| Author | Message | ||
     Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 814 Registered: 2-2013 |
Jetsetters, greetings and Roycey nods. Yet again Omar has been a bad influence on me. For the last 6 months I have been chanting a meditation "No more cars", but its useless - I simply must have a Ferrari in the stable because they are essential. I have a serious P4 330 habit/addiction. If you don't know what I am talking about simply google Ferrari P4 330 and go to the Top Gear video. But be warned, this video is serious XXX car porn. Prices on the internet range from 9 to 30 million but there are ways around that: ie build your own. Kits are available and there are second hand Ferrari V12 engines from wrecks available world wide. Yes indeedy a friend and I have been watching the Ferrari engine market closely for the last few months and I made a sleazy attempt to get Kelly from Utah who sold me a heap of specialized RR tools, to knock up an English Wheel for me so I can create an aluminium body. Sadly, he has too much on his plate but has referred me to a US manufacturer known for precision. Yes I know my P4 will not be original but I can promise you it will be faster - much faster as nitros will be fitted with an extra gear. Yes - think serious death trap for it will be at least that. Although I have always liked the noise of a hot V8, the howl of a V12 at WOT is just too evil to pass by. Just a dream at the moment of course but dreams are often the start of a reality. Its easy getting these types of things registered for the road here in outback Queensland - a simple matter of buying a clapped out real Ferrari and woops look at that - yes the engine number chassis number and compliance plate er well it just slipped from one vehicle to the other and I have absolutely no idea how that happened Constable. | ||
| David Towers Prolific User Username: xtriple Post Number: 196 Registered: 6-2010 |
Many moons ago, I was driving along in a calm and peaceful manner when I saw a P4 (Ferrari not a Rover) parked outside some guys house on his lawn. It was utterly stunning in red (of course) and I went from calm to manic in a fraction of a second. Just outside Pignton in Devon is not where you expect to see such exotica! By the time I got back, it was of course, gone and though I have looked countless times, I have never seen it since. Real or fake? No idea but it was most convincing. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 816 Registered: 2-2013 |
David I would say it was probably a Noble P4. Mr Noble in England turned out quite a few P4 Replicas. Enzo on the other hand only built four. I think its fair to say the shape of the car is dick nasty even with all the rivets. Those Italians have certainly came up with some stunning shapes including Sophia Loren. | ||
| David Towers Prolific User Username: xtriple Post Number: 197 Registered: 6-2010 |
Was this before he started churning out cars under his own name? If so, it was bloody good. I didn't get to look at it closely so no idea what engine was in it but the rest of the car looked soooooo right  Incidentally, I nearly bought a Ferrari once: about a hundred years ago in fact back when old Ferraris were just worthless (comparatively). It was a 275 or 330 GT (B or C I cannot recall) and was very cheap. For sale in a Volvo dealers showroom where it sat looking most incongruous! I didn't buy it because as a young man (at the time) the insurance was more than the car! | ||
| Jonas TRACHSEL Prolific User Username: jonas_trachsel Post Number: 161 Registered: 2-2005 |
 P4 Replica in Switzerland | ||
| David Towers Prolific User Username: xtriple Post Number: 198 Registered: 6-2010 |
Yep, that's the very boy I saw... or one identical. A veritable beauty and I'm not really a Ferrari fan though I'd quite like a 400i auto even though the word on the street is they are truly dire | ||
| Omar M. Shams Grand Master Username: omar Post Number: 1400 Registered: 4-2009 |
Dear Vlad How I cackled at your addiction....... Last week I overtook Mercedes 600 Grosser on the road and that's it now.......... I don't just want one..... I need one.... And its all your fault after you sent me subliminal messages about the 600 years ago.............. and I cant stop wanting to have one now. | ||
| Mark Luft Prolific User Username: bentleyman1993 Post Number: 164 Registered: 10-2016 |
Vlad, hope this helps with your Ferrari wants. https://jalopnik.com/make-your-lame-car-sound-like-a-ferrari-with-this-app-1435802354 | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1670 Registered: 5-2015 |
they beat me to it. my design had a 500 watt speaker and amp so that other can here it. I want the sound of galloping wilderbeasts for my shadow | ||
| Patrick Francis Prolific User Username: jackpot Post Number: 222 Registered: 11-2016 |
Omar, if you get a Grosser, I will have to visit you just for a ride! Always loved their Teutonic Elegance. Not as regal as our beloved Rolls, but so much more functional. I have a friend that had both and said that the Grosser was the better car. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2818 Registered: 4-2003 |
As a car-besotted teenager in the 1960's who spent most of my limited pocket money on car magazines especially the US "Road and Track" magazine, 1964 saw the car of my dreams appear in the form of the Ford GT40 and then the Ford Mustang hardtop raced in Castrol colours by the legendary Ian "Pete" Geoghegan. IMHO combine the GT40 body with the Castrol paint scheme and you have the perfect "big boy's toy". How you might ask? Well, it not as difficult and expensive as you might think: 1. Purchase a GT40 kit from an Australian company Roaring Forties: http://www.roaringforties.com.au/ 2.Use my 1:18 replica model of the Castrol Mustang with the correct colour scheme as the template for finishing the GT40 replica - colour photos of the original Castrol Mustang without advertising stickers are few and far between however the following is the the best I could find:  Now for the kill-joy moment - I am 6'2" [1.87metres] tall and I doubt if I now have the mobility and flexibility to get in and out of a GT40 as the box sills containing the fuel tanks have to be climbed over to get into the driver's seat. [Dan Gurney at 6'4" had a roof bubble fitted to his Le Mans GT40 for this reason].  Omar - I wish I was your age again............. . | ||
| Maxwell Heazlewood Prolific User Username: tasbent Post Number: 141 Registered: 9-2017 |
Well David....there's a blast from the past! You beat me to that particular pic but here is a couple of others I have had hangiung around in my collection for 50 years from the heady days of Longford in Tassie from 1966 .   | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2819 Registered: 4-2003 |
Maxwell, Thank you for some rare photographs especially Jim McKeown's Lotus Cortina which reputedly was the world's fastest lightweight Cortina - I remember seeing this car at Warwick Farm and Catalina Park being highly competitive against the V8's. The best races were always the supporting touring cars for the Tasman open wheeler races which culminated at Longford in Tasmania where your photos were taken. I was fortunate in my working life to have contact with Ian Geoghegan and John Shepherd when they were having problems with rear half-shaft breakages on the Craven A GTS350 HJ Holden Monaro Sports Sedan. I was able to apply some knowledge I gained fixing similar problems on Norm Oakey's American Auto Spares Top Fuel dragster and rear-engined Holden Monaro Funny Car dragster. Alf Ziegler from Timeler Engineering designed a roller spline half-shaft using specially heat-treated AISI H11 tool steel specified by me which enabled the GTS350 to finish its next race at Oran Park with a win. The secret was the strength and toughness provided by the H11 which allowed the shaft to "wind up" when the clutch was dropped without breaking and the spline configuration was sufficiently robust to resist cracking from the torque loads on the half-shaft. I was at Oran Park to see the first race win by "Pete" in this car. https://www.shannons.com.au/club/news/magnificent-muscle-pete-geoghegans-hj-monaro-sports-sedan/  . | ||
| Maxwell Heazlewood Prolific User Username: tasbent Post Number: 142 Registered: 9-2017 |
Thanks David for such illuminating insights into our illustrious past. There was/is some very clever design work done in Oz. We were very fortunate to experience the very best track in the southern hemisphere in it's day the Longford road circuit. Not much remaining of the old circuit but occasionally I walk as much as I can of the old circuit and remember the glory days. Highest speed attained on the 'Flying Mile' was by Jim Clark and his Lotus with 168.5 mph. I still remember the shriek of that engine as it bulletted down the straight and then howling as it came back through the gears to negotiate the very tight right hander at Mountford before accelerating to the finish line....magic. Almost as good as Kel Carruthers on the Benelli 500-4 | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2820 Registered: 4-2003 |
Maxwell, Have a look at the following link and indulge yourself in nostalgia - just ignore the obvious "ring-ins". https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Racing+car+news+longford+front+cover&client=firefox-b&dcr=0&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPveG8n-_YAhUGipQKHcP-AKoQsAQIJg&biw=1366&bih=628 I saw every Tasman series race from 1966 to 1969 at Warwick Farm and always looked forward to the "Racing Car News" front cover paintings during the Tasman series races - have never forgotten the 1968 Warwick Farm race where Jim Clark won in the all-conquering Lotus 49 and the 1969 race when Jochen Rindt disconnected the Lotus anti-roll bars because of the pouring rain and then put on a superlative display of wet-track driving especially around Creek Corner. https://youtu.be/C5UTC2VeyZY The conditions in 1969 are best-shown in the following Production Touring Car Race - just watch Mckeown's Cortina. http://mystarfun.com/videofun-Production-Touring-Car-Race-Warwick-Farm-Raceway-1969_fkwIjhL1J2eg.html Those were really days to remember and I was lucky enough to be there - certainly more entertaining than today's clinical racing: https://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/tasman_cup . | ||
| Maxwell Heazlewood Prolific User Username: tasbent Post Number: 144 Registered: 9-2017 |
Fabulous David, thanks for sharing....a real trip down memory lane These really were the days when they raced by the seat of their pants....no electronics, on board connectivity and huge run off areas....you had trees and other track side 'hardware' to deal with To watch Jochen Rindt racing in the wet at Longford was a real experience of car control. This was all on ordinary public road pavement, not the modern high tech track surfaces they use now. You may have seen this before....a video clip of racing at Longford in 1964.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG6FV9rciyQ Here is a very clever 3D video simulation of the Longford circuit....very much like a miniature LeMans and is quite accurate....although these days, a lot of the roadside 'furniture' is gone....including both bridges. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KuiqYqWHdY | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2821 Registered: 4-2003 |
Maxwell, Thanks for bringing back memories of great drivers doing incredible things in circumstances that must horrify today's safety-conscious motor sport oficials and competitors - I was fortunate to see just about all the local and international drivers featured and many of the cars as well. Being a poor student, I did not go to interstate race meetings and Longford was an impossibility. For some inexplicable reason, my favourite viewing position was tight corners after long straights such as Creek Corner at Warwick Farm, Turn 4 on the original Oran Park layout, Lake Corner at Amaroo Park and the corner leading onto the Main Kink straight at Catalina Park. My one and only choice for Mount Panorama at Bathurst was the first bend below Skyline with occasional short visits to Forest Elbow during the long races. I would have really liked to have experienced Longford but fate decreed otherwise. My biggest regret was missing the Easter 1972 Australian Touring Car Championship race at Mount Panorama won in controversial circumstances by Ian Geoghegan in the GTHO "Super Falcon" over Alan Moffat in the legendary "Boss" TransAm Mustang. I have been trying to find film/video of this race ever since without success as the meeting wasn't televised to the best of my knowledge. https://primotipo.com/2015/10/15/greatest-ever-australian-touring-car-championship-race-bathurst-easter-1972/ . | ||
| Paul Marshall New User Username: welshbentleyboy Post Number: 10 Registered: 4-2017 |
I am 6ft 4" and cannot fit in the mid engined two seaters. However I could fit in the 4 seater V12 Ferraris and bought a 400i on an impulse at an auction. Far from being "dire" it went well and IMHO has traces of a Daytona. I updated it to a 456 which was superb. Now in my dotage I have an Arnage T. Plenty of room and pace!   | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1672 Registered: 5-2015 |
I am dribbling again |
