904-025, borneo green, S.M.A.R.T 1964

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904-025, Borneo Green, S.M.A.R.T 1964

In November 1963 André Loubser, VIP coordinator of Porsche, learns of the order of the 904 by Stirling Moss. During engine tests, which should bring a result of 180bhp, one engine did better. It is said, that Loubser asked von Hanstein to leave the engine to the Stirling Moss order, this was agreed to. So engine 587/3, # 99024 went along with chassis 904-025.

Loubser was writing 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 depart-ment. In November 1963 I received an order from Stirling Moss for a Porsche 904 for his rac-ing team, the Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team (SMART) 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 finalise 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)

According to the Kardex, the vehicle had been delivered on 19.02.1964 to S.M.A.R.T (Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team) in the special color “Borneo Grün” (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 team trademark colour had been „borneo green“. The color was brought into market by Renault for the MY 60/63. The Renault Color Code is 911. Monoposto cars had a dark green nose band. Sports cars had a dark green nose band which forms itself into a narrowing stripe in the centre of the bonnet. The rims were painted dark green. The color had been supplied by Valentine Varnish & Lacquer Company, UK. The upholstery of the 904 was blue.

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. He bought a Lotus Elan, which was modified considerably and had a hard top fitted. The car entered for 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. 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. At the beginning of the 1964 season the Porsche 904 GTS was bought.

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 Cham-pionship” 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. No finishing time is in the records.

904-025, registered engine 587/3, #99024, with starting number 26 was seen in the competi-tors paddock at Silverstone Circuit on Friday, 1st may 1964, practise day for the “British Racing Drivers' Club” BRDC, event the following day. The “16th Annual International Trophy”- Grand Touring took place the 2nd of may 1964, starting time 10.15 am 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.

During test drives in Silverstone, Hugh Dibley crashed with the 904-025 - the vehicle overturned. The exact date of the accident, 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. Stirling was ever so good to me over the years. I can’t remember, but I think I met him first through his secretary Val Pirie." https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...ch-hugh-dibley

After the accident, the 904-025 was transported to the factory. 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. The remains of engine #99024 are unknown as 904-088, aka 904-025-1, was noted per 01.11.1964 on the cars logbook, to have #99073 installed.

The first start for 904-088 in S.M.A.R.T liveries, again in “Borneo Grün” (?) had been on 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 Brabham BT8, number 7. Innes Ireland had been on the 904-088, starting number 23. 34 cars entered the 50 miles race. The results of this race are unknown, as no papers had been appeared.

On 31st May 1964, chassis 904-088, 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.

On 06.06.1964, chassis 904-088, with starting number 3 will move on to the Player's 200 for the Player's Cup in Mosport Park in Canada, organized by the Canadian Racing Drivers' As-sociation. 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. Race 1 has seen number 3 finishing 16th and 3rd in class. Race 2 has seen number 3 as 18th overall and 4th in class, thus in total finishing in 2:09:38.700 15th overall and 4th in class.

On 22.06.1964 the LeMans24 took place. The S.M.A.R.T. team had been registered with a 904-088 and Whitmore / Dibley / Casner as drivers, but they did not attend.

The left overs of the 904-025 had remained in the factory and had been sold by the repair department on 21.04.1964 to Theo Geiger. Remaining had been the the original, damaged frame and the original damaged body, all in first paint. Mr. Geiger wanted to restore the 904 for himself, so from 1965 onwards, the former Porsche technician began to buy original "old parts" for the 904 from Porsche and aquired an impressive collection.

Since such projects seemed no longer possible without financial and special technical sup-port, Mr. Geiger sold the remains and parts in 2010 to Freisinger Motorsport, who did a complete reconstruction and restoration.

The video of the „garage find“ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyjXjYiUVQw does show the condition of the car as by 2010, with all the parts, Mr. Freisinger himself and Mr. Geiger. Also pictures of 904-025 do show the condition after the accident, as it was brought back to factory.

904-025 now owned by a German enthusiast, it is meticulously prepared for historic racing by Mario Linke's team.

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904-088 in S.M.A.R.T livery

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now all new and raced again

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video of running 904-025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHrpB-UdMH4

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video of the "garage find"
and additional pictures of 904-025 after the accident and delivery and else..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyjXjYiUVQw

enjoy

[Reiver]

Excellent post...as an aside...I like the color...unique

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Below please do find the letter of Sir Stirling Moss from 25.04.1980 to Armin Hardy.
Armin Hardy had been executive employee at the above mentioned Porsche dealer Löhr & Becker in Koblenz.
“Actually, I had two 904 Porsches, the first one was destroyed by one of my drivers and the second one raced.”

Furtheron the logbook for now 904-025-1 aka 904-088, which had been at the Silverstone auctions, "The Porsche Sale 2016".
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/events/2016-auctions/the-porsche-sale-2016/the-porsche-sale-2016-sale/11am-automobilia/buff-logbook-for-1965-porsche-904-gts-raced-by-sir-stirling-moss
Lot # 121 -Buff Logbook for 1965 Porsche 904 GTS raced by Sir Stirling Moss.

per 01.11.1964 it is noted engine #99073, which 904-025-1 now still has.
the color is "metallic silver blue", the livery 904-025-1 now still has (again?)

The logbook is now with the owner of 904-025!

The more interesting question is:
Where is the original engine for 904-025?
# 99024 -
has anyone real and valueable informations about its where abouts?

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Hundert Jahre Sportwagen, 2004 - 480 pages
von Frank Oleski, Hartmut Lehbrink,
904-025-1 aka 904-088 in the metallic silver blue livery,
at this time in ownership of Mr. Hardy

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Renault was using the color “borneo green” for their MY 60/63, as seen here on the Renault Caravelle. It was a sports car manufactured and marketed for the model years 1958-1968 in a single generation — as a rear-engine, rear drive open two/four-seater designed by Pietro Frua of Carrozzeria Ghia, using the floorpan and engine of the Renault Dauphine. Outside of North America and Britain it was, until 1962, marketed under the nameplate Renault Floride.

Maybe the S.M.A.R.T got the inspiration for the trademark team color from over here….

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please do note the paint code ....911

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Valerie Pirie started as a 17 year old as secretary for Sir Stirling Moss and has the following book published

Ciao, Stirling: The Inside Story of a Motor Racing Legend
by Valerie Pirie

hardcover: 336 pages
publisher: Biteback Publishing (3. September 2019)
language: Englisch
ISBN-10: 1785904639
ISBN-13: 978-1785904639


gentlemen, enjoy

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British racing driver Sir John Whitmore (1937 - 2017), driver for SMART, the 'Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team', sits in the driver's seat of 904-025, while SMART Le Mans team manager Valerie Pirie, former secretary of Stirling Moss, stands beside him,
London, UK, 26th February 1964.

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Der Spiegel, 11.03.1964 - https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-46163442.html

"Stirling Moss, 34, British ex-racing driver, who no longer participates in car racing since a serious accident on Easter Monday 1962, but recently maintains a "Stirling Moss Car Racing Team" (short: Smart), may not send a car to this year's 24-hour race in Le Mans, France. The two-liter Porsche GT S 904 registered for Le Mans was removed from the starting lists because Moss had failed to give the drivers' names. Race director Moss suspected an act of revenge: The four-time vice-world champion had described in his book "Le Mans 1959" the French sporting event as a "lousy race"."

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nürburgring

[stownsen914]

OK, I'm jealous

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From Andre Loubser, mentioned in the first post

"Stirling had endorsed the Stirling Moss Paint-a-Car System, founded by a Canadian and his American partner.
The company sold respray and light body repair centres throughout the UK on a franchise basis."

quite old reprint the March 65 issue of the "Good Motoring" journal, featuring Sir Stirling Moss
"How to get a Good Respray without Paying the Earth"