MY FEEDLY

Not Just A Number – A Documentary About The History Of The Lotus + Caterham 7

Not Just A Number is a documentary about one of the most enduring car designs in history, the Lotus 7, still in production now as the Caterham Seven.

It’s likely that the Seven is the most famous kit car in history, with the possible exception of the Meyers Manx beach buggy, though the Seven has certainly been in production the longest.

This film offers an important look into the history of the Seven, particularly into the change-over from Lotus production to Caterham production, mostly explained by Graham Nearn of Caterham who originally negotiated the deal with Colin Chapman of Lotus.

Despite the fact that the Lotus 7 was first released in 1957 it remains in production today, in modified form of course, over 64 years later. You can still order them in kit form and build them yourself in your shed or garage, alternatively you can order one pre-built and drive it from day one.

Above Image: A look inside the Lotus Seven.

The looks of the Seven are somewhat quirky but one drive is usually all it takes to convert someone into a lifelong fan of the Colin Chapman design. These cars are designed to be lightweight and fast, with very little consideration given to comfort or weather protection.

Typically a Lotus or Caterham 7 will weigh in around 500 kilograms or 1,102 lbs, by way of comparison a luxurious grand touring sports car like the Aston Martin V8 Vantage tips the scales at 1,630 kilograms or 3,594 lbs.

This low curb weight allows the Seven to be an exceptionally quick car in all forms on asphalt-based motorsport, from drag racing and hill climbs to autocross and endurance racing.

The little car is so quick in fact that it’s been banned from some forms of racing due to its propensity to totally dominate the field if allowed to compete.

If you’d like to visit Caterham and see their current crop of cars for sale you can click here to visit the website.

The post Not Just A Number – A Documentary About The History Of The Lotus + Caterham 7 appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/not-just-a-number-documentary-lotus-caterham-7/
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Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Is For Sale

This 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 was personally owned and driven by Parnelli Jones, an icon of American racing and the man who won the 1970 Trans-American Sedan Championship driving a car much like the one you see here – a Boss 302.

The Boss series of Mustangs were famously named almost by accident, the designer who was in charge of the Boss project was Larry Shinoda, and the project was being conducted in utmost secrecy so as not to give forewarning to the team behind the Camaro.

Whenever he would be asked by other Ford employees what he was working on, Shinoda would just say “the boss’s car” referring to company president Semon “Bunkie” Knudson who had approved the project, and leave it at that.

It became the default name for the car, and the company decided to use it on the production models – the Boss 302 was the car homologated for racing in the Trans Am series and the Boss 429 was the car homologated for NASCAR which had a higher maximum engine capacity.

Mustangs had been racing and winning almost since the model was first introduced and largely thanks to the work of Carroll Shelby and his team’s work on the Shelby GT350. The Boss 302 would be developed internally at Ford specifically to beat all the new pony cars that had been released in the 1960s after the Mustang to challenge the Ford’s lead in the sales figures.

Trans Am racing was hard fought, so it was clear the cars were going to need to be significantly modified to win. It was also clear that a road-legal version of the cars were going to need to be available to buy to the general public to meet homologation requirements.

Above Video: Footage from the 1970 Trans Am season, including Parnelli Jones in his Bud Moore Boss 302.

The Boss 302 was fitted with lowered competition suspension, a Hurst shifter, front disc brakes, thicker sway bars, reinforced shock towers, heavy duty spindles, and a 4-speed manual transmission.

The cars are instantly recognizable for their “hockey stick” decal that runs down both sides, and for the front spoiler and rear deck wing. In the engine bay you would find the specially prepared 302 cu. in. (5.0 litre) V8 with a thin-wall black casting that used four bolt mains, screw in freeze plugs, and unique heads with better flow characteristics and a canted valve design.

Engine power was rated at 290 hp, the standard Mustang 302 produced 220 hp up to 230 hp with the four-barrel carburetor. The 0 to 60 mph time was 6.9 seconds, good for the era, and the quarter mile time was 14.6 seconds.

After building the Boss 302 for the 1969 and 1970 model year Ford discontinued the model for 1971. The original survivors are now much sought after but there are a staggering number of “tribute” cars out there, so detailed inspections to ascertain authenticity are highly recommended.

Above Image: This interior shot of the Boss 302 shows the Hurst manual shifter, the purposeful-looking steering wheel, and the simple lap belts that were used at the time.

The Parnelli Jones Boss 302 Shown Here

The car you see here was formerly owned by Parnelli Jones, as mentioned further up he’s the man who drove one to victory in the Trans Am championship in 1970 for the Bud Moore team ahead of Team Penske’s Javelins.

It was restored by Mark Brown and GS Johnson of the Boss 302 Registry to Parnelli Jones’ personal specifications in 2006 and it remained in his possession until he sold it to Brown in 2019. Impressively the car has accumulated just 2,000 miles since the restoration, leaving it in almost-new condition throughout.

Another claim to fame was that this was the cover car of Mustang Monthly magazine in May 2007, and it was featured in Mustang Times magazine in May 2008.

The car now comes with a Parnelli Jones signed Ford plaque, a photograph of 2003 title assigned to Parnelli Jones, a Parnelli Jones signed declaration of ownership, and a PJ Boss California license plate.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Mecum. It’s due to roll across the auction block in mid-May and at the time of writing there’s no price guide.

Images courtesy of Mecum

The post Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Is For Sale appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/parnelli-jones-1970-ford-mustang-boss-302/
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For Sale: An Alfa Romeo Tipo 105 Engine – 1.6 Litres + 180 BHP

This is an Alfa Romeo Tipo 105 engine, perhaps better known simply as an Alfa Romeo Twin Cam with the Italians calling it the “Bialbero” for “Twin Shaft”. Remarkably this advanced engine was designed in the early 1950s and its been mass production since 1954, it would be upgraded over time and remain in production until 1994 – a 40 year run.

The lead engineer behind the Alfa Twin Cam was Giuseppe Busso, he developed an engine that used previously known engineering advancements like double overhead cams, hemispherical combustion chambers, overhead spark plugs, and lightweight all-alloy construction to create a new inline-4 that was leagues ahead of anything being made by Alfa Romeo’s competition.

Over the course of its production run variations of this engine would be fitted to a wide array of cars and the engine itself would be built with swept capacities ranging from 896cc all the way up to 2,056cc.

The Alfa Romeo Tipo 105 engine you see here has been built specifically for racing to GTA 1600 specification by marque specialists Ital Auto in Germany. It is now producing approximately 180 bhp and it’s accompanied by a dynamometer printout that attests to this.

Above Image: A GTA Alfa, not dissimilar to the kind of car this engine is likely destined for.

GTA 1600 specification includes a reduced angle between the valves, from 90º to 80º, the valve sizes are substantially increased, a race cam is fitted along with twin Weber side draught carburetors, and due to the valve size increase the centrally located spark plugs are changed for a twin spark system.

Alfa Romeos of the 105 and 115 series have become increasingly popular in recent years, thanks in no small part to the work of companies like Alfaholics in Britain. Not that many years ago it was still possible to buy them somewhat cheaply, however that ship has now well and truly sailed.

If you’d like to read more about this engine or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Bonhams. It’s due to roll across the auction block in Monaco at the Monaco Sale ‘Les Grandes Marques à Monaco’ on the 25rd of April with a price guide of $21,000 to $33,000 USD.

Images courtesy of Bonhams

The post For Sale: An Alfa Romeo Tipo 105 Engine – 1.6 Litres + 180 BHP appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/alfa-romeo-tipo-105-engine/
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An Original Set Of Bugatti EB110 Wheels – $9,400 to $14,200 USD

This is an original set of Bugatti EB110 wheels, they’re coming up for sale with RM Sotheby’s and as you may imagine they cost more than many used cars, with the price guide ranging from $9,400 to $14,200 USD.

The Bugatti EB110 is perhaps one of the most unfairly under recognized supercars of its age, alongside contemporaries like the Cizeta V16T. The EB110 featured a carbon fibre chassis, all-wheel drive, state-of-the-art onboard systems, and a top speed of 221 mph (355 km/h) in Super Sport trim.

Bespoke wheels were developed for the car, as you would expect for any supercar at this level. They’re a simple spoked design that measure in at 18 inches in diameter with 245/40 R18 tires fitted up front and 325/30 R18 on the rear.

The final design used for the EB 110 was quite different to the final prototype that had been designed by Marcelo Gandini. As you may expect, Gandini’s design was more angular and aggressive, with pop-up headlights and vents in the hood to assist with cooling.

Above Image: The production EB 110 (centre) with various Gandini-designed prototypes on either side. Note the considerable styling differences.

The name EB 110 was given as an homage to the original company founder Ettore Bugatti and his 110 birthday, which was celebrated in 1991 – the year the car was released.

Just 139 examples of the EB 110 were made between 1991 and 1995 when he company fell into bankruptcy. Compared to the Bugatti Veyron with over 450 built the EB 110 remains a rare sight and ever popular with enthusiasts.

If you’d like to read see more or register to bid on these wheels you can click here to visit the listing. They’re due to cross the auction block later in April, the price guide is €8,000 to €12,000 and they’re currently located in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The post An Original Set Of Bugatti EB110 Wheels – $9,400 to $14,200 USD appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/bugatti-eb110-wheels/
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Ford Escort Mk II RS1800 Group 4 – A Road-Legal Rally Car

This Ford Escort Mk II is a road-legal historic rally car with significant racing history to its name, it’s a Mk II RS1800 Group 4 and it’s powered by the historically significant 2.0 litre Cosworth BDG engine capable of over 275 bhp in race trim.

The Mighty Mark II

The Mark II Ford Escort, or Mk II as it’s better known, is one of those rare instances in the automotive world when the successor to a popular model becomes just as beloved as its forebear. In this case of course it was the Mark I Ford Escort that came first, retroactively renamed the Mk I. This first Ford Escort was both affordable to the average blue collar worker, and it was wildly successful on the race tracks and rally stages of the world.

With the Mk I Escort Ford knew they had struck gold, they built over two million of them from the model’s release in 1967 until 1974 when its successor was launched. The pressure was on in the early 1970s to design the new Escort, money was tight at the time and so much of the core structure of the M I was kept in place, and a new more modern body shape was fitted.

As it happens this turned out to be a great strategic move, as the racing prowess of the Mark I was essentially transferred into the Mark II. Despite the fact that it used a live rear axle on leaf springs the Ford Escort RS1800 proved wildly successful in World Rally Championship (WRC) events taking over 20 victories as well as the 1970 Championship – in fact it took all three places in the 1979 standings.

This was a remarkable effort from the Ford Escort RS1800, it was competing against the likes of the Lancia Stratos HF, the Porsche 911 SC, the Renault 5 Alpine, the Fiat 131 Abarth, and the Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0. With its live axle rear end and leaf springs the Escort was by far the most old-fashioned of the cars in the field, but somehow it proved more than the sum of its parts on countless race outings – beating the most impressive rally machinery of its day.

Above Image: The Mark II Escort is a cult classic in Britain and much of the world markets where it was sold new in the 1970s.

Ford would keep the Mark II Escort in production from 1974 until 1980 when it was replaced with the less popular third generation model. Today the first and second generation Ford Escorts occupy and almost mythical place in the car culture of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and the other regions where it was originally sold.

So profound is the impact that these cars had that you can still buy brand new unibody shells for them, along with every other part you need to build one essentially from scratch over 40 years since the last one left the production line.

The 1978 Ford Escort MK2 RS1800 Shown Here

The car you see here is a road-legal racer equipped with a 2.0 litre Cosworth BDG inline-four built by Alan Sherwood, coupled to a 5-speed ZF manual transmission. Many historic race cars like this one have been subject to restorations over the years, with some receiving a full new body shell to bring them back to as-new condition – this is one such car.

New body shells always trigger Ship of Theseus philosophical debate in the classic car community. No one car argue that they make the cars more exact and arguably stronger, but some prefer the original shells for the sake of authenticity. I belong to that former camp personally, in fact I have a classic in the garage with a new bodyshell and I have to say, it’s fantastic.

The 2.0 litre Cosworth BDG is an inline-four cylinder engine that remains in very limited production today through certain performance tuning houses. It’s an engine that was developed by Cosworth back in 1969 using the Ford Kent engine block as its starting point.

Above Image: This is the Cosworth BDG engine, a mighty 2.0 litre unit with DOHC and 270+ bhp when in full race trim.

Unlike the pushrod overhead valve Kent, the Cosworth variant had a new head with double overhead cams powered by a belt drive. The first of these engines was the 1601cc BDA (standing for “Belt Drive A“), followed by the BDB, the BDC, the BDE, the BDF, and of course the BDG – which would be the largest capacity engine in the series with a new block cast from aluminum to match the pre-existing aluminum head.

In full race trim these Cosworth BDG engines could produce over 270 bhp, and when paired with a 5-speed transmission and a vehicle like a WRC championship winning car like the RS1800, it creates a machine very hard to beat in the right hands.

The car you see here is the ex-Malcolm Wilson and Terry Harryman “Total Team Gold” RS1800 from 1978. First registered on 17 February 1978, this RS1800 has five previous keepers on the V5C log book. Piloting ‘FFV’ with its original shell in 1979, Malcolm Wilson secured some notable results during the season, including third overall on the Phonepower International Welsh Rally, and second overall and first in class on the RAC MSA Scottish Rally.

Much more recently, and sporting the replacement shell, it was driven in numerous events between 2012 and 2015, largely in the UK, including the Ulster Historic Rally, the Jim Clark Historic Rally, and the Rally Isle of Man. It was acquired by the current private owner in July 2019.

Today the car is presented in excellent condition, ready to race and registered for the road should the new owner wish to go out and destroy some B-roads on the weekend. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Collecting Cars.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

The post Ford Escort Mk II RS1800 Group 4 – A Road-Legal Rally Car appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/ford-escort-mk-ii-rs1800/
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CforCROSSSTITCH – Immortalize Your Car In Cross Stitch – £125

CforCROSSSTITCH is a new project that creates custom cross stitch artworks for petrolheads, you just send in some pictures of your car and they set to work creating a bespoke cross stitch for you.

The company is a family affair run by brother and sister Craig and Ashley, Ashley runs Stitchy Mumma and Craig is an automotive designer as well as a talented artist and photographer. They spent the past few months perfecting the art of translating cars into the pixel-like art required for cross-stitching

Each piece requires significant work, once they receive the images of your car Craig sets to work drawing it pixel by pixel, once he’s happy with it he passes it to Ashley who cross-stitches it by hand at her home in England. Once completed the 10″ x 10″ square is then uniquely numbered, framed and sent to the customer.

Despite the fact that CforCROSSSTITCH is an almost brand new enterprise they already have a small waiting list and each one takes a few days to make as Ashley is also a full time mother.

If you’d like to see more examples of their work or order your own and support the project you can click the red button below to visit the online store, each piece costs £125 which includes framing.

Visit The Store

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from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/cforcrossstitch-car-cross-stitch/
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Sir Malcolm Campbell’s 1939 Mercury Eight Overlander Is For Sale

This 1939 Mercury Eight has a fascinating history, it was ordered new by land speed record breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell and sent by him to the coachbuilders Windovers to convert it into an estate car (station wagon) with room to sleep two in the back.

As it happened the car was mostly used by Britain’s biggest pop star at the time, George Formby, who bought it from Sir Campbell and used it as a camper while touring the Allied fronts and entertaining the troops during WWII.

Sir Malcolm’s original plans for the vehicle were that it be used by his crew, and likely himself also, for transportation and accommodation duties in the various remote locales they needed to travel to for their record-breaking adventures on land and water.

Various iterations of the name “Blue Bird” were used by Sir Malcolm Campbell to name his record-breaking cars and boats including a Sunbeam 350HP, a Napier-Campbell, a Campbell-Napier-Railton, and a Campbell-Railton. As a result of this you’ll notice the word “Blue Bird” has been stenciled onto the forward roof of this car just above the windshield.

After he sent this car off to Windovers they set to work increasing the height of the roof and added a full station wagon-style back to the car. They also ensured that the rear seats would fold into the floor to provide a flat sleeping platform with space for two – this would allow mechanics and engineers to have mobile accommodation and even work in 24 hour shifts when needed.

Above Image: The car still carries its desert military colors, with plenty of patina as you would expect from its adventures.

1939 was the first year of the Mercury Eight Series 99A, Mercury was essentially an upmarket member of the Ford family a little below the Lincolns. The beautifully art deco styled car came as either a two door coupe or a four door sedan, with convertible or tin top versions of each available.

As the name suggests, the Mercury Eight was powered by a V8, and not just any V8 but a Ford Flathead V8 – the one that’s credited with getting America to fall in love with the engine configuration in the first place.

With a swept capacity of 239 cu. in. (3.9 litres) and 95 hp the Mercury Eight Series 99A was notably more expensive that a Ford V8 however it came with that beautiful Mercury styling, a luxurious interior, and it even came with hydraulic brakes as standard.

A good-looking, aerodynamic car with a V8 under the hood appealed to Sir Malcolm so much that he bought a brand new “overseas market” example of the car shortly after its 1939 launch. Sadly 1939 would also coincide with the outbreak of World War II and as a result Sir Malcolm Campbell was never able to use his Mercury for its intended purpose.

As a pilot from World War I and a Knight of the Realm, Campbell commanded the military police contingent of the Coats Mission whose job it was to evacuate King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and their immediate family from London in the event of German invasion from 1940 till 1942.

Above Video: George Formby performing “Our Sergeant Major” for the troops during WWII.

Rather than letting his custom built Mercury go to waste Campbell sold it to Britain’s highest paid musical performer, George Formby, who was off to embark on a 53 day ENSA tour (Entertainments National Service Association) in August 1943 to perform for the troops in Italy, Sicily, Malta, Gibraltar, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine.

The vehicle was modified by the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) prior to departure, they gave the car a new military livery, larger wheels and tires for use on sand, and partially painted windows to reduce the sun’s glare.

Formby and his wife would sleep in the back of the Mercury for much of this trip, it’s believed that he entertained over 750,000 on this specific tour and a total of 3 million throughout the duration of the war – sometimes climbing into trenches close to enemy lines to chat to the soldiers, tell them jokes, and play them songs on his famous Banjo Ukulele.

Formby sold the car on after his tour and it ended up passing through some fascinating collections over the intervening decades, including ownership by the president of the George Formby Society and Earl Peel.

It’s now due to roll across the auction block with H & H Classics on the 14th of April with a guide price of £25,000 to £35,000, or approximately $34,300 to $48,000 USD, if you’d like to read more or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.