AEC Regent

I photographed this former Bury Corporation AEC Regent in September 1995 in Heaton Park, Manchester, at the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally organised by the Greater Manchester Transport Society.

The programme of the event had this to say about this vehicle:

AEC Regent III 9613A Weymann H56R, 1952                                                      BEN 177
Bury 177
Entered by     D.R. Stubbings, Rossendale
The majority of Bury's Buses were Lancashire built Leylands, Two AEC chassis were bought in 1950 and placed in store until Weymann bodies were fitted. These two AEC buses were unpopular with Bury's bus drivers, being 'odd-men out in the fleet.

Friday's Ferrari

I've recently been able to scan into my laptop some of the photographs that my brother and I took at Oulton Park and Aintree, and one meeting at Silverstone, between 1955 and 1962. They were mostly taken on Kodak Brownie 127 cameras but even so the quality of some of them is surprisingly good - others not so much. Here's one of the photographs we took at practice for the 1957 British Grand Prix at Aintree.

It shows three of the four Ferrari 801 cars that took part in the race. The middle car, number 14 (chassis no. 0010), was the car driven by Luigi Musso and the car on the left looks to have number 16 (chassis no. 0006), which was Maurice Trintignant's car, taken over by Peter Collins when his car failed half-way through the race. The other two cars were number 10 (chassis no. 0009), driven by Mike Hawthorn, and number 12 (chassis no. 0008) which was Peter Collins' original car.

During the race Stirling Moss in a Vanwall had a comfortable lead part way through the race, but stopped to change cars with Tony Brooks, then in ninth place, because of a persistent misfire. This allowed Jean Behra in a Maserati 250F to take the lead with Mike Hawthorn in the Ferrari in second place. Stirling Moss got up to third place, but still some way behind, when Jean Behra's clutch and flywheel exploded. Mike Hawthorn had the misfortune to run over the debris sustaining a puncture leaving Stirling Moss in the lead which he maintained to the finish - the first win by a British car in a World Championship race. Luigi Musso finished in second place with Mike Hawthorn recovering after his pit stop to finish third and the Maurice Trintignant/Peter Collins Ferrari was fourth. 

The Ferrari 801 was the final development of the Lancia D50 cars handed over to Ferrari at the end of the 1955 season on the demise of Scuderia Lancia. The cars competed in the 1956 season with minor modifications as Lancia-Ferrari D50s but were modified to such an extent for the 1957 season that they were given a new identity as Ferrari 801s.

1935 Austin Taxi

One of the club stands at the 8th Northern Classic Car Show at G-Mex, Manchester, in August 1989 was that of the London Vintage Taxi Association. This is one of the two cars on display at this stand.

It's a 1935 Austin Taxi cab and this is what a note in the show guide says about the car:

"BXU 249 was discovered in 1981, where it had been stored since coming out of service in 1954. It was in remarkable original condition, still carrying the original taximeter, fare card and test stencil. Over the years it has received a sympathetic restoration, still retaining its original character. The body was built to London specifications by 'Jones Bros' of Westbourne Grove. It was very popular with London drivers."

I've found the website of a car auction company that says this about the 1930s Austin Taxi:

"The 12/4 Austin Taxi was the mainstay of the taxi fleet in London during the 1930s. Initially nicknamed the High Lot due to its height, it became a great success outselling its rivals the Beardmore and Morris Commercial by some margin. The revised LL (Low Loader) model was introduced in 1934 and became the most widely produced taxi of the decade."

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS

This is one of the cars that took part in the Vintage Seaman Trophy race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2007.

It's a 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS, entered and driven in the race by Nicolas Rossi.

Diamond T Truck

I spotted this vehicle amongst the trade stands in the paddock at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010 and because I didn't know what it was I took a photograph.

It appears to be a 1940 Diamond T Truck - I don't know much about them, but found this website which gives a history of the Diamond T.

Allard J2X Le Mans

The entry list for the Hawthorn International Trophy race at the Vintage Sports Car Club meeting at Oulton Park in June 2008 included the car shown below.

It's a 1952 Allard J2X Le Mans. The Allard J2 had motor cycle style mudguards and the J2X was introduced to comply with 1952 FIA regulations which said that cars must have all-enveloping bodywork.

Here's the owner of the car, Tom Walker, leading the Cooper Monaco T49 of Paul Woolley and the Lister Knobbly of Barry Wood at Britten's chicane during the race.

Haynes-Apperson

This is a photograph taken in May 1992 at the Exchange Station car park at the start of the annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run organised by the Lancashire Automobile Club.

It's a 1902 Haynes-Apperson Surrey being driven here by the owner, Clive Williams of Hyde, Cheshire. The Wikipedia entry for Haynes-Apperson mentions a 'Haynes-Apperson Festival' being held each year in Kokomo, Indiana to commemorate the company and apparently it's still going strong.