Tony Vandervell and the Vanwell Racing cars

[Rod Grimwood]

I have been very fortunate to meet and spend a few hours with a gentleman who worked for Vandervell Products Ltd and worked with and travelled with Mr Guy Anthony Vandervell (GAV) on his Grand Prix trips. Ian was an apprentice and became a craftsman at hand beating bearings way back then. He told me of the times with Tony Vandervell and Vandervells passion for his Grand Prix cars. This passion was eventually to take a big toll on his health and Tony Vandervell passed away in 1967.

Ian gave me a book that was presented to him when he retired in 1982 and I have put this little bit together for all of us to share. It is a pictorial of the Vanwall.

This was my favorite car when i was a younger fella and was my number 1 Scalectrix racer, one of which I still have now thanks to Ian gifting it to me.

pS will get Steve to change heading to correct Vanwall I was rushing

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 1
Hope you enjoy

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 2

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 3

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 4

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 5

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 6

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 7

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 8

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 9

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 10

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 11

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 12

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 13

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 14

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 15

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 16

[ERC]

Hate to be a pedant with one of my favourite race cars, but the car is Vanwall, not Vanwell...

I will check out the above later but thanks for posting.

Donington Museum has/had a superb collection. So many cars have disappeared from the collection now that I am no longer sure what is left.

18341

18342

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[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 17

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 18

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 19

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 20

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 21

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 22

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 23

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 24

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 25

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 26

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 27

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 28

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 29

[Rod Grimwood]

Vanwall 30

[GD66]

Great stuff ! Thanks for sharing, Rodders. Lovely-looking cars.

[kiwi285]

A real favourite car of mine when I was at school. All of my school exercise books were covered with side view drawings of the Vanwall. I still have a couple somewhere with the drawings there to be seen.

It was a sensational looking car and did finally make its mark in the F1 world.

[rf84]

Tony Vanderwell was also a noted philanthropist, giving huge donations to the likes of the Royal College of Surgeons. He had inherited a lot of money from his father who was the founder of CAV (acquired by Lucas to create CAV Lucas) and added to this with the profits from Vandervell bearings.
But Tony was not as generous to his son Colin. He forbad Colin to go racing as he had seen so many deaths in motor racing and was afraid for his son's life. When he died all that Colin inherited out of his father's vast fortune was an antique "Grandfather" clock!!!! Just to add 'insult to injury' Colin soon discovered that someone had replaced the clock's original clockwork mechanism with a modern battery one making the clock virtually worthless!

[escorthvn]

Vanwall 30

Thanks Rod for posting these pics, brings back memories, Len Butler in the photo above was my boss when I worked in the engine test dept. of Vandervell Products in late 73 early 74. Unfortunately due to the oil crisis and 3 day working week we were unable to run the engines for 24hours per day as we had done when I first started there. I left because there was just no work. I have very clear memories going out to a building attached to the workshop/factory and there was still bits of the old race car in storage. I remember there were several experimental, GKN/ Vandervell cars also in storage there. Cheers Pete Bryan

[John B]

Great reading about an iconic front-engine GP car, from an era before F1 became far, far, far too complicated!

If you're interested in a model of the #26 Vanwall driven by Stirling Moss at the 1958 Italian Formula One Grand Prix, check this out (http://www.spr-models.co.nz/product/529-vanwall-26-italian-f1-grand-prix-1958-stirling-moss)...

18422

Cheers, John
www.spr-models.co.nz (http://www.spr-models.co.nz)

[Carlo]

A real favourite car of mine when I was at school. All of my school exercise books were covered with side view drawings of the Vanwall.

Me too.

[David McKinney]

I never liked it. By comparison with the Ferraris and Maseratis (and the BRM) the Vanwall seemed too big and bulky

Worse, it started the trend of hiding the driver so you couldn't see his arms at work

[driftwood]

Colin Vandervell was GAV son and he raced in British F3 in the 1970s
I also know the daughter "Miki " married " below" her status and was cut off from the family and she was racing Minis at Brands Hatch in the early 1970s with her husband.
Their children went Karting in the UK and 2 of the girls where very competitive and 1 was a UK champ but they do not have the "money" to go racing in cars

[Howard Wood]

Colin Vandervell was GAV son and he raced in British F3 in the 1970s

Drifty, Colin Vandervell did a bit more than that. He was British Formula Ford Champion in 1970 driving, I think, the same "magic Merlyn" Mk 11A Merlyn that Emerson Fittipaldi and Jody Scheckter drove. As well as F3, in 1973 he ran in Formula Atlantic in the UK, winning from NZ's John Nicholson in the Yellow Pages series with Johnny Nick reversing the result in the less prestigious BP series.

Incidentally, although its is obliquely referred to in Rod's articles, the 4 Cylinder Vanwall engine was essentially 4 "single knocker" Norton motors strung together in the modified Rolls Royce crankcase inside a water jacket. Simple but effective as so much development work had already been done to the donor Norton motor in both bikes and 500cc F3.

[Rod Grimwood]

Little bit of the story after 'GAV' passed

[Rod Grimwood]

Bit more history

[Rod Grimwood]

Continued

[Rod Grimwood]

more

[driftwood]

Yes Howard i know Colin Vandervell was a front running driver in his day in various categories
after F3 he had a go at Touring cars in a Capri and then i think he decided to concentrate on business

[BMCBOY]

Yes Howard i know Colin Vandervell was a front running driver in his day in various categories
after F3 he had a go at Touring cars in a Capri and then i think he decided to concentrate on business

This Andrew Marriot article is worth a read http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/9325.html

[jamie]

Hi Guys as A young fella I was in love the later shape of the VANWALL espcialy when Moss drove. Jamie A