Grant V
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Another excerpt from the old man's memoir:
†Louis Jacobsz returned from the UK where he had been driving in sports car races with a Lotus 11. He had purchased a Maserati A6GCS from an American serviceman to bring to SA. This was the actual car which the Countess Maria de Fillipis had raced in Italy. This lady went on to race Maserati 250F in Formula 1. Louis planned to race this car in the Nine Hour race and other events for which the Maser qualified before returning to England. He invited me to share the drive in the endurance race.
Louis entered the Maser in the Krugersdorp Hillclimb, for which it was totally unsuited. The car had a relatively high final drive, with a very high first gear, and as is common with a racing car with four speeds, a large gap between 1st and 2nd gears. As a consequence, was not competitive at all, but the bellowing six cylinder exhaust note promised much in the future.
A week before the Nine Hour, we took the car to the circuit for me to have some practice, as I had not driven it yet. This car was an absolute revelation to me. It was a full blown racing car in every aspect, never mind that it was a two-seater. One sat upright, so as better to be able to have sufficient leverage to operate the clutch pedal with its miniscule movement to the multi-plate clutch pack. So also the small movement on the brake pedal to the very efficient extra-large drum brakes. The four speed non- synchromesh gear box was a delight with the small movement of the short lever. As mentioned earlier, 1st gear had a high ratio, with a large gap to second gear, where one just had to pause to engage 2nd. The next two gears were ultra close, so as fast as one could double declutch, so the gear would notch in. The car was easy to place in the corners as one could see the body bulges above the front wheels.
The reason for me coming to terms with the “crash†type gearbox was that I had cut my driving teeth on John Linley's PA MG, which also was equipped with a non-synchromesh box.
After ten exploratory laps, I already understood the soul of the car and was completely at home. When I pulled into the pits and removed my crash hat, I was quite deaf from the shriek of the exhaust which exited just under the driver's door. My hearing returned after twenty four hours. Apparently the American serviceman, who purchased the A6GCS from the factory in Italy, did 20 laps on the Modena circuit after taking delivery. When he came into the pits, he was bleeding from the left ear with a ruptured eardrum from the exhaust noise! The next time I drove the car I used earplugs.
As a run up to the endurance race, the motoring press made much of the Maserati being one of the favourites to win on distance with the Porsche RS and Dart Alfa the main contenders. Gouws/Love [Porsche Carrera] and Fergusson/Carrington [Dart/Climax] were considered contenders if the leading cars should falter.
At the le Mans start the Maserati was the first to move, but due to having to “clear it's throat†and get the revs up to 3000rpm before there is any power, coupled to the high 1ST gear, it was flooded by other quicker starting cars and was in the middle of the pack into the 1st corner, with Louis at the wheel. After 10 laps the Dart Alfa with Bosman driving was the fastest car on the circuit and moved into first place after passing the Gouws/Love Porsche Carrera. Louis coasted the Maserati into the pits and lost about eight minutes while a blown fuse in the fuel pump circuit was located. The faster cars were in trouble after about two hours. The Porsche RS was stationary for some time while work on the transmission was being attended to. The Alfa Dart was in and out with a series of niggling problems to rectify, finally retiring when the back plates of the brake pads welded themselves to the brake discs.
The Maser was now in 2nd position with me driving and really enjoying the race. Soon I felt the resistance on the clutch pedal becoming slack. I realised that the withdrawal mechanism on the clutch was worn out, because the clutch was not slipping. This did not affect my lap times, as using the clutch during gear changes was but a formality and not essential with the crash box.
We were gaining on the Porsche Carrera which was in the lead. I now started worrying how we were going to get the Maser started when I had to hand over to Louis. This car with the bellowing exhaust, which one could hear all around the circuit, was running like a train. Apart from the little clutch problem, not even the brake pedal showed any signs of extra movement. This was a real endurance racer, and I was filled with joy and admiration for it.
When I was called in to refuel and hand over to Louis, I said that the clutch could not be disengaged. As soon as refuelling was completed, two mechanics and I would push the car while he cranked the starter in first gear.
This was a long shot, but there was no alternative. As soon as refuelling was completed, I called “Shove!†“Start!†I screamed into Louis' ear. We pushed and Louis cranked the starter. The car went chug-chug-chug all the way down the pits to the pit exit. I screamed a final “Push!†as we got to the exit. Louis went chug-chug-chugging off into the darkness, on an occasional one or two cylinders as we collapsed and willed the other cylinders to chime in. Fortunately, it was slightly down hill and we could hear the odd cylinder coming in to fire it's effort as we willed them all to fire. Slowly, but so slowly all the cylinders started to fire, and as the car gathered speed, the engine note slowly rose up until at last, the familiar exhaust scream that we were waiting for, heralded that all was well again.
As darkness fell, the leading Porsche Carrera had a slower car push him off line and caused the Porsche to deviate into the veld and into a ditch. All this unscheduled off-roading damaged two wheels and the steering, and the leading car was out of the running.
Louis and the Maserati were now in the lead with about two hours to go to the finish. But before the pits could signal him that we were now well in the lead and that he could slow down, the same slow car which had put the Porsche in the veld, swung in front of Louis as he came up to pass. Louis went off the road and into a drainage ditch, leaping in the darkness until the car could be stopped.
Louis walked out of the darkness into the pits and announced that it was no good trying to get the car back. He believed that after those mighty leaps which the car had performed that it's back was broken. We were all silent and stunned with disappointment.
In the lead, with two hours to go with a brilliant car, and now we were out. What abject disappointment for all. When Louis assessed that the Maser's back was broken, that judgement was made from the position of racing a delicate Lotus 11 in England for a year.
The irony of it all was that the sturdy Maserati chassis had taken all that punishment with aplomb. Not even the wheels were bent. Except for the lights which had fallen out, the car could have continued in the race. In fact, the car was driven home the next day.
The result of the Nine Hour race was that the tortoise won after all the hares had failed. 1. Dart/Climax [Chris Fergusson and Hugh Carrington]. 2.Porsche Super [Sarel van der Merwe and Willem van Heerden]. 3.MGA Twin Cam [George Mennie and Dave Wright.]â€
How the A6GCS ended up as a Maserati-Chev:
“At the beginning of 1959, Neville (Austin) decided that his Healey 6 was never going to have enough power to satisfy. To rectify this situation, he bought a V8 Chevrolet engine from a scrap yard. He stripped and rebuilt it with a 1956 high torque cam and solid valve lifters. He topped the motor off with a three carburettor inlet manifold from the United States. An adapter plate was made to fit the four speed Healey gearbox to the motor. Unfortunately, he now ran out of money and had to settle for three ex-army Ford carbs. After the Chevvy motor went in and was sorted, the Healey was a flier but lacked road holding and handling.
While I was fettling the Ferrari (Scuderia Lupini Ferrari MM entered at 1960 SA Grand Prix in East London and Cape Town), Neville towed Jake [as Louis was called] to Bulawayo to race the Maser, with the Healey-Chev. The tow rope started being about four metres long. By the time they got to Bulawayo, it was half a metre long!
Unfortunately, during the race, the Maser stripped the oil pump drive and ran the bearings. The team fashioned an “A†bracket at Johnny Love's workshop and towed the Maser back in some style.
During the weekend, the plot was hatched to transplant the Chev motor from the Healey into the Maserati. Once the change-over was done, they would race it at the coming races at East London and Cape Town. In the short time available, this was not seen as a daunting task by the great Austin and his buddy, Jake. When they returned to Pretoria, they submitted entries to the two venues. Before either had turned a spanner.
That the Maserati Chev was ready in time and that the car got to East London and Cape Town in time, is a saga on its own. Never mind that it started and finished strongly in both events.â€
†Louis Jacobsz returned from the UK where he had been driving in sports car races with a Lotus 11. He had purchased a Maserati A6GCS from an American serviceman to bring to SA. This was the actual car which the Countess Maria de Fillipis had raced in Italy. This lady went on to race Maserati 250F in Formula 1. Louis planned to race this car in the Nine Hour race and other events for which the Maser qualified before returning to England. He invited me to share the drive in the endurance race.
Louis entered the Maser in the Krugersdorp Hillclimb, for which it was totally unsuited. The car had a relatively high final drive, with a very high first gear, and as is common with a racing car with four speeds, a large gap between 1st and 2nd gears. As a consequence, was not competitive at all, but the bellowing six cylinder exhaust note promised much in the future.
A week before the Nine Hour, we took the car to the circuit for me to have some practice, as I had not driven it yet. This car was an absolute revelation to me. It was a full blown racing car in every aspect, never mind that it was a two-seater. One sat upright, so as better to be able to have sufficient leverage to operate the clutch pedal with its miniscule movement to the multi-plate clutch pack. So also the small movement on the brake pedal to the very efficient extra-large drum brakes. The four speed non- synchromesh gear box was a delight with the small movement of the short lever. As mentioned earlier, 1st gear had a high ratio, with a large gap to second gear, where one just had to pause to engage 2nd. The next two gears were ultra close, so as fast as one could double declutch, so the gear would notch in. The car was easy to place in the corners as one could see the body bulges above the front wheels.
The reason for me coming to terms with the “crash†type gearbox was that I had cut my driving teeth on John Linley's PA MG, which also was equipped with a non-synchromesh box.
After ten exploratory laps, I already understood the soul of the car and was completely at home. When I pulled into the pits and removed my crash hat, I was quite deaf from the shriek of the exhaust which exited just under the driver's door. My hearing returned after twenty four hours. Apparently the American serviceman, who purchased the A6GCS from the factory in Italy, did 20 laps on the Modena circuit after taking delivery. When he came into the pits, he was bleeding from the left ear with a ruptured eardrum from the exhaust noise! The next time I drove the car I used earplugs.
As a run up to the endurance race, the motoring press made much of the Maserati being one of the favourites to win on distance with the Porsche RS and Dart Alfa the main contenders. Gouws/Love [Porsche Carrera] and Fergusson/Carrington [Dart/Climax] were considered contenders if the leading cars should falter.
At the le Mans start the Maserati was the first to move, but due to having to “clear it's throat†and get the revs up to 3000rpm before there is any power, coupled to the high 1ST gear, it was flooded by other quicker starting cars and was in the middle of the pack into the 1st corner, with Louis at the wheel. After 10 laps the Dart Alfa with Bosman driving was the fastest car on the circuit and moved into first place after passing the Gouws/Love Porsche Carrera. Louis coasted the Maserati into the pits and lost about eight minutes while a blown fuse in the fuel pump circuit was located. The faster cars were in trouble after about two hours. The Porsche RS was stationary for some time while work on the transmission was being attended to. The Alfa Dart was in and out with a series of niggling problems to rectify, finally retiring when the back plates of the brake pads welded themselves to the brake discs.
The Maser was now in 2nd position with me driving and really enjoying the race. Soon I felt the resistance on the clutch pedal becoming slack. I realised that the withdrawal mechanism on the clutch was worn out, because the clutch was not slipping. This did not affect my lap times, as using the clutch during gear changes was but a formality and not essential with the crash box.
We were gaining on the Porsche Carrera which was in the lead. I now started worrying how we were going to get the Maser started when I had to hand over to Louis. This car with the bellowing exhaust, which one could hear all around the circuit, was running like a train. Apart from the little clutch problem, not even the brake pedal showed any signs of extra movement. This was a real endurance racer, and I was filled with joy and admiration for it.
When I was called in to refuel and hand over to Louis, I said that the clutch could not be disengaged. As soon as refuelling was completed, two mechanics and I would push the car while he cranked the starter in first gear.
This was a long shot, but there was no alternative. As soon as refuelling was completed, I called “Shove!†“Start!†I screamed into Louis' ear. We pushed and Louis cranked the starter. The car went chug-chug-chug all the way down the pits to the pit exit. I screamed a final “Push!†as we got to the exit. Louis went chug-chug-chugging off into the darkness, on an occasional one or two cylinders as we collapsed and willed the other cylinders to chime in. Fortunately, it was slightly down hill and we could hear the odd cylinder coming in to fire it's effort as we willed them all to fire. Slowly, but so slowly all the cylinders started to fire, and as the car gathered speed, the engine note slowly rose up until at last, the familiar exhaust scream that we were waiting for, heralded that all was well again.
As darkness fell, the leading Porsche Carrera had a slower car push him off line and caused the Porsche to deviate into the veld and into a ditch. All this unscheduled off-roading damaged two wheels and the steering, and the leading car was out of the running.
Louis and the Maserati were now in the lead with about two hours to go to the finish. But before the pits could signal him that we were now well in the lead and that he could slow down, the same slow car which had put the Porsche in the veld, swung in front of Louis as he came up to pass. Louis went off the road and into a drainage ditch, leaping in the darkness until the car could be stopped.
Louis walked out of the darkness into the pits and announced that it was no good trying to get the car back. He believed that after those mighty leaps which the car had performed that it's back was broken. We were all silent and stunned with disappointment.
In the lead, with two hours to go with a brilliant car, and now we were out. What abject disappointment for all. When Louis assessed that the Maser's back was broken, that judgement was made from the position of racing a delicate Lotus 11 in England for a year.
The irony of it all was that the sturdy Maserati chassis had taken all that punishment with aplomb. Not even the wheels were bent. Except for the lights which had fallen out, the car could have continued in the race. In fact, the car was driven home the next day.
The result of the Nine Hour race was that the tortoise won after all the hares had failed. 1. Dart/Climax [Chris Fergusson and Hugh Carrington]. 2.Porsche Super [Sarel van der Merwe and Willem van Heerden]. 3.MGA Twin Cam [George Mennie and Dave Wright.]â€
How the A6GCS ended up as a Maserati-Chev:
“At the beginning of 1959, Neville (Austin) decided that his Healey 6 was never going to have enough power to satisfy. To rectify this situation, he bought a V8 Chevrolet engine from a scrap yard. He stripped and rebuilt it with a 1956 high torque cam and solid valve lifters. He topped the motor off with a three carburettor inlet manifold from the United States. An adapter plate was made to fit the four speed Healey gearbox to the motor. Unfortunately, he now ran out of money and had to settle for three ex-army Ford carbs. After the Chevvy motor went in and was sorted, the Healey was a flier but lacked road holding and handling.
While I was fettling the Ferrari (Scuderia Lupini Ferrari MM entered at 1960 SA Grand Prix in East London and Cape Town), Neville towed Jake [as Louis was called] to Bulawayo to race the Maser, with the Healey-Chev. The tow rope started being about four metres long. By the time they got to Bulawayo, it was half a metre long!
Unfortunately, during the race, the Maser stripped the oil pump drive and ran the bearings. The team fashioned an “A†bracket at Johnny Love's workshop and towed the Maser back in some style.
During the weekend, the plot was hatched to transplant the Chev motor from the Healey into the Maserati. Once the change-over was done, they would race it at the coming races at East London and Cape Town. In the short time available, this was not seen as a daunting task by the great Austin and his buddy, Jake. When they returned to Pretoria, they submitted entries to the two venues. Before either had turned a spanner.
That the Maserati Chev was ready in time and that the car got to East London and Cape Town in time, is a saga on its own. Never mind that it started and finished strongly in both events.â€
