DIScussions

2) Further info re DIS photos : Photo #8 Chrade Imp is 850cc Imp circa ‘79/’80. I think it’s Pete Knipe (see also Clive Brown’s info below) and I’m pretty sure it uses a space-frame rather than a Davrian floor pan. My dad raced in the 850cc class and that photo is at the Mallory Park hairpin; we went there once or twice possibly in the Wendy Wools championship.

Photo #9 is from Ingliston, possibly featuring McGaughay or Gauld and photos #11 and #25 are also from Ingliston.

28/10/2011 : (Kevan McLurg)

1) Photo #16 : Adrian Hamilton's Davrian Imp leads Tom Paterson's Clan Crusader at Knockhill, in April 1982.

2) Photo #22 : Ricky Gauld's brand new Davrian-Imp (Ingliston, April 1978)

3) Re the McGaughay Imp , see http://www.racing70s.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/racing70s/Rootes/imp_03.htm

28/10/2011 : (Clive Brown wrote to Kevan McLurg re the Rawlson Imps)

As for so-called Rawlson Imps, these really fall into three categories:

(i) What I call the Davrian Rawlson Imp. A one-piece fibreglass monocoque based on a Davrian, with integral external bodywork. Most famous example was surely Homewood’s Plastic Pig, but I believe other examples went to both Scotland and Eire. (Yes, ten cars built : two BDA cars and one Stilletto <KM>) .

(ii) The genuine Rawlson Imp. Same exterior shell as (i) above (although they looked similar, the wheel arches were different <KM>), but used a steel tube spaceframe from Rawlson’s in Dover. I’m not sure how many there were, but Fred Hendy’s was the first one, and Chris Roberts and Adrian Gamble ran the Chrade Imp, the second of the cars, which was raced as an 850cc or one litre (it had a very funny 850 with nothing machined off the top of the timing cover, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more....) Fred sold his car to Trevor Willcocks (Did he share car with his brother? <KM>), who in turn sold it to Peter Halls. He cut down the side sponsons, and rebodied it with what looked like Maguire saloon bodywork. I don’t know where it went after he had it (useful info: I don’t recall Pete Halls in an Imp <KM>) I think Steve Holland’s was another car. Was it the ex-Chris Roberts’ car? Roberts sold his car fairly soon after he got it, deciding that it was too heavy. He then built his own car, which used a Rawlson over-shell..

(iii) Cars using a Rawlson outer shell over another chassis. There were loads of these, mostly over spaceframes but at least one over what originally was Vic Lee’s Mason Stiletto, which he wrote off at Oulton Park.

I don’t know a lot about Brian Davis’ 1300 BDA car, although I seem to remember that it was a saloon, rather than a coupé. Where did it come from? (New from Davrian according to their build records: also who did Irishman David Halls sell his 1212cc car with a 5 bearing crank to? Allegedly, it came to John Homewood to sell - DH raced it once on the Brands Hatch GP circuit - Did it pass on to Brian Leonard, who at one time had a Davrian or Rawlson-bodied car <KM>) ( I believe that this is basically correct with the exception that I think Brian’s was a different car <CB>)

09/01/2012 : (Kevan McLurg)

I spoke to Brian Davis last week re his 1300 BDA Imp and he said he bought it new from Tim Duffee and had the rear end as a spaceframe to take the BDA and Hewland gearbox. He said that car was not nice when it was delivered and he had to do a lot of work himself . He also recalled selling the car but couldn’t remember any details except that he took a Pontiac in part-exchange and that he thought that the guy was new to racing and possibly a casino manager from Brighton.. He also believed that the car was written off at Donington (he thinks that he may have an Autosport cutting of the car being crashed and will also dig through his files for further information). I believe that I remember seeing an advert of the car for sale around 1980).

11/01/2012 : (Kevan McLurg)

Adrian Hamilton has just called me about one of my F-Fords, and I took the opportunity to ask him about the Davrian Imp he had (white with red squares) : he said that his car was new from Davrian, sold to a guy in London and that he swapped it for the ex-Ian Forrest VW Scirocco Imp-engined car, he had previously been racing. He also told that he later sold the car direct to Mel the prince in Singapore and that he is still in some form of contact with the garage manager. When asked who he had got the car from in London, he said Terry Mitchell.. Well, that was new to me as I recalled Terry having the ex Homewood car off Simon Sabel , which he crashed backwards across the finish line when racing at Lydden (in front of my dad and we still have cine film of it somewhere). Adrian is certain that Terry took over the Homewood Davrian Imp from Simon: he recalls the colour but I can’t think who had it between Simon and Terry.

26/10/2011 : (Kevan McLurg)

1) Here is Steve Holland’s 850cc Rawlson-bodied spaceframe Imp. This is at Lydden as he only raced there and the odd Brands race. The the car did race many years in black. I think that it could be Fred Hendy’s car but I have no info only the knowledge that Fred lived in Kent and raced in the 850 class. The Stiletto is David Smith at Donington in his 1300 BDA-powered car which he raced in the Wendy Wools and then the Donington GT series

Brian Davis’ 1300BDA Imp

DIScussions

This page is intended to provide a discussion forum to assist in unravelling the history of the Davrian Saloons. If you have any information which you believe could help in this task, please e-mail it to the New Davrian Register.

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