The Roaring Season

markec wrote:[ATTACH=CONFIG]10094[/ATTACH]

Good to see input from you once more.

I refreshed the photo for Dave and he asked me to post it for him.

Hi you Guys, I found this faded old shot during our house repairs as a result of the bloody earthquakes. Mark kindly did his magic on, it so here is the story behind it.As I have mentioned previously I had a very strict upbringing , we had to go to church twice every Sunday and it was considered very bad form to change out of ones collar and tie after church in the morning. After the Sunday roast my brother Desmond and myself decided to have a look at what was euphemistiallly called a reliability trial up the Akuti valley road just out of Little River. We think it was organized by the Vintage Car club but can't be too sure of that. Any way the road was not closed and the timing was effected buy a wind up phone with a wire run up the hill to the finish line. The cars were waved off by the guy with the base phone which was the signal for the finish line guy to start his stop watch. If a local wanted to use the road proceedings were stopped untill the road was clear again. Trevor Crowe was the fastest in his J2 MG [ Ford 10 motor Standard 10 4 speed gearbox]when the start line guy asked us to have a go. We obilged and just managed to pip TJ, as we always knew him, by a very small margin. Just try to imagine that today, probably be jail time.

Tell us about this one Dave,

Hi Rod, There is a bit of a story to this one. It's at Dunedin in the early 60's, [Al Dick was in charge of crowd control, can you believe that?] All the corners were right angles as it was a street circuit and it included a bridge where passing was not permitted. During practise I had a wee bit of a miss at the top end and an old Pommy mechanic convinced me that what I needed was a set of KLG 220 spark plugs these were his favorite cure all and he just happened to have a set about his person. So I fitted them and lined up for the race. Now these plugs were the coldest ones that KLG made and were either fouled when I fitted them or got that way lining up because the old girl missed and farted like you would not believe. It was starting to come good when I came up to a Lotus 11 on the over bridge. To my surprise he pulled out and passed a slower car, I stayed behind thinking to Lotus would be black flagged, when he was not the red mist descended and I drove the rest of the race like this, inside wheel lit up and a dose of opposite lock. Hell was I pissed, turned out the Hoo Ray Henry in the Lotus never went to drivers briefings, they were just for lower classes.

That street circuit was about mid 60's. It was a one-off circuit. Prior races had been at the cemetary track. Barry Walker in his sports car hit a lamp post at that meeting destroying the car and himself nearly.

Hi Woody, Yes I'd forgotten about that accident,I can remember driving past it thinking ''that looks bad" Can't remember what he called it but it was self built and all aluminium. I'm still going for early 60's as I went to live in Auckland in 65 and had built and raced the second XK 120 before that

Mirage me thinks. 64 was probably the year.

Mirage it was.

woody wrote:Mirage me thinks. 64 was probably the year.

65...

Yes 65 is on photo

It was the circuit that went up over the Cumberland St bridge and must have come back along Andy Bay Road. I think Walker hit a pole near the bridge entrance. He was a bit wounded and I always thought he succumbed to his injuries later on but I am not sure. There was a photo in the ODT of the accident.

Yup Feb 65 was the race ..won by Jim Boyd
This was the first race meeting I was allowed out to ( Father wanted me to be an All Black and car racing was waste of time and money ) ...I was about 30 mtrs from where the Mirage came to hit pole and if I remember correctly car was bent up in front with rear still on ground and few hay bales around it ..
The curcuit came down Cumberland left into Police, right into Vogel ,right over bridge and then down into Wharf St, right Strathallan past the old Post Office garages and over raillines and then Right onto Andy Bay Road...
Have you got a program in your collection Woody ?

Cheers Lynds

No I have not, but does anybody have one for sale. Barry crashed outside A J Allen's coal yard.

barry walker built the Sabre. i found it under a hedge, rebuilt it and raced it in country gents for couple of years

SEVENTY YEARS OLD today!!!!

Happy birthday Dave you dont look anywhere near SEVENTY more like seventyseven

I have a suggestion for Dave and the blue car - I was lucky enough to be invited to the Leadfoot Festival in my E Type Roadster this year, I like most particpants, were blown away by the event and it was easily the highlight of my (limited) motorsport carear.

Why not seek an invite for next year via http://leadfoot-festival.myshopify.com/pages/driver-entry-form

You'll probably find the roll cage isn't an issue.

They did ask a couple of months ago for suggestions on which Drivers they should invite this year.

Sadly I don't think i'll be lucky to be invited again but it would be great to see your car in action.

And a piece of trivia, I purchased the magnesium minilights from the Wiseman E via the Toyshop about 15 years ago -used them for a while but then got nervous about their structural integrity.

Stewart

Hi Stewart ,thanks for the kind thought, I might look into that. We have not given up on the roll cage yet and am confident of a satisfactory out come. You should get your wheels X rayed at AirNZ. Kerry Rout, old time racer, did my Cooper Vincent wheels when he was running Non Destructive testing. He told me Cooper Wheels vary rarely failed but that was not the case with Lotus ones. You never know, Mimi lites may just last the distance.
Cheers Dave.

Dave, think Rods Leadfoot is only couple of weeks from Hampton Festival, could be worth the trip.