March 792

[driftwood]

Dan look here
tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93521

[Steve Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

792-20
The 792 tub and bodywork went to Norrie Galbraith who then owned a 782 with 79B nose and sidepods. Galbraith was killed in September 1982 so this must have been before then.

More to follow on Galbraith's 782 and 792 bits but I will hold off saying more until I've got the whole story straight.

Again after an interesting evening at The Smoker I have been urged by Mallory Dan to post some Norrie Galbraith photos. So hear they are:


Above: this is Norrie at Barbon in 1980 in what was described by Chris Mason in Uphill Racers as a 742/772/782 but was listed in the Black Book as a 782P.


Above: this is Norrie at Barbon in 1982. The car was entered as a 782. It was described by Chris Mason as a 782 and the Black Book lists it as a 782.

[driftwood]

from what i see the car in top foto has to be pukka 782 the 782 pods you cant fit the 742 tub totatly different shapes= lots of work to make them fit
( not impossible though)
lower foto is 782 with 792 pods nose perhaps this is 782/20 in its hybrid format as the car exsit today half 782 half 792 chassis suspensioned?
notes top foto rear wing looks like centre pole lower foto is 782 792 horizontal pole wing
top foto roll hoop- is it black lower is chrome
top foto i need to see closer the dash roll see if it is true 782 shape
lower foto is 782 792 roll hoop

[JUSTIN WALKER]

I am currently trying to establish the complete history of the March 792 owned by my uncle, Richard Prosser. We were both sure that this was chassis 21, the ex Team Tiga/Harvey/Willoughby/Moores car, however there is a message stating that the Adrian Moores car had been identified as chassis 12. This would obviously change things slightly.
The chassis owned by Richard is the same one shunted at Brighton by Adrian Moores and underneath the black paintwork was the yellow/black scheme used by Doc Willoughby, found during the restoration.
I hope someone can help clarify the situation, is it just a typing error or have we been investigating the wrong chassis. Any further information on this chassis would be appreciated, especially for the period before it was owned by Max Harvey.

[Chris Townsend]

My hunch would be that it is the ex Elgh chassis 21. I have seen a Japanese magazine with chassis no 792-12 credited to Hikaru Hagiwara in the GC sportscar series, and described as an MCS II. This is in 1983, and old racing cars, once in Japan, rarely come back.
Also, we don't know where 792-12 went in 1979, suggesting that it wasn't Europe, where we'd probably have a chassis number observation.

Chris

[Texan]

I recently purchased a March represented as an 81A. The ownership trail leads me back to Phil Simon in 1984. Is it possible that this is in fact 792-18? This thread mentions that this March came to America in Formula Atlantic trim. What would have been done to accomplish the transition from F2 to Atlantic, other than the engine? The car has no March chassis tag so without further research I am not stating that this is 792-18. Any assistance will be appreciated.
Rusty Tanner
Houston, Tx.

[Chris Townsend]

Rusty

I have the full story on this car and basically you are right, if it's Simon's 1984 car it is 792-18. Do you have an SCCA log book? Where did you find the car?
The conversion job was done in the US I think. The car was probably imported as a rolling chassis to F2 spec.

Chris

[driftwood]

There is also another 792 in usa that was raced as Jim truemans can am march that was titled 822
that car is purported to be ex daly ici car and being rebuilt as F2 car
Rusty ive sent you a PM

[Texan]

Chris,
The car came from Portland, Or., went to Ga., then Fla., then Houston. I have a guy working on the history now, as he was a teammate of the owner in the late eighties. I have my doubts that this is the 792 as the tub and suspension are identical to an 81A. It is possible that Simon had more that one car during the '84 season. I have seen online photos of Surers' car in 1979 and the tub is radically different than the car I have.
I am probably just wishful thinking.
Thanks,
Rusty

[Texan]

My apologies to all - my car is in fact an 81A as advertised. I am now working on solving the chassis number question. Thanks.
Rusty Tanner

[swede9]

The yellow car was a 792 that was converted to Formula Atlantic.(sorry I don't know the chassis #) Kent Magnell owned the car which if I remember he bought from Doug Shierson Racing who had Marc Bahner convert the car, Howdy Holmes tested it but never raced it as it was too slow in a straight line for the 1600 BDD engine. (Again this is all based on my poor memory) Kent raced it in a few SCCA Races in Cal Club. We then took the car to Mexico in 1981 to sell, it was legal for the Mexican series for older Atlantic cars, Marco Tolana drove the car at the Monterey Race after loosing an engine in his RT1. The car was sold and stayed in Mexico as far as I know. The paint scheme on the car was done for a commercal for Renault that was shot at El Mirage dry lake in California just before the race, it was to look like a Renault F1 car. Brisa was a light Mexican beer.

[allenbrown]

Great contribution. I wonder if this was the March 79A?

I'm also curious what other old Atlantics ended up in that Mexican series.

[Chris Townsend]

Originally Posted by allenbrown

Great contribution. I wonder if this was the March 79A?

I'm also curious what other old Atlantics ended up in that Mexican series.

If this car came from Shierson it might not, strictly, be a converted F2.
March built four ground effect Atlantics at the start of 1979 designated 79A. One went to Ian Scheckter; one went to Jeff Wood [spare at Long Beach]; one went to Shierson [spare for Holmes at Long Beach and Westwood] and one stayed home as a test car [for sale Autosport 4 Oct 79 p. 67 as a 79A]
The Holmes car was for sale on race-cars.com back in 2000 described as chassis 4 and with a history in US Solo events from 1990.

This would suggest that the Mexican car could be ex Wood [taken back by Shierson] as that car disappears.

Like Allen I am really curious about the other cars in this series. Please could you give us a scan of the full article? I want to see the other cars on the grid in more detail, but I guess the image will just grain.
The white 72 car has upper bodywork very similar to the modifications made by Cliff Hansen's team to his 79B

Chris

[driftwood]

i thought 79a has march wide nose like 78 79B not narrow nose and 2 wings as it was not a true GE car like the 792?

[allenbrown]

You're thinking of the 79B I think Drifty. The 79B was a continuation of the 78B line but the 79A was a derivative of the 792.

[allenbrown]

What a pity El Norte isn't on newspaperarchive.com. (Or in Collingdale.)

[driftwood]

i know the 79a was the 792 tub but was it a GE car?

[Chris Townsend]

Originally Posted by driftwood

i know the 79a was the 792 tub but was it a GE car?

Yes, I've seen pictures of Holmes testing it. Problem was that the ground effects were so good that the poor old BDD couldn't drag it along.

Chris

[swede9]

Originally Posted by Chris Townsend

Like Allen I am really curious about the other cars in this series. Please could you give us a scan of the full article? I want to see the other cars on the grid in more detail, but I guess the image will just grain.
The white 72 car has upper bodywork very similar to the modifications made by Cliff Hansen's team to his 79B

Chris

Here is another scan I had on file, I'll try to find the newspaper in the archives and see if there is a grid list or results to post. Maybe there are more pictures of the car as well.

On a differant note while we were at the race in Monterey it seems Ted Titmus had (as the story was told) taken some money from some of the Mexican drivers for them to drive in Ted's cars at the race in Mexico City that April, well Ted never showed up claiming the truck had broken down on the way there. So to make it up Ted came to Monterey to let them drive in the race there. Well as we were leaving after the race a group of Ford Granada's showed up with Federal Police toting automatic weapons. They were going to throw Ted in jail for taking the money, some how Ted & the mechanics convinced them to not throw him in jail, but the mexicans took a RT-4, an RT-1, motors and spares. And sent Ted home with a mostly empty trailer and told him never to enter Mexico again.

[Chris Townsend]

Just remind me to count my fingers if I ever shake hands with Ted Titmas!

So, somewhere in Mexico, after June 1981, is one ultra competitive Ralt RT4, of which only twelve had been delivered to North America at that point. Would this explain the RT4 run by Joel Herrera at Long Beach in 1982?

Chris

[dereklola]

I know this is a 792 tpic but there isn't a 79B topic - so - two points -

1 - There has been mention above of ground effects on 792s - I have pics of a 'ground effects' tunnel/sidepod on a 79B I almost bought - 79b-262 - might be of interest.

2 - I have 79B-3 - anyone have any history for it?

Thx - Derek

[allenbrown]

That oval brass plate is a SCCA plate denoting that the car was first observed and logged in 1979 and - I believe - was the 262nd car logged that year. It's not a March plate.

[dereklola]

I knew it wasn't the March plate - that is obviously missing per pic below - guess it was just senility even suggesting it was the March number.

Anyone any info on 79B-3 (which IS the original March plate!)

[Chris Townsend]

Derek

Wasn't 79B-3 the Peter Greenfield car?

With the other car; where was it located? That modification is, I think, fairly typical of 79Bs in that people started to put on the smaller, lighter, F3 ground effect pod that March developed early in 1979. It saved weight AND produced downforce.

Allen

Isn't 79-262 the 262nd car registered in SCCA South Carolina region, rather than the year 1979 [I think that the 79 is coincidental to the 79 year of build rather than contingent]

[driftwood]

how do u know it is 79B3 and not a pile of old parts cobbled together and the real 79B3 with plate is around somewhere?