VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

willem oosthoek

The Works of Willem Oosthoek

By

Interview by Pete Vack
From the Archives, February 2019

Most of us are avid readers, particularly of good, solid historical books which feature our favorite cars; the more detailed the better, with decent contemporary photos, chassis numbers, hardcore information that you can count on, preferably on nice stock and hardbound.

But few readers realize what goes into the making of such a book, and how difficult it is to find publishers. We decided to ask Maserati expert Willem Oosthoek how he did it and what kind of problems he encountered in writing his last three major works; in 2004, Birdcage to Supercage, in 2009, The Magnificent Front Engined Birdcages, and the three volume set, Sports Car Racing in the South,Texas to Florida, 1957-1962.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring ’58: Dawn of the Red Heads P2

By

Pretty as they come, the 1.1-liter Stanguellini Bialbero of Carl Haas/Allan Ross/Chuck Dietrich awaits its turn for practice. [Bob Bellows photo]

By Willem Oosthoek All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

Waiting farther upfront is Jim Kimberly’s Maserati 200SI, just as elegant. But who is in the passenger seat of chassis 2412? Since he is holding a microphone, likely a reporter recording the car’s engine sounds for the racing LPs so popular at the time. [Bob Bellows photo]

[Read more…] about Sebring ’58: Dawn of the Red Heads P2

Sebring 1958: Dawn of the Red Heads

By

Sebring 1958: Peter Collins at the wheel of chassis 0704, the works 3-liter Ferrari Testa Rossa he shared with Phil Hill.

Part 1

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

Saturday March 22, 1958, at 10 AM, would see the Le Mans start for the 8th Annual International Grand Prix of Endurance at Sebring, Florida, more commonly known as the Sebring 12 Hours. If the latter term is used, 1958 was actually the 7th edition, since the very first one – held in 1950 – was a six-hour event. Alec Ulmann had been the driving force from day one and he selected an abandoned airfield by the name of Hendricks Field near the town of Sebring.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

F.O.R.A. The Short Fast Life of the Ferrari Owners Racing Association

By

F.O.R.A. –the Ferrari Owners Racing Association in action with Graham Hill up.

Story by Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Jim LaTourrette [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

In 1965 the long-distance racing scene for the World Championship began at Daytona in February where, after 2,000 KM, Ferrari was trounced by the Carroll Shelby’s team of Ford GT-40s and Cobra Daytonas. The next challenge came at Sebring in March, where the Automobile Racing Club of Florida would be hosting its 12 Hours race. The difference with Daytona was that at Sebring the organizers created an open class for sportsracers, cars not meeting the FIA’s Appendix J standards. This meant that Appendix C cars of unlimited engine capacity were allowed to enter, and these cars were likely to be lighter, more powerful and faster than the prototypes that contested the Championship. Whether they would last the full 12 hours to finish was another question, but Enzo Ferrari did not like the idea of facing another category of strong competitors that might interfere with overall victory.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance: Lonestar Mechanic Part 9

By

Indianapolis, May 1967. Delayed during qualifying, Frank Lance and A.J. Foyt are in the process of installing a new magneto in Foyt’s Coyote/Ford. [Photo Frank Lance Collection]

Story by Willem Oosthoek

With John Mecom winding down his racing program, Frank Lance left the Mecom team at the end of 1966, but he had fond memories of his time there.

Frank: “In 1966 Mecom flew in some of his company people, as well as my wife Carolyn, to see the Indianapolis 500. His company airplane was a four-engine Lockheed Electra. They flew up just for the day, and flew back to Houston that night, after celebrating Graham Hill’s win in the Mecom Lola. I got to see Carolyn for a few minutes before the race and for a couple of hours afterward. I had been away from her for the whole month. Carolyn had a seat in the stands behind the pits, with all of the drivers’ wives. I thought it was very thoughtful of Mecom to include her on that trip to Indy. By 1967 the theaters would show the race in closed circuit. My mother came up to Houston to help Carolyn with the kids, and they all went to see the race there in Houston. This was the first time my mother ever got to see what it was that I was doing for a living.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance, Lonestar Mechanic, Part 8

By

Galveston, Summer of 1966. Frank Lance next to one of John Mecom’s Lola T70s. Although Galveston was not an important race, the car was entered for George Follmer since Mecom liked to support his hometown events. Afterward the crew would have a party at John’s apartment at the Galveston Yacht Club. No, your eyes are not going bad, the face is a bit blurred int the original photograph. [Photo: Frank Lance Collection]

Story by Willem Oosthoek

After a year with Shelby American, the lack of insight in the future with the Ford program after the Le Mans disaster made Frank Lance return to his previous employer, John Mecom in Houston. Little did he know what a success story the Fords would become at Le Mans in 1966 and 1967. He rejoined the Mecom Racing Team in July 1965.

Frank: “When I got back to Mecom’s I never saw the Hussein. I didn’t know where it was. It was not in the shop. The Lola Mk 6 Coupe wasn’t there either. John didn’t keep his old race cars for long. All that was present at the time were two Lolas T70.”

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance, Lonestar Mechanic Part 7

By

Le Mans, June 1965. Saturday 4 PM and in front of a full house, the always spectacular Le Mans-type start. The white Maserati Tipo 65 of Jo Siffert makes the fastest getaway, but up front the Fords manage good starts as well, with Chris Amon [#2], Bob Bondurant [#7] and Bruce McLaren [#1] on the move. [Photo by Flip Schulke, Willem Oosthoek Collection]

By Willem Oosthoek All photos by Henri Beroul [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

After the GT40 successes at Daytona and Sebring in early 1965, it was time to concentrate on the June Le Mans 24 Hours, for which a test weekend was scheduled in April.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance, Lonestar Master Mechanic, Part 6

By

Sebring, March 1965. Clad in his Carroll Shelby jacket, Frank Lance signals second place Bruce McLaren during a wet night. Donn Allen seems to be better prepared for the elements. [Photo: Frank Lance Collection]

Story by Willem Oosthoek
All photos from the Willem Oosthoek Collection, unless stated otherwise.

Enticed away from the Mecom Racing Team by Donn Allen, with the promise of a higher pay, and especially overtime pay, Frank Lance joined Shelby American in California. He left Houston in July 1964.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance, Lonestar Master Mechanic, Part 5

By

Nassau, December 1963. Frank Lance [right] and Roger Penske next to the Traco Chevy-powered Cooper Monaco that Penske would race. Lining up next, the 2-liter MRT Special [the original Zerex-Duralite], the Scarab/Chevy and one of the Grand Sport Corvettes. [photo: Frank Lance Collection]

Story by Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Flip Schulke [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

When Frank Lance joined the Mecom Racing Team in November 1963, John Mecom had already been involved in road racing for almost two years. Not as a driver, but as a team owner. John’s dad, who ran an oil exploration business out of Houston and, at one time, was among the six richest independent oilmen in the world, would not allow his son to race himself. In 1962 John was 21 years old and his first competition car was a Corvette, raced by Frank’s former colleague at CSSCI, Bob Schroeder. He and Mecom made a trip to Modena and visited the workshop of Alejandro de Tomaso [essentially a two-car garage according to Schroeder] to become the Argentinian’s best customer.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance, Lonestar Master Mechanic Part 4

By

Daytona, February 1962. Two Chaparrals lining up for the start. Jim Hall would race the white #66, while Dick Rathmann of Indianapolis fame was assigned to run Harry Heuer’s blue #0. [photo by Art Huttinger]

Story by Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

With both his successful Maseratis sold during 1961, Jim Hall would race the new season with three other cars: the Troutman-Barnes Chaparral and a pair of 2.5-liter Climax-engined Lotuses, formerly Formula One cars, now racing as InterContinental Formula entries [ICF] in several USAC events.

At Daytona in February, for the inaugural 3-hour Continental race, the first two Chapparals built lined up next to each other for the Le Mans start. Hall did well by finishing 3rd overall behind winner Dan Gurney [Arciero Lotus 19/Climax] and Phil Hill/Ricardo Rodriguez [NART Ferrari Dino 246S], but Rathmann’s ride was outstanding. In spite of a delayed start, losing almost two laps due to engine flooding, and a time penalty for a bungled fuel stop, Dick broke the track record a number of times to finish 6th overall. According to the Daytona program, their Chevy V8s measured 5,227 cc [around 329 cu in] but that would change.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance, Lonestar Master Mechanic, Part 3

By

Mansfield, March 1961. Based on Jim Hall’s grimy face, a photo taken just after the race. From the left: Frank Lance, Jim, body man Foy Barrett and part-time mechanic Billy Billings, next to Jim’s feature winning Maserati 570S. Harry Heuer’s Meister Brauser Scarab is in the background.

As told by Frank Lance to Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

The 1961 season started well for Jim Hall. During the Polar Prix at Green Valley in February he raced a Porsche RSK to a feature win, beating preliminary winner Delmo Johnson in his Jaguar XK-SS [chassis 701].

Frank: “That was the former Penske RSK. Jim had a new Porsche RS-60 that he raced at Green Valley in August 1960, beating Delmo’s XK-SS for first overall. Roger wanted an RS-60 because Bob Holbert was beating him with his own RS-60. So, Roger made a deal with Jim to swap cars, although not engines. I had to remove the engine from the RS-60 and reinstall it in the tired RSK that Penske sent us. We took it to Green Valley in the new year and again won overall in a race against my old friend, the XK-SS Jaguar, now with Chevy power.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Frank Lance, Lonestar Master Mechanic Part 2

By

Dallas, October 1960. Frank Lance and Bob Schroeder working on Jim Hall’s second Birdcage Maserati, chassis 2463, before the Times Grand Prix at Riverside.

As told by Frank Lance to Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

Read Part 1

After their adventures In Nassau, Frank and Red Byron stopped at Sebring to watch the first U.S. Grand Prix, won by Bruce McLaren in a works Cooper/Climax. It had been a busy 1959 year, and not only confined to competition cars.

Frank: “In the latter part of 1959 we also restored a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing coupe that Jim had taken as a trade-in. Red and I did an in-car rebuild of the engine as well as installing a made-to-order air conditioning. This may have been the only 300SL to be air conditioned. Foy Barrett did a total body job with a candy apple red paint job. Red and I took it for a shake-down run going through Plano at 142 mph, with Red driving. Jim kept that car until several years ago and sold it for a nice sum.”

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe
MENU