Tom Donovan

jamie · Post by **jamie** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:56 am

Hi guys Tom sold the March to Stue McChesney who circut raced it as well doing gold star seal hilclimbs? who got it after that I think was ken smith Jamie A

Russ Cunningham · Post by **Russ Cunningham** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:42 am

jamie wrote:Hi guys Tom sold the March to Stue McChesney who circut raced it as well doing gold star seal hilclimbs? who got it after that I think was ken smith Jamie A

Correct Jamie but who the hell is "Ken Smith"? He's not that old "Obsessive Compulsive" from Auckland who intends racing until he croaks? or the other one? who wastes money on nags that never win.

45DCOE · Post by **45DCOE** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:05 am

45DCOE · Post by **45DCOE** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:07 am

Article in Motorman - seems like all the good motor sport people come from Miramar

seaqnmac27 · Post by **seaqnmac27** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:09 am

i beg to differ, i would say Thames and Palmerston North

Carlo · Post by **Carlo** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 10:39 am

seaqnmac27 wrote:i beg to differ, i would say Thames and Palmerston North

Check the records and you might find that it is the Timaru District

Kwaussie · Post by **Kwaussie** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:35 pm

ElCoyote wrote:Quite right Grant, he was another wayward lad from the Eastern suburbs. Mother was a major shareholder in Odlins hence the signage.

I was working for a subsidery of Odlins at the time on West Coast of SI.
Owen Murphy from Odlins made sure that every staff member knew about Tom's efforts.
Everyone followed the progress but sad to say the results were never what they expected.

ElCoyote · Post by **ElCoyote** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:54 pm

45DCOE wrote:Article in Motorman - seems like all the good motor sport people come from Miramar

Let's not forget Wayne Huxford's Capri was constructed (initially) in Miramar and he only lived a 5 iron away so we can claim him as well

45DCOE · Post by **45DCOE** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 10:26 pm

ElCoyote wrote:Let's not forget Wayne Huxford's Capri was constructed (initially) in Miramar and he only lived a 5 iron away so we can claim him as well

Not forgetting Graham McRae and Johnny Mines, both excellent engineers as well.

David McKinney · Post by **David McKinney** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 10:27 pm

Kwaussie wrote:I was working for a subsidery of Odlins at the time on West Coast of SI.
Owen Murphy from Odlins made sure that every staff member knew about Tom's efforts.
Everyone followed the progress but sad to say the results were never what they expected.

IIRC the company put out a newsletter detailing Tom's exploits - I'm sure I've still got one or two somewhere

jamie · Post by **jamie** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:22 pm

Dont forget ROTORUA and we are still BUILDING cars ? Jamie

ElCoyote · Post by **ElCoyote** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:17 pm

jamie wrote:Dont forget ROTORUA and we are still BUILDING cars ? Jamie

Don't feel left out Spiderman we salute you however, Rotorua is a city of around 56,000 people. Miramar is merely a suburb that had something special in the drinking water other than bubbles. :cool:

faminz · Post by **faminz** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 5:34 am

Is this the Donovan Sprite at Manfeild

?

PhotoSmith · Post by **PhotoSmith** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:38 am

Tom D leading Steve Cameron's Chevron thru' Pukekohes hairpin Dec '82 - Gold star meeting.

Graeme Farr · Post by **Graeme Farr** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:36 pm

I spoke to Tom a few years back - he was in Sydney I think. I was trying to find the history of a Lotus TC engine I got as a spare with a Seven S4 I bought. The engine was a 1425 or something - was sleeved down and had Austin Maxi pistons. Had been turbo'ed and was in the Oldlins sportscar (restored in Chch these days)

Tom had been hillclimbing a Pilbeam in NSW - and before that a very fast go kart!. He was heading back somewhere for missionary work and had the Pilbeam on the market.

I have some photos of the A30 and Sprites if anyone is interested I can post them. Just heard recently the chop top A30 had a Lotus TC in it breifly before the Sprite came along. I am failry sure it was his A30 I saw outside a Wadestown house in the 70's - abandoned with no engine. We asked the house owner and he said some young guys had dumped it there a week or so earlier in the middle of the night - the laughing woke him up. We went back to "claim" it the next day when we had a towrope - but it had gone. Chap said the council had taken it to the tip. We nearly got it! It was blue at the time.

105angria · Post by **105angria** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 9:51 pm

go kart hillclimer

Chris Read · Post by **Chris Read** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:46 am

Carlo wrote: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.

Carlo....have a look at the Formula Atlantic/Pacific thread #137 and #138 and posted photos of Coronet Peak HC. Its me going into the same corner as (I think it was Tom) on the very next run up the hill. His car had been extracted and I think he broke his leg and was carted away. I was lucky not to lose my head on the steel ropes behind the wooden armco.... all I did was beat a few vertebrae up .....we never learn do we. Chris Read, Arrowtown.

Graeme Farr · Post by **Graeme Farr** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 11:41 am

Here is the Sprite and the A30. I would love to see any other photos of either car!

rf84 · Post by **rf84** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:19 pm

The car spent a few years here in HB with Stu McChesney. It then went (as you rightly say Jamie) to Ken Smith. Some time later I got a phone call from Garry Simkin in Sydney who was rebuilding a March. On the tub was a sticker advertising "Wrightcars Toyota Napier". This was Stu's old sponsor. I believe the car went to somewhere in Victoria. Garry may know where it is currently.

AMCO72 · Post by **AMCO72** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:33 pm

Hi Graeme, greetings from Cambridge. What a neat looking car that A30 is. Can hardly believe it has gone to the tip!!! When and where was that pic of the two cars taken, and who are the guys posing beside them?

The Roaring Season

Tom Donovan

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