Shadow CanAm Mk. 1
02-10-2008, 08:26 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Shadow CanAm Mk. 1
The Shadow CanAm Mk.1 came up while in discussion with a friend today.
I watched this car race and the conversation today prompted me to look
up what I could find about its current whereabouts. An excellent
thread on Atlas F1 Bulletin Board was discovered along with a link to
information about the designer T.L. Harris.
Current owner Dennis Losher offers many insights and several great
photos. Doug Nye contributes photos and reminiscences from back
in the day.
That is reportedly a 494ci version of the Reynolds Aluminum CanAm BBC
there behind the driver. The thread and the images prompt me to state
that Spec Cars are for the timid ...
Dennis Losher-copyright 2006 Dennis Losher Collection
Doug Nye-photo by Franco Lini /The GP Library
Shadow CanAm Mk. I
Don Nichols’ Advanced Vehicle Systems Incorporated (AVS) team
Designer: Trevor Harris
Drivers: George Follmer followed by Vic Elford
Ultimate Car Page: Shadow AVS MkI Chevrolet
Bio-Resume of Trevor L. Harris
.
I watched this car race and the conversation today prompted me to look
up what I could find about its current whereabouts. An excellent
thread on Atlas F1 Bulletin Board was discovered along with a link to
information about the designer T.L. Harris.
Current owner Dennis Losher offers many insights and several great
photos. Doug Nye contributes photos and reminiscences from back
in the day.
That is reportedly a 494ci version of the Reynolds Aluminum CanAm BBC
there behind the driver. The thread and the images prompt me to state
that Spec Cars are for the timid ...
Dennis Losher-copyright 2006 Dennis Losher Collection
Doug Nye-photo by Franco Lini /The GP Library
Shadow CanAm Mk. I
Don Nichols’ Advanced Vehicle Systems Incorporated (AVS) team
Designer: Trevor Harris
Drivers: George Follmer followed by Vic Elford
Ultimate Car Page: Shadow AVS MkI Chevrolet
Bio-Resume of Trevor L. Harris
.
02-11-2008, 06:37 PM
#4
Safety Car
02-12-2008, 02:03 AM
#8
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Randy@DRM
Good thing they were slow back then
The bio on UltimateCar states the top speed as 190 MPH. Present
owner Dennis Losher posts about Trevor Harris' modifications to the
Hewland transaxle in order to fit gears suitable for the small wheels.
This mod enabled "the car to go 200 mph at Riverside tests with
only 19 inch tall rear tires!"
UltCar also state the BBC as having 740 HP back in the day, comparing
favorably with the present owner's claims of 700 HP for the current
powerplant.
Consider that the car has 10" diameter front and 12" diameter rear
wheels. There is no question about the driver carrying his speed
through the corners with this beauty.
.
02-12-2008, 02:48 AM
#9
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
More background about Shadow from Atlas F1 Bulletin Board
The Arrows/Shadow relationship?
From CanAm, Don Nichols' Shadow organization went racing in F1 with
Jackie Oliver. Oliver later split from Shadow, taking Tony Southgate
and several other key team members with him to form the Arrows F1
team.
In a court case, the first Arrows car was judged to be a Shadow.
Quoting rainern: "An injunction prevented the Arrows team from
further using the FA1, but the court proceedings had given Tony
Southgate sufficient time to produce the definitive A1 model."
.
The Arrows/Shadow relationship?
From CanAm, Don Nichols' Shadow organization went racing in F1 with
Jackie Oliver. Oliver later split from Shadow, taking Tony Southgate
and several other key team members with him to form the Arrows F1
team.
In a court case, the first Arrows car was judged to be a Shadow.
Quoting rainern: "An injunction prevented the Arrows team from
further using the FA1, but the court proceedings had given Tony
Southgate sufficient time to produce the definitive A1 model."
.
02-12-2008, 10:33 AM
#10
Check out HMSA, Historic Motorsports Association.
They run events on both coasts. They are really laid back events. You can get right up to the cars, talk to the owners,etc. The last one I went to had a $5 gate fee. There were 7-8 CanAm cars there, real Ford GT40's, 15 Historic Nascars, at least 8 or 9 fullrace Vettes, 1963 thru 1982 and some Indy Cars.
Fun Day
They run events on both coasts. They are really laid back events. You can get right up to the cars, talk to the owners,etc. The last one I went to had a $5 gate fee. There were 7-8 CanAm cars there, real Ford GT40's, 15 Historic Nascars, at least 8 or 9 fullrace Vettes, 1963 thru 1982 and some Indy Cars.
Fun Day
02-12-2008, 11:15 AM
#11
Former Vendor
Slow?
The bio on UltimateCar states the top speed as 190 MPH. Present
owner Dennis Losher posts about Trevor Harris' modifications to the
Hewland transaxle in order to fit gears suitable for the small wheels.
This mod enabled "the car to go 200 mph at Riverside tests with
only 19 inch tall rear tires!"
UltCar also state the BBC as having 740 HP back in the day, comparing
favorably with the present owner's claims of 700 HP for the current
powerplant.
Consider that the car has 10" diameter front and 12" diameter rear
wheels. There is no question about the driver carrying his speed
through the corners with this beauty.
.
The bio on UltimateCar states the top speed as 190 MPH. Present
owner Dennis Losher posts about Trevor Harris' modifications to the
Hewland transaxle in order to fit gears suitable for the small wheels.
This mod enabled "the car to go 200 mph at Riverside tests with
only 19 inch tall rear tires!"
UltCar also state the BBC as having 740 HP back in the day, comparing
favorably with the present owner's claims of 700 HP for the current
powerplant.
Consider that the car has 10" diameter front and 12" diameter rear
wheels. There is no question about the driver carrying his speed
through the corners with this beauty.
.
I was just kidding. These things were rockets!!!
Randy
02-12-2008, 12:44 PM
#12
Melting Slicks
One of the drivers (Phil Hill I think) told a story at the museum from back in the CanAm days. They were running one of the enclosed Chaparral cars and it started raining. The windshield was really muddy and the wiper wasn't cleaning it. So he pulled offline, loosened his belts, opened the gullwing-style door and reached out to clean the window. I think he was still moving. Then he closed the door and headed for the pits to put on some rain tires.
When he pulled in the pits the crew was packed up. He asked WTH was going on. They said the announcer said the Chaparral car was broken and the driver was climbing out. So the started packing up.
Interesting times back then. I guess safety was somewhat important, but like Randy said, speed first, everything else is just slowing down the car.
It was great hearing stories from Jim Hall and the other drivers about their experiences.
