Rod Coppins

[John McKechnie]

Bry3500-in #249 is the Camaro leading the action at Levin.
In it is the Grady Thomson in the ex Team Cambridge Monaro.
Would it be possible please for you to email this pic to me at j.mckechnie@slingshot.co.nz
As I own this car , I would love to have the pic, also I think this is the last race he was in with it , as he crashed during this race.

[bry3500]

Done :)

Bry3500-in #249 is the Camaro leading the action at Levin.
In it is the Grady Thomson in the ex Team Cambridge Monaro.
Would it be possible please for you to email this pic to me at j.mckechnie@slingshot.co.nz
As I own this car , I would love to have the pic, also I think this is the last race he was in with it , as he crashed during this race.

[John McKechnie]

This goes with the above pic-
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.
His new record of 40.95 secs, old record was 42.3
Had a Corvette. in it, now I wonder where that came from?

[fullnoise68]

I`m wondering too John, in particular the year 1969, as Rods original Chev Coupe was sold less the ex Tec Mec Chev V8 motor/box to my father in law about 65/66 when Rod built the Zephyr using that engine, and then the coupe was later sold to Ron Silvester. Maybe Rod drove someones coupe club car for hillclimbs, etc, but with what he had going on around that time, especially with John Ward being killed in Aussie the year before, etc, but maybe someone will know....

[John McKechnie]

Steve- one possibility is that he was very friendly with Spencer Black at that time, and the motor from the Camaro may have gone into it. And this was not the Zephyr motor, what do you think?
At that time he was upgrading the Camaro completely.
Maybe we should ask Spencer on this?

[Bryan]

Anyone recognise the coupe?

24267

[Bruce302]

Rod had a street/hot rod '38 coupe which had a 327 and 4 speed Muncie in it. The engine was not the same one as the Zephyr or the other coupe as far as i know. I can get more details, and probably a better pic from Robin Tanner next time i talk to him.

Bruce.

[Oldfart]

As I was around at the time, it was pretty well known that a number of the "Corvette" engines were pretty ordinary Chevs with Corvette rocker cover. Of course our local guys were pretty good at extracting power from all sorts of things, these engines not excluded.
Wouldn't it be interesting to throw this at the COD discussion? :)

[Bruce302]

Here are a couple of pics of the 38 coupe. the captions in the album mention it being the "record holder", and adjacent photos mention the Taumaranui Hill Climb. The car is described as being fantastic condition and not having a scratch on it, and it being sold by Rod to Robin Tanner. A colour pic has it looking like it is a pale, maybe metallic blue.
Bruce.

http://i58.tinypic.com/21dki2c.jpg

[John McKechnie]

[QUOTE=Oldfart;39410]As I was around at the time, it was pretty well known that a number of the "Corvette" engines were pretty ordinary Chevs with Corvette rocker cover. Of course our local guys were pretty good at extracting power from all sorts of things, these engines not excluded.
Wouldn't it be interesting to throw this at the COD discussion? :)[/QUO-1970

When I first started going to Waikaraka Park in 1970 , in the program, noone had a Chev, they were either GMC or Corvette.
As you say Rhys, an interesting subject, better than talking about Alfa Spider bumpers for 3 hours.........

[Rod Grimwood]

That has solved that one Bruce, sure looks same car and number plate. Brave putting it up a hillclimb but road does look fairly wide and smooth.

[stubuchanan]

Here are a couple of pics of the 38 coupe. the captions in the album mention it being the "record holder", and adjacent photos mention the Taumaranui Hill Climb. The car is described as being fantastic condition and not having a scratch on it, and it being sold by Rod to Robin Tanner. A colour pic has it looking like it is a pale, maybe metallic blue.
Bruce.

http://i58.tinypic.com/21dki2c.jpg

I guess this one is not the same car, or maybe?? #141 Rod at Pukekohe February 1964.

http://s6.postimg.org/md3c7kgdt/Puk_Coppins_Feb_64.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/5pbu52lm5/full/)

Looks very James Dean - very short-sleeved T-shirt. Can't see whether or not he has a cigarette packet tucked in there! Very stylish at the time!

Stu

[fullnoise68]

Yes Stu, that's Rods original Chev V8 coupe, and if you have a look on the Ron Silvester Chev Coupe thread, the red coupe at the bottom of post #65 is the same car when my father in law Barry Pointon raced it. I wouldn`t have a clue how to put that photo on here!

[GD66]

24273

[fullnoise68]

Thanks GD66.

[Bruce302]

This is a pic of the engine (Corvette) in Rod's '38 race coupe. Pic courtesy of Robin Tanner.
Are they Stromberg 97's ?

http://i61.tinypic.com/20ixpft.jpg

[Bruce302]

This is Rod's coupe in Pointon's ownership. Photo from Robin Tanner collection.

http://i60.tinypic.com/2j0cojs.jpg

[Bruce302]

I was talking to Robin Tanner a couple of days ago and he tells me that work has begun on a tribute of the '38 coupe that Rod, and later Robin owned.
Engine and drive train are done, next stop, paint shop. Should be neat.

Bruce.


Here are a couple of pics of the 38 coupe. the captions in the album mention it being the "record holder", and adjacent photos mention the Taumaranui Hill Climb. The car is described as being fantastic condition and not having a scratch on it, and it being sold by Rod to Robin Tanner. A colour pic has it looking like it is a pale, maybe metallic blue.
Bruce.

http://i58.tinypic.com/21dki2c.jpg

[Bruce302]

I spent some time with Robin Tanner today and he told me some more neat stories from back in the day.

The '38 Chev coupe street and hill climb that Robin bought from Rod. as above, was traded, less engine, to Alan Lim out Pukekohe for the ex Coppins Zephyr Corvette, also without engine.

The engine from the coupe was fitted to the Zephyr, along with the Weber cross ram and DCOE carbs that reportedly (claimed) we off the Norm Beech Monaro. The story is that the carbs and manifold were taken off the Monaro and sold here. Robin bought the whole setup from Keith McGregor.

As we know there is a lot of BS when talking about used race parts and cars, so there is a caveat to be applied.
The car Zephyr was sold to a South Island racers according to Robin. This must have been in the early 70's I guess.

Bruce.

[Bruce302]

I spent some time with Robin Tanner today and he told me some more neat stories from back in the day.

The '38 Chev coupe street and hill climb that Robin bought from Rod. as above, was traded, less engine, to Alan Lim out Pukekohe for the ex Coppins Zephyr Corvette, also without engine.

The engine from the coupe was fitted to the Zephyr, along with the Weber cross ram and DCOE carbs that reportedly (claimed) we off the Norm Beech Monaro. The story is that the carbs and manifold were taken off the Monaro and sold here. Robin bought the whole setup from Keith McGregor.

As we know there is a lot of BS when talking about used race parts and cars, so there is a caveat to be applied.
The car Zephyr was sold to a South Island racers according to Robin. This must have been in the early 70's I guess.

Bruce.

[fullnoise68]

The Zephyr was sold to Colin MacBeth, Bruce, who posted on here earlier in this thread. As I mentioned previously, Keith MacGregor who was working for my father in law at the time, fitted the fuel injection to the Zephyr along with the bonnet scoop. Maybe the cross ram set up could have been off one of the MacGregor Bros race boats, as when we were at the Bowdens last year, Dan Bowden while talking to our group about the Beechey Monaro never mentioned the carb set up being sold in NZ.
Like you say though, the fiction sometimes gets in the way of the facts, and a bit of water has gone under the bridge since then......

[TonyG]

Excuse the colours in this shot, but I therefore assume that this is the Ex Rod Coppins Zephyr in Allan Lims hands.
http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq204/TGPhotography/Keiths%20Slide%20Scans/KEITH_01301-2_zpsd7d1f129.jpg (http://s448.photobucket.com/user/TGPhotography/media/Keiths%20Slide%20Scans/KEITH_01301-2_zpsd7d1f129.jpg.html)

[John McKechnie]

Didnt Noel Goodwin run a MK2 Zephyr in the very early 70s?
If Dexter Dunlop and the Black Bros didnt introduce Stock Cars, how many more old V8 Coupes would still be with us. Was just reading about Ron Rutherford giving Rods old Coupe some jandal......
"when his sandal stuck under the accelerator . The koop went up over the roof of the FoWoG driven by Clyde Collins putting tyre marks on the roof. , then hitting the back of Neil Doyles Anglia Corvette before rushing into the distance and writing itself off. MANZ soon issued an edict about footwear."..(Autonews 1969)
Any one know what happened to his HK 327 Monaro tow car from that time?

[Bruce302]

I forgot to mention that the cross ram with Webers was on Robin's chopped and channeled '39 Ford coupe before going into the Zephyr.
It is very possible that the manifold sellers comments were something like this:

This is (just like) the manifold and carbs of the Beechey Monaro.

Robin took his photo album away yesterday so I can't add a pic of the coupe engine.

Bruce.

[Bruce302]

The Zephyr was sold to Colin MacBeth, Bruce, who posted on here earlier in this thread.
Like you say though, the fiction sometimes gets in the way of the facts, and a bit of water has gone under the bridge since then......

Absolutely, and to someone living on the North Shore at the time, anywhere south of Auckland was considered as good as the South Island.

But this would be in the Early 70's after Colin McBeaths ownership. Alan Lim said it had a blown (buggered) 327 so Robin got the Zephyr with out an engine and Alan got the Chev coupe less engine.

[45DCOE]

29873

Great action shot on the dirt

[Milan Fistonic]

From the October 1972 Auckland Car Club Bulletin.

43191

43192

[mac]

Rod was driving the Zephyr Corvette at Pukekohe when it had another major engine failure. After replacing a blown engine with a new corvette short block the cam gear failed causing damage to valves etc. This is when I thought bugger it and sold it all to Spinner Black. I have always wanted to build an exact replica before forgetting what the correct parts were, but too much grey hair has caught up with me. Colin Macbeth

[John McKechnie]

mac- there is the replica out there that Rod gave the specification to have it built.
Rod raced it at Ardmore , had 4 wins in it 5 weeks before he passed away.
May not be exact, but its close enough to get to what you want.
And he did race it in 1983, Dennis Marwood has run it - it has the history and its for sale

[mac]

Hi John, Do you have more info or contact please.Colin

[John McKechnie]

Colin- will pm