T.J. Higgins & Wyndom Chow,
Good questions about the Holbay connection and the Alpine book. Holbay
is a company that specializes in aftermarket tuning parts for british car
engines. It was one of the two main companies associated with Rootes/
Sunbeam, and made kits which were incorporated in racing and special
production Alpines, mainly in the late '60s and early '70s. Probably the
most famous Holbay tuning package was the Stage 3 kit. This included
dual sidedraft Weber DCOE carbs mounted on a special intake manifold.
These kits were usually fitted to the 1725 cc engines, and a special model
of Alpine GT (the Barracuda-looking fastback) called the H120 was
produced in the early 1970s in Holbay tune. Prior to Holbay, George
Hartwell developed competition tuning packages for the factory racing
teams. It was the Hartwell modified engines that were supplied with the
Harrington LeMans Alpine fastback coupes. Jack Brabham, 3 times World
Champion Grand Prix driver and car builder, also produced tuning kits for
the Alpine in the early '60s. Brabham owned a Rootes dealership, and
was featured recommending Alpines in ads of the period. Most reports
show that the Holbay modified 1725 cc Alpine engine put out about 105
bhp. as compared to the stock engine's 92 bhp. This made the Alpine a
reliable 100+ mph. car. A Holbay tuned 1725cc Hillman Hunter sedan won
the London to Sydney rally outright in the early '70s.
The book you are probably looking for is Alpine The Classic
Sunbeam, by Chris McGovern, Gentry Books, London, 1980, 250 pp. ill.
McGovern was President of the Sunbeam Alpine Club in England, and did
a great deal of research for his book. It is the definitive work on the
Alpine, and is out of print. Another good book is Tiger, Alpine Rapier, by
Richard Langworth, Osprey Books, London, 1982, 175 pp. ill., also out of
print. I got copies through T.E. Worth, a used bookseller. All my
magazines and books are packed away, but you should be able to find
Worth in the Hemmings Motor News Literature section. He used to be
editor of Automobile Quarterly, and now sells used auto books. Tom
is a Good guy, and will help you if he can. I am uploading a 19 page
bibliography on Rootes cars, and I hope it can be made available on the
upcomming Alpines WWW page.
-------------------------------------
Name: Rex A. Funk
E-mail: rexfunk(at)ni.net
Date: 04/16/95
Time: 22:03:41
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