Group A Rover 3500 SD1/Vitesse - History & Whereabouts

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by ken clarke

I am reading here. I have just read the first 55 pages of this thread. An awful lot of questions have been answered however there are still a lot of questions still to be answered.

The wheels on the Group A cars were;
83/4/5, 9.5 x 16
85/6, 9.5x17”


Time to update the chassis list and see where they are all now!

Hello Ken and thankyou for your post. If you want to add anything to the chassis thread please go ahead amd I can always tidy up later.

Apologies for my continued absence from our Group A section on a certaim social media platforn. I hope to return more fully in future.

[SMD]

Hi all,

This is my first time posting to a thread so I hope I get it right. I have followed parts of this thread on and off for a number of years now.

I am rather hoping someone out there can put me in touch with Allan Scott, I read his book and feel he may be my best bet to get some advice on a rather baffling, ongoing and seemingly reluctant to present itself issue I am having with my road going Rover Vitesse.

For that matter, I would be glad to have any Rover engine boffins contact me to discuss the symptoms and repairs already undertaken. I am getting to my wits end trying to solve this thing!

As a footnote relating more directly to this thread, I sadly missed out on purchasing the ex Tim Slako Barbagallo racing Vitesse some years ago, I was living in Perth and had seen the car advertised in the West Australian Rover club magazine. I was unable to afford it at the time kept the advert just in case. A few years later when funds were finally available I called with the hope that the car was still for sale, much to my disappointment I had missed out by only a couple of weeks!

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

[Mike Harte]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

It might be a good idea if you let us know what the unsolvable problem is that you have so that you may get some possible cures posted. However, I do believe that the UK's specialist engine man for Rovers can be found at this address which was posted very recently on this thread http://www.johnealesroverv8.co.uk/

Good luck with your endeavours.

[SMD]

Thank you for the response Mike

I didn't see it for a few days as I totally forgot to refresh the page!

I also had a helpful private message that for some reason or another I cannot seem to respond to, more than likely my lack of forum experience as opposed to a fault in the system!

The car seems to have a fuelling issue, it has a very rough cold idle which smoothes out as the engine warms through, then once on the road refuses to rev under load or heavier throttle inputs. As it gets warmer it seems to get worse to the point of hunting badly and stalling at idle. I am just about to send the computer off for checking as this is the only part I haven't checked on the ancillary side of things.
Air-flow meter and all related parts have been tested along with distributor, throttle position switch and a myriad of other parts!
Fingers crossed the computer might be the problem.

Any other ideas most welcome.

Thanks all.

Simon.

[Acme 1]

I know this is an old thread, but does anyone know what happened with the Tim Slako car that was being restored? did it get finished?

[terryobeirne]

Originally Posted by Acme 1

I know this is an old thread, but does anyone know what happened with the Tim Slako car that was being restored? did it get finished?

it was still in bits as of 18 months ago

[AussieTWRRoverfan]

G'day all newbie here! , is there anyone (member ) who has knowledge as to what brand of brakes, clutch, steering&suspension components&what size&brand carburetors &CWP ratio &camshaft specs for the TWR Rover 3500's that raced both in Australia&UK/Europe?.

[Peter Mallett]

Suggest you e mail kenclarkemotorsport@btinternet.com, he built a few of them for TWR. Mention my name.

[ken clarke]

Originally Posted by AussieTWRRoverfan

G'day all newbie here! , is there anyone (member ) who has knowledge as to what brand of brakes, clutch, steering&suspension components&what size&brand carburetors &CWP ratio &camshaft specs for the TWR Rover 3500's that raced both in Australia&UK/Europe?.

Hi Newbie,

Brakes & clutch AP racing.
Steering was standard system apart from steering arms & uprights.
Fuel injection was used not carbs.
CWP depende upon the circuit.
Camshaft, ask Allan Scott.

Ken Clarke.

[tocatrucky]

quick question, Brancatelli in a Watson's livery Vitesse at Macau, number 7, That would be 1986 right? Tom was in its dister car, number 8?

The only results I can find only show the top 10 in which Gianfranco wasn't placed as high.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by tocatrucky

quick question, Brancatelli in a Watson's livery Vitesse at Macau, number 7, That would be 1986 right? Tom was in its dister car, number 8?

The only results I can find only show the top 10 in which Gianfranco wasn't placed as high.

This might help.....

1986 Macau Guia Race
Held on November 23, 1986 at Guia Circuit in Macau, China
23 L, 87.469 M, 140.76 KM - Shortened by Crash blocking track at T18, red flag and restart

Only 12 cars running at the end. (None of them called Brancatelli )

Polesetter Brancatelli was classified 15th, but shows as a DNF. (see video pt 3 below)

Fin Start # Driver Sponsor Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 3 2 Johnny Cecotto Kamachi, RAS Sport Volvo 240 Turbo 23 6 running
2 4 8 Tom Walkinshaw Tom Walkinshaw Racing Rover Vitesse 23 2 running
3 2 1 Thomas Lindstrom Kamachi, RAS Sport Volvo 240 Turbo 23 15 running
4 7 16 Michael Lieu Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion Turbo A183 23 0 running
5 8 11 Kiyoshi Misaki Trampio Toyota Corolla GT AE86 23 0 running
6 9 9 Motoharu Kurosawa Leyton House, TOM's Racing Toyota Corolla GT AE86 23 0 running
7 12 19 Nobuhide Tachi Leyton House, TOM's Racing Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 23 0 running
8 18 21 Albert Poon Toyota Corolla GT AE86 23 0 running
9 17 96 Tom Waring Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 23 0 running
10 13 20 Peter Chow Toyota Corolla GT AE86 23 0 running
11 24 18 Kendy Chan Toyota Corolla GT AE86 21 0 running
12 27 3 Kwai Ching Leung Toyota Corolla GT AE86 21 0 running
13 25 27 Y.C. Chan BMW 323i 21 0 running
14 10 5 Kazuo Shimizu Honda Civic Si 20 0 dnf
15 1 7 Gianfranco Brancatelli Tom Walkinshaw Racing Rover Vitesse 18 0 dnf
16 22 22 Shinji Fukuzaki 17 0 dnf
17 16 29 Henry Yip Toyota Corolla GT AE86 14 0 dnf
18 11 10 Tomohiko Tsutsumi Trampio Honda Civic Si 12 0 dnf
19 6 97 Akihiko Nakaya Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion Turbo A183 11 0 accident
20 20 31 Daniel La Tour Ford Escort RS 11 0 accident
21 21 13 W.L. Pan Toyota Celica GT 10 0 dnf
22 14 37 Johnny Wong Toyota Corolla GT AE86 10 0 dnf
23 5 25 Brad Jones Ralliart Australia Mitsubishi Starion Turbo A183 9 0 rear axle
24 19 33 C.V. Chong Ford Capri 3.0 S 8 0 dnf
25 23 17 Lawrence Loke Chowini's Toyota Corolla GT AE86 8 0 engine
26 28 15 S. Charoenkitnapa Toyota Corolla GT AE86 7 0 dnf
27 29 28 Jimmy Kwok BMW 323i 7 0 dnf
28 26 34 Tommy Chan Toyota Corolla GT AE86 6 0 dnf
29 15 6 Danny Stacy Chau Ford Capri 3.0 S 0 0 dnf

RACE DATA
Time of Race: 1h:03:00.94

Fast Qualifier: Gianfranco Brancatelli - 160.49 sec.
Margin of Victory: 14.66 seconds
Average Speed: 83.220 mph
Cautions: 0 for 0 laps - none
Lead Changes: 4 among 3 drivers - Johnny Cecotto (1-2); Thomas Lindstrom (3-17); Tom Walkinshaw (18-19); Johnny Cecotto (20-23)
Fastest Lap: Tom Walkinshaw - 162.41 seconds


Race was scheduled for 25 laps. It was red-flagged on lap 14 due to an accident in turn 18. Restarted over shortened distance.

from : https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/1986_Macau_Guia_Race
A good source for Guia results.

Full race in 3 parts on youtube albeit not English comms.

Part 1
https://youtu.be/eOjPAeqlUEs

Part 2
https://youtu.be/kqZSStDHgY0 (Race red-flagged 10:40 in, restart 12:30)

Part 3
https://youtu.be/6-xjMCXBD1k (looks like Branca stopped on track at c12:45 in)

[tocatrucky]

Wonderful! Thats solved/confirmed a few mysteries, thankyou so much!

[E.B]

Originally Posted by tocatrucky

Wonderful! Thats solved/confirmed a few mysteries, thankyou so much!

No worries. Glad to help.

[Gerard C]

Thanks a lot EB, think this can be posted in another dedicated thread. I've been racing at crazy/stupid places like Rouen, Charade the real thing, Bourg en Bresse, LM the real thing, Spa the real thing plus all the different layouts of the modern era, plus the first Dakar track hosting the famous 6 hours and I can tell you that compared to Macau those are small change for pussies! Plus the smoggy ambiance giving a Hitchkock touch to this demolition derby everything makes it a must! Well done mate.

[JesperOH]

Thank you for the links E.B.

More or less full results for a Guia touring car race are always appreciated and even during my favorite years of Group A, and with videos too. Looking for the #22 22nd starting Shinji Fukuzaki has made me look for what car he raced.

But already I sense an issue looking at the overview of the grid just before the start, P15 is empty. That was supposed to be the Ford Capri 3.0S of Danny Stacy Chau. But on the opening lap you see two Capris within a few positions of each other, reflecting on C. V. Chung starting 19th, from Chau at 15th.

More to come.. likely..

Jesper