Rod Begbie's
Grantura - 9666
Last
updated - 16/08/2004
As one of the earliest Mark
III Granturas to be factory fitted with an 1800cc BMC 'B' series engine, 9/666
(Reg. 678 EFR) was used by TVR for
promotional purposes before becoming a demonstrator at the London TVR
Centre. It was then sold to James Boothby for use as a private racer in
the
1960s alongside the Paddy Gaston car (9/688) and APH 223B, another contemporary
Mk III racer. Boothby's first outing was at Goodwood and he
campaigned the car both in circuit races and also in the odd hill-climb.
Built in Autumn 1963 with a lightweight chassis and bodywork, 678 EFR was used
as a factory press car and features in the September 1963 Autocar road
test of the newly launched 1800 cc Grantura. The same black and white
picture is used in Graham Robson's book (TVRs: A Collector's Guide; Volume 1
: Grantura to Taimar) but the log-book was indicates that it was originally
painted silver. It is now a dark shade of green and is set up for use in
FIA historic racing with an 1834cc full race engine built by Cambridge
Motorsport using the homologated crossflow head fed by twin DCOE 45 Webers.
Current Owner:
Rod Begbie (UK)
To
contact the owner, please route inquiries through the registar.
Registar:
serel@zeelandnet.nl