So ~ Production started again in a larger factory dedicated to building Piper cars
Brian took over the controls for production of the Piper GTT
T as in two as the new revised GT cars were now being called
Brian's own GTT was highly modified and would feature as the company demonstrator
with a personal registration number and finished off in Brian's racing colours
Production continued and the future looked good for the small company
but remember that we are back in the late 1960's
and regular Ford strikes were causing problems with the supply of parts
and this often slowed down the production and affected sales
Piper's were not prepared to compromise the design and look else where for parts
as other companies had done just to keep production running
The power from a Piper tuned Ford engine was a good balance
with the low weight of the cars body and chassis parts
With the engine sat well back in the chassis and the very firm ride
it would drive like a race car ~ just as it was designed to be ~ but on the road
George and Bob continued to keep a link between the two company's
and the Piper road cars were fitted with Piper modified cylinder heads and camshafts
for the Ford Cortina 1600 GT engine that was fitted as standard
and as part of the option list any degree of road or race tuning was offered
The cars were only made to order and they were all hand built to the customers requirements
and were available in any cellulose colour at no extra cost
and often cars were paid for gradually as the work progressed
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Orders continued to come in and Piper GTT prices started at £1355
at last it was all going rather well for the small company
But then it took a sudden turn for the worse with Brian's tragic death
while driving along the notorious three lane stretch of the A 20 near Brands Hatch
on the 18th December 1969
This affected the car production and finished the racing program for Piper
which was a huge financial burden to the company but had supplied the much needed racing promotion
People expected this to finish off the company which carried on for a time with Brian's widow
but sales of cars slowed down because of the uncertainty ahead
and this all proved to be too much of a burden and the small company was wound up
Bill Atkinson and Tony Waller were Piper employees as works manager and company secretary
Tony was already working with Brian when they became involved with Piper Cars
and Bill started as a customer with his first GTT and then he was offered a job with them
seeing problems ahead they had formed their own company called Emmbrook Engineering
With an uncertain future they were determined to keep the team together
and struggled through for a while with secondhand sales and servicing
and after a time they re-started Piper production in the same factory
Bill's second GTT now became the company demonstrator and journalist road test vehicle
already highly tuned it would be used to test any new ideas that came about
it soon clocked up a high mileage and needed a respray into metallic purple ~ very 1970's
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Following a couple of good magazine reports car orders and production was going well
and a bold move was needed to secure the future for the company
Looking forward they re-worked the car visually and mechanically
but still keeping its original clean racy Tony Hilder styling
The result was the new and very much improved
lengthened and strengthened Piper and it was called the Phase Two ~ P2
Six inches was added to the length of a P2 at the bulkhead
Most at the footwells and with the addition of an adjustable pedal box
and some in the engine bay in front of the engine
A new low profile sun roof was introduced with a shallow dash facing panel
all aimed at giving more headroom and legroom to the wide but squat cockpit area
Changes were made to the chassis with added outriggers on the backbone
and extra cross bracing added to stiffen up the open areas of engine bay
Seat belt anchor points were added to the chassis to replace plates in the GRP
In 1971 Piper P2 prices started at £1530
Piper production was up and running again but so were the Ford strikes
and the quiet times were spent developing the P2 and improving a few points
The rear suspension was changed to give more wheel travel and a smoother ride
and the rear axle was changed from Cortina GT to that of the 3 ltr. Capri
the object of this was to use less revs at speed on the new motorways and a quieter cockpit
Other safety conscious changes were made that included a collapsible steering column
complete with a security lock and anti burst door locks from the Ford parts supply
A cosmetic change of wheel rim style was made from Firestone to Midland Metallic
and they even added the luxury of a fuel gauge for the twin tanks
Two cars were made with the 2 ltr. OHC Ford engine
One for Bill as a factory prototype and the other for a customer
but all the other new owners stayed with the tuned 1600GT cross-flow
that was now being fitted by Fords into the Mexico Escort
In house designs were considered for a new rear engined supercar
but with the necessary crash testing requirements soon coming into force
it was considered safer to stay with the tried and tested P2
To comply with the new lighting height regulations
the head lights were changed to a pop-up operation
this gave the P2 a new modern look and a smooth and cleaner front end
mouse over the head light pics
A move was made to a new factory in Lincolnshire in 1973
and with the purchase tax concessions no longer applying
the last few cars were built to a very high standard
With higher fuel prices and the introduction of VAT and the effects of the three day working week
car orders slowed and Emmbrook Engineering also took in other peoples fibre glass work
The last Piper Phase Two chassis number 92 left the factory early in 1974
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