Origins of Special Saloon Cars?

[Jesper OH]

I'm in the process of writing a piece about 30 years of Special Saloon Cars in Denmark.

The idea was imported from Britain, but when did SSC emerge there? I have some vague recollection about sometime in the 1960's, as a way of making saloon cars quick, without the costs of factory saloons of the time (like Team Lotus Cortinas?)

Anyway, can anyone help with a little more facts here I would be very glad.

Best regards
Jesper

[driftwood]

in the 60`s there where 2 types of saloon cars racing
Group 2 and later Group 5 with more mods than Gp 2
In club racing the previous years cars would often race in a sollon car race
come the 70`2 Group 2 was strong with factory supported teams group 1 crept in for standard road spec cars and club sloons allowed more modified cars
Its these cars that evloved into the sepcail saloon format where the wheelbase had to be +/_1 inch from standard but retain the silhouette shape
As time went buy lighter panels where added and wider arches covered wider wheels & engine transplants took place ie Imp engines into Minis -V8 into lotus cortinas etc

by the mid 70`s the cars had evolved with space frame front or rear ends attached to the steel shell and the next step was a full space frame car covered with glassfibre replica shell and some cars had formula car suspension wishbone/uprights added
it wasnt long before the super saloon came along these where the big engined cars and some had sports car chassis with glass bodies fitted or heavily modified steel shell cars with 4-8 litre v8 fitted ( see super saloon thread)
As time went by the special saloon format merged with the modsports to create the Donington GT series in the 1980`s and soon we had single seater chassis with europa & esprit- AC3000 lancia stratos/037 BMW M1 bodies fitted over F2 F5000 cars
we also had special chassis made for this series By Maguire for some body shapes ie Mini Imp skoda and lotus esprit

Some of the racers with the steel chassis cars wanted to run with their own type of production based car chassis and the Modified sloons came about and Thundersoloons was a another series for large engines saloon cars
Come the 1990s most of these series dwindled away
Some of the cars are now "classic" cars like Baby Bertha and do demo runs at tracks

[Slippy Diff]

If you can understand any of it ( and seeing as you are from Denmark, Sweden is not too far away!!) try this site!

http://www.modsport.just.nu/

[driftwood]

so slippy diff what about some info on NZ cars like Paul Fahey etc i did see somewhere a thread on some NZ saloon racing perhaps the TraNZam series
there ws a special soloon regatsry years ago and if you open up the treads for the beginning and scrollthru the 1st 10 pages or so you will find threads on thundersaloons super saloons with fotos and other associated race series as i mentioned above

[Andrew Kitson]

Special Saloons started in the mid-60s. Things like Doc Merfield's Cortina Mk1, mated with a big V8. Then there was Brian Tarrant's V8 engined Austin A40. We have many threads on these in the historic racing archive.The wheels got wider and the engines more potent. Doors, Bonnets and Bootlids were exchanged for lighter glass-fibre and through time to full spaceframe race cars.

[ianselva]

In the Special Saloons races in the 60s there were mainly highly modified but basically standard shell saloons such as Anglias, Imps and Minis of all sizes. Only gradually did the mods get wilder and further distanced from the original car.

[rbs]

Earlier in the sixties I remember some unusual Ford 95E Populars with larger engines than was intended. The Berpop
driven by Mike Berman and the Langrop engineering Langropular stand out. Gerry Dobbins Daimler enginrd Cortina
known as the Damfraud was less successful. John Hewittin the Tasman Anglia had many successes against american opposition. Pete Shelton's Cortina V8 was a regular at Silverstone at Nottingham Sports Car Club meetings.

[ianselva]

I suppose one of the earliest Special saloons was Les Ballamys Ford Pop. which was an upright Ford Popular with supercharged 100E engine, Les's own IFS and fibreglass one piece front. Although raced as an A7 not a Special saloon there was a cutdown Austin 7 saloon, which had the roof lowered till the screen pillars were about 6 " high which was raced by a guy , called I think Mike Forrest, who towed it on a trailer with a 30s Rolls Royce.

[M.Lowe]

Any racing Vauxhall Vivas in Denmark?

[Jesper OH]

I'm pretty sure Gerry Marshall was the latest to race a Vauxhall in Danish Special Saloon - that was back in 1977! Around the same time sales of Vauxhall ended leaving Opel as the sole GM-Europe brand so not a lot of interest in Vauxhalls in Denmark.

Jesper

[Gerry Taylor]

In 1965 I remember watching a hero of mine. Laurie Hickman in a Special Saloon Anglia. A white car, no advertising apart from the entrant on the side. I believe he was from West Brom?

[Angus Theape]

Originally Posted by Gerry Taylor

In 1965 I remember watching a hero of mine. Laurie Hickman in a Special Saloon Anglia. A white car, no advertising apart from the entrant on the side. I believe he was from West Brom?

Cars were not allowed advertising in 1965. It was only permitted from 68 with a change of rules created by Gold Leaf Team Lotus.

[Alan Brown]

Lawrie Hickman was entered by the Steering Wheel Club of West Bromwich in 1968 (and possibly earlier) in a white/green Anglia 1000. Was that Syd Taylor's business?

He drove several Anglias, an ex-Mike Lacey one was supposedly written off at Oulton Park in 1966. He raced another one or that one rebuilt in 1967 onwards and also ex-Broadspeed one in the 1968 British Saloon Car Championship for Leonard Ward Racing.

[driftwood]

did you watch the Ford programme on Beeb 2 last night Anita Taylor racing the anglia and an interview plus the car rolling at Brands circa 67?
im sure if you go onto BBC i Player you can watch it

[ezwalk43]

Originally Posted by Alan Brown

Lawrie Hickman was entered by the Steering Wheel Club of West Bromwich in 1968 (and possibly earlier) in a white/green Anglia 1000. Was that Syd Taylor's business?

He drove several Anglias, an ex-Mike Lacey one was supposedly written off at Oulton Park in 1966. He raced another one or that one rebuilt in 1967 onwards and also ex-Broadspeed one in the 1968 British Saloon Car Championship for Leonard Ward Racing.

Laurie's Anglias were some of the quickest epecially around Mallory, sometimes all white, sometimes gold stripes, sometimes black bonnet but tidiest of all with the green stripes - i've attached photo taken at Mallory in '68

[Gerry Taylor]

Lauries cars were as stated, mainly white. Sid & Mary were racing at a meeting at Mallory, in the late sixties, when Mary had her big shunt (we all have one folks) and I stopped to help get her out of her crumpled mini. Sid has always remembered me for that. I saw them both last year. Sid has a couple of restaurants in Birmingham city centre. I am unsure whether Sid sponsored Laurie or not. Here is a photograph I took of Laurie coming out of Shaws hairpin in about 1968/9. I am unsure who the mini drivers are.

[driftwood]

and going into the hairpin a Fraser Imp!!

[Gerry Taylor]

Correct Driftwood, and here's a closer picture that I took on the day. Oops! Forgot the picture....see below.

[Gerry Taylor]

Here's the picture.

[driftwood]

thanks Gerry
is it Lanfranchi Britten or Calcutt driving ?
i think it would be 67 or 68 as i think late 68 the cars went to Majorca and team was closed down by then

[Gerry Taylor]

I think it was Tony. Of course I was only about twelve at the time...........

[driftwood]

and they said Pinocchios nose got bigger when he told porky pies !!!

[Gerry Taylor]

Ok then, maybe thirteen-ish.
Hey driftwood, I wonder where all the pictures are that were taken back then? I can't be the only driver from those days still around, there must some really great photographs just laying in a dusty old folder in the back of a drawer, so come on lads lets get these old photographs out and on show.

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by Gerry Taylor

Ok then, maybe thirteen-ish.
Hey driftwood, I wonder where all the pictures are that were taken back then? I can't be the only driver from those days still around, there must some really great photographs just laying in a dusty old folder in the back of a drawer, so come on lads lets get these old photographs out and on show.

I was 13 in 1968

Most of my old photos have disappeared in the mists of time, but I've found these from Brands, 1972(ish).

[driftwood]

Yes Gerry I agree where are all these old photos
when my father started racing Special saloons in 74 he shared a mini with a guy who had been a keen amauter race photographer and he did show us some pics he took 1970 73 ish Hunt in F3 Pryce and club races
he then took photos at the races he was not driving in and i had 4 or 5 B&W pics from 74 5 ish
sadly not in contact with this man after 30 years so i cannot go and raid his drawers
also what happened to the negatives from Fred Scatley john gaisford?

thanks for the pictures you have posted so far Gerry and to you Alan