British Anzani A & B Stock & Alky Racing Engines

[twister]

Thanks for posting the pics, John.

The real rivet counters among you all will spot some anomalies on this motor...

It came from the estate of Charles Harrison, so its origins are known, and it looks like a motor that he was experimenting with. The powerhead had been run, but only briefly, there was no carbon in the exhausts, so I guess it had been test fired in the factory only. The gearbox, carb and mag were all brand new - eg, no scratches on the throttle slide and so on.

But - it's a Mk II powerhead (post-1958), a Mk II gearbox but with a pointy leading edge instead of the usual chisel form, and a Mk I midsection and clamp bracket assembly - known to be structurally weak.

Any thoughts on the reasons for this appreciated!

The hydro(s) that the motor's owner intends to build will be to a set of drawings he acquired from the same source, which are headed 'British Anzani A & B Hydro'. He's in the boatbuilding business, and hopes to digitise all the ply parts so these can be laser cut and offered as a pre-cut kit. Watch this space!

Rod

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

From some previously posted pictures here showing Anzani clamp assemblies hanging from the garage roof trusses, it appears I have Anzani Mark I or perhaps it could be an earlier racing clamp bracket and tower assembly as parts of the components instead of being aluminum cast are of cast brass, a much heavier material? They too fit the Anzani Mark 2 engine as well as the late model Silver Arrow gearcase. Most Mark 2 Silver Arrow gearcases started with water ram feed inlet at the bottom of the wedge type cigar nose point but some here at some point switched the water intake hole to above the cigar point on the housing proper but when in time is unknown. That change also has a similar revised rounded and pointed cigar similar to the Charles Harrison engine seen here. Some experimentation had obviously gone on.

Several board readers in the past had mentioned that Bill Tenney had a group or a couple of Anzanis that were called "The Sisters" that several noteable and historical drivers raced very sucessfully for Bill back in the 1960s. Can some readers that know something more about these Anzani Alky engine "Sisters" perhaps fill in with some stories and even pictures on what these sister engines were all about? Seems there is a lot to tell out there still about these historic and quick little engines.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

BRF UK member "Twister" came up with this picture. Can anyone identify the driver? The vintage of the Anzani engine? Some characteristics not found on most Anzani engines of this era?

There must be a ton of these kinds of pictures hidden away in some racing family picturebooks in terms of posed pictures.

I have a larger 2.5 meg BMP format larger picture available if it can help anyone ID the driver pictured.

[Mark75H]

Bill Tenney ... thought you would at least recognize him

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Good for you Mark 75H. If that is the case.

Most people on hot days at boat races wear hats and sunglasses and don't even shave on race weekends when not posing for pictures like that making it harder for them to be recognized by others seeing them in a picture like that for the very first time. Today was the first time I ever saw the picture. Seems you have more time to spend studying others with great intensity so when ever a face comes up in pictures for personal identification we will always give the job to you first. Don't ever fail us now. That would not be the future expectation.

That picture is so early by all accounts I still would have been a just a child gone to the races with his parents probably 4 or 5 years before I ever got involved as a pitman and then a racer. I would not have known what Bill Tenney looked like at that time.

[twister]

Just to add a little background, the picture, which is framed and 24" x 18", was given to a friend of mine by a firm called Outboard & Hydroplane Services in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. They were very active in hydro racing from the 50s onwards, and may well have been agents for Anzani in general.

My friend Chris was researching a driver called Len Melly, one of whose old boats (Thunderbolt) he now owns; Melly was a frequent customer of the firm and they gave Chris a load of old papers etc, including the photo. Knowing of my interest in Anzanis, he brought it to me so I could see it.

When he showed up with all the info, he propped the framed photo up against the back of his car. Then, a little later on, he drove off, forgot the photo was still there, and reversed over it. That was the point when I confiscated it as he clearly wasn't a fit person to have it!

The photo survived quite well, with minor scars...

rod

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

According to UK's Twister, this picture at Fairhaven Lake where there was outboard racing were going on? Twister is going to fill in what he can glean about the history involved here.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

More UK early years of racing with Tobby Sutton on the water. Twister might glean some history of the situation and place for readers. Seems to be of a time when helmets were not yet mandatory.

[Tim Chance]

BRF UK member "Twister" came up with this picture. Can anyone identify the driver? The vintage of the Anzani engine? Some characteristics not found on most Anzani engines of this era?

There must be a ton of these kinds of pictures hidden away in some racing family picturebooks in terms of posed pictures.

I have a larger 2.5 meg BMP format larger picture available if it can help anyone ID the driver pictured.

Sam is right it is Bill Tenney. The Boat is a Swift big Bee. I have attached a photo taken of me driving that very same boat with a Champion Hot Rod on the transom. You can't see it from the picture, but Bill cut the throttle side of the cockpit down to the deck line so he could lean out in the corners like he did in his Neal.

I bought the boat from Larry Swor, an Anzani driver. He had gotten it from Bill. Larry had gone to a Dubinski as the boat was too small for an Anzani. It ran fine for me with the Hot Rod, but was way too small for my A Konig. The last year I owned it I used it in the Winter as a toboggan to slide down the snow covered hill in my Minnesota back yard (I have a photo of that somewhere, I think).

[Tim Chance]

Several board readers in the past had mentioned that Bill Tenney had a group or a couple of Anzanis that were called "The Sisters" that several noteable and historical drivers raced very sucessfully for Bill back in the 1960s. Can some readers that know something more about these Anzani Alky engine "Sisters" perhaps fill in with some stories and even pictures on what these sister engines were all about? Seems there is a lot to tell out there still about these historic and quick little engines.

I know that Bill had three B motors with names: "Honey Bee", "Suzie Bee" and "Charlie Bee". I don't know the origin of the two motors with girls names, but I do know that Dave Berg and Dick Hoppenrath drove them both and won Championships, set records, whatever.

Charlie Bee was purchased by Charlie Whitelaw for John Dortch to drive, with Charlie's passing, Bill bought the motor back and it became "Charlie Bee"

All three of these motors were exceptional.