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History of the Palliser and Winkelmann Race Cars

12/30/1993

11 Comments

 
The following is a Victory Lane article published back in 1993. It is the history of the Palliser and Winkelmann race cars as written to Dan Davis by Bob Winkelmann. We thought it a nice history of these cars.
Bob WinkelmannBob Winkelmann
The first chassis was built by Len Wimhurst at his home in London. At the time, Len was working for Brabham and his frame was undoubtedly influenced by the BT 21 suspension geometry. However, it bore little resemblance in design since the reason Len built it was to test his own theories for a more rigid structure.

In a long career of race car fabrication for other manufacturers, he had developed many original details which he wanted to incorporate in one car. It is a tribute to Len's ingenuity that he was able to do this at his home. He had no bench-vice, he hack-sawed the tubing over his knee and had so little floor space that he jigged and welded the frame together on the shop wall.


At this point Len approached Hugh Dibley to supply an engine and test drive the car. No name had been decided yet. Hugh entered it at Mallory Park as a TBN, (to be notified) and was sufficiently impressed with its performance that be brought a series of photographs to my house in California for a discussion on the possibilities of production.

Hugh and I had been friends for some years, having competed in the USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship) in 1963 and 1964. We both served in the Royal Navy. he as a pilot, I as a flight mechanic and had joined British Overseas Airways after leaving the Navy, albeit at different periods since I left England before Hugh joined BOAC. He was, I believe, the youngest Concorde pilot and was operating London, New York, Miami, with occasional Honolulu runs which gave him the opportunity for layovers in San Francisco.

The photos showed a rugged machine. Len had planned for a possible formula Libre car and it could easily handle Formula One or Chevrolet engines. All suspension rod ends were half inch, a necessary detail for off course excursions from American tracks. My experience with Lotus and other British built race cars had made me well aware or the delicacy of the frame and suspension components of most marques. Len's chassis was ideal for the U.S. market. We discussed the possibility of going into limited production. I was convinced of the need for a strong single seater. So, with Hugh’s assurance that some changes could be made to suit my six foot frame, another drawback to British cars of the day, Hugh returned to London with my initial order for three Formula B cars and formed Palliser Racing Design Ltd.


Hugh's full name is Hugh Palliser Kingsley Dibley, a combination of Sir Hugh Palliser, an ancestor who commanded one of Lord Nelson’s ships, and Hugh's father, Rear Admiral Kingsley Dibley.

Hugh financed the venture and became managing director. Len was a director and production manager. Hugh and I exchanged courtesy directorships in each others companies and I became sales director for the US. Since my company, Robert Winkelmann Racing Ltd., had been in business for several years and was fairly well known In the US, it was by common consent that the cars would be called Winkelmanns when sold in America.

The first three Winkelmann cars were delivered in May and June of 1968 to Dan Murphy of Wisconsin, Rodolfo Junco in Texas and myself in California. Designated WD-B-1, for Wimhurst-Dibley Formula B, Mark 1. A fourth car was delivered in April 1969 to a Mr. Harris, also of Texas.

During the 1968 season, a dealership was established in Texas. Registered as Winkelmann of Texas, it was headed by Rod Kennedy and Jerome Shield. Based in Austin, these gentlemen were early Formula Ford boosters and it was in no small part due to their insistence that I urged Hugh to build a car to this new formula. Len was a bit reluctant at first, believing it was a "fiddler class. for amateurs and would go nowhere. However, I went to London at the end of 1968 with firm orders for ten cars and by the time of the Racing Car Show at Earl’s Court in January 1969 Len had modified a B-1 chassis to the new class and we introduced our first Formula Ford to the public.


It is pertinent to the story that or the 41 Formula Ford WD-F-1 cars manufactured in 1969, only one, number 011 was sold in the UK as a Palliser. The rest were imported, sold, registered and raced as Winkelmanns, fourteen in Texas alone where the ability to accommodate a six corn-fed cowboy was quickly recognized.

I won't dwell on the successes, there were plenty and they are well documented, suffice to say that by the end of the first season, three Winkelmann drivers had either won their division or placed high enough to make the run-offs. Meanwhile, eight of the new Formula B cars, or Atlantic as it is now known, had been delivered to the States. This was the first of the wedge designs requiring the radiator to lay almost flat. These cars, designated WD-B-2, were all sold here as Winkelmanns.

We had a bit of trouble with the cooling in desert temperatures and two or three different shaped noses were tried. Eventually we got that problem sorted and the Wedge was here to stay.

The Formula Ford variant of this model, WD-F-2 was to be introduced in the January 1970 Racing Car Show, but by a massive effort on Len’s part, the first three WD-F-2 Winkelmanns were completed and delivered on the 22nd of November 1969 to the three Winkelmann drivers who had won spots in the American Road Race of Champions held that year at Daytona.

This model was an instant success. Many well-known drivers got their start in F-2's. They are easy to drive, quite forgiving, robust by race car standards and very fast.


In all, fifty WD-F-2's left the works by the front door, 45 came: to the States, sold through Winkelmann dealers of which there were now six. At the same time Palliser was also doing a brisk business in component parts and several other manufacturers used them in the construction of their own cars. Since it was also possible to deal directly with our frame supplier and purchase a replacement frame at virtually our cost, many knowledgeable race car mechanics built pirate versions of Palliser design and called them Pallisers or Winkelmanns.

It will never be known how many of these cars exist, nor was it confined to Palliser. Lotus, Lola and Brabham had the same problem. However, if it is of any concern to the current owners of Palliser/ Winkelmann cars, records were kept of all the cars sold in the States and which dealers sold them. In many cases, the names of the first owners are known.

Meanwhile, back in England, Vern Schuppan and Peter Lamplough were running works Pallisers, Vern in an Atlantic and Peter in a Formula Ford with Hugh occasionally taking time off from flying to tear up track records. Calls and letters from satisfied customers came from allover the States, detailing their track successes and exchanging information about ‘demon tweaks' they had discovered to improve performance. All, of course reported back to the 'works' via Telex.

Len made variants for Formula Super Vee, of which 5 or 6 were sold. The WD-F-3 and WD-B-3 rolled out of the shop incorporating detail improvements such as extra knuckle clearance around the shift lever and anti-dive front “A" arms. Minor improvements, but essentially the same car.

By this time, I had established a chain of dealerships consisting of very knowledgeable people, who were providing excellent support for our customers. Parts were available on an over night basis and quite a large percentage of sales were due to replacing 'corners' knocked off by off course excursions. It had been my policy to sell the cars at little above cost in order to increase the numbers sold and allow the factory to get up to speed and improve efficiency of production. Components, however, were priced to allow dealers to make a fair profit and the bottom line began to reflect this.


We seemed to be on a roll but alas, the first oil crisis now loomed forcing a lot of people to sell their cars and get out of racing. Our suppliers and sub-contractors seemed to have weekly increases in price, making it difficult if not impossible for us to maintain our lists. We had earned quite a lot of dollars for Britain, but unfortunately none for ourselves. Ultimately, Hugh was forced to cease trading and close down Palliser Racing Design. To fill outstanding orders, four cars were delivered in kit form directly to our US customers. Designated WD-F4, they were the last cars officially sold.

During our three years of operation, we had focused a high degree of specialized knowledge in combination with enormous enthusiasm to produce these cars. We didn’t make any money, but everyone had a lot of fun losing it. That they are still being raced after 25 years is great source or pride and pleasure.

Bob Winkelmann



11 Comments
Jeffry Harris
2/16/2020 11:37:01

I recently drug home an old 4 door 63 Corina which was converted to a race car long ago i think, the other day i noticed on the cylinder head a hand stamping WINK.SPEED. Could this have been by built by Bob Winkelmann? It seems to have oversize valves, the dimension also stamped in to the head on top. By the way i live 2 hrs North of San Francisco. Is Bob still alive?

Thanks any help tracking down its history would be helpful, Jeffry

Reply
chris gove
12/13/2020 23:06:33

Bob is still around he's my neighbor
Contact me and I'll get you in touch
[email protected]

Reply
Peter Finlay
6/2/2022 23:07:31

Hi Bob, I bought WDF2-19 from a fellow named Smith in south London in mid-1972. I raced it quite successfully with wins at Silverstone Club, Brands and Mallory Park. In 1973 we followed the EuropameisterschaftFF taking two seconds and leading the championship until the final where I finished close behind Hans Binder. He won the championship by 1 point ahead of me after one of the Swedes was disqualified. We came back home to Sydney and I raced the Palliser in 1974 & 5. I took second in the Australian Driver-to-Europe in 1975 to my team mate. The car went through several hands and is now owned by Victorian, Brian Sampson.

Reply
Ken Everden
4/3/2023 10:29:44

Hi Peter,
I bought the ex Lamplough / Peter White Wdf2 in 1972.
I raced it for a couple of years before buying S. South’s Ray73F
I’m sure I raced against you at some time but can’t remember when!
All the best
Ken Everden

Reply
Peter Finlay
4/3/2023 19:39:07

Hi Ken,
I don't recall seeing your name on the entry list in England between June and December 1972 when I raced at Mallory (2 x) Oulton Park (2 x), Brands (several times), Thruxton (1 x), Llandow (1 x) and Snetterton festival. I contested the Euro FF in 1973 with a preliminary run at BH GP early in the season. Kindest regards.

Kees van de Grint
2/25/2024 08:41:43

Dear Ken,

By coincidence I just came across your story and I wonder if you sold the WDF2 back Peter White in 1974?

I bought a WDF2 at the end of 1974 from Peter and raced it for two years in the UK, before I wrote it off in Llandow.

Do you remember the chassis-number of your WDF2?

Rebecca Oakley
10/25/2022 16:01:18

My name is Becca Oakley. My grandfather is Leslie Oakley, he was joint owner/developer of the winner ‘The Old Nail’ which won in 1978 - please see - https://www.historicff2000.com/copy-of-palliser

This car was stolen from the garage that him and Len Wimhurst owned one night and he never saw Len again. I’m not suggesting that Len stole this car, however following this theft a Wimhurst model of the Palliser was released, my grandfather would love to know what happened. He poured his heart and soul in to this car and any money that they did have in to as well, I have tried as hard as I can to search and find on Google but ultimately we need someone close to the source to let us know what has happened. My grandfather is very ill and may not have long left, I would love to provide him with some closure for something which happened 50 years ago.

Anyone that can provide any further information or help an old man wanting to get closure would be much appreciated.

Reply
DAVID WEEDON link
2/21/2024 04:53:39

I worked at Palliser racing for a number of years constructing racing cars......
During that time I became a friend of Leslie Oakley.....
I remember quite a lot of the adventures Les and I had during my time at Palliser's and afterwards with TON racing.

If you contact me I could tell you more details .......djw

Reply
Kees van de Grint
2/25/2024 08:50:17

Dear Rebecca,

Just by coincidence I found your message.
I have fond memories of your grandfather, he even stayed at our house back in the seventies.

I used to race a Palliser Formula Ford.
It was stored at the Palliser workshop at Upland Mews, London together with the LRL276 Formula Ford 2000 which later became the old nail.


If you want, send me your contact details and we can exchange some stories.

Best regards,
Kees

Reply
View Comp link
7/1/2023 20:34:00

Thanks forr a great read

Reply
Telkom University link
10/22/2024 22:35:11

good article, visit my website <a href="https://bva.telkomuniversity.ac.id/en/seni-rupa-digital-revolusi-kreativitas-di-era-teknologi/">Telkom University</a>

Reply



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