NEWSLETTER
November 2011
Record breaking
The Northern Cape Provincial Government has announced
that plans are well under way with the Bloodhound project,
which will see RAF Wing Commander Andy Green attempting
to set a new world land speed record (1 000 mph/1 600
km/h) at Hakskeen Pan next year. Andy is currently in South
Africa to do a site visit on the weekend and conduct a series
of lectures.
Coincidentally, this news appeared not long after my recent
holiday in the UK during which I visited my home town of
Coventry and called in at the city's superb transport
museum. Amongst the many exhibits are two of the world
land speed record cars Richard Noble's Thrust 2 and Thrust
SSC, which is the current holder with a speed of 763,035
mph (1 228 km/h) achieved by Andy in 1997. There is a
simulator of Green's record run that is an experience not to
be missed. From a camera position just above Andy's head,
the sensation of speed is not particularly noticeable (only the
digital speedo shows just how fast it is) but observing the
effort it took to keep SSC in a straight line was amazing.
I had the privilege of having lunch with Andy during his visit
to SA just after his earth shattering (literally and figuratively)
run and found him to be a thoroughly affable and
entertaining person. FMM curator Wayne Harley and I hope
to have the opportunity of meeting up with him during his
latest visit.
Incidentally, the Coventry Transport Museum's history dates
back to 1937 but the current facility was opened in 1980. If
you are ever in the UK and can include a visit into your
itinerary, the detour will be well worth the effort. Entrance is
free and it is open every day except 24-26 December and 1
January. More information can be found at www.transportmuseum.com. A full picture feature of my visit is scheduled
to appear in an upcoming issue of Topcar. MM
Show time!
With two motor shows following each other
November has been rather a busy month
for FMM. At the beginning of the month we
attended the Wine and Wheels Show held
at the Nelson Creek wine estate. It was a
small show with about 80 classics on
display over the two days, and I must say
was a little disappointing. But the museum
made the best of it and displayed three
cars: 1927 Buick roadster, 1930 DeSoto
and a 1937 Ford Club coupé. I'm still
dumfounded when I go to a show so close
to home and still meet people from
surrounding areas who are unaware of the
museum: do the winelands just have so
much else to offer?
The second show this month was the Cape
Classic Car Show held in Parow. This had to
be the one of the best arranged motor
shows I've attended in the last few years. I
don't know what the final attendance
numbers were but it was very well
supported and I'm still surprised at just
how the movement is growing, be it
veteran and vintage, classics, hot rods,
racing cars or even just the massively well
supported Mercedes-Benz club. FMM
helped give a final hurrah to Chevrolet's
100 Years by displaying five cars from
different eras covering 1930 to 1974. But
oh boy, the show had something for
everyone and I'm not certain if I got to see
all the cars on display. If I had to find fault it
would be the dust and that the motorcycles
were a little thin.
But heck it was awesome. I had a total car
overdose… WH
Eyes peeled
New displays
When reading overseas classic car magazines it never ceases
to amaze me to read about 'barn finds' and the like. Rare,
interesting, unusual and sometimes even priceless vehicles
get unearthed in the most unlikely of locations, so on my UK
trip (sorry to keep on about it!) you can imagine my pleasure
and surprise at making a 'find' of my own. But this was no
classic needing some TLC to restore it to former glory, but
actually a car that was clearly still a runner (er, make that
racer) and in what appeared to be fine fettle.
Driving through the Welsh island of Anglesey with my wife
and relatives researching some family history, we passed
through a tiny village called Llanerch-y-medd and there,
parked unprotected in front of a terraced house, was no less
than a BTCC Volvo 850 station wagon.
Unfortunately, the house was unoccupied and time was
against us so I could not found out more about the car, but
judging by its decals and general patina, I suspect it was the
actual works racer rather than being a replica. I remember
being bowled over by Volvo's imagination in racing a more
aerodynamic station wagon in the highly competitive 1994
British Touring Car Championship. The Tom Walkinshaw
Racing prepared car posed such a threat that wagons were
banned for the following year. I had built a scale model of the
car so it was a kick to see a full-scale version. MM
Two new displays have been put on show at
FMM. In Hall B there is a '27 Roadster Six, '34
Series 50 saloon, '38 Series 40 Special
Convertible, '39 Series 60 'Waterfall' Coupé,
'40 Series 60 Century Coupé, '41 Series 60
Eight, '48 Super, '48 Special Sedanette, '52
Super Dynaflow and a '72 Riviera. The '34,
'39 and '40 models are all on show for the
first time.
In Hall C the Alfas comprise '47 6C 2500 SS,
'60 2000 Touring Spider, '70 GTV 1750, '84
GTV6 and a '93 Zagato Roadster. The exSerge Damseaux GTV6 is one of the 'short
ratio' gearbox models and the Zagato is
number 140 of only 271 built.
Upcoming events:
Sun 27 November
Fri 9-Sat 10 December
Fri 16 December
Sat 21-Sun 22 January
Sat 4-Sun 5
Sat 11-Sun 12
FMM's Back Seat Drivers:
the people behind the
scenes
Gary Baker is the museum's workshop
manager and moved into FMM after
spending 16 years running Dr Rupert's golf
estate. Despite not actually being an old car
fanatic
his favourite museum car is a
Jaguar XKJ-R but admits to taking pleasure
from driving the 540K Mercedes. He does
however thoroughly enjoy looking after the
museum's 307 vehicles, an amazing 180 of
which are all in running order. A few of the
newer specialist cars are sent out for
servicing, but the vast majority are serviced
in-house by Gary and his small team.
Gary is married to Anna, who works in the
L'Ormarins wine estate's finance
department, and they have three
daughters.
Exhaust blips
Charity Toy Run to Maynardville
Wings and Wheels Show, AFB Ysterplaat
Christmas Toy Fair, St Thomas Church Hall, Rondebosch
Timour Hall Car Show, Plumstead
Killarney International Classics Springbok Series Rnd 3
George Old Car Show