Austin 7 Brettell Special

By John Sutton

THE GORDON BRETTELL AUSTIN

By John Sutton

Brettell as it is today

This historic Austin Seven started life as one of the 1930 cars which Austin prepared for the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in Northern Ireland or possibly one of the replicas which were built subsequently. 

It is not possible, at this date, to establish which car it was or who drove it before July1931 but research is still ongoing. 

What we do know is that the car was sold to “Willie” (the Marquis de Belleroche) whose family lived in an old mansion in Kent.  His father was a music teacher and I recall being told by Dame Joan Last that she used to venture over there for tuition.  Apparently it was a dark old property which always seemed to have the curtains drawn through which she used to see the old man peering out.

His first recorded event was at Brooklands on the 25^th July 1931.

“Willie” and W A Cuthbert were regular competitors at Brooklands in the Austin and other cars and it is also recorded that “Willie” raced the Austin at the Nurburgring in July 1932 but retired on the first lap.  At some time after this period it had the distinctive “Ulster” tail cut off, whether this was as a result of accident damage or to reduce the weight is not known.

Conway archive

The car was then purchased by Hugh Conway senior, the great Bugatti enthusiast and he supplied me with the attached photograph of it as it was in his ownership.  His first recorded outing was at the MCC Brooklands Members Day on the 8^th September 1934. He, in turn sold it to Gordon Brettell of Farnham, for £45, and the first outing was at the Intervarsity Speed Trials on the 23 March 1935 driven by Peter Monkhouse.  Whether this was a trial run is not clear but records show that Conway also drove it in several events up to August 1935.  In 1936 Brettell commissioned Peter Monkhouse of Monaco Engineering in Watford to turn it into a competitive single seat racer.  It then had a very stark little body made to fit over the chassis which had been cross braced with wires to stiffen it as in aircraft practice.  It was quite promising at the August at Brooklands on the first outing, lapping at 102 mph in practice. Unfortunately the cylinder block cracked and it could not race.

Over the top

It became well known because Brettell went over the top of the Brooklands banking during the Brooklands Whit Monday meeting for the Coronation Mountain Handicap on the 17^th may 1937. He emerged from the undergrowth with a broken arm and waved to the spectators.  A photograph of him appeared on the front page of The Times newspaper.  There is also the attached photo of the car being recovered by Robin Jackson.

When war broke out the car was stored and Brettell was called up as a fighter pilot.  Unfortunately he was one of those who were shot by the Germans after their daring escaping from the Stalag Luft III concentration camp.  However before war broke out he had persuaded Austins to let him have the engine out of Kay Petrie’s crashed “Side Valve” racer.  We suspect that he did not realize that it would not fit into a standard Austin 7 chassis and so it was never used.

We are fortunate to have a letter from Gordon’s brother Terence which gives a wonderful insight into his character and this is reproduced in our section Cars and Drivers.  We also have a copy of the diary Terence kept during the pre war period which is reproduced below:- 

 1935

“Peter (Monkhouse) drove the car in the Intervarsity Speed Trials at Syston Park & the result was something of a sensation.  Not only was the Austin easily the fastest car in its class, but was third quickest overall, beating cars of much greater capacity in the process.  It should, perhaps be mentioned that the winner of this event was Oliver Bertram on the famous Delage which once held the Land Speed Record.  The Austin, of course, is of 750 cc. the Delage 10,500!

The first appearance of the car in an actual race was at the Brooklands Easter Monday meeting, & Gordon had entered for two Mountain races.  It was very soon clear that the handicappers had got it more than a little wrong.  They gave Almack, with a similar(?) Austin, 5 seconds start from Gordon, who was in the lead before the two cars reached the top corner!  Thereafter no one saw the Austin which was, in fact, lapping faster than most of the rest of the field.  Responding to frantic signals from Peter, Gordon more or less toured round the last lap but even so, won by the large margin of 17 seconds and the handicappers don’t like that sort of thing!  Sure enough, for his second race Gordon was more severely handicapped, giving a start to Hughes’s 30-98 Vauxhall.   Although lapping much faster than before, he was passed by J. N. Innes’s MG Magnette & J. Lemon Burton’s 1½-litre Bugatti, but the latter had trouble & retired.  Gordon just failed to catch Hughes by 4/5 of a second after a great scrap, so that he finished third.  If handicappers don’t like people winning by 17 seconds they dislike even more someone finishing third after a severe re-handicap.  It was obvious that, when the Austin next appeared, it would be well and truly clobbered!

Although Gordon & Peter (& the writer!) were most anxious to see the car racing, & although the Easter meeting was a triumphant one, it is obvious with hindsight that the strategy was wrong.  At Whitsun there was going to be the Coronation Mountain Handicap with a first prize of £100, a lot of money then.  (remember the car had cost £45).  Since the whole operation was on a shoestring Gordon should have eschewed entry for the Easter meeting & gone for the Whitsun one.  The Coronation Mountain Handicap was in heats & a final, the first five in each heat qualifying for the main race.  Gordon could have played himself in his heat, saving he brakes (always the Achilles heel with the Austin) & lapping at about 60 mph, would have qualified easily, with some 5-6 mph still to come, have walked away with the final & the £100 instead of having a repair bill for the car and his arm!  Oh well, none of us thought like that at Easter, but it was a pity!

1936

Syston Park

At the August Brooklands Meeting Gordon had intended to run the “new” Austin, but as the car was not ready in time he was lent Connell’s 1½-litre Vale Special, which he entered for one Outer Circuit race & two Mountain races.  In practice he lapped the former course at 102 mph & the latter at 67.2 mph.  Unfortunately the cylinder block cracked, & he was obliged to become a non-starter.  It is easy to say ”if” but had the Vale started there is no doubt that it would have stood a very good chance of a win.

Meanwhile Peter had quite other ides about how the Austin should be reconstructed & to Gordon’s dismay proceeded to make it “wizard”.  There is a full description of the car elsewhere in this “log” but it is of interest to record that great efforts were made to make it slimmer than Doreen Evans’s Q type MG, the narrowest car racing at that time.  Eventually the Austin emerged with a 17 inch wide body, 1 inch narrower than the MG.  Later it was discovered that the Bellcone car had a body over 20 inches wide.

The Austin was entered for the closing meeting at Brooklands & Gordon hoped to run in one Mountain race.  The little machine showed tremendous acceleration, but unfortunately a small piece of solder from the new petrol tank choked the carburetor & the car was unable to qualify since this could not be remedied in the time available.

Peter drove the car at Lewes, but the experimental hard plugs were too hard & oiled up; the Austin went up on three cylinders & so was unable to secure a place in its class.

At the Brooklands Whitsun meeting Gordon drove the little car in the first heat of the Coronation Mountain Handicap.  He received 43 seconds from the scratch man, A. C. Dobson on a 1½-litre ERA & gave 15 seconds to S. Mond, driving A. P. Watson’s 1½-litre Bugatti.  With this extremely stiff handicap Gordon felt it necessary to hurry in order to qualify for the final & he set about doing so.

At the end of his first lap he left the cut-off point later than ever before, entered the bend too fast & slid straight over the top of the banking.  Gordon sustained six fractures in his left arm & the Austin also was damaged, but not very badly.

Lap Speeds: 1^st lap 58.34 mph

A very hot day graced the Pool Speed Trials & perhaps it was because of the heat that the little Austin felt in such a naughty mood.  At any rate, it did only one good run out of three attempts, the other two being spoilt by a sticking clutch & oiling plugs, & in consequence it could only gain third fastest time in its class, failing to beat Miss D. Stanley-Turners Q type MG by 0.09 seconds!  Gordons Austin & that of A. N. L. Maclachlan’s created more interest & attracted greater crowds, than any other car in the paddock.  Unfortunately it was not universally known that Mac’s car was blown at something like 20 lbs, Gordon’s of course is blown at 10 lbs.

Times:  1^st run 28.53 secs,  2^nd  run 25.97 secs.

Shelesly Walsh

Shelsley Walsh for once had fine weather for its Autumn meeting & the Austin was down to run in the morning “eliminating class”, in company with two MG’s driven by T. H. Dowler & B. Rogers.  The latter’s car was one of the Monthlery models, age long rivals to the “Ulster” Austins, though this car had not the benefits of a single-seater body.  Dowler’s was a slightly more recent model.  On his first run Gordon recorded 56.03 seconds, Dowler did 54.34 secs, & Rogers  57.45 secs.  The Austin was misfiring badly.  On the second run Gordon climbed in 49.62 secs, beating both Dowler & Rogers, & so qualifying in first place for the afternoon runs.  In these his times were 48.61 & 47.87 secs .the Austin finishing 5^th in the 750 cc class & beating its old rival, the Q type driven by Miss Stanley-Turner, though this car as not on its best form.  Among some of the cars greater engine capacity than the Austin which Gordon beat were: Mrs. R. Eccles 1,100 cc Rapier Special (52.59 secs), L. G. Johnson’s 2-litre Frazer Nash BMW (48.04 secs), R. Cutler’s 1½-litre Frazer Nash (48.55 secs), & H. A. Richards’s 1,100 cc Riley (52.23 secs), & Mrs. J. Bolster’s 3½-litre S.S. (48.61 secs), while he was only 0.25 seconds slower than I. F. Connel’s 1½-litre ERA, actually beating that car on the second runs by 1.50 secs.  Johnson’s BMW incidentally was blown.

Times : Eliminating runs;  1^st run 56.03 secs, 2^nd run 49.62 secs

Afternoon runs: 1^st run 48.61 secs, 2^nd run 47.87 secs.

The Southsea Speed Trials were run in a howling gale, with torrents of rain.   Gordon entered for two classes, the 1,100 cc & 1,500 cc classes.  Unlike most people Gordon treated the bends with respect & consequently was one of the very few not to waste time in slithers.  However, the little car was behaving very badly.  It was oiling plugs, the gear-change was very obstinate & the slow-running adjustment screw had fallen out, so that the throttle shut whenever Gordon lifted his foot.  Owing to the gear trouble Gordon had to take the car up to 7,500 in bottom!  Consequently he was only second in each of his classes, being beaten by Rogers’s MG “Mucky Pup”, a considerably slower car.  However, he had the consolation of beating A. N. L. Maclachlan.

The final Brooklands meeting gave a chance of using all three circuits.  Gordon entered for a short handicap & also one of the three Campbell Circuit races.

This was the first occasion on which the Austin had raced on the Outer Circuit.  However, the handicapping was not very lenient, Gordon receiving 1 min. 14 secs from Bertram on the 4½-litre Bowler-Hofman Special & giving 28 secs to D. Powell’s unblown MG Midget.  The Austin went extremely well, & was leading after one lap.  However, it was then passed by F. E. Elgood’s 4½-litre Bentley (44 secs), G. A. Wooding (3½-litre Talbot, 44 secs), C. L. W. Barker (3-litre Sunbeam S, 1 min 3 secs), & A. Powys-Lybbe (2.6-litre Alfa Romeo, 14 secs0, so that Gordon was fifth.

On the Campbell Circuit Gordon received 1 min 6 secs from Count Trossi (1½-litre Maserati) who was on a virtual scratch.  Gordon’s actual start was 1 min 9 secs, & he had to make up 11 secs on A. M. Wicksteed (1½-litre Aston Martin), who however, did not start.  The Austin lead for a lap & a half, & was then passed, after a fight, by J. B. Wilson (R type MG, 1 min 2 secs).  Gordon ten indulged in a great duel with H. C. Hunter’s 2-litre Frazer Nash BMW(1min 2 secs) & had gained a considerable lead over him, & appeared to be able to keep it, when one of the plugs melted its points, & the Austin, now running on three cylinders, was forced to slow.  It was still lying third on entering Aerodrome curve for the last time, but down Sahara straight both Austin Dobson (1½ litre Maserati, 18 secs) & Count Trossi on a 4 cyl. Maserati (3ses) rocketed past, so Gordon finished 5^th.

Lap Speeds:

Outer Circuit:  1^st lap; 82.59 mph, 2^nd lap; 91.55 mph

Campbell Circuit: 1^st lap; 58.71 mph. 2^nd lap; 60.00 mph. 3^rd lap; 57.88 mph.

And so 1937 ended.  A season beset with teething troubles, but a reasonably successful season, all the same.  Below are the successes, & the events for which the Austin was entered.

Races: Entered for 6.  1First; 1 Third; 2 Fifths; 1 Sixth; 1 Crash

Speed Trials:  Entered for 4.  1 First; 2 Seconds; 1 Third.  Also 1 Third fastest Time of the Day & 1 Fastest Time of the Day by a light car.

Hill Climbs:  Entered for 1.  Eliminating Runs; 1 First.  Final Runs; 1 Fifth

Prospects for next year are quite good.  The car will probably be fitted with a new blower & gearbox, and perhaps independent front suspension.  It is also hoped to obtain the side valve engine the wreckage of Mrs. K. Petre’s car, though Austins do not seem very keen on providing this.  At any rate, an extensive programme has been drawn up, & there are hopes of a very good season.

Gordon Brettell

Gordon ran the Tiddler (his modified Chummy) at Syston in the Intervarsity speed trials, but the car was not nearly fast enough & was unable to gain a place n its class.   

Times:  1^st run, 50.01secs,  2^nd run, 50.23 secs.

At the Brooklands opening meeting Gordon entered for two races, one on the Outer Circuit, & one on the Campbell Circuit.  The car was unchanged, except for slightly improved streamlining.  During practice the clutch passed out, & the Austin was only just brought to the line in time for the Outer Circuit race.  Gordon got away very rapidly, & the little car had gone up to 98 before reaching the bump.  Carburettor trouble then set in, & Gordon retired after completing one lap.  The Austin gave 9 secs to F. Y. Andrew (Fiat), the limit man, & received 1 min 9 secs from C. T. Baker-Carr’s Bentley-Jackson on scratch, but was, of course, passed by the whole field.

More hard work had the car ready for the Campbell Circuit race, in which Gordon received 1 min 2 secs from B. Bira’s 3-litre Maserati, & gave Miss Stanley-Turner (Q type MG) 5 secs start.  Lack of practice, added to the fact that Gordon was unused to the smaller wheels being used on the front, made an additional handicap.  St. John Horsfall (2-litre Aston Martin, 58 secs) passed Gordon at the beginning of the second lap, but Gordon regained his position by passing Miss Turner’s MG on the railway straight during the same lap.  Gordon now seemed safely in second place, but “Bira” & Abecassis (1½-litre Alta) were coming through very fast, the former passing him on the final straight to beat him for second place by 1/5^th sec.

Lap Speeds: 

Outer Circuit:  1^st lap 77.21 mph. 

Campbell Circuit:  1^st lap 58.88 mph.  2^nd lap 60.72 mph. 3^rd lap 61.36 mph.

Mrs. K. Petre’s S.V engine has been obtained after much trouble, but will not fit into the present chassis!

Plans to run at Cork having fallen through owing to lack of brakes, Gordon planned to run in the Brooklands Easter Meeting& he entered the Austin for two Campbell Circuit races.  A new Powerplus, blowing at over 20 lbs was planned, but not fitted, but a new 4 speed gearbox was.  Below is a practice week “diary”, which explains why the Austin, in spite of a lovely handicap, failed to figure amongst the successful cars at this meeting:-

Tuesday:           The car is fetched from Monaco (Engineering), & in view of the

                        new blower hopes are high.  The power over 4,500 is rather disappointing.  The blower drive breaks & the car is towed back to Monaco.   

Wednesday:     A new, tougher blower drive has been made, & Gordon starts some more practicing, but the car won’t exceed 5,600 in top.  Blower-drive breaks, & the car is towed back to Monaco.

Thursday:         It has been discovered that the blower supports are flexing over the bumps, so naturally the drive breaks.  No practice today while a new drive is made, & the supports are stiffened.

Friday:              Good Friday.  No practice.

Saturday:          Peter has placed some craft in the engine, & now that the trouble has really been discovered, there is reasonable hope once again.  But the car will not go.  A larger carburetor is required, but there is not one of the correct size nearer than Brighton.  Gordon fetches it late that night.  It is the wrong size.

Monday:           Race day.  We are out early on the track.  There is no speed.  No. 3 plug keeps burning out.  The new blower has opened up the small crack in the block, & the edges of the crack get white hot.  There is nothing for it& the car is reluctantly withdrawn.                                   

At Whitsun Gordon entered for two 5 lap races on the Campbell Circuit.  The very badly cracked block had been welded & owing to re-boring the capacity was now 755 cc a somewhat unfortunate size.  The old blower was again being used.  The Austin showed great promise in practice, & the handicap was quite good, Gordon being on the limit mark with 1 min 45 secs start from A. C. Dobson (1½-litre ERA), the scratch man.

In this race Gordon made a fine start, & it soon became apparent that he would be very hard to catch.  On entering Test Hill Hairpin on his first lap with a very considerable lead, the Austin’s brakes passed out & Gordon went into the bend faster than he intended.  However, he held the little car, & in spite of having useless brakes for one complete lap, was never seriously challenged.  He was chased home by J. H. T. Smith’s  Magnette (39 secs) & W. E. Cotton’s ERA (9 secs).  Gordon won by 4 3/5^th secs at a speed of 61.64 mph.

Brooklands	Cartoon

The brakes were attended to in the paddock & were found to be quite nightmarish.  The linings had now gone, & the shoes had melted.  An unfortunate incident now occurred.  Owing to the noise made by cars warming up, Gordon failed to hear the warning hooter for his second race, & consequently did not arrive in time for the start.

It appears also that the observers thought that the Austin was unsafe on corners, & so might have prevented Gordon from starting.  However, there is some solace in the thought that the brakes could not possibly have lasted the race, & added to the fact that the Austin was re-handicapped 5 secs would undoubtedly have prevented Gordon from getting a place.  Incidentally Gordon has made history by being the first to win a 5 lap race on the Campbell Circuit.    

Lap Speeds:

1^st lap 59.05, 2^nd lap 62.11, 3^rd lap 62.87, 4^th lap 63.30, 5^th lap 62.02

Average Speed: 61.64 mph

Gordon ran the Austin in one Outer Circuit race at the August meeting.  Peter had gone to Limerick, & so could not attend to the little car, but Wilson proved a very competent substitute.  The handicappers don’t like people winning, & one glance at their effort on this occasion showed us quite clearly that Gordon would drive for fun rather than for gain.  The Austin received 1 min 52 secs from Oliver Bertram (Barnato-Hassan, 7963 cc) the scratch man, & gave 3 secs to J. M. Powell & Charles Follett (1½-litre Alvis & 1½-litre Lea-Francis respectively), & 8 secs to V. H. Tuson’s 1,090 cc Fiat.  All these cars were considerably faster than the Austin.  Gordon made a fine start, & gave backers of Follett a severe shock by passing not only that portly gentleman, but also Powell & Tuson as well on acceleration, & emerging from behind members hill with a considerable lead.  This obviously could not last, but Gordon held his lead for nearly a lap, when he was passed again by Follett, Powell & Tuson.  The Austin held fourth place until the last lap, when, on the final banking C. L. W. Barker’s Sunbeam (1min 38 secs), C. Brackenbury’s 2-litre Bugatti (21 secs), R. L. Duller’s Duesenburg (10 secs) & Oliver Bertram’s Barnato-Hassan swept past in a bunch.  Gordon finished 8^th.

It should be added that before this meeting power was lacking to a remarkable degree, &  eventually a large bolt was located in No. 3 induction port, having previously passed through the blower.  Mice are suspected!

The year closed as far as Gordon was concerned with the Dunlop Jubilee Meeting, a meeting which can never be forgotten, when the huge black clouds that appeared for the last race added dramatically to the terrible , almost uncanny atmosphere which pervaded what might have been Brooklands finest meeting.  Note added; This was just before Munich, when war seemed inevitable).

Gordon entered for three races, two on the Outer Circuit & one on the Campbell Circuit.  For the latter he used his little Austin, but for the two former he had borrowed Wolley’s 3-litre single-seater Talbot.  This car, we thought, sat down rather well, & this being Gordon’s first fast track car it was a good point.  It came as rather a shock therefore, to find in practice that this was far from the case, & that in reality the Talbot was unsteady in the extreme.  Practice was full of thrills, the most notable being when Gordon entered the Byfleet banking too low & almost lost control, when the radiator cap opened & the water blew back into his face, & when he “duelled” with Louis Gerard’s 3-litre Delage, pulling the Talbot early off the home banking to pass the French machine.  These cars seemed well matched for speed.  Perhaps the words of Chris Staniland, who has himself driven the Talbot, will convey how hard a car this is to drive:  “Better not say anything to him – but I hope he will be all right”.  In the first race, the 7 lap Dunlop Jubilee Cup, Gordon received 1 min 38 secs from Oliver Bertram’s Barnato-Hassan on scratch, & gave 20 secs to C. T. Baker-Carr’s 2-litre Hotchkiss on the limitmark.

Gordon left in company with F. E. Elgood’s 4½-litre Bentley, but was not able to hold the larger car.  He was passed by Oliver Bertram’s Barnato-Hassan (scratch), R. Duller’s Duesenburg (25secs), C. Brackenbury’s (Bowler-Hofman, 40 secs), W. M. Couper’s Talbot (1min 10 secs), C. Dobson’s Delahaye (1min 29 secs) & W. Humphrey’s Q type MG (1min 34 secs).  Gordon, however, passed C. T. Baker-Carr’s Hotchkiss (1min 58 secs), but was unable to catch T. W. Wisdom’s Alvis from the same mark, so that the Talbot was 8^th.

The second race was an ordinary 3-lap Outer Circuit affair.  The Talbot received 32 seconds from C. T. Baker-Carr (Bentley-Jackson) on virtual scratch, & conceded 33 secs to G. L. Baker (Graham Paige), the limit man.  Owing to a false start by Froy, the race was held up, & the Talbot reached an appalling heat, which probably accounts for the remarkably inconsistent lappery, since Gordon’s foot was flat throughout.  For a while the Talbot lay fourth, but on the last lap was passed by W. M. Couper’s Talbot & the Bentley-Jackson.  Gordon regained fourth place by passing H. L. Brooke’s Brooke Special (1min 11 secs) & Baker at the fork.  He could not gain another place however, but prizes were being given down to fourth place.

The Auistin’s race was an ordinary 5 lap Campbell Circuit handicap, & Gordon received 10 secs from E. W. H. Dobson’s Riley, the scratch man, & gave 55 secs to C. Le S. Metcalfe’s Fiat on the limit mark.  Gordon went off with W. Costello, also on a modified Austin, but left him far behind, & proceeded to draw away from the scratch man.  Although badly held up, mainly by E. Russell-Roberts & P. Clark, he began to wade through the large field, & passed Metcalfe absolutely on the line to take fourth place.  He failed to catch M. S. Soames’s 1½-litre Bugatti (19 secs), A. H. B. Hurst’s 1,087 cc MG (25 secs), & A. P. Hamilton’s 1,090 cc Fiat (30 secs).  He passed E. G. Russell-Robert’s MG (30 secs), R. Hughes’s Vauxhall (19 secs), P. C. T. Clarke’s HRG (25 secs), N. E. Bracey’s MG (30 secs), R. E. Wright’s Frazer Nash (30 secs0, R. C. K. Money’s MG (35 secs, Miss P. McOstrich’s Frazer Nash,  F. Y. Andrews’s Fiat (45 secs), C. W. E. Windsor-Richards’s Riley (45 secs) & C. Le S Metcalfe’s Fiat (1min 5 secs).  All these above cars are bigger than the Austin which was losing ground all down the railway straight, & indeed was repassed by Bracey’s MG down the straight.  Gordon immediately passed him again on reaching the more winding section.

Lap Speeds with the Talbot:

Dunlop Jubilee Cup Race:                                             Third Outer Circuit Handicap

1^st lap:              93.97 mph                                            1^st lap:              92.40 mph       

2^nd lap:             111.92                                                 2^nd lap;             111.17

3^rd lap:              116.92                                                 3^rd lap:              112.42

4^th lap:              12.42

5^th lap:              118.02

6^th lap:              109.94

7^th lap:              115.82

Second Road Handicap in Austin

1^st lap:              57.23 mph

2^nd lap:             60.81

3^rd lap: 62.21

4^th lap:              62.02

5^th lap: 61.45

Everyone was hoping for great things in the future.  After frustrating & protracted negotiations, Austins at last agreed to loan Gordon the engine from the crashed Kay Petre car---& it would not fit into the chassis!  Gordon & Peter Monkhouse got together & developed a scheme for a new car.  It was to be, of course, ultra-light with very powerful brakes & the driver would be nearly flat on his back, with the engine in the rear.  The frontal area would be very small & the whole concept pre-dated the modern –or at least the 60’s grand prix car by about twenty years.  The plan, to say the least, was ambitious --- to beat the works ohc Austins!  It could just have happened, but it was not to be.  Money, always the bugbear, ran out entirely in 1939, so not only was the car never built, but Gordon did not race at all that year.  Then came the war & Gordon’s death, shot by the Gestapo in the aftermath of “The Great Escape”.” 

 

George Symonds

 

                                                                                                                                                                   

When the war was over Gordon’s brother sold the car to George Symonds whose business was the Enfield Wire Company.  George is recoded as having driven an Austin 7 at Brooklands in October 1928 and non started in the MCC London to Exeter Trial in January 1937 (was this with the Grasshopper?).  Having acquired the Brettell Special he commissioned Robin Jackson to turn it into a formidable sprint car.  George had by then acquired the “Ulster” engine XA 154 which was from the Austin which won the Brooklands 500 together with a similar engine from Turner’s car which had recently been taken out of Alec Issigonis’s Lightweight Special.  It also came with the engine from the “Side Valve” car mentioned above.  This was kept under the bench in Joby Bowles workshop until purchased by David Boorer and sold on to Peter Moores for his replica Side Valve racer.     

32 stud head	Balanced crank	Laystall con-rod	High lift camshaft

The two supercharged “Ulster” engines were stamped No 1 and No. 2 and had special Laystall crankshafts and connecting rods made to Jacksons drawings.  The crankshafts had a larger rear main bearing shaft and big ends of larger than 1.5 inches in diameter, they were also fitted with massive bolt-on brass balance weights. The camshafts were built up and reground to give an impressive lift and timing.  The original works slipper pistons were retained.  The cylinder blocks were fitted with additional holding down studs at front and back making 12 in all.  The cylinder heads were the ultimate Austin design with 32 studs and twin ignition with 8 sparking plugs.  The top water off-take was a cross-flow design bolted to the side of the head.  The supercharger was a 160 Centric mounted ahead of the engine and driven by the standard “Ulster” arrangement, but reversed.  (it is actually an Austin 12/4 dynamo drive).  The front axle was replaced by the special lowered unit from the Austin works Grasshopper which had run at Le Mans in 1936.  George had acquired this car pre-war but unfortunately the garage in which it was kept was bombed and the car damaged beyond repair.

Wally Watton

George ran the car in a number of early post war events before selling it to Wally Watton.  Wally was persuaded by Leslie Ballamy to convert the front suspension to “swing axles” for which Ballamy was famous.  I was not, and am still not, an advocate of this system and I remember advising George that he would kill himself using them on such a car.  Well George turned the car upside down before fitting some check straps to prevent it becoming a three wheeler when cornering hard.  Wally put on quite a lot of weight and so instead of dieting he rebuilt the car on a long “Ruby” chassis, raised the tail mounted fuel tank and made longer centre body panels to fit.  He made some spirited runs in the car but never achieved its full potential.

Wally sold the car Gil Baird of B & B Pork products whom I had known for years as had won the Autosport Championship in 1960, the year before I did.  I remember visiting his abattoir and coming away with a boot full of lovely fresh pork.  Some years later Gil also acquired the Peter Moores replica “Side Valve” racer and decided to sell the Brettell car.  I went to look at it and report to Nick Mason who had expressed an interest.  We both came to the conclusion that, at this stage, it was really only a kit of parts needing a complete rebuild.  Nic decided not to buy it so it was agreed that I could do so, particularly as I had much more knowledge of Austin 7’s.

Cockpit	Engine near side	Engine off side	Engine

When I got it home I started reviewing the project starting from the front.  The enormously heavy radiator core had been moved far forward on flimsy brackets with a hideous cowl.  These were removed and scrapped.  I found that the body was so low that I could not easily get in and out and when in could not operate any of the controls, so this was also removed but not scrapped (there is another story about the body panels!).  The fuel tank had been cut away inside so that only the outside remained and it was impossible to repair so that was discarded also.  This left the “Ruby” chassis with the “Ulster” pattern steering box mounted in roughly the original position which was far too upright and at the wrong angle for a single-seater and a late “D” type rear axle. 

I decided there was nothing for it but to re-design the whole car from start to finish if it was ever going to become a serious, VSCC eligible, circuit racer.   I already owned the famous Maclachlan Special which is a superb sprint car and quite unsuitable for circuit racing anyway.

Retaining the long chassis seemed the best option as the car would not be classified as vintage with the later engine so this was mounted 8 inches further back within the chassis side rails.  The chassis therefore had to be stiffened at the front to compensate.  This was achieved, after measuring the deflection on a surface table, by boxing in the front forging and adding a substantial new cross member between that and the engine.  A major advantage of this is that the engine no longer acts as a structural member and is not subjected to twisting which can cause the cylinder block to crack.  The steering box was then suspended from above to determine the best position and rake and an “A” bracket fabricated to accommodate it.  The slight offset from the centre line is not noticeable when driving and the bodywork is flared around it.  The body frame was made of half inch steel angle, similar to that used on the Maclachlan Special as this was in keeping with a car of that vintage.  The bulkhead behind the engine is made of thick “Dural” sheet and is a structural member attached to the chassis with the two “A” brackets with anchor nuts under the chassis rails for ease of assembly.  A small oil tank was mounted high up to allow a drip feed to the “dead loss” oiling to the supercharger and split pipe unions were made so that the oil and pressure gauge pipes could be de-mounted without having to thread them through the bulkhead.

Front axle assembly

The front axle was redesigned with a wider track and Big 7 stub axles were fitted as I was not prepared to race a car of this performance on half inch king pins.  It was also set up with vertical wheels, zero Ackerman and adjustable caster.  There were stays mounted above the radius arms to take the braking torque.  It was found that the radius arms came exactly where the sump drain plug was originally fitted and so this was moved to the center detachable plat in the “Ulster” type sump, a better arrangement as this is the lowest point.   It is located by a fixed shackle pin on the offside and the two main spring leaves run through hardened steel pins with brass rollers on the near side.

The brakes are hydraulic using the very early Morris Minor slave cylinders which are aluminium and these have been sleeved with stainless steel and pressure tested.  They are much lighter than the later cast iron type and are not prone to seizing up with the limited use.

The rear axle has a new 4.4 ratio CWP and the axle cases have been re-worked by cutting and welding on Big 7 outers to accommodate the much stronger Big 7 halfshafts. The differential carrier is also Big 7 and the bearings housings have been machined out to suit.   

At Shapecraft

Having made all the body frame and hoops it went to Shapecraft in Northampton to be paneled by Clive Smart.  The Austin Maxi radiator is held in a monocoque cowl and a full undertray is fitted.  He also made a 12 gallon pressurized aluminium fuel tank with baffles and a sump to avoid surge.  The car weighs 850 lbs and with driver installed has exactly 50/50 weight distribution.  The result is a power to weight ratio of 224 bhp/ton.

Testing, and 6 races, has shown that there was too much understeer, probably due to the heavier gauge front axle beam, and the engine cut out under heavy braking.  The handling has been attended to by making and fitting much stiffer and bound rear springs to replace the original “Ulster” TT ones and a new carburetor has been made with twin float chambers, one on either side of the 40 mm choke tube.   Historians may recall that Austins had a similar problem when developing the ohc Twin Cam Racers, except that the problem was on cornering and not braking, because the carburetor faced forwards. 

The car runs on an alcohol based fuel which is 80% methanol, 10% toluene and 10% petrol.  This gives easy starting and it idles well.  A swirl pot has been fitted in the cooling system which is pressurize to 7 psi, but with the modern radiator it runs too cool and it is planned to have a thermostat in the system rather than relying on blanking off part of the radiator.  There is an oil temperature gauge fitted and it is surprising that the oil (Castrol R 40) also runs too cool in spite of the full undershield.  An oil/water intercooler is being considered.

Rather like Gordon Brettell we have “high hopes” for the 2008 season!