Swift response to some of the many topics raised whilst I slept in this time zone..........
MkIV
Hi, glad to know who you are now!! Yes, Jimmy Price is becoming THE British off-shore cottage industry - just look at the home page on
www.gt40s.com and scroll down past the Daytonas (yawn) and stop at the piccy of a workshop stuffed with Nobles. Auto-porn. And a pic of Jimmys own car.
I am well aware that a large number of UK kit car builders have visited his premises and paid homage...........I have been invited to tag along with another company but may not be able to attend, much as I would love to (off to Italy for a little vino & pasta, my wife tells me)
To touch on the Agg/Chris Chiles driving topic - yes Chris can cartainly drive a bit. I watched Charlie when he began racing with a McLaren M1 and tended to explore that fine line between fast and insane. He did have a habit of punting fellow drivers into the kitty-litter and did not endear himself to everyone at first. He smacked the Cobra into the armco at Silverstone and when Peter saw the bill from Brian Angliss for one front wing, he banned Charlie from racing it again. But he did take it on the Targa Florio retro where the carbs caught fire, but before he could start the car and suck the flames back, the Italian marshals went mental and covered the car in foam. Charlie was incandescent and harsh words were spoken, to say the least. (You can imagine) The idiots also failed to put out the fire and quite a lot of damage was done. I suppose you were the guy who was helping Charlie up the pole when he liberated all those "Nurburgring" road signs when the circuit closed?
On the topic of how many McLarens were built at the Trojan works in Croydon. Yes, well.... makes Cobra history appear quite straight forward by comparison. I shall have to get my act together and learn how to post pics on this site - I can show you the fourth (of three) McLaren M6 road cars created by Nigel Hulme and his father, based on an M6 tub. 350 V8, ZF box and drop-dead gorgeous looks, all designed by Bruce McLaren in the 60s! They should dump their big monster supercars and put that into production. Yeah, lots of McLarens out there (and T70s)
WhatsaCobra
Glad the feathers are no longer ruffled(!) I just knew you had to have owned a 7. Sorry to hear it was "cute" i've had mine called "cool" and I tend to think that's acceptable. I promise that as soon as someone calles mine cute, it will be sold forthwith, provided you can pop a Cobra in the post in order to stem the flow of tears.....in all honesty I've not had the 7 for long. I had a deposit on one back in the 70s but my employer asked if I would like to buy the photographic studio a few days later, so - no 7. I owned, rallied and autotested a total of 5 frogeye Sprites (masochist!) and then Nigel Hulme got me onto 911s, so the 7 has arrived in me twilight years, or at least before the arthritis kicks in and I get wedged in the cockpit forever.
On the race car topic - yep the Girlings were not too clever. I recall seeing a very rare 427 turn up at Brands Hatch in the late 60s for a minor club race around the Grand Prix circuit. Having assured my friends that this was going to be worth watching, how it was going to decimate the opposition - huh! He was being lapped long before then end by little Ginettas, Chevrons, marshals road cars.....it just ploughed staight on in the bends and was slowing for Paddock Hill about half-way along the straight! I only have a very poor photo of the car and you've reminded me to find out who was driving it. It weren't Dan Gurney!