Description
Sold new in 1950 by John Crouch the Cooper agent in Australia to Paul Roberts. It was sold again in 1951 to future 3 times F1 World champion Jack Brabham by Crouch. It was Brabhams first road racing car after moving out of Speedway midgets. Brabham sucessfully raced it with an 1100cc Vincent HRD motor at many road races and hillclimbs until he sold it when he moved to Coopers in England in 1954.It was raced continuously by a number of owners until 1961 when it was involved in a major accident whilst being towed back from a race meeting. The car was rebuilt by Ken Clelland with a new space frame chassis and fitted with a Triumph Tiger 110 air cooled 650cc motor which remains in it today. It spent 20 years under a house until unearthed in remarkable condition in 2000. The engine, gearbox and clutch have been rebuilt and only require a new exhaust and some adjustment to the brakes to be ready to race. It has been accepted by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to race in its current condition as a GroupM Historic.
History
1950 Built by Cooper Car Company as a Cooper MkIV !950 Sold by John Crouch Australian Cooper Agent to Paul Roberts. Roberts returned car to Crouch as unreliable after blowing up 1100cc JAP Engine 1951-1954 Car sold to Jack Brabham without engine Brabham fits BSA 500 but finds it too slow.Brabham fits Vincent HRD100cc motor and races car till 1954 winning many races including the "All powers Handicap" and the under 1500 cc Handicap at Mt Druit in 1952 and 3rd place in the NSW Hillclimb Championship. He repeated the performance the following Year at Mt Druit 1954 Brabham sells car to Jack o'Dea who gets fastest lap at the "Argus TT"in 1956 at the Formula 1 track at Albert Park. He also came 2nd in class at Templestowe Hillclimb that year. 1959 The car passed through two more owners Reg Smith and Owen Bailey and was bought by Keith Soames in 1959. Keith hillclimbed the car very successfully at Bathurst now home to Australias most Famous Sedan Car Race The Bathurst 1000. He won his class and 2nd fastest time of day overall in the NSW Hillclimb Championship in 1959 when the car was 10 years old! After being rebuilt as the DonLand Special was widely raced by its builder and from 1978 through 1982 raced by Peter Tucker Junior as an Historic Racer. It then spent 20 years under his fathers house until unearthed in 2000. The car is as built in 1961 with the engine and gear box rebuilt using original NOS parts
Recent Competition History
Templestowe Hill 69.33 sec Foleys Hill20.13 sec Albert Park Circuit 2min.13sec
Performance Data
Class: 500cc/F3
Track: Albert Park Melbourne
Engine
Engine Builder: Phil Pilgrim
Manufacturer: Triumph Motorcyle
Type: T-110 Tiger
Displacement: 650cc
Horsepower: 40+@ 6500rpm
Induction: Naturally Aspirated
Heads: Alloy Head
Block: T-110 D6566 1959
Crankshaft: 1 Piece
Valve Train: Overhead Valve
Clutch: Triumph
Pressure Plate: Multi Plate
Total Time: 0 Hours
Races: Nil
Dry Sump
Fuel System
Fuel Tank
Manufacturer: Amal Monobloc
Age: 43 years
Capacity: 2 gallons
Fuel Pump: Mechanical Rear Axle
Fuel Type: Unleaded
Oil/Water System
Radiator: Nil
Oil Cooler: Tank Type
Oil Cooler Location: Rear
Electrical System
Ignition: Lucas Magneto
Alternator: Nil
Battery: Nil
Data Logger: Nil
Computer: Nil
Transmission
Manfacturer: Triumph
Type: Triumph Manual
Gears: 4
Shifter: Sequential
Races: Nil
Rear End
Manufacturer: Cooper
Type: Chain Drive
Differential: Nil
Axles: Cooper
Races: Unknown
Body
Construction: Alloy and fibreglass
Color: British Racing Green
Paint: Original
Condition: Good
Has patina of age but in good condition
Chassis
Type: Spaceframe
Builder: Ken Clelland
Material: Steel square Tube
Finish: Epoxy Enamel
Condition: Excellent
Front Suspension: Cooper/Fiat 500 Transverse Leaf Original
Formula 3
