[DougT]

I'm not sure where John Ruston comes into this !

I have verified that my chassis which is being worked on at the moment is the correct B31-05. The history is very clear as Martin Raymond sold it to John Blanckney (See Autosport race report of Zolder Interserie Race June 12th 1976 where Raymond drove it to 1st place with the DFV for Blanckney). Blanckney sold it to Rolf Gotz who sold it to Rosso Bianco Museum, from where it came into my hands with the DFV that was originally fitted by Blanckney.

My tub (which was modified by John Blanckney) has a number of oddities which it shares with the original tubs of the other 2 B31s that are around indicating that they were all built like that, so I can be very confident that I have the original tub.

I have seen Mike Roberts car which was for sale via racecarsdirect and is now for sale at Maxted Page. It is not a B31 chassis, the front bulkhead incorrect and would seem to come from an earlier vintage, and there are other inconsistencies. The chassis plate is also not correct for chevrons of the period.

As to originality, I feel it is important to retain as much of the original as possible for the record even if for safety sake, the car that you race contains many new parts. I will be retaining the original tub in which the history resides but it is certainly not safe to race it after this length of time and with the damage that it has sustained.

Hope this clarifies things !

Doug T