Archie Butterworth
Encyclopedia
Archibald James Butterworth, born 19th June 1912, County Waterford, Ireland-died 12th February 2005. He was an inventor and racing motorist who, in 1948, designed and constructed the A.J.B. Special, a four-wheel-drive 'formula one' racing car. He was a two-time winner of the Brighton Speed Trials
in 1949 and 1951. After a serious accident in 1951 he gave up competition, but continued to supply race car engines of his own design, notably to Bill Aston
for the Aston Butterworth
Grand Prix car and Archie Scott Brown for the Elva
-Butterworth sports racing car.
in 1947.
Steyr-powered single-seater, which went on to win the British Hill Climb Championship
in 1949. The A.J.B. ran on a mixture of: "80/12/8 methanol
, benzole
, petrol." The A.J.B. was entered for the hill climb at Stanmer Park, Brighton, Sussex, held on June 5, 1948, but was a non-starter.
Key: FTD = Fastest Time of the Day; non-S/C = Unsupercharged.
At Shelsley Walsh
on September 22, 1951: "An unfortunate accident happened to A.J. Butterworth when the A.J.B. hit the bank at Kennel Bend, tore off a rear wheel and left the road. Butterworth was badly hurt." The
Manchester Guardian reported: "A.J. Butterworth, the racing driver, of Frimley, near Aldershot, was injured when his A.J.B. car (4,425 c.c.) crashed down a steep bank at the Midland Automobile Club's hill-climb at Shelsley Walsh Hill in Worcestershire on Saturday. A wheel of his car caught a guttering on the edge of the track and came off. Butterworth was picked up unconscious and was stated at Worcester Royal Infirmary on Saturday night to be in a serious condition. Motor Sport published a photograph of Butterworth in the #79 A.J.B. leaving the road at Shelsley Walsh. He recovered from his injuries.
visited Prescott Hill Climb in England in 1951, where he saw the A.J.B. in competition. An offer to purchase the car was declined, but subsequently accepted following Archie Butterworth's accident at Shelsley Walsh. The remains of the A.J.B. were exported to the U.S.A. early in 1952, rebuilt and renamed the Butterball Special, a play on Butterworth's name. The rebuild was carried out in Buffalo, New York: "It has since been extensively redesigned with longer wheelbase, new rear suspension, improved steering, brakes, chassis and body. This work was performed in the Flight Research and Vehicle Dynamics Department of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory under the direction of William Close." The car was then driven in competition by Bill Milliken:
Key: FTD = Fastest Time of the Day.
In autumn 1957 the car was shipped to the Four Wheel Drive
Company Museum in Clintonville, Wisconsin
. The car was still there in 2010 (see photograph).
, an F2 car that competed in Grand Prix races, but was unreliable. Butterworth built the 1,986 c.c. air-cooled, flat-four-cylinder motors.
displayed a motor described by Bill Boddy
as: "the Kieft/Norton air-cooled flat-four 1½-litre which gives over 100 b.h.p." This was a version of the Butterworth motor fitted with Norton cylinder heads. Ian Richardson successfully used this engine during the 1970s in the Moonraker drag racing motorcycle.
-Butterworth Mk III sports-racing car in a support race at the Silverstone International Trophy
meeting in 1957 where: "The Elva-Butterworth retired with a broken valve-Butterworth will have difficulty living this down but, in fact, it was an exhaust valve and not a Butterworth flap valve which dropped."
-Butterworth sports-racing car was built by R.C.C Palmer over a period of more than three years to 1960. "Mr. Palmer was especially keen to get the cooling right as he felt that inefficient cooling was part of the trouble with the Elva-Butterworth which Archie Scott-Brown (sic) drove on several occasions." The car was road registered XNK 900.
Brighton Speed Trials
The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held July 19–22, 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace...
in 1949 and 1951. After a serious accident in 1951 he gave up competition, but continued to supply race car engines of his own design, notably to Bill Aston
Bill Aston
William "Bill" Aston was a British racing driver who participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, for his own team Aston Butterworth....
for the Aston Butterworth
Aston Butterworth
Aston Butterworth was a Formula Two constructor from the United Kingdom, during the years 1952-3 when the World Drivers' Championship was run to Formula Two regulations...
Grand Prix car and Archie Scott Brown for the Elva
Elva (car manufacturer)
Elva was a sports and racing car manufacturing company based in Bexhill, then Hastings and Rye, East Sussex, United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1955 by Frank G. Nichols. The name comes from the French phrase elle va .-Racing cars:...
-Butterworth sports racing car.
Early life
Educated at the Mount St Mary's College, attended University College, London, but left to join the army: Irish Guards, then RASC-MT as driving instructor. Posted to special unit in Egypt. Left the Army in 1937 but returned at start of WW2. After Dunkirk he spent the duration of the war, and up to 1950, on armament design, when he established Butterworth Engineering, of Frimley, Surrey. He raced a Bentley 4½ Litre from 1946 and became a member of the BRDCBritish Racing Drivers' Club
The British Racing Drivers' Club is a membership body which represents the interests of professional racing drivers from the United Kingdom.-Early days:...
in 1947.
The A.J.B. Special
The A.J.B. Special, dubbed S2, was built for £300 in 1948. The car was powered by a war-surplus air-cooled Steyr V8 engine. Butterworth was inspired by Sydney Allard'sSydney Allard
Sydney Herbert Allard was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful racing motorist. He was remarkable in that he achieved sporting success in cars of his own manufacture....
Steyr-powered single-seater, which went on to win the British Hill Climb Championship
British Hill Climb Championship
The British Hill Climb Championship is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history and this event has been held every year since 1947.All British Champions have been British...
in 1949. The A.J.B. ran on a mixture of: "80/12/8 methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
, benzole
Benzole
In the United Kingdom, the word benzole means a coal-tar product, consisting mainly of benzene and toluene. It was formerly mixed with petrol and sold as a motor fuel under trade names including "National Benzole Mixture" and "Regent Benzole Mixture"....
, petrol." The A.J.B. was entered for the hill climb at Stanmer Park, Brighton, Sussex, held on June 5, 1948, but was a non-starter.
| Archie Butterworth: A.J.B. race results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Result | Notes |
| 1948 | Brighton Speed Trials Brighton Speed Trials The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held July 19–22, 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace... |
31.32 sec | Sept 4. Standing Start Km. Debut of A.J.B. 3rd in class. |
| Prescott Speed Hill Climb | 56.12 sec | Sept 12. 5th in class. | |
| Weston Super Mare Speed Trials | 23.16 sec | Oct 9. 6th O/A, tie with E. Lloyd-Jones, Triangle Skinner Spl. | |
| 1949 | Silverstone | Retired. | July 2. Four lap scratch race for racing cars. |
| Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club . It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is in fact the oldest to have been staged continuously on its original course, first having been run in 1905... |
43.15 sec | July 11. 4th in class. 5th R.A.C. Championship class. | |
| Prescott Speed Hill Climb | 48.07 sec | July 17. 3rd in class. Team prize with Poore Dennis Poore Roger Dennistoun "Dennis" Poore was a British entrepreneur, financier and sometime racing driver,. Poore used his personal weath to bankroll the founding, in 1950, of the motor racing journal Autosport. He himself was a keen motor sport participant, and competed in two Formula One World... and Fry Joe Fry Joe Fry was a British racing driver and distant member of the Fry's Chocolate family.... . |
|
| Bouley Bay Hill Climb Bouley Bay Hill Climb Bouley Bay is a speed Hill Climb venue in Trinity, Jersey, organised by The Jersey Motor Cycle and Light Car Club. The course on Les Charrières du Boulay was "first used for competition in 1921" and since 1947 has hosted a round of the British Hill Climb Championship... |
59.2 sec | July 21. | |
| Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb was a motorcar course close to Burghfield Common in the English county of Berkshire.It was based in the grounds of a large country house, formerly owned by a family connected to Huntley and Palmer - the famous biscuit manufacturers at nearby Reading, Berkshire... |
23.75 sec | Aug 14. Class record. 3rd FTD. | |
| Brighton Speed Trials | 24.91 sec, FTD | Sept 3. Standing Start Km. | |
| Prescott Speed Hill Climb | 47.11 sec | Sept 11. 3rd in class. | |
| Weston Super Mare Speed Trials | 24.6 sec | Oct 8. ½ mile curving course. Fastest unsupercharged. | |
| 1950 | Rest and Be Thankful Speed Hill Climb Rest and Be Thankful Speed Hill Climb Rest and Be Thankful Hill Climb is a defunct hillclimbing course in Glen Croe, Argyll, Scotland. The first known use of the road for a hillclimb was in 1906... |
67.97 sec | July 1. 2nd to Allard Sydney Allard Sydney Herbert Allard was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful racing motorist. He was remarkable in that he achieved sporting success in cars of his own manufacture.... in over 3,000 c.c. non-S/C class. |
| Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb | 23.50 sec, FTD | July 23. | |
| Blandford Hill Climb | 30.36 sec, FTD | July 29. | |
| Daily Express Int'l Trophy, Silverstone 1950 BRDC International Trophy The 2nd BRDC International Trophy meeting - formally the Daily Express BRDC International Trophy - was held on 26 August 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit, England. The race was run to Formula One regulations, and was held over two heats of 15 laps each, followed by a final race of 35 laps... |
Retired Lap 1. | Aug 26. Heat 1 broken crankshaft. | |
| Prescott Speed Hill Climb | 47.85 sec | Sept 10. 3rd in class. | |
| Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb | Accident. | Sept 23. Crash in practice. | |
| 1951 | West Essex C.C. Speed Trial, Boreham | 25.12 sec, FTD | April 1. |
| Gosport A.C. Speed Trials | 12.69 sec, FTD | June 17. Straight ¼ mile sprint. | |
| Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb | 39.44 sec | June 23. Fastest unsupercharged car. | |
| Boreham Airfield | Second. | June 30. Scratch race won by Rolt's Tony Rolt Major Anthony Peter Roylance "Tony" Rolt, MC & Bar, was a British racing driver, soldier and engineer. He won the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans and participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix without scoring a championship point... E.R.A.-Delage. |
|
| Scottish Grand Prix, Winfield 1951 Scottish Grand Prix The Scottish Grand Prix of 1951 was a 50 lap motor race held on the 21st July at Winfield Airfield in Berwickshire. Although run to Formula One regulations, the race featured Jaguar XK120s and BMW 328s... |
Retired Lap 13. | July 21. | |
| Brighton Speed Trials | 26.63 sec, FTD | Sept 1. Standing Start Km. | |
| Prescott Speed Hill Climb | 47.45 sec | Sept 9. 3rd in class. | |
| Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb | Accident | September 22. | |
| Goodwood | Non-starter. | Sept 25. | |
Key: FTD = Fastest Time of the Day; non-S/C = Unsupercharged.
At Shelsley Walsh
Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club . It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is in fact the oldest to have been staged continuously on its original course, first having been run in 1905...
on September 22, 1951: "An unfortunate accident happened to A.J. Butterworth when the A.J.B. hit the bank at Kennel Bend, tore off a rear wheel and left the road. Butterworth was badly hurt." The
Manchester Guardian reported: "A.J. Butterworth, the racing driver, of Frimley, near Aldershot, was injured when his A.J.B. car (4,425 c.c.) crashed down a steep bank at the Midland Automobile Club's hill-climb at Shelsley Walsh Hill in Worcestershire on Saturday. A wheel of his car caught a guttering on the edge of the track and came off. Butterworth was picked up unconscious and was stated at Worcester Royal Infirmary on Saturday night to be in a serious condition. Motor Sport published a photograph of Butterworth in the #79 A.J.B. leaving the road at Shelsley Walsh. He recovered from his injuries.
The 'Butterball Special'
Bill MillikenWilliam F. Milliken, Jr.
William F. Milliken, Jr. is a former aerospace engineer, automotive engineer and racecar driver. He was born in Old Town, Maine....
visited Prescott Hill Climb in England in 1951, where he saw the A.J.B. in competition. An offer to purchase the car was declined, but subsequently accepted following Archie Butterworth's accident at Shelsley Walsh. The remains of the A.J.B. were exported to the U.S.A. early in 1952, rebuilt and renamed the Butterball Special, a play on Butterworth's name. The rebuild was carried out in Buffalo, New York: "It has since been extensively redesigned with longer wheelbase, new rear suspension, improved steering, brakes, chassis and body. This work was performed in the Flight Research and Vehicle Dynamics Department of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory under the direction of William Close." The car was then driven in competition by Bill Milliken:
| Bill Milliken: AJB/FWD 'Butterball Special' race results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Result | Notes |
| 1952 | Watkins Glen Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation... , NY, Seneca Cup |
DNF | Sept 20. #24 pole position. Lost control after Milliken's Corner. Ret'd due to flex in steering. |
| 1953 | Pikes Peak Hill Climb, CO. | DNQ | Sept 7. #46 shift lever broke. |
| Watkins Glen, NY. | DNS | Sept 19. #1 crankcase webs cracked. | |
| 1955 | Edenvale, Ontario | DNF | June 18. #22 panhard rod failed. |
| Giant's Despair Hillclimb, PA. | 63.771 sec | July 22. #111 3rd O/A. | |
| Watkins Glen, NY. | DNF | Sept 17. #47 clutch failure. | |
| 1956 | Mount Equinox Hillclimb, VT. | 5:30.02 sec | June 17. #15 unplaced. O/A winner Bill Lloyd, #16 Maserati, 4:55.2. |
| Giant's Despair Hillclimb, PA. | 1:02.441 sec | July 20. Unrestricted class: 2nd #57 W. Milliken, AJB/FWD. | |
| Watkins Glen, NY. | 15th | Sept 15. #2 third in class and 15th O/A. | |
| 1957 | Holland Hill Climb, NY. | 0.8672 min FTD | Aug 25. Set track record. |
| Watkins Glen, NY, Seneca Cup | 7th | Sept 21. 11 laps, #90 7th O/A and 5th in unrestricted. | |
Key: FTD = Fastest Time of the Day.
In autumn 1957 the car was shipped to the Four Wheel Drive
Four Wheel Drive
The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...
Company Museum in Clintonville, Wisconsin
Clintonville, Wisconsin
Clintonville is a city in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,736 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Clintonville is located at 44°37'27" North, 88°45'29" West ....
. The car was still there in 2010 (see photograph).
Aston Butterworth
For 1952 Butterworth teamed up with Bill Aston to build the Aston ButterworthAston Butterworth
Aston Butterworth was a Formula Two constructor from the United Kingdom, during the years 1952-3 when the World Drivers' Championship was run to Formula Two regulations...
, an F2 car that competed in Grand Prix races, but was unreliable. Butterworth built the 1,986 c.c. air-cooled, flat-four-cylinder motors.
Kieft Butterworth
At the 1954 Motor Show in London Kieft CarsKieft Cars
Kieft Cars founded by Cyril Kieft was a British car company that built Formula Three racing cars and some road going sports cars in a factory in Derry St, Wolverhampton.Cyril Kieft was born in Swansea and spent his early working life in the steel industry...
displayed a motor described by Bill Boddy
Bill Boddy
William "Bill" Boddy, MBE was a British journalist who was the editor of Motor Sport from 1936 to 1991. He contributed regularly to Motor Sport magazine, continuing a career that lasted eighty-one years.-Career:...
as: "the Kieft/Norton air-cooled flat-four 1½-litre which gives over 100 b.h.p." This was a version of the Butterworth motor fitted with Norton cylinder heads. Ian Richardson successfully used this engine during the 1970s in the Moonraker drag racing motorcycle.
Elva Butterworth
Archie Scott Brown drove the ElvaElva (car manufacturer)
Elva was a sports and racing car manufacturing company based in Bexhill, then Hastings and Rye, East Sussex, United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1955 by Frank G. Nichols. The name comes from the French phrase elle va .-Racing cars:...
-Butterworth Mk III sports-racing car in a support race at the Silverstone International Trophy
BRDC International Trophy
The International Trophy is a prize awarded annually by the British Racing Drivers' Club to the winner of a motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England...
meeting in 1957 where: "The Elva-Butterworth retired with a broken valve-Butterworth will have difficulty living this down but, in fact, it was an exhaust valve and not a Butterworth flap valve which dropped."
Tojeiro Butterworth
The TojeiroJohn Tojeiro
John Tojeiro , affectionately known as Toj, was an engineer and racing car designer, whose innovations helped to revolutionise car design in the 1950s and '60s....
-Butterworth sports-racing car was built by R.C.C Palmer over a period of more than three years to 1960. "Mr. Palmer was especially keen to get the cooling right as he felt that inefficient cooling was part of the trouble with the Elva-Butterworth which Archie Scott-Brown (sic) drove on several occasions." The car was road registered XNK 900.