A very fine day indeed. It couldn’t have been better. Great cars. Great names. Wonderful company. The sun was shining for the first day
that week. Elsewhere in the world, Beijing was in the throes of a traffic jam 100 kilometers long..
     

Above: Glen Bishop. 1937 Austin 7 Wasp	Above: John Marriott. 1937 Austin 7 Racing	Above: Martin Stubbs - 1927 Austin Sports Special	Above: Edmund Taylor - MGJ - 1933

     Austin 7 Classes 2, 3, 3a, and 3b    There were 11 Austin Seven sports and racing cars at the VSCC Rob Roy Hillclimb this Winter.  Drivers included Philip Hallo, James McIndoe,
Allan Tyrrell, Martin Stubbs, John Marriott, Noel Wilcox, Bob Booth , Leonie and Bruce Maplestone, Trevor Cole and Glenn Bishop .    PVT Classes
  John Balthazar’s Wolseley Hornet of 1934, Graeme Jackson's MG TB of 1939, the Singer Owners Club president Trevor Leech' s 1935 Le Mans type
Singer Nine kept company with a bigger-engined 1935 Railton Sports in the PVT class.     Groups J and K   Doug Sterry entered his 1928 Ford A (Car No 28) in Group J.  Seven contestants competed in Group K - racing and special cars
(built between 1932 and 1939)  Drivers included Jim Russell, Ray Lewis, Ray Sprague, Liam and Robert Sales, Lyndon Davey-Milne, and Bill Redpath.
 

Above: Lindon Davey-Milne	Above: Jim & Mrs Russell	Above: Chris Terdich	Above: Doug Sterry - 1928 Ford A
Above: Kevyn Brown - 1914 Ford T	Above: MG TC Holden	Above: Terrapin	Above: Railton Sports 1935
Above: Mike Hipkins Vauxhall30/98	Above: Going up, going down	Above: Graeme Steinfort Colonel Waite's Austin7 - 1st Aust GP	Above: Trevor Cole

 
   Vintage and Pr e-war
  Competitors in the Vintage Class included no fewer than three Vauxhall 30-98 from the 1920s. Chris Terdich's Wanderer, and Mark Burns'
Alvis 12/50 of 1924 competed in Class 6...       One Air-cooled car competed - John Coffin's Robins 500 of 1952.   One Pre-war MG under 1100 cc was entered - the 1933 MG J3 of Edmond Taylor (the blue car No 3)     Invited cars were also present.  Included in this group was Car number 998: a 1965 Terrapin, driven by Ray Porteous .  I watched him returning
to the paddock after an early run up the hill. I thought that his drive was brilliant. He thought that the car was "a bit tired".  

A Terrapin is a Hillclimb car designed and built in the UK in the early sixties. It is an open wheel car that uses the Austin/Mini drive train configured as
a rear wheel drive. Sort of like the Front Wheel Drive bits of the Mini turned around the wrong way. What made the car special was that it could be built
by ordinary people, and be competitive at an affordable price.  Ray's car has a Series A. motor.  It has a tubular frame and the whole car weighs 320 odd
kilograms. Mini racing tyres are fitted. The motor is a 998 cc unit, machined and lightened.  "It was already a light  car so that much of our work has been
making it lighter still.  It's strong enough to do the job, and will spin at 7500 revs. .A full racing engine can go to 10,000.  But this one is worn out."  
"The block I have now is 45 years old.  It is an original Four that has been bored out several times.  This was usually done at about 20,000 each time. 
I still have the old original racing pistons.  If you've got the money you can buy anything for them. My road car is an 1100 and has been bored out to 60 thou."  
 

Above: Noel Wilcox -  Austin 7 Cardwell Special 1932	Above: Wolseley Hornet 1934	Above: T. Leech Le Mans Singer	Above: Robbins Special - BSA 500

  The oldest car listed was John Kent's 1914 25 hp Talbot.  However, one unlisted car -- a 1914 French car Bédélia -- turned up and created a sensation. 
To everybody's delight, and to the owner's proud satisfaction, it actually made it to the top of the hill, possibly setting a record slow time, but achieving
the task none the less.  Richard Abey's wonderful photograph records this magnificent effort.  The Bédélia was sold in some quantities on both sides
of the English Channel.  Its main UK rival was the GN.    
 

Above: Bédélia motor	Above: John Kent - 1914 Talbot	Above: Talbot 25hp 1914	Above: Crossley

 
   

Magilton Magic

                 Click here to see the Bédélia, the 1914 Talbot, Colonel Waite's Austin 7 (winner of 1st Australian Grand Prix) and otherr classics in action.      
  * For more information about the Bédélia and its fascinating history, please click on the Contact Us item ion the Main Page, and follow the procedure from there. . Please also note that The originals of Richard's images are up to 19 MB big - too big for the web page. If  you would like further information, please Contact Us.   (Wh)