You can read part 2 of David’s memoirs here
Part 3 – The Last Lap
Sydney had once again started to compete in International Rallies. Firstly with the Mk1 Ford Zephyr and subsequently with the Mk2. With the Mk2 Zephyr this was the first involvement of commercial sponsorship with a Finance Group funding two cars. One for Sydney and one for a customer. The preparation was carried out at the High Street workshop where both cars were equipped with additional lights and Halda recorders. Our own quick fit snow chains were supplied complete with modified wheel rims. These snow chains were very successful and stayed on at speeds in excess of 50 MPH and were, some years later, the subject of a patent.
The accuracy of the distance recording on International Rallies was of prime importance. As a means to minimise the error of the driven axle distance recording I designed a gear driven drive which drove a speedo cable via a right-angled drive mounted on the front wheel back plate. This proved quite successful. However the biggest problem was keeping the speedo cable away from the front tyre on maximum lock. With the advent of disc brakes a new scheme was evolved. Because the gears, although running in a partly shielded environment, were subject to the ingress of road dirt it meant the gear had a relatively short life. Practical and useful for drum brakes but it needed the advent of passive sensors to work on disc brakes.
As a departure from cars the potential for producing a complete Ambulance vehicle was evaluated. In re- sponse to the view that a low floor and front wheel drive was the way forward, I spent a considerable amount of time in producing a scheme which would meet this basic criteria. The basic design was achieved by using a marine ‘V’ drive coupled to the gearbox of a Ford Zephyr, through a Salisbury differential unit and then through C.V joints to drive the front wheels. The front suspension was via double wishbones and the rear by Bramber rubber suspension units. Inboard front disc brakes were used coupled to drum brakes at the rear. A rear floor height, approximately 9 inches, was achieved which was acceptable for London streets however would be inadequate for outer county use. The construction of this vehicle took place at the workshop below The Clapham High Street Head Office and it took some eighteen months to make a roadworthy vehicle. More of this project later because Sydney had, after his first attempt at a twin engined sprint car, turned his emphasis to building an American style dragster.