I came across this picture on another forum and thought it might interest those here. It's from Aintree in 1975, great colour scheme.
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Dave Millington / Brook Hire Firenza
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 GBRM |
Dave Millington / Brook Hire Firenza |
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Posts: 197 12 December, 2007 10:44 AM DSG Member
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Lat edited by: Harry Flatters 12 December, 2007 5:10 PM.
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Harry Flatters |
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Posts: 507 12 December, 2007 1:13 PM DSG Member
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Gregor, thanks for that. This is the car I and BB were trying to identify in the Oulton Park '75
video. Now I can read the 'Brook Hire' on the side, I know which car it is.
You should know better though! 
It's not the Transpeed Firenza, it's Dave Millington's car. Before the Firenza he ran an Escort twin cam also in Brook Hire colours. I think this
car's abroad somewhere now.
Notice the two Brook Hire Trannys in the background... Good pic, cheers
Lat edited by: Harry Flatters 12 December, 2007 1:15 PM.
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GBRM |
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Posts: 200 12 December, 2007 3:09 PM DSG Member
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Sorry, thought it was; What is this car know as, the Brook Hire car? Can you change the title of the thread for me? Cheers.
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Harry Flatters |
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Posts: 508 12 December, 2007 5:10 PM DSG Member
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I don't know that it's known as anything in particular, Dave Millington's Firenza perhaps?!
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farbrooke |
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Posts: 2 17 December, 2007 11:31 PM |
Gabriel says the Millington car was bought by her then husband Philip Defreitas on behalf of a chap in Guyana South America who then emigrated to America and
then last she heard the car was owned by Mervyn Dornford in Great Miami. - he raced it for a while but stopped when it became uncompetitive - believed to be
2.6 - but not sure when enlarged.
Malcolm |
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GBRM |
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Posts: 514 29 August, 2008 2:21 PM DSG Member
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Sorry to update on old thread but can anyone tell me anything about this car before it was the Dave Millington car? I want to see what the general line is as
to the history of this car as I might have something interesting to add but I want to check the facts first.
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farbrooke |
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Posts: 21 29 August, 2008 4:49 PM |
Gregor - asked Gabriel and she is of the opinion Milington was the first owner - the car being one of the 4 (3 Firenza and 1 HC ) Lotus 904 twin cams racers
built at the time.
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Harry Flatters |
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Posts: 1343 31 August, 2008 7:29 PM DSG Member
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Gregor, I have a feeling I've seen a reference to this car recently as being something else before it was Dave Millington's. Possibly the Fortfield /
DTV NI car? - can't remember. If I find the reference I'll post it.
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GBRM |
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Posts: 515 1 September, 2008 9:40 AM DSG Member
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What I've just been told is that Dave Millington bought the car in 1972 directly after being raced at Thruxton by Dad and was the car built/owned by Stan
Burge and Gerry Johnstone and if this is the case it's a very important/interesting car as their car was built out of the remains of one of the original
Viva GTs crashed at Lydden.
I'm going to do a bit more research on it as I'd not heard that before and it seems strange that no-one else has either so we'll see. Is the car still in the states as far as we know? |
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farbrooke |
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Posts: 23 1 September, 2008 1:38 PM |
Gregor - car still in states as far as Gabriel is aware
From letters in the Viva file - between Philip DeFreitas and Bill B - there is a full spec and picture of for the Borg / Johnstone car fitted ('virtually a replica of the Gerry Marshall Thames Televsion Firenza') with a 2.2L single cam - was for sale on 4th July 72 and still available prior to 18th August. Picture shows flat front - bonnet without raised centre section 
What date was the Thruxton race? 9th Feb 1976 Mervyn Dornford from Puerto Rico has bought the ex Brook Hire Firenza 18th Feb Bill confirms car rebult into a new shell at Shepreth, in 1973, after horrifying crash at Oulton Park and they had looked after since - goes onto to say the car is long in the tooth and done a lot of work over three seasons. December 1976 - The twin cam had gone bang January 1977 - Quotes for the 2.6L replacement half engine Hope that is some help |
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Harry Flatters |
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Posts: 1350 1 September, 2008 4:33 PM DSG Member
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Bill, in 1975, refers to Dave Millington having driven the Firenza for 3 seasons, which would make the first season '72. I thought the reference I remembered might have been in Vauxhall Motorist, but I can't find it, though there are a lot of references to Millington, the Firenza, and Peter Brook. |
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GBRM |
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Posts: 516 1 September, 2008 5:05 PM DSG Member
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farbrooke wrote: Looks like we definitely have our car, brilliant. I think the race Dad did was October 1972 as I was told he started from the back after being flown there but I thought that that particular race was in Old Nail but maybe it was in this then as DTV did "rent" the car a few times. Either way apparently Dad raced it at Thruxton after being flown there and it was sold on the spot. The re-build makes it definitely the car, as the guy who told me (Graham Burge, Stan's son) thought it was written off after brake failure at Oulton (apparently it features in Havoc 4 - anyone got a copy?) and saw the car at Shepreth and it was in a terrible way and didn't beleive me that it lived, so it seems it did!! Maybe those Viva GT bits were jinxed, either way probably not much left of the GT so I think it's fairly safe to say one of them is definitely no more. |
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GBRM |
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Posts: 519 2 September, 2008 10:29 AM DSG Member
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The other thing that I didn't know was that Stan Burge used to rent his Firenza to DTV at £100 per race whenever Old Nail was busy at shows - in 1972 they
rented it for two races and one hillclimb.
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Harry Flatters |
#13 | |||
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Posts: 1413 28 September, 2008 4:37 PM DSG Member
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Gregor, you also have an email (of which I have a copy) saying that the Brook Hire car was previously the Fortfield / DTV NI / Jackie Patterson car. Ask the
twins.
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GBRM |
#14 | |||
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Posts: 564 8 October, 2008 9:59 AM DSG Member
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First picture looks like Dad - not sure on the other three.
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GBRM |
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Posts: 579 23 October, 2008 3:55 PM DSG Member
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Lat edited by: GBRM 23 October, 2008 3:57 PM.
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farbrooke |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 26 26 October, 2008 10:54 AM |
The original cars had alloy roll cages - now banned for a number of years - says a lot for the basic strength
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GBRM |
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Posts: 584 27 October, 2008 5:07 PM DSG Member
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I think it might only have been a half cage too? The Group 1/Prod Saloon Firenzas didn;t go full cage until quite late, can't remember when though.
Does anyone know if Dave Millington is still around? |
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GBRM |
Well I never!! | #18 | ||
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Posts: 587 28 October, 2008 5:08 PM DSG Member
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She lives!! The car still exists and now lives in Florida, alright for some!! She has been raced in many SCAA regional events, winning the ASR class
championship in 1988 (I don't know what any of that means but sounds impressive!!).
She is currently being restored to go "vintage" racing which I think it the American term for classic/historic. Brilliant to know the car is still around and flying the Vauxhall flag in the US. They story ends for now...
Lat edited by: GBRM 28 October, 2008 5:14 PM.
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mariolindsay |
Dave Millington Firenza | #19 | ||
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Posts: 46 7 November, 2008 9:05 PM DSG Member
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I think you all have most of he history correct of this car,it did have a big accident at Oulton Park, in fact Fiat had a advert in the 80's on the TV
about there new robot production lines with classic music playing in the background, and they showed different clips during the advert, one clip showed this
Firenza sideways then it rolled over several times ripping the driver's dooor off, it was only a clip fotr about 4 seconds but you could see it was a
Firenza and the early Gerry Johnstone car as well, I still have this clip on one of my vidoe's.
Regards, Mario Lindsay (28) |
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edmundanddenise |
#20 | |||
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Posts: 135 14 November, 2008 7:40 PM DSG Members
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Hi Gregor,
Yes your Dad did fly into Thruxton and race this Firenza,Mario and I were there,but he finished down the field and it was getting very dark then,the Dave Millington Firenza was ex Jackie Patterson's car which ran as DTV Northern Ireland,its now in the States,the last photos I have of it racing it was painted yellow. |
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