OLDTIMER GARAGE AUSTRALIA P/L

1985 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 3.2 Targa

Details:
Oldtimer Australia delighted to offer for sale this very rare and highly desirable Australian delivered 1936 AC 16/80 Sports Tourer.
It is understood that AC built only 42 16/80s to special order from 1935 to 1939.
These cars were purchased in period by wealthy customers who were more often than not weekend racers.
This particular car was delivered new to its first owner Richard Wilkinson from South Yarra in Melbourne. The car was originally black in colour and it was first registered on the 21st November 1936. Wilkinson entered the car in the 1936 South Australian Centenary Grand Prix, retrospectively referred to as the 1937 Australian Grand Prix (even though run in 1936!). The event was held at Victor Harbour in South Australia on the 26th December 1936.
Wilkinson, who lost a leg in a motor racing accident at the 1932 Australian Grand Prix was intending to drive the car, but ended up handing the reins to George Martin. Interestingly, Martin is noted in the event catalogue as driving a supercharged Alfa Romeo, but that car was withdrawn with a mechanical issue.
Racing with number 26, the AC driven by Martin was understood to have diced for the lead for the majority of the race before spinning off the track and ultimately finishing twelfth.
Wilkinson didnt keep the AC for long and it is noted as being advertised by Select Used Cars in Melbourne in December 1937. The car passed through a number of owners over the forty years before being acquired by well known classic car enthusiast Geoff Dowdle.
Dowdle acquired the car in May 1977 and restored the car over a 16 year period.
The current owner acquired the car some 24 years ago. Back in 2003 the engine was rebuilt by the Delage Garage in Cremorne, Melbourne. There are detailed receipts and a number of photographs on file of the work undertaken.
This car has a huge history file with documented ownership from new. Dowdle restored the car to a very high standard with a number of sympathetic upgrades. The upgrades included fitting hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, 16 wheels running 205R16 tyres (for safety) in lieu of the original 19 wheels running 4.75 5.00 19 tyres, an upgraded steering box from a Jaguar MkV, upgraded rear axle and differential as well as other improvements. It is also understood that when the body was restored the original timber frame was replaced with a steel frame.
Today this fabulous AC 16/80 Sports Tourer presents resplendently. The dark blue paint work is in very good condition, with some very minor blemishes here and there. The trademark tall AC grill and greyhound of the road mascot are a real feature. These, along with the headlights and horns are all in very good condition. The painted wire wheels with chromed AC embossed wheel spinners are in similarly good condition and subtly compliment the dark blue paint.
The interior is simplistic but very businesslike. The polished aluminium dash fascia looks fabulous and houses a well laid out cluster of instruments and switches. The upholstery and carpets are all in good condition, showing light patina.
Under the bonnet everything is neat, clean and tidy. ACs 1,991cc six cylinder engine along with ancillaries takes up most of the space. There is also a timber covered compartment that sits against the firewall which houses the battery and provides two storage compartments for tools.
The devil is in the detail and on this car you will find AC logos everywhere. In addition to the wheel spinners, they are on the pedals (like the early Alfa Romeos), the gear lever and on different parts of the engine.
Once you fire the car up the cars competition pedigree is obvious. The engine and exhaust note are fabulous. Our recent test drive around inner suburban Melbourne streets was a far cry from how George Martin would have been driving the car between the seaside towns of Port Elliot and Victor Harbor back on the 26th December 1936. But, we did manage to find a few quiet streets where the car could stretch its legs. The engine pulled strongly through the rev range and the gear changes up and down the box were relatively smooth. The car felt surprisingly firm on the road and the hydraulic brakes give the car far better stopping power than you would expect.
The documentation on file includes a list of all AC 16-80s built and it confirms that this car retains its original matching numbers engine.
Accompanying this car is an exceptional history file which includes some fabulous period photos of the car at various events, an owners manual, the original 19 wheels and drums brakes as well as many spare parts.
It is noteworthy that a 1937 AC 16/80 Sports Tourer was exhibited in the European Classic Sport Class at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours dElegance. A very similar car to the example we have on offer was exhibited in the British Prewar Sports Late class at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours dElegance.
Highlights:
- Australian delivered.
- One of only 42 ever built.
- Quintessential British sports car.
- Good history file.
- Ready to be used and enjoyed.
Price $289,950.
Background:
The AC story is a fascinating one. In 1903 a 20hp four cylinder motor vehicle, known as a Weller, was built. It was the brainchild of John Weller, a talented engineer and designer, and John Portwine, a butcher and talented businessman who financed the venture. The Weller never made it into production and the duo decided to focus their attention on building a cheap and reliable three wheeled commercial vehicle. The Auto-Carrier as it was known was powered by a single cylinder 631cc engine, it had chain drive from the engine to the single rear wheel and it had tiller steering. The Auto-Carrier proved to be more efficient than the traditional horse and cart of the day and the vehicle was a resounding success.
In 1907 a passenger version of the Auto-Carrier was built and it was called the Sociable. The Company was renamed Auto Carriers Limited in 1911 and had to relocate to new bigger facilities in Thames Ditton in Surrey. The company went from strength to strength and whilst the First World War temporarily derailed the car business it was post war that really defined AC. Weller designed a six cylinder alloy overhead cam engine that with ongoing development remained in production from 1919 to 1963.
AC continued to grow and it built some wonderful cars throughout the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. During this time ACs cars achieved a number of significant time and distance records as well as race results.
AC built around 850 cars throughout the 1920s, with the 16/40, 16/56 and 16/66 models offered at that time. Their cars evolved into the 1930s, spawning the 16/60, 16/70, 16/80 and 16/90 models. It is understood that AC built just over 600 cars in that time.
Perhaps ACs most significant prewar model was the AC 16/80. It is understood that AC built only 42 16/80s to special order from 1935 to 1939. Of these 42 cars, 28 were fitted with the slab tank body with the squared off back and two spare wheels attached to the fuel tank. The other 14 cars were fitted with a sloping tail body. The AC 16-80 was built on a relatively short chassis of 8 10 designed for competition use. They are light and nimble to drive and in period always very competitive in their class in motorsports events.
Subsequent AC models that were introduced post the Second World War were the AC 2.0 Litre, AC Petiti and the John Tojeiro designed AC Ace that as first introduced in 1953. Powered by ACs proven two litre overhead cam straight-six engine now good for 100 hp, this elegant aluminium bodied two seat sports racing car proved to be a huge success. It was soon joined by a coupe or hard top version called the Aceca and later a 2+2 version called the Greyhound. By the mid 1950s the AC power plant was seen as inadequate and by 1956 AC offered the car with the option of Bristols two litre six cylinder engine with triple carburettors giving significantly improved performance. In the early 1960s American automotive icon Carroll Shelby needed a new platform to race and approached AC with the idea to install a big American V8 engine in their AC Ace. Ford came to the party and agreed to supply their Windsor V8 engines for the car. The rest, as they say, is history and the Shelby Cobra went on to become a legend.

1936 AC 16/80 Sports Tourer

Details:
Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale this rare and unique 1955 Cooper T-39 Bobtail works race car.
This car, chassis CS11/12/55, is one of the two works race cars which were built for the 1955 season.
The car made its debut at Goodwood on the 11th April 1955 in the Sports Car Race for cars up to 1,500cc. The car, carrying number 55, was entered by the Cooper Car Company and driven by Ivor Bueb. It finished 3rd behind two Connaught ALSRs.Bueb continued to race the car with great success in the UK until September 1955. The car finished first in class an impressive 6 times of the 16 races it participated in.
The car then found its way to the US where it was acquired by Harry Banta. He first raced the car at the Govenors Trophy race held at the Windsor Field Road Course in Nassau (Bahamas) on 9th December 1955. Banta finished 19th overall and 1st in class. Two days later he participated in the Nassau Trophy Race held at the same venue and finished 27th overall but again 1st in class.
In 1956 Banta continued to successfully campaign the car on the US West Coast. In April 1956 he participated in the SCCA National Sports Car Championship round at Pebble Beach and finished 13th overall and 2nd in class. He also raced at Santa Rosa in May 1956 where he finished 2nd, Buchanan Field in July 1956 (DNF), Sea Fair in August 1956 where he finished 3rd, Arcata in August 1956 where he finished 4th, Sacramento in September 1956 where he finished 2nd and Palm Springs in November 1956 where he finished 3rd.
Banta had the car painted yellow and usually raced under the number seven. There are a number of period photos on file showing the car at the various events in the US.
In 1958 Banta purchased another Cooper Bobtail which used to belong to Lance Reventlow and put his own Bobtail up for sale. The car was advertised in California Sports Cars magazine and subsequently sold to Fred (Jock) Ross. Interestingly, Ross had been a close friend of Ivor Bueb and had raced for and been involved with the Border Reivers Team in the UK before arriving in Los Angeles. He was working as a Lotus mechanic for Jay Chamberlain. Ross ran the car at Pomona, Riverside and Laguna Seca, He changed to colour scheme on the car from yellow to Border Reivers navy blue with white circles.
In 1959 the car passed on to Bill Watkins, who ran the car at the Indy Speedway, Lexington Mid-Ohio, Meadowbank in Chicago, Lawrenceville in Illinois, Willow Springs, Riverside and Pomona in California. Subsequent owners were Chuck Cornett, Gordon Keller of Victory Lane magazine also in California and Dick McGovern.
McGovern sold the car in 1997 to Paul Moxham from Coffs Harbour in NSW who imported it into Australia.
Over the years the car had been fitted with a variety of engines and several other modifications has been made. Moxham decided to restore the car to its former glory. He engaged the services of Harry Galloway, a UK trained race engineer, who restored the chassis and engine bay to its original configuration. A new body was made for the car in alloy.
The current owner acquired the car from Moxham in 2008 and has used it at various historic events over the years.
In 2019 the car suffered an engine failure. At that time the car was running a 1,460cc four-cylinder Climax FWB engine. That engine was severely damaged and a decision was made to rebuild a correct engine to the original specifications from 1955.
A correct Climax FWA engine block was sourced and was completely rebuilt with a new billet steel crankshaft, new con rods and pistons, new cylinder liners etc. All the work was done by McKernan Restoration in Queensland.
Running a correct FWA Climax engine with a capacity of 1,098cc, the car presents in a configuration very close to the way it was when it first left the Cooper factory in 1955.
The car is now best described as an older restoration, but it still presents very well. The paint is generally in good condition but this is a car that has been raced regularly and as a result there are some stone chips on various panels.
Getting into the car is somewhat of an exercise but once you are in, the seating position is surprisingly comfortable. As a race car, there is limited instrumentation on the small dashboard. The most important instruments are the tacho and temperature gauge.
The starting procedure is simple, turn the battery isolator off, insert the key, turn the ignition on and then press the start button. The car starts easily and after youve feathered the accelerator to warm the engine up, it will settle into a smooth idle. The exhaust note is spectacular and that little four cylinder engine behind you just wants to rev. The engine feels really strong which is not surprising as it is essentially brand new.
Theo Page, a well respected technical artist working for Autosport, Britains motor sporting weekly, used the car to create a very detailed cutaway drawing. This was published in the May 6th 1955 edition of Autosport supporting an article about the new Cooper 1100 written by John Bolster.
It is not often a car like this is offered for sale in Australia. This world market car is eligible for a host of prestigious international historic events including Goodwood and the Le Mans Classic.
This iconic sports racer is offered for sale with a voluminous history file and other sundry documentation. There are a number of original race programs, including the Goodwood meeting held on the 11th April 1955, period photos and period car magazines (featuring the car). Also accompanying the car is a CAMS certificate of description, the original 1956 Kellison fibreglass body, the original seat and the original steering wheel.
Highlights:
- First works Cooper T-39 Bobtail built by the factory and raced by Ivor Bueb.
- First Cooper to be powered by a Coventry Climax Engine.
- CAMS certificate of description.
- Recent rebuild of original spec 1,098cc FWA Climax engine.
Price $ 324,950
Background:
To quote Doug Nye from an article written for Goodwood Road Racing dated 30th August 2019 . . . The Cooper Car Company grew out of bubbling, infectious enthusiasm displayed by young tousle-haired John Cooper and his equally-keen former schoolfriend Eric Brandon. In the depths of our countrys immediate post-war austerity and gloom, they simply wanted to go motor racing.
Their ambitions were aided by the fact that bubbly Johns father, Charles Cooper, had served a full apprenticeship in motorsport as mechanic and had also run cars for Brooklands racer Ginger Hamilton. Hed also built up a decent, if compact, garage business based in Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, Surrey.
The Cooper Car Company born.
The first cars they built in 1946 were single seater 500cc formula 3 racing cars powered by a JAP engine. Interestingly due to the shortage in materials immediately after World War II the first prototypes were created by joining two Fiat Topolinos front ends together. As the car was powered by a motorcycle engine, out of practicality the Coopers decided to mount the engine behind the driver. This turned out to be a stroke of genius.
Their first car was called the Cooper 500 and it had lots of success on tracks and in hill climb events. Two such cars were built initially, one for John and one for Eric. Both proved themselves very competent young drivers, their cars arguably the best in the new class. Brandon won one of the first post war race meetings at Granson Lodge Airfield in the car. This quickly created demand from other drivers. Over the years drivers like Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, Jim Russell, Ivor Bueb, Ken Tyrrell, and Bernie Ecclestone ended up driving Coopers.
In the 1940s and 1950s Cooper built some 300 single and twin cylinder cars. Cooper dominated the F3 category winning 64 of the 78 races between 1951 and 1954.
At the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, Cooper made its first appearance at a Formula 1 race. American driver Harry Schell qualified his Cooper T12 in 20th place but unfortunately had to retire after a collision on the first lap.
In 1952 Cooper introduced a front engined Formula 2 car powered by a Bristol engine. These were driven by the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio and Mike Hawthorn and furthered the companys growing reputation.
In 1955 the company began building rear engined sports cars based on the 500cc cars. These cars were powered by a modified Coventry Climax fire pump engine. The Bobtail Cooper sports car had been born. These cars really started the rear engined revolution, not just in their class but also in other categories.
In 1957 Jack Brabham raised eyebrows when he finished 6th at the Monaco Grand Prix with a rear engined Formula 1 Cooper. The first race of the 1958 Formula 1 season was held in Argentina on the 19th January 1958. After qualifying in 8th place, Stirling Moss piloted his Cooper first to the chequered flag giving Cooper its first Formula One victory. Frenchman, Maurice Trintignant replicated Moss achievement winning the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix.
The Coopers became more successful leading to Jack Brabham and the Cooper Works team winning the Formula One World Championship with their T51 in 1959. This was a first for a rear engined race car and the sign of things to come. Brabham and his Cooper T51 dominated the 1960 Formula 1 race season taking back to back championship wins.
The Cooper T-39 Bobtails were very successful in sports car racing. Developed by Own Maddock the first T-39, driven by Ivor Bueb made its debut at the Easter race at the Truxton circuit near Andover in the UK. Between 1956 and 1962 Bobtails managed to rack up and tally an incredible streak of domination and competitiveness, scoring 91 total wins and clinching 236 podiums finishes, an incredible record.

1955 COOPER T39 BOBTAIL

Find Unique Cars For Sale from OLDTIMER GARAGE AUSTRALIA P/L.

New & Used Unique Cars For Sale

OLDTIMER GARAGE AUSTRALIA P/L

Sale Price

1985 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 3.2 Targa

1936 AC 16/80 Sports Tourer

1955 COOPER T39 BOBTAIL

OLDTIMER GARAGE AUSTRALIA P/L

Dealer Address