Page 21 - April 2023

named book, Excess in All Areas, Jameson was described as an "inveterate specials builder".

In 1966 Jameson decided he would build a car, his first car. But why would you start with
something small and manageable? If you're going to dream, dream big and what Jameson
dreamed of was a car that would be powered by a 27 litre Rolls-Royce built Meteor engine.

The Meteor was a non-supercharged version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 that powered the
famous WWII British aircraft, the Spitfire, the Lancaster and the Hurricane. Thanks to a
burgeoning market in military surplus after the end of WWII Jameson was able to pick up a
Meteor engine that had been used in a Centurion tank for the bargain basement price of £20 or
about $300 in today's money.

The Meteor had been hard done by. It had a cracked cylinder head and blocked bores, but this
was no obstacle to Jameson , the engineer/designer/tinkerer.
He brought the beast of a motor to his workshop and began to build the structure that would
become known as the Jameson MK1. The elements for his rolling chassis all came from the right
stuff. He incorporated box-section girders, the rear suspension from a Mark !0 Jaguar, and a
front end that came from Wolseley 6/99 parts. The result, according to a magazine of the time
was a chassis with a " 55/45 weight ratio and excellent handling."

Jameson had a difficulty , however. He was unable to source a clutch and a gearbox that would
make it possible to actually drive the car reliably.

Ent er John Dodd

There are a variety of stories about how Jameson came to work with Dodd, but the important
thing is that in the end Dodd took over the lead in building a gearbox for Jameson's invention.
Dodd, an automatic transmission specialist, had also owned a series of Rolls-Royce automobiles.
( This will become important later on.) He, too, was a dreamer and when he hooked up with
Jameson, the result was a mutual admiration society. Dodd described Jameson as "one of the
best engineers alive in Great Britain." Jameson was equally fulsome in his appreciation of Dodd's
skills.
Once Dodd had supplied a working gearbox, he expected to watch Jameson's progress from afar.
Instead, much to his surprise, Jameson made a call and asked if Dodd would be interested in
buying what was still a rolling chassis, although one now fitted with a proper transmission. It
didn't take Dodd long to say " YES!" and so a deal was struck. Jameson had the chassis delivered
to Dodd, or so the story goes, the same day that he agreed to purchase the beginning of what
would become known as The Beast.
Dodd now needed a body for his acquisition. He turned to another British company, Fibre
Glass Repairs, well known for constructing bodies for dragsters, for help. They were intrigued
and went to work. The chance to build an oversized Hot Wheel must have been irresistable.

Story continues on page 22

21