SMOKE GREY/ SLOWBOY/ ORANGEBOX CONNECTION!!

[SMOKE GREY]

As most of you know i have the 'Orangebox' rally Mini from the glory days of the 1960's rally scene, Slowboy on here a mate of mine with his superb Minis including his latest 'Knock - off' Smoke grey car and his dad, Peter with his vast knowledge and skill, plus his owned from new 997 Cooper we make quite a bunch up here in darkest northern england Now Slowboys dad owns Scotch Filling station were he has prepared many a rally car back in the day, including Orangebox back in the day and now and also Slowboys rally car LRK.

The best result i for OB back in the day was on the 1964 Morecambe car Club Illuminations a 250 'Motoring News' , RAC c/ship rally. That year i was second behind the winners, Geoff Halliwell and Mike Wood (yes that one!) in 569 FMO and in front of Tony Fall and David Fawcett in AAK200B the Appleyards 1275 'S'. The following weeks edition of MN carried the heading on the cover of 'ILLUMINATIONS A COOPER BENEFIT' with a picture of car 1 the late Reg Mcbride with Don Barrow leaving the start on Morecambe prom. Anyway look what i was loaned the other day






Look slowboys dad was following the route in the Land Rover



And here is said series 1 Landie at the top of the famous Hardknott Pass on the event with L to R Mick Preston ( father of Anthony, route planner on the Rally of the Tests etc), Slowboys mum young lady we can't remember her name, and slowboy senior ( without trade mark beard )

[slowboy]

, the old man is 28 there, and mum 27, dad remembers the pic being taken, how comes i have never looked that young can you see the map magnifer in mums right hand, still got that somewhere

[LMM76C]

What do those 64 Illuminations Regs say about vehicle eligibility?
The 64 Express and Star Regs (an MN and RAC Championship road event, definitely not an International) are on line and state that all vehicles must comply with FIA Appendix J. (Which is not particularly onerous under the Appendix J that applied up to 31.12.65. - where Group 3 allowed highly modifed saloons alongside Sports/GT cars - but is an interesting fact when so many people are complaining today about attempts to "reel in" the more outlandish cars in both stage and road events and claiming such things were never limited)

[SMOKE GREY]

What do those 64 Illuminations Regs say about vehicle eligibility?
The 64 Express and Star Regs (an MN and RAC Championship road event, definitely not an International) are on line and state that all vehicles must comply with FIA Appendix J. (Which is not particularly onerous under the Appendix J that applied up to 31.12.65. - where Group 3 allowed highly modifed saloons alongside Sports/GT cars - but is an interesting fact when so many people are complaining today about attempts to "reel in" the more outlandish cars in both stage and road events and claiming such things were never limited)

There is nothing in there about car eligibility ,interesting in that i have made a decision to do the Rally of the Tests in 2013 were there is a a 31/12/62 cut off for cars to win outright, so 850s and 997s only Miniwise, no problem for me with a 1960 car and 997 engine but i have to replace the perspex for glass though Orangebox always had plastic windows as did every Abingdon 850 and 997 even in Group 1.

There appears to be no set thing as to what was allowed, i have over 100 sets of regs for events in the 62-68 period, some say cars must be t appendix J etc, others (1967 White Horse Rally, MN, BTRDA) " Four wheeled vehicles which comply with the Road Traffic Acts and conform to the current requirements of the RAC for vehicles taking part in rallies". So that clears that one up

[LMM76C]

Thanks. Assume it's because that Illuminations was a "Restricted" in the nomenclature of the period and the Express and Star of that time was a "National". (not that Nationals from a couple of years later and onwards had any such restrictions on vehicle eligibility)

[tomkidd]

Cool photo