Unusual Merlyn 17, Tony Broster/Newbridge Racing anybody remember?

[dikko]

I have recently taken on a project in the form of a Merlyn Mk 17 FF which has (to my inexperienced knowledge) an unusual feature in the form of a 'Y' - shaped brake pedal allowing left-foot braking. The car hasn't raced for 25 + years and it has a sticker with Newbridge racing on it. It also has an aluminium screen in place of it's (normal?) perspex one. Anybody recognise racing/working on it?? It went to Norway where it has been in hibernation since... Hope you can help. PS Clive Haywood at CRD is checking it out too.

[Peter Mallett]

Welcome to the forum dikko.

[dikko]

Thanks, so much interesting stuff too much to take in at the moment!

[JFW]

welcome DICK,

good drive on Sunday by the way.!!!!

J

[PaulSands]

Not that car but could these help?
http://race-cars.com/carsold/merlyn/...75573492pp.htm

[dikko]

Gee thanks Jason, new body makes me go faster - bit lighter, sleeker.. could do with some of that on the driver..
Apart from that no news on my original question I'll have to try further afield...Any suggestions??

[JFW]

I presume you have tried the factory.

you could try Duncan Rabagliatti, he may have a source or more data.



Jason

[sean wiles]

he never had a merlyn, (I was his bussiness partner for 20 yrs)but we (Newbridge engineering) built many FF, toyota F111 etc engines so he may have put our sticker on it.if it was a pic of a Pig it was early, just a gold sticker was later.Never saw a Y shaped pedal. sean wiles

[Travelman]

Hi Dikko,

Only recently discovered your info request.

This car could be one I worked on around 1977/78/79
If so it was a customer owned car in the blue/yellow coluors
of Newbridge Racing. Do you still have the car?

I knew Sean Wiles and confirm that the car did display the
"flying pig' Newbridge sticker/s that he described.

Look forward to your response.

Regards

[tony broster]

Originally Posted by Travelman

Hi Dikko,

Only recently discovered your info request.

This car could be one I worked on around 1977/78/79
If so it was a customer owned car in the blue/yellow coluors
of Newbridge Racing. Do you still have the car?

I knew Sean Wiles and confirm that the car did display the
"flying pig' Newbridge sticker/s that he described.

Look forward to your response.

Regards

There was an 11A Merlin belonging to John Mutter who at the time worked at Fords AVO that I had my hands on, I built him 2 fresh FF 1600 engines for it & we became good friends, ( still are in fact ) this was way back in 1971 -2,
Johns car did indeed have an alloy screen, front 2ft of bodywork was as I recall a bit hacked about with a mock up alloy nose cone, the rest of the top section was plain green in colour with 2 flying pig decals on the sides,

there was to my knowledge no Merlin that I had anything to do with of any marque that was ever finished in Newbridge Racing colours which were at that time used only on our FF Dulon team which was Yellow with Green stripes, (never blue.)
Regarding the pedal I haven't any clue perhaps John Mutter made up something himself at some point, but please do remember his car was an 11 A Not a 17, or if by any fluke it is the same car was it an 11 with a later front section fitted ?? who knows.
I can confirm that when I tested his 11 A at Thruxton the pedals where standard Merlin,
Mutters Merlin was an amazingly quick & easy car to drive & in 10 laps I loved it especially after driving the vile twitchy dog of a Titan John Fenning of Willans & I had bought new for the 1969 season.
Mutter is still around & is amazingly about to re start FF again & after 46 years I'm still building & testing my NES 1600 FF engines.

To any old customers still alive & kicking a big Hi guys.
Tony Broster

[tony broster]

Originally Posted by dikko

I have recently taken on a project in the form of a Merlyn Mk 17 FF which has (to my inexperienced knowledge) an unusual feature in the form of a 'Y' - shaped brake pedal allowing left-foot braking. The car hasn't raced for 25 + years and it has a sticker with Newbridge racing on it. It also has an aluminium screen in place of it's (normal?) perspex one. Anybody recognise racing/working on it?? It went to Norway where it has been in hibernation since... Hope you can help. PS Clive Haywood at CRD is checking it out too.

After posting a few nights back about an unusual merlin which at the time I thought could possibly have been John Mutters Mk 11that I had driven at Thruxton one time.
I got to thinking about it again in bed & recalled Newbridge Racing did for a time have a customer with a Mk 17 merlin, digging out my oldest phone book I called the guy, Robert Eyers or Bob the Pube as he was nicknamed, he confirmed that I had built & fitted his brand new engine & had a days testing with him at Llandow.
He did later paint the car a similar yellow to our 3 Dulon teams cars, his Merlin nosecone was painted darkish blue, there was no stripes on the car at all, & his buddy who sometimes helped him out with the car was a local Southampton lad named Trevor.
Interestingly one race day when we were all competing down at Llandow I must have been well up in the running to win the Welsh FF championship & my Dulon had in practice developed an insurmountable rear wheel bearing problem, oh dear !
Bob generously offered me his Merlin for the championship FF race & after some serious adding of foam + an old coat or two for comfort we had a discussion with the clerk & I was allowed to race it in the FF event finishing well enough up to keep championship hopes alive.
Bob raced in the Libre event after the FF race the same afternoon.

After a year or 3 competing in FF & Libre Bob advertised the car for sale, some while later a very very tall guy from NORWAY phoned Bob in Southampton & later turned up with his tiny girlfriend & with cash sterling the Mk 17 was bought less engine.
The new owner was Bob says then going to drive from Southampton up to Birmingham to 1st purchase an FF engine then have a week or so holiday in UK with his girlfriend who intended to go shopping in Carnaby St London, he called Pubes some 2 weeks later thanked him for a good deal on the Merlin & was never heard from again.
Bob confirmed yesterday that the Norwegian chap must have done the brake pedal mod in Norway, as when his Merlin MK 17 left Uk it had standard pedals, it did also have 2 early type Newbridge Racing stickers on the car.
Today is 12th Oct 2014, Bob is sending me a photo of his MK17 in the next few days, if you are interested mail me tonybroster@aol.com

It's 100% correct correct to say that I never owned a MK 17 Merlin but I had built & fitted the new FF engine with Bob into his blue/ yellow Mk 17,
done a full chassis set up in the Newbridge workshops, had a days Llandow testing & later raced Bobs car just once in a sometime later FF 1600 championship event at Llandow.
A very belated Thank You again Robert Eyers for the generous loan of your race car that day.

I do thanks to Bobs memory have the Norwegian buyers name on a bit of paper here somewhere, & from what you posted & what Bob says there can be no doubt that it simply has to be his old Mk 17 Merlin.
I trust if you ever get to read this that it helps you out, Let me know hey.
Bros.

[dikko]

Just caught up with this (almost forgot I'd asked...) after talking to two people at Silverstone last weekend,..now I've forgotten who one was - you get to talk to so many in the paddock, but the other was young Simon Brown son of John the Merlyn man. He has been in touch with you Tony and we spoke about the car.

Gareth Paul bought it from me (then a neighbour, now living in Lincolnshire) he's had a bash in it and it is at Clives for straightening. He has all the Flying Pig stickers etc so he'll be pleased to find out a bit more on the history.

Gareth will be out next year it is hoped and maybe 'Bob the Pube (!) will look in on us at an HSCC HFF meeting and see his old car.

Nice one Tony. I'll pass this stuff on to Gareth.

[Ververacer]

I'm searching for mk11a's shipped to southern California and utah

[Ververacer]

Previous owners
Les Hill
Steve Nichols
Bob Gledhill