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The Restoration of the Caswell BNC

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Isn’t that the ex-Caswell/George Lymber BNC? But it looks, well, restored!

Well, yes, it is, and yes, it was. The history of the little BNC with the flathead Ford was well-told in 2012 by the late Eric Davison. Since then, long time owner George Lymber II died in 2013, and the still unrestored BNC passed to vintage racer Peter McLaughlin*. He embarked upon a four year restoration, something that previous caretakers did not want to do, but if the BNC was to continue be driven, it was soon found that a complete restoration was inevitable. Recently, the restoration project manager, Bob Harrington, contacted us with the details of the rebuild. -Ed

By Bob Harrington

Some time ago, VeloceToday did an article on the BNC. A friend of mine bought the car and at first was just going to get it running, but decided it was too far gone to be able to drive it safely so it was decided to do a complete restoration, which I oversaw. [Read more…] about The Restoration of the Caswell BNC

Peter Mullin’s Legacy

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A moment to remember: Best of Show award, Pebble Beach, 2011, goes to the Art Deco 1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne of Peter and Merle Mullin. Hugues Vanhoolandt photo.

Peter Mullin passed away on September 20th at the age of 82.

VeloceToday has reported many times on the Mullin Automotive Museum he created, beginning with the opening in April of 2010. It was a commemoration of the art deco design era when exquisite art and magnificent automobiles were elements of an artful, futurist culture.*

Over the years, we have been fortunate to have four of the most seasoned, respected and knowledgeable automotive writers visit the Mullin and report back to us in detail. Larry Crane explained the museum’s display of Bugatti furniture; the late Eric Davison searched for something really different; Hugues Vanhoolandt was given a special tour and did his magic with his camera; finally, another museum traveler, Brandes Elitch, opined on the opulent Citroen celebration.

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Delahaye by Chapron

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From the VeloceToday Archives, October, 2011

By Ed McDonough

It seemed extraordinary to me doing the research for this series, reading a large number of period articles and reviews in notable journals, that many of these totally failed to mention who provided the body for some of the cars reviewed. Was it just a matter of routine that performance cars would have special bodies or could it have been that the reviewer didn’t know? After all, specialised car production was just that, and the history is complex.

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Farman: The Aircraft, the Automobiles

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The amazing Farman brothers not only designed around 200 different types of aircraft but also one of the first sporting automobiles with ‘gullwing’ doors.

Story by Gijsbert-Paul Berk

Ask any automobile enthusiast to name an iconic make from the golden years of the French car industry between 1919 to 1939, and most will immediately say ‘Bugatti’. Others will also recall Amilcar, Delahaye, Delage, Salmson, Talbot and Voisin, maybe Ballot or Chenard Walker. But the name Farman is hardly ever mentioned. One or the reasons is that many believe that Farman was a British manufacturer. [Read more…] about Farman: The Aircraft, the Automobiles

The Complete Saga of the Caswell/Lymber BNC

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BNC in garage-under-cardboard

French Charm seeing the light of day after forty years. Photo by George Lymber.


Part 1 French Charm

By Eric Davison

In 2012 Eric Davison wrote a three part article about a BNC that had appeared at Watkins Glen in 1948. Below, we have combined all three parts into one for a unique, total account of this rare car. Sadly, the owner of the BNC at the time, George Lymber II. died on Oct 3 2013.

Getting involved in writing about old cars is something like a disease that is incurable. The symptoms keep on recurring. Case in point: Last year I was involved in helping my friend Phillipe Defechereux with the latest edition of his book about Watkins Glen in the period from 1948 to 1952. (Watkins Glen, The Street Years. 1948 – 1952. Dalton Watson)

The intention was to try to locate some of the cars that appeared at the Glen during those years and to tell where they are today. Unfortunately I had only a few months in which to work. To do a comprehensive job would take years and would make a pretty good book all by itself.

To our subscribers: Ignore the ‘comments are closed’ notice below as it is a software glitch; put your comments at the bottom of each article as before.
[Read more…] about The Complete Saga of the Caswell/Lymber BNC

The Saga of the Caswell BNC Part 3

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BNC Ford

The Caswell BNC Ford as it appears today, cleaned up but unrestored 'as last raced,' to quote Fred Simeone. Photo courtesy George Lymber.

Preserving History

By Eric Davison

It is hard to determine the ownership succession of a car like the BNC. We do know that Caswell bought it as a used car, after which he modified it and competed with it before it changed hands. To whom it went next is a mystery.

It was reportedly in the hands of Eric “Sonny” Grainger for a time. Grainger was the track announcer at the Islip, Long Island race track for a period and in 1955 was one of the founders of the Bridgehampton circuit.

The Brooklands windscreen with the Bridgehampton Paddock pass.

[Read more…] about The Saga of the Caswell BNC Part 3

1923 French Grand Prix Part 1: The Circuit and Practice

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By Gijsbert-Paul Berk

The circuit was a closed-off triangle of public roads, just north of the city of Tours. The starting line was situated just outside a small borough called La Noue-Guérinet, between the villages Neuillé-Pont-Pierre and La Membrolle on the Route Nationale 158. The numbers on the map above correspond to the photographs below. The 1923 Grand Prix of Tours was much tougher and much longer than today’s Grand Prix events. In order to finish, the participants had to cover a distance of 800 km (497 miles). As the ‘Circuit de la Touraine’ had a total length of 22.83 km, (14.1 miles) this meant 35 grueling laps. On the straights some of the cars reached speeds of nearly 200 km/h (125 mph). Around the circuit. 22 marshaling posts had been installed each of them equipped with a telephone in direct and permanent contact with the officials at race control in front of the grandstand.

Come with us as we take a lap around the 1923 French Grand Prix.

Photo 1: At the starting line. At one side were the tribunes and a grandstand for 4000 spectators. Note the direction of travel.

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Smith at Silverstone

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Right before I left for Silverstone, your kindly Editor asked me to keep an eye out for any French oddities which might appear. At the auction, I found these two, both of which definitely fit the bill. Color photos by Roy Smith.

Claude in the Ferry during the 1950 Le Mans.

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A Fine French Tradition: Citroëns Invade Manhattan on Bastille Day Weekend

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Story by Philippe Defechereux
All photos by Philippe Defechereux

“Bastille Day,” which marks the official beginning of the French Revolution, is celebrated each July 14 in Paris along the Champs Elysées with great fanfare and a military parade. In the large cosmopolitan centers around the world where, often, sizeable French communities thrive, the commemoration varies according to the whims of the local French expatriate groups.

In New York City, this celebration of the French revolutionary spirit is conducted with particular audace and flair. In an event called “The Annual Bastille Day Rally and Rendez-Vous,” up to 40 vintage French cars and their owners gather up in the early morning in Grant’s Tomb Park, on Riverside Drive and 122nd Street. As the event’s key organizers are also the founders of the “Greater New York Citroën and Velosolex Club,” a majority of the cars are Citroëns, though you’ll find an occasional Peugeot or Renault.
[Read more…] about A Fine French Tradition: Citroëns Invade Manhattan on Bastille Day Weekend

Musings at the Mullin

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Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

As we have all learned, Eric Davison has been around cars for a very long time, from his Watkins Glen days with his father to haunting car and art museums with his wife. So when we found he was going to the Mullin, we asked him to bring back a report on something off the beaten path. Said Davison of the assignment after he returned, “It sounds so very easy but when you are in the Mullin Museum and basically overwhelmed by the magnificence of the cars and of the building’s French decor and the general ambience, the task becomes more complicated.” So did he succeed and bring back a few surprises? We think so—
[Read more…] about Musings at the Mullin

Driving the Type 135 M Delahaye

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By Ed McDonough

Want a video clip of this drive? Send an email to pete@velocetoday.com.

A Chapron Delahaye

It seemed extraordinary to me doing the research for this series, reading a large number of period articles and reviews in notable journals, that many of these totally failed to mention who provided the body for some of the cars reviewed. Was it just a matter of routine that performance cars would have special bodies or could it have been that the reviewer didn’t know? After all, specialised car production was just that, and the history is complex.

Henri Chapron gets a few mentions in 1938, and when the Paris Salon V-12 car was sent to England in 1939, Figoni and Falaschi started to get some attention. But bodies for Delahayes had also been built, often to specific customer orders, by some intriguing people…a 1949 135M with a body built by Pennoch of the Netherlands to a design by Selborne of Mayfair, London. While Figoni and Falaschi may have executed some of the most ‘daring’ designs, bodies were also built by Saoutchik, Franay, Carrozzeria Motta, Carlton Carriage Company, Henri Labourdette, Letourneur et Marchand, and others.

Delahaye Chapron

Delahaye used Chapron for its more conservative designs but they were always effective.

[Read more…] about Driving the Type 135 M Delahaye

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