The Roaring Season

Milan Fistonic wrote:That was taken at the Auckland Car Club meeting on April 4 1964.

Motorman used a photo that must have been taken a few seconds before the one posted above.

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And the caption appears to be wrong. From this entry list the Zephyr looks like Frank Radisich's number 144.

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That's me the last MK 1 Zephyr, paid 400 pounds for it as it was nice and straight and no rust. My main memory from that race my first was the amount of wheel spin and tyre smoke from the guys at the front of the grid and the amount of laughing when the race was over!!. I didn't know about brake fade but quickly learnt as I headed to railway corner full tilt ! just managed to get around there. As I was so young I needed Mums signature to race. She's now 102 and remembers it all. I was planning to race at Ohakea as few weeks later but destroyed the car around the back roads at Maramarua as I was trying out my new set of tyres. I may be wrong but I seem to also remember Amons low line Cooper for sale less motor for 400 pounds some time later. Chrs

John H- so yours is that light coloured one at the back? a neat number from here
Look like it was a fun grid with road cars, no wonder everyone was having a good laugh at the end.
Using the big track too.
I remember the late David McKinney telling me that at that time, saloon cars were to help fill in the time between real car racing.
The front of Rods Coupe shows it aint a garage queen- front bumper looks very businesslike
Any more pics of that period waiting to be posted?

John Mc,

Be very sure that the saloon cars "filling in" were racing in the real sense of the word.

The drivers as a result of economy, may have been forced to utilise what was available and this was sometimes the family car. However racing was deadly serious and there were drivers involved who were in fact more skilful than much or the cheque book brigade, Rod included. From a spectators point of view, the races had considerable merit and added a great deal to the meetings of the day. Club days using the large circuit drew substantial crowds and were financially viable in respect of the promoting club.

Trevor Sheffield wrote:John Mc,

Be very sure that the saloon cars "filling in" were racing in the real sense of the word.

The drivers as a result of economy, may have been forced to utilise what was available and this was sometimes the family car. However racing was deadly serious and there were drivers involved who were in fact more skilful than much or the cheque book brigade, Rod included. From a spectators point of view, the races had considerable merit and added a great deal to the meetings of the day. Club days using the large circuit drew substantial crowds and were financially viable in respect of the promoting club.

You are right John and Trevor. To see a saloon car on a trailer was regarded as a bit odd. About this time Paul Fahey raced a VW and then a PA Vauxhall. To be fair the old Coupes were not really much of a ‘race car’ just no roll cage etc.. You can now see how the Lotus Cortina were the big thing when they arrived.. . 

John McK in 1964 there was only the big track.

Didnt know that as this was before my time, thanks for the heads-up Allan

Yes John it was a nice little Zephyr. I bought it off a family friend of my parents. It had been their pride and joy for some years. I then got hold of it. Wrecked it within a few months as I have mentioned then bought it back of the insurance company. Put big scoops on the bonnet painted it red lowered it with race stripes 4 exhaust pipes etc.

The aforementioned family friends had a complete meltdown but now it was a real car.

BTW. Bill Stone who was a sales rep of some sort used to call in at my workshop in Maramarua and we would talk racing. He was racing a Cooper at the time, a black one, perhaps it was the ex Rly Levis? Not sure, but I had a photo of him sliding backwards into a marshal barrier going into the hairpin at Puke. That Zephyr was belted around the metal back roads late at night in Maramarua! How I managed to not kill myself!!!

As the Judge told me at the Pukekohe Courthouse..I seemed to have a reputation of being a bit of a speedster around the town! Don’t know how he knew that!!!! I did try and deny that but he looked unconvinced.  Chrs

John H wrote:That's me the last MK 1 Zephyr, paid 400 pounds for it as it was nice and straight and no rust. My main memory from that race my first was the amount of wheel spin and tyre smoke from the guys at the front of the grid and the amount of laughing when the race was over!!. I didn't know about brake fade but quickly learnt as I headed to railway corner full tilt ! just managed to get around there. As I was so young I needed Mums signature to race. She's now 102 and remembers it all. I was planning to race at Ohakea as few weeks later but destroyed the car around the back roads at Maramarua as I was trying out my new set of tyres. I may be wrong but I seem to also remember Amons low line Cooper for sale less motor for 400 pounds some time later. Chrs

Great memories, and could be part of a memoir, your Mum still around at 102, amazing, I think my Uncle Eddie at 97 on the 14th of October is going well, cheers !!

all cars in New Zealand, including Racing Cars had to have a number plate, remember seeing them inside saloons on the floor and elsewhere ;.. a series of the plates over the last Century or so .. part of motoring heritage in NZ..







then there were different plates for vehicles other than cars, Govt, Taxi, Heavy Vehicles, Buses etc, and even motorcycles.



I got these images from Richard Armstrong the first three [ Car plates ] and Dave Howell for the " Other " number plates. no doubt from an Archive.. Don't know who the Graham is but he buys them ..

Ralph was a member of Northern Sports Car Club in the 1950's when he built the car and a regular competitor at NSCC and other Clubs events, including Auckland Car Club, Hamilton Car Club, Taumaranui Car Club, as well as competing at the NZ International Grand Prix, the Lady Wigram Trophy races, NZ Drivers Championship events at Ryal Bush, Mairehau Road Races and elsewhere.
In 1985, Ralph wrote an article for the Sports Car Club of New Zealand covering his various cars the BSA Special, cars he worked on, like some of Ron Roycroft's - the Bugatti Jaguar, Alfa P3, Ferrari's and his own car ;The Lycoming Special. the article was published in the SCCNZ's Special Edition Magazine called Sports Car Talk .. this is an extract from the 1986 Special Edition..
Jim Clark driving the car at Teretonga


The car just completed with Ralph and Warren Parkinson


Specifications


The Competition Record from late 1956 to 1968 .. the first few years





Ralph Watson at the 1958 Grand Prix



more to come, the rest of the history and some more photos - the above all from the SCCNZ article, the book was given to me by Ross Hollings, along the the first and third edition of the SCCNZ Special Editions, the 1984 and the 1989 ones.

Have just previewed the attachments and realise these are the uncropped ones so have parts of the article with the photos .. must try harder in the next segment ..

The Specifications and Competition Record have reposted the first part as cut out some of the early events..
here is the correct sequence ;
The Specifications










I saw the car at the Hamilton Car Club grass track races at Waharoa on 11th March 1967, had just bought my first car a 1960 Mini [ Austin Seven ], had seen the Lycoming at previous events at Pukekohe in 1965 and 1966 and at the 1967 Grand Prix meeting. Have a couple of photo's from 1966.

As has been mentioned on " The Roaring Season " Trevor Sheffield wrote a great history of Ralph, entitle " Ralph Watson Special Engineer " Trevor being a long time member of NSCC, and mate of many of the great Racing Car guys of the 50's and 60's, a quick driver himself, in cars ranging from a Singer to a Daimler SP250 [ Dart ] ..

Here is Jim Boyd competing in a Hill Climb; note the narrow wheels compared to the Jim Clark photo but the wider guards to accommodate those widened wheels with the strengthening straps ..

Trevor Sheffield wrote:http://ralphwatson.scienceontheweb.net/index.html

Thanks Trevor for reposting that I have it as a favourite on my Laptop refer to it often . Roger

Ivy Stephenson in her Buckler - Climax, that was later owned by Bruce Sutcliffe - a very well known car and driver.
photo provided by Richard Armstrong

I think this was a combined club circuit ACC/NSCC event my first season racing. I was about 17 years old and had not long purchased the ex Francevic Falcon. My first GT is the XT parked next to me with a cover over it. I was a long haired Yetti in those days.

Rallying in NZ acutally started out with events like this. This is Dad in a rally Imp. I think Andrew Cowan helped Dad, and sent him specs to convert it to front radiator trim.
My first impressions of rallying was Dad taking me as navigator in the Rally of the Pines in a LC XU1. I was only young and still at school, awhile away from getting my drivers licence.( I might have been about 13- 14). I remember thinking Sh*t!!!, how was he able to drive the thing sooooo fast, he had it all sideways through the pine needle covered forestry tracks.I may have thought Fark, if i even knew that word then.
Dad also took me as navigator in a Woodhill rally in a LJ 72 XU1 he raced on the circuits. We made the front page of the Auckland Star. What I remember about that was John Woolf was navigating for his Dad Allan. We were together on the road and we both wrong slotted a turn point. We came flying over a rise to find them stopped at a gate, jumping out of the car because they knew we were coming.........................interesting, Dad got it all stopped in time however.


This is the Imp, mentioned at the start of the comment - thanks to Steve Emson . comment is as written ..

These are from the NSCC magazine Club Torque dated September, October and November 1962.

Milan Fistonic wrote:These are from the NSCC magazine Club Torque dated September, October and November 1962.

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Milan, thank you for that, a great read, the J Boot [ my late Uncle - never met him as died before I was born ] was of course Jack Boot who had the Roycroft Bugley " Bugatti / Riley or Riley Bugatti " depending on which is first chassis or engine, and the E Dowding is my Uncle Ed [ Eddie Dowding NSCC Club Captain and later President in 1945/46,] saw him on Good Friday, still with us at 97, in fact am using his car at the moment. Alan Pybus mentioned in the story was a great mate of Ed and family, I knew him also.
I wonder if they ever found the Minute Book or Club Captain's book, I hope so.

Milan I would like to copy / save these pages and show them to Ed in the coming weeks.

Roger Dowding wrote:Milan, thank you for that, a great read, the J Boot [ my late Uncle - never met him as died before I was born ] was of course Jack Boot who had the Roycroft Bugley " Bugatti / Riley or Riley Bugatti " depending on which is first chassis or engine, and the E Dowding is my Uncle Ed [ Eddie Dowding NSCC Club Captain and later President in 1945/46,] saw him on Good Friday, still with us at 97, in fact am using his car at the moment. Alan Pybus mentioned in the story was a great mate of Ed and family, I knew him also.
I wonder if yhey ever found the Minute Book or Club Captain's book, I hope so.

Milan I would like to copy / save these pages and show them to Ed in the coming weeks.

Certainly some very interesting and valuable history.

The listed C. Hodge (Cecil Ces.), was a close friend of Ralph Watson and along with Ralph was early on the owner of a Singer Le Mans. A genuine sports car enthusiast who I remember well. He was involved with the racing of the Roycroft cars as well as the Lycoming Special and on occasion headed the pit crew. He is mentioned within my book in connection with the racing of the Lycoming Special. —-

http://ralphwatson.scienceontheweb.net/index.html

Some more ancient history from the NSCC's Club Torque - February, July and October 1963.