March 722 - 732 - 742 - 752

[allenbrown]

Originally posted by Chris Townsend
742-23 was also a Harper car in the MArch sales record, but F1R has it as Quester's.
Now what do we think of F1R!!?

March sales records (as quoted by Adam on a TNF thread) also say 742-23 was Team Harper whose drivers that year were Questor and Purley. However, with no UK rounds that year, I have no contemporary source for 742 chassis numbers. F1R are all over the place on Team Harper's Marches. After just a few races that year they bought Chevrons instead. Coincidentally, I asked Rafa if he had anything on 1974 F2 earlier this morning.

Allen

[Chris Townsend]

Dan

The awful Multiglide March doesn't have Clarkson in its history.

Clarkson starts with 722-29 then sells that to MAthers. Goes on to what was probably 732-1.

The Multiglide car was originally a 712M. Colin Andrews had it before Mike Sullivan Racing ran it in 74 for a variety of bewildered souls and then it ended up with Norman Dickson. In Andrews' hands it's described as ex Jaussaud. However, if we look at race reports and the March sales records there was a deal of plate switching between certain cars at certain times.

[Dan Rear]

Chris, thanks, I was confusing Clarkson completely. Apparently his 74 March F At was a 722, entered by Hurford Jones, the MultiGlide car was Richard Knight amongst others, I presume the Magnys Cours Racing school chap. is this the car Kim M had from about 75 to mid 77 then?

[Adam Ferrington]

As I'm now (belatedly) registered on Ten Tenths, I thought I'd put in an appearance. The interest in my F.Atlantic notes just shows that schoolboy scribblings do sometimes come in handy.....even if it is 30 years later.

What I've given to Allen are photocopies of my contemporary notes in the programmes, so they should be reliable. However ocassionally it is perfectly possible that I misread a chassis plate in the gloom of a rainy Oulton Park paddock so if something in these notes doesn't fit with everything else known, let me know and I'll double check it.

Re. the March chassis records I think I have listed those of interest on various TNF threads.....

I have no F.Atlantic but I do have F2 for :-
1970
1971
1973 (incomplete)
1974
1975
1976 etc.

[Chris Townsend]

Dan

Brain fade in confusing Clarkson with John Calvert [it was he who owned 722-29 [from new] and 732-1. But Clarkson still no connection to the Mike Sullivan car's history.

Jones in a 74B in 1974 could be correct since he took over the Harry Stiller racing car later in the season.

[Ted Walker]

A friend of mine has just "liberated" from a 20 year hibernation a couple of March 732s. The first car has stamped on the tub 732-57. A lot of the parts have 732-55 including the fuel cells,its complete minus engine and box. The second car is thought to be a 73A all we can find on it is AM73-48. The tub behind the seat has been cut away to give increased space in the engine bay. ANY CLUES ??

[Chris Townsend]

Ted,

The tub number is not necessarily equivalent to the chassis number even when it's stamped with a March build number. There were only 17 732s built of which one [15] was itself a rebuild of an earlier car and the car kept the older plate to help with paperwork at customs. Any chance of chipping some paint off to see what the original gel coat was? We do know the colours of all the 732s as built.

The one with the butchered engine compartment is interesting to me since I think that an ex Jarier 732 [the car bent at Thruxton] was treated in this way in 1973 to provide an entry for Ray Allen at the British GP when it was mooted that F5000s would be allowed to run with F1s. This car - Allen will correct me if I'm wrong - might well have ended up on the hills 74 - 76. Where abouts in the UK were these charming creatures in hibernation?

Chris

[Ted Walker]

Chris . The original tub colour looks as though it was yellow . It seems very odd that most of the major bits are stamped 732-55 , including this No stencilled on the fuel bladders with an April 73 date. The second tub has not been buthchered as an after-thought but looks like it has always been like it.IVE MIS READ the AM No its a 75A not 73A its AM75-48 and the roll hoop has a f-glass panel built into it as the photo in the March Book

[Ted Walker]

Chris.I think the 732 has been abroad France or Italy, as there is a lable on the dash saying "pompe". Both the cars have come from the Cambridge area where they have been with the same owner since the early 80s.

[Adam Ferrington]

Ted,

A few comments on the two Marches.....

The 732...
As Chris says, a number such as 732-57 (or 55) does not necessarilly relate to the chassis number, and in this case I believe it does not.
The March records I hold show 17 732s being built, including one (732-15) which was was built by Brian Lewis, rather than by March. Unfortunately no tub numbers are shown on the list. As far as original colour is concerned, two chassis are shown as having been yellow : 732-9 which was written off by Beuttler, and 732-15 which was built in mid season by Brian Lewis for Andy Sutcliffe to race (and which carried the plate 732-9). Eight of the 17 chassis do not have a colour shown for them.

The "75A"
Originally the tub numbering "AM7x-xx" related, I think, to Arch Motors who made the space frames for the early (1970 etc.) cars. By 1975 the tubs for many models had model-specific numbers (such as 752-28), rather than the "AM" numbers which were a series for each year irrespective of model. In the March records which I have, only a very few tub/monocoque numbers are quoted for 1975.
AM75-46 was a 753 F3 car for Trivellato in Italy, delivered on 24 June 1975, and AM75-47 was also a 753 for Pavanello, delivered on 16th July 1975. As these tub numbers are normally chronological it would seem AM75-48 relates to a car built in July 1975 or later. In the list I have 752s, the 75A and the 751s do not use AM tub numbers.
In the list there was only one 75A built in 1975 (75A-1), and this had the tub number 752-29, presumably because the 75A was based on a 752 tub.
So a 75A with an "AM" tub number doesn't quite fit.

Hope this helps,

ADAM

[allenbrown]

Originally posted by Ted Walker
The original tub colour looks as though it was yellow . It seems very odd that most of the major bits are stamped 732-55 , including this No stencilled on the fuel bladders with an April 73 date.

I just bought Motoring News for 1975 and there are some very high 732 numbers appearing on the back of F2 grids that year. I'll find them again.

Originally posted by Ted Walker
IVE MIS READ the AM No its a 75A not 73A its AM75-48 and the roll hoop has a f-glass panel built into it as the photo in the March Book

That's still a F5000. Which picture in which March book?

[Ted Walker]

Allen 2 men and a Ferret or something like that.I am trying to find out where the previous owner got them from, It will have to wait until Monday now as Im off to the HSCC Super Prix.The 75A has special engine frames as well. No chance of it being a 751?????????

[Chris Townsend]

732-9 [and its rebuild 15] seem to be the only yellow 732s. There is a car with that plate which goes to NZ in 1974 for Ken Smith and which seems to stay down under.
So it isn't likely to be that one.

I do remember that 732-10 [which started life as a Jarier works car, so STP red] was painted yellow by the time it ran in F2 in 1975. [There's a colour picture of it, driven by Prado at the Silverstone race, in Motorsport.] By which point it had also been rebuilt as a 742. However, I thought that this car was offered for sale a few years as a complete restored item. So I'm confused!

Like the others I'm also bemused by the 75A. My thought was that it might be an ex Guy Edwards tub built to take the GAA engine, but if as Adam says the 75A didn't get built at Arch Motors then...

[Dan Rear]

On the 75A point, wasn't there only one ever made, the RAM/Jones car from 75. I think the Lawrence book says this was built on a 751 tub, not a 752 one. After 75, Magee/RAM had it in 76, Edwards in 77, all the time with the GA motor. At end of 77, Edwards puts a DFV back in it, so I suppose it reverts to a 'real' 751. He used it into 78 in Aurora, Bruce Allison also on occasion, and thenIIRC it went hillclimbing/sprinting, with Terry Smith ???

The other F5000 March 75, was 'Snappy Tom's' ex-Kuwashima 752 GA. Musetti gets this in mid-76, and used it thru' 77, still with the GA. In 78 he also puts a DFV in it, didn't he write it off in about mid-78. No idea after that.

Btw, we are well off B29s now, can we re-name this thread or something !! (er, yes but it has taken nearly 2 years! - JT)

[allenbrown]

Ted - does your "75A" have any recent Australian history? If it does, Bryan and I might be able to help.

[Teretonga]

Ken Smiths 732-BD(G?) was run for the summer of 74 (Tasman) then went to australia for the Winter where it was fitted with a 1600 twin cam for the van huesen series. It was later sold to Ken Shrivington. Richard carter later (until last year) had a 732-BDA in historic events but I don't know if this was the ex Smith car.

[David McKinney]

I understand (probably from this very thread) that Shirvington still owns the ex-Smith 732

[Bryan Miller]

David,

Correct , Ken Smiths car was 732-9/15 which came to Australia and was campaigned by Ken Shirvinton and he retains to this day.

Re the 75A , if it does have Australian recent history I may be able to assist.

Bryan.

[Bryan Miller]

Dan,

In answer to your comment about this thread being well off course , yes it has been since page 1, when as a newcomer and not being aware of the correct etiquette, I posted March 74B stuff on the poor old Chevron thread , apologies to all. However as it is off course lets keep it there.(Sorted - see my earlier note! - JT)

About 6 weeks ago I rec'd from the guys at March Ives in the U.S.A. a copy of the Factory March drawing register and some drawings I needed for the rear wing etc.for 742 and 74B series cars.

To my surprise the 742 cars have bag tank number drawings as part no. 732-15-01 L.H. and 732-15-02 R.H. specified for BMW and Hart engines.
The 74B cars part numbers are 73B-15-01 L.H. and 73B-15-02 R.H for the BDA and Twin Cam cars.

I went and checked my tanks straight away and mine are stencilled as per the 742 cars , and dated Jan. 1973 , however no tub number stencilled on them.

The 12 month earlier than car build date of the tanks is probably easily explained by March purchasing in bulk.
But why does my car have 742 tanks in a 74B , as I presume , but ready to be corrected , that the capacity required for the F2 cars would have been larger than F/A cars.

75B-8 is in Australia , but was re-tubbed in 1977/8 so am no use in ascertaining if it had an AM number.

My car doesn't have any indication of an AM number , where was this stamped.?? In the usual place as part of the Tub number under the LHS roll over bar pick-up ?? or was it on the engine frame somewhere?? or was this only on later cars??

I think I am trying to say that ANYTHING could happen at March and we will have a hell of a job even sorting some bits out, for instance my car may even be a re-constituted F2 wreck from 73 , built up and sold as a new 74B , we haven't a hope of finding out, without having a list [ if it exists ] of chassis number with corresponding tub numbers.

Bryan.

[Bryan Miller]

Roger,

No , in the U.K. Brett ran an F3 773 sponsored by a rock group STARZ , at the end of the year he obtained the Atlantic car ,Kevin believes out the back door.

Bryan.

[Chris Townsend]

Brett's 773 [or one of them, since I think he ran more than one]
was 773-10

Chris

[David McKinney]

Riley started 1977 with Starz backing, then switched to the Dave Price team, possibly (though not certainly) with the same 773
And, as Bryan says, the 77B was something else again

[Dan Rear]

David

Wasn't Brett R connected with that disasterous AFMP/March thing that year, along with Giacomelli, Pati, Colombo,Piquet, Kennedy etc etc ???

[allenbrown]

I can't be certain where to post this so I suppose this thread is best.

I found this in a newly acquired Motoring News and it might connect up some Marchs.

Motoring News 12 May 1977 p22: Paul Gardner has the ex-Steve Choularton March 73B for Libre racing. It is now to 742 spec but will have 752 bodywork.

His team-mate will be John Walker who has the "ex-David Purley/Graham Perry (Harrison) Atlantic engined March 742".

I hope that is useful.

Allen

[Chris Townsend]

Allen

Knew about the John Walker car, which was chassis 23 [Once I got over the possibility that it was Purley's 722 that Perry raced]. He had that in 76 as well. The Gardner info is new. I think that Choularton may have kept the car for a couple of years rather than selling it in 74.

Chris