62 replies to this topic

[chuckbrandt]

Hello Folks!! 

 

     I hope this hasn't been asked before, I tried the search function and didn't come up with anything. 

 

Looking for any information or ideally photos of a car I just purchased... well parts of a car.  

 

1960 Cooper T52 serial number FJ-9-60 

Ordered by Hap Sharp delivered in July 1960 less engine

He did buy 3 of them that year but since this is the only one he bought less engine it is believed that this one was DKW (3 cylinder 2 stroke) powered. 

 

We believe it has a 3 race record with Sharp 

 

Continental Divide 9/5/1960    Finished 2nd 

 

Road America 500 9/10/1960 listed as Did Not Arrive

 

Midland Sports Car Races Midland, Texas 9/18/1960   Win!!  

 

Thats all we really know..   Not sure who Sharp may have sold it to after that.   It was found in a barn in Texas and was owned by an unknown former vintage racer.  

 

Here is what I bought, I know it looks bad and I'm probably crazy but..   you know how these things go, it spoke to me. 

 

Thanks, Chuck 

 

https://youtu.be/o70glJzwlzI

 

[bradbury west]

Good to see you back here, Chuck, and with such good news. Proper job. Best of luck with it. 
Roger Lund

[Sterzo]

Here is what I bought, I know it looks bad and I'm probably crazy but..   you know how these things go, it spoke to me. 

 

Thanks, Chuck 

 

https://youtu.be/o70glJzwlzI

Definitely crazy. You will use up a fair bit of wet and dry paper. Speaking as a cheese-sandwich bystander, and armchair enthusiast, I and others like me owe an enormous amount to those who restore or simply preserve old racing cars. A lifetime of enjoyment, in fact, so: thank you!

[WINO]

Slim pickings so far, Chuck.

 

I have an old email address of Hap Sharp's only son, with whom I have had contact. He might have some photos of Hap's first FJ Cooper.

 

Send me a private message and I will provide you with his email address, which hopefully is still current.

 

Willem

[chuckbrandt]

Had a nice long chat with Frank Lance today, he worked for Jim Hall in 1960 and helped with the Elva DKW he drove early in the year.   

Hap Sharp's shop was next door to Jim's but Hap's Formula Junior cars were maintained by his aircraft mechanic Chester "Chet" Hines at the aiirport hanger across town. 

Frank said the DKW was tricky to synchronize the carburetors and that a german fellow name Gerhard Mitter was the go to guy for DKW racing engines. 

 

So now I know the mechanic that worked on my car,  and had a nice time talking to an old friend.  

 

Googling further came up with this quote: 

But Mr Draper in his treatise on The Two-Stroke Engine has this to say about the Deek 3 cylinder.

"Latterly, supercharged engines have disappeared from the International scene and some success has been achieved in recent years by the 1 litre three-cylinder DKW fitted in Elva and Lotus cars for Formula Junior. Gerhard Mitter and others have done excellent work on these engines and though precise details are naturally not fully disclosed, it is known that the engines are bored out to 1080cc, special pistons are used, the compression ratio is raised to 9.6:1 and the combustion chambers polished. Ports are also modified and a great deal of research has been done on tuning the exhaust and induction systems. On most of these engines the mixture is supplied from a cluster of 35mm dell'Orto carburettors fed by two float chambers. Each sparking plug has its own ignition coil and the contact-breaker is driven from the nose of the crankshaft. The tuned engines gave approximately 82bhp @ 5500 rpm and also a comparatively high torque lower down in the speed range. The later Mark II Elva Auto-Union engines were prepared by the Rytune Engineering Company of Winchelsea, Sussex, and were fitted with three Amal carburetors. To see and hear these Elva cars in action was a new experience in motor racing, the absence of mechanical clatter being most impressive."

Edited by chuckbrandt, 17 August 2023 - 01:52.

[LittleChris]

Presumably THE Gerhard Mitter ?

[chuckbrandt]

Wow yes I guess so.   

 

"Mitter was born in Schönlinde (Krásná Lípa) in Czechoslovakia, but his family was expelled from there, to Leonberg near Stuttgart.

After racing motorbikes, he switched to Formula Junior, becoming the best German driver with 40 victories. In addition, he sold two-stroke engines for FJ. In 1963, Mitter won the Formula Junior Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring."

 

https://en.wikipedia.../Gerhard_Mitter

[WINO]

Let's not forget that - around Texas - Alan Connell and his sales manager J.C. Kilburn raced two DKW-engined Coopers FJs as well from early 1961 on. Kilburn won the FJ race at Green Valley in February, while Connell's car caught fire. If Hap Sharp bought three of them, these could have been the other two, though not necessarily raced by Sharp himself.

[WINO]

Apart from both being Texas residents, there is another reason to steer us to a Sharp/Connell Cooper-DKW FJ link. Both men were polo playing buddies.

[chuckbrandt]

I have a couple of ideas for photos, since Hap won the Midland race 9/18/1960 I wonder if the local newspaper had a photo?    Also I wonder if there are any photos of Chet Hines with my car. 

[chuckbrandt]

The Midland County Public Library  has the Midland Reporter-Telegram on microfilm ...   But I'd have to go there to search it. 

 

https://mcpl-websvr....tailsDetailsTab

[WINO]

My experience with local libraries is that when I send them a $20 bill, they will be perfectly happy to send me whatever they have on file on the subject. Perhaps a good time to open your wallet and motivate the Midland library people? For me it always worked.

 

Incidentally, I have a shot of Chet Hines, but it was taken at Sebring in 1960. No Cooper FJ at the FJ event there.

[chuckbrandt]

Yes the Midland County Public Library even has a form for such a paid inquiry.   Their genealogy resource center will print you out news stores from microfilm.   I sent the form, a photo of Hap, and a photo of another Cooper T52 to them along with $20 (because their fee structure was somewhat ambiguous and I didn't want to risk short changing anyone). 

I'll let you all know what they come up with !! 

Edited by chuckbrandt, 24 August 2023 - 00:37.

[Rupertlt1]

Gerhard Mitter produced a 1-litre four-cylinder Deek-based motor which is described in some detail in Autocar, 12 June 1964. A prototype was produced and a second engine was said to be for Walter Schatz for installation in a Lotus 23, for hillclimbs.

The achilles heel of the FJ motor was overheating of the 'middle' cylinder. Nevertheless Mitter had some success when installed in a Lotus FJ.

See also: https://forums.autos...-in-motorsport/

 

Best of British luck with the restoration!

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 24 August 2023 - 06:06.

[Rupertlt1]

See: https://forums.autos...p/#entry7553478

 

1960 COOPER DKW F-Jr. Cheap. Call or write

Charles Barnes, P.O. Box 13038, Dallas 20,

Tex. FL 7-4051.

Competition Press, 8 September 1962, Page 7

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 03 September 2023 - 06:47.

[Rupertlt1]

What is #88?

 

https://www.cliffreu...R COOPER 88.jpg

 

See also: https://www.cliffreu...eytexas1963.htm

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 03 September 2023 - 10:48.

[chuckbrandt]

Ah!!  Thank you RLT for that thread!   How fitting that two good friends, Jerry Entin and Tom Schultz participated and got me as close as I have been to an answer.   I wish they were still around so I could listen to their stories, 

 

So... Hap Sharp bought 3 T52s in 1960

FJ/9/60 (less engine) in July (my car) 

FJ/13/60 (BMC) in September 

FJ/15/60 (BMC) in October 

 

So at least one of them, Hap must have taken the BMC out and put a DKW in. 

 

I take it that Hap was a competitive fellow and most likely got a Mitter built DKW engine and probably ordered my car less engine for it? 

 

Hap raced a Cooper-DKW 3 times in september 1960 

 

9/5/1960 Continental Divide  2nd

9/10/1960 Road America  Did not arrive

9/18/1960 Midland Texas 1st

 

It is very very likely this was my car that he raced because of the timing.  

 

Tom says Alan Connell raced a Cooper DKW at road america in July and September 1960 so probably not my car, possibly FJ/5/60 which was delivered to Carrol Smith in April 1960?

 

So of the three cars Hap bought at least 2 were DKW powered,  one went to the "midwest" so that is a lead that we have nothing on at the moment.  

 

Alan Connell had a Mercedes/DKW dealership and JC Kilburn worked for him there. 

 

Kilburn's Cooper had a DKW built by Burney Russell not Mitter. 

 

At this point I can see one of two things happening :

 

Kilburn thought I want to race FJ with Connell.   Connell either sold his first car (FJ/5/60) to him, bought my car from Sharp, put one of his Mitter DKW engines into it, or Kilburn bought my car from Hap Sharp. 

 

It seems like, if Kilburn didn't race a Cooper-DKW before  9/18/1960 then that is the most likely answer.  

 

Then I'd say my car went  Sharp->Kilburn->Rader    If that were true, then were did the #94 livery come from?   

Edited by chuckbrandt, 03 September 2023 - 11:34.

[chuckbrandt]

What is #88?

 

https://www.cliffreu...R COOPER 88.jpg

 

See also: https://www.cliffreu...eytexas1963.htm

 

RGDS RLT

I think that is a T56  Cooper's Mk 2 Formula Junior.   It was lower with more of a roll bar behind the driver. 

[Bloggsworth]

I note that Augie Pabst mentored drivers won both major US F2000 series - Still involved.

[WINO]

I can confirm that the Cooper/DKW that JC Kilburn raced was in fact the one that went to Homer Rader.

 

Both Alan Connell and Kilburn ran their DKW-engined Coopers for the last time at Mansfield in March 1961. At Hondo in April 1961 Rader shows up for the first time with a highly polished Cooper/DKW, waiting for its new paint job. Photos I have of the Kilburn and Rader cars show an identical rear deck, while the one of Connell was different.

 

Since I have never seen photos of the Cooper/DKW that Hap Sharp raced the year before, I can't tell if the Rader car was the one actually raced by Sharp.

 

Willem

[chuckbrandt]

I can confirm that the Cooper/DKW that JC Kilburn raced was in fact the one that went to Homer Rader.

 

Both Alan Connell and Kilburn ran their DKW-engined Coopers for the last time at Mansfield in March 1961. At Hondo in April 1961 Rader shows up for the first time with a highly polished Cooper/DKW, waiting for its new paint job. Photos I have of the Kilburn and Rader cars show an identical rear deck, while the one of Connell was different.

 

Since I have never seen photos of the Cooper/DKW that Hap Sharp raced the year before, I can't tell if the Rader car was the one actually raced by Sharp.

 

Willem

Yeah that's really the thing isn't it?   That sort of fits with the idea that Allen Connell had a the first one in the neighborhood, possibly an early car.   Could you show me the differences somehow?    I'd like to compare to my car.  

Thanks, Chuck 

Edited by chuckbrandt, 04 September 2023 - 10:37.

[Tim Murray]

(from Willem)

JC Kilburn [Black Bull Stable] and Alan Connell [#5 with dodo on the back] in their last race in those FJ Cooper/DKWs: Mansfield in March 1961.

Note the difference in rear deck cover. Homer Rader's car had the same deck as Kilburn's.

Photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

[Rupertlt1]

Note difference in nosecones.

 

RGDS RLT

[E1pix]

Wow, what a find!!!

Of little help I suspect, but Chuck, you may know that DKWs were widely used in D Sports Racing cars well into the ‘80s, and that may be a good source for finding one amongst vintage racing — if indeed you’ll power this.

And off-topic, I’m seeing *just enough* graphics on the neighboring car that are so verrrry familiar... I’m losing a brain cell/sec. and starting to see funny so please help. I’m connecting the colors to the Runoffs at Road Atlanta, or maybe the Handicap at Road America in 1975. Probably dead wrong, but had to ask before the damage gets worse... ;-)

[chuckbrandt]

Thank you Willem that makes it abundantly clear.   I kinda like that black livery.     Not many complete race records for Homer in it so far 

Hondo Texas ?/1961

Green Valley 6/1961 #4

Galveston Sports Car Races 7/1/1961  #92

Edited by chuckbrandt, 05 September 2023 - 12:24.

[Rupertlt1]

Chuck,

 

You might like this:

 

https://library.revs...t-racing/371383

 

RGDS RLT

[WINO]

Chuck,

 

Off hand, I have Homer racing your Cooper/DKW at Hondo [April 1961], Mansfield [May], Green Valley [June] and Galveston [July].

 

No, he did not keep the black livery of Kilburn. He applied a white color. I have a color shot somewhere. Will look it up and ask Tim to post it.

 

Willem

[Tim Murray]

(from Willem)

Homer Rader and his Cooper/DKW at Green Valley in October 1961. White and not as good looking as the livery used by JC Kilburn.

Photo by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

[Tim Murray]

(more from Willem)

Somewhere in Fort Worth in December 1960, Alan Connell with his brand-new Cooper/DKW, still in factory livery.

Photos by Bob Green [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

[chuckbrandt]

(from Willem)

Homer Rader and his Cooper/DKW at Green Valley in October 1961. White and not as good looking as the livery used by JC Kilburn.

Photo by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

Wow!!! This is the livery that is still on the car!!! 

[chuckbrandt]

Edited by chuckbrandt, 06 September 2023 - 03:37.

[WINO]

Bingo!!!!

 

It doesn't look as though it was raced much after Homer Rader's ownership.

 

Willem

[WINO]

Starting in early 1962, Homer Rader had upgraded to a Lotus 20 FJ, so he only ran the Cooper/DKW for a little more than six months. A new owner would have changed the color and race number on the car. Perhaps Rader just mothballed the Cooper after acquiring his Lotus 20.

 

Willem

[chuckbrandt]

Bingo!!!!

 

It doesn't look as though it was raced much after Homer Rader's ownership.

 

Willem

Very true, but someone lengthened the frame after that photo and made a shark nose.    I assume these modifcations were not completely successful.  

[Rupertlt1]

De Soto Airport, Mansfield, Louisiana, 6-7 May 1961

Sunday Second Race

(Classes G Modified and Formula

Junior—16 laps, 38.4 miles)

Overall—1. Homer Rader, Dallas,

Cooper DKW Formula Junior (4); 2.

John H. Kirby III, Houston, Elva Form-

ula Junior (5); 3. John E. Horn, Musk-

ogee, Okla, Lotus Mark IX* (57); 4.

Bob Hall, Meridian, Miss., Lotus Mark

IX* (85), Formula Junior—1. Rader;

2. Kirby. GM—1. Horn; 2. Hall. Time—

31:30. Average 73.22 mph. 

*Lotus Mark XI

The Shreveport Journal, Monday 8 May 1961, Page 9

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 07 September 2023 - 03:38.

[chuckbrandt]

Thank you RLT!! 

[Rupertlt1]

There is a photo of the Cooper-DKW FJ of J. C. Kilburn in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Friday 10 Feb 1961, Page 26.

Rear view without bodywork of car being tended by mechanic John Miller.

 

RGDS RLT 

[chuckbrandt]

There is a photo of the Cooper-DKW FJ of J. C. Kilburn in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Friday 10 Feb 1961, Page 26.

Rear view without bodywork of car being tended by mechanic John Miller.

 

RGDS RLT 

I wonder if that is the same photo in Willem's book?    Good to know, I thought that was JC Kilburn

[WINO]

Must be a different photo. The one in my book is definitely JC Kilburn "working on his throttle response." Or perhaps the journalist didn't know what John Miller really looked like!

 

Willem

[Rupertlt1]

PM me and I'll send it — it is in an advertisement.

 

RGDS RLT

[chuckbrandt]

Here is that photo from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.   It really is hard to believe that I own this car now!!! 

 

[WINO]

Yes, that is John Miller all right.

 

Willem

[chuckbrandt]

I can't thank you all enough for all your help in this.   This is what I have for race record of Cooper T52 FJ-9-60 DKW powered:

 

Hap Sharp

9/5/1960 Continental Divide  2nd

9/10/1960 Road America  Did not arrive

9/18/1960 Midland Texas 1st

 

J.C. Kilburn

2/19/1961  SCCA Regional Green Valley DP+FJr  Winner (race 5) DNF (race 11) 

Black Bull Stable livery #48

 

Homer Rader race record

4/9/1961 Hondo, Texas Winner #40

5/7/1961  Mansfield, Louisiana [GM+FJr] Winner (race 6) #4

6/11/1961 Green Valley 2nd #4

7/1/1961  Preliminary Galveston [GM+FJr+EP] ?? #94

10/1/1961 Green Valley white livery #94

 

Homer Rader buys Porsche RSK from Emory Cantey 10/7?/1961

Edited by chuckbrandt, 10 September 2023 - 11:30.

[WINO]

A minor correction. At Galveston on July 1-2, 1961, the race number of Homer Rader's Cooper/DKW was #94, at least based on the entry list.

 

The FJ entries were scheduled for Race 2 [Saturday] and Race 4 [Sunday]. Race 2 was for GM, EP and FJ, and was won by Rich McDaniel in a Huffaker/BMC, after Bill Fuller's Merlyn/Ford lost a wheel on the final lap. No mention of Homer Rader in either Sports Car or Competition Press. Strangely, no FJ or GM entries were waived off in Race 4, only EP ones. None of the reports indicate if the FJs raced in a different race on Sunday. Perhaps Rupert's search engine can provide the answer.

 

Willem

[Rupertlt1]

No luck I'm afraid. Usual preview, no race report pattern. Entry list here:

 

https://www.hrscc.co...ace program.pdf

 

Note G. G. Harris, Lotus XI, #34.

See: https://forums.autos...7#entry10372799

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 09 September 2023 - 05:20.

[Rupertlt1]

1959 Lotus XI series 2 chassis, stage 2 en-

gine, MG-A close ratio gearbox, magnesium

wheels, new Pirellis, FIA screen and metal

tonneau, oil cooler, Scintilla magneto. John

Miller-tuned engine.

1960 Cooper Junior DKW engine (Rytune

installed, complete Mitter as spare) 4 gear

changes, some spares. Car has but 6 races

and is perfect.

Both cars are painted black with red stripes

and white number circles.

J. C. Kilburn, 2714 White Settlement Rd.,

Ft. Worth, Texas; Phone ED 2-4291

Competition Press, 29 April 1961, Page 7

 

RGDS RLT 

[WINO]

White Settlement Road was the address of Alan Connell's dealership. He carried the logo and address on his transporter. At Nassau in 1960, he deemed it prudent to tape over the address, fearing it might antagonize the local population, with overnight damage to his Birdcage Maserati.

 

Willem.

[chuckbrandt]

I got the race coverage from Midland Texas library, no photos of Hap Sharp Formula Junior entry.  Race Results though. 

 

[WINO]

But those are only the results for Saturday, and incorrect as well. Yes, Harry Heuer won Race 4, but Jim Hall dropped out after only one lap with contaminated fuel.

It was Hap Sharp finishing second, with Alex Budurin in third. Hall's mechanic Frank Lance had to drain the entire fuel system of Hall's Birdcage to make it race worthy again for Sunday, with four more races on schedule.

 

On Sunday Hap won Race 6 with his Cooper/DKW, after Hall's Lotus lost first and second gear. Hall's Birdcage did win the feature over Heuer for the Gene Geisler Memorial Trophy..

 

Willem

[Rupertlt1]

Some proper research going on here — before we suffer from busted link syndrome:

 

Midland, Texas, Saturday, 17 September 1960

Formula Juniors

1. Jim Hall, Dallas, Lotus

2. Hap Sharp, Midland, Cooper-DKW

3. Chuck Hall, Boulder, Colo, Elva

EP: 1. Charles Barnes, Dallas,

Alfa Romeo Veloce; 2. Ronnie Rone,

Midland, Porsche

 

Hall 100 MPH Average

Wins Midland Feature

MIDLAND, Sept. 19—Jim

Hall of Dallas won the feature

50-mile event of the West Texas

sports car races Sunday, aver-

aging 100 miles per hour.

His time was 33.09 and he

won by 500 yards over Harry

Heuer of Chicago. Hall drove a

Maserati, Heuer a Scarab.

Heuer won the first race, John

Busley of Midland the second

and Hap Sharp of Midland the

third. Then came the main event

that closed out the two-day rac-

ing program.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Monday 19 Sep 1960, Page 21

 

Do we know any more about the Sunday itinerary?

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 20 September 2023 - 01:42.