<VV> Robert Cumberford & Fitch Phoenix

[James P. Rice]

All:  There is a interesting cross reference between Robert Cumberford and
John Fitch.

John proposed to the SCCA a Formula C (for Corvair) as a spec class.  The
car was designed so by adding fenders, it could also be used on the street,
which was then to be called the Super Sprint.  But John's proposal was
surpassed by the corporate sponsorship of VW for the Formula V class.  John
had a car with no market.  He and Coby Whitmore, a close friend and artist
by trade, took the concept for the Formula-C/Super Sprint and reworked it
into what we know today as the Fitch Phoenix.  The Formula-C/Super Sprint
back-bone sheet metal chassis was designed by Jerry Mong of Bobsy fame.  It
used EM suspension & drive train, and has since been lost.

Robert Cumberford was the draftsman/designer from Frank Reisner's
Costruzione Automobili Intermeccanica in Italy who came to John's shop and
made drawings from the reworked car.  He them returned to Italy, where
Intermeccanica cut down a LM chassis John obtained from GM Europe and
created the Phoenix.  John intended to rework the Mong chassis to use LM
components, and the Phoenix was designed to fit it's dimensions.

As we know, the Fed's Crash Standards and uncertainty about the Corvairs
long term future killed the Phoenix.

Historically Yours,
			James Rice

PS:  I do not share Bill's enthusiasm for Automobile Magazine.  Not that it
matters.  VBG!!!



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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:42:21 -0500 (EST)
From: wrsssatty at aol.com
Subject: <VV> March 2012 Automobile Magazine
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org, joedarinsig at yahoo.com

There is an article starting on page 86 of the March 2012 Automobile
Magazine entitled "Inside Man" about Blaine Jenkins, designer of GM
interiors in the '60s and '70s.  The article is written by Robert Cumberford
and is full of Corvair references.  It says he contributed to "every Corvair
ever made."  The article credits him with the interior of the Super Monza
and includes a color photo of its interior and a close up of a door panel.
It also mentions his work on "Pinky".  One interesting anecdote involves a
claim that he proposed the all-black interior that debuted on the '62 Monza.
He said that management resisted but caved in when it was allowed that the
headliner would be white.  In retrospect Mr. Jenkins observed; "They sold
tens of thousands of Honduras Maroon cars with that interior."  And, last
but not least, I have to note that the article reveals that it was Blaine
Jenkins who created the 1965 color, "Evening Orchid."

I think that Automobile is the best of all the current auto enthusiast
magazine and Robert Cumberford is one of my favorite writers in the
enthusiast press today.  I enjoy his "By Design" column where he critiques
auto design, an important aspect of automobiles that's too often ignored by
the enthusiast press.  He has favorably mentioned Corvairs in the past, even
devoting an entire article to praise of the design of the 1960 Corvair.  In
this article in the current issue, he has outdone himself!  Must reading for
the Corvair enthusiast as well as any vintage GM fan!

~Bill Stanley