Spare_Parts_1999_04_OCR

Ron Stroud - Easter 2000
To the Bay and Back
Dave Pattie on New Classic Meet.
On the Cover:
"Killer Whales"
Seepage 34
The Magazine of the
Constructors Car Club Inc
April 1999
Issue 3 Volume 12
Club Officials
In This Issue
President
Grant Major
Secretary
Patrick Harlow
Treasurer
Brian Robinson
Club Meetings
The Constructors Car Club Inc meets at
7.30pm on the second Tuesday of each
month at The Vintage Car Club, 3 Halford
Place, Petone (Eastern end of Jackson
Street)
Prospective members or others interested
in building their own cars are welcome to
attend. (The club does request a donation
of $2 towards running the meeting.)
Meetings generally include a guest speaker
or demonstration followed by general
discussion and supper.
Coming Events ....................................
Meeting Minutes - March 1999..........
Technical Committee Minutes ............
Tri-Via .................................................
President's Trip Report .......................
Ramblings of Barstool ........................
E-mail addresses .................................
Presidents Cup Points .........................
Who's - Who - April 1999 ...................
Club Captain's Report - March ..........
Motorkhana Results ............................
Kit Cars ................................................
Monthly Quiz .......................................
To the Bay and Back ...........................
MG Car Classic ...................................
Easter 2000 ..........................................
Tall Racing ..........................................
Back Two Pages ..................................
2
3
7
8
11
15
20
21
22
24
27
28
32
34
37
38
39
43
Club Correspondence to: Typesetting, graphics and
Editor
Alan Stott
Ph & Fax: (04) 528 7203
The Secretary
Constructors Car Club
Box 45-064
Epuni, Lower Hutt
printing by:
NSServices
Silverstream, Upper Hutt
Ph 8l. Fax: (04) 528-5056
e-mail:[email protected]
Meeting Minutes 9 March 1999
Coming Events
will be along to tell us all about chrome and
other metal platings. Be there and find out if
what you thought is really right, ie should you
plate suspension parts etc etc.
Tuesday 13 April Club Night
It's here again. It seems like only a couple of
months since last time - but no - tonight is
AGM night one year and one day since the
last one. The Constructors Car Club (your Plus
club) is one of the top car clubs in New
Zealand so vote wisely - stand yourself (or One or may be two, yet unseen club cars Hey! hey! four weeks away today!
both) and keep it that way.
(PS We are also still working on getting the
Plus
famous international racing driver)
Speaker for the night, motor journalist and all
round car man Bernard Carpenter.
Sunday 16 May Event
Plus
You have never been on an event like this - a
photo tour - camera - film - instructions plus a
Well perhaps not. We had our planned April
memento of the day all supplied - don't miss
car last month, the TVR Griffith, so lets hope
it, a day for your family (plus the dog if you
that our 'car selector man' has re-selected
wish) to enjoy. Four weeks and five days away,
another tintilatiing machine for our delight. Hey
but don't worry you'll get a call!
who cares! Its always a great night.
PS It's a Costin point event as well.
Sunday 18 April Event
A Costin Cup points event. Our Patrick's
Garage Tour. Pat will give all the details
tonight, but basically 1 pm departure from
Johnsonville's Bucket Tree Restaurant. It
doesn't need to be said really but any garage
tour by Patrick is well worth going on, so join
in.
Tuesday 8 June - Club Night
This should be a fascinating night with a
speaker who has owned many unusual cars,
including five in his garage today. Yet to be
confirmed.
Next Committee Meeting
Dave Clout's House 7.30pm Tue 20 April
Tuesday 11 May Club Night
Car enthusiast - car club man and chromeplating expert- 'Valley Platers' Steve Roberts
3 Dominica Crescent, Grenada Village,
Granada
President, Grant Major,
Secretary: Patrick Harlow
March; M Boven, D Clout, P Harlow
Iso Griffo, B Hanarae -Aston Martin
Apologies:
Technical Committee Report:
Ron Lowe, John Bell, Ken Grace
Previous Minutes:
Currently we are having problems retaining
our rights to certify cars as this now is not
done by LVVTA but by Motorsafe. It may now
require a cost of $300-00 per certifier and then
we will have to audited each year by LTSA.
We intend to get some of our members
certified as soon as possible. Liability
insurance will continue until the end of June.
At this stage there are still a lot of issues that
are still up in the air but the tech. Committee
are working on it. On that note the next Tech.
Committee meeting will occur in two weeks
time at John Manders place.
Accepted
Build Checks DONE; Andrew Worth ..
Correspondence:
WAITING; Ian Macrae plus two rechecks
Periodicals; Sportscar Talk, Petrol head,
American Iron
Buy, Sell or Swap:
Visitors:
Julian Parson =>
Julian has recently
purchased a Fraser 7 and came along to see
what the club is all about.
Roger O'Brien => Roger currently owns a
couple of genuine Lotus's or is that Lotai. He
also owns a Clan Crusader which he is
currently in the process of rebuilding.
Letters; Jaguar Car race day was confirmed..
Sell; Club Sweatshirt; New sweatshirts have
arrived. Those who ordered them should pick
them up off John Bell.
Previous Events Report:
10 Year Profile Books; These were now
Napier Run; This was an awesome weekend. available to those who had ordered them at a
Those that went away missed the rain deluge cost of $20-00. A bonus was that over half
that Wellington experienced completely. the pages are in colour.
Memorable parts were the "Art Deco" themes
on in Napier and Owlkatraz outside Shannon. Ford Fairmont 1987: See David Pattie for more
details.
Coming Events:
1962 Daimler Majestic Major; See Rob West
Trentham Memorial Park '99 Motokhana; for details.
Organisation for this was in hand and two
Cortina Mag Wheels; Patrick Harlow has a
dates have been booked in case of rain.
set of Cortina Ghia mag wheels for sale.
MAG WHEELS
PUNCTURE REPAIRS
BRAKES
WHEEL ALIGNMENT
LUBES
SHOCKS
MUFFLERS
Sat 9am -lpm
MOD - Fri 7.45am - 5.30pm
Spare Parts:
April Magazine is now in hand. Alan has
approached some people and there are still
some on file.
Mystery Car- February;
Right were
John Hill, George Ulyate - De Tomaso
Pantera
2
Wanted: Mallock Chassis Plans; Rob West is
looking for a set of plans for the building of a
Mallock car.
General Business:
Year 2000 Trip; A sheet of paper was passed
around for members to express their interest
but not necessarily their commitment.
3
Raffle:
A set of Mud Flaps and a 10th Anniversary Dodge Viper
was won by John Noys.
Guest Speakers
Michael Todd: TVR Griffith
Michael purchased the car back in 1994 during a trip
to the UK. He also got a chance to visit the TVR factory.
His car is green with a butterscotch leather interior
and fully spec'd.
The TVR that Michael owns is the first car to be
produced by TVR's current owner Peter Wheeler.
Because Peter is six foot this is the first TVR that can
be comfortably driven by a person over 5'10" with out
cutting the top off. Peter intentionally designed the car
without a single straight line to hide the
of
rippling which is a side effect of
building things out of fibreglass. All
the panels scallop into each other as
well and this makes the job of fitting
panels so much easier. The only
panel that requires a bit of care to fit
is the boot lid. The base Griffith when
it was sold was very plain looking
unless the buyer decided to upspec
it. One of the early upgrades that was
necessary but sold as an option was
the handling kit. When Michael
bought his Griffith it was only two
years old yet it had a terrible ride.
TVR Control Center
Michael sent it back to the dealer to
get the handling kit fitted and the difference proud. There was dust every where. Steel
to the ride was nothing short of phenomenal. lying on the floor. Unused moulds sitting
outside in the weather. Basically the factory
The doors of the car are attached directly onto is a gaggle of brick Nissan huts dotted around
the fibreglass with no steel subframe to swing a courtyard with an area for doing
off. Until very recently there were no intrusion suspensions, an area for doing chassis's, an
bars in the door either. Previously they were area for doing bodies and an area for painting
fitted into the sills making kerbs a very safe cars. With all the dust around they must have
object to slide into. Each hood is made and a devil of a time painting the cars. The
fitted individually to the car to ensure a good chassis's are painted not galvanised and do
fit.
have problems with standing the British salty
TVR is basically two divisions with one doing winters. Bodies are all hand laid not sprayed.
cars and the other doing engines. Michael got Also they are painted before they are fitted to
a chance to see the car division first hand and the chassis.
was impressed by the state of the factory. It In the engine division, which is elsewhere,
would have made a backyard mechanic quite
4
they do a lot of work to improve their own The bonnet had been driven over and was
engines as well as others. They build three totally out of shape. Like every project the cost
times as many engines as they do cars which of doing something is governed by how much
is a little known fact. The extra engines go you get outside people to do. If you do
into cars like Morgan and re-engined SD1 everything yourself as Russell did then it is a
Rovers etc. In the average 3.5 VB that TVR relatively cheap job.
send out the door the engine block remains
unchanged but everything else is pure TVR.
Today the Rover engine is only used in the
Chimera with the Griffith getting TVR's own 6
cylinder engine.
In 1994 TVR were building 600 cars per year.
In 199B that figure was 1200 cars produced.
This makes them a bigger than Lotus and
probably Britain's largest native car builder.
.1!\1j
Russell Thompson
The Vintage Car Club rooms have all the
specialist tools for such a project. All you have
to do is find the time. All the panels that
needed new steel to be put had it done with a
gas welder. Although not as good a s a MIG
welder but with a little bit of work with a
hammer you would never know the difference.
The rebuild took six to eight years and has
been finished for a similar time. His car is
pressure lubricated right through and this has
proved to be very reliable. The engine is a 3.4
litre side valve six
TVR Side view
TVR Engine Centre
Russell Thompson:
Standard 6
1929
Dodge
Russell is a fairly recent CCC club member
who has always had a an interest in older cars.
He bought the Standard 6 some years ago
for $200-00 as a heap of parts. The car had
been poorly stored and was very rusted out.
.
When Russell first got the car on the road it
used to overheat frequently. Experts blamed
it on the new fuel but Russell wasn't so sure.
He fitted an extra fan to the radiator but on a
South Island trip he cooked the motor. When
he borrowed a radiator off a friend the problem
went away and it turned out that Russell had
originally been given the wrong radiator.
Another unique thing about his car is that it
has mechanical brakes where as the delux
model of his era had the hydraulic brakes.
Russell has never had any problems with
these brakes and they always stop in an
adequate manner.
5
Technical Committee Minutes March 1999
Continued from page 5
Dodge started off making bikes and then with
the birth of the motorcar they started making
motors for Ford and had a 10% share holding
in Ford Motors. In 1914 Ford bought out
Dodge and Dodge decided to begin making
his own cars.
Present
J Mander P Derby
G Major
D Clout
.4>~
~b4
~~
~
~
~
~
NEW&USED PARTS
o Engine Parts
0 Radiators
o Suspension Parts 0 Oil Packs
() Gearboxes
o Mitrors
o .Diesel Engines
o Petrol Engines
o [Guaranteed &
0 All Body Panels
0 Headlights
0 Taillights
Tested)
0 Batteries
o Rear Spoilers
0 CV Joints
Q Brake Parts
0 Tools
o Tyres New &UsedQ Clutch Sets
o Wheel Trims
0 Accessories
o MagWheeJs
WN5685989
Fax WN 568 5979
6
D Pattie
Apologies
P Wilcock M Boven
Dodge Engine Centre
R Hoare
B Worboys
T Hutchinson A Price
J Bell
sources of assistance to be investigated are
Motor Safe, LVVTA and NZHRA.
LVVTA and scrutineering
A personal letter from Tony Johnson
(employee of LVVTA, formerly of NZHRAI
Vehicle Certification Ltd.) was tabled,
providing an explanation of the current
position in regard to reapplying for authority
to certify new vehicles. This encouraged
existing certifiers to persevere and apply
forthwith, with suggestion that LVVTA and
NZHRA can be expected to individually or
jointly provide ongoing support.
G Major presented approval from the club
committee for the technical committee to
determine the appropriate action, and commit
to the application fees as appropriate. The
number of scrutineers (and consequent
applications) was discussed. It was resolved
that the club forward applications in three
names, closely paralleling the existing
situation with three 'signatories' being
recognised by NZHRA. Discussion agreed
on R Hoare, T Hutchinson and A Price.
Other business
Andrew Worth has completed a re-scrut of the
drive test, and passed. Paperwork to be
completed, and is subject to completion of at
least one of the above certifier applications.
The detail of the scrut check was discussed
for general information. It was again noted
that the practice of crack-testing critical
components, particularly front stub axle
assemblies, be strongly recommended as
standard practice to builders.
This detail, along with other scrutineering
practices, require documenting. Such
documentation and revision of the build
manual will be completed in conjunction with
the quality management program.
The fee levied on repeat scrutineering checks
was discussed. It was resolved that an
additional fee is appropriate, but only in order
to cover any additional costs to the club. Such
costs are normally limited to the travel
It was agreed that the applications be made reimbursement of the scrutineers, at $10
with all speed, as later application may face each. The currently pending repeat drive tests
greater obstacles for acceptance and will consequently recover the $20 due to the
authorisation.
two scrutineers involved.
For application it was. noted that 'Warrant of
Fitness' standard garage premises and
equipment is required. Access to suitable
premises and equipment is acceptable. It was
resolved that the club seek access to such
facilities through existing contacts.
It was suggested that a scrutineering check
be conduct as a club event at some time, for
the general information of club members on
the processes involved. A future visit to a
testing station would be of similar informative
benefit. These points are for further
consideration.
For later attention, the club will need to
implement an acceptable quality management Current scrutineerings pending are I Macrae
program, to be in place by 1 Jan 2000 and to for his Almac, B Worboys, with R Lowe and B
the satisfaction of Motor Safe. Possible Scott to follow soon.
7
TRI-VIA - April 1999
John Bell
Good news, bad news, and frustration. Bad
news, have developed a nerve disfunction
which has left me a bit of a cripple. Joining
Patrick's third leg brigade.
Good news, Trivia is few tentative 50 metre
advances up the drive (gravity reverse)
indicated that most bits and pieces were
working OK so suggested to No.2 son, Sandy,
that a trip round the block might be
considered. While muttering "take it easy" he
was off. In no time he had circuited the block
with a grin from ear to ear. Several more
circuits followed with emphasis on steering
stability and brakes. Both satisfactory. Being
a Sunday and with the exhaust noise a bit
excessive a number of neighbours shared the
excitement, finally managed to get a turn and
in spite of bumbling feet was thrilled with the
experience. Spring rates needed a bit of
adjusting - back too soft and front too firm.
Both being motor cycle type adjustments were
easily made. Cornering was stable with very
little roll. However I reckon care will be
necessary if the roads are wet. The exercise
was terminated when Sandy ran out of petrol.
appeared to involve reverse it is probably just
as well. I'm not sure why none of the
succeeding events included a reverse phase
but I rather think it might have been for my
benefit. Thanks Dave. I was thrilled with the
way Tri-Via performed. Body-roll almost
non-existent and jolly good directional stability.
Couldn't have done better if I had tried to
design it that way. Brakes need a bit of
attention. Premature rear wheel locking and
pulling a bit right. Looking forward to seeing
how times compared. Thanks for a great day
Dave. When's the next event?
Epoxy and Polyester Powder Coating
Specialists
Automotive componentry, wheels, chassis,
suspension, both old and new our speciality
I applaud Patrick's production of the 10 year
Anniversary Profile Book. Worth every cent
of its $20 cost.
In my last article I mentioned a vacuum
cleaner attachment to facilitate brake
bleeding. Well it worked a treat. Picture a
sleeve to fit over the end of the vc hose. A
length of brake pipe welded to a plate which
in turn was welded to the end of the sleeve.
Alongside the brake pipe is a 10mm hole. A
500mm length of plastic tube connects the
the brake pipe to the appropriate bleed nipple.
We decided that participation in the Grass Switch on vc, finger over hole in the sleeve.
Motorkana would be a natural follow on so When fluid appears in the plastic tube off with
borrowed a trailer big enough to carry a tank the finger lock the bleed nipple and use a toe
and off we went. Events were under way when to switch off vc. It would be a lot easier with
we got there so we missed some but as they three hands. Its available to anyone who wants
to borrow it.
TYRES
PUNCTURE REPAIRS
MAG WHEELS
WHEEL ALIGNMENT
BRAKES
LUBES
MUFFLERS
SHOCKS
Sat 9am -lpm
Mon - Fri 7.45am - 5.30pm
8
POWDER COATING JERVICEf LTD
.r
Zinc and Iron Phosphate pre-treatment for superior
adhesion and corrosion resistance
.r
Chemical Stripping Service
.r
Sand Blasting Service
Contact Jim Longstaff or Dave Beazer
51 Port Road
Seaview
LOWER HUTI
Phone/Fax (04) 939 2222
After Hours (04) 564 3943 or
021680165 (Dave)
9
Presidents Trip Report, continued (6)
We are in Italy. Milan, on the outskirts, in the of the body, finishing as a spoiler on the boot
suburb Arese. Inside the grounds of the Alfa deck at the rear. The cabin is squat on top of
Romeo factory, in a modern multi-storey the form of the body, with the roof and pillars
building behind the larger administration black with dark glasswork. Small quartz
building.
headlights, three on each side stare piercingly
straight
ahead.
This is the Alfa Romeo Museo, it is 11 :30am,
Almac Cars
P.O. Box 40483
Nicolaus Street
ALMAC
CARS
UPPER HUTT
Tel/Fax: 04 528 8680
Contact: Alex McDonald for Brochure
4 Wheel filignment
Steering &0 $aspension Specialist
Shock fibsorber Testing Sales find Service
Brakes &0 Exhaust SeNicing
Race Car $aspension
Design &0 Fabrication
62 Victoria Street
Lower HuH
Ph: 04 587 0015
10
and we have the second half of the museum The adjacent sign declares the Proteo, in
to look through before they close for lunch at Italian, to have been built in 1991 and to have
12:30pm.
won the premier Car Design (quarterly
We continue downstairs, having come through magazine) award 1992.
the main entrance on an upper level, and we But wait, there's more ...
follow a chronological progression of the
marque. From vehicle to vehicle we see the The Proteo sitting just inside the door of this
evolution. Tyres become smaller, mudguards annex room is the advertising the special
integrate with the bodywork, roof heights nature of this corner of the collection.
lower, and ground clearance reduces.
This room is the residence of the show cars.
The
ten parks in this room are a collection of
There is still a common flavour though. The
diamonds.
obvious things provide evidence of this flavour.
The badge, the insignia of the company Exit stage right into my psyche. I love style. I
remains the same. And the trade-mark grille adore the unique nature of the show car. I
is retained, plastered on the front of each am building a car for myself to satisfy this
vehicle in one form or another, always shield passion. There is something about the
shaped, pointed at the bottom.
uncompromised style of a concept car.
But it is the less obvious as well. The stance. No sensible hinged doors. Gull-wings with
The balance of the car. The weight. The wide sills on a car with 4 inches ground
feeling that is conveyed be the appearance, clearance, where you have to just about squat
the form. The similarity of parents to children. to fall backwards over the sill into the bucket
Not the same, but definitely related.
seat, which itself jabs into your hips
And arriving on the lowest level there is a unforgivingly until you align yourself with the
vehicle that is the teenager of the family. car and face forward.
Modern, sleek, the strength of exuberant
youth.
No sensible upright windscreens. No, we can
lean the windscreen back further than that.
Who cares about the cost of glass? This is a
one off, not a committee compromise between
the stylists, the engineers and the beancounters. Five dollars saved on a million units
is more money than I will ever hold in my
hands at one time. But the stunning go faster
looks of that one off I can aspire too, and damn
the expense for that one unit.
It catches my eye immediately, and it speaks
directly to my mind. It says 'I am not a
production vehicle'. This is the Proteo, a
bronze coloured convertible. It bears a
resemblance to the current Alfa Spyder, yet it
is tougher, meaner, heavier, faster. Its flanks
bulge over the wheel arches, suggesting
scarcely concealed power. It has a bluff front
end, and a complimentary compact tall rear I have liked cars all my life. In my childhood I
end. A feature line slants sharply up the side collected Matchbox toys. In my teenage years
11
I collected car magazines. And
formed the habits of a lifetime. I
scoured the magazine for pictures
of different cars. Vehicles with
style, finesse, that special
something.
I have formed the opinion that we
become somewhat fixated on the
things that appeal to us but seem
unobtainable while we are in our
youth. I see that the market for
MG replicas is passing, as that generation
have grown up, and having reached a point
where their middle age allows them to satisfy
the youthful desire, they have bought their kits
and built them. The Cobra generation is also
passing I think. What will be the popular
replica for the next generation, I wonder?
There seem to be few cars that really stand
out from the crowd. Name a model of Ferrari
that really stands out from the rest of the
stable. Even the Lamborghini Diablo does not
seem to command the respect of the earlier
Countach. And it also seems that most are
produced in such numbers that there is little
need to build a replica, when a good
inexpensive used vehicle should be available.
Who would build a 911 replica these days?
louvers allowing the top edge of the
grille to be lower (by half a
headlight).
Carabo
disappointed. Because the best of their work
is here! In the Alfa Romeo Museo!!
I had not realised, but Bertone had completed
several concept cars for Alfa, based on the
then current Alfa mechanicals as fully running
vehicles (the best type of prototype). They
had even completed a couple of projects off
their own bat, to raise interest in their company
and their styling talent, and had obtained the
blessing of Alfa to use Alfa mechnicals and
badging to give the vehicle an identity.
Okay, so the Ferrari Rainbow, with its wedge
body and electronic targa roof (which
mechanically stowed behind the two
passengers seats) and the Jaguar Ascot
saloon of that era were not present.
But prototypes. They are special. My teenage But those that were - wow!
years were the 70's. And they were a time of
The Cuneo, the definitive wedge, open top
show-cars. They set my fixation. The
two-seater rear engined.
evolution of the wedge, style and form
dominating over the mundane needs of The Montreal Expo, a show-car version of the
practicality and functionality.
production Montreal, the most conventional
car in the room, headlights half-covered with
Italian style. Bertone dominated the showcar scene. Pinninfarina and Ghia
struggled to produce forms that
were new, different and
harmonious. Bertone had some
failures, but more successes.
If I could have visited anywhere in
Italy, I would have liked to visit
Bertone, in the hopes that they
might have retained a collection
of their work for public inspection.
But I would have been
12
33.2
The Carabo. My second most
favorite. Uncompromising wedge
nose. Panels facetted like the
interlocking sections of a tortoise
shell. The same impression is
clearly conveyed. Metallic bottle
green over charcoal grey, with a
Author alongside No 1 - Navajo
signature fluorescent orange band
on the leading edge of the nose. Mirror gold thighs, oops, I mean flanks. Scalloped, oval
glass, an innovation trying a technology for shaped wheel arches. The tail kicked up just
a little, rear end mechanicals showing.
chemically toughening the glass.
Beautiful.
The next space regrettably empty, the car out
The Alfetta Spyder, 1972. The nose cone on
on loan. The name escapes me now.
this looks like a single piece rubber mOUlding.
The Caimano. Silver. Simple two seater form
Wide and narrow, with rectangular slots
from the window line down (imagine a series
framing the central traditional Alfa grille, all
one RX7). Above the glass line, A large
formed in matt black. If I remember rightly,
triangular C-pillar, with triangular window
this one has a targa top, with fixed B-pillar
inset, supporting a cross-member forming a
rollbar hoop like a section of a former roof one
roll bar. And the feature, the side-glass,
with the rest of the body, and a fabric rear
windscreen and roof back to the roll bar are a
roof (a la Sabre) which fills the space behind
single sheet of glass, and elongated bubble.
the rollbar.
(Remember to take that no-excess glass cover
on your insurance policy!)
And the Navajo. My number one. This car is
fantastic. Low. Wide. Square. Like a silver
The Eagle. An Alfa
two door sports
wearing American
sportscar styling.
Square, chunky. An
interesting
broad
swept-back B-pillar
with roll bar, with the
profile of an aeroplane
tail.
The 33.2. Gorgeous.
Yellow. Bubble roofed.
I'm sure Bertone did a
similar treatment on a
Ferrari. This one looks
like a race car. This car
has a woman's body.
Curved,
shapely,
smoothly rounded
Navajo
13
block that has been cut along its length to form
a taper, then had the edges mitered. It is
square and flat sided. But the roof is a broad
ribbon that starts at the front of the bonnet
and rises in a flat plane to the upper edge of
the windscreen, and then rolls over the top to
dip and flick up again at the rear. The side
windows are long rectangles, the upper edges
curved upward to meet the roofline, the front
corner cutting deep into the windscreen. A
huge spoiler, at the height of the roof
dominates the rear, with large flat panels
supporting the outside edges. The rear
wheels are half covered with spats.
as the front grille. The chisel shaped spoiler
hanging from the front edge is adjustable; it
descends out of the bodywork for high speed
driving, and can be retracted for round town
use. The interior continues the theme with
steely grey trim, detailed with bright orange.
The steering wheel has a single spoke,
pointing down in the straight-ahead position,
with a cluster of digital (innovative for 1976)
graphical instrumentation behind.
I love this car. This filled the pages of a car
magazine of the time, that I poured over
repeatedly, and built dreams of owning and
driving a similarly stunning car myself one day.
I still have the magazine, and I still have the
dream.
The headlights are hidden, the pop-up
mechanism working sideways, delivering the
lights out of the heavily mitered front corners
I had not expected to see this car. If I could
of the car. The silver bodywork is
have wished to see any car I wanted to, this
complimented with dark tinted glass, and
would have been it. Six weeks overseas was
brilliant orange detailing, including the orange
just fine, however one hour in a room full of
stripe that fills the waistband groove down the
my dreams was magic.
side of the car, and cross the nose of the car
FRASER CARS
MEMBER COMPONENT CAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF NZ
(Inc)
1/2 Kahika Rd, Beachhaven, Box 34610, Auckland 10, New Zealand
Telephone (09) 482-0071
Fax: (09) 482-0516
14
, RAAlDflNGS()FA JA'AYEl-AlIA'lJEP DARST()()f
New Zealand I am told was pushed up from under the sea by movement
of the earth's crust some millions of years ago. The composition of the
land so created consisted largely of a rock type now known as Schist.
There are also some hard bits, known as granite.
So here we are at the beginning of a short saga which I shall call:-
"ATRIP ON SCHIST"
I have always been told that the schist on the
South Island is easier on the eye than the schist
of the North Island. Being by nature a sceptic I
decided to go and see for myself. I really wanted
to know if it was a lot of schist or not.
pancake rocks, the Heron roost, Franz Joseph
Glacier, Fox Glacier and a dozen or so places
in between was quite pleasant. Stops at
Shantytown and the Hokitika aquarium are also
recommended. Don't pat the cat at Shantytown,
he bites. The schist on this ssction of the trip is
I went by the usual means, a ferry for those
quite spectacular where it has been left.ft is
who don't know, and after finding my bearings
covered with tall timber, small timber and
at Picton headed westwards to Nelson and
shrubbery that were here before man. There
eventually points beyond, where Motueka
are also some trees brought here by man.
beckoned as a safe haven for the night.So far
Where the glaciers have worn away the schist,
what I have been told has been true. The schist
the granite has been left. Most of it is vertical
and what grows on it is definitely prettier.
and goes a long way up, awesome.
Undaunted I moved on the next day and sallied
forth down the mighty Buller Gorge. It was a It was with some reluctance that I left this schist.
litle overcast, but that did not detract from the There was more schist to see, and time was
fact that I was encouraged to drive slower and moving on. So off to Haast, a feed and rest.
slower to be able to appreciate the beauty of
The next day was better, sunshine. So off up
the schist, the trees, the river and all about me.
the road that skirts the Haast river for fifty k's
The river has worn away most of the schist and
or so, and then up and up to the top of the Haast
all that is left is the granite which seems to have
Pass and down into some beautiful valleys
prevented the South Island from being severed
before reaching Lake Wanaka. The schist here
in two. This phenomenon is repeated at several
seems to have been selectively worn as there
other places. So on to Westport where the
are deep valleys, shallow valleys, flat valleys,
schist has parted to let the river out, otherwise
wide valleys and skinny ones. All gouged out
we would have had a big dam instead of the
by ice. If it were not for schist they would not
Buller River.
be.
I quite liked Westport But after a snack I
Across the saddle to Lake Hawea and on down
continued to Cape Foulwind, and then south to
to Wanaka. Had a brief look at the town and
Greymouth where I supped and slept. It is quiet
then out to the aerodrome. First stop was the
down there, most of the time, as the towns two
Transport museum. Took about two hours to
hoons made occasional forays down the main
soak it all in before walking across to the
road with muffferiess cars. I suppose they
warbirds flight centre. Mustang and Yak outside,
thought it made them go faster.
the rest under cover.
The next day dawned slightly overcast, a
smattering of rain was all that eventuated, so Good thing too, for it fair thundered down for
about ten minutes and then took off before
my trip down to Haast via the seal colony, the
15
anyone could say Schist! Well worth the stop
if one is in any way interested in aircraft.
I now sallied forth to the Kawerau River gorge.
This is another example how water can move
schist, but not granite. This gorge is most
amazing. No trees just tufty grass. A deep rift
runs winding through some pretty heavy
schist, lofty on both sides. The river thunders
through the gorge and people ride jet skis up
and down. If you are young and bullet proof
you can ride a toboggan style device towed
behind one the the jet skis. If you are older
and wiser you can walk across the bridge, sit
in the cafe and have coffee and scones. There
are numerous gold mining sites dating from
the 1800's in this gorge. Miners used divers
methods to separate the gold from the schist.
The popular method was to use the water
pressure generated in the gorge to drive water
canon which then scoured the hillsides,
washing down the schist and ore to where
the gold could be extracted. The diggings are
still there as are the houses these miners used
to live in. A trip to the past without a time
machine.
to Milford, passing through schist of all forms.
Most with lovely tall trees, some with rolling
grass, and a little granite to make it interesting.
Milford is a place you never seem to get to, then
all of a sudden you are boxed in by granite. Tall
granite with snow and ice just waiting to fall on
you. Then miraculously there is a hole in the
granite. Throught the hole more surprises. Turn
hard right as you exit or it is straight down. Then
zig and zag a few times before the road is on
the valley floor and the heart rate slows. Then
you are there. A very claustrophobic place for
someone used to wide open spaces. Did not
stay long. Too expensive and a little selective.
When I tried to book on an overnight cruise there
were two seats available, then suddenly there
was a bus with fourteen arriving and no seats
available. How fourteen were going to fit into
two I have no Idea, but I guess two would be
easier to sell than one. Business!!!.
Saw that guy again. Yes it was Barry, all the way
from Upper Hutt. Had a chat and moved on.
Back up the switchback, through the hole, into
the cui de sac and out on to the open spaces
again. Stopped at Grumpy's Backpackers, about
40 minutes short of Te Anau and stayed the
I dallied for an hour or more before heading
night.Room fully serviced, TV etc for a miserly
down to Arrowtown. Booked a room at one of
sum. Good tucker too.
the pubs and went exploring. A truly
fascinating place, Parts of the town seen Back to Te Anau and Manapouri via back roads
unchanged from when it was founded. and then to Brian Taylor at Mossburn. Spent a
Chinese miners homes and parts of them line couple of hours have a gander at his toys.
the riverbank.The chinese were brought to NZ Microlites.
to do the work, were in many cases
Then on to Invercargill.
successful. Their treatment by most of the
townsfolk was to say the least offhand. The Found a holiday park just out of town. Run by a
pub I was staying in has no permanent staff, retired policeman. Hit it off straight away and
so at 2300 hrs everyone left and I had the into the home brew. Great stuff. By the way all
place to myself. Rustic what!
the schist here is flat. Collared two, two litre
containers of methanol from my host who does
Breakfast at 0800 and on the road by 9. Did
a bit of brewing and distilling. Will try the
some shopping before I left and passed a guy
methanol as model fuel. If it works OK, who
in the street. Whats Barry doing here!. He
knows. Met up with friends at Invercargill and
walked right past me. Perhaps not I thought.
spent a couple of nights with them. Played golf
So on to Milford sound via several small
and then started the return journey via the Catlin
places. Stopped at Mossburn to fill up and
hills to Balclutha. Ken [Oshkosh] was not at
enguired about a fellow Oshkosh veteran. Yes
home so left a note. Had also visited Gore and
they said, the aeroplane guy, his farm is back
Mandeville while in the south. Mandeville is the
the way you came, about 2 k's. I pressed on
16
Craggy schist, smooth schist and schist that
looks like smoothed cement plaster. I am told
These guys are something else. If its old and
that if one gets on it and it starts to slide, then
was made of wood they can fix it. That is if it
one is really in the schist.
was an aeroplane. This is 1930 all over again. I
spent over an hour there and only absorbed Got to Mt. Cook, had a gander and then headed
half of what is being done.
back via the airport where I watched a Dash 7
take off. I am glad I was not on it. Heady stuff
On to Dunedin. Still flat schist in the main,but
that mountain flying.
there are a few bumps out to sea, and inland
as I was about to find out the next day. Saw the Through to Pukaki and Tekapo and on to
Castle and Portobello and then went back to Omarama, the gliding capital of the world. This
town to wish Bill O'Brien a happy retirement. places is awesome. McKenzie coutry,
Went shopping the next day and bumped into mountains everywhere, and no wonder the
myoid boss who was on holiday from Taradale. gliding is so good, one can almost see the
Took the Taiere Gorge railway trip the next day. bubbles of hot air rising. Flat as with large
Why anyone would want to have built a railway craggy lumps of schist all round. On down
up that gully I will never know, it took 40 odd through Fairlie to Timaru where I spent the
years to complete, but what scenery. All of it night. Good tucker at a Bistro and a comfortable
schist in one form or another. Some vertical, bed with bagpipes rendering a lullaby.
some over vertical but all of it up and down.
Took an uneventful drive to Christchurch along
Wrought iron viaducts aplenty, one over 40
flat schist. The lumpy stuff was way to the west.
meters tall. Shades of vertigo. Great stuff and
Christchurch was closed. No parking spaces to
another bit of NZR history experienced.
be found though. I have no idea where the
They also have a place of learning in Dunedin. people were. Went to Port Chalmers and did to
Lots of people, some of them probably learning alpine bit {port hills} and then to Brighton where
I kipped in a log cabin.
a lot of schist, or a lot about schist?
site of the Croydon Aeroplane Company.
Back down to Milton and then up a series of
valleys and narrow gaps along the Clutha river.
Past acres of orchards and green pastures. A
land of plenty in a virtual desert. Otago high
country, schist poking up all over the place.
Stopped at Roxburgh and as instructed to by
an ex work mate, played a round of golf among
the lumps of schist sticking up out of the ground.
Interesting game. Lost one ball when it hit a
power pole on the wrong side and shot off into
a bottomless gully.
Left Christchurch on a Monday. Was minding
my own business when I saw a lass run from a
dairy and get into a waiting car. She was in
school gear. The next thing the car is in front of
me. Mum must have been in a hurry to get
wherever she was headed. I managed to avoid
the possible collision and gave mum a piece of
my less attractive mind as I slowly drove by.
I carried on to Rangiora where I tried to make
contact with another Oshkosh fellow. Not at
home so in to Oxford where I nearly met a
On to Alexandra and thence to Cromwell. Still second lady in a desperate hurry. Must be in
in schist and only three k's from the road the water down there. Left Oxford and went
between Wan aka and Arrowtown. Had a peek looking for a golf course. I needed to calm the
around, not much to grab one here. Lots of water nerves. Found a golf course just out of Oxford
and schist.
and stopped for a round. Halfway through I was
buzzed by a Republic of Korea C 130 that I had
Had a good night. Washed to car and left for
seen at Wigram the day before.
Mt. Cook and places north. It's a long haul to
Mt Cook. The Lindis Pass and surroundings are Enjoyed the round and headed for Arthurs Pass.
to say the least impressive. Lots of schist. A fantastic drive. Valleys hills, passes and lots
17
of schist. All shapes. Some with snow on,
some bald. Endless valleys and mountain
passes and then there is Arthurs Pass station.
game.
I stopped because the truck was much bigger
than me. The bit I was stopped on was
cantilevered out from a sheer cliff. It rocked
and rattled while the truck crawled up.
Eventually it was past and I headed off down
a concrete road, one lane wide that was
literally hanging from a cliff. Halfway down and
another truck coming up . Had to pull into a
passing bay to let him by.
Or should that be jinx. The weather was too
rough they told me. It was either the Aratika
or the Aratere. Rough sea I thought. Go on
the big boat, so I waited till 1900 and went on
the new ferry with my fingers crossed.
Discovered that the Lynx had broken down.
Had a very pleasant voyage back to
Wellington. The sea was flat calm as the
barman had said it would be. Arrived at
Wellington at 2130. 2.5 hrs. Quick trip.
Got to Kaikoura and stopped for golf before
going on to the seal colony and taking a walk
Stopped and had a wander. A coal train came along the shore. Booked a room, had a great
in from the coast. Six locos for eight wagons. meal and sacked out. I was bushed. All this
Some load. Drove on towards Otira waiting schist I had traversed was beginning to tell.
with baited breath to see the tunnel. No such The Kaikoura range was clear and clean while
luck. One second there was road, the next it I was at the golf course. At 1800 it persisted
ducked off to the right and then there was down. The next morning the range was
nothing. Finally figured out that I was on covered in snow.
another switchback and managed to stay on
On to Blenheim, Looked up Graham Orphan
the road. Sign said.
from Classic Wings Dowunder but he was out.
Bad luck. Had a wander round Blenheim.
NO STOPPING FALLING ROCKS.
Great bookshop, but sanity prevailed and I did
Adjacent sign said.
not spend up at all. Off to Picton to catch the
Lynx.
STOP FOR ONCOMING TRAFFIC.
It was while I was nervously waiting for a large
boulder to slam on to me that I noticed a
structure being erected behind me. A viaduct
to take cars and trucks and things past the
switchback, past the hanging road and on to
firmer things. It looked a bit droopy to me but
I guess it will perk up once the ends are fitted
and connected to hard schist. It should be an
easy drive in the future. On down to Jacksons
where I turned off on the Lake Brunner road
so as not to retrace my steps on the way south,
and on to Reefton where I stayed the night. A
lovely spot this. Friendly folks and cheap
tucker. Would have stayed for golf the next
day but it looked like rain. On to Kaikoura
through wide valleys and narrow valleys, high
valleys and low valleys. Just awesome. Why I
thought would anyone wantto live in the north
when this is here. My inner self reminded me
that I was in the tail end of summer and that
before coming to a rash conclusion I should
remember that winter was a whole new ball
18
Wellington by night, viewed from the sea is a
sight to behold.
I would like to do the trip again, If I do it will be
the other way round so that I get to see all the
things that were behind me. I will also do it in
a van, take my bicycle and a kayak. It will take
longer but I am sure that it will be more fulfilling
and a darn side cheaper than the last one.
To those members who are contemplating
taking the trip down to Wanaka next year, don't
think about it, make positive plans and DO IT.
If you have never been down south, it will be
a trip of a lifetime. If you have, then approach
it as if it is the first time, that way all will benefit
and have a great time.
FRASER CARS
MEMBER COMPONENT CAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF NZ
(Inc)
1/2 Kahika Rd, Beachhaven, Box 34610, Auckland 10, New Zealand
Telephone (09) 482-0071
Fax: (09) 482-0516
Total Tyre Care Service
New & Used Alloy Wheels
New & Used
Steel Belted Tyres
A Tyre to
Suit Your Budget
045685989
62 Waione St, Petone
Finance available to approved
customers on New Alloy Wheels
Wheel Trims - alloy wheels - new tyres usedtyres
Fitting & Balancing in store
Happy motoring on the schist
The BARSTOOL
19
Club Captains Report for April
Dave Clout
The Grass Motorkhana Sunday March 21 st
a few more of us if he was familiar with the
"Rat". Sandy did well considering the more
Thanks to this amazing spell of weather we unusual nature ofTri-Via - reverse gear would
are having, we were blessed with a fine day- come in handy. We finally found a compromise
started with a few light showers in some parts for him which allowed him to compete on an
of Wellington, and then proceeded to just get even footing - we made him drive a bit further
better. It must have been those first few light to compensate. Dave (let me put my gloves
showers that made some people a bit slow to on) Pattie did his usual good job of having
arrive. I thought it had also affected their vision fun while still putting in a few serious runs as I was the only person to enter our "Picnic more self control than I've got.
Area 2" by the correct gate. It wasn't until later
that I found out that some inconsiderate sod Dave Saxby and Brian Hanaray surprised a
had parked his yuppie 4 wheel drive vehicle few with their times in jappa (okay Dave's is a
across the gate - blocking the sign that clearly Ford/Mazda, but it's still front wheel drive) road
said something to the affect about not doing cars - ABS braking may have to be banned
so. This seemed to throw most peoples in future.
navigating out - either that or they wanted to John "Nomad" Thomson had a few of us
participate in the gravel sprint !! Lucky the wondering at times - kept wandering off, "just
other car club people were tolerant of these going over to the shop", testing his car off
"strays" on their course.
course and to cap it off - stole one of the
We ended up with 15 cars overall, but only
about 9 serious participants. For some reason
people were in a very laid back mood and I
virtually had to threaten them before they
would line up to have a go. Grant took no
coaxing to get his big Caddie out for a go and
went far better than anyone probably expected
- shame Grant couldn't stay longer than his 3
runs, but the grass may have appreciated it that big tank can sure rip up the grass as it
"ploughs" around the turns.
wooden props at one stage.
Alan "coffee mug" Price turned up in his
Marina automatic and is still probably grinning
from ear to ear. Pete Cottier and myself
decided not to try and win this event this time
(everyone needs an excuse) but we did have
fun.
Next time you see Ron Stroud ask him about
the dual throttle controls in his Spyder!! Can't
remember who his passenger was now but
he managed to give them both a bit of
From the result sheet (see page 27) you can excitement - Ron so shaken he sat the rest
see we had a real mix of vehicles with the two of the day out!! Sounds good, better than
most notable being John Bell's "Tri-Via" driven the truth and why spoil a good story with facts,
by his son Sandy and the "Road Rat" of Brian but he parked the Spyder for good safety
Worboys. As has been predicted by many reasons.
people who have seen the "Rat" under
construction, it was always going to be a Mathew Porritt turned up in another Fiat and
contender for motorkhana honours - and it proceeded to quietly go about the courses,
was on this day, even if by a close margin. with his own versions sometimes. Patrick,
However, once Brian gets that gear linkage Patrick, Patrick - turns up late, no note or
refined -look out!! Lucky Phil Derby couldn't apple for the organiser and promptly starts
quite master it or he could have embarrassed posting respectable times and all the while
24
looking so relaxed. My advice Patrick, let me being asked, it made my day so easy. Thanks
stick a sturdy iron bar down thru the centre of also to those who turned up, including the
your exhaust - let that V6 breath, noise is spectators. I was very happy with the site where it's at, and everyone knows it makes no cow shit everywhere, very flat and trees
you go faster - ask any Harley owner. for shade. What more could we ask for - more
Seriously though, the Sabre has shown it is a entrants maybe next year?
serious contender when driven smoothly To cap it all off, the friendly man from the
good to see you there.
Upper Hutt City Council said not to worry
That blue Mini that turned up late in the day, about sowing any grass seed and he hoped
did you see it ? A possible new member. Brian to see us again next year.
Worboys has spoken to him previously
Cheers, "The Ankle Biter".
somewhere and he was keen to have a go.
He actually had to go home and pick up his PS. What did you think of the March issue of
car and come back - talk about keen. I thought the magazine? I enjoyed the great mix of
he was going to bring back an off road vehicle well written articles. Keep it up guys, I enjoyed
he has built. Lets hope he will come along to every page.
one of our meetings this time - nothing like
PSS. How many of you have started on your
new young blood.
"minimum cost vehicle"? I have a motor now
Enough of my waffling, the gist of it all is that for mine and a very rough design sketch of
I think everyone had a good time and I am what I want to build. I hope I won't win by
now looking forward to our next hard seal default - though I doubt it, too many "dark
motorkhana. I thoroughly enjoyed running the horses" in our club for that to happen.
day and thank all those who helped without
CHEVRON SPORTS AND PERFORMANCE CARS
For more information call at or write to:
Chevron Engineering Specialities Ltd
55 Victoria Street Onehunga Auckland
PO BOX 13 571, Onehunga
ph 09 634 3328 fax 09 636 9342
Web page http://www.webdesign.co.nz/chevron
25
~
,....;
~~
Event 1
-
Run I
Oon
"<t'O
,....; '0
on '0
,....;
0000
00
,....; "<t
"<to
o '-'
"'..,0.."
#%*
Run I
34.35
34.10
Run 2
40.41
40.19
40.25
45.12
40.19
Run I
38.87
39.62
38.79
39.16
39.90
39.38
Run 2
55.75
49.41
51.00
46.75
44.06
47.60
Run I
52.78
52.38
56.97
45.44
46.46
46.85
+5
45.09
46.46
Run 2
33.00
+5
44.97
+5
34.43
47.78
34.22
34.69
32.50
47.31
31.03
Run I
44.19
34.28
34.09
32.78
32.37
32.13
32.97
31.62
31.78
32.31
Run 2
26.84
27.97
27.38
24.84
26.78
25.18
26.91
24.93
+5
25.38
25.12
Run I
25.87
26.28
25.82
25.47
25.35
23.75
24.38
+5
24.94
23.50
23.28
Run 2
236.45
230.09
225.82
223.50
215.84
211.07 I
210.96
206.71
206.00
Results
Run 2
35.43
45.59
39.78
49.35
+10
61.00
52.94
35.84
Event 6
31.75
53.12
35.66
42.59
42.40
52.88
50.81
Event 5
33.12
36.59
38.34
43.69
42.16
60.50
50.19
Event 4
34.28
37.40
36.44
45.87
42.88
52.25
Event 3
32.25
43.03
+5
37.64
34.79
+5
40.22
43.72
40.19
Event 2
31.56
+5
34.72
36.69
-
39.16
+5
-
-
-
-
-
42.44
-
-
73.79
-
-
-
-
-
-
36.18
40.31
-
34.50
33.81
-
34.37
29.22
26.28
-
-
26.59
27.47
-
-
35.28
-
:1
~
Z
0::
0
:::J
w
Z
0
I-
w
(f)
C
(!)
ii::
al
u..
«
..J
«
«
J:
:E
0
~
0
>-
I
40.53
35.47
+5
44.78
39.19
+5
37.44
34.78
44.06
+5
74.97
+5
44.59
45.00
+30
-
-
38.28
+5
-
0
0
(ll
.:.::.
c
I
0
>0
z
I(ll
~
~
..J
-
OJ
.....
~
OJ
(ll
()
a:
Qj
'00
0
0
I
-
(ll
a:
0
>~
;;:
(f)
-
~
-
(f)
~
OJ
()
(ll
a:
~
"C
(ll
OJ
-
,
-.J
<:
"::t:
lJ..J
0
~
a:
E2
~
0
C/)
C/)
:3(1)
o ill
oUJ
I
a:
a:
~§
••••
en>-
<.!J
()
~
.~
t5
OJ
W
W
iii
~
:l
(ll
(f)
><
w
~
0
ill
OJ
05
c
.c
"::t:>--
G9
0
()
-
0
OJ
(f)
(f)
()
()
«
(f)
~
Qi
0
0
0
C\J
-
OJ
OJ
C
co
~
I
5
OJ
.c
.l!.l
·s
c
0
en
2
Qj
OJ
en
OJ
E
N
.:.::.
46.22
.~
44.53
(f)
§p-.
~[d
(f)
(f)
ffi0....
u,
iii
'0
(f)
(f)
OJ
c
"§.
en
~
(f)
.c
«
.:.::.
::2:
OJ
()
0
a:
(ll
0
•••••
.c
en
()
en
a sg
Qj
.c
OJ
c..
"iii
~
en
0
g:
§
~
~
~
Q...
iil
::t:
:c:
(3
~
OJ
OJ
:l
Q
~
0
0
0...
c
OJ OJ
= .:;=
.!:
(f)
~ 5
....;c
OJ.c
OJ 0
.l::,
en -
(f)CO
._
<D
~E
E
OJ
iii
I-
(,,)
Road Rat
42.41
(VW 1.6)
Fraser
36.97
(Toyota 2.0) +10
Escort 1.8
34.34
Chicane
+5
Honda 1.8
36.06
Integra
32.65
Road Rat
(VW 1.6)
+5
Leitch 1.6
37.00
(Ford)
Leitch 1.6
36.25
(Toyota)
Tomcat 1.6 35.09
(Ford)
+5
Morris GT
39.44
(Marina)
+15
Tri-Via
(Honda 0.5)
Fiat 128
33.56
(1.3 7)
+10
Porsche
35.44
Spyder 1.6
+10
Mini
998
Sabre 2.3
(Ford V6)
Cadillac
50.75
(Big V8)
+10
Car
Grass Motorkhana Sunday March 21 st - Result Score Sheet
Driver
1 Brian Worboys
2 David Pattie
3 David Saxby
4 Brian Hanaray
5 Philip Derby
6 Dave Clout
7 Peter Cottier
8 John Thomson
9 Alan Price
10 Sandy Bell
11 Mathew Porrit
12 Ron Stroud
13 Miles Jackson
14 Pat Harlow
15 Grant Major
W
U
Z
<
~
0::
0
I.L
0::
W
fl.C
~~
W""
>~
........
... ...J
~o::
Ow
0'"
... Z
::lW
<U
Z
<
Z
Z
W
...J
U
<
~
ill ><
o 0
C')ill
•
t--
C"l
1.0
C"l
CARS KITS & BITS
WHAT? WHY? WHERE? HOW MUCH? GOSSIP & FACTS!!
Left: My undressed Chevron attracting
some attention
( 4AGE Toyota)
From Dave Beazer
FEBRUARY 9 TH CLUB DISPLAY SKITE NIGHT
Well didn't we do well. Big thanks to everyone who turned up and visitors, 200 plus. I must
also mention Grant Major for his support and especially his good lady Robyn who manned
the barbecue all night, many thanks. But we will have to change that next year, and share the
work load.
Below: Justin Wright's Cobra (Trick 350
Chev) who reckons he will finish late this
year and before me, Yeah Yeah!!
A little disappointed that the BF Goodrich Cobra didn't turn up, along with Stevens Motors
and Brendon Foot who were to have a display. Oh well I will just have to invite someone else
next year.
"But didn't we have the best turn out yet!!" I will follow up those Cobra owners that
turned up as some have indicated interest in joining the club.
Of interest we have got possesion of the orignal Saturn video featuring our club night. The
club will pass on a copy at a nominal fee, details next magazine. If you are interested in a
copy you can contact either Patrick Harlow or myself.
Above: Ian Macrae's Special and the equally
impressive Lancia Stratos of the popular Steve
Strain. (Ford 4 cyl & Lancia 2L)
The mighty Heron ofRoy Hoare is getting
close to paint and upholstery and looking
great. (V3000 injected and eventually
supercharged)
Miles Udy's immaculate (small
block Cobra) talking ofjoining the
club', good stuff.
28
Ebony, thefabulous black (big block Ford) Cobra
ofJohn Richardson.
What can I say, One of a number ofvisitors andfeUow club
member from the Palmerston North Clan with no. 10 Saker,
Bruce Turnball no less, nice car/nice fellow. Several versions
apparently have found a home in Japan, (P78 V8/Audi
transa:xle). Yes Pete Cottier, a open version wouldfit in your
garage nicely!!
Right: What can I say, pioneers of the club, the
Honourable Roy Hoare (shame about the legs!!!)
and the TV camera shy Patrick Harlow who
one look at the camera and then scarpered at
1OOmph stick in hand. Frightened that the kids at
school might see you were you Pat ??
Right: The amazing Pete Cottier
rebuilt his AGE and put it back
together backjust in time for club
night, watch this car at the May
Manfield CCC meeting. Will be a
little quicker than last yeah no doubt.
High quality motor car, lookforward
to seeing him build a Saker maybe
soon??
29
Left: Another tidy Ian Macrae Lotus
Seven special (Ford 4 cyl) and our club
captain Dave Clout's nice Leitch (Ford 4
cyl) in the background. Would you
believe this guy did a reverse wheelie in
the gravel in front of the TV cameral I
Right: Mr Fraser of the club, Dave Pattie
(boy racer) with his fabulous Fraser Seven
(2L 3SGE dry sumped). Top car, top guy.
Left:
Visitor John Meikle with his
all out racing Cobra (351 Ford),
impressive car and hopefully another
member soon.
Right:
Above and Below:
"Evidence" Jfyou didn't come you missed a good night.
I was amazed to find out how dumb some people are though. I took at least six phone
calls the next day at work, saw the pre-article in paper and wanted to know what
time and where was the car show.
I not too sure about some of our fellow humans??
The impressive Chevron of the
likeable Colin Young (J3B).
Left: Whatl Mr Bean and Billy
Bunter being interviewed I I Seriously
folks President Grant and Roy did a
very professional presentation of our
club to the TV crew, great stuff. "But
Grant, he said smile, not give him a
cheesy grin II"
30
31
Last Month's Car
Surgeon Generals Warning:
CLASSIC CARS CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR WEALTH
s,cUJl
H.:.!u~ (~
FORD
ISO GRIFFO
(ISO also made the Isetta Bubble Car, later made
under licence by BMW)
1963-1968
Corvettee V8 300-390 bhp
5359cc-6998cc
(A few later cars had Ford motors)
240-275kph 504 made.
a
~
~
This Month's Quiz Car
~
~~
~~~
~.,.~
A
TIlE S\lRGERY
---
f~---
~
'"~
~
NEW & USED PARTS
o Engine Parts
0 Radiators
o Suspension Parts 0 on Packs
.. 0
Gearboxes
o Diesel Engines
o Petrol Engines
o (Guaranteed &.
'..
Please supply the
make, model, and country of origin.
4 Sale
0
Mirrors
Body Panels
Headlights
Tail Lights
Batteries
at Joints
Tools
Clutch Sets
Accessories
0 All
0
0
Tested)
0
0 Rear Spoilers
0
o Brake Parts
0
o Tyres New &. Used 0
o Wheel Trims
0
o Mag Wheels
• RESTORATION. RUST SURGERY. REFINISHING •
PHONE: 04 232 7543
FAX: 04 232 8543
• Quality Craftsmanship maintaining
100 years of family tradition
Triumph Herald Special
Holden 186 motor, steel bodied,
upholstered
The best way to describe is as a very
distant and more modem relation to the
1960's Jeep
Almost ready to drive on the road.
$600-00. Ph: Ted Daunt 04 563-6567
Renault TS 16 Transaxle
Phone Craig Fair
04476-6547 Wk or 04 476-2572 Hm
32
• Professional service for all
restoration and rust surgery
operations
•
Full guarantee on rust repairs
• Approved
•
~
Autolack-Systeme
W
Tectyl
applicator
THE SURGERY
ALL
P LAC E,
WELLINGTON,
NEW
•
TAW A
ZEALAND
PO BOX 50-496, PORIRUA
~
Autolack-Systeme
33
*
I have not always had reason to
feel good about the Ministry of
Transport. (or whatever name
they now go under). But on
Saturday 20 February as
Constructors car club members
gathered at the Ministry's little
used million dollar Plimmerton
Weigh Bridge, watching a motor
cycle club arrive and with the
knowledge that other clubs will
be using the facility as a meeting
place during the weekend, (as
we had done many times before)
I felt a little softer towards this
particular arm of the law.
We were gathering for the CCC's
Napier run. Patrick and Heather
in their much admired blue (or
is really green Pat?) Sabre,
Brian Robinson in his smart
green TG. Grant and Robyn with
little Miss Samantha Major and
Debbie in what a visitor to our
February Skite Night was heard
to exclaim "Man that's better
than sex!" the amazing
Presidential Cadillac, Dave and
Sandra Bray still following the
Teutonic theme with the latest
toy, the very appropriate (it was
heading for 29°) drophead
BMW, plus Pam and I in Pam's
Suzuki Escudo. Pam was due to
have a hip replacement
operation four days later, and
couldn't lower herself into
anything that could vaguely be
described as a 'Club Car'.
Heading north, passing through
the area of dust mud and rocks
that was once the road between
Levin and Shannon and now
looks like the site of a tank battle,
where anything resembling a
34
on the driver's side
running board, the token
effort (very small) door
was on the passenger's
side, and is the entry point
for all four occupants.
Another eye-catcher was
the metallic two tone
purple and silver Graham,
To the Bay and Back
An article by Alan Stott with asides by
Grant Major and Patrick Harlow.
to build them up. It was
interesting to hear that Peter
sells bodies in the USA not on
price (they are expensive) but
on quality. I'm not really a hot
rod person but if the beautiful
street rod standing outside the
factory is typical of the breed I
think I could be converted.
with its sculpt~d a~rflow [Inside were pictures of the five
nose. and guards,. with liberal different hot rods currently in
gar~/s~ of parallel-ll~ed chrome. production. Hanging from the
Napier, something that I had ~ut I~ It art, or~oes It really look ceiling were all the various
read about but had no idea how like It took a bite of the Armco moulds. All the bodies are hand
anyone could change a 1920's barrier? Grant]
laid on the premises. Just inside
design style into a weekend. I
On Saturday night some of the the door is a full scale buck of
now know how, and I'll be back
group went to town. Shops and his next kit hot rap. This is not
next year. To use the language
restaurants, pubs and clubs based on any classic style hot
of the era - it's a hoot! Fabulous,
were all open with jazz bands rod but on his interpretation of
from the huge number of vintage
playing and people dancing in how a modern hot rod would
and veterans cars with their
the streets. As everyone was look. Chrysler have done a
drivers and passengers in 20's
dressed in period style, Robyn similar exercise with their
dress, to old aircraft flying over
said that she felt like a visitor Plymouth but it does not look as
the Bay. Antique shops full of Art
from another time peeping into good as this one. Unfortunately
Deco goods, restaurants and
we were not able to reproduce
a' 20's world'
coffee shops with patrons sitting
photos as it is still undergoing
at tables both inside and outside Sunday morning, a short trip development. Patrick]
on the footpaths in 20's fashions. from our Kennedy Park base to
From the soap box derby to 'Peter Osborne Productions' the Lunch on Sunday was in the cool
breakfast on the beach, 20's well-known and respected Hot of Vidal's vineyard restaurant in
Rod Company who both design Hastings, and then south on a
fever was rampart.
and manufacture hot rod bodies. real driver's road, the winding
[The display of cars at the
They also import from USA Onga Onga back road to
soundshell was largely a vintage
much of the authentic hardware Dannevirke. Following Grant's
car club turnout, with vehicles
from the 20's through to the 40's.
o Bray noted that the boat-tailed
Vauxhall was perhaps the first
one-door vehicle we had
encountered, how would the
tech committee view that? The
Vauxhall bodyshape was a boattail, literally, not just a pointed
rear - the passenger compartment was like a bathtub, rising
not much higher than the hip,
and curving to a rounded point
at the rear, with the body line
rounded and disappearing
under the back seat. Maybe it
was a wide canoe rather than a
Fabulous Street Ford 32
bathtub. And with the spare tyre
Soap Box Derby
Briefing at 'Ow/catraz'
bend is being straightened out,
we arrived just south of Shannon
at 'Owlcatraz'. If you haven't
been there, don't let the name
put you off, it's well worth a visit.
trees. I admit to being a
Philistine when it comes to wine,
but those cheeses! Farm made.
I guess my cheese board lunch
was certainly memorable.
We didn't have time for the full
1Y2 hour tour so we only saw the
owls (Rurus - Moreporks) and
didn't see the world's largest
bull. I never though to ask if it
was alive or stuffed) and all the
other animal highlights, but the
owl section was fascinating, By
then Steve and Carol Strain had
caught up with us in Carol's
trusty TX5, four seats being
needed as the family, Amber and
Christopher, were along with
them. Also waiting for us in their
sporty T Cars were those
enthusiastic Palmerston North
members Les and Bev Howard
and Des and Phyl Symonds.
After our tour and the
complimentary cup of coffee we
were off to the Bay. First stop
Waipukurau and the WETA food
and wine festival which was set
among an avenue of huge Elm
*[The wine and food fair
comprised more than just wine
and food, with entertainment
and handicrafts too. My pick of
the crop was the corrugated iron
sculptures, (See last month's
cover) from the life-size cattlebeast to the chickens, with
rooster and hens. These were
very realistic in size and shape,
and the painted finish brought
them to life. Grant]
The weather was perfect!
The traffic light, and Napier's
Marine Parade seemed to come
up very quickly. Just a shame
that finding a park wasn't the
same. We did find a slot for the
little three door Suzuki, God
knows how Grant found a berth
for the 'Battle Cruiser'!
It was Art Deco weekend at
35
well, I'm sure that Pat is right,
and if not you've got to give the
guy full marks for eating 20 tons
of Kornies.
Wine and Food at the Vineyard
[If I heard right the chap is only
short of three models to
complete his collection of, was
it, 4,500 Matchbox box models.
Remember the days when
metallic paint jobs were new and
special, and model cars in
metallic purple and lime-green
were really groovy? This
collection brought those
memories back too. Grant]
Cadillac for much of this road was
like following a pair of killer whales
as their dorsal fins cut through the
ocean waves, rising and turning
through the countryside. I'm not sure
that I want one Grant, but that
machine of yours looks impressive
when its on the move (2 tons and
20ft, I guess it should!) (I looked it
up). A stop at Dannevirke to view the
thousands of die cast models at
'Dave's Den'. Patrick, our model
expert, tells me that it's a fabulous
collection, but I couldn't help thinking
that most of them looked as if they
had fallen out of Kornies packets. Ah
The fins to follow
next year?
The weekend was over and it
was home across the sunny
Wairarapa to the Hutt Valley.
A great weekend,
thanks Grant, same
time, Napier, next
year?
Fellow campers at Kennedy park in Art Deco gear
36
The MG Car Club announced
a new event, at least I don't
recall one similar before, at
MG Whittakers last November
where they would entice out
the older cars to a historic
racing event. This event took
the form of the Castro I Charity
Classic meeting in March this
year.
uummed and aahhhed about
taking the tin top or changing
the screen so we could have
a roof. Lets have a cup of tea
and think about it.
After another % hour we finally
elected to go, only to get the
car out and for the rain to start
again. Right ... off with the
small screen and on with the
glass air brake, roof, and
doors. With the car kitted up,
and a newly discovered crack
in the screen to watch grow,
we headed off. I think the rain
stopped about Levin but man
was it a bit wet before that - I
think we floated some of the
way.
The eligibility rules were
simple, be pre 1974 (79? - so
simple I cannot remember the
date!) and slower than 1.24".
In addition, the organisers
conducted three invitation
races to attempt to have one
car of every nationality on the
track. These races were for
any speed or age car and
Arrived in the Manawatu to
were handicapped.
glorious, hot, and humid
On a long shot I put my name weather. Roof off and enjoy in never thinking I would get really missed the small screen
chosen - and I didn't. That then. Arrived at the track and
was OK though because Eric found Eric in the stalls next to
Stansfield in his Fraser was Mark from Tyrepower selling
coming from Auckland to hold his Toyos (I have some, they're
up the flag for New Zealand - great). Tried to convince Eric
and Frasers !!
he needed some as his
Hoosiers were very low on
John Cumming and I decided
tread - make that canvas.
to head up to the meeting
anyway to offer our support to The races were set up in time
anyone and everyone, groups and the organisers did
although particularly Eric - I a great job in getting cars of
also threw in my race gear, you equal pace together with close
never know what might and visibly enjoyable racing all
happen to Eric's car. John day. There were all sorts of
came over early on the cars out for a play
Sunday and I had the small representing many makes.
screen on the car. We The A40 Farina was definitely
the eye opener - a car that
strange should not go that fast.
The invitation races - the
match races as they were
known - were equally well
handicapped with mass
finishers in most cases.
Competitors in these included
the Fraser, a Porsche, Monaro,
Torana (ex-Pefer Brock),
Almac Cobra (#162 from our
club night), D Type, TR8, and
a few others that I don't fully
recall. The Torana was
excellently presented and a
great looking car. It also went
fast. In one of the races the
Monaro and Torana both
passed Eric's Fraser on the
intermediate straight - one on
each side. The hands in the air
from Eric said it all. In all, three
of these races were run during
the day with no apparent
mishaps other than the D Type
failing, I think mechanically.
The Almac Cobra proved to be
the scene stealer in the
second two races as he
became quicker and quicker
and the handicappers COUldn't
keep up. The Fraser, best
finish 4th.
John and I travelled home
without the roof after a great
day seeing some older
machinery competing for the
sake of it. A good idea from
the MG Car Club - now where
can I get an old car?
37
EASTER 2000 - SOUTH ISLAND TOUR
Ron Stroud
A couple of weekends ago I drove
up to Taupo and back. Not a bad
trip, the weather was fine and
traffic flowed quite well. But the trip
really reinforced the pleasure of
touring in the South Island. Down
there the roads are good and there
is very little traffic. No idiots
breathing down your neck, and no
slow queues to have to work your
way through. Just cruise along at
your own preferred speed and
enjoy that fantastic scenery.
I was travelling down through the
McKenzie country one winters
evening about 5.00 pm and saw a
young chap hitch hiking. The sun
had gone down, it was starting to
freeze, so I stopped to pick him
up. He explained that he has been
walking for two hours from
Omarama and only two cars had
passed him - both going in the
opposite direction. A couple of
Christmases ago I was driving
down to Invercargill from
Queenstown - a distance around
180 ks. It was early evening about
the 4th of January. Just out of
interest I did a rough count of the
cars I passed or that passed me
in both directions, between
Queenstown and the outskirts of
Invercargill. They numbered 12.
See what I mean.
The scenery of course is the icing
on the cake of the car touring
down south I love the trip down
the east coast to Kaikoura and
beyond. The road is right beside
the sea. It is a rugged coast and if
you stop you can see seals
sunbathing on the rocks.
I mmediately about are the
seaward Kaikouras, snow clad in
winter. The contrast is amazing.
It's a fun drive too with a few slow
corners requiring a bit of gear
swapping, and now and again
darting in and out of short tunnels.
38
Christchurch is a pretty city, well
deserving its reputation of the
garden city. Your wife might enjoy
a gentle punt on the Avon as a
change from dashing around in a
motor car. For me the highlight of
any visit to Christchurch is a visit
to Fazzaz This is a fascinating
establishment part antique shop,
part book shop (new and
second-hand specialising in cars)
and part car sales (classics). It
also has a huge amount of
motoring memorabilia mostly for
sale. I have seen an Allard J2
Ferrari, Aston Martin, Sunbeam
Talbot Darracq, F2 Cooper, SS
Jaguar, BSA Sports, etc.
Something you only see
elsewhere in the Antarctic. I love
to put on some classic music,
Verdi by preference, and blast
through the basin, with mountains
towering majestically above and
lakes flashing past. Sheer
exhilaration. A pleasant place to
relax and enjoy the solitude and
scenery.
It's quite a long way from
Christchurch to Wanaka and a
favourite stopping place for me is
Ohau lodge. This is about a
quarter of an hour off the main
road, tucked into the bush on the
edge of the lake A welcoming
place with very reasonably Priced
A side trip which may be
accommodation.
contemplated is a run to Akaroa.
An interesting drive of about 1 The next point of interest is Lindis
hour, skirting around the base of Pass. This marks the southern
the hills then up a zig zag over the end of the McKenzie basin. A high
top, to drop down into the Akaroa pass but an easy climb. Beyond
harbour. The town is very pretty, this the character of the scenery
right on the harbour's edge and changes. This is central Otago
accommodating many French and the old mining area, schist
colonial style villas. Some nice rock and rosehips. Not far to
coffee houses too. I have met Wanaka nestled beside the Lake
people who have retired there who with snow capped mountains in
reckon that it is New Zealand's the background.
best kept secret.
A short drive down the road to the
Anyway, Back on the road again. airport, from Wanaka to where the
South of Christchurch across the Warbirds exercise takes place,
Canterbury Plains and the and not much further up the
longest, straights you'll ever drive Card rona Valley to the venue for
along in New Zealand. After the Goldrush hill climb. But that's
Ashburton head inland through not all there is to do at Wan aka.
Geraldine, (another pretty town) There are several very attractive
up through "Beautiful Valley", gardens open to the public, some
through Fairlie and then over attractive walks, vineyards to visit
Burkes Pass into the Mckenzie and the internationally famed
Basin. This basin is about 100 k maze complex, and many other
long and 20 k wide, and is unique. features of interest. Take your rod
It is starkly beautiful with little if you are into fishing.
vegetation except tussock, and
bordered by the massive range of Queenstown is about 1 hour away,
the southern Alps. I drove up over it has many more tourist
the pass one winter to be faced attractions. White water rafting, jet
by snow as far as I could see. boat rides, bungy (if you're mad)
a ride up the Gondola to Bobs
Peak high above Queenstown.
Oh, I missed Arrowtown, which is
located on the way to
Queenstown. This is an attraction
all by itself being a very well
preserved old gold mining village,
full of old stone buildings and
colonial cottages. The autumn
colours at this time of the year are
something amazing.
While those that way inclined are
taking in the scenic and historic
pleasures the petrol heads could
take the opportunity to call in to
see Ray Larson who builds D type
and Lister Jag replicas, and
restores Jags. There is another
car builder In Queenstown also,
and an interesting car museum
which also contains a Mig 25.
the Shotover as featured on tourist
promotions. This latter trip is
limited to a mad dash up a gorge
where as the Dart trip is a longer
run deep into the Mountain Valleys
towered over by glacier covered
peaks. This ride has its exciting
section but also presented the
most wonderful views. The trip
starts from Glenorchy, 40 minutes
drive around the lake from
Queenstown The road is now
sealed all the wayan provides a
wonderful driving experience and
some of the best views in the
world. See photo.
Next month I'll describe some
other side trips such as Milford,
the southern most point of Bluff,
Central Otago gold field areas,
etc, and also other features of
interest including cheap antiques
and one of my favourite subjects,
food.
The jet boat trip I would
recommend is the Dart River, not
Tall Racing
by Alan Stott
(Written two weeks before the event)
Pike's Peak is a huge lump of
pink granite looking out across
the Arkanas River Valley in
America's west. Half the
height of Everest it's 14,000
feet was first climbed by a
steam driven car in 1901, the
ascent taking ten hours.
later in 1916 with teams from
14 car makers, (including one
from
France,)
plus
motorcycles from three
American manufacturers, all
competing for the faster climb
of the day. The best time for a
bike that day was 21 mins 58
sec by an Excelsior and for a
car 18min 24 sec, put up by a
Hudson Super Six. This then
was the start of the famour
12111 mile 'Race To The Clouds'
(often a race through the
clouds!), one of America's
great motor sport events,
unfortunately after just two
years the first world war
intervened and the climb was
event resumed although for a
period it seemed to have lost
it's appeal. However with the
arrival of the charasmatic
Louis Unser, the first of three
generations and ten of this
famous racing family members
to compete on the hill, things
changed, Louis with his two
brothers was one of the first
to actually make a motorised
climb of the mountain. In 1915
using a motorcycle and a
motorcycle and sidecar they
reached the summit in 2 hours
15 mins. (Louis continued to
compete on the mountain until
1967 when he finally retired at
the age of 71.)
The first official motorised hill put on hold.
By 1959 Bobby Unser had got
climb took place fifteen years When hostilities ceased the
39
Left: Louis Unser Maserati
8eTF in 1948
Below:
Michele Moulton
Audi Quattro in 1984, on her
record-breaking run
the time for the climb down to 13mins 36sec
in an open wheel special, the type of
vehicle favoured until recent years. The
1960's saw such well known names at Phill
Hill, Parnelli Jones and Mario Andretti
competing but it was not until 1968 that
Bobby Unser's time was bettered and then
only by 0.72sec by Richard Dodge Jnr in
another open wheel special. But times were
changing, the days of the amazing open
wheelers were numbered. The first signs
of cracks in their dominance came in the
early 80's when American John Buffum
who campaigned an Audi Quatro in
european rallys, decided to take his car to
the mountain and shattered the
establishment with a climb in 12mins
21 sec. The publicity for Audi was terrific, so
good in fact that they decided to support
the event by sending over a works car for
1983 to be drived by factory driver Michele
Moulton. The arrival of a European factory
team upset the established teams but being
driven by a woman was too much and after
her devistating performances during
practice they tried to have her banned. All
to no avail and despite competition from
both local and other top rally drivers she
beat them all. Storming up the 12miles of
gravel road, with frightening drops waiting
if anything went wrong, through sunshinerain- hail, through 4000 feet of cloud to
40
reach the top in 12mins 10sec. The following
year she came back and put in the fastest time
ever up until that time, of 11 mins 25sec.
With the bit now firmly between its teeth Audi
prepared a short wheel base S1 Quatro for
Bobby Unser, (the famous Unser name being
critical for maximLlm exposure in the US.)
Although not before they had sent him to Europe
for some rally tuition from the great German rally
driver Walter Rohrl. The result - 11 mins 09sec.
The publicity was enormous. So good that
Peugeot decided that they should try their hand.
1987 saw three Peugeot 205T 16's line up.
Walter Rohrl, Ari Vatanen and Andrea Zanussi.
Rohrl was just devistating, blitzing the field with
first under 11 minute time for 1Omins 47sec, the
other two drivers also being under 11 minutes.
1988 saw Vatanen back looking to put his works
405t16 up in an even faster time. Unfortunately
three miles from the top he clipped a rock and
limped home with a puncture in a time of 11 mins
12sec! Robby Unser (the latest generation of
the family) put in the fastest time of the day, and
his personal best of 10mins 48sec, just 1 sec
outside Vatanens record.
However all this pales against
US based kiwi Rod Millen who
for years had been beavering
away developing and driving
various Mazdas on the
mountain. That was until the
company virtually stopped its
participation in motor sport
and he turned to Toyota. In
1994 driving a highly modified
Toyota Celica Turbo Millen
staggered the establishment
with a time of 1Omins 04sec That is 12.42 miles, rising
4708 feet to a height of 14110
feet (half the height of Everest)
on an unprotected gravel road
averaging 75mph (120kph)
reaching speeds in excess of
125mph (200kph) during the
climb. (He has been back
every year since but has never
been able to crack the 10
minute barrier.)
Now this Easter is our turn to
watch and marvel, because
we now have our own 'Pikes
Peak'. This Easter the second
running of what is perhaps the
most important motor sport
event since the classic
Tasman Series of the 60's
takes place. The Gold Rush
"Race To The Skys" at
Cardrona may become one of
a triple world championship if
a suitable and hopefully
equally amazing mountain
climb can be found in Europe.
More compact than Pikes
Peak the Gold Rush climb
rises from 1500 to 5000 feet
in a 15 kilometer 130 corner
climb. The all gravel road like
much of the 'Peak' has rock
faces on one side and not a
lot on the other and no
straights longer than 300
metres. A truly mind boggling
challenge. In last years
inaugural event Nobuhiro
Tagima put his winning 900HP
Suzuki Vitara up in 8 mins
13sec - a shattering time. This
year he is back but may be
lucky to hold on to the title.
Possum Bourne in his ex
works Colin McRae rally
Suburu will be a tough
competitor, as will 1984 world
rally champion and 1984 Rally
of New Zealand winner Stig
Blomquist in his 850HP Ford
RS200, particularly as he has
CCC member Sam Lyle in his
team. Blomquist has been
established in the Cardrona
Hotel at the base of the climb
for some weeks, an indication
of how seriously the 'Gold
Rush' is taken. However
perhaps the most pressure will
come from Rod Millen himself,
over especially from his base
in the US for the event, and
with him another version of his
fabulous 1 OOOH P Toyota
Celica. If he can beat the
Americans on their own
mountain what can he do at
Cardrona?
Practice is on Good Friday,
qualifying on Saturday and the
real thing on Easter Sunday.
For motor sport enthusiasts
the 'Gold Rush' is a hugely
important event, one that may
rescue
us
from
the
international motor sport
wilderness.
Historics,
Formula Ford, V8's, NZ Grand
Prix, etc are all good stuff,
even the International Rally,
huge as it is, is not realy 'ours'.
But the 'Gold Rush' is and it's
attracting more and more
international attention. For all
motor sport enthusiasts the
'Race To The Clouds' is one
that has to be seen, and next
year could be the time. As you
will already know the club is
well advanced in the planning
for 'Mainland 2000' a South
Island tour in the year 2000
(next year!) and the 'Gold
Rush' will certainly be on the
itinery.
Easter 2000 on the mountain,
are you coming?
For Sale
Cute little special comprising Morris Series E Chassis, Viva front and rear
suspension, Triumph Spitfire motor and gearbox, aluminium body.
I think this car was built by Bill Munro from the Vintage Car Club, so it is well built.
Bill is prepared to takes serious offers but it is not over priced and it's still registered.
For those interested get more information from Bill on 04 563 6342
or Ian Macrae on 04 563 7222
41
The Back Page
Valley Platers Lift1.ited
162 Gracefleld Road, Lower Hutt
Phone 04 568 5924
Chrome, Nickel & Zinc
Plating. Metal Polishing
Steve Roberts
04569-2222
Bruce Wright
04564-5070
Sorry Scorpio but I dont understand what it is
that you are on about, I refer of course to
page 28 of March Spare Parts. I recognise
you as one who has contributed as much as
any and more than most to the creation and
establishment or our club yet sometimes I
wonder at your comments.
John Hill
two of this year being much worse than last
but by the end of March it had dropped below
the figure for last year. You should know that
the total of any month multiplied by 12 does
not give the annual average.
Anyway, I understood the LTSA to be following
the example of the state of Victoria, which out
of all the states of Oz is possibly most like
NZ. The toll in Victoria has reportedly dropped
and is now 50% better than NZ (Maurice
Williamson, TV, about 31 March). Victoria's
approx figures: 1989 saw 776 dead 1993 saw
396, definitely classed as an improvement in
my books. I dont care who they are, if they
are doing something right we would do well
to consider following them.
You complain that the LTSA continues it's
television campaign centred on the shocking
effects of road accidents. Do you think that
motor accidents are being over dramatised?
Perhaps you think that a high-impact
experience is something like falling out of bed?
And what makes you say they are not having
any effect on the road toll? Was last year not
the lowest toll in 30 or more years? Where
did you get the statistics that say Australia has
Of course Victoria started their campaign
a worse road toll than NZ?
earlier than NZ so we can probably expect
I am prepared to give you just a tiny smidgen results to take a while yet, especially if we
of credit due to the toll for the first month or have more people who are slow learners,
~ Cook Super Trophies
For all your Trophies, Medals, Shields,
Tankards and Engraving
Our European Trophies are Unique to
New Zealand
our discount for
Large Orders.
Ph (04) 566-8801
Fax (04) 566-8802
49 Victoria ~ ..... ""'""'
Alicetown /&.~--"" ....:.,---Lower Hutt
Phone or Fax for our Brochure
and Price List or Inquire about
42
43
Just how 'good' would the roads have to be to
make a difference? Perhaps you would like to
see a concrete luge run from 'Everywhere' to
'Everywhereelse', that might do the trick and
we could keep just a small green bit of NZ at
Incidently, last year or so has seen a slight
Te Papa for the kids to look at.
rise in Victoria for no identified reason, time
will tell if it rises again. Either way several Maybe better vehicles then? Vehicular safety
hundred or so Oz are alive who might not have may be enhanced by producing vehicles that
been.
are less likely to crash and/or those that when
they do crash are less likely to cause injury.
And what is the hang-up on speed? Do you
Better brakes, better suspension, better vision
think speed is not dangerous? Please dont
etc etc. Air bags, seat belts, crumple zones,
give me any crap about 'inappropriate speed'
padded interiors. All very nice and we are
or other weasel words, the plain fact is (and I
slowly getting these things, unfortunately we
make no apology for using the words of LTSA)
have to pay for them.
"The faster you go, the bigger the mess". To
be sure speed in itself is not dangerous, rather So what about better drivers then? Maybe
it is the sudden change in speed, we are all better driver training. Should this be just for
travelling around the centre of the globe at new drivers or should there be courses for
several hundred miles per hour and not even 'advanced' drivers? Would you willingly
Stephen Hawking knows how fast we are present yourself at a driving school where the
travelling through the universe. The surest first thing they try to teach is to constantly
way to demonstrate the effects of a sudden monitor the road and traffic conditions and to
change in speed is to store up heaps of kinetic keep to an appropriate speed? I think not.
energy then bang yourself against something,
I can't do much with the big picture, I can't
hard or soft, it hardly matters at highway
have much influence on the immediate state
speeds. Jumping from the fourth floor of your
of the roads nor the vehicles, skills and
office building will quickly get you up to about
attitudes (especially attitudes) of my fellow
100kmph, how many seat belts, padded
road users. I can however keep my own
fascias and even air bags do you think would
vehicle in good repair, even improve it's safety
be required to make that a pleasurable
level and most Significantly I can do something
landing?
about my own attitudes.
You might not like the word 'accident' perhaps
How many hours a week do you spend
it conjurs up a vision you would like to deny,
watching TV, reading stuff you dont really care
maybe you see the broken spokes of your
about or in some other time wasting pursuit
expensive sports steering wheel disappearing
such as shaving? Wouldn't it make sense
into your guts while your ears are filled with
devoting that time to something that just might
the final gurgling, choking sounds of your
extend the life, and the quality of life, of you
dying family. Certainly a situation I earnestly
and the family? How about investing five more
hope neither of us experience.
minutes in the trip to and from work? You will
Of course it cant happen to us, it hasn't yet arrive more relaxed and have had time to
and likely never will, but then so thought 504 better recognise and avoid the hazards
other people in 1998.
(including white paint and person-hole covers)
along the way.
There are a lot of things that could be done to
improve road safety, better roads, better Well don't you just know it? You are a better
vehicles, better drivers.
driver already!
stuck in their ways or just plain thick, i.e. folks
not susceptable to 'brain washing', if you want
to call it that.
44
Sarnicol Engineering
for all mechanical engineering
172 Eastern Hutt Road
Ph 5676 652
(opposite Taita Station)
Brake & Chassis Specialists
Custom-made Radiators & Repairs
Custom Part Manufacturers
Alloy & Steel Welding
Drive Shaft Balancing
Exhausts
Steering Systems
Engine & Gearbox Conversions
all other Engineering Work