The VSCC Meeting today at The Royal Oak at Much Marcle was graced by this original Ulster. It was owned by Andrew Wilson who sadly died not long ago but pleased to say the car is now in the hands of his son William. The early history is obscure, but it is believed the car was used in competition both pre and post war and had many modifications to remain competitive. Currently running on a downdraught carburettor but it is intended to get the blower connected back up in the near future. But do please note the cylinder head/block and count the studs.... reputed ex-works single seater....... The car has been off the road for thirty or so years ...... lovely to see !
01-01-2022, 04:47 PM (This post was last modified: 02-01-2022, 11:42 AM by JonE.
Edit Reason: clarity
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Does anyone know who has chassis 133485, an Ulster rep according to the register because the ledgered, original unsupercharged engine to PL 1629 appears to be in it... might be worth William trying to make touch just to establish the link!
I knew this car in the early 50s. It was owned by George Vallender, a French chap who lived in Cheltenham so quite close to our family home just south of Gloucester.
It was supercharged, but George wanted to do 750F racing, so de-supercharged it and raced a few times but without success. After all, a supercharged Ulster with a carburetter instead of a Blower didn't compete too well.
So George sold it and built a 750 special which went much better.
As I remember, it was a normal blown Ulster, though with that attractive nose cowl. Whether it had been converted from an unblown car I can't say, though possible. The current owner's father communicated with mine some years ago, I still have his letter.
William has written that the engine in the car was acquired in the Channel islands and might well have competition history.
William Wilson seemed delighted at the attention the car attracted. George Vallender was mentioned amongst other previous owners and drivers. Whilst my snappy camera lacks the capacity of an editorial Gandolfi, to the photos above can I add the front brake linkage. No doubt the brains of the forum will immediately identify what it is, but none of us managed it today. M. Vallender may indeed have used it for circuit racing but I can find no entry by him at Shelsley.
Adding two and two together, and probably a dubious additional one-and-a-half, and making six or even seven out of the total, it's just possible that the 25-stud-head engine may have come originally from the white Derrington single-seater.
The car now known as the Willis Special spent some time post-War in the Channel Isles, and when first built by Bill Williams from a pile of bits supplied by Willis in 1938 it is reported that Willis also owned the ex-Derrington single-seater. Derrington is known to have owned the 1928 ex-Chase Montlhery record car (advertised for sale in January 1937), which is thought to have formed the basis for his single-seater, so...
Neither the engine in the Willis nor the original record car were fitted with 25-stud heads, but could the Derrington car have gained such an engine and maybe it stayed with the new Williams/Willis car as a spare and found itself post-War in the Channel Isles? Which would mean that the engine may be an ex-Works engine, and may have been fitted in a single-seater, but would not make it an ex-Works single-seater engine (which surely were 32-stud engines anyway?).
That's an awful lot of ifs, buts and maybes, but there can't have been that many supercharged Ulster bits in the Channel Isles!
When I was still working, around 10 years ago, I did work for a client who lived in a village about 5 miles from Thirsk. The client was Major Peter Steveney, who was a most entertaining old lad who had spent his career in the Royal Household, I believe he had been in the Household Cavalry. He was very posh and was everything you would imagine , chain smoking, liked the odd glass of malt, a flutter on the horses etc etc.
One day whilst chatting to him I must have mentioned Austin 7's, it was around the time that I was starting the Ulster replica build, and he became very interested.
He told me that as a boy he had lived on Jersey and his Mother had an Austin 7 Ulster which he said went like a bomb! In the early post war years, probably around 1948, his Mother found out that there was going to be a hill-climb on the island up the hill from the coast, close to where they lived. I assume this was the Bouley Bay hill-climb. His Mother announced that she was going to enter in her Austin Ulster, much to the amusement of her husband. She had never done anything like that before but suffice to say came home with an award which suggests she won her class.
I never found out the identity of the Ulster but could it have been this car?
Perhaps someone could research the Bouley Bay results, if they survive?
