March 73B - 74B - 75B - 76B - 77B

[David McKinney]

Thanks Sirco
I knew there was a Shierson connection and maybe put two and two together at the time and came up with five
I guess the circa 1984 sale Kenny told me about at the time never went through

[Gary Jarlson]

I just want to clarify something that was brought up back in Post #130 about the location of the oil tank on the 75B Atlantic cars. Was the tank alway located between the engine and the driver?

[murray.smith]

Having been diverted onto other interests for quite a while I wanted to come back to the story of my March 75 B 08, which apparently has a pal in New Zealand with the same Chassis plate.....
My car is now complete and has it's engine freshly rebuilt by Marcovicci and Wentz and has just had a story done on it in the Jan/Fe Issue of the american publication Vintage Motorsport. Knowing how difficult it is to trace histories
and not being keen to fabricate anything I have been seeking a previous owner
Joe Hisch but have not been able to get him...however Brian Redman gave me the number for Jeff Syme who was Hisch's engineer when he bought the car from and Undertaker in Pennsylvania some fifteen years ago and he say that he has no doubt that it was the Villeneuve 75B, with traces of the paint, a
complete chassis not a retub, and that they spoke to Ashplant who was either an owner at some time or had worked on the car in the past. There is about a foot of snow outside my house right now but when it all melts I will get out there and check the FT number and also look and see if there is a number on the tub or roll bar as seems to be the case some of the time. I am not trying to decry the other 08 car but just seeking to find out just what I have got.....more as I get more info...I have a lead to Mr Aspland and will follow that up too....

[driftwood]

thos enumbers will be useful as the records here list AM number for the tub ( under roll hoop) chassi number and often they have gearbox numbers

what is the story on the NZ car?

[Chris Townsend]

Originally Posted by driftwood

those numbers will be useful as the records here list AM number for the tub (under roll hoop) chassis number and often they have gearbox numbers

True, March records usually do this, but who do you know who has the March records for 75Bs?

[driftwood]

if i told you i would have to kill u

[beighes]

Greetings,
Regarding post #249, Damon Meek 76B-02. A bit of trivia, or information. Lee Follansbee sold the car to Mike Olsen........sometime near the dawn of man! Even more trivia, when we heard that Damon had purchased the March, we feared for his life. If memory is correct, he had some "issues" with his Tiga FF, and assumed that he would do himself a serious injury with a faster car. Happily we were wrong, and he was very quick!! Off to the Tiga thread & contact Damon....it's only been 20 years!
cheers,
Steve

[SteveTracy]

Originally Posted by sircosworth

This is not quite correct, chassis 20 was bought by Smith new from Shierson as the US March agent, but collected the car from the March factory himself and shipped the car to NZ in time for the 1977 NZ season. Car was then sold to Binning in 1980 who never raced it and sold it back to Smith several months later, who has owned it ever since. Car was wrapped in oil blankets in storage until 2004 when it was dismantled, cleaned and reassembled with all original components. Car now looks just as it came out of the factory in 76 and is completely original and unrestored.

This car here? I don't even recall where I saw these photos, not too long ago, perhaps when it was sold last? I think I have 22 photos of this car which I assume is still owned by Ken Smith.

[SteveTracy]

Originally Posted by Leighton Irwin

...Gilles' car was an unusual green Skiroule Snowmobile colour. His car was self run, not Ecurie Canada. The team was Gilles, Joann, a snowmobile mechanic, JV and Melanie all out of a Van and open trailer, if memory is correct. Like NO money. Ecurie Canada may have been listed as the entrant but that was it. At Gimli, which Gilles won, he was down to less than $10. 10 grand 1st place sure helped!! Chris Harrison ( Ecurie Canada) confirmed to me that Gilles was on his own. This was mid season and may have changed later in the year after Gilles started to get some prize money...

[SteveTracy]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

Reading the 1977 Road Racing Annual, it's clear that Kris Harrison's Ecurie Canada employed Villeneuve to drive their car for 1974. Villeneuve crashed the car and left the team. In 1975, he got Skiroule backing and did his own thing, with his own car. For 1976, Harrison and Villeneuve patched up their differences and, with Ray Wardell joining as racing manager, Ecurie Canada provided a pair of 76Bs for Villeneuve...
Allen

EC 74B:



EC 76B, 1 of 2 I think:

[SteveTracy]

Originally Posted by murray.smith

I see that there is some doubt about which car Villeneuve drove as the Skiroule Green car. I bought 06 about a year ago from Jim Oppenheimer
in the US who had had it for some time. It originally passed through
the hands of Dorsey Schroeder who bought it from Ecurie Canada. I am told by both Oppenheimer and Dorsey that 06 is the Villeneuve car. In any event it all painted up in Skiroule Colours, I hope legitimately, has a fresh Wentz motor and will be out early this year for testing.
Any further ideas from anyone on which car this is?

That makes three cars claiming to have been GV's 75B which IIRC there was only one car, period. Hopefully yours looks a lot more like the one in the photo with GV driving it, here are two others I find entirely lacking in credibility unless there was a 75B roller running around I've never heard about.

I saw a white #75 car for sale also purporting to be GV's 75B which is 75B-08 or claims to be anyway, with CAMS papers but curiously I'd think the one photo you'd take is the chassis plate:

EDIT: Sorry, after reading 17 pages I see why the car bears little resemblance to the original 75B-8, if it was the Saunders-crashed car with possibly a rebuild using a 77B tub and etc. as described early in this thread. I see how it is possible after an extensive rebuild it could be very different

Works supported car run by G.V.Racing for driver Gilles Villeneuve in 1975 Formula Atlantic series. Car returned to factory and purchased by Dave Saunders from New Zealand who ran car in Formula Pacific series.Car damaged early 1977 and rebuilt to 1977 spec's. Car went through 3 owners till purchased by current owner in 1993.

This is one odd car I've seen, has GV's 69 number, the green isn't quite right, and besides, it's not a 75B, looks more like maybe a 76B with a engine cover designed to look like GV's car. Sorry no #, no idea:



Kind of odd to see the Red Ramada Inn wing on it, didn't Rahal race for Red Roof Inn as a sponsor?

[SteveTracy]

Oh, the reason I read through all this is it appears my father's "75B" turns out to be a 74B, and I hope to have some quality information soon from when he raced it in 1976-77 primarily in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and WA.

Then I get to start trying to figure out where his 722 came from and where it went...

Chris' compilations have been a big help, much appreciated.

- Steve

[driftwood]

yes bobby rahal did have red roof sponsorship it was all sorted via Jim Trueman

[Chris Townsend]

Originally Posted by SteveTracy

Oh, the reason I read through all this is it appears my father's "75B" turns out to be a 74B, and I hope to have some quality information soon from when he raced it in 1976-77 primarily in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and WA.

Then I get to start trying to figure out where his 722 came from and where it went...

Chris' compilations have been a big help, much appreciated.

- Steve

Steve, thanx for the correction
74B might make tracing it easier as I know where most of the cars went in 1974 and there were still a lot in use by 1976

74B-1 is run in UK by Alan Crocker
74B-7 is running hillclimbs in UK
74B-5 is probably running mountains in Europe, having originally sold in Spain

This leaves, one prototype [U2] which may not even have been built, and ten or eleven others
In 1976 when your dad gets his we have 74Bs run by
Jeff Alanka, Southern California - this is probably an ex Briedenbach car

Peter Broeker, Montreal, though this might well move early in the year, and is probably ex Greatorex Engineering

The ex Bruce Jensen car which went either to Opert as p/x on a Chevron in 1975 or to Bob Beaulieu in Quebec

The ex Bobby Brown car, whcih Opert is trying to sell most of 1975. This car ends up in Jamaica by 1978 with Peter Moodie

Tim Cooper maybe replaces his 73B with a 74B

Peter Dodge

Barry Findlay or Findley [this might be the Cooper car]

John Bernadine [Tulsa Oklahoma]

People selling 74Bs in 1975 who might have sold to your dad

Opert [two]
Tom Outcault [probably had a t/c in it not a BDA]
Peter Broeker
John Mortensen
Richard Paul [California] might be a kitted 73B or older...
Reg Scullion [Montreal] this car goes to Mauro Lanaro in the 1980s so doesn't look like it leaves E.Canada
Dave Morris [him again] of Edmonton has a very wrecked 74B from a shunt at Mosport.

Apart from the Moodie car in Jamaica all the subsequent references I have are to cars in the mid west

Chris

[murray.smith]

This is a quick response as I have a lot of material on my car 75B 08 but I just posted along piece and it didn't go though for some reason so before struggling with my typing again I want to see if this get's entered

[murray.smith]

In response to advice to find identifying bits on my March 75B here we go.
* Took body and roll hoop off, Front bulkhead has 753- 29 stamped and a casting number upside down 752-01-03.
* No signs of any number stamped on steel sheet and lugs for Roll bar.
* Gearbox FT 200 1130, engine 1429 ( BDD )
* On careful inspection body work shows signs of green gelcoat under green surface paint.
*The rear cross member is cast not fabricated
* August 1996 letter from Fred Ashplant to [prvious owner Joe Hish describes car as March 75B chassis#08 on of the Ecurie Canada team cars driven by Villeneuve with sponsorship from Skiroule and T Edwards.
* Letter from Dorsey Shroeder states that he nbought the car from Ray Wardell at Ecurie Canada and that he raced it seven times with three
firsts, three DNFs and a fourth. This letter to someone called Mike?
* Log book pages from 76 and 77 signed by stewards at Atlanta, Nationals and Polar Prix(?) where Schroeder is mentioned as Driver and Car is #08
March 75B.
Everyone here in US agrees that this Car 08 was the Dorsey Schroeder
car and there is a clear line of ownership from Wardell to Schroeder to Mike
to Ashplant to Oppenheimer from whom I bought it...where do we go from here?
Looking forward to more thoughts.

[Chris Townsend]

Murray

Have sent you a private message, but with the tub number and hopefully the gearbox we should get somewhere with the works records.

Chris

[murray.smith]

Took my March 75B 08 to Lime Rock yesterday where there was an ALMS race. The March was on display in a sponsors tent.
Dorsey Schroder who bought the Villeneuve car to start his Atlantic career
was commentating for Speed Channel took a very close look at the car with me and confirmed that it was definitely his car...the rear cross member and the fire bottle release pull which looks like a brake bias lever were the clinchers. I of course have log books confirming Dorseys participation with
the car, and his affirmation that he had bought the car that Villeneuve
drove are added evidence that I have the Villeneuve car...any thoughts from
anyone?
Hope to race it later in the year.
We took it to test the other day but it was raining hard and we had old slicks on the car...but it ran well, the gears were all there...now for a nice sunny day.
Murray

[driftwood]

Looking for info on a car that raced in Libre events at Croft 1977
Paul brookes appears with a742 car
in Autosport june july 77 a story is saying that he appeared with a March 742 BDX engine "bitsa" with 1 side pod off Flamminis car other pod off Giacomelli and cockpit section off ?? ( escapes me now) car

I am reliably informed by Allen that he raced only at Croft; appeared 10 Jul 1977, 07 Aug 1977, 28 Aug 1977, 18 Sep 1977, 11 Jun 1978 and 02 Sep 1978.
Sold car to Geoff Byman, who fitted a BDD and ran it in the 1979 Atlantic series as a “75B”

do you guys have any photos or add more info
swapping BDX for BDD is a simple task
1 what was the chassi number
2 who did Geoff Byman sell it onto?

[driftwood]

seek some info on 1980`s hillclimb sprinters cars
had a chat with Richard Ames this week
he said he had bought Bristolian Bob Baily`s march 752/75B with Holbay atlantic engine
in 1981 and sprinted it
he cannot recall if it had aplate but thinks it was 75B cos itwas a narrow tub
In 82 he had Hart 420R fitted and 782 body
He ran the car in Ricoh sponsorship alongside Alan Newton with Minolta sponsrship in a 2 car team Newton was running the ex Franklin 772-10 car

anyone know who Bob Bailey was and what car he owned? was it Roy Bakers 75B
Ames said he thinks he may have sold the car to Scotland and traded it for a Maguire Imp blue with a stripe down the middle so this would be circa winter 82 spring 83
anyone know who this could be?


Next querie
the Norrie Gailbraith 742 ( ex Franklin 742) is advertised for sale in Dec 1980 AS with a Frome tel no
who is this?
I have been advised there was a guy called Stephen?? who was from this area who did run a march and where did the car go to- Maybe back to Scotland?

[allenbrown]

Wasn't Stephen Cuff from Frome?

[driftwood]

thats the guy i nearly wrote Cuff
now what do you have on him as i think he had the ex Franklin galbraith march advertised but where did it go and also how did he have it? was this car use by Cuff?

after Norrie sold march 742 with 782 bodywork he ran the B48 Chevron then got the 782/20 car that he was sadly killed in

[allenbrown]

Steve Cuff had all sorts of stuff and tended to use it mainly in poorly-reported SW clubbie hillclimbs. I haven't spoken to him in years but I'll email you the last phone number I had.

[driftwood]

Ray Rowan mentioned him as the Frome March runner as Dave Harris lived in the town as well

tried the numbers not at them so back to square one
anyone else have any links to the Cuffs of Frome

[Alan Brown]

The family still compete. One was at Gurston Down in August.