The Roaring Season

by **Oldfart** » Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:11 am

bob homewood wrote:Well there you go ,your punishment ,how about a thread on Ron Learnan and his cars

If I did it would largely be a transcription from the "Sports Car Talk" with a few of my own bits added in. Then possibly it could include the final completion of the Volcoupe restoration I began 21 years ago, under one of my previous ownerships. (If someone would buy the Buckler!)

by **Steve Holmes** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 10:42 pm

Wow, these are just beautiful!

by **bob homewood** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:53 pm

Well there you go ,your punishment ,how about a thread on Ron Learnan and his cars

Oldfart wrote:How did I mess that up, especially as I owned the Volcoupe (twice) Embarrassed. I plead old age.

by **Oldfart** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:24 pm

How did I mess that up, especially as I owned the Volcoupe (twice) Embarrassed. I plead old age.

by **bob homewood** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 11:14 am

Ron Learnan very interesting fellow ,I have got a lot of information somewhere about the RGR and the Volcoupe

by **stubuchanan** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 11:01 am

Oldfart wrote:Sorry to be picky Lance it's RJR, not RGR.

RJR = Ron Roycroft.

The RGR was built in the early 1950's in the UK by Kiwi Ron Learnan out of the bits of a Cooper 500 he had crashed. He had considerable guidance and design assistance from George Henrotte (who later built the "Ettorne" 500cc car(s?)) and Roy Jaques.

The story goes that the car had been entered as a Cooper 500, but when the scrutineers queried John Cooper about the car's handling, he disowned it as a Cooper. Learnan then renamed it as the RGR for Ron, George and Roy. He brought it back to NZ in 1955 or 1956.

Stu

by **Roger Dowding** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 10:05 am

Lance and other motoring friends, great to see, this is what Kiwi racing and rallying was all about. remember seeing Nigel at Hillclimbs and looking at the photo's, trials well, was involved with NSCC from early 1967, as a young fellow with a car 'a 1960 Austin Mini' , and went on to be on a sub-committee for NSCC - Trials in the mid 1970's, co-plotter for the Castrol Rally [ read trial ] in 1975 or 76 before I got involved in old Healeys and Triumphs, in the late 70's early 80's what is now part of the Classic Car movement. Great stuff. and Vale Nigel.

by **Oldfart** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:58 am

Sorry to be picky Lance it's RJR, not RGR.

by **Roskilly** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:06 am

Hi All,
I've added all the info I can regarding the old photos of my late father Nigel and his cars. Please feel free to add any info or make corrections. Most of this occurred before I was born or when I was very young so I have had to rely on what was scratched on the back of some of the photos.
Cheers
Lance

by **Roskilly** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:04 am

Part 2 From the top:
1. Still going strong through the mud in the 1972 Heatway despite roll-over damage

2. Dad and the RGR 500cc Formula 3 c1966

3. Photo group with Lycoming under tree. Photo 1 Bombay Hillclimb, approaching right hand top corner.Photo 2, Start line Bombay,Photo 3 could be Bombay pit area. Photo 4 , Pukekohe Club Circuit 2 (Thanks Ross)

4. Bent sprint track at Ardmore, Auckland University Car Club? c1966 (Thanks again Ross)

5 & 6. Silver Fern Rally and the MK3 Zodiac

by **Roskilly** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:55 am

From the top:
1. Start of the ACC Midnight Rally
Nigel (in the Beret) and Peter Bruin (Navigator)
Not technically Dad's car - My grandmother would never know he was racing it!

2. The Supercharged Triumph Herald Estate - Photo by Jack Inwood c1967

3. 1972 Heatway Rally - Vauxhall Victor 3.3
From the top:
After the roll-over (x2)
After the head-on collision with a service van = end of Nigels rallying career

4 & 5. Dad and his beloved Daimler V8 - at Pukekohe c late '80s

6. Dad working on the famous Jag D Type "OKV3" - one of the Jaguar Works cars for the 1954 Le Mans

by **Roskilly** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:54 am

From the top:
1. Start of the ACC Midnight Rally
Nigel (in the Beret) and Peter Bruin (Navigator)
Not technically Dad's car - My grandmother would never know he was racing it!

2. The Supercharged Triumph Herald Estate - Photo by Jack Inwood c1967

3. 1972 Heatway Rally - Vauxhall Victor 3.3
From the top:
After the roll-over (x2)
After the head-on collision with a service van = end of Nigels rallying career

4 & 5. Dad and his beloved Daimler V8 - at Pukekohe c late '80s

6. Dad working on the famous Jag D Type "OKV3" - one of the Jaguar Works cars for the 1954 Le Mans

by **Ross Hollings** » Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:21 pm

Photo group with Lycoming under tree. Photo 1 Bombay Hillclimb, approaching right hand top corner.Photo 2, Start line Bombay,Photo 3 could be Bombay pit area. Photo 4 , Pukekohe Club Circuit 2 Copper 500,s,,this a good one as the car in front of Nigel is in fact Graeme Brayshaw ,Graeme still races this car today,not a bad effort.
Other group of 4 photos with car number 13 on it is in fact the small bent sprint track at Ardmore,you are talking mid 1960,s here events were usually run by the Auckland University Car Club.
Great photos,will post all my hillclimb photos once i can work out how you do it,i also have a few results sheets from a range of hillclimbs,makes some interesting reading.
The photos above would be 1960,s

by **Oldfart** » Sun Aug 04, 2013 7:09 pm

Nigel, great period photos, how about a few captions? Is the first one in part 2 at Hopuhopu army camp near Ngaruawahia?

by **Roskilly** » Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:13 am

Part 2 From the top:
1. Still going strong through the mud in the 1972 Heatway despite roll-over damage

2. Dad and the RGR 500cc Formula 3 c1966

3. Photo group with Lycoming under tree. Photo 1 Bombay Hillclimb, approaching right hand top corner.Photo 2, Start line Bombay,Photo 3 could be Bombay pit area. Photo 4 , Pukekohe Club Circuit 2 (Thanks Ross)

4. Bent sprint track at Ardmore, Auckland University Car Club? c1966 (Thanks again Ross)

5 & 6. Silver Fern Rally and the MK3 Zodiac

by **Roskilly** » Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:05 am

Some photos from his album
From the top:
1. Start of the ACC Midnight Rally
Nigel (in the Beret) and Peter Bruin (Navigator)
Not technically Dad's car - My grandmother would never know he was racing it!

2. The Supercharged Triumph Herald Estate - Photo by Jack Inwood c1967

3. 1972 Heatway Rally - Vauxhall Victor 3.3
From the top:
After the roll-over (x2)
After the head-on collision with a service van = end of Nigels rallying career

4 & 5. Dad and his beloved Daimler V8 - at Pukekohe c late '80s

6. Dad working on the famous Jag D Type "OKV3" - one of the Jaguar Works cars for the 1954 Le Mans