Brabham BT29

[Andrew Fellowes]

& it has a 1970 AM number.........

[Chris Townsend]

Chet Freeman sold his 1969 BT29 and then bought another?

f/s Opert stock list 27.11.69 French Blue, Vegantune, Cen Div FB champ [which was Freeman], less than 4 months old

BT29-49
This car was owned and raced [in local races at Westwood] by Vancouver driver James Hamilton 1980-82 [he remembered the number!]

Chris

[Chris Townsend]

I've been talking recently to Ken Duclos, and this has led me to rethink some facts about BT29 ownership, and in particular the early cars.

Basically three cars emerged from a bunch of frames and wrecks that went to Karl Whitney and Ken Duclos. In the advert for BT29-2 on race-cars some years ago the description ran:
This was the 2nd BT-29 built originally for Fred Ashplant, through Fred Opert, car did not arrive till August and Ashplant had already purchased a Chevron. Bob May took delivery, car was Black with Silver stripe. In 1971 the car was sold to Tom Scott who was killed in the car at Daytona. The remains were sold to Carl Whitney who purchased remains of a car crashed by Al Lader and a incomplete car from Opert missing a chassis tag. Whitney built up a car from the three and raced with a SCA Cosworth in Formula Continental. The remains of the Bob May and Al Lader car's were sold to Ken Duclose, who was also racing a BT-29. He robbed pieces and cut pieces as needed to keep his car racing. Marty Handshy purchased remains of May and Laders car's. The present owner aquired Bob May car from Handshy and restored.

The problems with this history are that we don't know a Bob May in 1970.

Here's my version courtesy of Duclos conversation

He said that he bought chassis 2 or 4 - couldn't remember which - but it was from Ashplant, still in the crate, as Ashplant had decided to run a different car instead [bought a March?]. This was the only BT29 he owned and he ran it until he bought a BT40, so end 1972.

However, the car in which Scott was killed at Daytona was not the ex Ashplant car: Duclos says that it was Bob Welch's - which I think we have as chassis #8. Duclos says that he later bought that wreck for spares, which ties in with the original story, and we could probably add to it the remains of Lader's bent #46 which is still owned by Handshy and also passed through Whitney's hands.

So, there is a point at which chassis 8 and 46 converge, in Carl Whitney's shop, together with some other bits [the Opert car?] and then, after Whitney has built a car out of them [described by Formula in 1975 as 'built from 2 wrecks plus the bodywork of a third'] they move onto Duclos who sells them to Handshy.
So out of this we get
BT29-2 Ashplant to Duclos late '69. Retained to 1972 then ? If BT29-2 has its plate it suggests it found its way to Handshy if he didn't sell it with the parts. I think David Irwin did some work on this car? Now owned by Joe Blacker
BT29-8 Bob Welch 1969-70, to Tom Scott, killed in car early 1971 Daytona. Remains to Carl Whitney, then Duclos. Parts find their way into restoration of chassis 2 but identity retained and now with John Stowe
BT29-46 Allan Lader 1971 wrecked; sold to Carl Whitney and then Duclos; now with Martin Handshy.

What we lose is any trace of the identity of Carl Whitney's bitsa BT29 as all the three cars that go to Duclos seem to have their plates.

Chris

[Chris Townsend]

Originally Posted by David Irwin

Dick Smothers ran BT21A-4, this car was widened by John Sorbello and fitted with a Chevron B16 body, we purchased the car from John Kauffman who didn't want it after he discovered he didn't buy a B16!!! I restored the frame back to it's original configuration w/ it original FT200 and TwinCam.

David Irwin
Evergreen, CO

David, Ken Duclos says that he bought the ex Smothers 21A off Opert [Smothers traded it in for a new Chevron]. Thinks that he sold it back to Opert again late 1969 when he bought his BT29.

Chris

[Andrew Fellowes]

Originally Posted by Chris Townsend

BT29-46 Allan Lader 1971 wrecked; sold to Carl Whitney and then Duclos; now with Martin Handshy. Chris

well it was in 2006 but 2007 Dan Mershon, Springfield, OH, (call Dan on 937 605 1505) had it for sale on ebay but Marty could of course still own it.
Andrew

[David Irwin]

Well this is interesting. "The present owner aquired Bob May car from Handshy and restored." this was me. My information about Bob May came from Fred Ashplant. BT29-2 and BT29-46 now have reproduction chassis tags, this was done based on research at the time. I had thought Ken Duclose gave Marty Handshy those chassis numbers for the cars. Then I contacted Fred Ashplant. Marty talked with Carl Whitney. I think Whitney's opinion is only one car exists from the three, because the parts were all interchanged. The car I believed to be BT29-2, had a frame that looked as though someone had been in a very serious wreck, before I reconstructed it. I had also talked with a driver at the time Fred Harris who told be he remembered Bob May in the Black car, as it was the first BT29 he had seen. So are you saying you think BT29-2 is really BT29-8? And BT29-8 is really BT29-2? Does BT29-8 retain a original chassis tag? Was BT29-8 your Bitsa car and borrowed from 2 & 46 and with BT29-2's chassis? Or was BT29-2 turned into BT29-8?

BT29-46 was different, because Al Lader had a rather square roll hoop on his car. This car no longer belongs to Mershon

I could be fuzzy on some of this, I've restored or have done major work on about 20 Brabhams starting back in 1988.

Great work on BT21A-4, that car has recently changed hands again to someone in PA, sold through Mark Leonard.

David Irwin
Evergreen, CO

[Chris Townsend]

David

One mistake [so far] I think the ex Lader wreck was probably 29-35 which he crashed at Mexico City.

Ken told me that the Scott frame was bent in the middle, having received a very heavy side impact. This, he said, was the Welch car. He was very clear about his car being the ex Ashplant one and its still being in crate.

I don't know what plate chassis 8 has on it. It may also be that we could attribute chassis 35 to the Whitney spares car. This would clear up the situation

Chris

[Andrew Fellowes]

If Al Lader had BT29-35 in 1970 and crashes at Mexico City 27th June 1971 and then gets BT35-39 as a replacement it would rather confirm that any involvement with BT29-46 in 1971 was very short lived if at all?
I assume the date for the purchase for the BT35 as being June 1971, that's odd.

from the BT35 thread,

Originally Posted by Bob Slusher

A nice conversation this morning with Allen Lader. Al has receipt for #39 dated 6/71. Fred flew the car over following Allen's shunt of his BT29 at Mexico. Allen ran the car at Edmonton, Donnybrook, Elkhart, Mossport, and Westwood that year. He sold the car to a friend collector who has it "as raced" in deep storage. Owners name withheld. Al would like to buy the car back and restore it!

Peace,

Bob Slusher
Oregon

[Andrew Fellowes]

Edmonton 1st Aug. 1971 BT29-46, 2nd

Brainerd 15th Aug. 1971 BT35(-39) 4th

ref: http://www.oldracingcars.com/results...?CategoryID=LP
thank you Allen.

[allenbrown]

Thanks Andrew - I'll fix that. Is it also BT35-39 therafter at Elkhart Lake 29 Aug, Mosport Park 19 Sep and Westwood 3 Oct?

[Andrew Fellowes]

it's no more than an assumption on my part given Bob's report

Andrew

[allenbrown]

I see it now - I failed to scroll up and read Bob's post.

[Chris Townsend]

Lader's BT29s

BT29-9 Riverside 19.4.70 to Dallas 5.7.70 [Pacifico car] c/n courtesy Ron Householder who owned in 1971

BT29-35 Road America 18.7.70 to Mexico City 27.6.71 [wrecked] [entr. Opert and then Bonphil Racing] owned by Bobby Rahal, ex David Romaine
[will ask Bobby whether it has original or replica plate, as I presume this car to be one of the 'Duclos Three'

BT29-46 Edmonton 1.8.71 and Donnybrooke 15.8, gets BT35 for Road America at end August

Chris

[allenbrown]

We seem to have a number of different opinions for the first time Lader used his BT35 I have Brainerd/Donnybrooke, Bob says Edmonton and Chris says Road America. Which is right (I'm betting Chris is )

[allenbrown]

While I am it, do we now know what car Lader raced in the first two raced of the 1969 season (Riverside and Laguna Seca)?

[Chris Townsend]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

While I am it, do we now know what car Lader raced in the first two raced of the 1969 season (Riverside and Laguna Seca)?

I'm guessing his BT18

Chris

[David Irwin]

The car I restored and labeled Chassis #2 indeed was the frame with the heavy impact on the right side. Do you think Fred Ashplant misspoke when he said Bob May? Did he mean Bob Welch? Some research that was done by Mike Fitzgerald listed Fred Ashplant as the original owner to BT29-2, and that Tom Scott was another owner. Fred told me he did not take delivery. Then the frame came to me very damaged. Fred Harris told me he remembered the car as black w/ a silver stripe. If you go to the Virginia International Raceway site there is a pic of Bob Welch in a black w/ silver BT29. I have trouble remembering what I did last week!!

Marty Handshy talked with Al Lader to determine that Chassis number.

OK.....where is chassis #2?

This is all extremely interesting to me because I'm building an early BT29 right now, has the "Bi-plane" front wing mounts, and I do not know it's chassis number yet. But, I have also not found the time to do a lot of tracing as of yet.


David Irwin
Evergreen, CO

[Andrew Fellowes]

Gary Dausch had one of the bi-plane cars!

Chassis # BT29-03 was one of the bi-plane cars with mounts for the front wings to go over the bodywork in a plane with the front wheels. It was sold to Dan Dubrovich in New York.

Andrew

[allenbrown]

Source!

[Andrew Fellowes]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

Source!

oops,

Gary Dausch email to me,

[John Thompson]

I own BT29 - 21 and have had it for about 6 years. I bought it from a fellow from Calgary Alberta named Siggy Bayda. He acquired the car in the late eighties from another person in Calgary who just had it hanging in the rafters of his garage. My understanding is that the car was originally imported to Quebec by a man in the trucking industry. It was supposedly a spare chassis which might explain where BT29-22 is. Perhaps the same person had this car. Mr Bayda restored the car in the nineties and as far as I know the only race he did with it was at Palm Springs when they held what I believe was a one time reincarnation of the races once held there. When I got the car it had not been used for a number of years and I completely went through it and freshened the twin cam. I have raced it a number of times including at Road America, Miller and Sears Point. It is a great car and very original although it came to me with the wing mount style front nose. I even had the original aluminum fuel tanks which were intricately fabricate to nest in the frame rails. I saved those tanks but replaced them with a new behind the seat proper bladder tank.
The original origin history as told to me is rather sketchy and if anyone knows more about the cars eastern Canadian origin I would be keen to hear of it.

The car is currently at my race shop in Cave Creek, Arizona.

[Chris Townsend]

Welcome John!

I thought 29-22 was owned by Brad Bailes in about 2005

Anyway eastern Canadian originally suggests:
Randy Fraser
Ken Huband

Calgary suggests Tom Moore, who had a BT29 in 1971, perhaps the Fraser car

Chris

[Andrew Fellowes]

I have the name Chuck McGain with this car but no source. I also have an AM number but its a bit out of sequence and I suspect incorrect.

#22 I have as being in Newport Beach in 1991, I do have some names for 1970 but again no source.

Andrew

[Andrew Fellowes]

Originally Posted by Steve Wilkinson

This from the current owner Richard Jones:

1) Tony Griffiths only used the BT 29X in 1970 with an 1800 FVC in it.
2) Spencer Elton had it in 1971/72 and put a 1600 BDA in it which it still has.
3) David Render owned it (from 1973) until 1976,
4) Peter Robinson bought it (1976/7) and used it with a full width nose and a big rear wing until 1981.
5) Julian Majzub bought it complete with it's original wings which are now fitted.

Richard bought it from Julian over the last Winter. All of the above fits exactly with the previous history with Majzub being the mystery collector.

Anyone have the date of the Silverstone crash that precipitated the new chassis? My thread search has failed,
Andrew

[Ted Walker]

It was either in testing at Silverstone or at the MAC (Midland Automobile Club) Silverstone race meeting.