A mate pointed this out at Stamford classic car show on Sunday a 1960 328cc 2 Stroke bec

Thought some of you would be interested! Personal I didn't realize the bec concept went this far back! Is this one of the oldest?

As you can see from the sheet he had in the window the guy took part in a rally this year totaling 2400 miles, he said he had a few problems but managed to fix them and carry on to the finish!

He was a lovely old guy really enthusiastic about his car was so tempted to ask him if he wanted a ride in a modern bec but thought better of it!


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[Edited on 25/8/08 by locoR1]

I dunno Dave I reckon the guy would have loved it...

Cool looking thing isnt it? I know what you mean about the BEC thing seeming like a modern phenomenon - I was surprised when I read Alan Staniforth's Race and Rally Car Source Book to find that the Monopin used a supercharged CB750 bike engine back in 1978.

Geoff

The concept of putting a motorcycle engine in a car goes back at least to the 1930's - twin cylinder JAP engines were very popular in hillclimb specials just after the war for example. And in case you think putting 2 motorcycle engines in a car is another modern concept I'm afraid that goes back to the 30's as well

[Edited on 25/8/08 by D Beddows]

Hi Dave
Many years ago a mate had one of these and an Issetta with a BMW engine in the back, complete with a single door at the front. I had some strange mate's.

Cheers for now Mike.

My friend's dad had one of those Berkeleys in the 60s and when he drove it into the drive nose first he used to pick the back end up and walk round to turn it round, really funny to watch

One of the first more modern bec I ever saw had a zx10 fwd in one of these little cars, the owner described the handling as horrific!

Cheers
David

The best one of the Berkley's was the B105 four wheel one, fitted with a tuned 692cc Royal Enfield twin cylinder engine. Top speed was 90MPH, pretty scary in a car that weighs next to nothing.
First BEC goes back to the first Morgans, (three wheelers), which I think were built in the mid to late 1920's, fitted with a V twin Matchless engine, open valves etc, Two foreward gears only, but very quick for the year. Cheers Ray

Hurray a 2 stroke....now where did that RG500 motor go..

Then they built one with a proper

RE(man)

Royal Enfield 700 engine

Pffft, now here's a Berkeley:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/berzerkeley/updates/2/