Larry writes >
>This summer at the British Car Show I saw a really neat little car that
>looked like a miniaturized Cobra. The one that was there was sitting out
>in the used parts area, and I figured it was for sale, but didn't ask,
>since I might have done something stupid...
>It was a Berkeley B, was RHD and appeared to have a very unique drive train.
>What do you folks out there on the net know about this beastie? Should I
>have at least *asked* what they wanted for it?
When I was starting out in autocrossing, about 1969, some guys over by the
University of Minnesota tried to sell me a Berkeley. These cars are incredibly
small roadsters. This one had been really worked over. The original engine
and front drive package had been removed and replaced with a Mini subframe.
It was claimed to be a 1275 Cooper engine, but the gear lever was the original
Mini type, not the remote. You sat so low and so far back that the gear lever
was practically horizontal, and the pattern was huge.
The fiberglass body was painted Minnesota Gophers Maroon. There was a roll bar
that looked like it was made from wrought-iron railing parts bolted to the
body. This roll bar was painted Minnesota Gophers Gold.
I took it for a test drive. It had lots of kick, and seemed to handle OK, but
second gear was out, which I figured was a major deficit in an autocrosser.
I figured I would be up to my eyebrows in alligators getting it working right,
so I gave it a pass.
Later, I described the car to my new autocross friends. They told me these
guys had been autocrossing for several year previous to my arrival on the
scene. They laughed about the way two of the guys used to pick up the back end
of it and move it like a wheelbarrow to maneuver it around the paddock.
I never saw it again, so it must have not made any more autocrosses for
a while.
To this day, I can't hear the word "Berkeley" without picturing that maroon
monstrosity. Maybe someday I will see a real one!
Phil Ethier, THE RIGHT LINE, 672 Orleans Street, Saint Paul, MN 55107-2676
h (612) 224-3105 w (612) 298-5324 phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov
"Some of them drive little sports cars" -Jethro Tull
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