Larkens longread: a major update

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It’s almost two years ago since we wrote to you about the 1949 Larkens 500cc Special: a long lost Dutch racer, which was found only in 2017 (story here). About time for an update, as the restoration of the car has progressed rapidly since. Over to the car’s owner and restorer Mike Doodeman, for an enthusiastic longread!

“I adored 500cc racers for many years, with a specific soft spot for the early years of the scene before the championship became the ‘International Formula 3’. So finding this racer was already unbelievable for me, but getting it ready for its race debut almost 70 years later, as well as getting myself ready for my race debut was for me a beyond believe adventure that keeps on going and gives me the biggest smile on my face I could wish for.”

“At the time of the first article, the Larkens was almost 100% disassembled. In the article I wrote that the DKW was already replaced by the JAP 4b. This was not the case. The JAP 4b had yet to be assembled from spare parts spread over 12 boxes that I bought from a 500 owners association member 3 months before I owned the Larkens. This was quite a job and with all my good intentions, I could use some help. This was quite clear for Jan Hamers of the Dutch classic speedway and grass track association and so he offered his help. This was the best thing that could happen to me and to the whole project. Jan knows the JAP 4b and 84s from A to Z. So with some new internal bits, the old spare parts and some expertise labour it became a beautiful JAP 4b with a perfect AMC gearbox to make it a 100% match.

As I’m a dreamer and work around my shortcomings I thought “we have this perfect engine let’s build it in the frame with some custom engine mounts, fit a seat and clean the Larkens a bit and go!....” As almost all of you understand, this is the way to a long time project that never would have been ready. Again I must thank Jan Hamers as he offered me to help with the car as well, but on the condition we do it complete and proper and not do a sloppy job. Well of course I said yes.”

“Exactly a year after I picked up the Larkens from its former owner, it was back on the (Prewarcar)trailer, this time towards the workshop of Jan to have it 24 hours later get in contact with the grinder. I love the look of barnfinds, I love a good patina. But as I am going to race the Larkens I can’t sacrificed safety for ‘the look’ and take changes with poorly fixed panels and parts that might come off when pushing the car while racing. We found out that the Larkens was lengthened a whopping 40+ cm instead of the 20cm we assumed. Maybe this happened in the period after the brothers Larkens owned the car, we don’t know. But we brought it back to its original length with a wheelbase of 212cm and straightened the frame. The Larkens original didn’t have a roll bar. But as I witness a big flip at Brands Hatch it feel saver with one. Besides the safety it also stiffens the frame and gives a more ridged ride. So with the frame completely rebuild now with rollbar and perfect straight engine mounts we send this together with all the bits and bobs to the painter for a powdercoat.”

“I choose the colour black for the frame, leaf springs, uprights, wishbones, pedals, brakes, shafts etc. Getting these parts back from the painter was a great moment. Everything looked and felt as new, really cool to see all these original old parts as new, but also a real pain to clean at the spots where the powdercoat had come while it wasn’t meant to do so.”

“The time consuming task to prepare all the bits to a quality that we could assemble them was also a good learning curve for me. I don’t have much experience with building something mechanical from the ground up. Certainly not with an automotive project that I’m planning to race when it’s finished. So for me the weeks and months where good to see and feel how the Larkens was put together. When looking back questions are simply answered, but only cause I pay attention in the process. It is easy to accept a specialist for its word, but it feels so much better to learn and understand the process and the machinery. I really enjoyed this. Please, don’t get me wrong, I’m a million miles away from tasking a project like this alone. But I now know what a project like this deserves and think that with my knowledge I can maintain the basics of the Larkens and when racing it know when and why I have to pay attention when forcing an engine to go to the max and making a race car go as fast as possible through those bendy bits between the straights.”

“Anyway, It took us from Christmas 2017 till 3 hours before scrutineering on the 30st of August 2018 till we hand started the engine for the first time. Just old school, the back of the Larkens on a box, swing the back wheels as if it’s a 2 wheeler and after 10 tries it hit the right note. And what a note, after a full day and night work the sound of an open pipe 1 cylinder air cooled 500cc on dope is just the best noise you ever hear in your life. To be honest, it gave me tears in my eyes and I don’t blame it on the overnight work, it was, and still is pure emotion. I never expected that to happen with me.”

“So for some projects it would be “job done” and celebrate. But for us it was a quick shower, a coffee and loading all the tools, spares, paperwork, race wear, manpower and of course the Larkens in to the van and trailer and off we went from Voorthuizen to Zandvoort, already knowing we would be late for scrutineering of the 7th edition of the Historic Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

On the road I had contact with the 500 association club members that where already at the track and I got the good news that the Larkens could go to scrutineering at arrival.”

“Still, when arrived and I got all the paperwork in order, we missed our slot and got the invite to scrutineering the next morning around 8am. We already planned to work a bit more on the Larkens in the workshop that evening, but it was a bit of a bummer that we drove all the way to Zandvoort just to hear we could get back the next day. The positive was that we felt the atmosphere at Zandvoort was sublime and we met all our friends from the 500 owners association and they and others could get already a first glim of the Larkens.

“The next day the Larkens got through scrutineering with a few minor details that got easily adjusted. For us that already felt as a first win. Back at the paddock when preparing the car for its first official race and sticking the self-requested start number 13 on the yet unpainted body, it just got very real for me.

Where I normally walk around with a film camera to document the half liter cans, I now was one of the subjects for that canvas. Me ‘among others’ with the Larkens between the Coopers, Effyh’s and Starrides, next to a JBS and the Waye… this still feels unreal to this day.”

“The complete period of the rebuild, the people we met cause of the Larkens, the family of the original builders that got in contact with us, all the new friends that witness 500 race back in the day’s and their stories, all the people that helped with the build and parts, making the car ready for its race debut as it only tested on Zandvoort back in the day, me getting my National b race license in order to race with the club and had a first go in a Cooper triumph at Shelsley Walsh a month earlier. All these and other moments on a just perfect timeline, It just can’t get any better than this.”

“The very first meter I ever drove with the Larkens was the first meter of qualification. Imagine an almost 70 year-old racer its first ride, a qualification on Zandvoort, quite insane. Well we did it. We manage to start the engine and I drove away, steady and easy. Tarzan bend in.. still in 1st.. “let’s try to shift to 2nd””… “click”.. yes it works. “Click” and I’m in 3rd and already approach Gerlach bend, back to 2nd and the next item, the brakes… (with help from speedway riders.. still a bit of a gamble if it works haha) yep, the brakes also worked. Hugenholtz bend out, to 3rd  on top of the Hunzerug bend I hit 4th and something snaped. Later we found out it was the gear linkage rod that we made ‘Colin Chapman’ light, but not strong enough so it got bend on a weak spot. We sorted this on the Sunday.”

“As I thought I broke something but still got out of the corners in 4th I decide to continue as it didn’t feel I was braking parts and still had fun driving for all these people on this wonderful track. After my 2nd lap I got starvation. This problem was to be expected as we had an Amal 932 concentric on the JAP and this just didn’t gave enough dope to the engine. So that together with the gearing ‘stuck’ in 4th I decide to get into the pit and try to shift the box there without being an obstacle for the other riders. It went straight in to 3rd and 2nd and the Amal got some puff again and I thought… let’s go for another lap, why not?

This lap got a red flag cause another car stopped in an unsafe position, so I drove back to the paddock, parked it and had strong stories about my drive.”

“These 3 ‘laps’ will always be the best laps of my life. Nothing can beat a first time and boy what a first time we had. As we were more or less testing the Larkens, it didn’t surprise us that we had a DNF in both races. A chequered flag would have been great, but still, the weekend was perfect. Both races I drove with an 84s JAP with Dellorto SS 35b behind me. We made the overnight swap as we felt the JAP4b had a risk of seizing and couldn’t be adjusted in time to get a proper double float bowl SS fitted to resolve the dope starvation. On Saturday, the oil- and catchtank cracked and we forgot a safety for the Dellorto top so it got loose and on Sunday we found out the gearing was quite a bit off and cause of this, a small jet in the SS and not enough airflow to the engine it just got to hot and as we found out later, burned a hole in the piston.”

“This winter we will do some detail work and testing on the Larkens so it will be as reliable as a 500 can be and hope to get enough savings for 2 or 3 races in the next season. The application for the Goodwood revival 2019 is also made. Fingers crossed for an invitation, who knows I make a similar impact as Lex Beels did 70 years ago!”

“If you want more info about the 500’s. Please visit the official website here.

And please do get in touch when you have any more information about the history of the Larkens that I might not yet know. Also information about the Beels 500 racers and anything on the Dutch 500 club from back in the day is more than welcome.”

Friendly greetings, Mike Doodeman

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