PHeller
06-10-2008, 08:10 PM
A Tribute to Trevor Wilkenson
Trevor Wilkinson was born in Blackpool on May 14 1923 and educated locally, but left school at the age of 14 to begin an engineering apprenticeship at a local garage. In 1946, at the age of 23, he bought a wheelwright's business in Beverly Grove, Blackpool, renaming it Trevcar Motors the following year and converting it for the purposes of selling and repairing cars and light engineering.
In 1947 he built his first car, a special two-seater body on an Alvis Firebird chassis for himself. When he launched TVR Engineering – derived from three consonants in his first name – Wilkinson was joined by Jack Pickard, the pair intending to build cars to their own designs.
The first made its appearance in 1949: an alloy two-seater body on a multi-tubular steel chassis with the springs in the front suspension, famously derived from the supports of the bumper of a fairground car, it sold for £325.
The second one, still in existence and in immaculate condition, is owned by a TVR enthusiast in Yorkshire.
Wilkinson then designed what was to become the traditional underpinnings of multi-tubular backbone chassis.
The first production TVR was the Mark I, later named Grantura, with a fibreglass body of a design which endured, in modified form, until the M-type was replaced by the angular wedge design Tasmin in 1980.
Trevor Wilkinson left the company in April 1962, just before TVR's first, unsuccessful, entry into the Le Mans 24-hour race. He went on to set up his own engineering business with Jack Pickard, specialising in fibreglass.
Late in life Wilkinson moved to Minorca, spending as much time as possible on his small yacht. A quiet, reserved man, he seemed unaware of the awe in which he was held by TVR enthusiasts. He lived to see TVRs finish at Le Mans and last year's anniversary celebrations marking TVR's foundation.
Trevor Wilkinson's wife predeceased him.
http://homepage.mac.com/tvr43/history/images/grantura/large/ext1l.jpg
http://www.cottageclassics.co.uk/tvr/granturasforsale/granturamk3s/side.jpg
http://www.bjorns-story.se/private/minafordon/race/TVRhtm/imgtvr/TVR_Grantura-1.jpg
Trevor Wilkinson was born in Blackpool on May 14 1923 and educated locally, but left school at the age of 14 to begin an engineering apprenticeship at a local garage. In 1946, at the age of 23, he bought a wheelwright's business in Beverly Grove, Blackpool, renaming it Trevcar Motors the following year and converting it for the purposes of selling and repairing cars and light engineering.
In 1947 he built his first car, a special two-seater body on an Alvis Firebird chassis for himself. When he launched TVR Engineering – derived from three consonants in his first name – Wilkinson was joined by Jack Pickard, the pair intending to build cars to their own designs.
The first made its appearance in 1949: an alloy two-seater body on a multi-tubular steel chassis with the springs in the front suspension, famously derived from the supports of the bumper of a fairground car, it sold for £325.
The second one, still in existence and in immaculate condition, is owned by a TVR enthusiast in Yorkshire.
Wilkinson then designed what was to become the traditional underpinnings of multi-tubular backbone chassis.
The first production TVR was the Mark I, later named Grantura, with a fibreglass body of a design which endured, in modified form, until the M-type was replaced by the angular wedge design Tasmin in 1980.
Trevor Wilkinson left the company in April 1962, just before TVR's first, unsuccessful, entry into the Le Mans 24-hour race. He went on to set up his own engineering business with Jack Pickard, specialising in fibreglass.
Late in life Wilkinson moved to Minorca, spending as much time as possible on his small yacht. A quiet, reserved man, he seemed unaware of the awe in which he was held by TVR enthusiasts. He lived to see TVRs finish at Le Mans and last year's anniversary celebrations marking TVR's foundation.
Trevor Wilkinson's wife predeceased him.
http://homepage.mac.com/tvr43/history/images/grantura/large/ext1l.jpg
http://www.cottageclassics.co.uk/tvr/granturasforsale/granturamk3s/side.jpg
http://www.bjorns-story.se/private/minafordon/race/TVRhtm/imgtvr/TVR_Grantura-1.jpg