Berkeley Sportscars Today

Well, this page is about to get too large for comfort (and reasonable download time) so it's time to split it into multiple pages. All current racing activity, vintage and LSR, now has its own page.

Geoff Archer struck paydirt on Craigslist recently where he found the ingredients for a unusual Berkeley project (I know, they're all unusual, but this one is more so than most.) Geoff writes for Sports Car Market magazine and I hope we see more of the Berk in its pages. Click here for his story on the purchase and trip to its new home.


Two Berks headed home.	The yellow body is a modern repro, with 2 inch flares. The dash on the 328 has had some alterations. So has the rear deck.

I have managed to forget the story behind this shell - does anyone know?	Much work remains but this is a great starting point. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding wheels for this project?

Looks like the headlights on the green car were glassed in. Or maybe they got the paint can treatment.	Non-stock taillights & easily accessible rear suspension...


"The car was on display at a catering hall. The owner owned many cars that he kept as a museum in the same building as the hall. The Berk was kept in the room that he used for serving food. So anything that can be removed with little fingers and torn off the car like doors and trunk were destroyed or went missing."	The car was featured in Collectible Auto magazine in August of 2000. The article used several older photos of it and the car wasn't in as good shape as it appeared. It had a Texas inspection sticker.

This isn't Ed's first restoration (no surprise) and he plans to show the car for a while, after which it'll be used in "cruze nights and joy rides". Click on the picture at the right to see a wicked-clean engine compartment.	Headed for its public debut in Cincinnati. [Photo courtesy of Bob Hellman]


Berkeleys are unusual in that they can be completely disassembled into their component parts.	"I guess the biggest challenge would be the quality of the fiberglass. Full of pin holes and waves..."

You would not believe the condition this car was in when Phil started to restore it. We'll see if we can get some earlier photos. I think this car shows the importance of planning, and in having a specific goal for a restoration.


Take away the Berkeley emblem and, from this angle, the car looks like one of Italy's finest.	Phil did a great job of integrating everything here. The car had been raced at one time, and the current headrest matches the original as closely as surviving information allows. Dzus fasteners are used to allow quick access to the fuel cell.

It's unusual to see a single-carb Excelsior 3 cylinder but it was, in fact, a factory option that used a Zenith VNN downdraft carburetor.	The grey paint looks "right" here. It's a very similar finish to that used in the OSCAs and Maseratis of the era. If you're looking for the battery, it's in the passengers footwell.

An efficient cockpit.	Roll bars present special problems in Berkeleys, because there isn't much to mount them to. This car probably has as good a mount as is possible without adding a complete frame. Phil built his own tools to do the metal bending and forming.


Dan has several Berkeleys, including this roadworthy 328. "I put over 100 miles on my 328 Berkeley last month. Someone needed to kill the mosquitoes in the neighborhood."	"There is nothing like the smell of Castor 927 mixed a little heavy with VP 110 Leaded racing fuel." Dan also has several very unusual Jeeps and Crosleys.

I especially like this car because it reminds me of how they looked "back then". Not too perfect, not too worn - just a car to have fun with.	I like shots like this because they help restorers get the details right.

Dan has a couple of nice B-95's also. This one is ready for vintage racing. The front wheels are the strengthened ones favored for racing - not super rare but hard to find these days.	The mighty Royal Enfield in the race car.


Don Foldesy's car is significant because it's a rarity - an unmolested, unmodified (mostly), carefully preserved original car. Would you believe that's the original seat? The paint, the steering wheel, and everything else you see here - except for the wood panel with the radio - is "as delivered".	Don's engine compartment is obviously very well kept, but it's all stock stuff. This is an excellent reference car for restorers.

Joel Blatt's race car moved on to Glenn Diamond in Florida. The car is shown here during a recent trip to its new owner Dave Bennett's house. Mark and Dave stopped by to see Joel, shown here on the right. Dave's on the left.	The Rita Witzel "Micerati" racing car as it is today, appearing well preserved. Click here for photos from its racing days.

Dave Bennett is the "Micerati's" current owner.	The rear bumperettes still angle inward, and the dash appears unchanged from earlier pictures.

Templates for body modifications were available so that owners could take advantage of racing experience in England. In front, the mods attempt to aid cooling. For more detailed info on the body modifications click here.	The modifications to the rear apparently were intended to reduce drag by allowing air drawn in through the cockpit to escape. It isn't likely related to brake cooling.

In 1983, Dr. Schaefer's race car was found in a field in Titusville, FL. It is now owned by Mark Schoenlein and is shown here as it is today. Racing pictures are here, and follow its restoration here.	The car can be identified by the low square roll bar and the modified seat because the original owner was 6'6" tall (!). If anyone knows how the car came to be in Titusville, please let us know - the information would be greatly appreciated.

This conversion to a Yahama engine is progressing quickly. Click here to follow along.


Rob Schilperoort recently went to look at an Alfa but came home with a Berkeley. The car is an early S-E492 - note the outside door hinges. The nose has been heavily modified internally due to an engine swap although the specific engine used is unknown. If anyone is familiar with the car's history please contact us and we'll pass the info on to Rob.	Rob is considering using a Yamaha Raptor ATV engine of about 660cc. A previous owner relocated the fuel tank to under the scuttle - this will be replaced with a rear-mounted fuel cell. The tires look to be original - probably with some 1958 air left in 'em.


This S-E328 was shown at the Chicago Auto Show in 1958 and looks to be unusually complete, including its original engine.	How many original steering wheels have survived in this condition? The car is clearly a great candidate for restoration. Berkeley used both AC and Icknield ammeters - this one appears to be the latter.
	It's rare to see all the original pieces present and in such good shape. The seat back fared better over the years than the bottom.

A Lotus Europa - looking absolutely massive, has lain on this B95 for years in a private collection of parts cars. The Berkeley wasn't born with those rear wheels.


A Lotus Europa - looking absolutely massive, has lain on this B95 for years in a private collection of parts cars. The Berkeley wasn't born with those rear wheels.	Clearly a Royal Enfield powered car. This car is significant since there are only about a dozen known to be in the US. If you owned it or know anything about its history, please let us know. These pictures were taken in Colorado.

The seat frame seems to have survived	This has the appearances of a hastily removed front-engine, rear drive conversion.

SE 328 Chassis No. 748 Original Engine No. 8314

"The car was purchased from a St. Louis junkyard in the early '60s by a friend. As far as we know, the original engine and transmission where not with the car. My father bought it in 1965. He made major modifications to the body in an attempt to install a Renault engine - then the car sat in a field in central Missouri for the next 40 years."

"I received the car in the spring of 2005 and have been slowly restoring it. The fiberglass repair is nearing completion. I have some original parts including most of the suspension and wheels, windshield, and other various pieces. The car will be driven by a slightly modified Citroen 2CV engine and will be installed with a custom spider chassis for extra support."

We'll be adding pictures as work progresses.


Don Boston from Massachusetts recently reached a milestone in the restoration of his 328 when he got the engine running on two cylinders and the car moved under its own power.	The car was purchased several years ago and looks very original. It has an outboard differential bearing arrangement for which Don has drawings. We hope to have photos and plans on the site in the not too distant future.

Interior looks to be in good shape.	Several repairs were needed to the rear fiberglass

Note the wheel cover centers. Has anyone ever seen any like them?	The centers are a mystery. Don says they're constructed much like the stock centers. The original centers would have been thin, embossed, sheet metal wrapped around a stiff metal disk with a threaded rod brazed to the back. It appears that these may use the original disk and rod but the emblem itself is clearly different from the standard item..


This is Tom Churchill's car being picked up from the previous owner in Austin, MN. "The set up to the Berkeley powered by Crosley is front engine rear wheel drive. A Triumph TR3 or 4 transmission has been adapted to the Crosley engine. The drive shaft runs back to a T/Q Midget Quick Change. The quick change has inboard disk brakes and swing axles. The brakes are Crosley. Known by some as hesitators. The live swing axle forms the lateral link of the Berkeley swing arm. A square tube frame ties it all together." Photo is from 1992.	For many years the car quietly resided here, along with some other interesting pieces. The Berkeley was built by Vilas Barnhart, a mechanic and machinist from Wisconsin and has appeared on the cover of the Crosley Automobile Club magazine.

The pin striping is attractive, and someone did a nice job with headlight housings.	The spare is now neatly mounted in back, presumably because the altered rear suspension and prop shaft have taken its former place.
	"I have given some thought to putting a Crosley into a Berkeley using the Berkeley layout. I have over the years seen pictures of motorcycles using Crosley engines. They used a jack shaft between the engine and transmission. This allows the engine sprocket to be outside of the Clutch sprocket. The jack shaft could be used to drive things. A smaller flywheel would be a good idea. Maybe put the starter back at the clutch as on a Harley. The Crosley engine is not much longer than the 492cc three cylinder engine." "The Crosley engine is laid over at a 45 degree angle to the left. I plan the use an SU Carb. I need to make a manifold to do this. I also need to modify the right motor mount because of the modifications I am making to the oiling system. Then it is a more or less straight up Crosley engine rebuild. Then I will need to go thru the brakes."

"I have very fond memories of the "little red car" as we called it. We had so much fun showing it in home town parades and local car shows with my grandpa, Vilas Barnhart. My favorite thing was the large wind up key that my grandpa made to suction cup on the trunk area and we used to have fun "winding it up." - Jacci (Grand-daughter of Vilas Barnhart)


Mark decided to make this an unusual Berkeley - one that runs. To that end, he enlisted the help of some pros. Shown here are Brant, Mike, Chuck, and Andy - Berk mechanics extraordinaire!	The brakes came first. I presume the enormous adjustable wrench was used to remove the rear center "B" nuts. (This is a better technique than the usual screwdriver and hammer...). The fan in the background was used to clear the shop of two-stroke smoke.

Don't laugh. It beats filling the fuel tank with gas, adding oil at 16-1, and shaking the car. Think about it.	Andy took the car out into the lot to turn a few donuts. All in all, the guys at Duricek Automotive Services did a great job!
	Here are a few extra shots. It's really great to see a car brought back to life like this. The plan is to bring it to the "US" celebration of Berkeley's 50th anniversary near Cincinnati on July 9th.


John Young (Yorkshire) has a stunning 3 cylinder car, shown here. There are some interesting improvements on the original - note the fuse box and air cleaners. Interesting cosmetic treatment on the cylinder heads - nice....	This picture shows the cars lines to good advantage - was there ever a prettier microcar? Nah! (Thanks to John Young for the pictures & permission).

A Study in Blue from Thomas Lück in Germany. It's good to see a Berkeley actually being driven these days. Location is the Island Sylt in northern Germany	It's a tight fit, but it fits. A nice way to transport a Berkeley. To see 15 seconds worth of Thomas' car in action, click here. You'll need a QuickTime player or the right codec for most other multimedia players.

Australian Dave McBride is the owner of a very important Berkeley - this is the original "Le Mans" model race car that was the subject of a road test in the July 1960 issue of Sports Car World magazine.

"The original owner of the vehicle was Paul Samuels (Australian race-car builder, photographer, racer & importer of Berkeley’s) who was the owner of Auto Imports Australia .I have spoken with Paul, who has confirmed that this is his original LeMans race car. He also tells me that this was the only one of its kind.

From Paul’s memory, the car raced at many famous Australian racetracks including Bathurst, Warwick Farm, Orange raceway & Eastern Creek ...

The car was damaged on 21st May 1961 at Warwick Farm in N.S.W. Paul Samuels was injured in the incident & this was the last time that the car was raced."

"The damaged race car was sold in 1962 to Dr. R. Kirkby. Apparently he began restoration on the car but unfortunately passed away before completion.

It was then passed on to an acquaintance of mine from Dr. Kirby’s estate where it sat in dry storage in a large car collection with a Left Hand drive Berkeley 492 Sports until found by me."

The 1960 road test was very complimentary, and stated that the Berkeley could "see off" MGA's, tip the ton, and "...zip through corners faster than practically anything else around". They qualified the top speed statement slightly, with their measured top speed averaging 91.9mph, apparently with a passenger.

There are photos of the car in its racing days here.


This car belongs to Jose Montanez in California. Does anyone know its history?	The car appears to be an early S-E328, with the fender-top headlight fairings.


I don't have much information on this car yet, except that, with luck, it'll be running soon. It's a 328 with the early headlight pods.	The seat isn't original but the rest looks really good. (This reminds me of an old airplane that was flown on its final flight to a museum in Connecticut years ago with the pilot sitting on a 2X4. It broke as he landed.)


Most Berkeley owners today know that F.W.Thornton and Sons Ltd. in Shrewsbury is one of the few (possibly only) sources of new pistons for these cars. I took this picture of their display window a couple years ago.	I think the Berkeley plant was located here. Thanks to the Biggleswade Historical Society, this should be pretty close.