Alan Clark - "Back Fire"

[Fanelli]

I was at Saltwood Castle yesterday looking at some of the remaining cars and Jane Clark still has some new hard back copies of "Backfire" available at £3.00 if anyone is interested.

[mikey77]

Three quid? That would have wound him up...

[ClaphamGT3]

Is there much left?

I haven't seen Andrew or James for ages but I thought they'd pretty much all gone bar a few obvious 'keepers'

[andybu]

I can thoroughly endorse "Backfire" as a must-read for any motoring enthusiast. My favourite chapter is his description as an owner of the collection of virtues and vices which comprised the MK1 Landrover Discovery. Accurate, critical, funny and this piece alone justifies the price of the entire book.

[Fanelli]

The R Type Continental, the C Type Jaguar, the R Type Continental Special (Bang Bang) have been sold. Bang Bang is in the process of being restored to full R Type Continental condition by its new owner. Very expensive operation as so much of it had gone. Eagle Alpine Ghost etc. still there and are all started and run from time to time.

[The Don of Croy]

Fanelli said:

I was at Saltwood Castle yesterday looking at some of the remaining cars and Jane Clark still has some new hard back copies of "Backfire" available at £3.00 if anyone is interested.

Yes, I'd be interested. How to proceed?

[4sure]

The Don of Croy said:

Fanelli said:

I was at Saltwood Castle yesterday looking at some of the remaining cars and Jane Clark still has some new hard back copies of "Backfire" available at £3.00 if anyone is interested.

Yes, I'd be interested. How to proceed?

And me.

Edited to add, just found one on fleabay for £2.89 posted

Edited by 4sure on Thursday 20th June 16:56

[Simes205]

Fanelli said:

The R Type Continental, the C Type Jaguar, the R Type Continental Special (Bang Bang) have been sold. Bang Bang is in the process of being restored to full R Type Continental condition by its new owner. Very expensive operation as so much of it had gone. Eagle Alpine Ghost etc. still there and are all started and run from time to time.

Nick Mason has the Dtype.

[Fanelli]

Alan Clark sold the D Type (XKD 516) to Nick Mason in 1976 which is why I didn't mention it.

[barchetta_boy]

Fanelli,

I'm probably Clark's biggest fan, I've read everything he's ever written including an article for the Telegraph magazine in 1974 on what would have happened if the Germans had invaded in 1940. Can I turn up at Saltwood in an old battered Porsche 928 (AC: "they ought to be wonderful...an Aston but with reliability...but somehow don't appeal") with £3 and pick one up?

Joel

[Fanelli]

Nobody seems to have mentioned Alan Clark's younger brother, Colin ("My WeeK With Marilyn").

He was just as big a Petrolhead as Alan.

To give you a taste of his car ownership:

Allard V8 - given to him by Alan when he was still at Eton (crashed into a bus and written off).

M G TD, whilst he was in the RAF on National Service.

Austin Healey 100 (No. 11 of the pre-production run of 12 cars)collected new from the factory.

Bristol 400 followed by a 401 and then a 402 convertible (ex Jean Simmons/ Stewart Grainger).

Lagonda V12 convertible (written off by a friend).

1937 Straight 8 Railton convertible. (Caught fire outside parents house in Hampstead).

Lancia Aurelia B20. He gave Mike Hawthorn a lift to Oulton Park in this car. Mike cowered in the back because he hated to be driven by anyone.

6.6 litre Pontiac GTO

Ferrari 275 GTB4 (Bought new and collected from Modena).

Lola T70 Mk. 111 B (built for Jo Bonnier who was sadly killed before he could take delivery)
Set a record 0-60 time of 3.1 secs at MIRA with Tony Dron in this car and was timed through a police radar trap at 171mph on the way there.

He says he "settled down" After that and bought a 1976 8.2 litre Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (FWD!) - 4 mpg was good going for that.

Various Rolls-Royces followed including a 1937 Phantom 111 Sedanca de Ville, ex Maharajah of Jaipur.

Maybe not as impressive as Alan's record but not bad all the same.