To All:
Last Friday, I went to Banff (an 80 minute trip in the “adult” car) to
meet competitors in the “Around The World In 80 Days Rally” { our local
(Calgary) vintage sportscar club struck a badge for contestants and
volunteered assistance for anyone who needed it.}.
I contacted the overall leaders, since they were driving a car (68
Hillman Hunter) that I might be able to supply parts for. Freddie and
Janet Giles, who are a wonderfully competent couple, ( Janet assured me
that they could change a tire as a team in under three minutes with 4
bolt hubs). They told me that at present , they were OK with the parts
they had brought. I then asked if they would like meeting members of the
Rootes lists that had parts (or would be able to locate them) along the
way, and they said they would appreciate this.
So, anyone along the route( check at http//www.carnet.co.uk/rallyoffice/
for maps, route descriptions and location of stops and rest days) who
wants to see some great cars and meet some nice people, look at the
Banff to Newark section and pick your place.
(The route sort of parallels the border to Niagara Falls, so Canadians
have a good chance to see them too. Two Canadians in a 1938 Packard
touring sedan are leading the Vintageant competitors!)
The Hunter is surprisingly standard (has been voted the ugliest car in
the race but I think the Citroen 2CV should have that title!) and is not
using a Holbay engine as reported. It is a replica of a previous London
to Peking rally winner on the outside and under the hood is the Rootes
1725 with dual Strombergs ( it has been detuned a bit with a cam grind
to get maximum torque between 2000-2500 rpm, and timing is partially
controlled from the driver’s seat to allow for bad or low octane gas)
My favorite car was, of course, the 1933 Talbot AV 105 Alpine driven by
William and Caroline Balfour, which has the same Talbot hound on the
radiator grill as your Alpine! There the resemblance ends, since the
massive brake drums are 4” larger than series Alpine wheels! They have
driven this car in the open up to Banff and will remain “topless” to
London since they lost their “hood” on the way to Shelby. Other rare
sights were the 1929 Bentley Speed Six (reported as being worth a cool
$500,000), and the 1934 Lagonda M45 (looks like a million in style).
I would highly recommend this experience to any one, since most of these
cars would never be seen outside a museum, let alone on the road in a
fairly challenging rally around the world. Also, the people are really
nice, even though most of us don't run in the same social class (entry
and expenses are rumored to be about $130,000 US if you DON'T have any
trouble and more if you do)
For example, Claude Picasso (yes, the artist's son) failed to keep the
rubber side down yesterday in his '64 Mercedes 230 SL and though both he
and his co-driver are ok, their car no longer looks as sleek. This was
the second off road experience of a bad day, but the Hillman still leads
leaving Bozeman, Montana! They have an easy drive through Yellowstone
today and leave from Billings tomorrow to Rapid City, S.D.
Ron Tebo
(Would someone forward this to the Hillman list, since I don't seem to
have the right address?)
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