Latest Vette News

[Chuffer]

Sat down this morning with coffee , toast , and the latest edition of Vette News . Another spanking good read so well done to all concerned . I loved Marks Musings as usual and have to say , you are so on the button with your `Decoding the 21st Century ` . It raised a smile but sadly all too true !!!

 

[Invetterate]

Sat down this morning with coffee , toast , and the latest edition of Vette News . Another spanking good read so well done to all concerned . I loved Marks Musings as usual and have to say , you are so on the button with your `Decoding the 21st Century ` . It raised a smile but sadly all too true !!!

Very kind of you, Sir and much appreciated!

Mark

 

[Chuffer]

Very kind of you, Sir and much appreciated!

Mark

You are deservedly welcome Mark . I also enjoyed your article on the Napier - Railton very much and the famed Brooklands Circuit that brought back great memories . We had an ` after school film club ` at my all boys Secondary Modern School and old cine films of the early days of motorsport often featured which included Brooklands . The drivers must have had balls of steel in those days . I did the Test Hill in my Marcos Mantara V8 back in 2003 which as you said , is a real hoot ! They wheeled the Railton out for viewing too . What a beast and masterpiece of motor engineering ! A few years before that I did a few sprint runs down the old inner runway at a Sporting Bears event in my tuned 5 speed manual Jaguar XJS 3.6 that was just 25bhp shy of the 5.2 V12 unit which was rather fun too .We parked up on the banking for a walkabout and photo shots and it`s not until you try to get out the door and stand on that banking that you realise how steep it is !
You mentioned the `Railway Straight ` and I well recall in the mid 1960`s hanging out of railway carriage windows to catch a glimpse of the famous circuit when traveling from Waterloo to Eastleigh and Bournemouth with my chums on train spotting jaunts . That length of railway line was also a `racing stretch ` in the days of steam with as it is largely straight and level from Surbiton ,through Weybridge and past Brooklands to Woking and beyond and the expresses would really be going for it with 100mph sometimes reached .I had the great fortune to fire this beast on the `Cathedrals Express` down that line some 20 odd years ago on route from London Victoria to Bristol . We couldn`t match Cobb`s 168mph down `Railway Straight` but our maximum permitted speed of 80 mph was pretty lively to say the least and the loco was bucking about so much that it felt like our wheels were off the track at times too !!

 

[Invetterate]

You are deservedly welcome Mark . I also enjoyed your article on the Napier - Railton very much and the famed Brooklands Circuit that brought back great memories . We had an ` after school film club ` at my all boys Secondary Modern School and old cine films of the early days of motorsport often featured which included Brooklands . The drivers must have had balls of steel in those days . I did the Test Hill in my Marcos Mantara V8 back in 2003 which as you said , is a real hoot ! They wheeled the Railton out for viewing too . What a beast and masterpiece of motor engineering ! A few years before that I did a few sprint runs down the old inner runway at a Sporting Bears event in my tuned 5 speed manual Jaguar XJS 3.6 that was just 25bhp shy of the 5.2 V12 unit which was rather fun too .We parked up on the banking for a walkabout and photo shots and it`s not until you try to get out the door and stand on that banking that you realise how steep it is !
You mentioned the `Railway Straight ` and I well recall in the mid 1960`s hanging out of railway carriage windows to catch a glimpse of the famous circuit when traveling from Waterloo to Eastleigh and Bournemouth with my chums on train spotting jaunts . That length of railway line was also a `racing stretch ` in the days of steam with as it is largely straight and level from Surbiton ,through Weybridge and past Brooklands to Woking and beyond and the expresses would really be going for it with 100mph sometimes reached .I had the great fortune to fire this beast on the `Cathedrals Express` down that line some 20 odd years ago on route from London Victoria to Bristol . We couldn`t match Cobb`s 168mph down `Railway Straight` but our maximum permitted speed of 80 mph was pretty lively to say the least and the loco was bucking about so much that it felt like our wheels were off the track at times too !!

Some fantastic experiences there Mike - I can only imagine what it is like to be on the footplate of those amazing machines at speed and you have had some very quick cars too! As you say, the banking really is very steep when you actually see it and very bumpy. Actually, I think Cobb and Co would have been quite at home on our roads now given all the bumps and potholes......

 

[Chuffer]

Some fantastic experiences there Mike - I can only imagine what it is like to be on the footplate of those amazing machines at speed and you have had some very quick cars too! As you say, the banking really is very steep when you actually see it and very bumpy. Actually, I think Cobb and Co would have been quite at home on our roads now given all the bumps and potholes......

I remember nearly falling falling out the car door when we parked on the bank ! I am sure Cobb and co would have exited far more gracefully if needed . Totally agree about being at home on our crap roads !
I did do a charity fund raising track day in the Vette at Rockingham Raceway near Corby back when that was still open . It included driving part of the banked circuit and although not nearly as steep as Brooklands it was a hoot giving the C3 some hammer taking the top racing line with the sound bouncing off the wall ! NASCAR here we come .

 

[Roscobbc]

I find it interesting (with larger capacity aero engined cars) is how they manage to deal with the issues of carburation 'on the road' with engines designed for constant speed operation perhaps using variable pitch props and two speed/multi-speed superchargers to compensate for differing altitudes........ a bit like we would use a gearbox on a car. Engines like Merlin's/Meteor's always seem to be incredibly mechanically noisy when used in automotive applications. These are generally non-huffed when used in cars......perhaps a feature of huge capacity engines?

 

[Chuffer]

I find it interesting (with larger capacity aero engined cars) is how they manage to deal with the issues of carburation 'on the road' with engines designed for constant speed operation perhaps using variable pitch props and two speed/multi-speed superchargers to compensate for differing altitudes........ a bit like we would use a gearbox on a car. Engines like Merlin's/Meteor's always seem to be incredibly mechanically noisy when used in automotive applications. These are generally non-huffed when used in cars......perhaps a feature of huge capacity engines?

The next project for Mark and his musings methinks ??