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Post by weewillie on Dec 23, 2009 22:10:04 GMT 1
weewillie Junior Member member is online Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 67 Karma: 0 Re: ELTO MIDGET CARS  Today at 6:21pm, ezwalk43 wrote: Indeed my car did go to Ivan Dutton who later outbid me for the Skirrow (since which I've heard of two more in existance) but comparing workmanship between the Elto and Skirrow it is no wonder that the British Cars dominated. WEE WILLIE REPLIED « Reply #9 Today at 7:22pm » I take the two still existing Skirrows that you refer to are (1) Barry Brown's in Canada and (2) the now 'missing Meade" car. Where is it? Can anyone put a scent up to find it please?
ezwalk43 New Member member is offline Joined: May 2009 Gender: Male  Posts: 2 Karma: 0 [ Exalt | Smite ] Re: ELTO MIDGET CARS « Reply #10 Today at 7:43pm » No, Guy I sold three Dastle mk7's to a couple of years ago who also was involved in 750 Formula and Formula Vee claimed to own one and a friend of his had a second so both in UK probably towards the east
WEE WILLIE writes: Then if these two Skirrows can be traced, that would make five (if we trace the Mead Skirrow) are still around. That sounds fantastic. I hope it was okay to cut and paste the previous threads from the Elto discussion but I thought we might create another interesting new topic. It was very hard job to get this all sorted and over to here I can tell you.
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Post by haflinger121 on Dec 23, 2009 23:38:31 GMT 1
Funny, I was just thinking that as the discussion has turned from Elto's to Skirrows, it belonged somewhere else. Nice job sir.
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Post by administrator on Dec 29, 2009 21:08:43 GMT 1
MESSAGE MOVED FROM ELTO THREAD BY ADMIN.
derek New Member member is offline Joined: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 26 Karma: 0 [ Exalt | Smite ] Re: ELTO MIDGET CARS « Reply #12 Today at 10:44am »
re a third Skirrow-
Could this be the "third" extant Skirrow, ie the Meads car?
About 5 years ago I was allerted to a letter that was published in "Classic Car Weekly", it was from a John Wright living near Spalding. About the Skirrow John wrote:-
" My father brought me one 50 years ago and it is still exists only 30 miles away. I used to live near to Belle End speedway track in Whalpole Fen, South Lincs, and in the forties I believe the last two meetings included "midget" racers. The ace driver was Spike Rhiando (Canada) driving a Skirrow, so I just had to have one!....................As I was only 15 years old, I fitted mine with a Douglas 350cc twin from an ex-WD generator and removed three drive shafts as the car was so heavy it could not be pushed when on lock as it had no diffs"
I contacted John to find out more about the Skirrow, but he couldn't add any more to his letter. I didn't get a cnance to visit him as he was retiring to Cyprus to spend the rest of his days in his wife's homeland. I'm not sure who now owns the car, but I think it is somewhere near March.
Anybody got any more info on the "third" Skirrow?
Derek Bridgett Newcastle-under-Lyme
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Post by administrator on Dec 29, 2009 21:16:24 GMT 1
EDITED MESSAGE MOVED FROM ELTO THREAD BY ADMIN.
ezwalk43 New Member member is offline Joined: May 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 11 Karma: 0 [ Exalt | Smite ] Re: ELTO MIDGET CARS « Reply #13 Today at 11:38am » I believe Derek is on the right track with Skirrow location - the guy I sold my Dastles to had a scrapyard somewhere in the Peterborough area and was involved with F750 and Formula vee but also added that a friend (who I seem to remember he said was local to him) had another so maybe there are at least four, Regards, Ez
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Post by administrator on Dec 29, 2009 21:29:33 GMT 1
MESSAGE MOVED FROM ELTO THREAD BY ADMIN.derek New Member member is offline Joined: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 26 Karma: 0 [ Exalt | Smite ] Re: ELTO MIDGET CARS « Reply #12 Today at 10:44am » re a third Skirrow- Could this be the "third" extant Skirrow, ie the Meads car? About 5 years ago I was allerted to a letter that was published in "Classic Car Weekly", it was from a John Wright living near Spalding. About the Skirrow John wrote:- " My father brought me one 50 years ago and it is still exists only 30 miles away. I used to live near to Belle End speedway track in Whalpole Fen, South Lincs, and in the forties I believe the last two meetings included "midget" racers. The ace driver was Spike Rhiando (Canada) driving a Skirrow, so I just had to have one!....................As I was only 15 years old, I fitted mine with a Douglas 350cc twin from an ex-WD generator and removed three drive shafts as the car was so heavy it could not be pushed when on lock as it had no diffs" I contacted John to find out more about the Skirrow, but he couldn't add any more to his letter. I didn't get a cnance to visit him as he was retiring to Cyprus to spend the rest of his days in his wife's homeland. I'm not sure who now owns the car, but I think it is somewhere near March. Anybody got any more info on the "third" Skirrow? Derek Bridgett Newcastle-under-Lyme Roy Chiswell gave me a contact, which I'm certain is this one, about 2004. I tried to follow up without any luck at all. But the trail for more Skirrows seems to be warming up...hopefully. When I first started to hunt one down, it took me about 10 years to find it.
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Post by haflinger121 on Dec 29, 2009 21:57:34 GMT 1
Nothing wrong with your memory Eric - the Anglia pic was taken on April 11th 1976. Getting back on topic, I believe we are all thinking about the same Skirrow here. It was not actually the property of this Tony Meade who, upon re-reading the attached portion of the BSA midget web page, only took the photograph. The car apparently belonged to somebody called John Abraham of Kingswell, Cambridgeshire. Taking the "evidence" all together: The car was, at the time of the photo, in Cambs. Ez recalls it having been the subject of a (probably botched by the look of the photo) attempt to introduce another engine, maybe at the rear. I too have heard that story, that someone tried to do that to a Skirrow. Ez's recollections of dealing with a man in Peterborough who had a 'mate who had one' - Peterborough is still in Cambs. Derek thinks the car is now near March - still Cambs. Plus, this guy Wright says he'd already been "at it" by fitting a 350cc Douglas engine and taking off three of its four drive shafts. The Abraham car in those photos certainly looks like a poor old basket case that might well have been subjected to all these indignities. I realise none of this is conclusive proof, but it is all a bit coincidental, having all to do with a no-longer-complete car in or around the Cambridgeshire area. Sorry chaps, for some reason that attachment won't attach. It was only the relevant portion of that BSA website, which you can see anyway at: www.bsafwdc.co.uk/page21.phpAttachments:
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Post by ezwalk43 on Dec 29, 2009 23:03:08 GMT 1
Sounds interesting - now if I could only remember who showed me the picture of a blue / green one at a 1980's Brafield show - possibly Anne Sayell or it could have been on a mag Attachments:
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Post by ezwalk43 on Dec 29, 2009 23:05:12 GMT 1
Hey, seem to have managed to upload a photo - these are Ivan Dutton's car at the Coys auction Attachments:
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Post by ezwalk43 on Dec 31, 2009 12:20:23 GMT 1
Digging through my scrap books last night came across the Discoveries page from the Jan 1987 Classic Cars magazine highlighting that in 1984 VSCC member Mike Hill was offered a Skirrow in Northamptonshire but declined it - do we have any VSCC members who could follow this up? Also in samme article Malcolm White son of pre war racer Les restored a Skirrow and in 1968 fitted a 1200 Cortina engine and ran it in Spedeworth midgets - and from the photo I've just found that may be the car - maybe Richard, you can confirm who ran #10 with Spedeworth in '68/69?
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Post by administrator on Dec 31, 2009 12:55:26 GMT 1
If this is the ex-Les White Skirrow as driven by his son Malcolm, then I think it was sold on by him to Joey Gertler in the USA. That car is now owned by site member Barry Brown in Canada. For some years, Les White had the car on display at his car showrooms in Epsom, Surrey.
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Post by rodpashley on Dec 31, 2009 13:52:58 GMT 1
The number 10 car pictured is Graham Pearce, in his self built Midget in 1968
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Post by haflinger121 on Dec 31, 2009 14:11:19 GMT 1
Can confirm # 10 was Graham Pearce from Sutton, he held the number in both '68 and '69. Although I was about to advise Ez to knock down the size of his pix a bit, fortunately in this case the huge size enables close inspection of the cars mechanicals. They are not Skirrow wheels and Skirrows didn't use coil over suspension units either! Just my opinion, but I think somebody (Pearce?) built a Skirrow 'replica' but with modern underpinings in order that it might actually be competitive with Dastles and such.
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Post by rodpashley on Dec 31, 2009 14:27:45 GMT 1
The car is not four wheel drive anyway, personally, I didnt think it looked like a Skirrow anyway.
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Post by haflinger121 on Dec 31, 2009 14:47:07 GMT 1
No, you're quite right Rod, it really doesn't look much like one. It's really just the front end and the area just ahead of the cock pit that are kind-of reminiscent of a Skirrow.
However. Whilst looking at a programme which possibly relates to our other thread about Stirling Moss, I found a programme note (penned by Tony Bostock) which says:
"Principle name amongst the motorcycle-engined cars of yesteryear was the Skirrow, and at least one turned up in this latest era of Midget racing, with an Anglia instead of a JAP as the motive power."
Cortina, Anglia, whatever - both were fitted with 1200cc engines, so it sounds as though this DID actually happen, even if it isn't our #10 car.
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Post by mybigtoe18 on Dec 31, 2009 17:02:25 GMT 1
The where is the 'missing' Skirrow now? We are having fun aren't we?
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