Chris Garner writes:

The enclosed may be worth posting on the Friends' website..

Enclosed picked up on a US website but no information.
Can anyone shed any light on this bizarre special?

Regards

Chris

Well, it takes fuggly to a new level!

Location: Teignmouth

I have seen pictures of this car before, 750MC I think, but the grey matter can not recall the details at present hopefully someone else will put me out of my misery

Location: NZ

Well it might be ugly but I'd give it a home

Appearances can be deceptive. I think David Morgan's 750 history will reveal all. My brain has stopped and all I can recall is that it's a well known and significant car. Early Lola? GInetta? It's no good! If only I had not packed David's book!
Regards,
Stuart

Hi,
It went better than it looked.

Austin Seven special JA 2103 as raced by John Wilkes winning the 750MC Goodacre Championship across the 1958 season. While not always the fastest and winner of races it was very consistant and well placed. This car was subsequently rebodied by Bryan Small in 1960 retaining the substantial but effective chassis replacing the battered enclosed body with a Speedex750 shell. This was successfully raced by him in 1961 taking second place in the Goodacre, unfortunately coinciding with the very fast DEB which took the championship. The car then went on to win the championship in 1963 when owned by Robin Westcott. It raced for a few further seasons before being laid up and is believed to be somewhere in the Abingdon area.

There was quite a long write up in the 750MC Bulletin after it won the Goodacre analysing the technicalities as they did so well in those days. I believe this image and few others of it are in the Stanford archive.

Dave

I thought I recognised it Dave... but knew you'd have the whole story.

Not sure the Warklett's intended such lines, but this Ginetta g3 for sale on eBay a year or two ago certainly had a similar look... it's funny that someone would not spend a few quid extra for a water pump and cross flow radiator...

http://carprojects.com/for-sale/uk/a_1845-1946-ginetta-g3-cupar

It also seems strange for such a well developed streamlined car to have such an out of place radiator. Still the proof of the pudding...

Location: not in the garage :(

I wonder if the car was built with a low crossflow radiator and suffered from overheating problems? The use of a standard Austin 7 radiator looks very much like a later modification. The extra wind resistance was probably preferable to the engine getting cooked through over-heating?

I was thinking the same,perhaps the crossflow rad didn't cool it enough or there was no water pump.

Location: Channel Islands

Thanks to all for the information. I knew somebody would know!
Interestingly the Stockport number JA2103 does not seem to be registered to any vehicle in the UK or Eire.

Location: Melton Mowbray

Didn't the regs at the time require the use of a standard Austin Seven radiator?

If so I would say that displays a fine Chapmanesque disregard for the spirit of the regulations

Considering that it was racing at the same time as the FW special and the Worden, I'm not sure a crossflow radiator would be an issue, unless there were a number of classes all mixed together?

There's probably an explanation in the write up referred to by Dave... however good it is, I'm definitely not going to follow this route with the Silverstone!

Location: not in the garage :(

Writing as one who remembers it well...the radiator in the photo was a temporary lash-up to cure overheating. As the steam reveals, it didn't work. It was at the Trio meeting at Brands Hatch. The car didn't run like that all season, though the body was, at best, scruffy.
No, you didn't have to have an Austin radiator, not ever in the 750 formula.

Location: Richmond, Texas, USA

It's very like an open version of the Dante Gabriella, once described by the commentator at a race meeting as 'looking like it had been in an accident but nobody saw it go off the track'!

I LIKE IT.

It has a wacky racers feel to it.

Even down to the drivers sence of style.

Tony.

Location: Huncote on the pig