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 Post subject: The Junek racers.
PostPosted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 2:33 pm 
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As promised herewith the available information on the Junek T35s. Conway's Grand Prix (2004) and confirmed against the chassis lists in Magnum, Bugatti Yesterday and Today by L.G. Matthews Jr, in particular the following essays : Conversations with Eliska Junek, The Junek GP cars, where are they now or an attempt at added value by John Llewelyn "4831", The Junek Bugattis Where are they now? by Roger Howard & The racing cars belonging to Eliska Junkova and Vincene "Cenek" Junek by Peter Kosicek, and, of course, Wiki was used as source material. Doing this research I soon realised that I was completely out of my depth, that is why I am quoting so much from Matthews. The fate and history of the Junek cars and especially 4059/4831, is a minefield.

Here is what I can gather, the first Junek T35 was 4329 (engine number unknown) was delivered to the Juneks on 21/02/1927 according to Roger Howard in Matthews' book while Conway has Aug. 1924 in brackets as the delivery date to the Juneks. Howard also claim this car to be untraced, while Conway says it survives in the Czech Rep. with a T30 engine. Howard says it was a Lyon G.P. car, Conway does not. No photo. The confusion starts.

4572, engine 46, 1925 French G.P. car, 3 x delivery dates : 8/1925 (first factory delivery date); 28/02/27 (del. to Junek) & 21/10/27 (del. to Ed Nayer, Casablanca - probably when sold by the Juneks) Now in the USA - Howard and Conway agree on this one. See photos - can this be confirmed?
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4815, eng. 109T, became T35B early on, delivery date 11/9/26 to Junek, probably the only car delivered new to them. Car has disappeared, engine in 51151 in Schlumpf. Haven't we talked about this T51 already? Yes we have - please search for the thread on 51151 in the Forum - Can this be confirmed? One photo of 4815 taken in period.
Image

4059, eng. 46. I am first quoting part of Howard verbatim, then Llewelyn and then Kosicek. I am utterly confused by this one, and copying chapters from a book is so much easier than thinking for oneself. Could the real historians please jump in and clarify matters?

Howard : "A T35C supplied to the Juneks in early 1927 using the numbers from their old tank (T32). This car would have been numbered 4831, had it not been given the old tank number before delivery. This car was actually Eliska's first G.P. car, the others belonging to her husband. She wanted a sports body so that she could compete in Sports car events, and a high-sided Touring GP body was fitted, probably the one from 4572, since that car was back at the factory in early 1927. This may account for Conway's report of a reference to 4572 in a factory record along with "4059". The car is not mentioned in the Delivery List. There is a long gap in this car's history but in the early seventies "4059/46" surfaced in Vienna and went through various hands before reaching its present owner Seydoux."

Llewelyn : "Following reading Les Matthews' article on the Junek Tank car 4059, some thoughts occur. The Junek GPs were as follows : 4329 Lyons GP car - now disappeared; 4572-46 1925 works car (Vizcaya); 4815-109T now chez Schlumpf (51151?). One of these, the original 4831, was renumbered 4059-46 at the factory to save the Junek's import duty. It was listed as a 35C (blown 2 litre). This ties up with the surviving 4059 Seydoux car. The present 4831 has a different engine number, 106 instead of 105, but most of the engine bits are definitely factory numbered 46 (i.e. from 4572). The frame number, 66, is also consistent with 1925 delivery and is two (numbers) from that of 4575, John Thomson's very original survivor of the 1925 works team. The present 4572, now with Dick Riddell (confirmed in Wiki), has frame number 255, consistent with much later delivery, and with chassis no. 4831. So there is a possibility that 4572 was returned to the factory as a trade-in for 4831, was rebuilt and sold to Benoist de Barry in July 1928, having been re-numbered 4931, which car was numbered 4059 to go to Prague, leaving number 4572 on the shelf, so to speak. This leaves 4815, which Conway states is "untraced." this was a 2.3 litre originally delivered to Junek in September 1926unblown, but having a supercharger added soon after and driven by Eliska in the Targa Florio of 1927, and rebuilt at the factory in September 1927. Was this car re-numbered or was it broken up at some time? There seem to be four surviving Junek GPs out of five, with numbers muddled and deliberately confused , so it would seem quite likely that at any rate bits of this car are still around in either the present 4572 or 4059. Has anyone any ideas? (To which I can add only - Please!) Finally, Conway says that the original factory record for 4831 has a pencil note added " 4059 Trivier 4572." Is this a clue to the fate of the Junek tank? Who was Trivier? Clearly, in those days, the attitude to chassis numbers was, shall we say, less rigorous than today and they were happy to help out old friends. How refreshing!"

Kosicek : "Bugatti T35C. Car production number 4831, engine production number production number 105.
The Molsheim factory records show that on 21st December 1926 the Juneks bought the supercharged two-litre Bugatti T35C with small brakes and Miramas radiator for Francs 115,000. This was the first automobile that Eliska did not get "handed down" from Cenek, but had new.
According to known script, the car was re-numbered right there and then in Molsheim to production no. 4059-46 and was simultaneously rebuilt from a racing car to a sports car using the old Touring Grand Prix body taken off "Otakarek".(?)
Eliska opened the 1927 season with it in this likeness on 8th May at the Zbraslav-Jiloviste race, and one week later she drove it to Knoviz-Olsany. However, after this race, the automobile was rebuilt again from a sports car to a racing car, the adaptation probably done in Prague, At the Brno-Sobesice race of 5th July it had its original racing car body again with uncovered wheels, and this is how Eliska drove it at the Praded circuit two weeks later.
Eliska and Cenek always tried not to compete in the same category in domestic races. The tactics they had used originally, that she drove in in the sports car category and he in the category of racing cars were about to come to an end by early 1927. The purchase of a Bugatti 35B with 2.3 litre engine for Cenek (4868?) offered then the chance of new tactics. They could both drive racing cars only, but Eliska in the category up to two litres and Cenek above two litres.
However, the July Grand Prix of Nurburgring was open only for sports cars, and so eliska's automobile soon had the yellow sports body back. On the 18th September the car with this body was driven by Eliska also at the Ecce Homo, the last race of the domestic season.
For the 1928 season the automobile was improved with the replacement of the small brakes for large ones, and the sports body Touring Grand Prix was removed again. This time it was replaced for good by a yellow racing body.
During the 1928 season it was to have been Eliska's car, but she did not get to enjoy it much - with the exception of her triumphal ride from Wilson station through Prague on her return from Targa Florio on 12th May. At Targa Florio she had Cenek's new 35B, the Zbraslav-Jiloviste was cancelled that year because of the bad state of the road, and she was unable to start at the Praded circuit in Karlova Studanka because of a defect of the drive shaft that occurred during training. At the Knoviz-Olsany race, which became Eliska's last race because of the events to follow, the head of the family took his supercharged car, and Eliska was only left with the old "Otakarek."
After Cenek's death the car was sold in Czechoalovakia (sic?) Prof. Ottokac Bittman of Brno, who - among other races - started with it at the 1929 Targa Florio. The car has been preserved and is now in private hands in Britain (John Llewelyn)."

In a post-script to the Kosicek essay Matthews wrote as follows : "In August 2003 I discussed the Bugatti 4831 with David Sewell, former registrar for the Bugatti Owners' Club and now independent Bugatti consultant, who confirmed that the car was definitely a Junek car. He explained that the position of Roger Howard, whereby the car was not a Junek car, did not include all deliveries." (To which I say : What?)

I can only add that Conway gives the first owner of 4831, eng. 105 as either Benoit du Barry, Biarritz or Jean Trevier, Xertigny. This car was given number 4059 instead of 4831 to avoid paying customs fees, 4831 then being re-allocated to an un-blown T35 for (probably) Trevier. (At least I think so, but I am pretty certain I am wrong) I do not know which photos to attach to this chapter, so, no photos.

4868, 132TC delivered to Junek 4/28. Conway says this is the car in which Cenek Junek was killed in the 1928 German GP. Have a look at 4868 in Wiki, this car is now in Schlumpf. It is fitted with a most beautiful set of wings, my favourite Junek car. The engine is now 153 from their T43, 43271, also in Wiki, but unfortunately without any photos of the original fiacre coupe body. I post a photo of 4868 - a very beautiful car.
Image

Image

Let the debate begin.

Kind Regards
Johan Buchner


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:04 pm 
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#4868

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:14 pm 
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Hi Bugatti69

I deleted your second post - I assumed it was posted twice by mistake. I have been having enormous trouble with posting this evening too. A post about the T50 roadsters vanished twice.

Most frustrating.

Beautiful painting.

Thanks
Johan


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 Post subject: juneck T35 cars
PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 10:12 am 
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just to clomlete with some more junek cars:
-T30 # 4oo1
-T32 # 4o59
-T37 # 37246
-T43 # 43271

infos and wonderfull pics ( also from uhlik bodies on bugattis) come from a catalogue of the technical museum in prag, made for an exibition: " Bugatti-
automobiles in czeck lamds":

regards mike


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 3:55 pm 
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4001
Image

4059
Image

4328/4329
Image

4572/4059
Image

4815
Image

4831/4059
Image

4868
Image


Last edited by Uwe on Sat Feb 11, 2023 10:45 am, edited 36 times in total.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 11:58 pm 
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Location: France
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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:15 am 
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Type 30 #4001

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VII Zbraslav-Jíloviště 1923, Eliska et Cenek Junek


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:27 am 
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Location: France
# 4815 ?

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#34 Kolem Pradeda 1927, Cenek Junek


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:33 am 
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#4572 X°Zbraslav-Jiloviste hill climb 1926, Juneks

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:58 am 
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Gentlemen this is great! Thank you very much. Most of these photographs are new to me. Do either of you perhaps have photos/information about 4868's transformation from racer to sports car? I'm sure those wings must add a bit of weight, but they are just so damn elegant.

This is what keeps surprising me about this site, you never know what to expect - I anticipated a debate, instead photographs which make the history somehow more real got posted. As unexpected as it is wondrous.

Thanks again
Johan.

PS. Does any of those high-sided sports bodies and flowing wings for the T35/39 survive?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:05 am 
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Location: France
update:

#4001 http://www.bugattibuilder.com/wiki/index.php?title=4001

#4572 http://www.bugattibuilder.com/wiki/index.php?title=4572

#4815 http://www.bugattibuilder.com/wiki/index.php?title=4815

#4868 http://www.bugattibuilder.com/wiki/index.php?title=4868


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:09 am 
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# 4868 ?

T35B 2,3liter, #1 La Coupe des Dames, Montlhéry 1928, E. Junek


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Last edited by bugatti69 on Wed Dec 17, 2008 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 2:30 am 
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Dear Johan:

No original high-sided GP bodies survive, but Geoffrey St. John built a replica T39 about 13 years ago which has a replica "touring GP" body. The car is chassis BC093 and is registered "YR 1212". The engine is no. 7, ex-4894, an original T39A engine, quite appropriately.

Copperkettle


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:18 am 
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Thanks CK.

In Wiki under unknown T39 there is a T39 with Registration YR 1212. Is this the car? I really like it, but I can understand why the standard T35 body prevailed - perhaps only the T59 is a more beautiful racing car, and even that is debatable.

Thanks also to Bugatti69 for the copious updates to Wiki. One question : What is the history of the car now claiming the number 4831/105? Is this the car that went to the Juneks with their old tank number, or is it the second car to carry 4831, delivered to Trevier? This car still confuses the devil out of me.

Regards
Johan


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 Post subject: Registration YR 1212
PostPosted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:31 am 
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YR 1212
A UK registration issued to a type 37. Its chassis number is not known. The car was owned by D.C. Cook in 1931.

YR 1212
A UK registration carried by a “replica” type 39 with the UK BOC chassis no. BC 093.


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