26 Jul 1936 Auburn Speedster

Serge’s drive at FMM was combined with a visit by Allan Trim. In the past, Allan and Serge worked together when Serge was competing with the Toyota works rally team and Allan was involved with media communications. Today, apart from his role as a Motorsport Legends Benevolent Fund administrator, Allan does light engineering work and is currently busy manufacturing a new cylinder head for the museum’s 1936 Auburn Speedster straight-8 Lycoming engine. Allan flew in from Johannesburg and was collected from the airport by Serge. Allan had brought along one part of the head, which had been machined out of a solid block of aluminium, for a trial fit on the engine. Apart from discovering a need to slightly relieve the area in each combustion chamber to provide better clearance for the spark plug electrode, the new head was success. Allan returned to Gauteng later in the day to continue with the painstaking task of completing the head. But the end of the Auburn’s rebuild is in sight.

*FMM is actively involved in the Legends, which over the past 14 years has provided assistance to a significant number of people by way of cash injections for subsistence, provision of chronic medication and suchlike.