Pit Box

The chassis was built in 1946 by Jack Gascoigne, Jack Morgan and Lucy Gascoigne. The Westbury Kestrel was mounted horizontally, which meant an off set gearbox and front axle. Unusually, the motor is also fitted with a recoil pull start mechanism. Wheels are built up from discs with solid rubber sandwiched between them. The hand beaten aluminium body took almost another year to complete and still represents one of the most amazing pieces of bodywork on a British tethered car. In 1947, Lt Col Goldie Gardner, who drove the full sized version to numerous World records signed the inside of the body. The car was in the possession of the Morgan family until recently when it was sold on a couple of times before appearing on eBay in the US and selling for a giveaway £1300.     Jan 09

Following the 2nd War, speed flying and tethered car racing were exceptionally popular in Australia and New Zealand. It was almost impossible to procure high performance items from the US or Britain which resulted in a large number of very desirable limited production racing engines and tethered cars being produced' down under'.

This car was found in New Zealand and is a well made version of the record breaking 'Moore Dooling Special' built in Derby by Ian Moore and more usually raced by his wife Ivy. It was described in detail as a constructional article in the Model Maker in 1952. The pan and body of the original were hand beaten, but this example looks as if these components have been pressed, and as they are numbered, indicate some form of production run. Motor is the correct Dooling 29. Note the glow plug and earth connection on the tail of the car.

This car also illustrates how import duties and the dreaded VAT can turn a realistic 'buy' into an extremely expensive acquisition when brought to this country.

Thanks to John Goodall for photographs. Dec 08

MASCO Kittens are relatively common, and many are a lot newer than they pretend to be, but it is rare to find an original such as this. The chassis, running gear, wheels and tyres are all genuine as supplied by the Model Accessory Supply Company. The wheels indicate that it dates from 1948 or later as they changed from the earlier balloon type. Rear chassis stretcher and steering wheel are missing, but otherwise the car is complete, including the statutory Mills 1.3 motor. There is no gearbox as the car is friction drive, with the whole rear axle assembly being pivoted as a crude form of clutch.

Thanks to Gary Maslin for sharing details of another little gem he has unearthed.   Nov 08