THE DARK SIDE....

[BIRDIEMANGO]

SO YESTERDAY,WE TRAVELLED DOWN TO BIRMINGHAM,FOR THE BIGGEST 'CLASSIC CAR SHOW' IN THE UK......

IN ONE OF THE HALLS,THE 'RALLYING HISTORY' CAR CLUB,HAS SOME RATHER IMPRESSIVE CAR'S ON THE STAND....THE RED 'STIG' 96,WAS MOVED TO ACCOMODATE,SOME OF THESE,FURTHER UP THE HALL....

THIS PARTICULAR METRO 6R4,WAS DRIVEN BY 'TONY POND'.....


IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES 'WILLIAMS GRAND PRIX F1' HERE IN THE UK,WERE 'OUTSOURCED' TO BUILD,AND DEVELOP THE ENGINES FOR THESE CARS....

http://www.6r4.net/site/6r4-history/the ... of-the-6r4



THE ENGINE WAS ALSO FITTED TO THE JAGAUR XJ220 SUPERCAR,BACK IN THE DAY.....ALBEIT IN TURBOCHARGED FORM.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_XJ220

SO THIS 6R4 PICTURED,WAS BUILT FOR THE MID-EIGHTIES 'CORSICA RALLY',AMIDST BOTH 'AUDI AND PEUGEOT' PUSHING THEIR POWER OUTPUTS,HIGHER AND HIGHER....
THE 6R4 THROTTLE BUTTERFLIES,WERE AS LARGE AS POSSIBLE,AND BEING NATURALLY ASPIRATED,MORE POWER WAS NEEDED.SO BESPOKE PISTONS AND CAMSHAFTS,WERE MACHINED TO 'UP' THE POWER TO 430 BHP.......

SOME YEARS AGO,THE OWNER OF THIS EX- 'TONY POND' 6R4 WAS INVITED BY 'FRANK WILLIAMS',TO ATTEND THE 'WILLIAMS' MUSEUM?

AN OFFER WAS MADE BY MR.(F1)WILLIAMS,TO TRY AND BUY THE CAR FROM THE CURRENT OWNER....?
MR.WILLIAMS WAS RATHER KEEN,TO HAVE THIS ICONIC CAR,IN PLACE AT THE 'WILLIAMS' MUSEUM...AS THEY HAD SPENT SO MUCH EFFORT,DEVELOPING THE ENGINE?

THE OWNER WAS UNWILLING TO PART WITH THE CAR,SO AN AGREEMENT WAS MADE.....THE 6R4 NOW SITS IN THE 'WILLIAMS' MUSEUM,AND IS DELIVERED TO EVENTS,ALL ACROSS EUROPE AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE,VIA 'WILLIAMS' LOGISTICS.THE CAR IS ALSO MAINTAINED,BY THEIR MECHANICS.....

CURRENTLY THE ENGINE IS BEING REBUILT,WITH NEW PARTS.........ESTIMATED SO FAR,TO BE WELL INTO 5 FIGURES....

[BIRDIEMANGO]

MORNING CHAPS,AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR...
A WEEK INTO DECEMBER,THERE IS A RALLY HELD AROUND 80 MILES NORTH OF US,IN THE 'LAKE DISTRICT'.IT IS LOCATED IN A FOREST,WHICH OVERLOOKS A SEEMINGLY SPECTACULAR WATER,KNOWN AS 'CONISTON'.
FOR ME,THIS PLACE HOLDS SOME FASCINATING, BUT TRAGIC HISTORY......WITH 'CONISTON OLD MAN' LURKING,IN THE MIST AT THE HEAD,OF THE LAKE...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Campbell

INDEED I HAVE A SIGNED 'LIMITED EDITION' PRINT,WHICH HANGS ON THE WALL,OF 'CAMPBELL IN K7,CHRISTMAS DAY 1966'.

BUT,BACK TO 'RALLYING'.....
GRIZEDALE FOREST,CAN BE A PRETTY IDYLLIC,BUT SAVAGE PLACE,DEPENDANT ON THE WEATHER. I HAVE BEEN GOING THERE,FOR LONGER THAN I CAN REMEMBER?

WE TOOK THE WHITE RALLY 99 EMS THERE,IN 2002?......ALAS,SOME WAY INTO THE FIRST STAGE,A HUGE ROCK BENT THE ENGINE CROSSMEMBER,SMASHING THE SUMP GUARD,HOLING THE SUMP. GAME OVER...!!

SUBSEQUENTLY,IN THE FOLLOWING WEEKS,I REMOVED THE ENGINE&BOX. GOT THE SUMP ALLOY REPAIRED/WELDED,AND WELDED 'ANGLE IRON' DOWN THE SIDES OF THE CROSSMEMBER,TO REINFORCE IT! IT NEVER GAVE WAY AGAIN,IN OVER 12 YEARS OF COMPETING.....

2012,WAS WHEN I THINK? I SADLY HAD TO SELL THE CAR,SO I COULD CARRY ON WITH THE 'CLARION 99 TURBO' DEVELOPMENT.

LUCKILY THE 'WHITE RALLY 99 EMS' WAS SPOTTED BY AN OLDER, FORMER 'SAAB' MECHANIC,WHEN I HAD IT 'FOR SALE'? WHOM,HAD LONG AGO,MOVED TO THE 'ISLE OF MAN',AND DECIDED IT WOULD BE 'JUST THE JOB'?
THIS WAS IN SO MUCH,AS HE WAS THE 'HISTORIC COURSE OPENING CAR',IN ORGANISING A LOT OF THE 'MANX' RALLYING.

RELAXING,OVER CHRISTMAS.......I WAS JUST WONDERING,HOW EXACTLY HE WAS GETTING ALONG? AND IF THE CAR,WAS STILL BEING USED,AS HE INTENDED ON THE 'ISLE OF MAN'? SO HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES......THAT I FOUND.



INCIDENTALLY,THIS IS MY 'OLD' V4 RALLY CAR,WHICH I SOLD IN 1999(NOW EXTENSIVELY RESTORED BY A FELLOW SAAB NUT,FROM SCOTLAND).
I HAD TO SELL IT BACK THEN,TO FINANCE THE ORIGINAL' WHITE RALLY 99 EMS BUILD',FROM A BARE SHELL,IN THE YEAR 2000. THE 96 WAS 'FOR SALE' A FEW YEARS AGO,AT A 'SPECIALIST' CLASSIC CAR DEALERS IN THE 'UK',BUT SINCE THEN HAS DISSAPEARED......OFF THE SCENE.

I DO WONDER WHERE IT IS NOW? IF IT IS BEING USED,AS INTENDED....?


APOLOGIES,OFF WE GO AT A TANGENT ONCE MORE....

BACK TO THE FOREST,GRIZEDALE.....IN DECEMBER,JUST GONE?

I WAS UP AT 05.30,TO DRIVE TWO HOURS NORTH......WALK DEEP INTO THE FOREST...FIND A SUITABLE,SAFE PLACE TO SPECTATE.

[BIRDIEMANGO]

AS THE STAGE START TIME,LOOMED A LITTLE NEARER,I WAS JOINED BY A GUY&HIS GIRLFRIEND FROM GLASGOW,WHOM HAD ALSO LEFT EARLY MORNING,AND DRIVEN DOWN THE 140 MILES OR SO. HE SET UP, A LITTLE GO-PRO CAMERA,TO CAPTURE THE ACTION.BUT THAT WAS IT,JUST US 3 SPECTATORS,FOR A GOOD HALF MILE,EITHER WAY.....

THE FIRST INCIDENT,INVOLVED A FAST MOVING MITSUBISHI EVO,WHICH HAD GONE OUT OF MY LINE OF SIGHT,AS IT PASSED FROM MY VIEW,BEHIND THE TREE LINE.I HEARD THE ENGINE,OVER-REVVING,THEN ALL WENT QUIET.....
THE GUY,FROM GLASGOW HOWEVER,STOOD A LITTLE FURTHER ROUND THE CORNER,SAW IT GO 'OFF'....... AND SEEMED TO ME,TO BE A LITTLE OVER-CONCERNED? AS HE SPRINTED PAST ME,DOWN THE TRACK,TO ASSIST THE CREW..? SO I JOINED HIM.

AS WE GOT THERE,THE MITSI,WAS WELL IN TREES......THE CREW WERE UNHARMED,BUT THE CO-DRIVER INPARTICULAR WAS A 'WHITE AS A SHEET',AND DIDN'T SEEM PARTICULALRY COHERENT? I HAD TO SHOUT AT HIM,TO GET THE 'OK/SOS' BOARD,FROM THE MITSI,TO WARN ONCOMING RALLY TRAFFIC!

THE STEERING WAS SMASHED,ON THE OFFSIDE FRONT,AND THE MITSI HAD COME TO REST,GENTLY KISSING A VERY LARGE TREE....
SKIMMING OVER MANY RECENTLY CUT-DOWN TREE TRUNKS,ON ITS ENTRY INTO THE UNDERGROWTH? IT WAS EVIDENT,THE CAR WAS GOING NOWHERE,SO THE CREW SAFELY OUT THE CAR,WE RETURNED UP TO THE FOREST STAGE,TO WARN ONCOMING CARS,WITH THE 'OK/SOS' BOARD,IN MY HAND.

MINUTES LATER,100 YARDS BACK DOWN THE TRACK,WHERE WE HAD BEEN ORIGINALLY STOOD ON THE BEND? A VAUXHALL CHEVETTE,CLIPPED THE DITCH.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iexq9VZ5mM

MITSI EVO AT 2 MIN 30 SECS( NOW I KNOW,WHY THE CO-DRIVER LOOKED DRAINED OF LIFE)

VAUXHALL CHEVETTE AT 45 SECS IN,THATS ME IN THE BLUE JACKET,RUNNING BACK DOWN THE TRACK, FIRST ON THE SCENE.....

THE CHEVETTE,HAD COME TO REST ON ITS SIDE,BLOCKING THE TRACK,ON A BLIND S-BEND ROOF FACING THE ONCOMING RALLY TRAFFIC.
WE MANAGED TO 'FLAG DOWN' THE NEXT CAR THROUGH?.....BEFORE GETTING THE CREW OUT THE CHEVETTE,AND GETTING IT BACK ON ITS WHEELS.
JUST A FEW PHOTOS,FROM THE DAY........

I LEFT THE STAGE NEAR MIDDAY,AS THE FORECAST FOR THE AFTERNOON,WAS TORRENTIAL RAIN AND HIGH WINDS.TRUNDLED BACK DOWN TO LAKE 'CONISTON',AND SAT IN THE CAFE,TO WARM A LITTLE......

FOR ME, THIS PLACE NEVER LOSES IT'S 'MYSTIQUE'....

https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visitin ... d-coniston

https://www.grizedalestages.co.uk/index.php/news