For old times sake - Cossey's Farm Road 2014

[Jeff]

I mounted my Go Pro camera on the roof of my 16v Mk2 Escort and took a sedate drive up these once iconic hillclimb roads.
Although the roads have been altered when being tar sealed and the corners have all been given nice radius's it's still possible to make out just why these roads were so much fun.

Hope these video's bring back some memories

Cossey's Farm , Drury

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmvc_LvPn8M

[Rod Grimwood]

They most certainly change, but you can still see rough configuration with as you say corners opened out a little. Ironic the last bit still gravel and gate is about where finish line was as well. The start was the one, on the concrete pad for the cow shed.

Good idea filming these to see what became of them.

[Ross Hollings]

So keen to look at Chamberlain did not see the Cosseys post,another well done,where have those fence posts and yumps gone !!! Ross

[Jeff]

Here is "that startline" at Cossey's Farm..
Possum waits to start on the concrete pad by the cowshed.
Behind him awaits North Shore's Mike Parkes in his Holden Rodeo off-road truck

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[Jeff]

Here's Ross McCorkindale at Cossey's in 85

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[bob homewood]

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Ran there also in 1969/70 held the Hill Record for a while as well,this would have been the day of the record ,very rough and bumpy on this occasion as you can see

[Michael Clark]

Were you a resident of Drury at that point Bob?

When was the last hillclimb here? The last one I can recall was in October 1983.

[bob homewood]

Michael the last Hilclimb I did there myself was April 1970 ,I also competed at the first one in early 1967 ,albeit in a different Anglia ,it was very rough that day and the car I was driving was set up for circuit racing and was miles too low for the conditions ,I would have run the later car there probably four times 1969/70 ,one of those days I had a ding dong battle all day with Wolfy in the Vitesse until he crashed at the top corner ,the run after I took out the fence at the top corner at the same spot. I do have all the reports and write ups for the times I ran there. I lived in Ramarama at that time
Were you a resident of Drury at that point Bob?

When was the last hillclimb here? The last one I can recall was in October 1983.

[John McKechnie]

Bob- absolutely correct, in those days Motorman covered Hill climbs and other off circuit events all the time with details

[Rod Grimwood]

Bob, that fence had a few visits

[bob homewood]

Bob- absolutely correct, in those days Motorman covered Hill climbs and other off circuit events all the time with details

John I also kept all the time sheets and Club mags from events that appertained to me at that time ,in addition I kept a very detailed record and log book of my own ,I must have had more time in those days !

Grimmy if you may remember I became airborne over the last yump and ended up on top of the bank ,apart from impaling a fence post with one of the towing "a " frame brackets ,luckily no major damage ,she was right for the next run

[John McKechnie]

Bob- you must have quite a large library of all this.
Funny the things you see looking at the hillclimb events then- just read Gisborne Car Club, August 1969 Rod Coppins won it in his 1938 Chev Coupe.
What has happened to all these off road events, is there anything now for this new generation?

[Ross Hollings]

My opinion for what its worth is that several things took place in the 60/70,s ,one of these being that before you could go circuit racing you had to do 3 as i remember speed events,now these would be hillclimbs,bent sprints,standing 1/4 mile etc.After you had completed these successfully you then moved onto the circuit side of things,you then had to wear 3 stripes and be observed that you were ok to be out there.This meant that every new driver had to attend these introductory to motor racing type of events.It was quite a big step up to go onto the circuits,not to forget the cost to go faster.Along came the club circuit at Pukekohe and that changed things drastically,i think the licence system must have changed along the way then also [??].So most folks then could go to the circuit direct and not do hillclimbs.Another fact was rallying came along.....one big hillclimb you could say,boy i wish i had been envolved then,would have loved to do something longer than 2 minutes on gravel! I suppose the final nail in the coffin was the difficulty in staging events with all the regulations etc and the spresd of housing.
Just as an aside,i competed in a couple of events 6 years ago in my Humber 80 Special,these events were a combined local car club and classic car type club.I was not impressed with the standard that the local cars were presented at the start and looked more like cars from a Waikaraka stock car event. In my day if you turned up in a less than well presented car at a hillclimb etc you were certainly told about it
As an aside,I always remember Jim Richards turning up for hillclmbs at Bombay,he would be 'A' frameing his 1200cc red Anglia with a Anglia van also in red,this was tunned up also,both immaculately presented,one meeting his race car played up so he did the hillclimb in the van,and did a very quick time.!!!!!

[Jac Mac]

I think things must have changed in terms of eligible vehicles, most gravel sprints/hillclimbs seem to be orientated toward the rally cars with cages etc, the thought of ordinary road cars being allowed to participate in these events seems to be discouraged, at least down in my neck o the woods, heard about a fellow from AKL a few years ago & wanted to run in the Bluff hillclimb while he was down this way, but was told his road car was not allowed, he was somewhat miffed as he had competed in similar events up north, yet watching coverage of Waimate last week on the TV maybe thats not the case... perhaps Crunch or Carlo can elaborate..

[Spgeti]

It was 2005/6 the last time I ran in a hill climb. Both events were on tar seal and more focused on classics. While my car has a half cage there were road cars without cages competing as well.

[Jeff]

Yes I certainly agree Jac Mac.
I looked at building up a little ( Daihatsu Charade ) club car a few years ago to compete in local hillclimb / bent sprint / car club events for fun but discovered I couldn't "just run" a road car cheaply.
A home made sumpguard and half rollcage these days has to be built and inspected by an engineer etc...
and it just gets sillier for "just a bit of fun".
It's a shame but it's the way the world has gone

I think things must have changed in terms of eligible vehicles, most gravel sprints/hillclimbs seem to be orientated toward the rally cars with cages etc, the thought of ordinary road cars being allowed to participate in these events seems to be discouraged, at least down in my neck o the woods, heard about a fellow from AKL a few years ago & wanted to run in the Bluff hillclimb while he was down this way, but was told his road car was not allowed, he was somewhat miffed as he had competed in similar events up north, yet watching coverage of Waimate last week on the TV maybe thats not the case... perhaps Crunch or Carlo can elaborate..

[Jeff]

Very good point you put forward there Ross.
I didn't realise that the circuit racing licence system included hillclimbs etc - thats a damn good way to hone your skills.
Jim Richards really excelled on gravel and watching him and Leo Leonard fight out the Riverhead Rallysprint in the late 70's in matching BDA Mk2 Escorts was superb stuff. There is rough but superb footage of the event on You Tube with all of our superb drivers of the day including Mike Marshall chucking the CRC Escort off the road at speed.
I was there that day and loved every moment of it as a kid.
Dad worked for TVNZ (NZBC then ) and mounted in-car and on-car camera's with limpet ( suction cup ) mounts
and sometimes clockwork 16mm film camera's were used as they didn't have a heavy battery and could film for 3 mins at a time.
NZBC were relieved that they had taken the camera off Mike Marshall's Escort before he went off.
Video is in 4 parts.
Not good quality but well worth a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCmPmqjhTQY


My opinion for what its worth is that several things took place in the 60/70,s ,one of these being that before you could go circuit racing you had to do 3 as i remember speed events,now these would be hillclimbs,bent sprints,standing 1/4 mile etc.After you had completed these successfully you then moved onto the circuit side of things,you then had to wear 3 stripes and be observed that you were ok to be out there.This meant that every new driver had to attend these introductory to motor racing type of events.It was quite a big step up to go onto the circuits,not to forget the cost to go faster.Along came the club circuit at Pukekohe and that changed things drastically,i think the licence system must have changed along the way then also [??].So most folks then could go to the circuit direct and not do hillclimbs.Another fact was rallying came along.....one big hillclimb you could say,boy i wish i had been envolved then,would have loved to do something longer than 2 minutes on gravel! I suppose the final nail in the coffin was the difficulty in staging events with all the regulations etc and the spresd of housing.
Just as an aside,i competed in a couple of events 6 years ago in my Humber 80 Special,these events were a combined local car club and classic car type club.I was not impressed with the standard that the local cars were presented at the start and looked more like cars from a Waikaraka stock car event. In my day if you turned up in a less than well presented car at a hillclimb etc you were certainly told about it
As an aside,I always remember Jim Richards turning up for hillclmbs at Bombay,he would be 'A' frameing his 1200cc red Anglia with a Anglia van also in red,this was tunned up also,both immaculately presented,one meeting his race car played up so he did the hillclimb in the van,and did a very quick time.!!!!!

[Hart1598]

I remember running my Anglia up the hill, and being on the start line, the night hill climb was great fun

[Trevor Sheffield]

Yes I certainly agree Jac Mac.
I looked at building up a little ( Daihatsu Charade ) club car a few years ago to compete in local hillclimb / bent sprint / car club events for fun but discovered I couldn't "just run" a road car cheaply.
A home made sumpguard and half rollcage these days has to be built and inspected by an engineer etc...
and it just gets sillier for "just a bit of fun".
It's a shame but it's the way the world has gone

Jeff,

The Cossey's farm era more or less marked the ending of low budget racing for fun. I always placed family first when it came to expenditure and every car I used for competition had to also serve as a practical road car. The majority of competitors were in the same boat and cars on a trailer were nor the norm. The serious guys at best used an A frame. Roll over protection was for sissies. LOL

I recall my last event at Cossey's as impressing on me that the fun days were over. I was ranning a moderately warmed 1275 Mini Cooper, as usual driven to the event. There must have been a lot of cow shite on the concrete start pad, as no matter how I tried, the clock ticked mercilessly as I groped endlessly for traction. On the day front wheel drive and road tyres was an impossible handicap. At that point specialist very expensively rally cars were in evidence and writing was well and truly on the wall with money fast becaming an essential requirement.

My memory is a little hazy, but as I recall the owners of the farm drove a very nice Brooklands Riley, which could have been a built up replica, and later on an E type Jaguar. They did not compete, except maybe once, but were certainly seriously car minded. I also recall the hill as being much steeper than as shown in the video and a right hand sweeping corner which called for bravery due to a steep drop off. I think there was a stone quarry close by. Please can someone straighten out my memory.

Here's to memories. Trevor.

[bob homewood]

John,
Out of interest I looked back at the log book I kept for that period and I ran 44 seperate events between May 1969 and May 1970 plus one Hillclimb that was called off as too muddy after practice ,that was 44 Hillclimbs ,Sprints plus race meetings at Pukekohe and Baypark ,not a bad run especially with a 100 % finishing rate


Bob- you must have quite a large library of all this.
Funny the things you see looking at the hillclimb events then- just read Gisborne Car Club, August 1969 Rod Coppins won it in his 1938 Chev Coupe.
What has happened to all these off road events, is there anything now for this new generation?

[John McKechnie]

Bob- here you are...Robert Homewood tied for victory with E Sheldon in Anglias in the under 2500 class doing a standing quarter in 16.4 secs.Puke club day Sept 1969..
Snoopy was riding with Jim Boyd..
On August the 31 Bob Homewood 43.6 sec, 2nd in 1301-1600 at ACC Bombay Hillclimb. FTD was Allan Boyle 37.9. Ross Hollings 40.2

[Roger Dowding]

Remember Cossey's well, competed there several times, first time 1971 in a 1966 850cc Mini, then in 1975 in a 1965 Austin Healey Sprite, 1978, NSCC Motorsport Day in a 1971 Triumph GT6, placed 6th in class and as it was a day of four events, Gymkhana, Sprint [ club circuit Pukekohe ] 2 part trial and finally the Hill .. overall placed 9th equal, one Peter Levet won the day in his Cooper S, followed by Rod Peat in a Mazda RX2 probably.
Ran my Triumph TR4A in the event that was part of the Bardhal series 1979/80.
Attached if I do it right is an article from the NZ Herald in 1967, I think, sorry Guys, my skills aren't that good, suffice to say it shows " A competitor comes over the top during the last meeting of the season " the competitor, Rob Williams in his 1938/9 Ford Coupe, with a Morris Minor front widnscreen, one piece. and a second photo with a drawing of the road Colin Waite Cortina GT and Paul Adams Cortina 1500 were fastest in second meeting in April.

[Oldfart]

Interesting you should mention Rob. He has entered the very same car in the Pre 61 Saloons at Roycroft 8/9 March.

[Roger Dowding]

Rob has also run a mid 50's Allard V8, sports car a K2 from memory, and in recent years a Formula Junior along with NSCC guys Allan Woolf, and Colin Waite, Allan was my neighbour in New Lynn in the early 60's, running a Ford 10 back then pre the Vitesse and the Capri, Woolfy ran at Cossey's many times

[Jeff]

Allan Woolf - what a legend !

As patron of Hibiscus Coast Motorsport Club he had a hell of a sense of humour and it still shows now.
I saw him interviewed on t.v within the last few years while racing and he was asked " What does your doctor think of you racing at this age ?" ( he's 80-something )
He replies quick as a flash - " for christ's sake, don't tell my doctor ! "

Amazing guy / amazing family

[Oldfart]

Not wrong Jeff, last phrase sums them all up.

[Rod Grimwood]

Alan Woolf - what a legend !

As patron of Hibiscus Coast Motorsport Club he had a hell of a sense of humour and it still shows now.
I saw him interviewed on t.v within the last few years while racing and he was asked " What does your doctor think of you racing at this age ?" ( he's 80-something )
He replies quick as a flash - " for christ's sake, don't tell my doctor ! "

Amazing guy / amazing family


The Woolf family are just amazing, and I love meeting and chatting with them, never changed, and never will, just the best.

[Roger Dowding]

Have just found the entry list for the Cossey's round NSCC for the Bardahl Hilclimb, Round 2 dated 2 November 1979, there were 85 entries FTD was H Daniels form Hibiscus Coast Motorsport Club in a Eureke [ Eureka ? perhaps ] in the 1601 to 2500 class, at 52.39 seconds, my best was 60.42 in the TR4A, two weeks later 18 November 1979, the round was Auckland Car Clubs, at McLachlan Road, Kaukapakapa. again a big entry list 68 cars HCMC again doing well as there was club team prize as well as FTD and class wins in the Bardahl, I have the results from the MG round 6, venue not stated but beleive , it could have been Bald Hill Road near Waiuku, a metal road. and finally some results form another round undated but the entry list is dominated by HCMC members including Allan Woolf who did practice and only one run at 49.50 seconds and came second to Max Irwin from Pukekohe, in class E - over 2500 cc, so not sure if the Vitesse or the 3.0 litre Capri, the Allan did the Heatway in and had a spectacular off !!. believe / think the round was near Silverdale. Interesting there is a Robert van Gisbergen running from Auckland Car Club in an Escort, will get these scanned and find some way to get them into the Roaring Seasons archives

[Roger Dowding]

Jeff, thanks for the nostalgic drive, brought back memories, the stright at the bottom, used to line up, have a " nervous one " into Cossey's hedge, then helmet on belts done up and ready to go

[Steve Holmes]

Roger Dowding asked me to post this here:

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[Oldfart]

What a shame that funds were not found to acquire the venue for posterity like Prescott is owned by the Bugatti Owners. I am told they were not wealthy people when they bought that either.

[Jeff]

Thanks Steve / Roger for that newspaper article.
Now I see a map of how the hill was I realise just how much it has been altered.
Auckland motorsport sure owes a debt to the Cossey's for allowing it to be available for so many years.
The view was always superb


Roger Dowding asked me to post this here:

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[Roger Dowding]

This thread came up on Facebook today as a connection to " The Roaring Season " .. Have posted more photos from the Hill on the
" Northern Sports Car Club - the Early Years " thread ..
Maybe time to put a few here - as we know Michael Clark - who writes for N Z Classic Car - is now a resident on the new version of the farm road ..

The place looks like this on more modern maps ..

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[Roger Dowding]

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Wish I still had my " Lands and Survey " Maps that were used for Car Trials in the 1960's - 80's
You had to have the correct Edition as used by the Plotter - like John Crombie - who used changes in roads between Editions to catch you out..
Who remembers John and his Mini Clubman .. Trialling with the Roof Rack on to carry the Kayaks he made
More on this soon.

[Roger Dowding]

Posted on the NSCC thread but should be here.

An article about when the Hill was first used - the Cossey's were great people and their farm track was used from 1967 into the 1980's.
[ Steve Holmes posted this for me back in 2014 - as noted in an earlier post on this thread ]

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The Guy in the Ford V8 Coupe also ran this on the Hill .. this time 1975 - Ross Cammick photo.

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The NSCC " Club Torque " article on the event.

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Some of the cars at the first meeting.

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Lots of names in the results and the photos.. the article from Bob Homewood archives [ correct spelling of his name too ].

[jellywrestler]

there was a motorcycle road race in 1964 that used part of cosseys road, waihoehoe and fitzgerald rd's too.

https://www.facebook.com/New-Zealand-Motorcycle-Road-Racing-Circuits-102074075539174/