Gunga Din

david bowen

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Re reading page 355 PEI Autobiography Gunga Din was a quick Rapide, first quick engine F10AB/1/70 to Jack Surtees second F10AB/1/71 to George Brown to indicate there were rather special a letter A was included after the figure
 

mercurycrest

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Re reading page 355 PEI Autobiography Gunga Din was a quick Rapide, first quick engine F10AB/1/70 to Jack Surtees second F10AB/1/71 to George Brown to indicate there were rather special a letter A was included after the figure

So, was 1/C 1488 Jack Surtees 2nd Factory Racer from Vincents?:confused:
Cheers, John
 

Somer

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1/70 was exported to Cuba and raced extensively by Jose Amat. It can be seen in some of the books as a chrome plated bike. With the fall of Batista, his son imigrated to the States and took it with him. It turned up in a chopper shop. Another guy bought it and disassembled it. It was left in a damp basement. It wasn't very pretty when I saw it years ago. Plating was flaking off. The cams had PEI stamped in the wheels. 1st MK IIs ?
 

davidd

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I always thought the numbers were 1A/70 and 1A/71. George Rampling, who ordered my Grey Flash when he moved to Canada, built both engines when he was working at the Factory. 70 was built for Jack Surtees as a side car machine and 71 was Gunga Din. I also thought the engine No. 70 was swapped out to 295 and the frame changed, then sent to Jose Amat. It is sort of like Grandad's favorite ax. I suspect they both started out with MK1's, but Amat would have been able to get the MK2's from the Factory as soon as they were made because he was racing.

Irving created the "1C" designation in a memo dated November 10,1948. Prior to that racers and specials carried the "1A" or "1B" designation as far as I know.

David
 

bmetcalf

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Wasn't there something about engine #700 in the mix, too? I saw that motor in the damp basement, too, but that was 30 years ago, so the ol' memory is good, but short.
 

davidd

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Wasn't there something about engine #700 in the mix, too? I saw that motor in the damp basement, too, but that was 30 years ago, so the ol' memory is good, but short.

Bruce,

1A/700 was the Black Lightning engine that was installed in the George Abecassis Cooper. I say Black Lightning because it was written on the work order even though it was not black and it was built to a different specification than we are used to. David Cooper owned this car and raced it after Bill Hoddinott and Sid rebuilt the motor. It was sold a few years ago.

And here David Cooper ran at the Mt. Equinox, Vermont hillclimb. In the background, Egli-Vincent EV4, and Victor Olson's SS-100:


David
 
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