R & T November 1959 (page 78)

[AC Ace Bristol]

Re:  R & T  November 1959  page 78.
   
   I have been informed by ACOC Member  David DiFrancesco in recent email (owner of BEX208) that he believes that on page 78 of the November 1959 issue of Road & Track there is possibly mention to race results refering to Jim Parsons comming 2nd in a race meeting, with the possibility of a ACtion photo.
   
   Has any one out there access to a copy ?? If so could they please scan and send a copy to me, either via this Forum or by email:
   
   Keith dot lessiter @ faac dot co dot uk.
   
   Much Appreciated.
   
   Last but not least, It would appear that Davids BEX208 raced on both the East Coast and West Coast of USA during the 1950s and 1960s,  Any infomation, Race Results and photographs of both  BEX208 Various pilots and BEX333, Piloted by Jim Parsons....Would be appreciated.
   
   Cheers 4 Now
   
   Keith

[tinnes]

Keith -
   
   If you don't mind getting sidetracked for an hour or two there are a couple of websites that I have found that may have something for you. One of them - www.coldplugs.com has fascinating photos from the 50's and 60's of some of the well-known east coast tracks - Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, Thompson - the latter two no longer exist. There is a shot of the starting grid at Thompson, I think, that shows one of the  track marshalls sitting in his BMW 507!  The other - http://wsrp.ic.cz has starting grids and finishing results for SCCA sanctioned races on both coasts from the early 50's to mid-60's.  It is easy to get lost in the nostalgia coming across simple entires such as  "Chapman     Lotus 7", or " J.Dean     Porsche 550". Lots of AC Bristol entries, but I do not recall seeing J. Parsons listed - but then i did not go thru every race, every year!
   
   Good luck with your continued efforts to track down the history of BEX333.
   
   regards - tom i

[aex125]

Keith,
   Here is another web site for you to comb through if you have time.
   http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/pictures?userid={161BD2CF-C5CD-446B-B028-586AF136C181}&AlbumId={000CAE52-64ED-430C-8A8D-654167E1C2F7}&GroupId={037D2189-0E5C-4178-ADFD-BEAEAB432595}&st=he&GUID={D867F419-4DF5-4626-89B9-6755E848CF97}&sent=stored.
   
   Jay

[aex125]

and one more for your entertainment
   http://fsheff.com/
   Mostly Southern California, but there are many things in the sub menus.
   Jay

[bex316]

...and of course http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/
   mostly west coast but more southern...
   
   There are quite a few sites that might support the continued joint effort of tracking down competition history of AC Bristols and ideally linking pictures to chassis numbers and/or drivers.
   Just one of them that I have known for several years (just like Tam's site) is the site on VIR (Virginia International Racetrack). You will not find BEX 333 there though.
   
   Jerry

[Jim A]

That WSRP site is awesome.  Keith is bound to find some more data on his Ace.
   And I went to college with Frank Sheffield (the fsheff link) and knew all people in the MG!

[aex125]

Jim,
   If you are still in touch with Frank Sheffield, please pass along how much many of us enjoy his site. It has been very helpful to many of us while chasing down old race information.
   Jay

[AC Ace Bristol]

quote:Originally posted by bex316
   
...and of course http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/
   mostly west coast but more southern...
   
   There are quite a few sites that might support the continued joint effort of tracking down competition history of AC Bristols and ideally linking pictures to chassis numbers and/or drivers.
   Just one of them that I have known for several years (just like Tam's site) is the site on VIR (Virginia International Racetrack). You will not find BEX 333 there though.
   
   Jerry
   
   
   Tom,  Jay  & Jerry
   
   Many thanks for confirming some new lines of research,  All very informative..........  see WOTYERMEAN  by consumes time, like its going out of fashion. ( Lost nearly 2 hours last night and I really need the Beauty Sleep)
   
   Haven't found any new material on BEX333 as yet, but have sent on new Ace Bristol data to Tony Bancroft to assist in expanding the Ace register,with a few pictures and Race results from 1954 through 1962.
   
   Has any one, or does any one have access to a good copy of "Canada  Track & Traffic"  dated January 1960....Mentions Jim Parsons in BEX333 and picture of Jim Parsons spinning infront of Al Doyons Ace Bristol and a Porsche 356. (Incorrectly captioned as 2 MGs belting along the start /finish line at Westwood Circuit,  but not a MG
   or straight in site)
   
   I have a poor quality photo copyof this article, but would really  appreciate a better quality copy, especially of the photograph. (race meeting would have been Westwood August 16th) .... Any one thre at the event and take photos ??
   
   Enough time this weekend spent on researching Ace History, Must catch up on the Major Building Project at home.
   
   Cheers 4 now. ... and thank you for your encouragment.
   
   Keith
   

[BEX308]

Try this one. www.racingsportscars.com You can search by driver, car, venue, date, etc. I tried searching for Parsons and several came up but not Jim. Both of the first owners of my car do come up. My experiance is that the late 1950's data is very incomplete including the offical archives of the SCCA.
   Pete

[AC Ace Bristol]

Pete
   
   Havent tried this one before, will give it a try.
   
   I believe James (Jim) Parsons only raced with ICNSCC, a local racing organisation of which his home club SCCBC was a member.  These records are somewhat scarce compared with the many well documented SCCA events of the 1950s /60s.
   
   Thank you for the lead, Hopefully something materialises on BEX333. or any other Aces which various ACOC Club members are researching, any leads on any Aces raced in the 1950s, especially on the West Coast & NW always followed up and appreciated.
   
   Keith

[AC Ace Bristol]

For your interest,  Anyone researching the Racing History of their Ace, especially if they know it raced in SCCA events, then the following web sites are worth visting.
   
   http://www.virhistory.com/
   http://ferrariexperts.com/SCCA%20results%20test%20page.htm
   http://ferrariexperts.com/SCCA%20results%201957.htm
   http://ferrariexperts.com/SCCA%20results%201958.htm
   http://www.briggscunningham.com/race_history.html?YEAR=1957
   http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo.html
   http://wsrp.ic.cz/natus.html
   http://forums.autosport.com/showthread.php?s=7ae7eb00bd3e7bb95364c5b471a19e
   
   
   Some of these were web sites were confirmed by John Abel... many thanks John.appreciated.
   
   The last one, is worth visiting, refers to the fatal road accident that destroyed Lonnie Rix's Ace Bristol during the heavy rain storms at Sebring 1959.
   
   Gilbert E Johnson, 22 year old crewman for the AC-Bristol team of Surrey, England died died Thursday night when his racer crashed into a truck on a rain slicked highway south of Sebring.
   
   The collision came shortly after the 62 European sports cars were ordered off the Sebring race track. ( After 43 hours of continuous rain fall)
   
   Lonnie Rix who was passenger at the time escaped with cuts and Bruises. A very interesting and informative racing thread on Lonnie Rix. (definetely worth a visit).
   
   Keith

[nikbj68]

For some reason, the Lonnie Rix link didn`t work.
   I`ve had a search, and come up with THIS, 'Lonnie Rix, AC`s Man from Savannah' which amongst some great stuff, also has many details of the Sebring accident.
   Oh boy, you could spend a lifetime on the Atlas F1 site alone!

[AC Ace Bristol]

Nik
   
   Thank you for correcting the web site details reference the Lonnie Rix Story and the dsemise of his racing Ace Bristol at Sebring in 1959.
   
   Any one interested in 1950s/60s Sports Car Racing and ACs .... MUST VISIT THIS SITE.
   
   A fasinating Character and great ambassador of the AC Marque.
   
   Nik , glad you corrected the link to this site.
   
   Cheers
   
   Keith

[ANTOINE PRUNET]

quote:Originally posted by tinnes
   
Keith -
   
   If you don't mind getting sidetracked for an hour or two there are a couple of websites that I have found that may have something for you. One of them - www.coldplugs.com has fascinating photos from the 50's and 60's of some of the well-known east coast tracks - Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, Thompson - the latter two no longer exist. There is a shot of the starting grid at Thompson, I think, that shows one of the  track marshalls sitting in his BMW 507!  The other - http://wsrp.ic.cz has starting grids and finishing results for SCCA sanctioned races on both coasts from the early 50's to mid-60's.  It is easy to get lost in the nostalgia coming across simple entires such as  "Chapman     Lotus 7", or " J.Dean     Porsche 550". Lots of AC Bristol entries, but I do not recall seeing J. Parsons listed - but then i did not go thru every race, every year!
   
   Good luck with your continued efforts to track down the history of BEX333.
   
   regards - tom i
   
   
   

[ANTOINE PRUNET]

Hi Keith,
   
   Indeed Jim Parsons is mentioned by the Road & Track report on the July 1959 Westwood race.
   No photo I regret.
   
   I email you separately these two pages, posting photos on this forum being far too complicated for us. (Look at FerrariChat as an example). Remember we drive on the right side, use the metric system etc...
   
   Best,
   
   Antoine