Ramblings (the Mk1)
This is the story of Tavenor
In the beginning – Tavenor Mk 1
Yes, there was a Mk 1, about ten years earlier. The only thing it had in common with the Mk 2 was the master craftsman who designed and built them both – i.e. me.
The earlier car retained the identity of its donor and was therefore not at the time called a Tavenor, but it is nevertheless part of Tavenor history.
In my student days at Bristol University in 1957 (where I read Economics, of all things) I hankered after a car that was a bit more sporting than the current norm for student wheels, then typically some clapped out and rust eaten 1930s or 1940s saloon. Being like all students before, then, and since, of limited means I decided that building a 'special' of some kind was the best route to ownership of a vehicle that I could use for motor sport purposes, however modestly. The favoured donors were either a side-valved Ford 10 (the way Colin Chapman had started), or the Austin Seven (as favoured by Jem Marsh). Slightly interesting aside – I believe the Marsh family had connections with the gents outfitters of the same name who stocked the university regalia. I owned neither of these, but I did have access to a 1935 Austin 10 saloon, and the logbook and mortal remains of a mechanically identical 1934 drop-head. The latter became the official donor, as it defined the body as a 2 seater sports and would hence match the description of the car I would be building, making life easier for insurance purposes.
By the by, the University student union colours were White, Black and Red – in case you were wondering about the paint jobs on the Marcos and the Tavenor Mk2.
If you are really into coincidences, – (for those of you who know of Jem Marsh's background) – the headmaster at my minor public school was also a Marsh, initials W T, a WW2 Commander in the Royal Navy!
I won't go into technical details, but the end result was a car which, while hardly a ball of fire was a lot lighter and more lively than an Austin 10! It also handled surprisingly well.
I used it at a very local level for rallying, sporting trials, sprints, autocross, auto-tests, speed hill-climbing – every type of motorsport except racing, and I even tried unsuccessfully to get an entry for a race at Mallory Park.
A track day at Goodwood suggested that it was just about a match for a standard small engined Austin Healey Sprite.
I was quite proud of the fact that I never finished last in any event, though the only things I ever won were a few small rallies and a couple of auto-tests. As a bonus I did learn an awful lot about car preparation (and interpreting the rule book in a beneficial manner).
© Raymond Nash 2010-2023