The National Motor Museum Trust’s BRM Preservation Appeal, set up to fund vital restoration work on the iconic 1950 BRM V16 1.5 litre Type 15 Grand Prix racing car has successfully achieved its target of £50,000.
The Trust’s ambition to set in motion the raising of funds for long needed work to the 1950 racing car received a boost when it was nominated as the 2014 Goodwood Revival Beneficiary Charity. The assistance of the Goodwood Revival, generous donations and fundraising activities have now brought the total of the BRM Preservation Appeal to just over £50,000, which a fantastic result in a relatively short time.
The BRM, which was built with racing chassis number one, was famously driven by racing aces Reg Parnell and Juan Manuel Fangio. Skilled restoration is required in order to keep it in fully-functioning condition, including a rebuild of its supercharged 1.5-litre V16 engine.
Only five examples of this pioneering British design were built, which means that preserving the sights and sounds of this BRM Type 15 is vital to keeping alive an important link to Britain’s motorsport history.
While the initial target of £50,000 has been reached it is possible that, due to its complex design, more may be needed to fund the BRM’s renovation, depending upon what the Museum technicians uncover when work begins.
The National Motor Museum’s Manager and Chief Engineer, Douglas Hill, explains; “Thanks to the amazing achievement of raising the funds for the work to commence on the rebuild of this iconic motor car, we have been able to send the car to the BRM specialist, Hall & Hall.
On initial strip down of the engine we are very pleased with the good state we have found the major components to be in. We managed to identify a loose bearing carrier in the slave/output shaft. A significant amount of corrosion was discovered in the water system, but nothing serious.
While carrying out the strip-down, we found evidence to confirm that this is the original engine, making it the first ever V16 BRM engine – racing chassis number one.
Prior to the strip out we had identified an issue with the exhaust valve seals and this has now been rectified.
So work is well underway. We hope to have the car running at the Goodwood Revival meeting in September. We will then look to see what funds remain to undertake work on the suspension and brakes.”
For more details and to donate to the BRM Preservation Appeal, please visit www.nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/BRM_appeal