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Moderator
Curtis Jacobson
Portland Oregon
(4577 posts)

Registered:
10/12/2007 02:16AM

Main British Car:
71 MGBGT, Buick 215

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Brabham BT21
Posted by: Moderator
Date: November 20, 2011 12:50AM

The latest addition to BritishRacecar.com will be the first of many Brabham articles.

I hope you enjoy it!

Here's the link:
Al Murray's Lotus Twin-Cam Powered Brabham BT21 Racecar

teaser photos:
http://www.britishracecar.com/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21-A.jpg http://www.britishracecar.com/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21-B.jpg

http://www.britishracecar.com/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21-C.jpg http://www.britishracecar.com/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21/AlMurray-Brabham-BT21-D.jpg


DC Townsend
David Townsend
Vermont
(406 posts)

Registered:
11/21/2007 12:22PM

Main British Car:
'78 B (almost done) 30-over SBF, dry sump

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Re: Brabham BT21
Posted by: DC Townsend
Date: November 22, 2011 03:49PM

Love the pics of vintage race cars but am always puzzled of how big the drivers seem to look in them. Maybe it's just my faulty memory but I don't recall the original pilots of these machines looking that out-sized. Is that we're just bigger people now?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2011 03:50PM by DC Townsend.


Moderator
Curtis Jacobson
Portland Oregon
(4577 posts)

Registered:
10/12/2007 02:16AM

Main British Car:
71 MGBGT, Buick 215

authors avatar
Re: Brabham BT21
Posted by: Moderator
Date: November 22, 2011 11:07PM

I've wondered something similar: are modern helmets bigger (for a given size head)? In the specific cases of Formula Three and also late sixties Formula Ford, the original drivers were mostly quite young - certainly hardly anyone over 30. In vintage racing, you probably won't find many young drivers under forty.
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DC Townsend
David Townsend
Vermont
(406 posts)

Registered:
11/21/2007 12:22PM

Main British Car:
'78 B (almost done) 30-over SBF, dry sump

authors avatar
Re: Brabham BT21
Posted by: DC Townsend
Date: November 23, 2011 08:47AM

Had to be some reason.

Looking at period photos of the same or similar cars, the relationship between the car and the driver looks, well, normal. Looking at the same vehicle today, the guys driving always look like they're driving their kid's car. Your thought about the original drivers being quite young would certainly explain the apparent mismatch in scale. Or, maybe we're just bigger people now.


bsa_m21
Martin Rothman
Vancouver, Canada
(216 posts)

Registered:
01/06/2009 11:41AM

Main British Car:
1980 TR7V8 Rover 3.9L

authors avatar
Re: Brabham BT21
Posted by: bsa_m21
Date: November 23, 2011 09:45AM

Re: are modern helmets bigger (for a given size head)?

Definitely. Pre-WW2 helmets were mostly leather.

helmet0.jpg

Last night I was watching "American Pickers" on TV. They were collecting stuff to add to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. They got a number of helmets from the 40's through the 80's. Many of the early ones were like English style horse riding caps, made of pressed cardboard with a canvas harness. Yikes!

My first motorcycle helmet (I was 15 ... a looong time ago) was almost the same as the below one.

Misc356021_Custom.jpg Misc356020_Custom.jpg

As they progressed to modern times, helmets have become significantly larger, with lots more padding and safety features.

helmet2.jpg

Martin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2011 09:48AM by bsa_m21.


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