Unipart Mini Moke - Metro Challenge & Group A 1982

[mab01uk]

Found a couple of photos I took in the paddock at the Brands Hatch British Grand Prix (17th July 1982) of the Unipart Metro Challenge Mini Moke support vehicle which may be of interest.
(The Datapost Metros racing on the day in the GP support races were the Group A turbo cars running in the RAC British Saloon Car Championship driven by Richard Longman & Alan Curnow).

[JC T ONE]

Nice Pictures love the carpet.


SCALEXTRIC made several Metro,s for slot racing, incl the DATA POST

[rich@minispares.com]

I wonder if the datapost metros used to get lost and delayed.......


just like other royal mail services...................

[billycooper]

That moke reg no. is on a Green 2003 Laguna Diesel now

More Datapost Metro pics

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16788879@ ... 4382877618

Keep these pics coming mab, loving em !

[uncle 997]

Hi all.

A couple of metro pictures that I received from a guy called Ron carvel.
Ron is the brother of Dave carvel who won several championships in the metro challenge series.

I have recently bought a Maguire mini from Ron and I have posted a picture of the car in the paddock at Donnington park many years ago, the car they owned was chassis no2.

Iam currently in the process of finishing of the car I bought from them and it will be ready for blyton next year.

[uncle 997]

And another couple of pics.

[uncle 997]

Some pictures of my Maguire mini that I bought recently.

Like i said it will be ready for blyton next year.

[mab01uk]

Mini 7 Champion Chris Tyrrell raced in the Metro Challenge for a few seasons. Here are some photos I took of his Metro and battle scarred Mini 7 loaded up outside my late parents house ready to go racing and in the paddock at Brands Hatch & Silverstone. My brother Steve Bell also a future Mini 7 Champion was Chris's race mechanic in the 1980's and both are seen here working on the Metro and Mini. The photos are from different race seasons so the Metro evolved from an Austin to an MG Metro as the championship rules changed when BL wanted to promote the newly introduced MG Metro and Turbo. The Metro Challenge replaced the previous Mini 1275GT Challenge race series and was sponsored by Unipart and later BCA.

[mab01uk]

Austin Metro Challenge - Silverstone paddock photos - 3rd May 1982

[Tupers]

Should I be worried that I got more excited by the Sherpa in this this picture than I did by the Metro?

[mab01uk]

Should I be worried that I got more excited by the Sherpa in this this picture than I did by the Metro?

Some more pics with the Sherpa included just for you.





I think this photo also includes another Sherpa in the background as a bonus!

[Tupers]

That's a mighty fine looking Sherpa, and kudos on the bonus one. It's a shame there aren't many about these days.

[Pete]

I had a Sherpa in the 90's, compared to a Transit it was a complete pile of sh*t!

[mab01uk]

Some more of my Metro Challenge photos from the 1980's


Photo above - Peter Baldwin - Silverstone - May 1981

Photos below Brands Hatch

[rich@minispares.com]

some cracking period photos there mab!

[billycooper]

Love these Metro Pics

Back on the Sherpa trail, this was my service barge in 87, proper thing !! , used to sit the service lads in the back on deck chairs, can you imagine, you would get locked up for that these days !

15831978083_4d51ec7239_z.jpg

[rich@minispares.com]

nice 'tall body mgb' there billy!


the very first 'proper' job I had included the delights of driving a Sherpa (it had gone all posh by then and was a 'Leyland daf'

J734 EAG, where are you now (its not been taxed since 2004)....1) im not surprised - it was shagged then, and 2) hows that for a memory!

I used to tow it full of tools and plant, with a 4 wheel ifor Williams plant trailer behind it, it was crashed, thrashed, run on red diesel, over loaded (massively), never serviced, and generally abused - the sort of thing that would see you bummed over a barrel by VOSA now a days..........


god. I loved that van.


we also had a posher 'K' plate one, I ruined that one by yumping it over a hump in the road so hard that it shoved the front axle back when it landed - it never drove quite the same after that


I might even have a photo of the 'J' plater towing a trailer with my surf blue car on it (it broke down on the way to collect it (from Southampton....) when the fricking clutch blew up

[mab01uk]

Found another Metro photo from Silverstone 3-5-1982

[surfblue63]

I think this photo also includes another Sherpa in the background as a bonus!

Look at that Mk3S with typical late '70s mods. W&P arches, W&P nudge bars, tinted windows, glass sunroof, rear wiper and the long forgotten Wolfrace slot mags. It's even been upgraded with Mk4 rear lights and fog lamps. Just think, if you turned up anywhere with a car like that these days you'd probably get laughed off the field!!

[uncle 997]

Rich,

I know what you mean with memories of vans with your first job.
When I was an apprentice at Dutton Forshaw's I used to drive the marina uni part van-GKB558N sometimes to go and collect parts and do break downs, it was great fun to drive and you could hang the back out in the wet very easily.

On the subject of metro's I will be selling my Klaxon replica Metro turbo car at the end of the month.
I have got two more races to do in it in the NW saloon championship.
It was re- built into a brand new rover bodyshell by a local garage to close to me.
The car has never been on the road since the re-she'll and it has only done 8 races in total since being re- built.
The car still retains its original turbo ID and it has a current v5 and all the correct tags for the chassis number ETC.
The car was at blyton this year and my son blew up the engine on the first morning, since then it has had a full new all steel engine fitted from Howley racing.

That engine is going to be removed and the car will be sold as a rolling shell.
Pictures can be supplied via mail if you pm me and we can discuss it further.

This is a very tidy car which has never been damaged.