Remember the KINCRAFT?

[DaveM]

Thanks Allen - I'm pleased that they will help with research. I don't think I have any others from that time but will look again.

I have now discovered your oldracingcars.com site and as it develops it will be very useful to help me confirm the indetity of some of my photos (although race numbers would be a great help - any chance?). I was at both the '69 Oulton F5000 races as well as the Gold Cup in August which was for F1, F2 and F5000 cars, but didn't caption the latter two. Must have been getting lazy about that time as I had been keeping albums of my photos and had three starting in May 66 going through to Sept 69 and the last few meetings weren't captioned, and the programmes are long gone.

I got even lazier after that because I stopped doing the albums so I haven't a clue were the pics are - a good search during the Christmas break is called for!

I certainly attended F5000 races in 70 as I have a handful of pics from Mallory and Oulton together with one of Gardner in the T300, so that must have been 71.

Will find somewhere to post them, meantime here is possibly the first race appearance of a F5000 in the UK, at the Brands Racing Car Show meeting on 19th January 69, Tony Lanfranchi in Sid Taylor's T142.

[Fred Scatley]

Not an actual F5000 but a McLaren Oldsmobile of Patsy Burt in 1966, Stapleford hill climb

[Fred Scatley]

This book might be of use to F5000 fans

[mickj]

Fred
I've got that book, could have been a bit better, but at least someone had a go at writing something on F5000.

[allenbrown]

Dave

I have race numbers in the database but hadn't modified the results page to show them - I have just done this and the number appear now in grey after the driver's name. At some point, I'll add an entry list for each race but the information I have is somewhat thin.

If you have any pictures that need hosting, I would be very happy to make space for them on OldRacingCars.com.

Would you allow me to use the pictures you have posted here on my site? In particular, I'd like to use the picture of Tommy Reid's Crossle, the Russell-Ford and that excellent picture of Lanfranchi in Taylor's Lola T142 (SL142/20).

Allen

[Chris Townsend]

F5000 appearances by the Kincraft

Brands, 26th Sept '71
Driven by Max Reinhard
Placed 12th

Nivelles, 8th April '72
Reinhard again
Retired

Allen,
It didn't appear at Hockenheim in '69. Don't know if it was entered and didn't show.

BTW it even had a chassis number (unusual for something that seems to have been a one off special) There's an ad for the car in Autosport, can't remember which year, which gives it as FL-012-1

[DaveM]

To macca (and anyone else who's interested of course).

As you suggested in the Roll Call thread, here is the pic of the Lotus-Martin with Roy Pike at the wheel.

[DaveM]

...and here's the remains of the Pierce transporter and three F1 cars on the morning of 29th April 67 (see my post in Roll Call). As stated before - not a pretty sight.

[DaveM]

Oh dear. Meant to post these in the Kincraft thread. Back to bed.

[DaveM]

Thanks TimD for moving these to the proper place. I knew you had the technology!

[Fred Scatley]

I think this was the result of Jock Russell's accident at Paddock

[Fred Scatley]

and this was what remained of the front end

[macca]

Regarding the Russell-Ford, it looks as though it was based on a Lotus 21. Apart from the F5000 Lotus 70, Jock Russell also drove a Lotus 43 F1 converted to take a Ford 427 V8 for Formula 5000, and if I remember correctly from the Andrew Ferguson book 'Lotus: The Indy Years', Robs Lamplugh witnessed it being destroyed in a monster shunt somewhere.

The picture of Miss Patsy Burt in her McLaren "whoosh-bonk" sprint/F Libre car reminds me that she passed away recently.(Bruce McLaren is alleged to have said "you take the suspension off the Can-Am car - whoosh - and knock up a tube chassis - bonk - and you've got a car!" ; three were built, the others going to Harry Zweifel In Switzerland for hillclimbing and to MGM for use as the camera car in the faeture film 'Grand Prix' driven by Phil Hill.)

The Kincraft featured, I remember, in an advert for oil in Motor Sport mag in 1967 or '68.

But does anyone know anything about Jack Pearce?

[allenbrown]

Jack Pearce, not to be confused with JA Pearce or Pearce-Martin F1 fame, left motor racing for a while after the Kincraft but came back later as a trials specialist. His series of Kincraft specials dominated that type of racing for some time.

Allen

[ianselva]

I remember the Kincraft well, I used to go to Brands a lot in the 60s and it usually won the Libre race. It was for sale recently in Autosport I think.
The special saloons in those days were brilliant racing and I remember most of the names mentioned and actually helped Brian Tarrant with his A40 , but it was really a bit of a dog.
Alber Bets Jaguar is racing in some Classic Saloon series still.
Two cars you didn't mention was Doc Merfields Cortina with a V8 and I'm sure I remember someone else had a car widened by 6" - a Borgward I think
I'll have to look and see if I stil have some programmes.

[Andrew Kitson]

ianselva - welcome! Thanks for your input. There is a photo of Doc Merfield's Cortina posted on one of the 60s club racing threads in the historic section.

[Andrew Kitson]

When I started this thread I could not have imagined the fantastic response to my original question. Well thanks to all posters and to Roger Cowman (who called me today having been told of this thread), we now know most of the history of this famous car. Roger has owned it for years but has it for sale - so let's hope it finds a good home to someone who will put it on the circuits again!
Roger also kindly faxed to me a long feature written many years ago by Mike Kettlewell about the car. Here is an edited version :

The Kincraft-Ford V8 single seater was one of the most successful cars in British Club Racing in the late 60s. From 1965-68 driven by Jack Pearce, John Hine, Robin Darlington and Jim Moore, it notched up a remarkable total of 56 wins and broke numerous lap records.

The car was the brainchild of Midlands industrialist Jack Pearce from Tipton, Staffs, who had previously raced Lotuses with much success. In '64, Pearce approached Lotus designer Len Terry and asked him to design the ultimate Libre car. Terry was under exclusive contract to Lotus but agreed so long as the detail work was given to Lotus draughtsman Martin Wade. Terry based the car on the Gilby B type F1 car he had designed in 1961-62 before joining Lotus. Waide took over and masterminded the construction at Pearce's premises.
As it was to be powered by the Ford 4727 cc engine, the spaceframe chassis had to be strong and was braced by a stressed floor-pan. Brabham uprights, hubs and wheels were utilised to save costs. Transmission was via a 4 speed Hewland LG500 box.
Completed in 1965 and code named Kincraft FL-012-1, the car had its first race at Brands on June 20. Pearce finished 3rd. A week later it won at Snetterton, but disaster struck over in Ireland for the Leinster Trophy on the Dunboyne road course. Pearce collided with the F2 Brabham of Adam Wyllie who was killed. Pearce was uninjured but the Kincraft was badly damaged.
Following repairs, John Hine then raced the car and won at Brands on November 28th. It was then sold to David Bridges for 1966 and finished 2nd and 3rd before being sold to Welsh farmer Robin Darlington. He won 18 races with it! On August 20 '66 it was crashed at Oulton and was returned to Jack Pearce for repairs.
Jim Moore, a garage owner from Thornton Heath bought the car but he crashed first time out at Brands in November. However, in 1967 he won 20 races with it but still had dramas! On Easter Monday '67 he crashed at Mallory, repaired the car for a mid-week test at Brands and promptly overturned it breaking his shoulder. Undeterred he attempted to race 4 days later but the pain from his injuries caused him to crash again! The car was out of action for 3 1/2 months.
Moore kept the car for 1968 winning 18 races including the BRSCC Northern F.Libre Championship title. Again it was crashed due to rose joint failure at Brands but was rebuilt with F1 style wide wheels.
It was the accepted forerunner of F5000 but as this formula was introduced the Kincraft 'disappeared'. It was reputedly sold to John Scott-Davies and was infact entered for the first F5000 race at Oulton on Good Friday 1969 by veteran Cobra driver Lord Cross. It was not seen again until 1971 when amateur driver Max Reinhard raced it on northern club circuits - Reinhard claimed to have found the car 'somewhere in Brighton.'
Reinhard sold the car to Ian Stronach who continued to campaign the outdated car on northern circuits.
When Roger Cowman acquired it the car was a real mess with Chevron style wide nose. It will be sold as it was in 1966 when Robin Darlington drove it. Roger has consulted Robin on its rebuild.
Jack Pearce built further Kincrafts, a Can Am type sports car in 1966 (which did not race until 1978! - now owned by American Richard Blenko) and a series of 'mud plug' trials cars.
So there is the Kincraft story. Keep an eye out for it in future historic events if the new owner can be persuaded to race it!

[DaveM]

Not the Kincraft but an interesting addition to the small but growing collection of pre-F5000 V8 single seaters. This is Peter Gethin in a McLaren M4A at Oulton on 26th August 67. This must be right up Allen Brown's street - any history on the car?

[Chris Townsend]

This is fascinating. I didn't know that any M4As in Britain at that time ended up with big stock blocks in the back.

Just hypothesising, but in '67 Gethin was still associated with Frank Lythgoe, who ran an M4A in F2 that season for Alan Rollinson [M4A 200-11E]. Did they sling something other than the F2 engine in at the end of the season? [Though according to contemporary race reports that car went to Robs Lamplough in '68 as an F2]

My other reaction is that this isn't an M4. The bodywork looks very like that of an M1B. Is this one of Ken Shepard's purchases from the works having a run out in a club race?

[DaveM]

Having found some old negatives here is the Kincraft yet again, with Jim Moore driving at Rufforth in the Libre race.

[Andrew Kitson]

Welcome back Dave! That looks like Tony Dean's Dino following.

[DaveM]

Originally posted by Andrew Kitson
Welcome back Dave! That looks like Tony Dean's Dino following.

Thank you Andrew, absence not totally for the reason I told you, but have been busy with other things. Roll on retirement when I can devote more time to really interesting things, like this site!

You're right as usual, it is Tony Dean who, being a Yorkshire lad, was a regular in club meetings oop North. Some might accuse him of being a pot-hunter, but at least he gave local punters the opportunity to see exotics close to, which they may otherwise never have had the chance to. Club racing was the place to see a huge variety of cars, from crude home-builts to foreign exotica.

I don't know who was between them in that photo, but here is a clearer pic of him, this time in front of the Kincraft. It's a Brabham, and both car and drivers helmet look familiar, but I can't put a name to him. No doubt someone here can.

[gfm]

Come clean Marshall ... wasn't Dean the pot-hunter who regularly flew his 908 back and forth to the CanAm series with the chassis stuffed full of drugs? Nothing to be ashamed of - I understood that most of the American 935s that ran in the late seventies and eighties and that did well at Le Mans and stuff, came out of narcotic profits. Allegedly.

It's not Willy Forbes? Norman Foulds?

[Chris Townsend]

John

Dean wasn't a drug runner. He was convicted of evading duty on smuggling cigars from the US into the UK in his F5000 Chevrons - which as a dedicated cigar smoker I personally don't have a problem with. Allegedly Dean's partner in crime was Bobby Brown who formed Anglo-American Racing with him. As a US resident Brown never had to return to the UK to face charges. And no one tried to extradite him, so it couldn't have been that serious.

[gfm]

Sorry. I never was one to let facts get in the way of a good story. Thank you setting me right! Nevertheless, I remember thinking at the time, how does he afford it - start money must be bloody good.