New Midget from the Midlands
By Roger Fennings, from Oval News
Midget racing to date has been dominated by two major proprietary
makes. The MARC drivers use mainly the Dastle 7 (and some
earlier models), in fact the first kit-form Midget, designed
and built by Geoff Rumble. Spedeworth's Midget men seem to
go for the sleek, fast Fireball Midgets (now available in
three models) as conceived and raced by Frank Boyles. But
now comes news of a keen contender for Midget honours, a fairly
recent addition o the MARC ranks - Paul Daly from Coventry
Pictured left is Paul's car, the latest marque to hit the
ovals the Moonbeam. Designed and built by Paul and his friend
and mechanic John Brotherton, the moonbeam has all the ingredients
to be a real flyer. On the 72" wheelbase sits a 1350cc five-bearing
Ford crossflow lump with Lucas dowdraught head and twin Weber
40 DCOE carbs. Add to this nimonic valves, titanium collars,
a Broadspeed cam and various other goodies and you have a
potent mix.
With power to weight rations a vital part of Midget racer
construction Moonbeam's constructors have paid special attention
to weight distribution by mounting ht engine in the left hand
side of the car and tilting it down at the rear to obtain
the best possible centre of gravity.
The Moonbeam's neat body is also of Paul's own design and
construction, but whether or not the car is going to be available
in kit form yet depends on Paul's success wiht the car. Currently
aiming to be unbeatable in the Moonbeam, Paul isn't likely
to be letting anyone else beat him in one of his own cars
- and there's talk of a V8 power pack for next season.
