Top Car

92 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 2016Feature: SASpecialsHighestcredentialsbut destinedto be anon-starterThe mock-up of the vehicle was made in agarage in London and once the design wasfinalised, a mould for the glass fibre bodywas made and shipped to SA in early 1957.Willie was already back homeand welladvanced with th e car’s mechanicals. Oncebody met ro lling chassis, the Dart was bornand two cars were built, fitted with th e Ford100E side-valve 1172cc four-c ylinder motorand three-speed gearbox, and took part inthe 1958 False Bay 100meeting at Gunner’sCircle driven by Bob and Willie. Theyfinished 5th and 6th in the scratch race , and11th and 14th in the 100competing againstsome ex-GP single-seate rs. The car wasintr oduced to the public the follo wingmonth, and the legend of the Dart bega n,which today is kept alive by the enthusiasticand always active GSM Car ClubDriving the car, the reason for the Dart’sProtea’sinteriorisbasic,symbolisedbytwo-spokeplastic steeringwheel``````appeal soon becomes clear. The steering islight and communicative, the ride firmbut not harsh, and the handling is superbthanks to a chassis/suspension that isbasic in concept but brilliant in execution.The engine is set well back in the frame tooptimise overall weight distribution.Performance-wise, 0-96kph took 13.3seconds and the top speed was 135kph.While the Dart was being developed, theWitwatersrand was hometo a similarproject, th e Protea, a sports car ‘for theenthusiast’, coincidentally also thebrainchild of three men, Dr Alex Roy, JohnMyers and Bob Fincher. Roywas mainly responsible for thedesign of the glass fibre body,the mould of which was madeon a framework of timber andchicken wire layered withplaster of Paris. Myers and Fincherdeveloped the ladder-frame chassis andtubular spac eframe. Suspension wasindependent up front and the rear axle waslocated by equal-length trailing arms and aPanhard ro d. Coil springs and telescopicdampers were fitted all ro und. Therunning gear was all Ford 10 0E, exce ptthe worm-and-roller steering box wasmounted upside down to qu icken the``````steering ratio.The Protea was also powered by the Ford100E 1172cc engine and ge arbox, in thisapplication positioned 200mm behind thefront axle line, but as with th e Dart, theratios were less than ideal beca use the carswere lighter than anall-metal 100E saloon.Neverthele ss, 136kph was achievable and0-96kph took 14.5 seconds. A Willmentoverhead inlet/side exhaust valve cyli nder``````Dartboasts asporty, spokedaluminium/woodrimsteeringwheel.Cowled faciafeaturesFord instrumentation