Martin V8 engine

[Colin McKay]

I know nothing about these but thought I'd post the link in case it's of interest to anyone on here:
https://machinerysales.cheffins.co.u...%26items%3D100

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Colin McKay

I know nothing about these but thought I'd post the link in case it's of interest to anyone on here:
https://machinerysales.cheffins.co.u...%26items%3D100

Wasn't there a Special Saloon Escort that ran one of these engines in the 1970's?

[E.B]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Wasn't there a Special Saloon Escort that ran one of these engines in the 1970's?

Brian Cutting sprang to mind straight away. I believe he ran a Martin V8 3 litre in his (blue?) Escort Special Saloon. c 1971.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by E.B

Brian Cutting sprang to mind straight away. I believe he ran a Martin V8 3 litre in his (blue?) Escort Special Saloon. c 1971.

I think you could be right Chris, but I don't think he was the original owner/builder. I'll keep wracking my brains 9or what's left of them!)

[E.B]

Originally Posted by E.B

Brian Cutting sprang to mind straight away. I believe he ran a Martin V8 3 litre in his (blue?) Escort Special Saloon. c 1971.

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I think you could be right Chris, but I don't think he was the original owner/builder. I'll keep wracking my brains 9or what's left of them!)

It seems the old mind still has some sort of function left.

I found an old programme online from the BARC Championship Finals Race Meeting 17/10/1971, Thruxton

https://www.progcovers.com/motor/thruxton711017.pdf

Scroll down to Event 6: Osram Saloon Car Race B and you will see in Class A:

#273 Brian Cutting in a Ford Escort with a Martin V8 2998cc engine entered.

There was also another one entered by Lawrencetune for Robin Gray immediately above.

I like the sound (sic) of another car in the class.... Dennis Nott with a BRM V12 3.0 litre powered Ford Escort !!

I mentioned I thought Cutting's car was blue.... the prog says black and orange. Cant win them all.

Buoyed by enthusiasm at my find I delved deeper and found this little article (with pictures) on the HSSR website on V8 Escort Special Saloons. It details the Lawrencetune car and I think mentions the Cutting car. (Im doing this on my laptop and the screen size is too small for me to read all the details. (I will look on my PC with bigger screen upstairs in my office later)

Anyway the article is here: https://www.hssreg.com/escort-v8s

I got sidetracked by a few other links on that page (in particular "Other Fords", and fell in love with the Consul Classic 5.7 Windsor V8. Anyway I digress.....


Edit: Further searching found a photo online described as Brian Cuttings V8 Martin engined Escort.

And its blue(-ish)!

[Sprite]

A Deep Sanderson 302 with a 3 litre Martin V8 ran in WC events like the 1969 Nurburgring 1000kms, driven by Lawrence/Wingfield, it DNF after 21 laps. It has been owned by Peter Dodds for over 50 years now and I remember seeing it obliterate a field of GT40's at Silverstone around 1971.


Google tells me that Peter lent the car back to Chris Lawrence to enter the 2004 LMC with a 1600 Ford fitted as per period. I will let Peter know about the engine that is for sale.

[Mike Harte]

There is also a current discussion about these engines and cars on Gerry Taylor's Facebook page.

[Malcolm Smith]

Ref. post from E.B., the Escort of Robin Gray appeared in the BBC 100 Great Sporting Moments, saloon car race at Crystal Palace, 1971. Car number 79 - the Martin engine is mentioned in the film at 2 minutes 11, when the Escort failed to proceed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cawBXWWgqCI

[morninggents]

Thanks for the programme EB. Some great names racing there that day particularly in the F3 race - some later to become world F1 champions.
Many familiar names in the special saloon races - a great race series in a wonderful motorsport era.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

There is also a current discussion about these engines and cars on Gerry Taylor's Facebook page.

Thanks Mike, I knew I'd read something about them recently somewhere. (I'm just relieved it wasn't on this forum!)

[GORDON STREETER]

I do happen to know a "little" bit about Ted Martin because he had a workshop next to my old racing mate Norman Ricketts (RIP) in Haddenham.
Sue and I would often go and stop with Norman and Anne and while the women talked about mundane things Norm and I would go down to his workshop and talk about car racing!
I was there one day when this person came in and asked Norm if he could weld a part of a steam train up for him the next week, after he had gone I asked who he was, and Norm said that it was Ted Martin.
I remembered who he was from old motor magazines in my youth and asked Norm a bit more about him and the V8 and the 3 valve cylinder head for the Ford Kent block, Norm walked down the workshop and amongst the junk under a bench was one of the old "damaged"cylinder heads that he was going to repair "one day"
Ted Martin actually owned Lawrencetune back in the day and was a great mechanical innovator, he had been a mate of Norman's for years that I didn't know about and would have loved to have had a good talk to him for an hour or so

[coppice]

I seem to recall that a Martin V8 also powered the rather lovely , but sadly un-mourned Monica sports car