596 Bahamas

I took this photograph at a railway exhibition at the Longsight locomotive shed in Manchester in April 1992.

It's the former LMS locomotive 45596 'Bahamas', one of the Jubilee Class engines which were named after former Commonwealth states and countries of the British Empire, British admirals, British naval commanders, and finally, ships in the British Navy named after characters from Greek Mythology. It is now based at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Friday's Ferrari

Ferrari uses the Corse Clienti Ferrari Racing Days meetings at various circuits to allow a group of specially selected customers to test limited edition cars developed exclusively for the track and to provide feedback on the performance of the cars to Corse Clienti engineers, thus helping Ferrari to develop its cars for the future. The Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017 included a series of test sessions involving the Ferrari FXX-K, the 'K' referring to the KERS kinetic energy recovery system with which the car is equipped. Here's one of the cars pictured at Club Corner during one of the sessions.

This is Paul Eng from Singapore in his Ferrari FXX-K, which is based on the LaFerrari. The car is chassis no. 198002 and has a 6,262cc V12 engine that develops 848 hp, to which the 140kW electric motor adds 188 hp.

1992 Porsche 964

I took this photograph at Druids Corner during the morning qualifying for the AMOC Intermarque Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2015.

It's the 1992 Porsche 964 of Robert Hollyman which has a 3,746cc flat-6 engine. The 964 is a variant of the Porsche 911 and was produced between 1989 and 1994.

1924 Thornycroft BX Tipper

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's a 1924 Thornycroft BX Tipper, and an entry in the 1995 programme of the event gives this information:

 

Thornycroft BX Tipper, 1924                                                                                       TC9816

 

Entered by          W.H Bowker Limited, Bamber Bridge, Preston

This vehicle was fitted with hydraulic tipping gear and was originally fitted with solid tyres and converted to pneumatic tyres during the 1930's. Withdrawn from service around 1960 and was restored in 1992 and is now finished in the correct period livery of William Bowker Ltd.

VSCC at Oulton Park

I took this photograph at Britten's chicane during a handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Hawthorn Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 2008.

The leading silver car is the 1937 Riley 12/4 of Mike Gilbert and the green car behind it is the 1932 Frazer Nash TT Replica of Joshua Beebee. On the right is the Riley Kestrel 12/4 Special of Richard Iliffe and the following car is the 1927 Invicta High Chassis of Edward Harris.

1957 Maserati 450S

I took this photograph at Luffield corner during the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association Sports Car Race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's Thomas Bscher in his 1957 Maserati 450S, and as with many Maseratis it's a bit of a conundrum. It seems to be either chassis 4505 or 4506 and originally had a 4½ litre V8 engine. The barchetta.cc history of 4505 says that it was renumbered to 4506 in 1957 and sold to John Edgar in June of that year. In July 1958 John Edgar had a 6.3 litre Pontiac engine installed in the car, but about 12 months later this was replaced with a 5.7 litre Maserati V8 unit. In 1980 when in the ownership of Peter Kaus a 6.2 litre Maserati marine engine was fitted and the car was acquired by Thomas Bscher around 1990. The programme of this Silverstone meeting showed the engine capacity to be 5,600cc.