New Zealand All-comer Saloons

Just found the Anglia fastback now for sale!
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Ford/photos/a-171334218/p-74239606.htm

 

Hi Steve, long time buddy.

From what I understand, the Sylvester '38 coupe was the ex Coppins car. Obviously developed along the way. I think Sylvesters had a 38 coupe but it was lost in a fire.

The Coppins Zephyr was powered by a Corvette engine that came out of a Maserati 250F, it was known as the Tec-Mec when it had the Chev engine in it. The Vette engine was from one of the 3 car Le Mans Corvette team, but a night time joy ride wrecked the car befor the big race. The body was left with the Gendarme, the engine and box went into the back of the team station wagon. That wagon was driven by Bob Wallace. He was later a key part of the Lamboghini buid team.
In fact I think he still has a shop in Arizona for Euro exotics.

Cheers
Bruce

 

Great to see a few Kiwi's reminiscing on the history of circuit racing. My experience started mid '60's at Puke. Just spent Saturday at Waihi, post elsewhere on the HAMB "Jalopy Dust Up", with my wife and son (12) The apple never falls far from the tree

 

Hi Guys , I found some photos of the lycoming at teretonga race track here in invercargill. at the classic race series. these were taken in the last couple of years.

It was here again a couple of weekends ago, but it was a awful week end and i didn't take many photos.

hopefully these will load

/Users/jondale/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2007/9:11:2007/DSC00143.JPG
/Users/jondale/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2007/9:11:2007/DSC00147.JPG

 

heres a pic i took at a Nats back in the 70's. An allcomer style rod.


In the 70's our family owned bakeries in Auckland and one of the businesses we bought out was Colin Lumsden and his dad at meadowbank Bakery. Colin ran a Chev powered Dodge ( I think) in all comers racing at Puke etc. He ran a T10 behind the Corvette engine. it was the typical allcomer weapon.

I think those two 38 Chev coupes that raced on the dirt at mere mere were ex all comers too.
A lot of rodders from those days were involved in one way or another with the allcomers scene and one my aunties exhusbands has a huge collection of pictures from those days. Unfortunately he's dropped off the radar.

 

Hey Kiwi Kev.... I wrote that article on the Sylvester Chev for NZ Hot Rod mag, and took those photos on some old cheap-arse camera. Unfortunately I dont have those original photos any more (or any old photos... the first wife got snitchy and burnt them all ) I've still got that copy of the mag though.
Just thought you'd like to know.
Other cool cars from those days were the Lycoming special, The Neil Stuart Special, Rod Shuter's "Colour Me Gone" 59 Ford, Eddie Fairbairn's 4 carbed flathead dragster.... plenty more too, I'll have to put the thinking cap on.

 

So did I Kev.. ,a bit before the topless bar and wet shirts though,just some sad bands they got on the cheap .
The guy in the garage next door was an interesting bugger though. he burgled Kasper Autos in Otahu and pinched a pile of Chev engines and stuff then tried to flog it. Most of it was crap so he couldn't sell it..ha ha.
Outside my old digs about a mile or so from the jolly.

 

Wasn't that the Street Cleaner, the Custaxie was Colour Me Gone ...and that was different from the Color Me Gone funny car on my bedroom wall ...and we never got the tv show that inspired the funny name

 

You're quite right.... must be creeping senility. I also did'nt realise this is an old thread, and that I'd already replied to it a while back. I better go increase my meds.....

 

Hi there all, new guy here.

What an unbelievable thread. A couple of small things, my Grandfather was a friend of Ralph Watsons and helped him build the Lycoming special on variuos visits to his workshop. He also watched him machine a new vee twin split block from a solid peice of alluminium to make the BSA special hill climb car. Ralph actually fabricated the fuel system for the Lycoming from scratch as in the aircraft the fuel is fed into the engine from underneath. Can't do that in the race car as there was some tarmac in the way.

Anyway the second thing is the Jack Nazer Cossack Victor was thought to have been dismantled and split for parts. I believe it is the Tim Chadwick book that states the car is no longer however it has been photographed in a barn on a Farm in Northland somewhere. How would that be for a barn find?

 

Mark,Northland rules! ( I still own a place in Mangonui) .

Johnny Riley was another allcomers racer who drove a Buick( may have been an Olds,) powered Anglia 105 E on the street in Otahu back in the day.
And there was the Traco Olds powered hillman imp....

 

Jack Nazer, I clearly remember that metallic green and white Cossack Escort like it was yesterday He had a Anglia fastback prior. Even had a slot car painted the same as that Escort when I was a kid... He was racing same time as my Dad and his Lemon and Paeroa Racing Team...

 

this isnt the one on trade me is it fast back anglia http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Ford/auction-207715454.htm

 

b10m, this is a great picture! I used to see a car like this at Westwood race track over here in Canada,but that background just makes this photo so interesting.

 

That fastback anglia has been on tradme for ages aye, thought it would be gone real quick.

I guess lots have seen the "mustanglia" thats been around lots of swapmeets in the north island?

 

’ve been trying to remember the earliest NZ cars with so-called Corvette engines. I think Kennard’s Healey, which appeared late in 1957, was the first, but I’d be surprised if its engine was a genuine Corvette. On the other hand the Stanton-Corvette, which first raced at Wigram in 1960, might have been, as I think the Stantons had pretty good connections with the Californian hot-rod crowd.
The first so-called Corvette-powered saloon also appeared in 1960, namely George Dixon’s ’38 Chevrolet coupé, but that used a 1956 Bel Air engine bored out to 4400cc.
The next year Johnny Riley and Red Dawson had ‘Corvette’ engines in their pre-war coupés, Chev and 32 Ford (!!) respectively, and over the next few years there were a number of other Auckland-based coupés - the Fords of Garth Souness (32!) and Glenn Jones in 1963, for example, then the following year Dawson’s famous Willys and Rod Coppins’s Chev. Tait’s South Island Chev had also appeared in 1963.
It was only in 1965 that people got around to dropping V8s into more modern cars, and we had the Coppins Zephyr-Corvette and the Morrari, as well as Colin Lumsden’s ’57 (?) DeSoto. Silvester’s Chevs and Doyle’s Anglia came along later again, not to mention John Miller’s frightening Renault Dauphine.
In single-seater racing meanwhile, the Stanton-Corvette had been joined in 1961 by the Tec-Mec, whose engine was allegedly (but I believe incorrectly) described as being ex-Scarab. This was the engine Coppins later ran in his Chevrolet, then in the Zephyr. The 1962 season brought us the Monza-Corvette in sportscar events, and also the converted Tec-Mec, followed in 1964 by another converted single-seater, the Stanton.
Re the Coppins Corvette/Zephyr, I understand it went something like this.

The 1960 Camoradi Corvette, was wrecked in August 1960 in
sweden. The engine and gearbox were removed and stuffed into the team's Ford station wagon and returned to Modena. The "remnant" car was abandoned to the investigating officer, perhaps as tacit agreement to NOT arrest Bob Wallace, the driver, for some sort of violation.
Wallace then assisted in putting the engine into a Maserati 250F, for
shipment "down under" to raise in a "run what you brung" series. The car
ran without particular success, because it was over-powered and repeatedly
crashed. It was finally purchased by folks who wanted to put it into GP
trim again, and the motor ended up with Coppins.

So the Coppins engine was definitely a Corvette, and a very significant one,
and not ex Scarab, but ex the Maserati 250F (The Tec Mec ?) courtesty Bob Wallace.The developer of the lamborghini Miura AND Countach!!

This is according to the current owner of the wrecked, but now rebuilt Camoradi '60 Corvette.

Now,I know Robbie Campbell had some really good pictures of Allcomers racing,especially the above mentioned Duece coupes. .I wonder if anyone has access so they post a few for us to perve at?

 

there is an 'Urban' myth regarding Rod Coppins Zephyr,Jim Clarke and the Wigram race meeting ,early 60's goes something like this:Jim clarke was electronically timed down the back straight at Wigram (reputed at the time to be the longest straight in the Southern Hemisphere/considering it was a runway of a fully 'commissioned' Royal New Zealand Air Force base,used two days a year(friday/saturday) for the Tasman Series,with the Trophy being the 'Lady' Wigram trophy/cup) ,so the myth goes,at '136MPH in his Lotus Formula One Race car (British Racing Green comes to mind)so, during Friday practice for the Allcomers Saloon Cars , Rod ,with the exhaust sticking straight out through the 'bonnet'of the MK2 Zephyr (like a 'Ferggie' tractor) was timed ,as the myth continues at a 'sparkling' 146MPH,upon returning to the 'pits its reported that after some consideration of the vehicle Rod was driving, Jim Clark walked over to Rod, shock hands and suggested "you're a braver man than I am Gungudin"

 

Rod Coppins and his Corvette powered Zephyr.
Second pic shows the usal corner dramas with Colin Lumsdens 58Desoto( NZ Plymouth ) with vette powermjag front end and wires on the front and dual rears...
Third pic, Rod shows them how to get around the corner.

 

In the above pic you can see the Morrari in the field and the Roof of this Chev Coupe ( came from Penrose,I have to really scratch the head to remember the name)

 

Barry Pointon, the panelbeater from Penrose had the '38 Chev, according to TNF...............

 

I remember seeing the mid engined Renault Corvette Of Johnny Millers that has been mentioned a couple of times on this post competeing in local car club events.
I was visiting a friend in Christchurch back in the 70's and spotted a sidevalve diff lying in his Mothers garden. It was converted to independent sort of De Dion type with a linking arm that came off a Citereon. When I asked him where it came from he said the guy that sold it to him said it had come out of a V8 powered Renault. Johnny Millers of couse. The rear end eventually made its way back to Nelson (with a 32 5 window that the diff was destined for) and eventually back to Johnny Miller. The Renault has been recreated. The rear end being the only original piece of the car left. I often wonder without my chance recognition of the rear end in CH CH would it still have foung its way home to Motueka?

 

Huh, I forgot about this thread. Some really great posts added here. Dirtynails, where did you get those pics? They're great.

Just out of interest, were any of you guys taking race photos in the mid to late 70s? I'm needing some for a couple of articles I'm doing.

 

Could have been Barry's now you mention it. In the mid 70's me and few mates went to an auction in West Auckland where damn near every 37 or 38 Chev coupe still in Auckland had been rounded up and parked in sheds. We bought three of them. I think one or two were ex allcomers cars .

 

Chown's service station on the main road at Tekauwhata( south of Auckland) had a ford diff done like that too,laying outside the workshop. I often thought of grabbing it for use in my coupe..ha ha

 

Gidday Bruce, yeah thats correct. Sylvester had at least 3 Chevy coupes. I have a photo of him on a dirt horse track in the 50s with a near standard looking car. Then there was the ex Coppins car which was written off at Ruapuna in 1966, then that was replaced with the silver/red car that is still in the family today.

 

Here is the Sylvester Coupe previously raced by Coppins. The caption doesn't list where this is but I suspect its probably Renwick. This would be shortly before it was wrecked at Ruapuna.

 

Great pic Steve,
The stance is almost identical to the later chopped coupe.

Is it possible they swapped bodies for the wrecked one ?

 

finally worked out how to post pictures

 

Cool!

The Lycoming Special...

 

this renault was racing at teretonga it had a chev in the back seat facing the back with a belt drive on to the drive shaft beside the drivers leg .