Cedric Brierley's Victoria Climax

[sprintstar67]

I am looking for ANY info on the whereabouts of The Victoria Climax, PDK 364, after I saw an old thread on here about it.
The car was originally constructed by my father-in-law Cedric Brierley, who sadly passed away just over a week ago.
We had talked many times about where it might now possibly be and following his passing I thought it was about time I did something about finding it, if it still exists.
I have already had a very comprehensive email from Malcolm McKay from the Rochdale register, detailing the cars early history after Ced sold it on, but from the early mid sixties onwards the trail goes cold.
A few rough details of the car. It was constructed in Ceds workshop at the time on Victoria Street in Littleborough, Rochdale, hence the name .It was a home built chassis featuring de dion rear end, Conventry Climax engine, Cooper style narrow alloy rims and originally wore a Rochdale F Type body, which subsequently had the rear chopped off to create an early Kamm tail. It was later clothed in alloy single seater bodywork after it was sold. In period it was quite a successful machine and saw off many factory built cars. When I work out how I'll post some pics!
I'm told the chassis was also stamped VC1.

I am deadly serious about trying to find this car, and am not some dealer trying to find the next rare thing to run at Goodwood! I just want to find it and bring it home to Victoria Garage - I think it would be a fitting tribute to a great man who will be sadly missed.
So go and have a root in your shed/barn/workshop to see if that "old chassis" is it and tell all your mates to do the same!


Cheers, Andy Hill.

[PeterMorley]

I'm really sorry to hear about Cedric, he had some fantastic cars over the years.

When I was looking for a Rochdale F type body for my Elva I think Ted Walker (Ferret Fotographics) said that he had supplied photos of the Victoria climax to its current owner.

So chase Ted up (after Goodwood!).

Cheers Peter

[JRTM]

I am so sorry to hear about Ced. I bought is Lotus 20B a few years ago when he found that even he could no longer manage the strain of restoring a car seated on the garage floor. Quite a remarkable man who spent hours talking to me about Elvas - I had one and he had got his legs stuck in one at Silverstone. He will indeed ne sadly missed.

[sprintstar67]

I emailed Ted just before posting this thread so I will try him again, would be good to know if the things still around. Thanks.
Regarding his Lotus 20, I have quite a few of the original chassis tubes in a box in the work shop, which were deemed " not good enough" when the chassis was rebuilt, you're very welcome to them if you can collect them as its all usefull stuff for the originality of the car etc.

Anybody else know anything about the Victoria?

[sprintstar67]

STILL LOOKING!!

[John Turner]

Andy, did Ted respond?

[Ted Walker]

Yes I have printed some photos and did sell them to I think the current owner,but have no clue to who he is.

[John Turner]

Thanks, Ted.

If we can get some more info on this car, I'll copy the relevant posts over to the Chassis forum.

[sprintstar67]

Wow, not been on here for a while, so does it appear that the car still exists then? It must if there is a "current owner"!

Really must check back more often!! Ted, thanks for the reply, if only you knew who he was!

[sprintstar67]

Still looking!

[Reid Railton]

Well I join 10 Tenths to start a thread to search for competition history about a car I own (the Omega-Jaguar); one day I’m browsing around 10 Tenths and I think ‘I wonder if there’s anything about cars I know? I know – try a search for the Victoria-Climax’. And bingo – there you are searching for info.

I knew it, and raced it, in 1965. Below is what I know and how I can help. I hope it’s a help.

- A friend of mine Paul (‘Peanuts’) Dillow owned it
- He offered that I could race it if I helped him work on it, which I did
- He did (or had somebody else do) some work on the engine (1098 Climax as far as I know). I rebuilt the gbox (BMC ‘A’ Series – I was an apprentice at Longbridge), buying [with Peanuts’ money] new close ratio gears from, I think,Turners
- I took it up to Snetterton and spent the day running it in
- I raced it twice at Brands, I have some photos from the second race (6 June 1965) [see note below on photos]. Vanaria was at one of the meetings and came and chatted to me
- I think Peanuts raced it once, between my two races. I don’t know if he raced it at any other time
- Peanuts sold it, as I remember, not long afterwards (he was about to finish university, etc). He sold it to (I'm assuming - see next point) someone in Jersey, Channel Islands
- Years later, I guess around 1980-85 I was in Jersey (my wife has relatives there), I knew it was there, and I decided to find out what happened to it
- I made contact with someone in the Jersey car scene (I can’t remember how I did) and the person said that he knew the Victoria-Climax but said that he thought that it didn’t exist anymore, saying that the sand-racing there ruined cars (I was appalled to think of it being driven on sand)
- Hearing that I didn’t do any more searching
- I will email my wife’s two cousins who live in Jersey to see if they know anybody in Jersey who could help (eg somebody prominent in the Jersey Car Club) and send you any info I get from them If that doesn’t turn up somebody then the Jersey club have a site at http://www.jerseymotorsport.com/
- Note - Peanuts sadly died maybe 25 years ago, so no info available there

My photos.
- they are copyright Evan Selwyn-Smith
- Ferret Fotographics bought his negs, so we should be able to get copies of my photos from him. I’ll contact Ted and sort that out.

That Ted has sold photos of the car is of course a good sign. Perhaps it does still exist (and I’ll regret not pursuing it more when I was in Jersey)

I liked the car, thought it was good, and enjoyed racing it. (I had previously driven a Lotus Eleven at Motor Racing Stables at Finmere, equalling the circuit record for the Eleven, so I knew what a decent car was like.)
Reid

[John Turner]

Great stuff, Reid. It's what I like about this forum; one thing leads to another; you never know what's round the corner.

[Rob Pennington]

Originally Posted by Reid Railton

Well I join 10 Tenths to start a thread to search for competition history about a car I own (the Omega-Jaguar); one day I’m browsing around 10 Tenths and I think ‘I wonder if there’s anything about cars I know? I know – try a search for the Victoria-Climax’. And bingo – there you are searching for info.

I knew it, and raced it, in 1965. Below is what I know and how I can help. I hope it’s a help.

- A friend of mine Paul (‘Peanuts’) Dillow owned it
- He offered that I could race it if I helped him work on it, which I did
- He did (or had somebody else do) some work on the engine (1098 Climax as far as I know). I rebuilt the gbox (BMC ‘A’ Series – I was an apprentice at Longbridge), buying [with Peanuts’ money] new close ratio gears from, I think,Turners
- I took it up to Snetterton and spent the day running it in
- I raced it twice at Brands, I have some photos from the second race (6 June 1965) [see note below on photos]. Vanaria was at one of the meetings and came and chatted to me
- I think Peanuts raced it once, between my two races. I don’t know if he raced it at any other time
- Peanuts sold it, as I remember, not long afterwards (he was about to finish university, etc). He sold it to (I'm assuming - see next point) someone in Jersey, Channel Islands
- Years later, I guess around 1980-85 I was in Jersey (my wife has relatives there), I knew it was there, and I decided to find out what happened to it
- I made contact with someone in the Jersey car scene (I can’t remember how I did) and the person said that he knew the Victoria-Climax but said that he thought that it didn’t exist anymore, saying that the sand-racing there ruined cars (I was appalled to think of it being driven on sand)
- Hearing that I didn’t do any more searching
- I will email my wife’s two cousins who live in Jersey to see if they know anybody in Jersey who could help (eg somebody prominent in the Jersey Car Club) and send you any info I get from them If that doesn’t turn up somebody then the Jersey club have a site at http://www.jerseymotorsport.com/
- Note - Peanuts sadly died maybe 25 years ago, so no info available there

My photos.
- they are copyright Evan Selwyn-Smith
- Ferret Fotographics bought his negs, so we should be able to get copies of my photos from him. I’ll contact Ted and sort that out.

That Ted has sold photos of the car is of course a good sign. Perhaps it does still exist (and I’ll regret not pursuing it more when I was in Jersey)

I liked the car, thought it was good, and enjoyed racing it. (I had previously driven a Lotus Eleven at Motor Racing Stables at Finmere, equalling the circuit record for the Eleven, so I knew what a decent car was like.)
Reid

Reid this is an old thread so I'm not sure if you will get this but, I'm interested in your friend Paul Dillow, I understand that whilst at Durham University he may have owned and possibly raced a TVR Grantura Mk2 lightweight. Do you recall the TVR or any events.

Thanks

Rob

[bauble]

I have no knowledge of the car's whereabouts, but I well remember seeing Cedric racing it in period, and could give Loti a run for their money. If memory serves it was painted maroon.

During the '50's a lot of people produced their own cars, often naming them after themselves, Gammon MG. Mallock etc, so us lads referred to the Victoria as 'Brierly's Brierly'.

Now they truly were the 'good old days'

Bauble.

[Rob Pennington]

[QUOTE=bauble;3655101

Now they truly were the 'good old days'
Bauble.[/QUOTE]

Via the forum - I've managed to get in contact with Reid Railton (Chris Wilson) who remembers Paul Dillow's Coventry Climax engined TVR lightweight and the Victoria Climax. We are now just trying to piece together dates. Paul raced the TVR once at Cadwell Park probably in 1962, anyone have any information / programmes from this time.

Rob Pennington

[socram]

Small world... Rob's request for early TVR info (on FB) got me scanning old race programme entry lists. After scanning a few, I thought I may as well start a web page - or two. It wasn't long before I realised that there were dozens (100's?) of cars racing in the 1950s that I knew nothing about, so I googled "Victoria Climax", as it appeared several times at Mallory Park.

I ended up here quite quickly! I can't remember the car and dad rarely took his camera to Mallory when we went as a family, so sorry, no pics. But a scroll through these race entry lists may at least fill in a bit of history.

http://www.monza.org.nz/UK_entries/entries_01.htm

Early days as it takes a fair bit of time to scan and load up then upload to the Interweb, so it may pay to keep checking. I have started with Mallory Park and Nottingham Sports Car Club programmes (for obvious reasons...).