John Hickford
Here is a translated extract from the Italian Book that John was given
Then suddenly an amazing change! a private Australian John Hickford has built and the word is, with the pieces of his Lambda a single-seater for uphill races, mounting the front suspensions and the original mechanics at the front, but with the engine, obviously very well thought of prepared, positioned at the centre of the car, behind the Driver
Of course for us conservative fans this is something a little frightening, but so be it.
Passion knows no limits, not even between Lambdists!
However the car still seems to exist and was timed at a maximum speed of 117 mph, which is 190kpm.
John was introduced to the father of Touring Car ace and six-time Bathurst 1000 winner, Larry Perkins, through Ron Chandler, the Lancia dealer and wrecker, who built a Lancia-based special of his own in the early 1950s.
As a teenager, John worked at Chandler's Hawthorn dealership on the weekends, so he knew in advance through Perkins' regular visits of what he was building. John's first look at the 'Perkins Special' came in 1951, when Eddie brought the racer down to Melbourne from his home at Cowangie in Victoria's Mallee.
In an impromptu test run in what was then Melbourne's semi-rural outer suburb of Templestowe, I am sure John remembers a piece of the car's custom aluminium bodywork parting company with the car and wrapping itself around Eddie's head!
s a rich It was Eddie Perkins' Perkins Special built in 1950 around Lancia engine, transmission and suspension parts on a bespoke chassis so it could be rear engine.
It was rebuilt, after some racing derangements, by John Hickford who changed the engine to an Austin engine in Healey 100 spec and renamed it ‘Lancia Austin Special’.
One of Hickfords other changes, which we can see in the photo, was to replace the Lancia transverse leaf spring at the rear with "coil-over-shocks" so although the engine isn't visible it must be Hickford's version of the car
historLearning from past mistakes, John fitted a transverse leaf spring rear suspension this time, as per the Perkins original, while a quirky touch on the re-born Lancia Special is the fuel tank made from a genuine 1950s jerrycan! After some issues around the engine purchased specifically for this vehicle, John cannibalised his 1925 tourer for its engine and radiator to give the new Lancia Special its first competitive run at Rob Roy in August, 2011 - 53 years after his last run there! Since then, some fine-tuning has followed, along with runs at Mt. Tarrengower and this year's Historic Winton, where the car drew a LOT of attention
Some photos of John
Geelong Revival
Warwick Beanland purchased the car and overhauled it with father-in-law John Hickford
VSCC Rob Roy hillclimb 24 8 2014
John Hickford was born in 1931 at Richmond. He spent his first eight years in
Tubbut in the Victorian Alps. He told me he was trapping rabbits at seven years old. They obviously bred them tough in those times.
He had to ride his bike over the rough mountain roads to play with any friends. The area was sparsely populated in those days (it still is). At the start of the war the family moved to Melbourne. His first job was as a mechanic, then he did farm work for seven years. As a teenager, John worked at a Lancia Lambda car yard after school and weekends (the business of Ron Chandler, a Hawthorn Lancia dealer and wrecker – Ed). You can see where this is going can’t you. His first car at 16 was a Lancia Lambda in pieces, which he put together.
He got his licence in a Lancia.
He married the love of his life Pat in 1939 and had five children, and now has 10 grandchildren and five greats. They moved to Anglesea when it was just a little
town 64 years ago and started building the town. His own home sits on the hill, overlooking the ocean: this is where we sat to have our talk, with Pat giving me more information than John would. He has had three Lancias during his time with the club, but he reckons he has had about 10 altogether! He has also bought 22 Peugeots, which he worked on as needed then distributed among family members, and a Mercedes 300B. His favourite car is a white Lambda series 6 with a long chassis. He toured it to many Bay to Birdwoods and also had it shipped to Europe for 10 weeks. Together with the club members Tom & Marg Ivory and Murray Coster, he did about 8,000 kms and took part in four rallies, in Holland, France and Italy. I heard their reports and stories when they came home and must admit l was jealous. His only club car now is a 565 Peugeot. He restored three cars, which took years. As he said, with kids it was tough.
He learnt restoration at East Geelong Tech.
Now to the other half of John. He has had his racing licence since 1955, but only raced in Victoria, as having children made travelling difficult. He drove at Albert Park, Phillip Island, Hepburn Springs, Rob Roy, Winton and Towingee. He was
very good at it - enough to keep up with the “money boys”.
John retired from racing when he got married thenstarted again later. His last drive was at age 86. He is foundation member of the Lancia Club and
early member of WDHVC. His dream car is a 1957 Lancia B24. He now spends his time designing houses for his kids and meeting people in the car club.
What a wonderful and interesting life you have had
John: you are a legend.
- Sharyn Harris
Tubbut in the Victorian Alps. He told me he was trapping rabbits at seven years old. They obviously bred them tough in those times.
He had to ride his bike over the rough mountain roads to play with any friends. The area was sparsely populated in those days (it still is). At the start of the war the family moved to Melbourne. His first job was as a mechanic, then he did farm work for seven years. As a teenager, John worked at a Lancia Lambda car yard after school and weekends (the business of Ron Chandler, a Hawthorn Lancia dealer and wrecker – Ed). You can see where this is going can’t you. His first car at 16 was a Lancia Lambda in pieces, which he put together.
He got his licence in a Lancia.
He married the love of his life Pat in 1939 and had five children, and now has 10 grandchildren and five greats. They moved to Anglesea when it was just a little
town 64 years ago and started building the town. His own home sits on the hill, overlooking the ocean: this is where we sat to have our talk, with Pat giving me more information than John would. He has had three Lancias during his time with the club, but he reckons he has had about 10 altogether! He has also bought 22 Peugeots, which he worked on as needed then distributed among family members, and a Mercedes 300B. His favourite car is a white Lambda series 6 with a long chassis. He toured it to many Bay to Birdwoods and also had it shipped to Europe for 10 weeks. Together with the club members Tom & Marg Ivory and Murray Coster, he did about 8,000 kms and took part in four rallies, in Holland, France and Italy. I heard their reports and stories when they came home and must admit l was jealous. His only club car now is a 565 Peugeot. He restored three cars, which took years. As he said, with kids it was tough.
He learnt restoration at East Geelong Tech.
Now to the other half of John. He has had his racing licence since 1955, but only raced in Victoria, as having children made travelling difficult. He drove at Albert Park, Phillip Island, Hepburn Springs, Rob Roy, Winton and Towingee. He was
very good at it - enough to keep up with the “money boys”.
John retired from racing when he got married thenstarted again later. His last drive was at age 86. He is foundation member of the Lancia Club and
early member of WDHVC. His dream car is a 1957 Lancia B24. He now spends his time designing houses for his kids and meeting people in the car club.
What a wonderful and interesting life you have had
John: you are a legend.
- Sharyn Harris
Our club includes people with a wealth of knowledge and experience that we wish to preserve.
Western District Historic Vehicle Club