Tom Donovan

[Grant Ellwood]

I remember Tom as a very adventurous racer, the A30 wickedly quick at Levin then the turboed (I think) Sprite, some of his mods were way ahead of his (our) time. Based in Wellington, might have had an infamous pool hall?, correct me if I'm wrong!
Cheers, Grant Ellwood

[45DCOE]

The motor in the Sprite in its final form was I think a Lotus Twin Cam from Kerry Grant's Lotus Cortina as he was running a 1650 pushrod.
He then built the rear engined Odlin sports car with the Lotus Twin Cam that Danie Lupp ended up with. I think he then brought the Brett Riley 77B March and raced it without too much success on the circuits. He then used the March in hillclimbs and there was a photo of him doing a gravel hillclimb in it ! Yeah, the pool hall was in Courtenay Place, Wellington - one still exists there today. The Odlin was pretty quick and I recall won the sports car championship - do not know what happened to it after Danie Lupp had it

[jamie]

Hi 45 you are almost right he won the gold star Hihclimb champs in the March but to his sorrow he never won the sports champs
Jamie A

[Steve Holmes]

Was the March the same car raced by Howard Wood in Formula Atlantic?

[Russ Cunningham]

Good man, Tommy. First met him in about 67-68 whilst waiting for scrutineering for a Wellington hill climb.

However, the most memorable moment in my memory is of T.D. blowing up a phone box
in Lyall Bay, Wellington.

Living in Sydney, NSW, now days, according to the motorsport mafia.

Why did you start this thread, Grant? Afterall, you ran over a cop in Palmerston North.

Mate! I might even remember a few other things when I sober up. Kisses & hugs from Jill.

Cheers,

Russ

[CUSTAXIE50]

I saw tom race a vw at palmerston north speedway some years back.

[David McKinney]

Was the March the same car raced by Howard Wood in Formula Atlantic?

No, as 45 says, it was the ex-Brett Riley car

[markec]

Was in NZ late 2010, was then heading back to the monastery in South Africa, his old Typhoon is in ChCh

[jamie]

Hi gang Tom lived in Sydney Up untill Xmas 2010 when he sold all the race car.s and went back to God for how long this time ? have not seen him since he came and stayed a few days on his way to Roma .Jamie A

[ElCoyote]

Hi gang Tom lived in Sydney Up untill Xmas 2010 when he sold all the race car.s and went back to God for how long this time ? have not seen him since he came and stayed a few days on his way to Roma .Jamie A

I hope you didn't get converted Jamie, I like you as you are now.

[ElCoyote]

Quite right Grant, he was another wayward lad from the Eastern suburbs. Mother was a major shareholder in Odlins hence the signage. I am surprised 45DCOE knows about the pool hall, I thought he had a sheltered upbringing. hmmm.

[jamie]

HAY what about the outher 3 pool hall,s ? shelterd life so he never went to one of Tom,s wine drinking party,s mostley A red called Becarno made in vats from HELL??? Jamie A

[stirlingmac]

I remember Tom going off his nut when he was running the March at Wellington's Alexander Rd Hillclimb. On the nose cone he had signwritten "Jesus Saves". Some smartarse with a marker pen added "Stamps" ...He wasn't impressed at all..

[Grant Ellwood]

Does anyone know if Tom's chopped-top A30 still exists?

[Les Laidlaw]

He used to run some jungle juice in his turbo cars, the eyes would water and birds would fall out of the sky

[Carlo]

Tom had quite a big shunt at the Queenstown Hillclimb on the Coronet Peak skifield road where you come up the fastest bit of the hill and the car goes light as the incline ceases just as you go into the braking zone for the 1st haipin. Tom and the March went straight ahead and took on the armco head on. There wasn't much frontal protection in those cars.

[Howard Wood]

No, as 45 says, it was the ex-Brett Riley car

David,

We sold our March,plated 742-U1 to Reg Cook and I always understood he eventually sold it to Tom Donovan. In recent emails with Chris from oldracingcars.com regarding the history of the car we dicussed this.

A bit off this topic I know but Chris and Driftwood felt they had pretty much nailed the identity and history of that car, including that it's tub probably started life in an ex Brian Henton crashed 732. Check with them but they didn't question the Donovan connection but had a question mark over Bob Donaldson's involvement which I dismissed. The implication was that Donaldson must have bought the Brett Riley car.

Given that Tom Donovan crashed a March at Coronet Peak, did he then buy the ex Riley car? (Which conveniently would make us both right).

[David McKinney]

You might be right Howard. I thought at the time that Tom's car was the ex-Riley - I know Cookie held onto his for years, and an fairly sure he still had it when Tom was hillclimbing his March

Your suggestion that he owned both cars at different times might be correct

I don't connect Bob Donaldson with any March, though he might have owned one without racing it

[stirlingmac]

I remember visiting his workshop and he had built a new tub for the March. And had the older damaged tub hanging in the roof.

[Howard Wood]

I don't connect Bob Donaldson with any March, though he might have owned one without racing it

Me neither, Chris had the impression I had told him of the Bob Donaldson connection to 742 U1 which I corrected. Bob Donaldson had bought the second of our Cheetah/Cheater FFs in 1975 and somehow Chris must have muddled that connection up.