Racing Plast Burträsk
Encyclopedia
Racing Plast Burträsk was a Swedish company in Burträsk
that made racing cars and kit car
s. It was founded in 1965 by Kjell Lindskog.
cars, Broke that was a copy of the American Beach Car and Dolling FVe that was a design by Willy Dolling. The Dolling was made in three versions between 1966 and 1967, in total 52 cars were built. In 1967 RPB started making their own Formula Vee car. It was simple to make and inexpensive. It sold well and did well in races. In 1968 the chassis was improved to make it more rigid and give it a more adjustable rear axle design. In 1969 the car was redesigned again, this time to increase performance, but only six were made due to rumours about changes in the Formula Vee rules. In 1970 the new rules came and they allowed a more wedge like shape and a longer and narrower car. 13-15 cars were made. The RPB cars were very successful and they won 14 out of 18 competitions. One of them was still winning races in 1978. The same model continued to be built in 1971 and 1972, but only in small numbers. In 1971 RPB cars made 22 European track records. In 1971 a Formula Super Vee car was made. This time using a monocoque
chassis. The prototype car did well in races, but was plagued with engine problems and the rear end of the chassis had to be redesigned. After the redesign it worked better and the driver Bror Jaktlund managed to finished as number 3 in the European championship, even if a crash forced him to skip the last race. A second Super Formula Vee car was made in 1973 and was in use until it was sold in 1976. It then changed hands several times to owners in Sweden, Denmark and England until it came back to Sweden in late 2002.
and made for a Volkswagen Beetle
chassis. It sold 40 kits in less than a year, but some customers found it difficult to assemble the cars. In 1969 the RPB-GT was introduced. Prices started at 3800 SEK. The design was similar to the Piraya, but had normal front hinged doors. The kit was made easier to assemble for the customer. The GT sold well, most as kits, but some as completed cars. It used a fuel tank from Renault 10, hinges to the front and rear hood came from Renault 4
, door handles and locks from Renault 16
, door hinges and side windows (cut to size) from the Mini
, the front screen from a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette
, rear and front lights were Hella
universal (although the same headlight units was also used in Saab 96
, Saab 99
and Renault 16
).
In 1970 the new laws for homebuilt street cars was changed and required a mandatory crash test
making kit cars virtually impossible to get street legal. Production for export, mostly to Finland and Norway, continued for a while. In May 1971 a fire destroyed the factory and the molds and it was not possible to restart production. The dealer in Finland had orders for more cars so he bought the rights to the RPB GT and made new molds from one of the delivered cars, but with desedigned rear and a 5 cm higher roof, and continued production for some years. RPB withdrew from car making and instead produced other plastic products such as bus interiors and snowmobile parts. In 1982 the law for amateur built cars changed so home built cars again could be made road legal. RPB decided to restart production with an updated model of the GT model. Some cars were built and showed on various exhibitions. They were well received both by media and public. But then RPB got a large order for plastic products for the Swedish military and the car production plans were put on hold. The Finnish mold was sold after some 20 cars were made and later changed hand several times. The last known owner was Allan Sjöbacka in Vaasa
and he tried to sell them.
Burträsk
Burträsk is a locality situated in Skellefteå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 1,632 inhabitants in 2005.Burträsk Court District, or Burträsks tingslag, was a district of Västerbotten in Sweden. The provinces in Norrland were never divided into hundreds and instead the court district ...
that made racing cars and kit car
Kit car
A kit car, also known as a "component car", is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then either assembles into a car themselves, or retains a third party to do part or all of the work on their behalf...
s. It was founded in 1965 by Kjell Lindskog.
Formula Vee cars
Starting in 1966 the company produced two Formula VeeFormula Vee
Formula Vee is a popular open wheel, single seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford or Formula BMW....
cars, Broke that was a copy of the American Beach Car and Dolling FVe that was a design by Willy Dolling. The Dolling was made in three versions between 1966 and 1967, in total 52 cars were built. In 1967 RPB started making their own Formula Vee car. It was simple to make and inexpensive. It sold well and did well in races. In 1968 the chassis was improved to make it more rigid and give it a more adjustable rear axle design. In 1969 the car was redesigned again, this time to increase performance, but only six were made due to rumours about changes in the Formula Vee rules. In 1970 the new rules came and they allowed a more wedge like shape and a longer and narrower car. 13-15 cars were made. The RPB cars were very successful and they won 14 out of 18 competitions. One of them was still winning races in 1978. The same model continued to be built in 1971 and 1972, but only in small numbers. In 1971 RPB cars made 22 European track records. In 1971 a Formula Super Vee car was made. This time using a monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
chassis. The prototype car did well in races, but was plagued with engine problems and the rear end of the chassis had to be redesigned. After the redesign it worked better and the driver Bror Jaktlund managed to finished as number 3 in the European championship, even if a crash forced him to skip the last race. A second Super Formula Vee car was made in 1973 and was in use until it was sold in 1976. It then changed hands several times to owners in Sweden, Denmark and England until it came back to Sweden in late 2002.
Sports cars
In 1968 the RPB Piraya was introduced. It was a low, two seated kit car with gullwing-doors inspired by the Ford GT40Ford GT40
The Ford GT40 was a high performance sports car and winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans four times in a row, from 1966 to 1969...
and made for a Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
chassis. It sold 40 kits in less than a year, but some customers found it difficult to assemble the cars. In 1969 the RPB-GT was introduced. Prices started at 3800 SEK. The design was similar to the Piraya, but had normal front hinged doors. The kit was made easier to assemble for the customer. The GT sold well, most as kits, but some as completed cars. It used a fuel tank from Renault 10, hinges to the front and rear hood came from Renault 4
Renault 4
The Renault 4, also known as the 4L , is a hatchback economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1992. It was the first front-wheel drive family car produced by Renault....
, door handles and locks from Renault 16
Renault 16
The Renault 16 is a hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The reviewer in the May 1965 edition of the English "Motoring Illustrated" said: "The Renault Sixteen can thus be described as a large family car but one that is neither a four door saloon...
, door hinges and side windows (cut to size) from the Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
, the front screen from a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
, rear and front lights were Hella
Hella (company)
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. is an internationally operating German automotive part supplier with headquarters in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia. Core businesses are vehicle lighting and electronics systems and components. Hella is also involved in the areas of vehicle diagnostics and thermal...
universal (although the same headlight units was also used in Saab 96
Saab 96
For the modern car, see Saab 9-6The Saab 96 is an automobile made by Saab. It was introduced in 1960 and was produced until January 1980, a run of 20 years. Like the 93 it replaced, the 96 was a development from the old Saab 92 chassis and, on account of its improvements and modernisation, it...
, Saab 99
Saab 99
- Development :On April 2, 1965, Gudmund's day in Sweden, after several years of planning, the Saab board started Project Gudmund. This was a project to develop a new and larger car to take the manufacturer beyond the market for the smaller Saab 96...
and Renault 16
Renault 16
The Renault 16 is a hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The reviewer in the May 1965 edition of the English "Motoring Illustrated" said: "The Renault Sixteen can thus be described as a large family car but one that is neither a four door saloon...
).
In 1970 the new laws for homebuilt street cars was changed and required a mandatory crash test
Crash test
A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation or related systems and components.- Types :...
making kit cars virtually impossible to get street legal. Production for export, mostly to Finland and Norway, continued for a while. In May 1971 a fire destroyed the factory and the molds and it was not possible to restart production. The dealer in Finland had orders for more cars so he bought the rights to the RPB GT and made new molds from one of the delivered cars, but with desedigned rear and a 5 cm higher roof, and continued production for some years. RPB withdrew from car making and instead produced other plastic products such as bus interiors and snowmobile parts. In 1982 the law for amateur built cars changed so home built cars again could be made road legal. RPB decided to restart production with an updated model of the GT model. Some cars were built and showed on various exhibitions. They were well received both by media and public. But then RPB got a large order for plastic products for the Swedish military and the car production plans were put on hold. The Finnish mold was sold after some 20 cars were made and later changed hand several times. The last known owner was Allan Sjöbacka in Vaasa
Vaasa
Vaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa...
and he tried to sell them.
External links
- http://users.burtrask.com/rpb/
- http://www.konditori100.se/garage/carmakes/k1carpb.htm
- Den lilla bilfabriken i Norrland
- http://piraya.novelair.com
- http://www.abrakeri.se/bilar/rpb.html
- http://web.me.com/strom.lundqvist/RPB_GT_FINLANDIA/V%C3%A4lkommen.html
- http://www.piraya-gt.se/