We have the pleasure to offer for sale the ex-Barrie Smith, ex-David Purely Danish Grand Prix winning & Targa Florio 1968 Chevron B8.This Chevron B8, chassis DBE-56, is the car British club racer Barrie Smith used to great effect during 1968. Barrie had originally planned in building up a Lotus based Mercury GT, but figured the build was beyond his means, so instead contacted Derek Bennett at Chevron Cars and placed an order for a B8 which was built-up in double quick time. Painted dark blue and fitted with a Vegantune 1600cc Ford Twin-Cam and entered under the Avalon Racing banner, Barrie raced DBE-56 in 23 events in a little over 4 months from June 68 through to early October.He won 8 races outright, including the Danish GP (Chevron's 1st international win!), as well as finishing 2nd nine times, 3rd four times, and taking 15 class wins in the process. He only failed to finish twice, but did win the Tootal GT Championship. Barrie replaced the car for 1969 with another Chevron B8 and sold DBE-56 to David Purley who was moving into the prototype class after previously racing a Cobra in the GT class.Although still competitive in club racing and quick enough, Purley had a somewhat fraught season with the Chevron due to a myriad of engine problems, including two expensive blow-ups which necessitated a switch to a 2000cc BMW unit mid-season. Despite this, he did manage to achieve limited success in the Motoring News GT championship achieving a win at Castle Combe, a 2nd place at Brands Hatch, a 3rd at Mallory Park and 3 class wins. After only racing the B8 twice in 1970 David sold the car to a German racer called Steckther. Steckther only kept the car for a few months giving it to dealer Bobby Howlings who sold it in 1971 - now painted red - to club UK racers Roy Seddon and Peter Raffo.By now though, the B8 was somewhat venerable and outclassed by the newer B16 and B19 models and was only raced half-a-dozen times, including the 71 Targa Florio where the pair managed to finish despite running out of fuel on the far side of the circuit and losing time whilst a local fetched a petrol can and enough fuel for the car to make it back to the pits. DBE-56 then sat unused for the greater part of 1972 until being bought for 850 by British salon car racer Dave Brodie in November of that year. Dave took the car all the way to the Caribbean for a couple of end-of-season races which were offering good start and prize money. Dave won at the South Dakota circuit in Guyana and finished second at Bushy Park in Barbados and then sold the B8 to local rally driver Mike Mahon for 1400. Mahon doesnt appear to have raced the B8 before selling it to another local by the name of Haynes who hid the car in an old chicken shed as he was going to a difficult divorce settlement.In dilapidated shed-condition but with its original chassis and bodywork still showing the 1972 Brodie livery, DBE-56 was brought back to the UK in the early 80ies (exact date unknown) where the Barbados owner was planning to have the car restored for his racing. After some further lingering and realizing he was probably too old to race, DBE-56 was sold in 2007 to then Chevron Director Chris Smith who - with help from H&H's Simon Hope - sold the car to the current UK owner. A full rebuild on a new genuine Chevron chassis was subsequently undertaken by Kelvin Jones and Paul Smallcorn whereby they transferred as many parts as possible from the original car onto the new chassis and installed a 2 liter Lester Owen BMW engine. When the rebuild was finished, DBE-56 made its re-appearance on the (historic) racing scene where it has been looked after by renowned preparer Richard Wallbyoff of RW Racing Services until today.Important to know is that the original remains of DBE-56 including its original chassis (with Arch frame number), chassis plate, seat, fuel tank, body work and dash top panel remain with the car and have been authenticated by Tim Colman of Chevron Heritage Ltd who has also issued a Certificate of Authenticity for DBE-56.This exceptional Chevron B8 is sold in excellent, race-ready condition with a current FIA HTP and good spares including wheels and silenced exhaust. The Lester Owen BMW engine has only 6 hours running. It only needs a fire extinguisher update and new belts which the seller will be happy to provide. Last but not least, DBE-56 also comes with an extensive (200+ pages) history file.This is a rare opportunity to buy an historically significant Chevron B8 with a clean and proven 5 star race record which is ready to be enjoyed by its new owner in any of the many historic races it is eligible for.   ... For more information please visit www.rmd.be.