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Bugatti on Ice

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bugatti t 35

Del Lee in the Bugatti at Lake Orion Michigan. Note the leather strap holding the crank. Photo by Harold Lance

Imagine, if you will, the prototype Bugatti T35 on an ice-covered lake in Michigan. Eric Davison tells the true story of Ettore’s first T35.

There is no doubt in my mind that I grew up in the most fortunate of circumstances. While my family was not wealthy we were comfortable. We had a nice house, three square meals a day and loving parents. What made my circumstances so fortunate was the fact that my dad was an absolute gear head. He loved great cars and he dragged me along on his wonderful adventures into the world of sports cars. He had been born in England and his preference was for English sports cars but all great cars were covered by his enthusiasm. Detroit, Michigan was where he found work as a commercial artist, painting cars and trucks for ads for ads and catalogs for the Big Three.

While “Detroit” was a word that was instantly recognized by most as a euphemism for big, strong and chrome plated automobiles, it was also the home of a small cult of serious car worshippers who by 1948 had banded together to form the Detroit Region of the Sports Car Club of America

Among those early revolutionaries was Harold Lance, a car enthusiast, original Detroit Region of the SCCA member and a Bugatti fanatic. In those days, the early 1950s, you could count on your fingers and toes, the sports cars to be found in Detroit. There were few Bugattis except the beautiful Royale that was owned by Charles Chayne, then the chief engineer of Buick. There was also a Type 37 that had been the property of Edsel Ford. That car was on display in the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village on the Ford property in Dearborn, Michigan.

While Lance was a young army veteran who was just starting a family and could not afford a Bugatti, he had a subscription to the English Motorsport Magazine and spent considerable time scouring the classified ads.

One day, in the June 1951 edition of Motorsport, he found an ad for what was declared to be a Type 37A Bugatti. This particular car had been fitted with a supercharged Brescia engine and the price was only 400 pounds sterling or around $1600. [Read more…] about Bugatti on Ice

Requiem for a Salesman

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Del Lee's Allard, which he would give up in order to get a Bugatti. Photo by Eric Davison.

By Eric Davison

I am about to do something that on one should ever do: That is to repeat a story once told by a legendary story teller.

The late David E. Davis told this tale many years ago. He may go down in history as one of the great story tellers of all time and that is a tough act to follow. Since he is no longer around I think it is my responsibility to keep this bit of lore going. The story involves two men who have been part of earlier stories that I have related and is just too unforgettable to let fade. Both parties were friends of David E. who watched the following drama unfold when he was a young salesman at Falvey Motors.

Lee in his Bugatti Type 37 which would later be determined to be a T35. Photo by Harold Lance.

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Italians at Retro

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barnyard ferrari find

Retro at its best shows off the latest discoveries like this 1954 Ferrari 250 Monza spyder Pinin Farina.

Hugues Vanhoolandt on some of the Italian cars that appeared at Retromobile this year.

By Hugues Vanhoolandt

Cisitalia 33DF

Despite the success of the 202 coupe, Cisitalia was still struggling. In 1953 the company decided to create a line of cars based on both the 1900 and 1100 Fiat chassis. The line was called the ‘DF’ for ‘Deriving from Fiat‘. Notably, the Cisitalia tubular frame was now gone and the chassis was Fiat. The 1100 cars were designated 33DF and the first was a spyder with cut down doors shown at the 1953 Turin Auto Show. But the production models were almost all coupes, as shown here and given the name ‘Voloradente’ or ’low flying’. The engine was modified to produce around 70 hp. Less than 20 were produced.

Siata 208

The Siata 208S, equipped with the Fiat 8V engine, was the perfect car for the West Coast. Ernie McAfee imported nearly all of them to California.

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Graham Gauld at RetroMobile

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There is no doubt that the legendary Retromobile historic car show in Paris kicks off the season with a lot of fun, a lot of surprises, and just about every known dealer in expensive automobiles is prowling the stands with anguished looks at cars they might have sold if offered.

The show was bigger than ever this year taking in two halls and there was something for everyone. If you want a throttle cable for a 1929 Salmson and amidst barrels of what one would otherwise call junk, you will find one. As for cars, well, Retromobile always brings surprises. For a start, stroll with me to Christophe Pund’s stand. Christian is a jolly smiling Frenchman who manages to dig up the oddest cars from the oddest places and this year was no exception. Restored, but thankfully not to Pebble Beach standard, was a fascinating little Moretti 750 dating from 1955 that was bought by a dealer called Lino Fayen who was kind of French/Venezuelan. Shortly after he bought it he exported it to Venezuela which was just as well because the French tax men wanted to chat with him about tax and customs duty. He fled.

Moretti 750

In Caracas the car went through various hands and thanks to Christophe you see here a picture of Edward Speluvela racing the Moretti in Venezuela. It was a twin cam producing 70 bhp and the odd bodywork was by Aperta. You will note it has a head rest and this is the only thing missing from it today. It is very original and no doubt will be snapped up and let’s hope we see it out racing again.

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Australian Fiat Nationals

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Fiat

We sped through the darkness with the knowledge that things were going to get quite a bit warmer as soon as that sun finally rose.

By Andrew Coles

The 49th annual Fiat Nationals took place at Benalla, Victoria on 20-21 January. In what has become an annual pilgrimage for us, we made the 900km (560 mile) trek over in our 1987 Alfa Romeo Sprint and 1979 Fiat X1/9. Yes, that is correct. Every year we drive old Italian cars halfway across the country in the middle of an Aussie summer. Crazy.

That’s how I found myself behind the wheel of the Alfa the other Friday, chasing one of the most amazing dawn sunrises I’ve seen into the distance. It was forecast to be a hot day and the early morning air was refreshingly balmy as it kissed and caressed the skin. Lights on, windows down, we sped through the darkness with the knowledge that things were going to get quite a bit warmer as soon as that sun finally rose. We were right.

An immaculate turbocharged Fiat 125 finds its way to the Fiat Nationals.

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Borrani and Ferrari, a Winning Combination

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photo by Werner Pfister

By Pete Vack

For over fifty years the cars Enzo Ferrari drove, prepared and later constructed were equipped with the beautiful, functional and strong wire wheels made by Carlo Borrani’s company in Milan. From Grand Prix cars to Le Mans endurance racers to cars for kings, Borrani wheels were a highly visible part of the overall design. Wheels are one of the rare components of a car that must be constructed with beauty, function, safety and performance; Borrani did it best.

Ferrari was a faithful Borrani customer; according to Borrani the alliance began in 1924 when Enzo Ferrari won the Acerbo Cup in Pescara with an Alfa Romeo RL TF equipped with Rudge-Whitworth Milano wheels. Although Ferrrari began racing in 1918, Borrani, founded in only 1922, was probably not the wheel of choice for Alfa Romeo until 1924.

We can be fairly certain that Ferrari won two events of some significance, both with Giulio Ramponi as a co driver. The first was at the Circuito del Savio on June 17th 1923, at Ravenna. It was here that as Ferrari recalls, he met Count Enrico Baracca, the father of the WWI ace. The meeting led to the use of the Baracca shield on his Scuderia cars.

The other victory as mentioned by Borrani, came a year later at the Coppa Acerbo, again with an RL TF. Hull and Slater have the car listed as an RLSS, but Ramponi himself listed it as an RL TF as does Valerio Moretti’s “Enzo Ferrari Pilota”. (What’s it like to drive an RL Alfa? Find out here.)

Most of the races in the early and mid twenties were on rough, dirt roads, while the cars employed stiff cart like suspension. Yet wire wheel failures were relatively rare. The overall reliability and ease of repair of the wire wheel may be a prime reason why the Bugatti cast aluminum wheel failed to catch on when introduced in 1924.

Borrani Historical Stampings

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Interview with Graham Gauld

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Romolo Tavoni, right, and Graham Gauld, taken in 2006 when Tavoni was 80 years of age. Note the label on the Scotch bottle in the foreground. It’s an Ecurie Ecosse label with their cars on it! Photo courtesy of Graham Gauld.

By Pete Vack

Graham Gauld has always been involved with motor sport and has authored more than six books, including biographies entitled “Jim Clark at the Wheel”; “Jim Clark, Portrait of a Great Driver”; “Reg Parnell” and “Why Finish Last.” He was the founding editor of “China Car”, China’s first motoring magazine, and of the “Historic Motor Racing” magazine. “Prancing Horse” readers are familiar with his informative and interesting vignettes from the past in his column, “Gauld Mine.” And now he is ours…for as long as he’ll have us. Below is an exclusive interview with Graham.

You’ve had incredible experiences over your 50-year career in journalism. What’s the most important motorsport event, person or race you’ve covered or been involved in?

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Borrani, Cavallino, and Ferrari are a might trio. Next week we’ll have the story from Cavallino and an exclusive feature about the famous wheel manufacturer and Ferrari. Click on the image at left to see a short video.

https://velocetoday.com/29592/

A Visit to Mosier Restorations

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talbot lago

The Mosier restoration of a 1937 Talbot Lago Figoni et Falaschi coupe owned by William T. Connor II. Best in Show, Pebble Beach 1997.

By Eric Davison

What would any normal car crazy kid in car crazy California do if what was arguably one of the most famous race car drivers in the world was restoring a car in his driveway and it was just a few blocks away?

Start hanging around, that’s what!

And, pretty soon with his high school auto mechanics class and his Ford factory technician training as his entre, Bob Mosier was helping Phil Hill restore a 1912 Packard at Hill’s place at 20th and Georgina in Santa Monica. The year was 1970.

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