Lagonda Rapiers

3 minute(s) of a 484 minute read

Anybody unsure of the effects of detonation, very often the result of poor quality fuel, along with over advanced ignition in high compression engines should look at Detonation Damage to High Comp pistons? in your search engine. (Google etc) There are some very graphic photographs and explanation of just the sort of damage my Rapier engine suffered. Fortunately the Rapier has a cast iron cylinder head and block or the results could have been much more devastating! 

Bj

12-26-2016

As Australia is situated in the Southern Hemisphere we are now enjoying our SUMMER with days well into the 30s Centigrade. Almost without exception the Auto Industry takes its Annual Holidays in January tacking them onto Christmas and New Year. This means that any work carried out by others comes to a stop. For example the piston manufacturers are closed until Mid-January, even after they return to work I will probably have a wait for up to a month and probably even more before I see the Rapier's new pistons. The same applies to the work I am having done on the Humber engine. 

I trust that you all enjoyed a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year.

Cheers! 

Bernie j.

During some discussion about the Lagonda Rapiers performance with a friend I looked up some results of the VSCC's Geelong (1/4 mile) Sprints held during the late 1970s and 80s. These are from the book History of the Geelong Sprints.

1979:- 18.97, 1980:- 20.40, 1981 (Amilcar Rapier Spl.) 16.98 and 82:- 16.50. 1984 :-19.40, 1985:- 18.08. The Amilcar-Rapier was a single seat racing car built around  shortened and much modified 1920s Amilcar Chassis and Rapier engine gear box, axles, brakes and wheels. I am sure that I have shown you photographs of it before but in case you have not seen it here is one for you. KG's times in 1984-5 were both with the car running as a fully equipped sports car. In 1979 and 80 I would have been competing in an earlier Rapier two seater. This ran at various events as either a "racing car" without lights or mudguards etc or as a sports car fully equiped. But that was all a very long time ago........