The Roaring Season

I termed this photo "oversteer " I was in the running for most of the day for FTD got pipped on the last run ,but was still fastest saloon,this particular corner was at the end of a reasonably long straight and was a fairly fast third gear corner

stubuchanan wrote:I forgot to mention that I was at that Chamberlain Rd climb - we arrived quite late in the day to see a long black car coming round the top corner, hanging the tail out somewhat. Mansel in the TecMec - apparently he had hung the tail out a bit too far on a previous bend and knocked the oil tank off its mountings.

The Tec-Mec was always red in Mansel's day, surely?

David McKinney wrote:The Tec-Mec was always red in Mansel's day, surely?

Hmmmm, Interesting question. That would have been the only time I saw the TecMec with the original body and with Mansel driving, and my memory from a mere 50 years ago is of a black car. He incurred some body damage at Wigram and Scott Thompson describes the car as having plenty of priming paint on it at Dunedin the next week. Black was his favourite colour : the P3 Alfa, the 250F Maserati(2508/2513), and the snorkel Cooper perhaps(?), also the jeans,T-shirts and later the overalls. Perhaps he gave it a coat of black when he got back to Auckland after the Southern Tour. Does anyone have a photo or a recollection?

It was pristine red again by Waimate
In photos of Mansel at Western Springs at the end of the season the car appears still to be red, though it's hard to tell
And the single-seater body was definitely red when Coppins remounted it in February 1962

I am pretty sure it was red at Western Springs.

Thanks PM
Sorry Stu - the occasions on which it might have been black are narrowing down!

David McKinney wrote:Thanks PM
Sorry Stu - the occasions on which it might have been black are narrowing down!

Looks like the little grey cells must have been in B&W mode that day.

He ran the TecMec at Ostrich farm in March 1961 and was 2nd fastest to Ken Sager's Cooper. The car should have been fast on the lower part of the hill, straight bits and fast bends, but getting round the windy bits at the top must have been spectacular. He was also 4th at the NZ Championship Hill Climb at Hawera a week or 2 later, presumably in the TecMec. Are there any photos out there??

He was quoted as driving a Jaguar in the Hawera event - possibly the ex-Coppins XK120, taken as a trade-in?

David McKinney wrote:He was quoted as driving a Jaguar in the Hawera event - possibly the ex-Coppins XK120, taken as a trade-in?

He was a busy fellow wasn't he. He also had the engine-less ex-Yeoman Credit Cooper at that stage.

David suggested to me that this is perhaps Ken Smith in his Ford 10 special,date is early sixties ?

This photo of the Ford V8 Coupe was on the same day, same corner I don't know driver sorry but open to suggestions,this is around the same area where Stu's photo was taken

Roger Lister on the last bend of the Chamberlain Road hillclimb

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1949 scans from NZ Modern Motoring.

Here's a bit of humour, his wife never knew he was raceing for years. He would say " just off to help the boys down the workshop" or "off fishing". I was with him one weekend and we stopped down the waterfront to buy some fish and he wet the bottom of his jeans to cover the fishing. Car was a handful, it was a Vauxhall Viscount. Had triple webers and extractors etc, but note the trick tyres. It was actually quite a quick car for back then in the late 60's-real early 70's

[quote="Rod Grimwood"]
Sorry pushed wrong button.
Here's a bit of humour, his wife never knew he was raceing for years. He would say " just off to help the boys down the workshop" or "off fishing". I was with him one weekend and we stopped down the waterfront to buy some fish and he wet the bottom of his jeans to cover the fishing. Car was a handful, it was a Vauxhall Viscount. Had triple webers and extractors etc, but note the trick tyres. It was actually quite a quick car for back then in the late 60's-real early 70's

The car is a 1934 Ford Five Window Coupe and mate they handled so good. (I have owned about six or seven of these in different configurations...) Threatening to find me another one...

Nabbed a few pics from my father recently. His name is Roger Lister and was very involved with the hill climbs and grass track races as well.
Haven't got too much info on when and where so will just post up the pics i have. He had Zephers and 30s chevs at the time.