Dale, I think the Mustangs are about to get their arses kicked! Man I`m looking forward to the Denny Hulme Festival!
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[QUOTE=Bruce302;21925]Here is a pic of the Terry Allen Camaro promoting the end of year meeting at Bay Park.
http://i48.tinypic.com/2ibf337.jpg
and Terry Allen followed by Bryan Thomson at Bay Park. (Steve Elliott supplied photos)
In reference to my comments at the start of this thread regarding posting some of the photos from my collection. The bottom Terry Allan/ Bryan Thomson photo is obviously a cropped version of the same photo on the NZ Historic Muscle Cars homepage, so is likely of credit to a professional photographer of this era. Again, I apologise on the basis of sharing them for everyones enjoyment.
I found this picture of a Camaro dirt track racer, its a 67 or 8 by the looks and looks to be at the Bay Park infeild dirt track, was this the Coppins Camaro? All i can read on the roof is "Prestige Panelbeaters"
Dale M
Dale, when the McConnachie Bros built the damaged Glenvale Camaro into a speedway saloon, they made it right hand drive. If you emailed this photo to Tony Cardwell, he`d probably know whose car this is. I`d say it`s the same era, and possibly a guy from down south. Maybe 1974 with having the Commonwealth Games logo on the side.
Here's something different. A couple of Unofficial Result sheets showing Rod had a successful day at Pukekohe on March 11, 1973.
Attachment 14530
Attachment 14531
Attachment 14532
Rod-absolutely ground breaking.He was the only one on them and set the fastest time. When you look at the width of the tyres on his car sliding, they do look like pram wheels. Ahh, the joys of standard production racing.
Been into the scrapbbook again, (wish i had kept these in the books i cut them from way back then)
The 1st is from a mag. and next 3 are from the Glen (Jigger) Jones Collection. Thats Glen with Rod.
Have a few from back then will sort and post.
I like the first.
Think these may be from Auto-Action or Motorman got all types clippings
Rod, they are good photos of Glen with Rod and Pam Coppins. When you look back and think how many people who were involved in motorsport of all types that have sadly been taken by different forms of cancer over the years, such as Rod and Glen, Bruce McLean, Red Dawson, Barry Butterworth, Bruce Drinkrow, even Peter Hanna, and more recently Jason Richards, and there are many more, maybe it`s a coincidence, or maybe a combination of fumes, tension, anxiety, etc that triggers it off. I`m no doctor, but I`ve often thought about it.
Steve, I think we may think that way because we know all these top people through our motorsport conections, but tennis players, golfers, fishermen etc have all unfortunately fallen to this horrible disease. Technology today and tomorrow is making huge steps at last to counter act this and we can only hope. As you say all way too young and with so much to offer.
I spoke with Ken Bailey today, Ken lives in Tauranga and i worked with him for a couple of years in the early 80's, he said he'd crewed for Rod back in the Zepyhr/Corvette days and did in fact buy this vehicle from Rod and continued to race it a few times, he said Rod also drove while under his ownership, he then sold it to a Chinese guy in Wellington and never saw it again. I have invited Ken to come to the Denny Hulme Festival as im sure he'll have a few good "Rod Coppins" stories to tell, he was chuffed i'd asked.
The other guy that always had a few good stories about Rod and really spoke highly of him was that character "Cedric Price" from Matamata.
Dale M
From Practice Day NZGP 1965 :
http://s6.postimage.org/5ezrjm60h/Co...orvette_65.jpg
What came first? These pipes look brand-new, heat marks from welds visible. By Matamata (top picture in Rod's post #51) they were painted white. Then the chromed pipes and fancy air intake in post #52.
Stu
Stu, apparently the `optimum' length for each pipe was 30 inches, so with the bends being different radius',etc, this is how the staggered height came about where each pipe finished at that length. The `prototype' pipes in your photo were too small diameter and too long, even though the car went well with them. The chrome pipes and the bonnet scoop were the brainchild of Keith McGregor, who incidently ran one of my father in law Barry Pointons' workshops and did a lot of work on Barrys' Chev V8 Coupe which was also raced previously by Rod Coppins ( Barry bought the coupe less motor/box, as the Tec Mec engine which was in the Chev Coupe went into the Zephyr). Keith and his brother John started Heat Treatments Ltd, and Keith is a well known ex Hydroplane, Flatbottom racer, and as Rod told my father in law at the time, `shit Barry, she goes now!'
Agreed, I also have wondered about it. I will always remember standing at Turners car auctions when a gentleman came up to me for a friendly chat. I did not recognize him at all. It was Rod. He looked totally different as seems to happen with cancer. Very sad, i always thought of Rod as a kind of good looking movie star guy. It did have an impact on me, terrible business..............
Amazing that this is the same car!
Attachment 14553
These are by Steve Twist.
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This is the front cover of Allan Dicks NZ Motorsport annual for 1966.
Attachment 14557
Fantastic photo! This is from the Easter 1970 event and thats Terry Allan in the big block Camaro just in behind Rod. Terry visited Bay Park three times, the latter two times when the car was painted in Castrol colours. This particular event was its most successful.
Note how crossed up Rod is here. I suspect Allan has given him a helping hand. The below Motorman magazine article shows the Aussie Camaro later that same day with the nose creased from where he'd hit the Cambridge car.
Attachment 14558
This is Rod in the ex-Pete Geoghegan Mustang being chased by Robbie Francevic in the mighty 7 litre Fairlane at Pukekohe, in 1968. Rod didn't enjoy a lot of success with the Mustang, which wasn't as well developed as the similar Fahey Mustang. John Riley later confirmed this in an NZ Hot Rod magazine interview, as he owned both cars.
Photo is by Steve Twist.
Attachment 14559
This pic is Rod in the Zephyr Corvette, (reportedly fuel injected) at Renwick 1966.
If I understand correctly, the engine in the zephyr was out of the Tec-Mec, which was repowered with a Corvette engine from one of the Team Camoradi cars that was wrecked before it took the start at Le Mans in 1960. That being the case, was it Rochester Fuel injection ? Reportedly it was Bob Wallace that liberated the Corvette engine and gearbox, before giving the remains of the car to a Gendarme.
http://i45.tinypic.com/1607deb.jpg
Great photo, it looks as though Rod is looking down to his mirror. So who is it crossed up behind him?
This is Rod and John Ward, winners of the Wills 6 Hours, 1966. Their 3.8 Jaguar did 172 laps, an average of just over 62 mph. Source The Shell Book Of NZ Motor Racing, by Peter Greenslade and Euan Sarginson, provided by Steve Elliott.
http://i48.tinypic.com/ou9pnm.jpg
Bruce.
Dale, this is a very rare shot of Ken in the ex-Coppins Zephyr at Levin during the 1967 season. Photo is by Steve Twist.
Attachment 14572
Couple more from scrapbook bit faded etc.
Two great pictures Rod, those "All Comer" days just looks Cccccrazy, can see why MSNZ changed the format the following season!! i guess its the Doyle Anglia with stacks though its bonnet? and i was told that the scoop on the Zephyr was a requirement when Rod went to Fuel Injection for clearance, and American Hilborn unit i believe, i have seen an under bonnet picture showing this somewhere?
Steve H, was Kens name listed in the programme for you to know its him? at least we can ask him next month.
Dale M
Page 35 from Allan Dick Yearbook :
http://s6.postimage.org/5s5bf88hd/Co...take_66002.jpg
Stu
The Fountain, David McKinney, did the original id when this pic was originally published in the Steve Twist Collection, Dale, and that's good enough for me. Get Bails to come on here and join in, or show us a couple of his pics.
Patrick, the steering wheel and the short pipes on the wrong side were the first visuals that popped up, I remember picking the wheel when the mag was new as well !
Regards GD
The "Chinese Guy" from Wellington was probably my brother who owned a service station. The car ended up there but was not brought by him. One of his workers brought the rolling shell from Graham Anderson (Mantel Motors who raced ex Kocis Torana) for $1.50 who used it painted orange in I think the first OSCA race in Levin. Gilbert Mallia of stock car fame expressed an interest to convert to saloon on for Te Marua. Remember him crawling around underneath talking about "mounts for Jag Gearbox". Remember the strut towers poking thru the bonnet. Not sure if jag gearbox was fitted at some stage, there is an article in an old Motorman that may confirm this. Do not know what happened to the roller after that. Elcoyote use to hang around the service station -he might know more.
Hi Guys, I see a lot of talk going on about the Zephyr Corvette and would like to clear a few things up. I'm Colin Macbeth and both myself and Keith McLure purchased the car from Rod Coppins. We owned and raced the car for a few years. My friend Ken Bailey drove the car at Pukekohe and Keith and I just bummed around in it at Sprint meetings. Ken and myself did all the work on the car which entailed a lot of work due to rule changes at the time. The Corvette engine in the car tossed a rod at one of the Pukekohe meetings at which time Ken withdrew from our programme. I managed to pick up a new Corvette block and completed the car again. At this stage I was talking to Rod and he said he would love to drive the car again, which he did at a few meetings. Unfortunately had another engine failure and at this time I also decided to give up and the car was then sold to Spinner Black who told me he used the engine in his speed boat and as the body was fairly well knackered I believe it was scrapped. If anyone would like to discuss exactly what components the car had in it etc feel free to contact me Ph 07 8666766.
Cheers, Colin
In the old days there were hard and fast unwritten rules about the way photos faced. You never had vehicles or boats facing into the spine of the magazine, always outwards. Same for people's faces on the cover. However when people were inside a publication they were to face the spine.
It was deemed more important to follow these rules than such accuracy as having the wheel on the right side of the car.
And so it was (or at least that's what I had beaten into me by the grumpy old sub editors).
Hi Colin, nothing like posting on the Roaring Season “half-truths from past memories” to get the correct answers, LOL
Make sure you come along to the Festival Colin, this is why I PH Ken as you guys are the ones that where around when this history was happening. Also the first weekend thanks to Steve Elliot(fullnoise68) we will have Rods daughter Toni Coppins in the HMC marque to talk about her legendry father, im sure she’d like to meet all of you guys. Its 30 years in June since Rod passed and he is now a motor sport icon, and remember Rod was twice NZ Saloon Car Champion so he did make it to the top of NZ motor racing, and Bruce Thompson will have “the” Pontiac on display.
And a few of us would like to meet you guys as well.
Dale M
When Rod first got the car off Pete Geoghegan, it was still in Australia, and upon first driving it Rod thought he`d been sold a `pup'. He then questioned Pete - at the same track - who promptly jumped in the car, did a few laps relevant to the lap times when he owned it, got out and told Rod `drive it harder'. It was never as well developed as the second Geoghegan Mustang, but still was a good car. Fortunately Rod saw the light and got into a Chev.........