In my ignorance, I thought that JAB’s was short for John Boswell and that he had built the car. However, John soon put me right, saying that he was about as useful with a toolkit as a chocolate teapot! The car was actually built by John Benson in the mid-seventies when the BMC “A” series was the motor to have. James’ father Robin Alexander acquired JAB’s and had a real crack at the National title in the early eighties. It was Robin who got John into trials back in 1983 when he passengered Robin. They never won, but came very close, occupying the number two spot in both 1983 and 1984.
All this wetted John’s appetite and they reversed roles when John started to drive in Classic’s, that he felt suited his committed driving style. Robin continued with JAB’s for another season before swapping it for a Cannon, which he soon sold on, reinvesting in a Kincraft. This was to get little use as sadly Robin died of cancer in 1988 at the young age of 44.
JAB’s passed through a couple of hands, ending up in the care of Martin Halliday, the custodian of several fine old trials cars, including one of Colin Chapman’s early Lotus’. By now, James Alexander was anxious to re-acquire his father’s old car. John put him in touch with Martin and JAB’s was soon back in the Alexander family. They went to a Peterborough Motor Club event but James couldn’t compete, as he didn’t have a licence. So his first event was the Robin Alexander memorial trial, held in honour of his late father, down in Cornwall. He found it pretty tough going and decided he needed a bit more practice. A quick call to JP saw Robin and John out at our Brickhill event, getting the feel of the car under easier conditions than are found on the flyweight circuit.
The car has been developed considerably since Robin owned it. It’s still A series powered, but the iron block 1275 Midget motor has now been bored out a bit. Things have changed in the transmission department too and the cogs are now courtesy of a certain Mr Hewland. It still has rather old fashioned mechanical fiddle brakes but John reckons these are an advantage as you can actually “feel” if a wheel is spinning. James has joined the 750 MC so he can get entries to Sporting Trial events and John hopes to do a bit of passengering in the old car.
What about “Bossey” as he is known to some. Well, after Robin Alexander introduced him to Classics he competed quite regularly in his Midget, but got fed up with driving down to Cornwall and breaking the car on the first hill! After destroying thirteen diffs in a season he converted the back axle to take Ford components and then started breaking gearboxes! All this prompted John to acquire a Dellow from Jim Harvey. The only problem was it was in bits and it sat in a lock-up for several years before Steve Strutt bought it and John used money to buy his well known “wash and go” Dutton Phaeton.
John found this car very reliable and has had very few problems with it. It bought some success too, and John won the ACTC Crackington Trophy in 1990. It also achieved TV fame when the BBC used it as a camera car on the televised Lands End. John had to take things easy for a few years as he was having health problems with his heart. He was better in time to partner David Alderson in his assault on the ACTC Wheelspin series and they won the championship together in 1996. John then used both his Dutton and Midget in local PCT’s and Autotest’s but had an overwhelming desire to go Motor Racing. The only problem was that he needed to do it without spending a lot of money! Inspiration came one night in the pub during a chat with Mark Wilson from Milton Keynes Motor Club and they decided to get 2CV and take part in the Mondello 24 hour race, competing with such luminaries as TOCA’s Alan Gow and Marcos creator Jem Marsh.
They qualified 22nd and got up to 10th at the end of the first hour. Then the engine blew up. They had a spare but it took two hours to change it. After all that effort the team decided to drive for a finish, cutting back on the revs and short shifting to take care of the little 602cc motor. They succeeded, finishing in 22nd place, really enjoying themselves and vowing to return. John’s plans for the future include another crack at the Mondello 24 hours and competing in PCT’s with the Dutton, all with one objective, to have some fun!
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