In my last report I said that Derek Pugh a past Doretti owner of had contacted me with more information about an accident damaged Swallow Doretti that he had bought from a car-breaker's yard, situated between Swindon and Cricklade. In early 1965 Derek paid £75 for WTB 338, Chassis No.1152 which had damage to the right-hand side front wing and headlamp, the shroud, lower wishbone and a broken front SU carburetor. The bonnet had also sustained slight damage.

Once Derek had the car back home in Cheltenham he had the carburetor aluminum welded, replaced the wishbone and recalls that; &;#33the car started at the first touch of the button and drove very well.” However this now left him with a car body problem that he could not fix himself. Derek then contacted Shapecraft in Surbiton and they sent someone down on a Sunday to inspect the Doretti and give a quote for the work required. After inspecting the Doretti and discussing Derek’s requirements a quote of £75 (just a co-incidence) was given, providing Derek removed the bodywork back to the bulkhead which would allow a new lift-up front end to be made by Shapecraft. The car was to have a one-piece Jaguar E-type bonnet fabricated and fitted with Triumph Herald bonnet catches to secure the new bodywork. A few days later after Derek had cut off the original aluminum wings and shroud, he drove No.1152 to Surbiton and parked it alongside an E-type being prepared for Le Mans, so it was in good company.

A fortnight later the modifications were finished and Derek drove WTB 338 back to Cheltenham. Now all he had to do was complete the electrical work which he says was easy as he used Austin A35 side lights inside the headlight space and fitted Perspex covers over the headlights made from templates supplied by Shapecraft. A unique Doretti badge was made for the bonnet by Derek – it was made out of copper and chrome plated. Derek concludes his account of the modifications by saying - “so you will now see that it is not a prototype but a DP Special and nothing more.”

Derek’s description of the transformation of WTB 338 has finally lain to rest all the fanciful accounts circulating for many years, of the car being a factory race-car and speed record holder. A few years ago while visiting TR Bitz I happened to meet up with the Swiss restorer who had been commissioned to work on the car. During the course of a pleasant evening in the local pub I tried to persuade him that it would be better to rebuild the car to the original design - obviously I failed. At the time I did not have any firm evidence that the car had not been modified by the factory. But on the other hand, Neil Wilkinson a previous owner had sent me pictures which showed the car which he had dismantled and he never mentioned any special features which might have indicated a racing background.

Roger Giles (e-mail: roger.giles@hotmail.co.uk) has been looking into the possibility of an organized Doretti trip to the Classic Le Mans 2008 event which takes place next 11th to 13th July. At the present time there are four Dorettis and their owners provisionally confirmed, with one guest Austin Healy 3000. Roger needs to get our application sent off within the next week to the French organisers as he will shortly be leaving for New Zealand and will not be back until February.

Regarding costs, it will be £29 each for general admission to the circuit including the paddocks. If you want to do the track laps, they will be on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning (you chose which), its great fun but is not particularly cheap at £68. No precise figures for accommodation or ferries are available yet, but, as an indication, last year it was £178 for 4 nights (twin or double occupancy) or £150 for a single occupancy. The ferry, Portsmouth - St Malo, was £320 return (with a cabin) or £205 without. A crossing at Dover would be a lot cheaper, at around £100, but is a further 200km from Le Mans and might necessitate an overnight stop. Should anyone prefer to make their own travel arrangements, just advise Roger.

The proposed itinerary is, that we would catch the ferry on Wednesday evening the 9th July, land in France about 7am Thursday morning 10th and have a leisurely drive to our hotel arriving mid afternoon. Friday, Saturday and Sunday would be spent at the circuit. We would leave the hotel on Monday morning 14th to drive back to St Malo and catch the evening ferry.

Accommodation will be arranged within a 15-20 minutes drive from the circuit. This enables us to have a drive through the French countryside each day plus the bonus of not paying premium rates for accommodation close to the circuit. At this point in time Roger requires confirmation from each member of the group and also payment for admission and track laps which has to accompany the Entry Form that have to be returned to the event organisers.

John Rummery was recently seeking more information about Chassis No.1425 now nearing completion in New Zealand. Having bought the car without any documentation John was almost ready to try and register it with the appropriate authority. Happily I was able to fax him a Xeroxed copy of the car’s UK log-book that somebody had sent to me some years ago. It occurs to me that it would be very useful if owners would send me copies of the original log-book to help compile a more complete record of factory production. Most of the TR registrars and owners are able to access the factory build records but all the Swallow paperwork seems to have disappeared. It is only with your help that the Swallow Doretti Register is able to keep track of cars and gradually accumulate the bits and pieces of information to assemble a comprehensive archive of materials. Please send me copies of any relevant info - I may already have it but I may not.

Let me know of any address, phone numbers, or e-mail address changes. I would also appreciate any information about modifications or changes to your Doretti. If you have any comments or suggestions about the Swallow Doretti Page, or news and/or information that you want to pass on to me or other Doretti owners then please contact me by post, e-mail or telephone. Please note that my e-mail address is ken@doretti.co.uk
 ... Ken Yankey

© 2007 Ken Yankey, all rights reserved