BMW Hartga 735i
BMW 2002
1962 SUNBEAM ALPINE
My partners at Starburst Racing Enterprises, Bob and Marta Leonard and I picked up this car about the time I sold the Sprite. It was supposed to be for the two West Coast IMSA, BFG Radial series races. We didn't get it together in time so converted it to SCCA B Sedan. Our first outing was at Riverside in Southern California for a combined regional/national. Unfortunately the motor exploded during my race and Marta never got to drive it. That was my last race for about 25 years.
Austin Healey 100-4
Lotus Elan S3 Coupe
With no racing I restored/refurbished a number of cars between '75 and '94.
This car had an engine compartment fire and fried wiring harness, all the way to the ignition switch.
Lotus Super Seven
Cars
Austin Healey Sprite Mk 1
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BMW 633i
Lotus Seven America
Laguna Seca, 2015
Toyota Corolla SCCA B Sedan
The car had a blown (as in a big hole in the side), improper, cross flow Ford 1600 engine. We built a proper non cross flow, starting out with about 90 HP at the rear wheels. 11 years later and with a lot of development, the motor now puts out about165 HP, 140 HP at the wheels. Check out the "one lap" video links on the left side of the page. I sold this car in 2020 and it is now in Rhode Island.
I purchased a wrecked, 1983 733i for parts, totally disassembled both cars and built our, one of a kind, 1979-80-83-89, BMW 735i. BMW Movie
My infatuation with cars started in 1961 when I saw a white, Austin Healey 100-4, on a used car lot in Youngstown Ohio. Needless to say, and with much chagrin on my parents part, I bought it. Thus starts the saga that continues to this day.
Links
Sprite Movie
Restorations
Lotus 1099 the Movie
BMW Movie
ELAN Movie
ALPINE Movie
Full Song at Sonoma
Seattle Race Lap
Portland Race Lap
Coronado Race Laps
Thunder Hill Race Lap
Laguna Seca Race Lap
Here's a link to a video I made from slides I took at Sebring in 1961, coupled with the LP, "Sounds of Sebring" from Riverside Records.
Sebring 1961
I found this car at a neighbors in November of 2019. It hadn't been driven for about 15 years and had water from a blown head gasket in the number one cylinder. A it turned out, the car wasn't even a good parts car. After disassembly the chassis went for acid dipping in Eugene Oregon. I refurbished each component as it came off and then reinstalled to the heavily repaired unibody. A brand new, still in the crate, 1725cc short block and a remanufactured head comprises the engine. It's now almost three years later and finally about finished.
Since 1961 I had always wanted to own a Lotus Seven. We found this car in Hollister, CA, in 1998, under a plum tree and full of water. It only had 10,000 miles on the odometer but, as you can see, a bit for wear. It took 10 years to restore and was sold in the Fall of 2016 to a fellow in Florida. The car now resides in Austria.
One that became a "keeper" was our 1980, BMW 735. This car started life as a Euro 728i, with windup windows, cloth interior, no air, door locks, or sunroof. It came into the country sans drive train with four other vehicles. The importers idea was to install a diesel and resell. This particular car got a 3.0 gas motor out of a '76, 630csi and a worn out 4 speed. I ended up with it as part of a trade for a '79 633i I rebuilt from a wreck and fire. Restorations
The Healey was a 1955, with a four banger from an English tractor. While I had it, I had a roll bar built, painted the car Silver, and hand made a wood rim steering wheel, plexi-glas wind screen and a tow bar bracket (so we would look cool towing to events) I competed in Field Trials, Hill Climbs and an occasional Gymkanna.
We found the Elan in Southern Ca in 2002. A real basket case. The Seven A was still in limbo but the Super Seven needed only a motor to get on the track, so it seemed a good idea.
The Elan had been in a accident and the back end had nearly been broken off. It came with coupe and roadster bodies, the chassis and all the bits and pieces in boxes.
The project didn't get under way till Spring of 2009. It's a finished race car now. The break in and tune session was June 30, 2014. The results: 153hp at the rear wheels or approximately 175 at the flywheel. The car sold at auction in 2016 and now is in Portugal.
Jim Needham and I found this car in a mud puddle in Hampton, VA in the winter of 1963. We used the base hobby shop to make it into a "school" car. Roll bar, paint, a flat towing device, that was about all. It did get me though SCCA driving school before we were transfered to the Philippines. After our tour over there, Jim went to Japan (where he raced a Honda 800 sports car) so I inherited the Sprite. I first raced in Ohio then moved to the West coast after leaving the Air Force. My first win came at Laguna Seca where the first five cars were impounded and asked to drop their oil pans to see about illegal engine components. The four after me all admitted to one infraction or another. Mine, the winner, was the only legal car, and thus made my reputation with the SCCA.
Over the years, 1969-1974 I had many victorys and lap records at Seattle, Sears Point, Laguna Seca and Holtville. In '73 I qualified for the National Championships at Road Atlanta and finished a creditable 7th out of a field of the best Sprites in the country.
I believe the only parts left from the picture above and the one below were the dash panel and a few suspension bits. Kind of like the "My Fathers Hammer" story. "I only changed the handle twice and the head once, but it's still my fathers hammer" Sprite Movie
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