904-025, Borneo Green, S.M.A.R.T 1964
In November 1963 André Loubser, VIP coordinator of Porsche Stuttgart, received a telegram by Sir Stirling Moss, containing an order for a 904.
Mr. Loubser remembered on October 30, 2014:
"In 1962, aged 22, I left Cape Town to join the export/sales division of the Porsche factory. A year later, much to my surprise, I was asked to head up the VIP direct factory sales department. In November 1963 I received an order from Stirling Moss for a Porsche 904 for his racing team, the Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team (S.M.A.R.T) that he founded after his near fatal accident at Goodwood the year before. I spent Christmas of that year in Hendon with an English colleague and took the opportunity to meet up with Stirling to finalize the deal. The last time I called on him was in February 2012 – same house, same desk! He told me that his three mechanics were South Africans, brothers Ed and Bud Rossler and Piet van Asperen. From the beginning of 1964 I monitored the build of the 904 on a daily basis until I delivered it to Ed and Piet in February 1964." (https://mycarquest.com/2014/10/rando...th-africa.html)
S.M.A.R.T. was formed by Stirling Moss in March 1963 with the help of Richard Wilkins, the financial backer to Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team. Richard, “Dick” Wilkins, who was a very successful stockbroker for many years, was also a partner of Rob Walker, R. Walker & Wilkins, when Walker started running cars for Stirling Moss in the 1950's. Dick Wilkins ran a company called Wedd Durlacher, which eventually became Barclays de Zoete Wedd, which still remains now as Barclay's main investment bank.
Stirling Moss acquired a Lotus Elan road car for SMART and had it modified by leading aerodynamist Frank Costin with a low-drag nose and elongated hardtop to improve airflow. Due his racing injuries at the Goodwood Easter Monday meeting in 1962, where he crashed his Lotus, Moss was unable to race the modified SMART Elan, so Sir John Whitmore campaigned the light green car for the 1963 season, towing it to race meetings with a Ford Cortina Estate, painted in matching livery. The car participated in various GT events and driven successfully by Sir John Whitmore throughout that season. It won every event it entered except two, when it shed a wheel on both occasions. Here is a partial quote from Whitmore in reference to Stirling Moss : "As a way of staying involved in the sport, he bought a Lotus Elan, formed the Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team and, to my great surprise, chose me as his number one driver. I drove the car in eight races in 1962, winning four of them; in the other four, a rear wheel fell off while I was in the lead."
The Elan was sold after Valerie Pirie had driven it in club events during the early part of 1964, with some success. At the same time S.M.A.R.T. acquired a Cortina GT which was entered in several rallies and driven by Valerie Pirie, usually with Daphne Freeman and Sue Knights.
For the 1964 season a Porsche 904 GTS should bring the team further race wins.
The 904 order was officially signed during the visit of Stirling Moss at the factory together with Valerie Pirie on 7th January 1964, commission number 4.100.003, priced at 29.700.- DM, with a built date for the 1st half of February 1964. Color as per sample “Boneo green”. A deposit of one third of the total price had been taken, 10,000.- DM. Balance price was due on date of delivery. https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/...lot=14949&sd=1
The team trademark special color “Borneo Grün” was brought into market by Renault for the MY 60/63. The Renault Color Code is 911, or color code 173-26006 / ICI - Imperial Chemical Industries - paint reference P031-4390 / “S.M.A.R.T green”, "Kotzgrün", “vomit green”, as a british journalist wrote in an article. The rims had to be painted in a Jaguar dark green (BRG?). The color had been supplied by Valentine Varnish & Lacquer Company, UK. The upholstery of the 904 was the standard blue fabric.
Mr. Loubser was monitoring the built for his client, he wrote me about it in June 2020:
“As an aside, something that puzzled me was that the Fuhrmann designed, very complex 2-litre twin-cam engines, built on the same day by the same assemblers with exactly the same components, would give readings from 173 to 179 bhp on the dynamometer, with 180 bhp listed in the homologation papers.
Herr von Hanstein told me, that if I ever allocated an engine to any of my customers without discussing it with him, I could consider myself as good as dead. “Jawohl, Herr von Hanstein!”
After all these years I’m sure that I could tell a story ‘out of school.’
I was told, that we should allocate the top reading engines to the professional drivers and teams and the lower horsepowers to the playboy drivers, who stood little or no chance of winning. Made sense to me.
One day when the dynamometer read 181 I rushed to Herr von Hanstein’s office and gave him the news. I asked if I could have it for Stirling. After a dramatic pause he said, “Ah, yes, Stirling is a good friend of the factory . . . . and. er, yes, you can let him have it.” I was off to my office like an Olympic sprinter to phone Stirling with the news. He was of course delighted…”
So engine 587/3, # 99024 went along with chassis 904-025. According to the Kardex, the 904 had been delivered on 19.02.1964:
“I delivered the car to SMART's chief mechanic, fellow South African, Ed Rossler. Stirling gave Ed an envelope with two Union Jack transfers and insisted that they be stuck on both front fenders before the car left the factory. Ed was accompanied by fellow South African mechanic, Piet van Asperen. The car was towed on a large trailer behind Hugh Dibley’s orange Mini van and taken to Stuttgart Airport from where it was flown to Stanstead Airport.”
On 26th February 1964 Douglas Miller had made the picture of the 904-025 (see #29) with Sir John Whitmore in the car and Valerie Pirie standing at the side. The union jack transfer is clearly visable on the front fender towards the door. The race number markings are still missing.
Valerie Pirie wrote on this as following:
“First of all, HM Customs and Excise were going to tax the car at it the full rate for an imported road car, which was approximately double the cost of the actual car itself in Germany. I had the devil´s own job trying to persuade the authorities that this car was only going to be trailered on the back of our tow vehicle; that it would only be raced and run under its own steam on racing circuits and that it would never be used on the open roads in the UK, or anywhere else for that matter. After many weeks of wrangling, we were given the all-clear but, in order to move matters forward to our entire satisfaction, I´d also had to tip off the press, and they splashed the story across the nationals.”
The first start for the 904-025 had been at 30.03.1964, starting number 42, at the Goodwood International Motor Racing, Lavant Cup on easter Monday, for the “Guards Sportscar Championship” theater. The organizer had been the British Automobile Racing Club. The race started at 17:10 for 50 miles. 27 cars had entered the race, the practising session attended 20 cars. From the starting grid of 20 cars, 18 cars did finished and 17 cars had been classified. The driver had been Sir John Whitmore, finishing 6th overall and 3rd in class. The 904 made 20 laps in 31:23.00. Winner had been John Coundley in a Lotus 19 Climax, finishing 21 laps in 31:05.600, covered a distance of 81.111 kms with an average of 156.525 km/h
(images > #36).
„The Sterling Moss Team ran their Porsche 904 in the sports car race, driven by Whitmore, but it did not seem outstanding; perhaps the colour had to do something with it. Yet another shade of British Vomit Green”
May 1964, Motor Sport Magazine, page 350
During test drives in Silverstone, Hugh Dibley crashed with the 904-025 - the vehicle overturned. The exact date of the accident, assumend to have taken place the following week after the Goodwood race, in which the vehicle was seriously damaged, is not secured.
Hugh Dibley, driver for S.M.A.R.T. , on his accident with 904-025:
“While I was at Silverstone I had a go in Stirling’s Porsche 904. Wish I hadn’t: I put a wheel on the grass at Stowe and flew off into the bank and wrote the thing off….."
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...ch-hugh-dibley
Valerie Pirie wrote on this:
“Once again, Hugh would be sharing the drives with John Whitmore, but his first outing in the car was to test it at Silverstone. Unfortunately, this turned into a complete and utter disaster. I took the call in the office from Ed who told me that Hugh had had a shunt in the Porsche and that the car was more or less a write-off. I very quickly put him through to Stirling, who took the news as if it was the most natural thing in the world. That which was left of the car was despatched back to Germany….”
Mr.Loubser commented as following:
“….Given the fact that Stirling phoned me late on the Monday morning the testing session could have taken place earlier that morning. Whatever the date or time I suggested to Stirling that the car be brought back to the factory immediately for a rebuild……”
The condition of the left overs of 904-025 on arrival at the factory can be seen in some pictures > #7. The roof is torn off, the front window missing, the left fender broken, doors broken and ripped off, all loose parts towed together on the trailer.
But as an important issue, the race number decals from the 30th March Goodwood race event are still attached and clearly visable: front bonnet, middle position, towards front, side decal starting at the A-pillar.
(compare images > #36)
Due to the tight race schedule for the 1964 season, it was decided, not to repair the car, but to “hot swap” the remaining and usable parts of 025 and install these in an available free, non finished chassis, taken off the production line. Production papers do classify this cassis as 904-088, despite it was never really finished, but built with, and it is said, about 70% of the parts of 904-025.
Andre Loubser on this:
“….there was a car, partly built for an American client, chassis number 904.088. This car was grabbed and the best parts of 025 were built into it, ie engine, gearbox, etc. I was told at the time and always believed that 904.088 was retained as the new chassis number. This made sense as the car was two thirds complete. There would have been no point in transferring 025 to the new car besides which the chassis numbers were not relevant or of any consequence at the time.…during the rebuild I made absolutely sure that the engine was transferred to 904.088!.. to speed matters up, Ed and Piet, both competent race mechanics, arrived back at the factory the 20th to assist the Porsche technicians.”
„…With the rebuild complete and the SMART 904 looking all smart with its new identity the damaged pieces lay in a corner and looked ready for the scrap heap. As far as I was concerned chassis number 904.025 had been removed from the record books and ceased to exist..“
The restored 904-025-1, registered engine 587/3, #99024, with starting number 26 was seen next in the competitors paddock at Silverstone Circuit on Friday, 1st may 1964, practise day for the “British Racing Drivers' Club” BRDC event the following day.
The race number decal on the front bonnet has now moved to the left side, ending clearly above the lights, the decal on the door has also moved toward the rear and is now cut by the vertical window line.
The “16th Annual International Trophy”- Grand Touring took place the 2nd of may 1964, starting time 10.15 am, in rain, for a distance of 25 laps. 36 cars had entered the race, the practising session attended 36 cars. From the starting grid of 36 cars, 31 cars had been classified. Innes Ireland finished in 49:04.800, 9th overall and made a class win in the GT2.5.
In the same race chassis 904-045, registered engine 587/3 # 99034, license plate YOU 4, had starting number 27, driven by Dickie Stoop, entrant J. R. Stoop, finished 16th overall and 2nd in class behind 904-025-1.
Already two weeks later, there was a start for 904-025-1 in S.M.A.R.T liveries, again in “Borneo Grün”, on Monday, 18.05.1964, at the non championship Whitsun Goodwood race. The organizer had been the British Automobile Racing Club. Hugh Dibley did start in the SMART Brabham BT8, starting number 7. Innes Ireland had been pre-listed on the 904-025-1, starting number 23. 34 cars entered the 50 miles race. In the lists of the race results, Trevor Taylor is listed as the driver, and recorded to have finished 7th overall, 2nd in class. Innes Ireland could not sit behind the wheel in this race, as he had been participating on 17th of May at the 500km of Spa, racing a Shelby Cobra for the Shelby American Inc, finishing 15th overall.
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...-race-meetings
On 31st May 1964, chassis 904-025-1, registered in the papers with engine 587/3, # 99 024, starting number 50, participated in the “ADAC 1000 km Rennen Nürburgring”. Organizer had been the "Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobilclub" (ADAC). The race started at 09:00 with a LeMans type start. The race had been entered by 119 cars, practicing session was down already to 96 cars. The race did start with 81 cars and only 46 had been classified. Number 50 finished in 7:13:55.100, 9th overall, and 4th in class, driven by Lloyd Casner and David Hobbs.
With some hurry, chassis 904-025-1 was airlifted to Canada in order to participate on 06.06.1964 with starting number 3 at the Player's 200 for the Player's Cup in Mosport Park. The event had been organized by the Canadian Racing Drivers' Association. Hugh Dibley again was the driver. The two race set up started at 14:00 and 16:00. The distance had been 2 x 100 miles. Attendees is said to be 52.200. The field had been with 35 starters and 24 to be classified. A high profiled race with the race driving elite participating at this event. Bruce McLaren had been the overall winner in a Zerex Special Oldsmobile, finished the 80 laps of the two races in a total time of 2:07:46.700, covering 324.637 kms with an average speed of 148.880. Hugh Dibley in the S.M.A.R.T 904-025-1 qualified as 23rd with a time of 1:48.300 and finished the Race 1 as 16th , with 35 laps, in 1:03:39.900, being 3rd in class GT. The Race 2 he finished as 18th , with 36 laps, in 1:05:58.800, being 4th in class GT. In overall he finished in 2:09:38.700, 15th, with 71 laps, and 4th in class GT.
For the 21./ 22.06.1964 the participation at Le Mans 24 hours was on the list of races. The S.M.A.R.T. team is said to have been registered with a 904 and Whitmore / Dibley / Casner as drivers, but they did not attend. But already in March 1964 the german news magazine “Der Spiegel” reported about the rejected entry, due to missing and necessary informations. > #33.
There must have been some sort of disappointment from the SMART team with the 904, as it was neither raced the following month, nor else infos on entries or repairs are available.
Also an engine change must have taken place, as the next known “event” is the official registration of 904-025 on 1st November 1964, license plate 7777 K, metallic silver blue, engine P99073, instead of 99024. The handwritten date, 30.11.64, lists Richard Wilkins as the legal owner for this salon body type private car. Richard Wilkins passed away on 10th February 1989 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/.../3739/data.pdf.
Andre Loubser on this:
“The car was sold to his old friend stock broker, Dick Wilkins, who collected racing sports cars and housed them in a centrally heated garage at his magnificent home in Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire. Dick was a charming and generous man who co-sponsored cars with Rob Walker. He was also a great friend of the Queen Mother. The car was resprayed navy blue and the wheels silver. If I recall correctly it was in August that Ed, accompanied by a South African friend, drove the 904 to Dick’s house. I followed in Stirling’s Morris Mini Cooper, SM 773, with Downton conversion and lowered roof. It was quite a bomb! The three of us wheeled the 904 into the garage and at that point I waved goodbye to the car. I witnessed its birth, the rebuild and delivery to its new owner.”
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