Rallyists Revered

We do quite a bit of rally car restoration, preparation, sales then follow up with our on-the-road support whenever needed. Pictured here are three rally-ready machines awaiting pickup for The New England 1000 event. Bill’s Ferrari 365 GTC 2+2, Dave’s Porsche 914-6 and Hans’ Sunbeam Tiger. All three were finishers with a good time enjoyed at one of Rich and Jean Taylor’s Classic Rally Events……as usual!! Some more tales of the rallyists’ roads follow.

Hans and (Mustang) Sally on the Burma Road Rally in Myanmar 2016. Broken axle just in sight of the end of the event put Hans in a loaner to the finish, but it was quite a road trip from all we’ve heard.

SALLY’S BACK STATESIDE. Lots of post-event patina and a decision to upgrade the rear axle assembly. The first one did many miles going Peking to Paris plus the Alaska Rally and more but heavier duty never hurts. Time to get to work!! In a short while this car and Hans are headed way south for the Rally of the Incas.

RALLY CARS RELOCATED is the apt title for the next three pages. Two VRS-restored/prepared/supported cars found new drivers while we were working on Sally for Hans. Left is Bill Shanahan’s (+Co-piloto Murray Smith’s) Targa Newfoundland and La Carrera class-winning 1965 “Pepsi” Ford Falcon. Following is more FoMoCo, Si’s ‘67 Comet.

Si & Vicki Ford piloted their strong, safe and reliable ‘67 Mercury Comet at events worldwide. Upper left, La Carrera Panamericana, above Targa Newfoundland & there were several more. Photos left show it ready for its 2015 trip for the Icelandic Saga rally, which it finished without a hitch.

START TO FINISH. Above we see Si and Comet freshly out of our shops being collected for its first rally well over a decade ago. Right: the trusty Comet on its last rally with Si at the wheel, The Icelandic Saga. Si’s a retired rallyist and the Comet’s now off to a new home! Great years, Great car and well done Fords!!

FALL 2016: Hans & navigator Jurgen are ready, (Mustang) Sally has been through the prep process, has a new, stronger rear end and is far to the south touring Argentina, Peru and Chile on the Rally to the Incas event. Long and winding roads per below, challenging route and a job well done to find the finish with only minor tweaks needed on route. The air’s awfully thin way up there!!

Rally of the Incas is a 28-day excursion through some of the most magnificent and challenging roads around. Clockwise from left: Awaiting a time trial stage – above: self portrait: Hans @ Speed – Rallyists have to push - Black- forest format hotel in Lalo – Scenery comes in dust and green. Photos barely tell the story!!

Left: High altitude cruising in a Triumph = open air exhilaration. Center: 5AM in the mountains: time to get going. Right: Sally at speed on the coast at last!

THE OLD AND THE NEW. Above: Hans bids adieu to his long-enjoyed 1965 MGB roadster with hardtop and all the period rally charm he savored. Cortina had a great drivetrain and all the right original pieces…but the wiring did indeed need some attention. Armed with MGB proceeds and space in his garage, Hans soon had us on the job. Tim Ritchie did his usual great job of getting the new ride up and running.

HANS NEVER NEEDED A TOP: He used his 1965 MGB regularly and just drove between the drops when the hardtop was not in place. Collector loyalties shift: Hans had just found a Lotus Cortina and needed one less car in the collection. Chris and Daniela were looking for a reliable historic rally and fun open road machine. There was distance between them but the pieces fit and the deal was soon done. It was a bit after the fact when a…BUT where’s the top?...came up. Top frame procured, and installed to get the new curators & future rallyists on the road no matter what the weather.

LA CARRERA UPDATE: Alfa-Romeo 1900, La Carrera Pan Americana and multi-time class winner Bill Shanahan – what a Mix. Brian, Tim and the VRS crew were delighted to get to work building this now tested Alfa into just what it needs to be to contest La Carrera 2017.

MILLE MIGLIA 2016 WAS THE OBJECTIVE AND A MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL GULLWING THE TOOL OF CHOICE. It all started with a detailed vehicle evaluation. Preparation tasks defined, Randy and the ARI crew went to work to restore drivetrain and all else needed to have Nick’s 300 ready for testing well enough ahead of time to allow for any punch list work found. So. How’d it go? On to page two.

DONE & RALLY READY. Mille 2016 from Brescia to Rome & back went well. Nick finished shiny side up and at speed.

Old Friends: A long-time client called to say he’d purchased a car we’d had something to do with and that it was on a ship from Europe. Could we have a look when it arrived and service as needed to make it road ready? Sure: it arrived as we’d restored it and can be seen circa 1992 in the photo right and today in living color. Following page is another old friend found recently!