NEWSLETTER - Franschhoek Motor Museum

NEWSLETTER
January 2011
More news, more anniversaries
It's the start of a new year and with it comes a few changes to FMM's
Newsletter. From now on the newsletter will be sent out monthly and with the
help of Mike Monk, who everyone will know from CAR magazine, it will contain
a lot more news as well as articles pertaining to specific cars in the collection.
2011 also sees some well-known marques reaching new milestones.
Mercedes-Benz is 125 years old this year and VW celebrates 60 years of the
Beetle on South African roads. But perhaps stealing the spotlight is the 100th
birthday of that great 'flying lady' who has graced the bonnets of all RollsRoyce automobiles since 1911. Happy birthday Sprit of Ecstasy and may
there be many more (chin-chin). WH
Cobras and Lolas
Late last year one of Carroll Shelby's former employees and a team driver,
Allen Grant, paid a visit to the Franschhoek Motor Museum. Allen's racing
career started in 1962 driving an AC Bristol and by winning 12 out of 14
races he won the USA West Coast Championship and received the rookie of
the year award.Allen then offered his services as a driver to US motorsport
legend Carroll Shelby but there were no rides available at the time.
However, he was offered a job as a welder. Within a month he was
transferred to the race shop and became a member of Shelby's 1963
Sebring race team as a mechanic and alternate driver.
Coventry Motors, a large Cobra dealer in Los Angeles, placed an order for a
car and Allen was appointed team driver. Together with Chief mechanic
George Lucas, who in later years would become the famed director of
movies including American Graffiti and Star Wars, Allen helped prepare
the distinctive yellow-with- black-stripes Cobra that was named The
Executor.
After winning his first two races, Allen told Shelby that he would “blow off”
the Team Cobra drivers Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant and Lew Spencer, in
the next race at Riverside Park. He was leading before clashing with
Bondurant, spinning out to eventually finish second. Further successes
during the year led to him being voted Northern California Driver of the
Year.
For the 1965 season, Allen became a member of the Shelby Cobra
Daytona Coupé team and was responsible for scoring 28,3 of the total of
133,2 points earned by the team that resulted in it winning the World
Manufacturer's Championship. In the same year, Allen purchased the
original Lola Mk6 GT, forerunner to the Ford GT40, for $3 000, before
obtaining a university degree and going on to become a successful
property developer.
In 2004/5, South Africans André Loubser and Rob Senekal were involved
in a Ford GT40 project in Cape Town when Allen visited them to discuss the
development and manufacture of a new sportscar. Impressed with Rob's
development of a precise copy of the GT40 monocoque, Allen thought that
Rob would be the ideal person to restore the silver Lola that, since
purchase, had stood untouched in his garage in Portland, Oregon.
Consequently, Rob spent most of 2008 completely stripping and rebuilding
the Lola.
By coincidence, André was at the 1963 Nürburgring 1000 km sportscar
race and witnessed South Africans Tony Maggs and Bobby Olthoff driving
the same Lola that was destined to be restored by his friend, Rob, 45 years
later! AL
Allen Grant
Tingle’s Tanks
Early in the New Year, FMM welcomed Mary Tingle, wife of
the late SA racing legend Sam, and her son, John, and
grandson, Sam jnr. The family reacquainted themselves
with Sam's 1965 LDS single-seater (which first raced in
the 1965 Rhodesian GP, finishing third, and is currently on
display) and presented the museum's curator, Wayne
Harley, with the pair of auxiliary fuel tanks that were
fabricated by Eddie Pinto to fit on the side of the car's tub
so that it could run the full SA Grand Prix distance without
refuelling. The tanks are still in the original Gunston livery
and have a wonderful patina. Mary and John also handed
over some one-and-a-half hours of Gunston film footage.
MM
Legends lunch
The annual FMM Legends Trust luncheon took place last December at which the John Love Exhibition
was jointly opened by Johann Rupert, Carol Love (John's widow) and Royce Love (John's son). John's
Chevron B25 (chassis 3) race car was also unveiled at the ceremony.
Amongst the motorsport legends attending the luncheon were Giorgio and Paolo Cavallieri, Arnold
Chatz, Serge Damseaux, Peter de Klerk, Paddy Driver, Graham Duxbury, Peter Gough, Basil Green,
Bruce Johnston, Dennis Joubert, Eddie Keizan, Adrian Pheiffer, Fred Phillips, Ian Scheckter, Dick
Sorenson and Andrew Thompson.
CAR magazine's outgoing and incoming editors, John Bentley and Hannes Oosthuizen respectively,
were among the honoured guests. MM
Peugeot International
Celebration