FEATURE : THE RACING DAF
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Bringing back an icon
An iconic special saloon from the early 1970s is set to return to racing this season in the Historic Sports Car Club ’ s Historic Modsports and Special Saloons Series . The famous Daf V8 Special Saloon from 1973 is now ready for a racing return with current owner Andy Wilson .
The V8-engined DAF 55 first built in 1973 by Tony Hazlewood is ready for a racing return in the hands of current owner Andy Wilson , and he sees the new HSCC series as the ideal place for this famous car , 50 years on from its debut season . Initially , Hazlewood raced it with success before handing it over to Alan Minshaw , who continued the story of the racing DAF .
Wilson said : “ It was first built in 1973 by Tony Hazlewood , using F1 wheels and tyres . My dad Terry was on pole at Rufforth in 1976 in a Special Saloon race
and I believe the Daf was next to him , but I can ’ t remember it .”
Eventually , the fell into disuse and various parts were taken off it . Eventually , Hazlewood acquired it back in the early 2000s and spent around 10 years working on a restoration from a bare shell . It then raced just once in the hands of Mike Wilds at Mallory Park but still needed more work .
Wilson then took the project over and spent a lot of time getting it back to its original weight and making sure that engine , suspension and brakes were all
Alan Minshaw at the wheel
Mallory Park , 1975 period correct .
Wilson said : “ It ’ s got a good 5-litre V8 engine with all the right bits on it . We ’ ve re-done all the brakes and put proper Historic F1 shock absorbers on it , like it had in period .
“ I realised I had the original body moulds for it . When it raced originally it weighed about 750kg and when I got the car it weighed over 900kg . We took 123kg out of it .
I only raced it once in the condition I bought it . It was alright apart from having no brakes and no power ! It had the lap record at Mallory Park in 1976 at 48.8s , which was going some and Mallory hasn ’ t changed much . But there was no way that car , as it was , was going to do a 48s around Mallory . It was only revving to 6000rpm so we took the rev limiter off and then we had this awful vibration form the propshaft . So we had to re-do all of that .”
“ It had three different colour schemes and I ’ ve put it into the Demon Tweeks livery from when Alan Minshaw had it and I think it now looks a lot better than it ever did . We were all ready to race it at Brands Hatch last year but the engine dropped a valve seat while we were putting it on the trailer . It ’ ll be ready for the new season in the HSCC Historic Modsports and Special Saloon series .”