VIN: the Bob Dickson Aston Martin DB3 chassis 6
History of chassis DB3/6
Whereas the five DB3s raced in 1952 had been reserved strictly for works use, a second batch was later sold to customers.
The five customer DB3s were built in early 1953 as the works team moved on to the new DB3S.
Chassis numbers for the DB3 customer cars ranged from 6 through 10.
Chassis 6 was ordered by Bob Dickson of Carlisle and registered FHH 534 in June 1953.
By this time, Dickson had already contested his first race with the car; he placed eighth overall in the Ulster Handicap at Dundrod on May 16th.
Like so many gentleman drivers, Bob Dickson used his car for a variety of exploits to include road races, hillclimbs and closed circuit events.
1953’s highlight was the Dundrod Tourist Trophy (round six of the inaugural World Sportscar Championship) where Dickson and Desmond Titterington finished fifth overall and fourth in class.
For reasons unknown, on September 26th, chassis 6 failed to start either of the races it had been entered for at Goodwood. By the time it appeared again, the car was looking quite different...
Entered by its new owner, Robert Dennis, for a Sports car race at Goodwood on August 21st 1954,, chassis 6 had been fitted with a DB3S-style body and the unique hard top used by chassis 1 at Le Mans in 1952. The car also now had a Jaguar C-type engine installed. These modifications had been carried out by Emeryson in Twickenham.
Between August 1954 and the car’s next appearance at Goodwood in April 1955, chassis 6 was further altered with a lengthened nose and covered headlights. In this configuration, the car raced once in 1955 and a half dozen times in 1956.
Thereafter, chassis 6 was used exclusively as a road car.
Over the next ten years, it was bizarrely modified but, by 1965, the bastardised Emeryson shell had been replaced with bodywork from a DBR1. This remained in place until 1975.
14 years later, the naked and drivetrain-less chassis was sold by Christie’s at Beaulieu for £185,000.
Notable History
Bob Dickson, Carlisle (Border Reivers)
16/05/1953 IND Ulster Handicap, Dundrod (R. Dickson) 8th oa (#6)
06/1952 registered FHH 534
18/06/1953 IND British Empire Trophy, Douglas (R. Dickson) 12th oa, 6th S2.6+ class (#43)
27/06/1953 IND Bo'ness Hillclimb (R. Dickson) 1st S3.0 class (#??)
04/07/1953 IND Rest and be Thankful Hillclimb, Argyll (R. Dickson) 1st in class (#??)
18/07/1953 IND British GP Sports Car Race, Silverstone (R. Dickson) DNF (#21)
05/09/1953 WSC Dundrod Tourist Trophy (R. Dickson / D. Titterington) 5th oa, 4th S3.0 class (#21)
26/09/1953 IND Goodwood International Sport (R. Dickson) DNS (#67)
26/09/1953 IND Goodwood International Handicap (R. Dickson) DNS (#67)
Sold to Robert Dennis
Fitted by Emeryson with modified DB3S-style body and Jaguar engine
21/08/1954 IND Goodwood Sports (R. Dennis) 6th oa (#107)
Nose lengthened and covered headlights fitted
12/04/1955 IND Goodwood Easter (R. Dennis) 12th oa (#87)
21/04/1956 IND Aintree 200 (G. Richardson) DNF (#30)
08/09/1956 IND Goodwood Trophy Sports (G. Richardson) DNF (#17)
08/09/1956 IND Goodwood Trophy Handicap (G. Richardson) ran (#17)
16/09/1956 IND Mallory Park (G. Richardson) 2nd oa (#97)
22/09/1956 IND Goodwood Sports (G. Richardson) 3rd oa (#42)
22/09/1956 IND Goodwood Handicap (G. Richardson) 2nd oa (#42)
Later registered NV 64 and 778 RPH
1989 sold by Christie’s minus body and drivetrain
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Aston Martin - https://www.astonmartin.com
