Frazer Nash Photos: Archives and Collections

All copyrights and any other property rights are retained by the owners of these images.

The photos on this page are divided into four sections - Owners/Drivers, specific Models, Meets/ Gatherings and "The Heritage". Enjoy!

Click on each photo for a full-size image!

Owners and Drivers

The first two great photos are from Jim Trigwell, sent on February 23, 2000 and sourced from the Frazer Nash Archives and the Ludvigsen Library.

The Mille Miglia below, S/N 421/100/168, is a photo of my car from the AFN Archives. The narrative on the back states it is Stuart Donaldson and Commander Jipson at Floyd Bennett Field. Mr. Donaldson is listed as the original owner of several Frazer Nash cars brought into the United States and he may have been operating as an importer/dealer. The Navy aircraft appears to be a Grumman F9F Panther or Cougar. Later owners were Captain J. I. Saubers (Palm Beach, Florida) and Robert Scott (Honolulu).

J. Stuart "Duke" Donaldson was also the owner of the 1952 Sebring-winning Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica (S/N 421/100/160), pictured further below. He is in both the color photo and the Frazer Nash ad. This Mille Miglia is the only other Frazer Nash which is known to be owned by him, but there is no history yet of his ownership tenure. Duke Donaldson later was an owner-entrant of Indy cars, from 1957 through 1960 in the Indianapolis 500.

This Mille Miglia, S/N 421/100/124, is thought to be driven by Bill Wonder in about 1954. This is the car that was a New York Show car in 1951 and finished 14th at Sebring in 1953. Jim Trigwell also sent this photo from the Ludvigsen Library, requesting confirmation of the driver, date and location. Frank Twaits later wrote: "That white Frazer Nash at speed is Bill Wonder at Watkins Glen. The year is either '53 or '54 - maybe even '55."

This is a later owner, Bo Miske, racing the same Mille Miglia at the Sedona Hill Climb in 1966. Mr. Miske may have raced this car in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He is listed as "SCCA Championship, 10th" for 1960, probably before before moving to Arizona. This may close a "link", explaining how Ned Curtis found this same car in Phoenix in 1975, in very bad shape.

Edward B. Eichenlaub Jr. also provided some history for this car. He wrote that it was previously owned by Eugene W. Gettig before Bo Miske. Mr. Gettig, who was Mr. Eichenlaub's cousin, bought it in 1958 from Bob Grossman of West Nyack, New York. Mr. Gettig lived in Akron, Ohio and raced the car in Pennsylvania and Ohio in 1958. Mr. Eichenlaub reported that the car developed engine trouble and Mr. Gettig took the car for repairs to Bo Miske, a sports car garage operator in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. A dispute about the repair ensued and Mr. Miske ended up with possession of the car.

Mr. Eichenlaub did not know if, or how much, Bo Miske raced in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but wrote that he moved from Ohio to Arizona. This Mille Miglia has been restored and is now in England.

The photo is from "Sports Car Graphic" August 1966.

The photo below is George Waltman in Le Mans Replica S/N 421/200/174, a Sebring car in the 1953 12 hour race. Mr. Waltman raced the car at Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, Lime Rock and various other circuits. This car, originally white, was the factory show car at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show:

This is Jim Lowe, an SCCA racer from Santa Cruz, California in a Le Mans Replica S/N 421/200/183. The photo is from the January-February 1956 issue of "Sports Car", a publication of the SCCA. It was taken at the Sacramento sports car races for the Governor's Cup:

This FN Archive photo is the same Le Mans Replica pictured above, after being re-bodied in San Francisco by Nadeau Bourgeault, still being raced by Mr. Lowe. This car was totally destroyed by a later owner in a 1957 fatal racing accident at Paramount Ranch, California:

Jim Firestone, 183-56b.jpg (109055 bytes)

At Santa Barbara and Palm Springs.
These two photos above courtesy of Allen Kuhn, who retains all rights. Prints are available through www.vintage-sportscar-photos.com.

This is Ted Boynton, who raced this Le Mans Replica S/N 421/100/110 at many midwestern and eastern circuits. Mr. Boynton won the SCCA Class E championship in 1954 with this car. Ian Skailes has assembled a very complete early racing history (click for the Acrobat file) of this car, which was also a show car at the 1950 New York Motor Show. This was the first Frazer Nash in the US, purchased after the NY Show by Larry Kulok for $7,650. Both photos below were taken by Leo Patrick Cummings and sent by Ted's nephew, Dr. Tony Boynton in 2009.

Ted Boynton at Wilmot

Dr. Boynton wrote:

"The Frazer Nash was my first love. As a kid, I helped my uncle work on that car. I probably did something like measure spark plug gaps or maybe just watching him do it, but whatever, I felt like I was really working on a race car and at age 12 that was pretty cool as far as I was concerned. He was absolutely fastidious when it came to his cars. I saw him race the Frazer Nash at Wilmot, but just after that he sold it and bought a 2 liter Maserati, and about a year later he sold that for a 2 liter Ferrari TR. All 3 of those car were painted by my step dad, Jim Witten, all were white with a big red 7. I worked happily for many hours in the paint shop helping wet and dry sand those babies before the lacquer was sprayed. Also gave me a chance to sit in them and dream when nobody was watching. Sometimes just a skeleton car, but that didn't matter, I was doing a hundred down the chute at Elkhart Lake! Another guy who was a customer at our shop was Carl Haas, but my uncle had cooler cars than he did."

He also sent this:

"I asked an old friend, Bob Ballenger, who used to race with my Uncle Ted, about those days. Here's some of what he said:

Tony, the one I remember the best was I believe 1951 when Ted ran the FN around the Lake course at Elkhart, long before the track was built in 55. He had taken the checkered flag and was on the cool off lap when he started to loosen his helmet and ran off the road into the berry bushes. They pulled him out all bloodied up but found the red stuff not blood but the red berries.
It took several years for him to live that down. He raced it at Wilmot a lot and had a super fun race with Hal Ulrich in the first of the Kip Steven's Excalibers. He ran some rallies with the car but I didn't really get to know him until he sold the FN and bought the Ferrari."

And here is the same car with a new owner, Bob Sawyer. This is the only sports car race ever held at Glendale's (California) Grand Central Airport. The SCCA sponsored these races on November 13, 1955. Bob was 15th in the 100 mile, "Senior Drivers, Over 1500 cc" race:

The photo is from the same issue of "Sports Car", January-February 1956.

The start of the same race, photo from a private collection.

Bob Sawyer was an airline pilot who was involved in a tragic mid-air collision over Staten Island, New York in 1960.

Again, the same car with another owner, Jim Firestone, racing at Paramount Ranch (California) in August. 1956. Mr. Firestone previously raced a Triumph TR-2 and bought this Le Mans Replica in June, 1956:

This is a 35 mm slide from the personal collection of Jim Sitz, transferred to a Kodak Photo CD.

Jim Firestone. Photo courtesy of Allen Kuhn. See full credit and ordering information above, under S/N 183

In May, 2001, Mike Savin sent a note about Mr. Firestone: "Jim Firestone, a man connected with my father (Ed Savin) drove a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica. He raced that car quite a number of times. His death at the wheel of one was reported in R&T, February, 1958 (Editor's note: At Paramount Ranch, California). It was a great shock to us when he died. Jim was a great, affable man. He was not very quick. My dad's driver, Bob Oker occasionally qualified the car for Jim. Bob was much quicker. I also have some 8 mm movie footage, about 1955-1957 with some shots of Jim's car in action."

The next two photos and captions are courtesy of Bill Oker, who retains all rights to these photos.

"Dad in Jim Firestone's Frazer Nash. My guess is Paramount Ranch, but...?"

"Definitely Santa Barbara, September 1956, but not sure who's driving?"

Below are two great photos of the last Le Mans Replica, 421/200/193, courtesy of the second owner, Robert Richer. He bought it from William O'Brien in 1957, with 360 miles on the odometer. It was sold to the current owner in 1994 with about 21,000 miles! This was the Frazer Nash pictured in "The Great Cars" (Ralph Stein) and on the covers of both the July 1963 "Car & Driver" and April 2001 "Vintage Racecar Journal & Market Report". Later concours pictures are below, in the "Le Mans Replica" section.

Garrison Hill Climb, May 26, 1957

Lime Rock, circa 1967

Watkins Glen, circa 1978, with son Paul

Also Watkins Glen

Here are two great photos of the (missing) 1952 Sebring winner, Le Mans Replica 421/100/160. The color photo is from the Sebring book and the other photo is in a AFN ad which includes a testimonial from "Duke" Donaldson, the winning car's owner. The full size photos may download slowly, but the detail will let you read names on the crew jumpsuits!

From left to right: Stuart "Duke" Donaldson, Larry Kulok, Frankie DelRoy, Harry Grey

A copy of a Frazer Nash ad, reprinted from the B.A.R.C. Gazette, March/April issue (1952?)

Frankie DelRoy, titled the "pit captain" for the Sebring victory, had much Indy 500 experience and eventually became the USAC Tech Director. He was one of eight top USAC officials killed on a charter flight that went down in April 23, 1978. He is buried in Indianapolis.

The AFN Archives list Captain J. I. Saubers (Palm Beach, Florida) as the last owner of this missing car. He is also listed as an owner of Mille Miglia 421/100/168, pictured above.

Models: The Mille Miglia

These photos are also from the Frazer Nash archives, sent by Jim Trigwell on January 30, 1999. The photo captions can be read on the full-sized image:

Geoff Dowdle sent these photos in July, 1999. They were taken in New Zealand when Bill Clarke owned this car. It's a Mille Miglia, S/N 421/100/161, the same car as photos.# 2 and #3 above, 40+ years later.

Here are more photos of 421/100/161, courtesy of Chris Drewett, sent in February 2003. He wrote: "The first owner of XHX193 was a company that my father was Managing Director of and he and the Chairman Wyndham Hewitt drove it to win the Aix-Madrid rally. Around 1966 I found it looking fairly sad outside a gas station in Sussex and my brother Richard bought it for (I think) �650. At the time I had LXH3, and this photo was taken at my house that year. XHX was originally Bristol maroon and looked really lovely when new with tubular narrow chrome fenders and a movable spot light by the windshield. Later Betty Haig had it repainted in her favourite metallic blue."

Geoff sent this Mille Miglia photo in August, 1999. It is S/N 421/100/167, built the same time as my Mille Miglia.

Models: The Le Mans Replica

This is a great example of the Le Mans Replica, 421/200/180S. Originally a single-seater, it was later converted to a sports car. In 2002, it received a carefully proportioned body, modeled on the last LMR.

Tim Aldington sent the following two photos with this comment: "TME 924 - 1949 en route for the Mille Miglia to be driven by Serafini, I was removed from the car in Geneva. If memory serves me right, 52 years later, the other 'Nash on this trip was TMX 545, also to be raced by its owner, Norman Culpan, in the Mille Miglia. However it was being driven by one, Dickie Stoop, with my cousin John A. in the passenger seat. Somewhere near Dijon, it ended upside down in a ditch, HJA driving behind in a Bristol, saw what had happened, stopped, jumped out and grabbed the nearest part of the car, it happened to be the hot exhaust pipe, result HJA burnt hand, John and Stoop just marginally shaken, but poor Culpan must have been v. pissed off, when arriving in Geneva to learn what had happened to his car."

"XMG 6 - 1952, in its original form, first of the Mk 11 Le Mans Reps, at the 'works' ready for the Prix de Monte Carlo to be driven by Stirling Moss. It retired, I think, with a rear wheel problem."

John Aldington related the story of this mishap to me in November, 2002. Dickie Stoop asked John to watch the oil temp during the high speed "break in" of the engine, as the bonnet was slightly propped up at the rear to solve a high temperature situation. But it seems Dickie wanted to check himself, and did not notice a large rock in the road until the last minute. A swerve at 120 mph saved the front wheel, but a rear tire hit the rock, burst, and sent the LMR into a slide and a ditch, upside down, with John trapped under the car. With the gas leaking down on him, John did not have much sympathy for Dickie, who complained of an injured thumb. HJA did rush up and burned his hand on the exhaust. A large crowd materialized from nowhere and righted the car. HJA drove the Mille Miglia with his burned hand, probably in much pain.

TME 924, en route to the Mille Miglia (006-49.jpg, 377902 bytes)

XMG 6, 1952, before the Prix de Monte Carlo (176-52.jpg, 340914 bytes)

Here are two more great photos of the last Le Mans Replica, 421/200/193, courtesy of Robert Richer. This was a VSCCA event at Lime Rock, circa 1975. Mr. Richer is in the background, red sweater.

This photo is from David Starling, Le Mans Replica S/N 421/100/006, taken in 1973. Peter Jackson is the driver and owner.

This Le Mans Replica photo is from John Kerridge's collection. It is S/N 421/100/157, when it was owned by Michael Burn and John Michelsen.

Models: The Targa Florio

Geoff Dowdle also sent these Targa Florio photos in August, 1999. It is S/N 421/200/198. Geoff wrote that these photos were about 20 years old and this car is now green.

Here is the same car, in May 2001, now touring with the Frazer Nash Club "raid" to Sicily. The driver is Peter Roberts. The following car is Bill Roberts in his Le Mans Replica S/N 421/200/210.

This is 421/100/150, courtesy of Chris Drewett, sent in February 2003. It was built as a Le Mans Replica and later re-bodied as a Targa Florio. It is registered as LXH3 and appears with his brother's Mille Miglia in a photo above.

Models: The Le Mans Coupe

Tim Aldington provided this photo of Le Mans Coupe 421/200/186 at LeMans on June 12, 1954 being driven by Becquart and Gatsonides. Mr. Aldington is sitting on the pit wall, immediately behind the trunk/boot. James Trigwell further added:

Tim Aldington identified himself as being on the right wearing the Tyrolean hat. The gentleman on the left, also with glasses, is HJ Aldington, the owner of the company which built the Frazer Nash cars. HJ had 2 brothers - his older brother Bill is on his left (in dark jacket and scarf) and his younger brother was Don. Tim is Don's son and so HJ's nephew.

Here is a photo courtesy of Noel Yates. He took this shot of 421/200/211 at Silverstone, July 1970, noting the Swedish registration. Kjell Lindberg later identified this as his car at the time and wrote he and his wife were on vacation in England and visited Silverstone for a HSCC club meeting.

Models: The Drophead Coupe

This model is a "one off", built for Mrs. Kitty Maurice, S/N 421/100/151. It resembles the later Targa Florio and was the Earl's Court show car in 1951. The vintage photo is courtesy of Rick Ford. His website, Rick's Classic Cars Photographs, has many, very nice historical automobile images for sale.

Meets and Gatherings: 1967 Frazer Nash Picnic 1967 Frazer Nash Picnic

Kjell Lindberg commented on these photos sent by Chris Drewett of the two Targa Florios. He wrote about this scene of "...two Frazer Nash's outside a manor house in the south part of England. Those two ladies competed in the Alpine Rally, in a Le Mans Replica. The driver was Betty Haig but I do not remember the name of the other lady. In the beginning of the 70's I visited them. At that time Betty was the secretary of the HSCC (Historic Sports Car Club) in England...if you have been drinking Haig whiskey, Betty Haig's great-grandfather started that distillery in Scotland."

LHX 3 is S/N 421/100/150 and XMM524 is S/N 421/200/182.

John Brinkmann wrote in 2009:

"It is likely that the second woman referred above is Barbara Marshall, who was often Betty's co-driver, before and after the war, and lived with her at Shellingford house in the early 1970's. Despite her lineage, Betty never touched a drop of whiskey."

Meets and Gatherings: The Raid!

Geoff sent these photos of the Frazer Nash Raid to the Alps in June, 1999. They were taken by a participant from Australia, John Dymond. Here is a pre-event report from Jim Trigwell:

"Today I am off to the Italian Alps with my wife Eileen in our Le Mans Replica together with 68 other FNs, mainly pre-war. It has been organized by the FN Section of the Vintage Sports Car Club and entails a 2 week trip to Italy and back to commemorate successes for Frazer Nash in the Alpine Rallies of the mid 1930s.

Actually the FN did rather well in Alpine Rallies in the 1950s, winning an Alpine Cup for an unpenalized run in this arduous rally in 1951, 1953 and 1954 (in chassis S/N 156, 005 & 164 respectively). Therefore it is entirely appropriate that I should be taking my post-war Nash. There are 5 other post war cars entered - S/N 153, 158, 170, 202 & 210 - so including mine, that's 5 LMRs and one Coupe in all. No. 153 is the car Stirling Moss drove to win the Isle of Man race in 1951 and it is now owned and will be driven to Italy by John Aldington.

We will have runs over some of the famous Alpine passes plus plenty of food, wine and chatter along the way. Some mountain villages will entertain us with brass bands and festivals as well as one speed sprint through the market square. We will also have dinner at the famous Schlumpf Museum of Bugatti's in France on the way home."

Another Raid photo, this one from Andrew Green, of Mark Morris' Le Mans Replica. This is proper motoring!

The Heritage

Finally, just a reminder of where Frazer Nash got started. Our late friend, John Kerridge, who lives near San Diego, sent these photos of his 1926 Frazer Nash.

John says the history he has shows it was raced successfully at Brooklands in the 30's under the name "Abbott-Nash". He's looking details of its racing history in the late 40's, when it's reported to also have been raced extensively. In the late 50's, it was used in VSCC events in the UK, with significant success. It was then called the "Acedes-Nash", but John says it's really it's "just" a Frazer Nash. I think it looks great!

This photo was taken during the restoration, late in 1999:

And here's John driving this car at Holtville (California), after its completion in 2000:

John has raced at Coronado and the Monterey Historics and Pre-Historics (Laguna Seca) many times!

Here is another prewar Frazer Nash, a TT Replica.

Please visit the primary site for postwar Frazer Nash cars:

The Frazer Nash Home Page

The Frazer Nash-USA Table of Contents

or contact me, Bob Schmitt:

Last updated

September 4, 2013

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