Vintage Thing No.112 - RIP Special

Running as No.42 on the Saturday at the VSCC meeting at Wiscombe Park, RIP shows off its Morgan ancestry parked next to a slightly more venerable 1924 example.

The RIP Special leapt out at me from the pages of John Bateman's Enthusiast's Guide to Vintage Specials. This book is a splendid sequel to John Bolster's earlier tome on the breed, entitled simply Specials, and features some weird and wonderful mechanical contrivances, all built with sole purpose of going fast up a hill. RIP is the minimalist expression of that Holy Grail, the four wheeled motorbike. Actually, RIP is a four wheeled Morgan three-wheeler.

Possibly RIP's best view. Tailgaters are not a problem. That doped canvas is what I like best about the RIP Special and gives this little car its name.

RIP is rakish

For a long time I was given to understand that conversions of Morgan three-wheelers into mere cars never had the desired expectation of improving performance. Perhaps have a diff-less rear axle caused them to be a bit hoppitty in the bends but this never seemed to bother Frazer-Nashes.

The RIP Special disproves this theory and has appeared at Wiscombe with a youthful entourage who push it down hill and then, if it fires up, either chase after it to administer to its every need on the start line or, if it doesn't go, run up the hill with it in a frantic attempt to get it to start and make the run to which it is entitled. Recently, the latter activity occurs less frequently. RIP, it seems, is mellowing slightly.

On the Sunday the RIP Special was running as 144 in amongst the pre-1941 Racing Cars but still with Charlie Martin at the wheel.

The RIP Special originally had a 1929 Morgan chassis and a water cooled 1928 JAP JTOR vee-twin but nowadays has an air cooled version. Early pictures show it with a fuel tank mounted above the dashboard and the similarity to a racing lawn mower in this state was more than striking.

Perspective exaggerates RIP's stance. This car is planted with a C of G at the centre of the earth. Note name on rocker cover and container of special fuel.

Front wheels are the bulbous hub ones off early Minors. They're inelegant compared with the original Morgan wheels but have the advantage of hydraulic brakes. Many high performance Morgans have them. A single cable-operated drum operates on the solid back axle, which is made out of 1½" solid bar. The chassis has been lengthened and clothed in low and lightweight bodywork made from doped canvas over a wooden frame. Consequently, RIP holds its cylinder heads up high in the presence of aero-engined monsters in the paddock – it’s an aero bodied bolide.

RIP tears up the strip

In the programme, the RIP Special is listed as a Morgan Special but I think it's more than that. The JAP engine is now a 1316cc unit so must have some fancy internal modifications. As usual, I was too absorbed by the machinery to make a note of the times on the day.