The Roaring Season

OOopppps wrong colour , thanks guys for correction.... I remember some one sending me an [auto action I think] while living in London with a big photo of the charger up side down , perhaps it was a Red Charger Gary drove , Don't think it was the Orange one that he raced later on though ........ geeeeee we are getting up to about 40 yrs ago how time has flown lol

Originally posted by 16bbls
.....It looked liked scaffolding tube and was clamped together. The car had been prepared by Jim Bayliss in Newcastle (Jay Bee Clubmans). I have also seen a few of the other privateer cars of that period fitted with this type of half cage.

That was totally acceptable then...

A single roll hoop bolted to the floor at around the B-pillar level, then the removable stays which went to the rear parcel shelf. Bond Roll Bars must have made a thousand like that!

Ray- my Team Cambridge Monaro had the same style fitted in Nov 1969.

Also to take roll cage safety to an extreme- look at Lee Holdsworth accident- cage made the car so strong, but the human body isnt.
Thats why crumple zones were made on modern cars.

Ray Bell wrote: A single roll hoop bolted to the floor at around the B-pillar level, then the removable stays which went to the rear parcel shelf. Bond Roll Bars must have made a thousand like that!

Yes, exactly and we were of the opinion it had been supplied through Bond.

I am pretty sure the one in the Skoda must have been boiler tube. (Full cage) I took it out when I tried to sell it as nobody wanted a factory built production one. Yes this car was prepared in Yugoslavia and sent out prepared for the other cars to be copied from. The cage weighed a ton!

This is Sutherlands Charger, yes John, Silver, and yes no roll cage, and yes it used to scream. So did the people in the pits when it came over the sand and wire fence. That is Alan Woolf standing looking at rear of car and he was in pits with his Escort when it landed beside them. Watched it and could not believe no one hurt and also Geoff got out thank god.
If it had a modern seat it would have been different, as the seat folded.
Mind you if it had modern seat it would have had cage.

Castrol GTX Championship Race at Pukekohe November 14 1976.

Elvie Williams


Norris Miles


Mark Jennings


Inky Tulloch


Hal Colthart


Doug Allan

A few more from the GTX race November 14 1976

Trevor McLean


Kevin McNamara


George Bunce


Ray Williams

Great photos! That's the earliest photo I have seen of the Trevor McLean Charger. I understand it to have arrived in NZ around mid 1973, hence the plates GM1048. Most racing images show the car with IP4188. I would be extremely grateful if you were able to post images of Chargers racing at Pukekohe on 3 February 1980 where I think there were quite a few competing on the day - Trevor McLean in the same Charger, George Bunce in a Mustard E49, Derek MacDonald 340ci Charger, Allan Scott E49 along with a few other Chargers.

I'll see what I can find but in the meantime here's the entry list for the Production Saloon Car Race.

Nothing from the Feb 3 meeting but I've got some from March 9 1980.

Hal Colthart


Trevor McLean & Gary Bromley


Allan Scott

Great photos thank you for sharing [fantastic]

That is fantastic! Many thanks for those. We are still seeking photographic records of the #90 Charger that was raced by George Bunce in that Feb 1980 Production Car race, so hopefully something will turn up. The ex Trevor McLean Charger is alive and well in the SI, however the ex Allan Scott then Mick Quinn Charger I understand hasn't survived.

What happened to the Charger that Grady Thomson drove-one of Lyl Williamsons ?

It had a cosmetic restoration and then made its way from Auckland under new ownership down south.

Great photos of the Camaros.
The Tulloch car is today owned by Inky.
The McNamara car has been in Aussie for a few years and has been up for sale.
The Bunce car was to my knowledge still in Auckland. Thats the ex Richards Crichton car.
The Allen car is the ex McKee car which was a championship winning car and is stiil in Auckland.
The Allen family own the ex Archibald car which was Doug Allens first Camaro.

Excellent and thank you for posting those BMC. Really grateful to see some photos from the day.