Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

News about this year's Pistons & Props:

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GT40 CELEBRATIONS SET TO HIT THE RUNWAY AT FOOTMAN JAMES SYWELL CLASSIC - PISTONS AND PROPS.

A parade of Ford GT40s will take to the ‘Racing Runway’ at this year’s Footman James Sywell Classic – Pistons and Props motoring festival, celebrating 50 years since the first prototype examples were announced and the iconic marque competed at Le Mans for the first time.

Held at Northamptonshire’s Sywell Aerodrome on Sat 27th and Sun 28th September, the GT40 Enthusiasts Club will lead the celebrations as a collection of GT40s power up the mile-long runway, which is transformed into a demonstration circuit with a right hand bend, long straight with midway chicane and 180 degree hairpin before a flying finish.

Amongst the examples in action will be Dave Garner’s GT40 which was built by Riccardo Engineering as its demonstrator as they were looking to offer a GT40 build service. However the car took two years to build and so was sold. The buyer enjoyed using the car for a number of years before ill health stopped him driving it and it sat in his garage for a few years.

Dave bought the car three years ago and returned it to road and track use. After suffering engine problems during a race at Val du Vienne circuit in France resulted in a full engine rebuild and the opportunity for some modifications to increase power to 355bhp from the Ford 302 engine. The car has run at a number of UK track, hill climb and drag racing events, in France at LeMans, Pau Arnos, Nogaro, and Val du Vienne, as well as at Spa in Belgium.

Paul Brameld’s car is a replica of the Ford GT40 that won the Le Mans 24 Hour Race four years in a row from 1966 to 1969. Built and registered in France in 1995, the car has undergone significant improvements and the engine has been uprated. The car regularly visits the Le Mans Classic and is regularly used on the full circuit as well as racing at Magny-Cours, the Nurburgring on the Nordschleife and F1 Circuit, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Fay de Bretagne, an old test tract for the French supercar the Venturi.

Peter Thompson’s car is a one-off development of the GT40 concept by a racecar manufacturer trying to improve on the original. To that end it has a mkIV type lightweight bonded honeycomb aluminum chassis, improved suspension layout, 17" Mag wheels etc, although retaining the basic 60's technology, apart from a more modern Porsche gearbox.
It was built purely as a race car, so since acquiring the rolling chassis 15 years ago, Peter has modified it to be useable as a road car also, building and installing a 7litre Ford V8, built around an original 60's block.

The GT40s will be joined by a mix of Formula 1, Group B and C race cars, as well as historic single seaters and saloons.

As well as high-octane motorsport on the ‘Racing Runway’, Hot Rods and Classic Motorcycles will take to the ‘Sprint Strip’ for some straight sprints and dragster burn outs. Some of the UK’s best classic motoring clubs join the fun with fantastic displays of their favourite marques ranging from the ‘best of British’ to American muscle.

There is double the line-up of aerial displays for 2014, with four amazing aerial displays each day from aerobatic and formation teams such as The Blades, the Yakovlevs Display team, the Great War Display’s WW1 dog fight, the Spitfire, the Swordfish, and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight team. Plus more planes will be brought out of the darkness of the hangars into the sunshine for static display.

Back on the ground there is live music from Elle and the Pocket Belles and rockabilly band The Houndogs, swing dance lessons, the Wall of Death and a Vintage Village full of retro and classic traders.

Adult tickets for Sywell Classic are from £14 when booked in advance, with children aged 5-15 from £5 with free entrance for those under 5 years old. There are also family tickets and camping available with live entertainment from The Dakotas on Saturday evening. Car parking is free.

The show is open from 10am until 6pm on Saturday, 10am until 5pm on Sunday. To book tickets and for the latest updates, visit www.sywellclassic.com.
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