Trusty Rusty TREKKA

[Oldfart]

A mate of mine drove one over the Bridle Path from Lyttelton to the tunnel on the Heathcote valley way back when! It was supposed to be one of, if not the first cars to do that trip.
I too thought that Markson was gathering spares for his car! They were advertised as kitsets for sports cars in Motorman at the time too. Chassis, engine, box etc.

[markson]

Room for thought Oldfart !!

[thunder427]

I know the Treka was NZ made, but did they actually use a piece of distressed reinforcing rod in the construction, as is evident in post 15.....somehow attached to the petrol tank.
Do you remember the ad for the machine......will go anywhere a fourwheel drive will go.........yeah right. They did have a limited slip diff which helped. I worked for a farmer out at TeKowhai in 1963, and he had a Treka......Landrover lookalike. The rear axle assumed some rather alarming positive camber at times, especially when going along the side of a hill. Didnt inspire much confidence as I recall but he, the farmer, seemed to like it, and was ok to go and get the cows at 4.30, in the morning, in the dark, in the middle of winter.!!!!!

Amco72,I did a 'Double Take' on that bit of 'REO',and It looks to be attached to a 'Towball,perhaps its a 'Genuine' Aftermarket item ???.......................................Thunder427/MJ

[markson]

Hi Amco72 I think the piece of reinforcing rod, was a Kiwi number 8 wire fix, to compensate the rear suspensions positive camber problem,and was in fact,a Kiwi made torsion bar,and acted, to help stop the rear wheels folding in when the load was released off the back axle and transverse rear spring.If you have a close look at this photo you see a bit of number 8 wire also around the diff ,I am not sure if that was put there for any purpose, or it wrapped around the diff as it rolled over the fence, down a very steep bank,and has been laying there for many years, in the blackberries.I just hope I don't find bones and a body under there ,(human that is),I might start asking ,if there are any missing farmer's from way back,in the area .Markson

[AMCO72]

I did actually see a Treka quite recently, still doing sterling service. Was passing through Motuoapa, a settlement on the shores of lake Taupo, and spotted this character launching his tin boat behind the Treka. What caught my eye was that the Treka was painted bright red, a colour that I dont think was on the original buyers wish list. They were usually painted some low-sheen vomit colour, perhaps so they would blend into the landscape and wouldn't be noticed. I had forgotten how short and boxy they were, but with a bit of weight on the drawbar this machine seemed to be coping with the task required. Maybe it had also had a 'repower'.

[bry3500]

[video=youtube;c5gCsIWeSj4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5gCsIWeSj4[/video]

[markson]

A good clip Bry

[John McKechnie]

Dont forget the Trekka that was taken all the way to the Vienna Biennel show with the butter boxes .
Apparently we swapped butter for Trekkas during the Cold War.
Boy, didnt we do well out of that deal!!!!!!!!!

[Oldfart]

And while some of us laugh, just ask Neil (Perana) Tolich what his favourite town car is!

[markson]

Hi John Mc We may have swapped butter for Trekka's, and we still have some

I'll bet the butters all gone. Markson

[stubuchanan]

Due to the small number built, and 40 years ago at that, and that they were almost bio-degradable, it occurs to me that some of our younger members and non-Kiwi members might not know what a Trekka looked like. Here, from Motorman March 1967 is a Castrol advert :



As far as exports go, I think some found their way to the Islands, and a small number were given to the government of Vietnam (before the war there?) otherwise they were local consumption only. They seem to have had a "Ute" version, and could be converted to an open "Safari" configuration, but a serious poor-man's Land Rover ? Only a politician would believe that.

Stu

[John McKechnie]

Markson-When I was in Ukraine and Russia , you could buy NZ butter there- and it was far superior to our salty butter here

[AMCO72]

And I see that the limited-slip differential on the Trekka was developed by non other than Ray Stone. This was to give the vehicle go-anywhere performance, equal to the capable Land Rover, which Im afraid it fell woefully short of. If as I presume Oldfart hints that Neil Tolichs prefered vehicle for town running is a Trekka, then that is/was the best place for it.

[Oldfart]

And I see that the limited-slip differential on the Trekka was developed by non other than Ray Stone. This was to give the vehicle go-anywhere performance, equal to the capable Land Rover, which Im afraid it fell woefully short of. If as I presume Oldfart hints that Neil Tolichs prefered vehicle for town running is a Trekka, then that is/was the best place for it.

Not positive about the Ray Stone connection, but exceptionally close to Buckler NZ with the "balanced traction" (Merv Mayo), I think (but am far from sure) that he held some "idea protection"

[markson]

What make kit car used the chassis ??? Markson

[Oldfart]

What make kit car used the chassis ??? Markson

Thought that would perk your interest! They tried to sell the kits for the home builder around 66 ish, don't know if any happened but they were advertised in Motorman.

[John McKechnie]

Was this the one Bruce Goldwater was doing in Newmarket? He was making fibreglass bodies. There is another thread on kit car makers.

[markson]

Hi John The jury is still listening to all the evidence at present,re the origin of the Markson, and was told that there was in fact someone making bodies in Newmarket in the sixeties, and 4 or 5 bodies were being made at the time, but the factory was burnt out, and all the moulds, along with several bodies that were under construction at the time, were destroyed, and the Markson body was the only one built. I just wonder when looking at the dimensions of the SKODA chassis, and the wheel base and track of the Markson, and looking at things on the internal rear section of the body, with no reason for them to be there, one just wonders ??? Markson

[John McKechnie]

This same Bruce Goldwater was convicted of arson of a Newmarket building around that time.
He was declared insane.
Do you know the building where all these cars were housed that was burnt?
It seems improbable that 2 different buildings were burnt around the same time, involving a kit car maker-or coincidence?

[markson]

No John I dont know any more than what I was told sometime ago when trying to find out info on the origin of the MARKSON
But the story starts to unfold.I would love to get hold of a copy of the motor man .Markson