Racing Sports Cars

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Killarney Racer
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Killarney Racer » Tue 08 Apr 2008, 12:46

Does anyone remember Capt Gower in his Gower Special racing at Killarney?

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henryk
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by henryk » Tue 08 Apr 2008, 13:24

I do.

A yellow contraption with rostyle rims.

Think it was made of wood and glassfibre.

Horrible looking thing. Do not know how it ever passed scruitineering.

Think it used a 1600 Xflow engine & box.

Think it must have died in Hoals hoek as years ago I saw the backend of the car lying in the sand outside Hoals.
Escort's Forever !

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zahistorics
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by zahistorics » Tue 08 Apr 2008, 13:44

Killarney Racer wrote:
Hi-Fi wrote: He certainly proved himself in his Mclaren Elva, racing it on the tracks, attempting the SA landspeed record and stripping the car down to do the Krugersdorp hillclimb. Pity I don't have any pictures of the last two events.

Bob Olthoff at Krugersdorp hillclimb about 1966 in stripped McLaren Elva.jpg


I missed this post.

Jacques and I am on the trail of that car:
http://zahistorics.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=86

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Hi-Fi
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Hi-Fi » Tue 08 Apr 2008, 16:21

I didn't see that post on your site. I hope I'm not WRONG here, but I almost certain he used the motor from the Mclaren Elva to power his Mclaren M3 F5000.

I remember that the car got damaged in LM. I think that could be when he decided to go the F5000 route
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1968 BOB OLTHOFF AT THE WHEEL OF HIS MCLAREN M3 F5000.jpg

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Killarney Racer
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Killarney Racer » Tue 08 Apr 2008, 17:15

As I remember the story, the Elva was butchered and various parts and the engine were used for the F5000 McLaren Otlhoff raced. Apparently the body and remaining bit and pieces were tossed away. I have read this more than once from different sources.

The M3a he raced was a "special" based on a frame he bought from David Prophet and ran with the 302 Ford engine from the Elva.

I believe that Doug Serrurier's Lola T70 came to a similar destructive end, becoming a donar for the Lola T140 that Doug built with permission from the Lola factory.

Fred W B
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Fred W B » Thu 10 Apr 2008, 10:37

The Doug Serrurier car is currently being offered for sale in New Zealand, having apparently been converted back to a T70.

Image

Full history here - http://www.cultsportscars.com/t70_05_history.htm

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Fred W B

Fred W B
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Fred W B » Sun 20 Apr 2008, 18:41

Found a bit more info on this car

Cheers
Fred W B

Doug Serrurier bought the ex-Mike Taylor/David Good 1965 Lola T70 (chassis SL70/5) with its 4.7-litre Ford Weslake engine for sports car racing in South Africa and raced it until it was crashed by teammate Jackie Pretorius in the 1969 Roy Hesketh 3 Hour race. Serrurier then converted the car into a Formula A T140 using the running gear, its Ford Weslake engine and Hewland LG gearbox. He didn't use the "T/70/140" but sold it to the Domingo Bros. It was driven by Mike Domingo at the Bulawayo "100" (SA R5 Bulawayo 21 June 1970) and was then Alan Domingo's drive at the Rhodesian GP (R9 Bulawayo 13 September 1970). Presumably then the car then driven by Joe Domingo from the Natal Winter Trophy (R7 Roy Hesketh 4 July 1971) onwards. The Team Domingo equipe had three Lola T140-series cars during 1971, SL140/14-Chev bought from Peter Parnell, the ex-Leo Dave SL140/4-Ford and this T70/T140-Ford.

According to a letter from Serrurier dated 8 Jul 1991, the T70/T140 then went from the Domingos to Peter Haller and was converted into a dragster racer by "a man named Delport". Johan van der Merwe, Janie van Aswegen and Ivan Glasby are all mentioned as owners of what Serrurier called "the sorry remains" during the 1980s before it was purchased by "A. R. Culpin" in 1989. The T70 origins of these remains were now more important than its T140 interlude so the parts were combined with new T70 body panels and the whole project was sold to David Harvey of GT40 Replications Ltd (New Zealand) in July 2003. The car had been completed as a new T70 by 2005 and is retained by Harvey 2007. With its remaining parts in the T70, the T140 no longer exists.

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Hi-Fi
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Hi-Fi » Sun 20 Apr 2008, 19:32

Thanks for the info Fred.

I was certain that Roy Pierpoint came into the picture when Serrurier purchased the car as well. Whether or not Pierpoint originally bought the car from Taylor and Good, I don't know. I thought Doug bought the car off Pierpoint after they had shared it in the Springbok Series in 1966. I can still remember the body was a medium blue with a white stripe and moustache around the nose and ran a Van Rooyen cam, being a Basil Van Rooyen developement.

Doug himself, pranged the car heavily at Killarney, ripping the left front wheel off. This would possibly have been in 1967 shortly after he had purchased it.

It appears that he would have owned his T70 at the same time as the T140, running both cars individually during the course of 1968 and 1969.

Did Jackie Pretorius actually crash the car during the 1969 PMB 3 Hour?

Sorry, if the quality of the pictures isn't great.

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Fairlane 500
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Fairlane 500 » Wed 07 May 2008, 00:27

In the sixties there were two car builders by the names of Eric Brockhoven and Steve Mellet. Has anyone got info on them? I knew of a Mirage at some time.

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zahistorics
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Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by zahistorics » Wed 07 May 2008, 01:33

Killarney Racer wrote:
Hi-Fi wrote: He certainly proved himself in his Mclaren Elva, racing it on the tracks, attempting the SA landspeed record and stripping the car down to do the Krugersdorp hillclimb. Pity I don't have any pictures of the last two events.

Bob Olthoff at Krugersdorp hillclimb about 1966 in stripped McLaren Elva.jpg

zahistorics wrote:I missed this post.

Jacques and I am on the trail of that car:
http://zahistorics.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=86
Update this car is Oz, see my forum (link above) for more details

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