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Post by mikael on Mar 12, 2019 0:48:37 GMT
Yesterday evening, I came across this interesting and very well put together 1973 documentary on Finland's "Thousand Lakes Rally". It's interesting to compare the speed of 45 years ago with the speed of today. What an evolution that has taken place!
As to the '70's, it always impressed me that Stig Blomqvist was so competitive in that front-wheel-driven V4 SAAB 96 (and it puzzled me how it was possible at all).
By some friends of my parents, the family (on the husband's side) had a SAAB dealership (in Denmark), and he was an out-and-out motor sports man (actually, he was a former national (motorcycle) speedway champion); so I recall a lot of SAAB/Blomqvist-talk from family get-together weekends in my childhood ...
In whatever way, Blomqvist really was a great driver.
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Post by Carl on Mar 12, 2019 1:49:11 GMT
Mikael, Like Stig Blomqvist, Erik Carlsson also had great success in the very ordinary appearing Saab 96, which must have been well-balanced and nimble as hell, one advantage its front-wheel drive. The Swedes and Finns learned about delicate balance at speed or left the road. This photo was taken during the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally and there's no room between car and cliff!
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Post by mikael on Mar 12, 2019 3:08:05 GMT
Mikael, Like Stig Blomqvist, Erik Carlsson also had great success in the very ordinary appearing Saab 96, which must have been well-balanced and nimble as hell, one advantage its front-wheel drive. The Swedes and Finns learned about delicate balance at speed or left the road. This photo was taken during the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally and there's no room between car and cliff!
Ah yes, Carl, you're right! Blomqvist was not the first to drive a SAAB 96 fast! And in Erik Carlsson's time, the SAAB 96 had just a 3-cylinder two-stroke engine. (And it's interesting to note that Erik Carlsson (who passed away in 2015) actually was Stirling Moss's brother-in-law.) The V4 was actually a Ford Taunus engine. The SAAB 96 was popular in Denmark and I have tried to drive one. It was a rather peculiar car to drive as the "freewheeling" feature of the gearbox - a leftover from the two-stroke period - was kept also in the V4 versions. (When you lifted your foot from the accelerator pedal it "coasted" freely, similarly to automatic transmission.) The photo shows Erik Carlsson and co-driver Gunnar Palm (here with Palm at the wheel!) at the Rally Monte-Carlo 1964. At that time the Rally Monte-Carlo started in Northern Europe, also also went through Denmark. The photo is from a control point in Copenhagen.  ( From: bilsportshistorie.dk ) |
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Post by René on Mar 12, 2019 16:33:25 GMT
Fantastic video Mikael, really enjoyed that!
Not only for the rallying footage but also the images of the people and the town which gives a great impression of that era. I have never been a Saab man to be honest, I prefer the looks of the Escort or the Datsun or the Porsche but the action shots are absolutely wonderful. These guys could drive for sure!
Thanks for sharing. |
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Post by charleselan on Mar 13, 2019 18:10:19 GMT
What an excellent and diverse thread Mikael. There are some superb films about from the 1960's thru to the 1980's featuring rallying, and this is one of them. Todays WRC cars are incredibly fast but they lack the drama of the cars from this era and the 60's and 80's.
The Saab 96 was an amazing little car in both the 2-Stroke and Ford V4 configuration, and many Scandinavian drivers excelled in them other than the two mentioned above we also had Per Eklund and Simo Lampinen. Pekka Eklund had a long and distinguish career driving so many different types of car.
One of the great attributes of the Saab 96 was its ability to roll and still continue at unabated speed, a situation all of its drivers seemed to enjoy.
I have to say that Stig Blomquist was probably my favourite driver of all time, a truly outstanding driver who spent most of his early career as the official Saab works driver, which went from the 96 to the 99 turbo. He then went to the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus team and was just as fast in the rear drive Roots car, before then joining the Audi Quattro team. I doubt anyone was quicker in that car on the forest stages.
At the very end of his long and illustrious international career he astounded everyone on a very cold and snowy RAC Rally in a little front drive Skoda where he put to shame many four wheel drive works Group A cars; running as high as third place at one time.
Some other films worth looking out on YT are of the brilliant Tony Pond in the fantastic Triumph TR7 V8 on both the Manx Rally and The Rally of Ypres, both formidable performances by this great English driver and his co-driver Fred Gallagher. The sound of the Triumph V8 is something that one can never forget and is in all probability one of the greatest engine sounds that ever graced an international rally event.
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Post by chrisb on Mar 13, 2019 20:51:53 GMT
Stig was one remarkable driver, I had the pleasure of getting extremely intoxicated with Stig at the RAC rally, the night before it started, the year he won. well at least I was seriously intoxicated - if Stig was I have no idea, but I do he and Pekka liked the waitresses.......
There is a wonderful 'lunch with' Fred in this months MS, he really is some character and it is good for MS to talk to Fred,
on a sadder note, I met Henry Liddon quite a few times in the early 80's and I was actually flying with him in the Cote d'Ivoire the year before his plane crashed there and he was tragically killed. a real loss
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Post by charleselan on Mar 14, 2019 15:21:46 GMT
Chris,
Stig's win on the RAC Rally in the Audi Quattro was truly wonderful and illustrated his huge pace in that car on forestry stages. I went to several stages that year and took some good photos of him on the Margam Stage at the rally's end, his Quattro with a sheet of aluminium secured the the rear wheel arch after an earlier brush with the scenery had damaged the bodywork.
Those Scandinavian drivers of days past liked a drink or two, that would not fit in with current times, but marked them down as something very special indeed.
I met Fred Gallagher on several occasions back in the 1980's as he was an avid reader of my little model car and profile magazine. An absolute lovely chap who was a dentist by profession, and back then a proud owner of a "real" Porsche 911. He had a quite rare model transkit of a die cast Saab 99 which made up into the car in which he partnered Stig Blomquist. Fred asked me if I would build it up for him, which I did and he loved the finish model.
I have attached a great little film about the Triumph TR7 V8 featuring Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher's Ypres and Manx Rally wins in 1978, some wonderful footage with brilliant interviews and even more so the sound of that amazing V8 motor.
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Post by mikael on Mar 18, 2019 8:30:02 GMT
Chris, Stig's win on the RAC Rally in the Audi Quattro was truly wonderful and illustrated his huge pace in that car on forestry stages. I went to several stages that year and took some good photos of him on the Margam Stage at the rally's end, his Quattro with a sheet of aluminium secured the the rear wheel arch after an earlier brush with the scenery had damaged the bodywork. Those Scandinavian drivers of days past liked a drink or two, that would not fit in with current times, but marked them down as something very special indeed. I met Fred Gallagher on several occasions back in the 1980's as he was an avid reader of my little model car and profile magazine. An absolute lovely chap who was a dentist by profession, and back then a proud owner of a "real" Porsche 911. He had a quite rare model transkit of a die cast Saab 99 which made up into the car in which he partnered Stig Blomquist. Fred asked me if I would build it up for him, which I did and he loved the finish model. I have attached a great little film about the Triumph TR7 V8 featuring Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher's Ypres and Manx Rally wins in 1978, some wonderful footage with brilliant interviews and even more so the sound of that amazing V8 motor. JC, Thank you for posting that interesting video. It appears to be a very nice sounding car indeed, the Triumph TR7 V8, as far as a computer-speaker can represent the sound. I had a look at the Wikipedia page for Fred Gallagher, and found it interesting to see that he started out as co-driver for John Haugland of Norway. I saw John Haugland, in a works Skoda 130 RS, at a Danish rally, where a special stage was held in my hometown, Frederikshavn. It must have been around 1980. It's (almost) 40 years ago now, but I remember it clearly - it really made an impression on me. That special stage was in a large car park complex in the industrial area of the town, so it was on tarmac. While many power-slided around the laid out track, John Haugland drove around very neatly, circuit racing-style. It was clearly the way to do it! At that time, Danish Skoda owners were subject to a battery of Skoda jokes; but that 130 RS was clearly not a joke - it was a very efficient rally car. Small and nimble, and probably with a traction akin to a Porsche 911 or an Alpine A110. Mikael   John Haugland in the works Skoda 130 RS |
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Post by charleselan on Mar 18, 2019 12:38:51 GMT
Mikael, John Haugland was quite legendary with his handling of the various Skoda's he rallied, a very good driver indeed who usually won the smaller classes in those cars. In the UK Skoda were also the butt of many a joke back in the 1970/80's, just as it appears they were in Denmark. Pretty unjustified in my opinion as those little rear engined cars were pretty good. It all changed of course when the company came under the umbrella of VW-Audi, and they became a top brand. One joke always sticks in my mind; "What do you call a Skoda with the boot (trunk for US readers  ) open? "A skip"! Please that you like the Triumph TR7 V8 film, it is one of my favourites as that car was a great rally car before the rise of four wheel drive, and the sound track......... JC |
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Post by Carl on Mar 18, 2019 21:45:50 GMT
"What do you call a Skoda with the boot (trunk for US readers ) open? "A skip"! JC Ahem! I know about boots and bonnets and saloons and lorries, but what the hell is a skip? 
P.S. Skoda is yet another very good car that never found its way to America 
- Augie Duesenberg
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Post by charleselan on Mar 18, 2019 22:11:50 GMT
Carl, Not sure if your comment was tongue in cheek or you do not have "Skips" in the States, anyway here for your edification are some images which if truth be told look better than a modern F1 car . In the UK a Skip can be hired to collect and dispose of waste materials, however there are quite strict rules on what can be put in the container. Excellent if one is doing building work and demolition or garden waste etc.  A pristine Skip.  The transportation vehicle.  Used Skip. |
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Post by Carl on Mar 18, 2019 23:06:56 GMT
Carl, Not sure if your comment was tongue in cheek or you do not have "Skips" in the States, anyway here for your edification are some images which if truth be told look better than a modern F1 car . In the UK a Skip can be hired to collect and dispose of waste materials, however there are quite strict rules on what can be put in the container. Excellent if one is doing building work and demolition or garden waste etc. A pristine Skip. John Charles, I had never heard the term. We have similar portable debris containers called dumpsters here. My brother and I filled several massive wheeled containers when we had the sad duty to deconstruct our parents house for sale.
As someone whose ancestors may have mined slate, I'm embarrassed to see on dictionary.com that the origin is from mining: "a metal box for carrying ore, hauled vertically or on an incline."
That pristine skip is nicely designed and slightly raked, certainly more attractive than several recent prototypes, where ugliness has been even more prevalent than F1.
Cheers, Carl
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Post by mikael on Jan 5, 2020 13:03:45 GMT
A two-part documentary about the motor sport history of SAAB, which mainly is rally. It's quite interesting. "The SAAB 96 was perhaps the most successful rally car of its time", it is said. I wonder if this is because the car was actually well-suited for rally, or if it's mainly because SAAB was able to attract some outstanding young Swedish drivers to positions as SAAB factory drivers? It may be due to a combination of both; both somehow I think it's mainly because of the latter. They did really identify and employ some truly outstanding drivers. In this sense, the title of the film is appropriate and well-chosen.
Part 1:
Part 2:
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Post by Carl on Jan 5, 2020 18:06:14 GMT
A two-part documentary about the motor sport history of SAAB, which mainly is rally. It's quite interesting. "The SAAB 96 was perhaps the most successful rally car of its time", it is said. I wonder if this is because the car was actually well-suited for rally, or if it's mainly because SAAB was able to attract some outstanding young Swedish drivers to positions as SAAB factory drivers? It may be due to a combination of both; both somehow I think it's mainly because of the latter. They did really identify and employ some truly outstanding drivers. In this sense, the title of the film is appropriate and well-chosen.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Mikael, An excellent documentary that's crystal clear on full screen, and a history lesson for me as rallying, for whatever reason, was never popular in America despite repeated efforts. Maybe dirt tracks and iconic special events like Pikes Peak satisfied on a smaller scale the same urges that led to organized rallying in other countries.
I first learned about rallying reading about the great Erik Carlsson and his awesome speed in the improbable Saab 96, so impressive that I determined to buy one when I had my license. I soon located the only Saab dealer in the greater Los Angeles area, on Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles. Its speed on all terrains made the Saab 96 beautiful for me but Donald Healey interfered with my plans and I bought a Sprite.
Cheers, Carl
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Post by mikael on Jan 6, 2020 7:09:02 GMT
Carl, the airplane/fighter jet connection was quite evident in the early, streamlined SAAB 93. In this sense it was probably a bit of an exotic car, and it may have been ahead of its time, at least with respect to the design. (The SAAB Draken fighter jet, indicated also in the 1957 advertisement shown below, was, with its unique delta wing, a bit exotic as well and may have been ahead of its time too.) In the later SAAB 96 versions, the aerodynamic lines were somewhat sacrificed for the sake of spaciousness and comfort, and it came to look more and more "ordinary".  From 1957. My father had, in a very short period (in the early 70's), a 96 estate model, as shown in the second (1968) advertisement. Us kids loved to sit on the back-most seat, with the back against the the travel direction, looking out on the cars behind. Now I would consider it a dangerous position for kids in a car, but back then nobody worried that much about traffic safety.  From 1968. |
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