Author Topic: Solved - MJW #380 - RRA Special 1960  (Read 726 times)

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Offline woodinsight

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Solved - MJW #380 - RRA Special 1960
« on: April 27, 2011, 02:28:59 AM »
Finally - what is the name of this car?
Who built it, when, what was it based on and what engine was fitted originally?

Offline woodinsight

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2011, 02:51:21 AM »
Experts?

Offline Carnut

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2011, 05:30:04 AM »
Is it a special-bodied Aston?
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Offline woodinsight

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2011, 05:47:51 AM »
Is it a special-bodied Aston?
Yes that's correct. Chassis and body (modified) were from an Aston Martin.
However the engine was not an Aston and the car had a separate name.
I'll also lock this one for you until your next reply as you are on the right track.

Offline Carnut

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2011, 09:29:07 AM »
Thanks for the lock but I don't know what it is!
It looks a bit (but not enough..) like a Buchanan..
I'll have a wild guess that it's a Lagonda, but assuming I'm wrong I'll have to leave this one to someone with a lot more time than I have to dig the answer out.
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Offline woodinsight

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2011, 09:35:59 AM »
Thanks for the lock but I don't know what it is!
It looks a bit (but not enough..) like a Buchanan..
I'll have a wild guess that it's a Lagonda, but assuming I'm wrong I'll have to leave this one to someone with a lot more time than I have to dig the answer out.
Not Buchanan or Lagonda.
Open to all experts & rookies again

Offline Carnut

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2011, 11:44:12 AM »
Does it have a Jaguar engine?
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Offline woodinsight

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2011, 01:07:51 PM »
Does it have a Jaguar engine?
Yes it has a Jaguar engine.
All I need now is a name and a year......

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2011, 02:28:41 PM »
It's not chassis DB3/6 which was fitted with a Jaguar C-Type engine in 1954 and raced by a gentleman name R.H. Dennis is it?
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Offline woodinsight

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2011, 05:08:09 PM »
It's not chassis DB3/6 which was fitted with a Jaguar C-Type engine in 1954 and raced by a gentleman name R.H. Dennis is it?
Not that one.
It's not a DB3 but - as a clue, based on a single-seater Aston chassis and a modified DB3S body with a Jaguar engine.

Offline D-type

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2011, 06:24:36 PM »
That combination was called the RRA as a single seater. 
Was it still the RRA when it became a sports car?
In 1958?
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Offline woodinsight

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Re: MJW #380
« Reply #11 on: May 04, 2011, 12:52:45 AM »
That combination was called the RRA as a single seater. 
Was it still the RRA when it became a sports car?
In 1958?
It is an RRA Special (there were four RRA Specials built by the late Geoffrey Richardson between 1950 and 1960).
This is the last one built in 1960 and was based on the single-seater DP 155 Aston Martin chassis with the body from DB3S/105 that had been discarded from that car prior to a new body being fitted.
The engine was a Jaguar 2.4 litre, enlarged to 3.2 litres. It was registered in the UK as UUY 504.
I believe the car is now resident in the USA after the body had been altered to a replica (almost) of the original DB3S body.
Needless to say there is a lot more history attached to this car that can be found on the Internet or in various books on Astons.

Anyway I'm awarding a point to D-Type for his identification of the RRA Special.

Photo (courtesy of astonuts) for the car as it appears today -