March 783 - Page 2

Steve Wilkinson · 2 Jul 2007, 15:25 (Ref:1952449)

Quote:

Originally Posted by driftwood

yes mr drewitt
allegedly he got car from a David kier who took the car off Bill wood?
however the Hart famly was mentioned a sthe party who ha dteh 783 tub made bdg car that story im checking out
the father John said he cant recall sai dhis brother Tom may have
left it with the son to clarify
somewhere along the line there are either 2 783 tubbed cars or the mather 772 thingy has rolled around afew guys not putting money on either story yet

not seen martin for long time will poss see him 2 weeks at lydden ( if i go)

half this info is for 782 772P thread not posted as i didnt have enough info

So that would be David Keer not Keir.

I assume that the Bill Wood in question is the Scot who sprinted and hillclimbed a Mallock and lives in the Edinburgh area?

If you can confirm this Drifty I will email him to get his side of the story.

driftwood · 2 Jul 2007, 15:34 (Ref:1952459)

ok
1 yr poss correct on Keer Chris seemed to emphasis the name but i took it as a sasanach pronouncing a Scottish name!

2 Not sure on Bill woods location who is the man in the leeds area? i thought Bill was from yorkshire no evidence to base that on except something Ray rowan mumbled a year ago re his 742/74B car when he sold it to a man in Leeds- assumption assumptions

3 Hart has said not guilty so im back to Bill wood and poss the Kim Mather 783 tubbed 772 thing need to change threads and look there again

allenbrown · 2 Jul 2007, 16:14 (Ref:1952511)

The Bill Wood that I know is the one who raced F5000s for years at Croft and Rufforth. He was originally a farmer from the Leeds area but I have a vague memory that when I last spoke to him he sold guns for a living. That must have been a long time ago in that case.

If there's a Bill Wood in Edinburgh with a Mallock, it's possible he moved but that may be a different Bill Wood.

driftwood · 2 Jul 2007, 16:16 (Ref:1952514)

Thanks Allen i do recall seeing bill wood name at scottish race result write up in the comics

Steve Wilkinson · 2 Jul 2007, 17:51 (Ref:1952603)

Quote:

Originally Posted by allenbrown

The Bill Wood that I know is the one who raced F5000s for years at Croft and Rufforth. He was originally a farmer from the Leeds area but I have a vague memory that when I last spoke to him he sold guns for a living. That must have been a long time ago in that case.

If there's a Bill Wood in Edinburgh with a Mallock, it's possible he moved but that may be a different Bill Wood.

The "Bill Wood in Edinburgh" is most definately Scottish.

driftwood · 2 Jul 2007, 20:06 (Ref:1952752)

i think we are seeking the yorkshire man
Allen did he then go hiclimbing after he sprinted and raced the f5000 car?

allenbrown · 2 Jul 2007, 21:52 (Ref:1952876)

I didn't think so - until it was mentioned here. He mainly raced circuits and was winding down by 1978. I think the sprinting Scottish Bill Wood may be a different person.

driftwood · 2 Jul 2007, 22:56 (Ref:1952918)

can anyone clarify these points
Mr wilkinson?

Steve Wilkinson · 3 Jul 2007, 14:05 (Ref:1953433)

Quote:

Originally Posted by driftwood

can anyone clarify these points
Mr wilkinson?

Check out Post # 30 on this thread. If the Bill Wood in question was the one in living in Leeds (i.e. a Yorkshireman) then the Bill Wood in Edinburgh who is Scottish is definately a different person.

Hope that clears it up!

allenbrown · 3 Jul 2007, 14:28 (Ref:1953447)

Ok, then to recap - Chris Drewett got the 783-based car from David Kier who got it from a Bill Wood. Do we know whether that was the Yorkshire Bill Wood or the Scottish Bill Wood? Do we have any idea when that was?

driftwood · 3 Jul 2007, 15:55 (Ref:1953501)

Chris D said he had the car in 1987 from David Keer who either did the deal for Bill Wood or owned the car for a short period of time

Steve Wilkinson · 3 Jul 2007, 16:44 (Ref:1953540)

Quote:

Originally Posted by allenbrown

Ok, then to recap - Chris Drewett got the 783-based car from David Kier who got it from a Bill Wood. Do we know whether that was the Yorkshire Bill Wood or the Scottish Bill Wood? Do we have any idea when that was?

I have emailed the Scottish Bill Wood's son and asked if there is any connection. I'll let you know the answer.

Steve Wilkinson · 4 Jul 2007, 11:03 (Ref:1954076)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Wilkinson

I have emailed the Scottish Bill Wood's son and asked if there is any connection. I'll let you know the answer.

Well I got a very swift and full reply from Tony (Bill Wood's son) and here it is:

Dad bought the March 782 BDG from Billy MacMillan from Darval, Ayrshire at the end of 1986. MacMillan was Scottish Sprint Champion in 1986 and Dad bought the car off him before the end of the season.

The car originally started life as a 783 but was transformed prior to Billy MacMillan buying it. We ran it with a 2.0 alloy blocked BDG on carbs with a FT200.

We sold the car at the end of 1987 to Paul Rendle who used to share a Mallock with John Bateman in the 1980's and he immediately sold it on. Chris Drewitt was the next owner of it and he ran it in hills and then circuits for a while. He features in one of the British Hillclimb Championship videos (1991 or 1992 I think) at Prescott.

When Billy MacMillan had the car it was prepared by Robin Smith.

Hope that clears things up.

allenbrown · 4 Jul 2007, 13:10 (Ref:1954212)

So the question now is where did Billy MacMillan get it? A 783 tub and a BDG engine don't come together every day. It could still be Kim Mather's old car.

Dan Rear · 4 Jul 2007, 13:14 (Ref:1954216)

Who was Billy MacMillan, don't recognise the name at all ??

Steve Wilkinson · 4 Jul 2007, 14:11 (Ref:1954266)

Going back through my details on the Scottish HILLCLIMB Championship I have spotted a Billy McMillan in a March 782 who was 6th at the Strathclyde Park hillclimb 29/03/86. I assume it is the same bloke!

I'll ask a few of my Scottish contacts for some more details.

allenbrown · 5 Jul 2007, 08:02 (Ref:1954912)

Steve, while you're phoning around could you ask people if they know where I could contact Jim Stevenson? He was a circuit racer rather than a sprinter but the same period so you never know...

Thanks

driftwood · 5 Jul 2007, 23:15 (Ref:1955675)

Jim stevenson was mates with jim McGaughy did thundersports with him in the FES sports car
not sure if he is related via marriage

I had a Billy Mcmillan call me 3 weeks ago i will ask him if he was the march hillclimber

allenbrown · 6 Jul 2007, 15:20 (Ref:1956287)

I wonder if Billy McMillan is William McMillan who runs Bass Rock Garage in North Berwick and is therefore related to the George McMillan who raced under Bass Rock Garage sponsorship in the early 1980s. George had 772P U1 amongst other things.

driftwood · 6 Jul 2007, 15:37 (Ref:1956296)

the 1 i was talking to is a roofer & the wind was howling in the back ground!
it nearly blew my toupe off

Steve Wilkinson · 10 Jul 2007, 18:24 (Ref:1959948)

Right, sorry for the delay but I have been off-line switching service providers.

Spoke to Billy McMillan (please note spelling of surname) last night. The March he bought was purchased as a roller sans engine & gearbox. It came from "a bloke in the South East and I picked it up from a lock-up garage" - Billy can't be more specific as it was over 20 years ago! The car was definately a 783. It was rebuilt by Robin Smith who sourced the gearbox. Billy bought a rally spec BDG as motive power.

Billy started in Autocross in 1972, then went into rallying before buying the March. After he sold the car he returned to rallying and is still involved in the sport.

allenbrown · 10 Jul 2007, 19:08 (Ref:1959996)

So what happened to Bill Wood?

driftwood · 10 Jul 2007, 19:48 (Ref:1960028)

Billy McMillan is he is roofer man ? sounds like the man i was looking for the tel # for he is a rally man

Bloke in the south east covers a fair few guys from Dave Price racing to Roger Hurst as dealers maube an trawl thru AS mags of a given year may throw up the for sale advert

allenbrown · 10 Jul 2007, 20:51 (Ref:1960082)

Maybe - but what year?

driftwood · 10 Jul 2007, 20:55 (Ref:1960088)

Dad bought the March 782 BDG from Billy MacMillan from Darval, Ayrshire at the end of 1986 from earlier email so we are talking maybe 1983/4-85

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
March 73B - 74B - 75B - 76B - 77B	Bryan Miller	The Chassis History Archive	305	18 Aug 2021 17:15
March 703 - 713	RAP	The Chassis History Archive	54	12 Dec 2020 18:48
March 723	Chris Townsend	The Chassis History Archive	10	6 Apr 2007 15:34
March 702	robrace	Motorsport History	10	11 Sep 2006 23:29