Here is an excellent picture of the Donlavey Torino at Le Mans in 1976. Finally, thanks to Le Mans expert François Breton who found this shot, we have proof that the Torino had a small block at the 1976 24 Hours race!
Steve sent in two great pictures of the Torino on the 1976 Le Mans 24 Hours starting grid. They are amateur shots that Laurent Elji took from the Grandstands, opposite to the pitlane. Laurent was 12 years old at the time and started his now tremendous Le Mans picture collection with just a pocket camera!
Continue reading "Truxmore Torino on Le Mans starting grid" »
In Fall of 2006, I was asked to help bring the Truxmore Torino back to life. I worked on that project for quite a while and came up with a plan and a budget. Sadly, the main sponsor stepped down. Now, instead of letting my work collect dust, I decided to feature it here on the Truxmore Torino blog for you to download it.
If you decide to take it on, contact me and I'll be glad to help you complete the project. Would'nt it be a blast to get that car back on the track at Le Mans?
Our reader Dennis Garrett, who is a NASCAR modeler and vintage expert from Virginia, has sent us these great pictures of the Truxmore Torino at Le Mans in 1976. On this first one, you can see it next to the Oly Express Dodge. Would'nt it be something to have both these cars back at the track for Le Mans Classic 2008 ?
Continue reading "More 1976 Photos of the Truxmore Torino" »
We had a very interesting time checking out Steve Swanson's Torino, or at least what is left of it. Together with Lee Holman, seen here on the picture next to Steve, we spend quite a few hours looking at, under and in the car.
Continue reading "Swanson's Torino: one of the Donlavey cars" »
During our recent trip to North Carolina, we were able to get interesting data on Junie Donlavey's cars. Big news is that, contrary to popular belief, the Donlavey Torino did not use a 429 BOSS, but a 358 Cleveland engine!
Continue reading "Truxmore Torino had small block at Le Mans" »
Three drivers, namely Dick Brooks, Dick Hutcherson and Marcel Mignot, shared the ride in the Truxmore Torino at Le Mans. Among these, Dick Brooks had the busiest schedule of the year, racing almost a full Winston Cup program for Junie Donlavey.
Some of you might want to know what it takes to race the real Torino at Le Mans Classic 2008, instead of having this Scalectric model run on your living room floor. Well, here are the basics:
Continue reading "Racing the Torino at Le Mans Classic 2008" »
Readers of this month excellent issue of Motor Trend Classic will be able to see what you readers of the Truxmore Torino Blog already have: the remains of the recently unearthed Donlavey chassis! We are glad to see that the specialized press is picking up the story. To tell you the truth, it was thanks to MTs editor Matt Stone that we got our picture, of what could become the reborn Truxmore Torino, in the first place!
Eric Cettour, a fan who met us in the pits at Le Mans Classic 2006, sent us this great picture of the Torino at tech for the 24 hours in 1976. His father, an ACO scrutineer at that time took that great shot of the Donlavey Torino.
Thanks to fellow enthousiast François Breton, who already helped us in a great way on the Charger, we received a copy of Junie Donlavey's 1976 Le Mans entry form. It states interesting information like engine size, lubrication system, wheel and tyre combinations and brake types. While most publications point out that it had drum brakes, the official entry form states that the Le Mans Torino was equipped with HURST Airheart brakes, just like McGriff's Charger and Greenwood's Corvette! Despite these excellent brakes, the Torino ended the gravel trap at the end of the Mulsanne straight in qualifying! But that is another story, soon to be told here on the Truxmore Torino weblog!
During Le Mans Classic 2006, Dick Pierson had a chance to chat with Lee Holman about the 2nd NASCAR that raced 1976 in Le Mans. Since the Charger was brought back with great success, the idea came up to do the same with its blue oval counterpart. Automotive journalist Rich Truesdell stepped forward to help find the necessary funding. We'll keep you updated on the project's progress.
North Carolina's Steve Swanson is now the proud owner of the remains of an original Truxmore NASCAR. Steve found it on Ebay, being offered out of a batch collected at a surplus sale in New Jersey. It is one of five, that Junie Donlavey sold to the US Air Force when NASCAR downsized the wheelbases from 115" to 110" in 1982. Steve plans to restore it to its 1976 Le Mans configuration. The Hurst Airheart brakes are still there, as stated on Junie's Le Mans entry sheet! One solid hint that it could be THE Le Mans Torino!
Now that Dick Pierson and Christophe Schwartz succesfully brought back and raced the Olympia Charger at Le Mans Classic, another enthousiatst, namely Steve Swanson, is contemplating to launch a similar project based on the Truxmore Torino! Will there be both a 426 HEMI and a 429 BOSS resounding in La Sarthe in 2008 ?
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