Another South Island OSCA racer, John Osborne in the Chevy V8 powered RX7. This car met its eventual demise at Pukekohe a few years later. Was a great looking car. My understanding is the car does still survive though?
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Another South Island OSCA racer, John Osborne in the Chevy V8 powered RX7. This car met its eventual demise at Pukekohe a few years later. Was a great looking car. My understanding is the car does still survive though?
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Bob Homewoods beautiful BDG (I think?) powered Escort Sports Sedan. This lightweight car was an absolute rocket ship. Note the position of the exhaust out the side of the bodywork. This car sat VERY low! Bob still owns it, and given enough spare time, will eventually get it back out on the track.
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Ralph Mossmans awesome little (Chevy?) V8 powered Viva. I think this car was 5 litre powered, against the 6 litre opposition, so a little down on power, but it was a great handling car. I believe it was destroyed in a crash?
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Former hot rodder turned racer Rob Kennard, another of the leading South Island OSCA racers, in his V8 powered MkIV (with MkV grill) Cortina. This car was actually Ford powered, a bit rare back then, against mostly Chevy powered cars. My understanding is that Rob is now Sheriff of a small California town. The Cortina later went to Kim Buckley, and I believe Steve Ross might have it now? Damn thats a bright paint scheme!
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I think John may have the Mazda back and doing rebuild, heard some rumblings when down Ruapuna while back.
Also think Ralphs little Viva (body) is around back of workshop.
The amazing Ian Algie Alfetta, with alloy centre mounted Milodin V8. One of the most radical race cars seen in New Zealand, and very quick. It ran 13" diameter Minilite wheels, which were actually wider in the rear than they were tall. Algie himself sat in the area where the back seat used to be, while the motor sat squarely in the middle of the cockpit. Gordon Burr now owns this car, and takes it out for demonstration laps at historic racing events.
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Thanks for the update Rod. I remember speaking with Osborne about the RX7 several years ago, and I thought he said at the time Russell Due in Taihape owned it, and John really wanted to see it back out on the track. I guess he decided to just do it himself. Great news also about the Viva. I thought that car was gone, so its good to know it may have survived.
Wayne Huxfords V8 Capri. This car first appeared in 1979, and raced competitively through until about 1996, by which time the landscape had changed completely, and Huxford was up against US space-frame Trans-Am cars. The Capri started life looking quite similar to how its pictured here, though without the large rear wing, and with a smaller front spoiler. Initially it was powered by the Morrand Chevy motor out of the David Oxton Begg FM5, and I think thats still the power unit shown here. Over time, to keep pace, the Capri was modified further and further, repowered, to eventually bare little resemblance to the car in the picture. To the best of my knowledge Huxford still owns it.
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One of the best looking cars of the era, Brett Willis' stunning Chevy V8 powered Commodore. The workmanship of this car was incredible. Lots of beautiful hand fabricated wonder to enjoy. Note the reward position of the motor, right at the forward point of the windscreen, next to where Brett sat. This car raced for a few seasons, always at the pointy end, before Brett built a Chevy V8 powered Maxda MS6. I personally preferred the Commodore. It seems to have disappeared after he sold it, I believe Brett is trying to hunt it back down.
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Another Chevy V8 Commodore, this time a South Island car, of OSCA racer Steve Vigurs. This is the car originally run by Clyde Collins for his buddy Avon Hyde in PDL colours in OSCA in the early 1980s. But I believe Clyde actually bought it as a project that had already received a lot of work before he got it? This car went through several hands, in both the South and North Islands, including Glen Jones, Grant Taylor, and, I think (?) Michael Johnson? It was eventually written off in a South Island event.
Prior to this car, Vigurs had raced another former Clyde Collins car, his old MkIII Cortina V8. He also went on to build a Chevy V8 powered Mitsubishi Celeste for OSCA. Does anyone know what happened to that car?
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Long time OSCA racer Ian Munt, in his beloved Chevy V8 Capri. This car was built in Australia by Bruce Carey, and raced in early Aussie Sports Sedan events in NSW, mostly at Oran Park, in Grace Bros colours, as part of a team which also included Pete Geoghegans Super Falcon and Porsche 911. Munt bought the Capri off Carey while living in Aus, and eventually shipped it back home to Christchurch with him when he returned. The car started out fitted with quite modest wheel arch flares, but over time Munt continued its evolution, fitting box flares and trying a few different engine combos, including fuel-injection. The big rear wing sprouted up in the mid-80s. The colour scheme also changed on a regular basis, from white/orange, to silver/black, green/black as pictured here for sponsor Waterbed World, white/charcoal, and eventually back to white/orange once more. The one main-stay of the car though were the Mawer wheels, which were one of the first sets of Mawer wheels made, as Carey was good friends Dave Mawer.
Ian Munt eventually built up a very nice looking VL Commodore which featured a sort of modified TWR bodykit, but retained the Capri, and it was still in his ownership when he passed away. His son Evan raced the Capri for several more seasons, on a shoe-string budget, but eventually had to sell it, and its now owned by Keith Tunnicliffe.
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Barry Algia, brother of Ian, raced this radical HT Monaro in North Island Sports Sedan events. The Monaro ran a full front sub-frame, as pictured, and a fuel-injected small block Chevy, with McLaren wheels. Barry rarely ventured beyond Pukekohe and Bay Park to race the Monaro. He still owns it to this day. Another of the Algie brothers built a Chevy Monza, which I have never seen, but would love it if someone had photos of it they could post?
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Probably one of the widest cars ever to race in New Zealand, Peter Meadows' wild Chev Corvette. I believe this was a space-frame car, and this is possibly the first season Meadows raced it. It was later repainted red and black, for his sponsor at the time whom I can't recall, but for the 1989 season, was repainted white/red/blue. Meadows suffered a big shunt in the car during that 1989 season at Pukekohe, and the body was severely damaged, and I seem to recall another body was flown out from the US for the next round at Manfeild. That season ex-pat Kiwi Steve Dymand shipped an IMSA Corvette out from the US to race as part of the NZ Sports Sedan championship, albeit for no points, in preparation for an assault on the IMSA championship that year. So Kiwi's were treated to the sight of two Corvette's that season.
Meadows doesn't appear to have raced the Corvette again after that 1989 season, and in fact the car itself appears to have vanished completely. Anyone have any clues?
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Last one! Here is Jim Short, who supplied these pics, pictured with his little Porsche 911, which added a touch of European class to the rugged Kiwi big banger sedan fields in the 1980s. The Porsche was a normally aspirated example, so down on power to the V8s, but handled superbly, and Jim always enjoyed himself. Here he is seen with fellow racers Ralph Mossman and Brett Willis.
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What a great set of pics - thanks Steve and Jim. More than a few cars that you would like to see running again
Russell Due mentioned in #407 above apparently finally succumbed to cancer late last year. He had moved from Taihape a few years ago and was living a few hundred metres from the Manfield circuit. He had imported a Trans Am car-don't know about the RX7. Neil Deighton (the mayor of Mangaweka) would be the one to ask.
Ok lets have ago !
Front left Trevor Crowe Starlet V8, behind him Bruce Manon Escort 2ltr Turbo, Behind him John Osborne RX7/V8, to right of him Jim Short Porsche, right of him Rob Kennard Cortina MkV1 V8, right of him Ian Algie Alfetta V8, behind him Steve Vigurs Commodore V8,to left of him Brett Willis Commodore V8, left of him Tony Rutherford Mazda RX2 Turbo, behind and to right of him don't know, to very right Peter Meadows Corvette, behind him Bob Homewood Escort BDG, behind him Dave Smythe Escort 2ltr, to left of Smythe Me Escort 2ltr, to left of me and behind Vern Smith Commodore, to very left black car is Craig Pulman Falcon Coupe GT and at very back is George Shewiery in Mustang
Can not work out the rest
Just worked out that behind Willis and beside Meadows is Ralph Mossman Viva
And inside of fence from left to right, not mine, mine, not mine, and Definately not mine.
Yes I still have it ,it only had the BDG in it for the last couple of meetings right at the tailend of the time I raced it when it was painted orange and white ,all the early races when the car was plain white as the photo here it ran a 1850cc Lotus Twin Cam with a Hart 416B head and Lucas injection ,the season when the car was Blue and White it actually ran a 1600cc Short stroke Paul England Lotus Twin Cam engine with the Lucas injection
Hey Bob , I remember the first time I saw yr car at B/P [the escort] it was a rocket ship in its day & well done , ......... as years went by we ended up meeting at Ramarama motel at the dinner table this is where I first met you , at start of pre 65 , we have had lots of laughs & fun , love to Delwyn & boys ........ Grant & Kylie
Nice to hear from you, Bob. Tell us...what did it weigh ?
Looks pretty light...:cool:
yep not sure who the pole dancer is but looks familiar :cool:
Been a few years Grant, but a couple of years before with my little Angle box sitting on the left side of trailer at BP my then girl friend, (note the flash hair) and in picture a couple of years later climbing pole my then and still wife. Gee don't they change (the cars I mean)
Sponsors fine products in hand!
Ha hahahah Roddy yep , they should get faster [the cars] yep that's you love the pik, did not even know you had raced an Anglia , we ended up getting ours to 1,7 at b/P with lots of work, & I believe a couple yrs ago Andrew Stevenson got his down to 1.10 puke , but using Nissan crank now allowable , but still the old block &head , we tried doing a down port was a marked improvement but didn't hold to gether long enough to get the best out of it .... I don't think you ever meet Kylie [my wife] mate she still looks fantastic , lovely lady & 20 yrs younger , heheheheheh
This was the colour scheme in 1988 when the sponsor was Selectrix
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Tony Marsh was running this Datsun Sunny in 1988.
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Oh wow, fantastic Milan! Doesn't that Corvette look sinister! I'd love to know what happened to this car.
Some more pics from Jim Short. These days Bruce Manon does a lot of racing in his white and blue MkII Ford Escort classic race car, but back in the 1980s he had this very fast turbocharged MkII Escort Sports Sedan. Compared to some of the wild looking machinery of the period, the Escort looked quite tame, but could really hold its own.
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Here is the Steve Webling Alfa. Is this the same Alfa that was the Coppertone car?
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The quick little Glen Jones Datsun 1200, before Glen purchased the white and red Chevy V8 Commodore pictured above with Steve Vigurs.
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Another of the OSCA boys, John Fisher in the Chevy V8 powered Capri. This is the car formerly raced by Avon Hyde and owned/run by Clyde Collins. But well before that it was raced by Frank Ryan, back in the mid-70s. Pretty sure Ryan ran it with a Ford motor too. Its had a lot of owners over the years, and been pretty knocked around. It appears now at historic events, but its been fitted with a different body kit, because the kit fitted here was in pretty bad shape.
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And here is a car I'd only ever heard about, but never actually seen. This is the Chevy Monza, raced by another of the Algie brothers. Rod, which Algie was this? Its a good looking car, but rarely seen. Looking closely, it actually appears as if it might be a road going Monza modified into a race car, rather than a tube-frame fitted with a Monza body, as most Monza race cars were. But either way, I'd love to know more about it. Where is it now?
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