I took up Andy Bye’s (RACT Trustee) invitation to attend the Rootes Archive Centre Trust’s (RACT) open day on the 10th October. I hadn’t been for a couple of years (it was closed most of last year and the first half of 2021 because of the covid pandemic). The trustees have used the “closed period” very productively by carpeting the ground floor and rearranging some of the exhibits; in particular, they have turned the room on the L.H. side of the entrance into a mini museum which now displays some interesting Rootes era artefacts. The most prominent item on display is a Tilling Stevens TS3 two stroke diesel engine (3.26 Ltrs.) that was used in Commer trucks and buses in the 1950s and 60s, a piece of industrial art indeed.
The Sunbeam Lotus spares fraternity had taken advantage of the ‘Open Day’ to put their wares on display in the courtyard in front of the RACT building. This, of course attracted some Talbot Sunbeam Lotus owners. There were some other interesting cars that turned up so I put my camera to good use as you can see from the photos below.
One of the most enjoyable features of these open days is chatting with other “petrol heads” and or Rootes Group car enthusiasts. This meeting was no exception, I met some delightful people for the first time. In this regard I should mention Geoff Carverhill, an author of a number of car related books but in particular “The Rootes Story”, first published in 2018 and recently updated (see below).
Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Cars
Visitor’s Cars
Spares galore!
The Rootes Story – Book
As mentioned above, Geoff Carverhill attended the RACT ‘Open Day’ with some copies of the latest edition of his book “The Rootes Story” –
Nick
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