Month: May 2013

Categories
Historic Racing Photos Porsche

Wading Through the 1965 Sebring

Daytona Cobra in the pits at the 1965 Sebring

In the hours leading up to the start of the 1965 running of the Sebring 12 hours race, it seemed like a perfect day for racing. A bit hot maybe at 94° but that wasn’t unusual for a Florida afternoon—even in March. There were rumors of hard weather on the way, but radio jamming between the US and Cuba meant that there was no solid local weather report available trackside.

Cobra and 904 throwing rooster tails at the 1965 Sebring

After 6 hours of racing the sky began to threaten rain. An hour later, at 5:25 pm the sky opened up. By the time the race was over, prototype drivers were saying that their cars were filling up to their elbows with rainwater. It sounds like hyperbole until you see the photos. Rain delay? What’s a rain delay?

MGB throws a bow wake at the 1965 Sebring

There’s endurance racing, and then there’s endurance racing.

More on the race and the spectacular conditions it was run in at Sportscars.tv. Some photos from BARC Boys, Via Retro and The Inside Line.

Categories
Racing Ephemera

Now Where is That Ventilation Flap Control?

Refresh your memory on where to disengage your bonnet lock release with these scans from the Alfa-Romeo Giulietta owners manual.

Categories
Video

Violent Beauty at the Vintage Revival Montlhéry

It’s easy to forget when you’re humming along the highway that right under that hood there are thousands of explosions happening every minute. Not so easy to forget at Montlhéry.

Fantastic film by Joris Bergsma.

Categories
Classic Cycle Event Grand Prix

Southsiders Visits the Vintage Revival Montlhéry

1932 Graham 8 Lucenti Indy car at the Montlhery Revival

Last month Southsiders MC‘s Vincent Prat made the short trip up the road to Europe’s second best known banked track for the Vintage Revival Montlhéry. Ok, maybe third best known. Fourth? Whatever. Lucky for us, The Southsiders crew has a fantastic photographic eye for capturing the atmosphere of the event. I’m so glad to see that the vintage spirit that surrounds the Goodwood Revival is spreading to other vintage events with period dress and accessories sharing the stage with the vintage machinery. The shots of the 1932 Graham 8 Lucenti Indy car wouldn’t have half the appeal were the pilot clad in just another contemporary race suit.

Entry to the banking at Montlhéry

It looks like a remarkable assemblage of machines were on-hand for the weekend, including machines that traveled from the Brooklands and Hockenheim museums—some returning to Montlhéry for the first time since they were actively racing pre-1940. Wonderful! You aren’t likely to see a better collection of Bugattis on any grid in the world. Looks like another to add to the ever-expanding list of events to attend in the future.

1932 Indy car at the Vintage Revival Montlhéry 2013

Click on through for Vincent’s recap and the rest of his fantastic photos from the event.

Categories
Gear

BMW Makes new 328 Transmissions Available

Reproducing BMW 328 Gearboxes

I love it. Another manufacturer is working to keep their vintage sports and racing cars on the road and ready to race. Like our earlier look at Porsche licensing the Type 547 engine to Capricorn, BMW has licensed the gearbox from the 328 to transmission manufacturer ZF. Keeping these cars on the road is clearly a priority for manufacturers, and taking these kinds of steps is a great boon for vintage motorsport.

The mighty BMW 328

For racing, there’s a great effect here as well. BMW 328 drivers know that they can really race their cars without fear of a blown gearbox sidelining their car indefinitely. Well done, BMW. Keep ’em coming and keep ’em on the road.

Categories
Vintage Racing Advertising

No Equal for Performance

The overwhelming majority of race winners the world over choose Champion spark plugs because Champions have no equal for performance. Why settle for less in your car?

Categories
Track Maps of the Past

Track Map of the Past: the Ring

With the future of the Nürburgring in some doubt these days, let’s hope that this map is still good for another 86 years.

Categories
Grand Prix Historic Racing Photos

Grand Prix Cars Thunder Through the 1939 World's Fair

What a sight it must have been, particularly for Stateside attendees of the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Grand Prix cars were never a common site on American shores and the images of these racers bounding through the grounds must have been thrilling to see. Imagine the sounds that would have been echoing off of those arches as they blast through them, inches from the support columns. Makes my annual trip to the Minnesota State Fair seem positively sedate.

Categories
Historic Racing Photos

Reader Photos: William Goldman's 1960 Ole Smokey Hill Climb

MGA at Ole Smokey Hill Climb. Lowellville, OH. 1960.
Brian Goldman sent in these photos that his father shot at the 1960 Ole Smokey Hill Climb in Lowellville, OH. I’ve been sitting on these for a while, trying my darnedest to color correct the aged photos back to their original vibrant glory. My Photoshop skills were no match for them though and I realized that I really should just let these artifacts live as they are—without introducing the artifice of retouching. I love when I decide these things because it lets me be lazy—it’s a key decision-making factor for me.
What I so love about these community events of the mid-century is the variety of machines that are encouraged to participate: VW Beetle, Corvette, MG, racing specials, and others are separated by only a few runs up the hill. Great stuff. Thanks, Brian!


Previously from the Goldman Archives: Put-In-Bay and the Davis Field Trials.

Categories
Automotive Art Racing Ephemera

Mystery Moretti Card

Yesterday’s Siata card from the Topps World on Wheels series reminded me of this trading card that our pal Cliff picked up on eBay a while back. The card was shipped to him from Canada, but he has no other information about the card or whether it’s part of a larger set. The dual French-English text on the card’s back might suggest that it is indeed Canadian in origin… but then the imperial measurements in the card’s text throw me (I just realized that this card would obviously pre-date Canada’s conversion to metric in the 70’s). Does anyone know anything more about this card or the set it’s part of?

Pretty badass little car too. The Moretti is definitely one of those barchettas that it’s difficult to visually scale without something in the image for reference. In this illustration the Moretti looks like a decidedly Italian sport tourer, sharing much in common with Ferraris of the era. Take a look at one with a driver, though, and you realize what a tiny little machine it truly is. I love it.

From the card’s reverse

This little sports car is made in Italy, and it is a lightweight model sports car weighing only 1120 lbs. It is made by Fabrica Automobili in Turin, Italy. The new model delivers 75 bhp and has a top speed of 111 mph. It gives an amazing 39 miles to the gallon.