Boreham now, sad to see
Discussion
For fans of Ford motorsport, lusting over period pics of that hanger full of RS200s etc it is not a nice sight now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uLILE-23I4&t=...
Lots of original brand new flat pack boxes though if anyone is in need!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uLILE-23I4&t=...
Lots of original brand new flat pack boxes though if anyone is in need!
Dug up and turned into gravel pits.
Would not be able to do this anymore in your RS200 around there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2wXQ5DtAHw&t=...
Would not be able to do this anymore in your RS200 around there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2wXQ5DtAHw&t=...
PAUL.S. said:
For fans of Ford motorsport, lusting over period pics of that hanger full of RS200s etc it is not a nice sight now.
Some of the stash of bare 3-dr Cossie motorsport shells in the store shed at Boreham in May 1988 when I visited there for a blast around the test track in a RS200 driven by Bob Howe.
Nice, those are the original ones as well that all the period RS500 and rally cars were built from, and not the batch of remade 909 ones from 1989.
I was looking over probably the last such original 3dr unused motorsport shell a few weeks ago, it is going to be built up as a full Group A RS500 soon. Quite a few of the 909 version still out there though.
I have owned 5 of those new 909 shells, cheapest was £600 they now sell for £10k plus.
I was looking over probably the last such original 3dr unused motorsport shell a few weeks ago, it is going to be built up as a full Group A RS500 soon. Quite a few of the 909 version still out there though.
I have owned 5 of those new 909 shells, cheapest was £600 they now sell for £10k plus.
The nearest one looks to be in green “Panach” colours?
I worked at Boreham the last year it was open as Ford Motorsport. Absolutely dripping with history everywhere you looked! Even then half the track was gone but there was still enough infield to do some meaningful testing.
A shame it’s all gone. Many a happy day…
I worked at Boreham the last year it was open as Ford Motorsport. Absolutely dripping with history everywhere you looked! Even then half the track was gone but there was still enough infield to do some meaningful testing.
A shame it’s all gone. Many a happy day…
Taken the same day.
Some of the huge stash of Cossie rally wheels in what I think was the old 70's era Escort rally prep bay shed.
And, Bertie Fisher's Cossie parked up around the back after finishing the Welsh Rally a week or so beforehand.
The dog was very friendly as well, likely owned by one of the Boreham mechanics, and was happy wandering around amusing itself
Some of the huge stash of Cossie rally wheels in what I think was the old 70's era Escort rally prep bay shed.
And, Bertie Fisher's Cossie parked up around the back after finishing the Welsh Rally a week or so beforehand.
The dog was very friendly as well, likely owned by one of the Boreham mechanics, and was happy wandering around amusing itself
PAUL.S. said:
Is that a separate building Steve?, as the hanger and surrounding area is now derelict on that you tube explore.
The youtube stuff is very misleading. (wrong).The hanger with the boxes in is some distance from the important bit, offices / canteen / workshops, where Essex Police garage now reside.
Google earth / street view is your friend.
The telegraph post with three white stripes is still there, the Ford secret sign ! (Holts Lane)
The control tower is accessed from another entrance that has a RAF Boreham monument outside.
The original post mentioned the famous 'hanger full of RS200's ' picture. That picture, for FIA inspection, was at the former Reliant factory, Shenstone.
PAUL.S. said:
With regards the RS200s my understanding is that the hanger shown in the vid was where the completed cars were stored for a number of years until sold?
No, the unsold road cars were never stored at Boreham. I believe an prospective buyer could collect from the factory if desired, and Bob Howe would do a handover at Boreham, but the car would be transported down from Shenstone for that.When I was there in May '88, Bob was still trying to flog off most of them, and there were two road cars there only, one of which was his one. There were two rally cars there still as well, one of which had just been bought by a European rallycross driver.
The Operations block was demolished recently and I’m told that the Control Tower is also now gone. The Hangar was a listed building and was rumored to have been donated by Ford to Duxford but it’s never been moved as neither party wanted to pay for the thing to be dismantled, transported and then reassembled.
I worked at Ford's International Tractor Training School (1984-88) just down the road on the other side of Boreham village. We used to take our demonstration tractors up to the airfield from time to time to use the weighbridge located just inside the entrance to the hangar - on the opposite side where the offices were.
One day we turned up there to do some weighing and the hanger was full of RS200's, plus crates of red cam-covered cosworth engines. I'm sure they also had draped the sides of the hanger with red or coloured curtains, acting like a sort of showroom.
One day we turned up there to do some weighing and the hanger was full of RS200's, plus crates of red cam-covered cosworth engines. I'm sure they also had draped the sides of the hanger with red or coloured curtains, acting like a sort of showroom.
aeropilot said:
PAUL.S. said:
With regards the RS200s my understanding is that the hanger shown in the vid was where the completed cars were stored for a number of years until sold?
No, the unsold road cars were never stored at Boreham. I believe an prospective buyer could collect from the factory if desired, and Bob Howe would do a handover at Boreham, but the car would be transported down from Shenstone for that.When I was there in May '88, Bob was still trying to flog off most of them, and there were two road cars there only, one of which was his one. There were two rally cars there still as well, one of which had just been bought by a European rallycross driver.
The cars, as aeropilot pointed out, weren't stored at Boreham. As required they were put through a 'mega' pre delivery inspection at Tickford. Paintwork rectification, colour change & different seats if requested. Graham Robson's road car was building up mileage and any issues experienced could be checked on the rest of the cars at this stage.
j4r4lly said:
The Operations block was demolished recently and I’m told that the Control Tower is also now gone. The Hangar was a listed building and was rumored to have been donated by Ford to Duxford but it’s never been moved as neither party wanted to pay for the thing to be dismantled, transported and then reassembled.
Thanks for the update. 👍gt40steve said:
I also had a visit & tour by Bob. He had set up a tiny 'showroom area' and slowly but surely sold all the cars. That excludes the ones that went directly to rally teams & those dismantled for spares.
The cars, as aeropilot pointed out, weren't stored at Boreham. As required they were put through a 'mega' pre delivery inspection at Tickford. Paintwork rectification, colour change & different seats if requested. Graham Robson's road car was building up mileage and any issues experienced could be checked on the rest of the cars at this stage.
Dad’s car (Graham Robson, mentioned here) was actually four cars, three white then one red (the first in that colour and not Sunburst or any other Ford colour, but Ferrari Rosso). Issues included blown head gaskets (before the turbo-cooling procedure was fully understood) and a broken cambelt resulting in total engine failure. The last (red) one was pretty good though and relatively civilised considering its roots, including leather trim on more road-focussed Recaros and a built in mobile phone (this was 1987…). It’s also the first performance car I drove and, to this day, one of the most impressive.The cars, as aeropilot pointed out, weren't stored at Boreham. As required they were put through a 'mega' pre delivery inspection at Tickford. Paintwork rectification, colour change & different seats if requested. Graham Robson's road car was building up mileage and any issues experienced could be checked on the rest of the cars at this stage.
When the programme was finished he tried to buy it but (A) Ford wanted list price and (B) the insurance quotes were horrifying, even for a middle-aged man living in the depths of rural Dorset.
Bob was also running a “high mileage car” from his home in Billericay, Essex. A sad loss.
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