Monday, July 26, 2010

Lavenham 2012


Following a review meeting with representatives of the Lavenham Parish Council at the weekend,we are pleased to be able to let you all know that the second Lavenham Vintage VW meet will be happening as planned in the summer of 2012.

They hope to be able to start the registration process next summer, so please keep an eye on the
Pre67 website for full details in due course. Very Happy

Thursday, July 22, 2010

'54 Beam

The beam adjuster is now welded into the front beam, it has been welded in the "middle" position so both up and down adjustment is possible.
As those of you who have done this know, with the adjusters in place it is no longer possible to fit the cover for the tunnel. This not being an option for us, the cover was modified so it will fit properly and can also be removed without too much trouble.



Some New Rubber !

Things are back to normal now after LMC and even though it's holiday season we have still managed to do some work on the cars.
The '54 sunroof has got some new rubber on the freshly painted rims, a set of Michelin XZX 165SR-15's. :-)



We are also at present testing a set of Vredestein 165HR-15 Sprint Classics and plan to test a set of Dunlop 500-15 R5's soon....

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Le Mans Classic 2010

Here are a selection of the photo's from LMC, the rest we will upload to our Facebook Page over the next couple of days.
908/2 flat 8, this is the actual car that was driven in the 1970 24 Heures du Mans with the camera attached. The car was driven in the race by Herbert Linge.
Herbert Linge gets behind the wheel again, happy memories.......
The 1970 24 Heures du Mans winning duo of Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood

The winning car of the 1970 24 Heures du Mans with the two drivers Herrmann and Attwood.
Vic Elford gets in on the action too :-)
The legend himself Vic Elford

René Metge has 3 Paris Dakar wins, a 24 Heures du Mans win plus much more...
1971 winning 917 of Marko/Lennep
The 1971 917 of Larrousse/Elford that was clocked at 386 km/h
Richard Attwood was actually talking part in the Le Mans Classic, driving a 917 with Vern Schuppan , here they can be seen changing drivers during racing.

Ex Jim Clark 356A was also racing

Monday, July 12, 2010

Oldspeed Legends

What can we say.......
We are back after four days of watching some of the greatest classic race cars on the planet and meeting some of the most famous Porsche werks drivers to ever drive the marque.
Although it was 35deg and we need some sleep, it was fantastic to see some of those drivers once again get behind the wheel of the cars they drove back in the day and take to the track. Believe us, they still drive with passion, way too fast for people on a pension :-)
We got to chat to Vic Elford and ask him how it really was to drive the 917 down the Mulsanne at over 386km/h, he replied " it was a joy to drive and I loved that car, although you had to be 100% committed as it was very unforgiving, you needed the whole road on the Mulsanne straight as it would tend to wander around a little".
Wander around! in a fiberglass car, cm's from the ground at 386km/h, only two words come to mind when describing these Porsche drivers, Balls & Steel.....
We also asked Herbert Linge, is it true about the 1954 Mille Miglia when you were Hans Hermann's co driver driving a 550, he laughed "yes but we were much younger then"
As they approached a rail crossing in the race the barrier came down as the train was approaching, they both ducked and drove under the barrier.

We also managed to get a few new members ;-)

1 René Metge
2 Richard Attwood
3 Herbert Linge
4 Gérard Larrousse
5 Vic Elford
6 Hans Hermann


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

1

24 Heures du Mans 1971 - The end of an era
During the '71 season the FIA decided to change the sports cars rules, this mean't it would be the last year that the Porsche 917's and Ferrari 512's would dominate the racing.
Ferrari would bring their 512 M spec and in reply Porsche would bring two new versions of the 917, the K spec would have the short tail modified and now ran a magnesium chassis and the LH (longtail) version would receive aerodynamic improvements.
The race started with the new Indianapolis rolling start and the No 18 917 of Rodriguez/Oliver was straight into the lead.
The No 21 917LH of Elford/Larrousse was clocked at over 386 km/h (240 mph) something that couldn't be matched by the 512M, its top speed was only 320 km/h.
The race would eventually be won by a 917k magnesium chassis, No 22 of Marko/van Lennep and the No 19 917K of Attwood/Müller would be second.
The winning 917K completed 397 laps a record distance of 5335 kms, the record would stand for another 39 years, until 2010 when it was bettered by the 3 Audi R15 TDI +'s.
In the 1970/71 season the 917's entered 21 races and won 14 of them.........

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

2

24 Heures du Mans 1970 - Battle of the Titans
Porsche returned with their 917's , five factory cars were entered and another nine of these flat 12 aircooled beasts by privateers. Not to be outdone, 11 Ferrari V12 512's were also entered.
This was the first time the 917 appeared in Gulf livery of the John Wyer team, it would later become famous in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans. Much of the racing footage in the movie is actually from the race, shot from the No 29 Porsche 908.
McQueen actually tried to enter the race with Jackie Stewart as co-driver in No26, a John Wyer 917K chassis 917-013, but the entry was declined.
Porsche also entered their new low drag 917L (or Longtall) the fastest lap and pole position went to 917L No 25 driven by Elford/Ahrens, but unfortunately would retire with cooling problems.
The race was eventually won by the 917K No 23 of Attwood/Herrmann, second was the 917L No 3 of Larrousse/Kauhsen and third overall was also a Porsche, the 908 No 27 of Lins/Marko.
Porsche had achieved what they set out to do 19 years earlier, overall victory at 24 Heures du Mans.

Monday, July 5, 2010

3

24 Heures du Mans 1969
Porsche return with one of the greatest race cars ever built, the 917.
2 factory cars are entered driven by Elford/Attwood No 12 and Lins/Kauhsen No 22, a third privateer 917 was entered by gentleman driver John Woolfe.
Both the Factory 917's retired from the race with clutch problems, it was left to the 908 driven by Herrmann/Larrousse No 64 to fly the Porsche Flag.
They didn't disappoint, it was a dramatic finish to the race with the 908 and GT40 of Jacky Ickx repeatedly overtaking each other. The GT40 eventually won by 100 meters due to the 908's brake problems.
The class win and second overall was once again overshadowed by a fatal accident. The 917 of John Woolfe crashed on the first lap at Maison Blanche and he was killed, it was possibly due to the fact that he had not bothered to use his safety belt.
At the start of the race the drivers were required to run across the track, climb in and get it started as quickly as possible to pull away form the grid. Woolfe probably didn't bother with the belt to gain a better start.
This was the last year of the traditional start, in future it would be the rolling start that we know today.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

4 Days....

24 Heures du Mans 1958
Porsche debut their new Spyder 1500 RSK
The team of Behra/Herrmann No 29 finished 1st in class (1600) and 3rd overall. The second factory team of Barth/Frère No 31 finished 1st in class (1500) and 4th overall. 5th overall also went to a Porsche, a privately entered 550A driven by Godin de Beaufort/Linge.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

5 Days....

24 Heures du Man 1955
Porsche enter half a dozen Spyders.
The team of Polensky/Frankenberg No37 won the 1.5 liter class and Porsche placed 4th, 5th and 6th overall.
This win was overshadowed by the horrific crash of French driver Pierre Levegh driving a Mercedes 300 SLR, due to the fact the car is made partly from Magnesium alloy it erupted into a fireball. Levegh was killed instantly and also more than 80 spectators lost their lives.
The race continued and Fangio/Moss were leading the race in a sister 300 SLR but 8 hours after the crash the official orders came from Mercedes to withdrawn out of respect for the victims.

Friday, July 2, 2010

6 Days....

24 Heures du Mans 1954
Porsche entered 4 spyders in the 1.5 liter class, they were now running the 110hp four cam engine.
The teams of Glöckler/Frankenberg No 40 and Herrmann/Polensky No 41 had bad luck, they both suffered engine failure.
The Belgian team of Claes/Stasse, No 39 managed to limp across the finish line on three cylinders to take the class win.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

7 Days....

It's only 7 days before we leave for Le Mans Classic.
For those who are going, something to get you in the mood.........

24 Heures du Mans 1953
The coupes were still fitted with 78hp pushrod engines.
Here you see No44 the team of Glöckler/Herrmann ahead of No45 Frère/Frankenberg.
The team of Glöckler/Herrmann went on to win the class and 14th overall.