Old Race Tracks

khyndart in CA · Post by **khyndart in CA** » Mon Apr 22, 2019 11:44 pm

That is a fun old movie John, looks like the old course at Santa Monica.CA.

Ken.

khyndart in CA · Post by **khyndart in CA** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:37 am

A bit more about the racetrack at Santa Monica around 1914.

https://thekeystonegirlblogs.wordpress.com/2017/10/17/keystones-racetrack-santa-monica/

(Ken H )

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:17 am

It has to be West Coast as there's a banner with 'FRESNO' in big letters at the back of the grandstand...

Roger Dowding · Post by **Roger Dowding** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:21 pm

Old but not actually lost - the streets still exist; has been used in more recent times too !! 1980's
Some of the early versions of the Dunedin City Street Circuits - from the Scott Thomsom book - the back cover.

The front cover of the book ;

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:10 am

Anzac Day is upon us...

If memory serves, that was a traditional race day at the old Penrith Speedway. Now there's an old track now mostly gone for you.

It was adjacent to Penrith railway station (note I didn't say 'train station', nobody did before 1990) and drew huge crowds who came out from Sydney on the electric urban trains.

It was a big speedway, a full mile of clay tri-oval and operated from about 1921 to 1942. The site was then resumed by the government for military purposes.

khyndart in CA · Post by **khyndart in CA** » Mon May 06, 2019 6:40 am

Ray Bell,
I took this photo in May 1967.
Can you tell us when it opened and closed and anything about your experiences at this track at ..........

Thanks,
Ken H

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Tue May 07, 2019 5:30 am

Catalina Park...

One mile and 510 yards, as I recall, tight and with a steep-ish climb as well as an almost-nasty crested curve halfway down the main straight.

I attended every meeting there between May, 1963 and when it closed with the exception of the May, 1967 event. Which was seriously fog-affected.

Some really good racing, it was a power circuit because of the three tight corners requiring the oomph to get the car to the next section, allied with that hill. But it required bravery (Bosch Corner) and finesse as well.

Memories: Pete Geoghegan having a rear axle shaft come out in the middle of Bosch, which was very fast, snapping it sideways and he caught it. Wal Donelly (sp?) and Niel Allen changing places in the middle of Bosch. Bob Jane punting Brian Muir's S4 out of his way in Craven A after Muiro repeatedly won the start. Arriving for my first ever race there, it was about event two on the day, and the race was red-flagged. There are pics on this forum of that crash, in which Thomas Rich died.

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Wed May 08, 2019 11:19 am

Originally posted by khyndart
.....I just hope if you get to visit this area and go to the "Lake Street Cafe" that you have a better experience than this customer had there !

I wish I had read the recent reviews. Anyone who has been here in the past would come here again - Big mistake. Where do I start? The service was horrible. The server or the kitchen messed up our order. Okay, that happens. But the server lied about checking and more than an hour later I had to check on our food. When I asked our server about it she was rude and finally checked. They had lost our order. If she had checked 30 minutes before, we may have received our dinner before the 90 minutes we had to wait! Our daughter was starving. They promote their wine list, but have very few options by the glass. The food was good, but not amazing. It was so loud we couldn't hear each other. We just wanted to leave as soon as possible. We will never go back. Please choose another restaurant!

When I show up we can just go down to the wharf area and eat some good ol' Omokoroa fish n chips..eh ?

Remind me to tell you one day about the time I got chucked out of the Restaurant Hunidares...

Almost as dramatic as the time I got chucked out of the USA.

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Thu May 09, 2019 9:51 pm

I am thinking seriously of taking a drive down to Adelaide and the Barossa Valley during my working sojourn to Central Australia in the next month or two...

I'll be working around Peterborough and Port Augusta for a week or two, so it's not too far to places like Nuriootpa and Lobethal, so I might introduce my van to them.

It has to get used to driving around old racing circuits. Thus far it's been driven around the original Elkhart Lake circuits and Watkins Glen's 1948-53 circuit as well as Savannah.

I don't intend setting any lap records, however...

khyndart in CA · Post by **khyndart in CA** » Thu May 09, 2019 10:03 pm

Ray,
I look forward to the photos, ,especially of the van that has driven around North America and now Australia.
You must be very fond of that vehicle ?
Is it LHD or RHD or is it McLaren F 1 type with a center seat ?

Ken.

Roger Dowding · Post by **Roger Dowding** » Fri May 10, 2019 12:34 am

khyndart in CA wrote:Ray,
I look forward to the photos, ,especially of the van that has driven around North America and now Australia.
You must be very fond of that vehicle ?
Is it LHD or RHD or is it McLaren F 1 type with a center seat ?

Ken.

Ray Bell, I know you have been to Lakeside, Kurwongbah, QLD many times - has the van been around there too ??.
Need to see a photo of it ..

Believe some of these photos are yours !! - your comment from September 2015

" I wonder where they got my pictures?

Maybe they thought someone else took them? "

khyndart in CA · Post by **khyndart in CA** » Fri May 10, 2019 6:19 am

Sorry Ray,
I'm having trouble getting my ol' van back on the road again. I was hoping to join up with you for
the"Tour de Oz" and perhaps make it over to "Van Demon's Land" and check out Longford etc..
I hate to let you down mate.

(Ken H)

John McKechnie · Post by **John McKechnie** » Fri May 10, 2019 6:48 am

Centre seat, can only be a Morris J1 Breadvan...do you have them Stateside, hippie love them

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Fri May 10, 2019 8:51 am

My van...

...essentially hasn't been photographed at circuits as I've been taking the photos of the circuits as I drove around them in it.

And no, Roger, it hasn't been around Lakeside. It hasn't actually been to any Queensland circuits, though I might take it to Leyburn some time soon - the old airstrip circuit - and no doubt I'll do a lap of the Southport AGP circuit some time.

As for the Lakeside photos, it's quite possible that they got them from Autopics because Autopics got a lot of images from Chevron publications and both those photos (start of the 1966 AGP and start of one of the heats of the 1965 Australian Tourist Trophy) were used by Chevron.

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Fri May 10, 2019 8:55 am

To fully answer a couple more questions, it remains left hand drive...

When I bought it in 2014 it still had three years to go before I could register it LHD in Australia, so I left it in America for another two years to do a second trip in it before shipping it home.

And I do really like it, yes, it's very good to drive and I'm going to eventually kit it out completely for travel.

I learned today that my trip to Central Australia (via Goondiwindi, Bourke, Peterborough, Roxby Downs etc) may well be extended to take me as far North as Katherine. Which will mean that I go back home via Mt Isa, a place I've never been. No circuits there, however.

Roger Dowding · Post by **Roger Dowding** » Sun May 12, 2019 1:39 am

Ray Bell wrote:My van...

...essentially hasn't been photographed at circuits as I've been taking the photos of the circuits as I drove around them in it.

And no, Roger, it hasn't been around Lakeside. It hasn't actually been to any Queensland circuits, though I might take it to Leyburn some time soon - the old airstrip circuit - and no doubt I'll do a lap of the Southport AGP circuit some time.

As for the Lakeside photos, it's quite possible that they got them from Autopics because Autopics got a lot of images from Chevron publications and both those photos (start of the 1966 AGP and start of one of the heats of the 1965 Australian Tourist Trophy) were used by Chevron.

Thanks Ray, good to see the van

Re Ken H's van ; Isn't that the small International from the 1950's ??, a Mate in Oregon knew a lot about them !

Ray Bell · Post by **Ray Bell** » Sun May 12, 2019 11:12 pm

The wheels look un-American...

More like Austin or Morris, but I don't recognise that windscreen.

Though maybe Dana did do a large 6-stiud pattern at one time. It does have fully-floating axles which is pretty serious stuff.

Maybe Bedford?

Roger Dowding · Post by **Roger Dowding** » Mon May 13, 2019 3:51 am

khyndart in CA wrote:Sorry Ray,
I'm having trouble getting my ol' van back on the road again. I was hoping to join up with you for
the"Tour de Oz" and perhaps make it over to "Van Demon's Land" and check out Longford etc..
I hate to let you down mate.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]61862[/ATTACH]

(Ken H)

Ken H and Ray - That van;

" International Harvester's Metro Van is a step van, also known as walk-in or multi-stop delivery ... In 1959, the "Metro Mite" was introduced. "

and a photo, well two actually - one restored, one in need - indeed !!

and a quick quiz - what is this ???

Well known to Kiwi Motorsport fans .. even ex pats Ken H..

Roger Dowding · Post by **Roger Dowding** » Mon May 13, 2019 3:52 am

John McKechnie wrote:Centre seat, can only be a Morris J1 Breadvan...do you have them Stateside, hippie love them

Not quite John McK - see later post #255 !! Cheers

Milan Fistonic · Post by **Milan Fistonic** » Mon May 13, 2019 4:43 am

Roger Dowding wrote:Ken H and Ray - That van;

" International Harvester's Metro Van is a step van, also known as walk-in or multi-stop delivery ... In 1959, the "Metro Mite" was introduced. "

and a photo, well two actually - one restored, one in need - indeed !!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]61901[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]61902[/ATTACH]

and a quick quiz - what is this ???

[ATTACH=CONFIG]61903[/ATTACH]

Well known to Kiwi Motorsport fans .. even ex pats Ken H..

The Lycoming engine in Ralph Watson's Special

The Roaring Season

Old Race Tracks

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Ray Bell and old or lost tracks or both ..

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International Metro ;

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