Toyota Celica Supra (MA61) Group A

[chunterer]

Selected posts taken from one or two of the main section threads started by ART.

Cars listed below were originally entered by Team Toyota GB/Hughes Of Beaconsfield and built/prepared by the late Jim Whitehouse's Arden Conversions operation in Pershore for the Trimoco British Saloon Car Championship.

Car No 1, built 1983, LHD, photographed for the homologation papers. Presumably this car becomes the Eklund 1985 British Open Rally Championship car, sold off at the end of 1985, whereabouts unknown. What it did for late 1983 and all 1984 is a mystery, did it race in 1984? British Rally history not my strong point.

Car No 2, built 1983, RHD, becomes the first circuit car. Driven by Win Percy, Gordon Spice and Tony Dron at various times from Aug 83. Results found to date:
R8 Silverstone 16/7/83
6th overall (Percy driving)

R9 Donington 14/8/83
3rd overall (Percy)

R10 Brands GP 29/8/83
5th overall (Percy)

Haven't got any info for R11, the season finale at Silverstone 2/10/83 (BRDC Finals meeting)
Top 6 was Allam (Rover Vitesse); Soper (Vitesse), Brodie (Colt Starion), Lovett (Vitesse), Palmer (BMW 635), Lanfranchi (Opel Monza). If it finished (let alone actually entered) the final round, Percy could've finished below that but judging by his/its pace in the earlier rounds, although early in its development it's unlikely to have been beaten by the Monza.

Continued into 1984 (results to follow) when it has a prang on opening lap at Thruxton F2 meeting, Apr 23 1984). It is then repaired for Gordon Spice to take to Spa 1984, then it comes to Australia. Raced in Group A in Australia by Peter Williamson et al until Oct 1987 then Nico Selig in New Zealand until 1989, returns to Australia July 1989, virtually unused since. Pranged 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1989! This is my car.

Car No 3, built 1984, RHD, becomes Win's car from May 1984. Goes on to be fairly successful for Win, then becomes Barry Sheene's 1985 car. Crashed at Thruxton April or May 1985, probably scrapped.

Car No 4, built 1985, RHD, becomes Barry Sheene's car for the remainder of 1985. This car is also the 1985 Spa car in Jermaine Jackson colours. Tested and leased by John Morris early 1986, then badly damaged, possibly written off by Bob Meacham in practice for the TT. Only conjecture about what happened from here, car 4 was presumably either repaired or reshelled to become the car which Duncan has today.

Japanese Tom's or SARD built cars not yet discussed in main section in length other than in non specific threads - info to follow as and when.

[ART Racing]

Chunterer, the info you have posted here is from earlier in the thread, I think we found a few inaccuracies in my original info over time. Looking back through the homologation papers for the MA61, A-5162, the car on the cover appears to be brown RHD MA61 - and I now believe this is actually the road car that became my Group A car as it was originally brown. Even when the car was Orange in 1985/86, the interior was still painted brown; something I wasn't aware of until recently when I was given a heap of colour photos of the car during its 1985 rebuild in Australia. The LHD car in the detail photos in the papers, which I thought must have been the LHD rally car, isn't even an MA61, and on closer inspection appears to be an RA53 rally car - so they have used photos from a completely different car to homologate the rally bits. So I think the order of the cars in my original info is probably wrong: Chassis 1 is actually my car, No 2 is the car which replaced mine after the Thruxton 1984 crash, No 3 may have been the LHD rally car so it could start rallying in 1985, and No 4 was probably the last circuit car built after Barry Sheen destroyed No 2, and it was later destroyed in practice early 1986. This leaves my car and possibly the rally car surviving, although I never did confirm (as no details were forthcoming) the details of the car now in Scotland which is either the rally car rebuilt for circuit racing, or car 4 repaired/reshelled?

Interesting about the Japanese cars. I have a number of photos of the European Group N cars, but none of the Japanese Group A ones. The homologated gearbox is a custom Quaife gearset in a W50 case, similar to the one Quaife still sell for the RWD Corolla but with different ratios. Quaife only built a small number, 8 or less, so I don't know what gearbox the Japanese cars used - perhaps it points to a similar situation in the Corolla thread about the Japanese Group A cars using parts which would never have passed muster elsewhere?

I will come up with a better list of info and pictures of each car to place here over the coming days for peer review/comment.

John

[275 GTB-4]

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by ART Racing

Chunterer, the info you have posted here is from earlier in the thread, I think we found a few inaccuracies in my original info over time.
I will come up with a better list of info and pictures of each car to place here over the coming days for peer review/comment.

John

Great thanks John, I must have missed the changes in the main thread/s originally. Look forward to your revised view of the Hughes/Arden Cars history.

[275 GTB-4]

Muscle Car Masters last weekend...Eastern Creek Sydney