Any Gordon Keeble Owners Out There?
Discussion
I guess I shuld have read through all of the posts in this forum, but being lazy......
I have a penchant for a GK, though being a racer, my underlying lunacy wants to put one on the track and race it in a classic/historic series.
So rather than abominise a beautiful road going example, all I need is a body. Well, being that they're GRP, a mould taken from a body.
Has anyone over the years ever made moulds for replacement panels, or have they always been a case of get and expert repair to the existing panel?
I could be tempted to get someone to take a laser 3D scan of a complete car, then a mould could be created.
I have a quite capable chassis that I hope could accomodate a GK body.
It would be Gen 1 Smallblock Chevy powered, as that's also another love of mine.
Does anyone have any moulds taken from a GK?
If not, would someone be willing to have their car scanned?
It could be done by photography with reference scales, but a laser scanner would get it spot on.
I have a penchant for a GK, though being a racer, my underlying lunacy wants to put one on the track and race it in a classic/historic series.
So rather than abominise a beautiful road going example, all I need is a body. Well, being that they're GRP, a mould taken from a body.
Has anyone over the years ever made moulds for replacement panels, or have they always been a case of get and expert repair to the existing panel?
I could be tempted to get someone to take a laser 3D scan of a complete car, then a mould could be created.
I have a quite capable chassis that I hope could accomodate a GK body.
It would be Gen 1 Smallblock Chevy powered, as that's also another love of mine.
Does anyone have any moulds taken from a GK?
If not, would someone be willing to have their car scanned?
It could be done by photography with reference scales, but a laser scanner would get it spot on.
P5BNij said:
Afraid I can't but the picture intrigued me so I Googled John Woolfe and Gordon Keeble, turned up a couple more pictures of the car with different plates, apparently it was dark metallic blue.I've included the accompanying text:
"The consensus is that this is John Woolfe Racing's head honcho Dave Riswick at the wheel of business partner Arnold Burton's Gordon Keeble."
"Caution! Do not play poker with this man!
An incredibly serious looking Dave Riswick at the wheel of the ex-Arnold Burton Gordon Keeble at Blackbushe in 1971. Dave ran a 14 at 107 mph but, despite the fact that his car was fitted with a Formula 5000 racing engine, lost to David Rinder's Ginetta."
...and another, in colour
.jpg)
courtesy of https://www.theaccelerationarchive.co.uk/
Edited by Mellow Yellow on Friday 3rd September 13:18
Huntsman said:
Car 101? Er.........A project for sure. Also see 71 is now for sale on car and classic with prehaps the worst historic description ever. Every myth repeated as fact..
"The Gordon-Keeble came about when John Gordon, formerly of the struggling Peerless company, and Jim Keeble got together in 1959 to make the Gordon GT car (OK so far) by fitting a Buick 215 c. i. (3. 5 litre) V8 engine (WRONG. The Gordon GT was designed around the Chevy small block V8 from the outset)… into a chassis by Peerless. (WRONG. Both were space frame chassis made from square tube but that is where the similarity ends.) … The complete chassis was then taken to Turin, Italy, where a body made of aluminium (WRONG prototype body was steel) panels designed by Giugiaro was built by Bertone.
The car appeared on the Bertone stand in March 1960, branded simply as a Gordon, at the Geneva Motor Show. At that time problems with component deliveries had delayed construction of the prototype, which had accordingly been built at breakneck speed by Bertone in precisely 27 days. (This sentence makes no sense). After extensive road testing the car was shipped to Detroit and shown to Chevrolet management, who agreed to supply Corvette engines and gearboxes for a production run of the car.
The car was readied for production with some alterations, the main ones being a larger 5. 4 litre (327 c. i.) engine and a change from aluminium to a glass fibre body made by Williams & Pritchard Limited. (Half right – the first fibreglass bodies were made by Williams and Pritchard then production was moved in house.) Problems with suppliers occurred and before many cars were made the money ran out and the company went into liquidation. About 90 cars had been sold at what turned out to be an unrealistic price of £2798. Each car had two petrol tanks.
An attempt was made to restart production in 1968 when the rights to the car were bought by an American, John de Bruyne, but this came to nothing, although two cars (WRONG only one) badged as De Bruynes were shown at that year's New York Motor Show along with a new mid-engined coupé.
The Telegraph (2009)
Styled by Giugiaro and built by Bertone, the prototype was rushed to America to convince Chrysler to allow them to use the company's 280bhp, 5. 3-litre V8.(WRONG!! It was a GM V8 not a Chrysler – different companies through confusingly for a Telegraph journalist they both made V8s and were both American),
The coachwork was changed from aluminium (WRONG, see above) to glass-fibre, production moved from Slough to Eastleigh (WRONG No GKs were built in Slough. The chassis for the prototype was started in Slough but ALL GKs were built in Southampton) and the car's heating and ventilation were rubbish (at last fair comment)."
FFS
"The Gordon-Keeble came about when John Gordon, formerly of the struggling Peerless company, and Jim Keeble got together in 1959 to make the Gordon GT car (OK so far) by fitting a Buick 215 c. i. (3. 5 litre) V8 engine (WRONG. The Gordon GT was designed around the Chevy small block V8 from the outset)… into a chassis by Peerless. (WRONG. Both were space frame chassis made from square tube but that is where the similarity ends.) … The complete chassis was then taken to Turin, Italy, where a body made of aluminium (WRONG prototype body was steel) panels designed by Giugiaro was built by Bertone.
The car appeared on the Bertone stand in March 1960, branded simply as a Gordon, at the Geneva Motor Show. At that time problems with component deliveries had delayed construction of the prototype, which had accordingly been built at breakneck speed by Bertone in precisely 27 days. (This sentence makes no sense). After extensive road testing the car was shipped to Detroit and shown to Chevrolet management, who agreed to supply Corvette engines and gearboxes for a production run of the car.
The car was readied for production with some alterations, the main ones being a larger 5. 4 litre (327 c. i.) engine and a change from aluminium to a glass fibre body made by Williams & Pritchard Limited. (Half right – the first fibreglass bodies were made by Williams and Pritchard then production was moved in house.) Problems with suppliers occurred and before many cars were made the money ran out and the company went into liquidation. About 90 cars had been sold at what turned out to be an unrealistic price of £2798. Each car had two petrol tanks.
An attempt was made to restart production in 1968 when the rights to the car were bought by an American, John de Bruyne, but this came to nothing, although two cars (WRONG only one) badged as De Bruynes were shown at that year's New York Motor Show along with a new mid-engined coupé.
The Telegraph (2009)
Styled by Giugiaro and built by Bertone, the prototype was rushed to America to convince Chrysler to allow them to use the company's 280bhp, 5. 3-litre V8.(WRONG!! It was a GM V8 not a Chrysler – different companies through confusingly for a Telegraph journalist they both made V8s and were both American),
The coachwork was changed from aluminium (WRONG, see above) to glass-fibre, production moved from Slough to Eastleigh (WRONG No GKs were built in Slough. The chassis for the prototype was started in Slough but ALL GKs were built in Southampton) and the car's heating and ventilation were rubbish (at last fair comment)."
FFS
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