A post-war Allan L offering: Solved! The Cromard Special

Allan L · February 16, 2007, 12:05:54 PM

OK let's modernise my offerings: this one is post-(second) war but even than may well give you trouble - but this section is supposed to be for Experts and the weekend has just started (well it has here!)

GRAYWOLF · February 16, 2007, 02:37:51 PM

Deusenburg?

Otto Puzzell · February 16, 2007, 02:53:54 PM

No idea. I'll guess it a Vanwall.

D-type · February 16, 2007, 06:53:36 PM

Cooper-Alta no 1

SeaLion · February 16, 2007, 07:45:59 PM

BRM?

Allan L · February 17, 2007, 05:46:56 AM

None of the above, and less common than all but the Cooper-Alta!

D-type · February 17, 2007, 02:58:11 PM

So, it's a one-off then.

I'll have to start looking around

Allan L · February 18, 2007, 04:02:33 AM

Quote from: D-type on February 17, 2007, 02:58:11 PM
So, it's a one-off then.

Yes.
There may well be a link to some of my other offerings. . . .

D-type · February 21, 2007, 05:21:38 PM

The "Lotus Mk7" derived from the Clairmonte Special which used the Lotus-built chassis that was going to be the Mk7.

Allan L · February 22, 2007, 03:54:51 AM

Not a Lotus
Not the Clairmont

Allan L · March 03, 2007, 11:54:05 AM

Quote from: Allan L on February 18, 2007, 04:02:33 AM
There may well be a link to some of my other offerings. . . .

Time to bring this to the top and offer an unhelpful clue:
It originally had an Amilcar chassis; later it had Volkswagen suspension (which you can see it no longer has, mercifully)

Go for it!

D-type · March 03, 2007, 04:29:38 PM

I had wondered whether it might be the Cromard Special., but other photos I have seen don't have the 'chip cutter' grill.

Tifosi · March 03, 2007, 05:37:49 PM

It looks a lot like a Ferrari Squalo, but i guess it isn't...

Dan

Allan L · March 04, 2007, 05:00:52 AM

Quote from: D-type on March 03, 2007, 04:29:38 PM
I had wondered whether it might be the Cromard Special., but other photos I have seen don't have the 'chip cutter' grill.

That's the trouble with continuous development: no two photos seem to show the same car.

It is indeed the Cromard Special.

D-type · March 25, 2007, 11:43:58 AM

In case anybody is wondering what the Cromard Special is/was, I found this description in The Racing Car Pocketbook by Denis Jenkinson:

"This was a one-off car developed from an early 6-cylinder twin-cam Amilcar by Bob Spikins and Basil de Mattos, of Laystall Engineering, the name Cromard was derived from the firm's cylinder liner trade-mark. It was started in 1948 and each year, between racing, it was modified, first having a 1½ litre high-cam Lea-Francis engine replacing the Amilcar unit, and later a 1¾ litre Lea-Francis racing engine which developed 140 bhp. The chassis was improved by the addition of Volkswagen trailing link i.f.s. and swing axle rear suspemsion, while the Amilcar gearbox was replaced by a preselector E.N.V. Naturally it had a new body made for it. It was raced regularly until 1951, by which time it had served its useful life as a car for circuit racing."

D-type · February 27, 2010, 02:17:47 PM

I've just received a PM and in the interests of accuracy I reproduce it here:
" The car has no direct link to Spikin's 6 cyl amilcar (except for a set of Amilcar wheel hubs. I was built from scratch on a tubular chassis commissioned from Rayburn, with the Lea Francis Speedway engine as described.
DJ was rarely wrong but he blew it on this one!"

Allan L · February 27, 2010, 05:30:00 PM

The Spikins into Cromard story is a true tale of continuous development and D-type is right in that it had a new chassis so the Amilcar frame is no longer part of it.
There's a whole web page about it here:
<<< link removed >>

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A post-war Allan L offering: Solved! The Cromard Special