Origins of
The 289 Register.
By Frank Allen
I ordered my Hawk 289 kit from Gerry in December, 1994 – Chassis No.
41 – and collected the body, chassis and hard top in January, 1995.
I was off... I was on my way... to auto
jumbles, scrap yards, car shows in various
locations and of all shapes and sizes, and the
small ads in all manner of car magazines. I
made steady but slow progress with a few
expensive mistakes. You might say “why not
get it all from Gerry?” who undoubtedly has
much wisdom to impart as well as a bin full
of all the relevant bits and pieces but no,
I wanted to do it the ‘hard’ way i.e. do the
research and source the bits myself.
It came to me that others may want to
do it ‘my way’ and would happily discuss
their experiences. The only problem was
that I did not know where they were as no
comprehensive list of owners was available.
Having owned a Daimler SP250 for many
years I was a member of the Daimler and
Lanchester Owners’ Club, within which was
the SP250 Register. I thought that the Cobra
Replica Club might like to do something
similar, or at least give over a page in “Snake
Torque” to a 289 Register, so I wrote to the
CRC requesting such. A frosty response was
received with the suggestion that I might like
to join the CRC - I thanked them for their
reply.
Undaunted, I asked Gerry for a list of
all those who had purchased a 289 from him
with a similar request being made of BRA.
I also obtained a list of members from the
CRC which identified 289 owners and sent
out a questionnaire to all. I received a very
encouraging response which confirmed my
view that there were many others out there
with similar views to mine. So good was the
6
THE 289 REGISTER
response that due to pressure of work I
considered I was unlikely to be able to give
this project my full commitment. A Secretary
was required and John Davies stood into the
breach for two years with David Pilbeam
taking over thereafter. I still have a copy of the
responses received to my initial letter which
from time to time make interesting reading.
I suppose you could say that the 289
Register started “proper” when we held
our first meeting in April, 1997 which was
arranged by John and held at Kidlington
Airfield in Oxfordshire. Minutes of our first
AGM held at the time were taken and should
be around somewhere. I think six 289’s
attended although I arrived that day in my
Citroen Zantia, my 289 yet to be tested and
taxed. A good time was had by all with
everybody expressing a desire for more.
In October the same year, a fantastic turn out
of sixteen cars enjoyed the second meeting of
the 289 Register, again arranged by John, but
this time at Old Warden in Cambridgeshire.
Again another flying venue and well worth
a visit. This time I was in my 289 – we were
well on our way!
To me a Register of members is a
valuable asset to anyone building his own 289.
The ‘jollies’ are a bit of a bonus too and the
effort put in by all committee members should
not be under-estimated and without whom
there would be no 289 Register. My thanks to
their continued dedication.
Frank Allen