TEAM GRELE RACING welcome you to their site. E-mail us on : grele@clara.co.uk
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The 750MC Trophy 2008 Race Meeting Diary is currently as follows:
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5/6 April Lydden, Kent
10/11 May Cadwell, Lincolnshire
21 June Brands Hatch, Kent
19 July Donington
(24 August Silverstone, Northamptonshire)
27 September Snetterton, Norfolk
12 October Mallory Park, Leicestershire
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THE HISTORY OF THE GRAYFORD SPECIAL
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OR Meet thy Maker(s)!
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Many of us classic car enthusiasts dream of finding an old car in a barn, especially a car with an interesting history. I was lucky enough to buy such a car from an exciting and interesting era – an era that I’d hitherto known very little about. In the post-war era the 750 Motor Club was formed to provide cheap racing from standard car parts. The Austin Seven and Ford Ten were often the basis for these specials and the club was the proving grounds for many motor sport alumni, Colin Chapman and Jem Marsh to name but two. I’m sure there are plenty of historic Specials waiting to be discovered, restored and perhaps raced again by modern day "impecunious enthusiasts". Here is the story of one such vehicle.
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The story starts in 1953 when Jem Marsh bought his first car, a part built Austin Seven Special from "somewhere near Brooklands" and rebuilt it with the help of his stepfather Anton De La Rue. At the time it had an Austin Seven two-bearing crank type engine and rear axle. Following a collision between the Special and a lorry that put Jem in hospital with a broken leg and internal injuries, he decided to rebuild the car again. In the process the old front suspension was altered from a double wishbone system that used elastic bungees looped around aluminium pulleys (like the Kieft 500 rear engined car) to a wishbone system that used a transverse leaf spring. It was far more reliable according to Jem! The car also used A7 side rails to conform to the then 750 Formula regulations but it was barely legal!
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In 1954 Jem entered his first race, the 750MC three-hour relay race at Silverstone. This was as part of a four-car team, however after half an hour three cars from the team had broken down leaving Jem to drive the remaining two and a half hours alone. In doing this he set a record for the greatest number of laps driven by a single 750 car in the three-hour relay race, a record that still stands.
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Not long after the Special was sold to a dealer who kept the registration but sold the car to Stan Gray from Torquay in late 1954. Stan converted it to run with an Austin Big Seven rear axle and Ford 1172cc sidevalve engine, which was supercharged in 1956 for competition use. It was rebodied at this time and had some chassis modifications, most of which has survived. The A7 side rails were dispensed with in the winter of 1957 since they were no longer needed for an 1172 Formula car. Stan said that it would blow head gaskets in half a meeting with the supercharger engaged until they made a solid copper one which was much more reliable.
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The car was reregistered as TTT 932 at Exeter and was first driven on Easter Saturday 1955 in modified form. The next day it drove the 100 miles to the Tregwainton hillclimb, competed at the event and then was driven back – all with no problems! The car had a successful career with Stan and with the supercharger running it gave the cars in the two-litre class a run for their money. Stan remembers that the Special handled very nicely and that it was light at 6 ½ cwt (325kg).
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The car was sold to Vic Hood from Petersfinger, Salisbury in 1962 and Vic raced it first at the October 1962 meeting at Wiscombe Park. Vic fitted the Ford split beam front suspension and the BMC A35 rear axle, presumably to make the most of the new wheels and tyres that were becoming available at the time. Vic painted the car red and changed the nosecone to the oval one that remains on the car.
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The car was bought from Vic by Geoffrey Gook from Southampton in October 1965 and was it was co-driven with his neighbour Derek Stevens, who provided the mechanical know-how. They painted the car in the blue and yellow livery that it still runs with. They ran the 1172 engine, now without supercharger, for four seasons and sold the engine to the 'hot dog man' at Wiscombe Park at the end of the last race of that season! Then began the hunt for it's replacement over the winter. A Coventry Climax FWA 1098cc pump engine was chosen due to Derek's familiarity with them though his work. Once they had tuned it from standard to Stage 2 or 3 it would've produced between 80 and 90bhp. This was mated to an MG Midget 4 speed close ratio gearbox. Geoffrey and Derek hillclimbed the car with the BARC and the West Hants & Dorset Car Club between 1966 and 1974 where it won many fastest time of the day (FTD) and had many class victories. Derek remembered that the car was good to drive but that it became twitchy at the limits meaning that one had to drive with precision. At a testing session at Goodwood one year it averaged over 80mph around the circuit.
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The car was sold in 1983 to Tony Mantle who removed the Coventry Climax engine for another project, and then to Graham Capel who wanted the front suspension for one of his projects. The remains of the car were bought by Alvin and Alaster Smith in October 1985 with the intention of rebuilding it for a then 17 year old Alaster to use. However, apart from Alvin’s research on the history, the project was never really started. So in Easter 2000 I bought the car in bits after looking at the chassis in a garage and then the nose and boot in a cellar; not quite a barn but nearly! Looking at the history that Alvin had unearthed clinched the deal and with my brother Nic, I set about restoring the car. We had some help and lots of advice from Lotus and Specials expert Tony Weale.
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We decided to reinstate the Ford split beam front axle using historic parts as the pick up points remained. It would have been nice to go back to the original wishbones and transverse spring setup but we had no photos or diagrams to go on. We also replaced a couple of the upper tubes from the front as they were misaligned, of poorer quality and from a later time. It’s easier to make suspension components work if they are symmetrical and require less modification in the first place rather than compensating for and potentially compounding problems. This has meant that, after making some tweeks to the suspension ride height (going from negative camber to zero camber) to lessen the sharp turn in that we experienced early on and raising the front tyre pressures to allow the front tyres to wash out a little more, we now have a neutral handling car that can be balanced easily whilst cornering.
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We chose to fit a Reliant 748cc engine in accordance with the 750 Trophy regulations as we have a very helpful Reliant garage nearby in Redhill. It seemed that the lower weight, reliability and similar power output (stock Reliant compared with a tuned A7) of the more modern design would be appropriate for our first year of motorsport. We had some tuning issues namely too much ignition advance which meant we ran out of steam on the straights and this also led to the engine running too hot and literally pouring out steam on the straights! Once we sorted these problems out the engine has performed better and cooler. I am still tempted to fit a Ford 1172 sidevalve engine however.
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We tried to restore the car sympathetically and aimed to use all the parts that had survived and where we were unable to we tried to make parts as they would have been at that time. The exceptions to this are the electric fuel pump (the mechanical one fouled the steering column) and the rollbar that is fully removable as we wanted to keep our heads intact in the event of a roll! Our insistence not to repaint the car has led to comments such as "it looks like a chicken shed" made by one scrutineer, however we prefer to call it the patina of age!!!
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The car was completed in 18 months and has run reliably for a whole season in the 750 Trophy with Nic and I sharing the drives. We also reregistered the car for road use and the DVLA gave us an age-related plate as TTT 932 had been kept by Geoffrey Gook. Nic and I have thoroughly enjoyed rebuilding this historic vehicle and then racing it with the 750 MC. We have joined an excellent club and found the 750 Trophy competitors to be very friendly and helpful. It is a shame that many of the Austin Seven Specials have migrated to the Triple Challenge as it means we have fewer cars of similar performance to race with, however those that remain are excellent company. Maybe you’ll come back this year…?
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Nic and I were lucky enough to meet both Jem Marsh and Stan Gray in October 2003 at Jem’s house in Wiltshire to chat about their reminiscences of the car and racing life. It was an interesting and enlightening meeting as we could fill in some holes in the history and finally answer some questions about the car’s evolution. How many people are able to do that with a fifty-year-old car?
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Nic's Race Report for Snetterton October 2002
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So the big day arrived....
Paul and I woke up cold in our motorhome, erm make that the back of a Volvo Estate, in the paddock of Snetterton Race Circuit. Gingerly, we jumped out the car and then realised that the ice that was on top of the car may have contributed to the cold.
Thankfully, some of our fellow competitors were far better prepared and friendly, so we were invited into a caravan that felt like it was at boiling point and fed liberally with tea and toast..
The busy bit of the morning was upon us as I had to sign in for the race, attend a new drivers briefing. Paul dealt with the scrutineering of the car (like a race MOT) and then we had twenty minutes before the practice. I felt quite nervous, especially as the track was still wet from the evening before's rain.
Then it was down to the assembly area, where we lined up and the 27 cars that were to be in our race went out one by one. As it was still quite wet, I was taking it easy (at least in Audi terms) but at the second corner, the car got out of shape, I corrected, nothing happened, I corrected some more, by which time the car had responsed to the first correction and I ended up heading sideways/backwards across the track. A deep breath.. I let the rest of the cars that were behind me get past, selected first and headed off. I didn't have any more incidents, and was beginning to get the hang of it when the chequered flag was shown and back to the pits I went.
Half an hour later, still grinning, I headed to race control to check out the position that I would be on the grid. Well 25th out of 27 at least wasn't last and we had a respectable average speed of 50mph. This more so in the fact that this was the first time I had driven the car at more that 20 miles an hour.
A few hours off gave a chance to check the car over, to have a bite to eat and realise that somethings that needed fixing on the car just weren't going to happen and I just had to live with them.
About 40 minutes before the race the fan club arrived, that was a welcome sight. Thanks to every one who did make it up, it was great to see you all. Twenty minutes to go I headed down to the assembly area in the special.
The tension was rising, though I was feeling fairly calm about the race. Just as I was about to head out to the grid, the car stalled and was very difficult to restart. I got to the grid and just as I was being issued into place the car stalled again. It was harder to restart than before.
All the cars were in place, the 10 second board was shown. I couldn't hear my heartbeat or the engine as the other cars revs rose, I kept one eye on the rev counter the other on the lights at the front of the grid. The 5 second board was shown and then the red lights came on.
The lights changed and all mayhem took place, the plumes of engine and tyre smoke were such that I could no longer see the front cars. I took off, soon to be passed by one of the cars behind that had a flyer of a start. Second gear. Straight in front of me was a car that had stalled on the grid, the driver had both hands in the air and I swerved to get between him and the pit wall. Third gear, I was catching the car that had passed me. Fourth gear, engine splutters. I try third gear, then second, the car comes to a halt. It won't restart and I try switching everything off, then back on to see if I've knocked something by mistake. Unfortunately not. I look in the rear view mirror to see the leaders coming round. I decided the game was up, leapt out the car to watch the rest of the race from a great vantage point on the first corner.
Finally, once the race is over I get to do the whole circuit towed by one of the breakdown trucks. I get to wave at our fan club on the last corner and get towed right up to the paddock. Everyone has assembled to pass on condolences including some of our fellow racers. I feel disappointed, but I just remember the roar of the engines, the smell of Castrol R and burning rubber on the startline, and I just can't wait to do it all again next year..
The hospitality budget of Team Grele Racing stretched to a pint in a local pub for the fan club, and after a hearty meal we headed homewards, cheery, thinking of the improvements we could make on the Special.
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Nic's Race Report for Donington 11th May 2003
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We woke up at 4.45 Sunday morning to a cloudless sky and hoped it would stay that way. By the time we'd sorted out the trailer and Special it was 5.45 and time to head to Donington Park. The journey was uneventful and thankfully shorter than expected at just on 3 hours.
I left Paul and Beatriz to sign on at Race Control and have my 'first time at the circuit' briefing. This consisted mostly of 'pray it doesn't rain as the circuit is covered in kerosene from the nearby East Midlands Airport and it'll be really slippery'. I left praying it wasn't going to rain.
After the car was unpacked and given a little bit of warm up time, it was off to scrutineering, where a very friendly official looked the car over and after a few pleasantries, advised me to be very careful if it rained. A sense of portent was rising, as the wind got stronger and the clouds got darker. 11.15, I lined up for practice with the other 750 Trophy cars and a mean bunch of 1960's Formula 3 cars, that made so much noise at times I had to look at the rev counter to check my engine was still running...
Donington is quite an impressive track with an impressive height change as the circuit passes through a natural bowl, wiggling on it's way down there and wiggling just as much on the way back. I was gently learning the track and getting faster each lap. On lap 5, I noticed steam pouring out the side of the engine eased back and cruised round to the pits.
A leisurely lunch was digested whilst we contemplated the problem, as we diagnosed a water pipe was leaking and also that the engine had been dangerously close to running out of water. After a run around the paddock, some useful advice and offers of different pieces of hose from our fellow competitors we used the racing staple - tank tape - to wrap around the hose. A short test on the public roads made us confident that we could get through the race OK. The rain clouds gathered ominously but as a general rule passed to the east of the circuit, I kept praying..
At 4.15 I was getting nervous again which meant it was time to don helmet and line up in the assembly area. I was to be last but one on the grid, which was good in one way - I only had to look forward on the grid! A sensible start was had and I lined up behind Mike Whitby's Austin 7 special for the first corner. I followed his line at a sensible distance to gauge how he was doing and whether my lines in practice were better. I found I was stronger up the hills than he was but he had a higher top speed on the straights. By lap 2, I was feeling confident, when I looked over my shoulder to see if any of the fast F3 cars were coming round, they weren't but I noticed spots of water on the roll bar. It wasn't rain but the hose that we had fixed with tape leaking again. Checking the water temperature gauge which was rising, I decided to use 4th gear instead of third, to keep the revs low and consequently the engine cooler. This had an effect on performance and gradually Mike kept pulling away.
I had fun circulating on my own (until the F3 cars came whizzing by) seeing how late I could brake into corners and generally getting a good feeling for the car. All of a sudden I come round the last corner to see the two cars that had just overtaken me pull in the pits and the chequered flag was out. I instinctively followed them into the pits, thinking I don't remember seeing the chequered flag last time round.. Then it occurred to me that maybe they were finishing their warm down lap before I had crossed the finish line.. Doh!!
So I went to get my racing licence back and after a little appeal to the Clerk of the Course I came away with a DNF (Did not finish) as I missed the chequered flag by 100 yards...
Mildly upsetting but I'll get over it.
There's always next time..
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Nic's Race Report for Pembrey, South Wales 26th & 27th July 2003.
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After a fairly uneventful and surprisingly quick trip to Pembrey, which is about 20 minutes north-west of Swansea. B and I arrived about 10.30 and the advanced party had already set up tents in the slightly flooded 'Paddock Two'. In contrast 'Paddock One' which was in the middle of the race track, was closer to Paddy Field than Paddock. It had obviously been raining some, before we got there.
I was extremely glad that our tents were set up, so after the obligatory Gin and Tonic, we settled down to sleep. I remember waking up at about 4am to hear the rain falling, then hearing the same about 6, 6.30, 8 and 8.30, by which time I had steeled myself into not caring about the rain.
After a quick walk to Paddock One and signing on at Race Admin, I was beginning to think that it may have been better to bring a small boat rather than a car to the circuit!
Luckily our practice time was fairly late and as the weather improved, so did our spirits and our chances of having a vaguely dry surface to race on.
Scrutineering passed uneventfully and we chatted with the marshals and other drivers to pass the time. One worrying piece of advice from the marshals had been 'Don't come off on the main straight, it's flooded and you'll find the car sinking two or three foot once it comes to a rest'...
The time to start the practice session came. I felt slightly calmer about this moment than I have the last two times, mostly due to the fact there were only 9 cars racing, rather than the 25 - 30 I've been used to.
I headed out gently to get an idea of the track, trying to follow the other cars in front, so I could get an idea of the lines I needed to take. In my care, everybody streamed away from me and I was left following the dry line through the corners to learn where to place myself on the track. My initial issues with a slightly wet track, which had mostly come due to a spin on the second corner at Snetterton, soon gave way to larger and larger amounts of confidence as the track seemed far more grippy than the Norfolk track.
As the fast guys started to lap me, I tried to follow them for as far as possible to get more experience. I was beginning to enjoy the track..
All of a sudden the chequered flag was out and it was time to come in and find out how the practice session had gone. Thankfully the exit for the track was after the Start/Finish line so no Donington type mess-ups could be made!
About 40 minutes later and I got the results of practice I was about 2 seconds a lap slower Mike Whitby, our nearest competitor. I wasn't unduly worried as I hadn't been trying to go too fast in practice, but I was worried he would slip away from us in the race. I was determined not to let that happen.
The race was starting at about 4.30, so at about 4.10 the 9 racers went to the assembly area to focus on things ahead. We were called round to the start/finish line. In very quick succession, the 2 minute, 1 minute, 30 second and 5 second board were shown. The red lights went on, the revs rose, green light, and we were off. I made a reasonable start and as we headed to the first corner, which was a hairpin, I decided caution was the best bet and slotted in behind Mike, in last place. The track was dry everywhere now which gave me loads more confidence and I decided to stick to Mike's tail and try not to lose him. It turned out he was faster over the straighter sections but I was catching in him in the corners.
On lap three, just after the hairpin, I saw David Whetton facing the wrong way in the grass and thought well that's one place made up. With the yellow flags, I lost a little bit of time to Mike who was still just ahead of me and made a real effort to push on. 2 laps later, I had a good run on Mike onto the fast section and got along side him. With a sharper corner coming up, and not wanting to push Mike off the track (as he wasn't yielding) I left off slightly and he went around the outside. I felt I could do the same again though, and two laps further on, I did the same, but with the same results..
All of a sudden the chequered flag appeared and I crossed the line to finish my first race. I was so happy, not only that I had challenged Mike, came in just 0.9 seconds after him, the car hadn't overheated (well, it was fairly cool), I was in 6th place, but mostly due to having actually finished!
The results came out later on and I was just 0.01 seconds behind Mike's fastest lap. So there was the challenge for Sunday's race to beat his fastest lap.
Saturday night was spent in Camarthen, a quiet meal and back home early. The outdoor life and excitement had worn us all out.
Sunday morning arrived with a clear blue sky and it looked as though the meteorologists were wrong. After a bite to eat at the track cafeteria, it was time to put my romper suit back on and head towards Paddock One where the other guys were lined up.
Unfortunately, one guy had some fairly major problems and was unable to start the day. As we lined up on the grid, we took our grid slots from the result I had two people behind me who hadn't finished Saturday's race. I knew they were much faster than me so I decided to take to the right, let them through and sit on their tails and try and pass Mike (who started 5th) on the run to the first corner.
My plan half worked, in the fact I let them by and sat on one of their tails, unfortunately he missed a gear, so I had to swerve to avoid him, losing time.
I slotted in behind Mike and so gave him big views of me in the rear view mirror. On lap 3, I tried the same move on Saturday, again without success, but I was getting faster on the section where he was fast and knew I could get by.
As we got close to the hairpin there were waved yellow flags and I could see a rather second hand looking Lotus Six in the tyre wall. We slowed down accordingly and by the time we got to the other side of the circuit the 'Safety Car' flags were out. 5 laps were lost just circulating as we could see John, the driver in the Lotus Six get taken away in the ambulance, and the car removed from the tyre barrier. With only two laps left at the end, I never managed to mount a fresh challenge on Mike, especially since the hotter weather meant that the car was running a bit too hot for my liking.
I finished the second race 6th as well, and was extremely pleased to have beaten Mike's fastest lap by 0.01 seconds!
Hearty congratulations all round, mixed with some concern over John who had had the accident. He was OK but had been taken to hospital for a couple of checks on his chest.
We loaded up the car and prayed for a jam-free journey home.
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