The Rorstan drive was a lengthy and convoluted non-event. Pretty sure the listed drive was a Climax-powered car and as a result as you've indicated he never drove it.
The Rorstan drive was a lengthy and convoluted non-event. Pretty sure the listed drive was a Climax-powered car and as a result as you've indicated he never drove it.
Jim was a very good driver but I do not think he drove in single seaters after this. I do remember him at Baypark being upset with Norm Beechey after a saloon car race as they had banged doors coming through the S corners. (Great entertainment )I can't remember whether that was in the Porsche or the Camaro..( I need help on that one )
( Ken Hyndman )
I reckon you're right. For some reason Rorstan had the Australian driver Paul Bolton driving for them the year before and after a poor results and reliability record he fired a Brabham through the hangar at Wigram. From Levin '68, Bolton on the left, Yock in the Lotus BRM, Palmer in the M4A and Frank Radisich in the Lotus 22 before it became the HCM.
Attachment 29719
Jan 4th 1969. NZGP. Pukekohe.
I had been a fan of Chris Amon ever since I had seen him drive in the rain at Ardmore in 1962. Although he did not have much luck on the Formula 1 circuits he was highly regarded by all his competition. Like his team mate Derek Bell, he was fast and talented and also a survivor. He certainly drove well at Pukekohe and this was his second win here.
( Another distant "Brownie" camera photo as Chris looked around after winning the NZGP )
Attachment 29720
(Ken Hyndman ..photo )
The day after the NZGP. Jan. 1969.
This was big money back then. Perhaps Rod Grimwood could have been found here. I thank Kevin Hirst for the advice..
"Ken, look for the bloke on right with paper in hand on post 81, looks like he is pushing car but is actualy pinching the guy's watch, that is Rod, cheers, would love to be there, "
Kevin, I will keep my "Apple Watch" out of sight at Laguna Seca ! ( Just joking )
Note on this stock car announcement the name of the one and only Mr. Spinner Black. (Cowan-Black Promotions )He was an enterprising man.
Attachment 29743
( From 1969 NZGP programme )
(Ken Hyndman )
Here you are from the 1968 Shell Year Book
Don't worry about your watch, keep a hand on the wallet cobber.
Cheers see you there
Well folks it is time for me to sign off as I have run out of old programmes and photos. This has been a fun project bringing back many memories and very interesting inputs. Perhaps some of you can carry on with programmes into the 1970s and beyond. I have taken up too much space and now I am moving aside.
Thanks,
Ken Hyndman.
( In 1969 I could have gone off to relax with a "Lexington" filtered cigarette. I just may not have lived long enough to write this ! )
Attachment 29744
(1969 NZGP programme )
Thanks Ken for doing this as its been really interesting and brings back a few memories.
Thank you Ken well done , good photo of Jim Palmer I had a great yarn with him at HD an other fellow car dealer & a top man from Hamilton
Grant,
You have always supported my "stuff" and I really appreciate that and especially the opportunity to meet you.. I may be back after Laguna Seca..perhaps Rod will provide me with some material !
Hey, I did find this find this bit on Jim Palmer in the 1969 programme. Interesting comment regarding Colin Chapman. Also ironic in the picture of Bolton through the hanger (post # 286) that it is Jim Palmer driving by in his McLaren M4A.
Attachment 29745
1969 NZGP programme entry.
(Ken Hyndman )
Note on this stock car announcement the name of the one and only Mr. Spinner Black. (Cowan-Black Promotions )He was an enterprising man.
Ken-
Spinner and Terry Scott ran Forrest Lake stock cars in Hamilton
His brother Warren ran Waikaraka Park with Cowan.
Rod could tell you a few tales as he worked there.
Warren has a car wrecking business just across the road.
My son told me you called while you were in NZ recently....next time and with a drive in the Monaro
Tasman Races in Australia 1969.
Time to finish off with a Youtube movie showing the sights and sounds of the winged cars that would soon be banned from racing with these wing configurations.
(Thanks to Alec Mildren & Alfa Romeo for recording this)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUXVLE88oEc
(Ken Hyndman )
That is interesting Ken ......Jim is a down to earth hard case guy only met him a couple of times but a genuine good bloke ....amazing history in this short read , the other guys I meet from that era were few mainly due to the age gap[ from single seaters ]....but got to know Roly very well ..due to living in same city & same interests re golf & cars [& his beautiful daughters] & cool sons not to mention helping me win a few pre 65 championships in a mustang , hey re Rod [Grimmie] Grimwood I had a text saying he was off to help with fellow kiwi F5000 up yr way, an other top bugga we go back a few yrs hope you catch up with him but don't expect a coffee just good beer ....lol would be good to catch up again, to be honest since you were here I have been running around in overalls cleaning & fixing .........but managed to take family away on a good holiday in between that ..take care Grant
Ken, thanks for all your Posts, Nigel Wow, even older stuff,
I gave all mine away Programs [ Pukekohe 1965 to around 1983/4 and several from Baypark mid 70's ] to Rhys Jones, the Motorcycle Racer and Author of the book, " On Track - A history of Motor Racing at Pukekohe " published in 2008, I have an Autographed copy from Rhys.
After writing the book I gave him the programs and he advised " wished he had them before he wrote it .
Keep it coming Guys ..
In reference to Lexington's "after action, satisfaction", Graham Hill was quoted as saying "personally, I get my satisfaction from the action".
I was just a young man with a sheltered upbringing at the time, so of course I didn't understand what he was alluding to.
As for Lexingtons, they had toasted tobacco and were a great smoke. Several of my friends and I puffed away on them with much enthusiasm and were disappointed when they disappeared off the market after a very short lifespan. I had to go back to Peter Stuyvesants (The International passport to smoking pleasure) and I don't know what Graham Hill had to say about them.
David Hunter
Nigel. You will have noticed that the 1956 programme you posted does not have a list of competitors for the NZ Grand Prix. That's because it was printed on a separate sheet that was included with the programme. Unfortunately most of the programmes one sees these days do not have the entry list.
If I can find my copy I'll post it here.
John McKechnie,
I hope next time we can meet up and we will have time to go out in the Monaro.
I wish I had kept the 1968 photo I took of Spinner unloading his yellow Camaro at a house in Morrinsville with Terry Scott and his wife holding baby Kayne. The Camaro came off a pretty sorry looking trailer considering the load it was carrying. I think it was the same trailer as shown in these photos. I just remember laughing at the antics and comments of these guys. Like I mentioned a year ago, growing up in the Morrinsville area at the time was really special. Our rugby club (Kereone ) had 4 All Blacks on it at one time.(Don & Ian Clarke, Ponty Reid and Ron Hemi.) Plus all the motor racing connections in the Morrinsville area .e.g. Spencer (Spinner ) Black went to Kiwitahi school with my sister, Bryan Innes's family brought property from my grandfather, Dennis Marwood married the sister of a neighboring farmer, a relative owned the Motordrome Service Station in Te Rapa, Terry Marshall was at Morrinsville College when I was there, John Paton (Paton & Black ) engines was a friend,Terry Scott, Ross Greenville had a really sweet niece etc. etc. ( We were like a big family )
Plus we had Nigel Watts father as our family doctor. Life was good but I think I just took it for granted but I am grateful for those times now when I look back.
Again you can see the standard of trailer Spinner used to move this fine machine around ! "she'll be right mate, no worries "
Attachment 29766
Attachment 29767
(Camaro parked outside Spinner Black's home in Morrinsville. Freshly painted in Cambridge colours for Terry Scott to drive. )
Thanks again John,
Also Nigel thanks for carrying this site on. (I never realized how young Bruce McLaren looked until I saw .that 1956 programme !)
(Ken Hyndman )
Ken- AB said he same thing about the same trailer- it was always working hard, especially in the South Island.
Lifes wheel will certainly have turned the full circle for you when you can use the Monaro radiator panel as a bar table again.
Warren said he would like to catch up for a drink at the same bar.....and it looks like from the views here, it will be crowded bar.
Attachment 29802
Attachment 29803
These could be small, A huge Pontiac amongst the small stuff, Mini's etc and the Lycoming 1966/67 not sure .. from my " Box Brownie " type camera days Ken ..
In #305- the Veteran Grand Prix field looks amazing, does anyone have anymore info or pix on this, or has it been covered in another thread?
The White Steamer for example, does that still live on?
Hardy Motor Wreckers certainly look well represented, have they had any mention previously?
How long did it take for the 1907 Cadillac to travel the 10 miles?
Twombly and Zedel are very rare names, were they genuine race cars?
Google tells me the Zedel was a real car Company and they did make a racer or two..
Attachment 29804
The Zedel Motor Company, or otherwise known as Automobiles Zedel, was first an outfit that built engines for bikes, motorcycles and three wheelers around the turn of the 20th century. They were located in St Aubin, Switzerland on the southwestern end of Neuchatel Lake.
In 1902 they moved their headquarters due west over the boarder into Pontarlier, France. This was done in an effort to limit import duties since the majority of their customers were french companies. It wasn’t until 1906 that they started building their first motorcars.
Zedel cars were small and, in the beginning, had room for only two people. The first engines were 4-cylinder powerplants with 1128 cc. Later on those numbers would grow to 3563 cc by 1912. Automobiles Zedel was a well-known make for the time. Leading up to World War I they were averaging more than a vehicle a day in production. It was’nt quite the assembly line production made famous by Henry Ford.
In 1908 Zedel came out with a four-seater and then in 1912 they introduced a vehicle that was a little more upscale.
Just reading Merv Hardy won the first Midget race , Newmarket Park at the bottom of Sarawia St in 1949. I assume its the same man?
Reference here is-http://www.historicspeedway.co.nz/Olympic%20Park-Newmarket.htm
John Mck.. have found a little on the Twombly too!!, an American Cyclecar
The Twombly was a cyclecar manufactured in the US by Driggs-Seabury between 1913 and 1915. The cars had water-cooled, four-cylinder engines, two seats in tandem, and an underslung body. Few of them are still in existence.
The designer was Willard Irving Twombly (1873-1953), inventor and aviator. His largest investor, Reverend David Stuart Dodge petitioned for bankruptcy in 1915 claiming he was owed $428,238 by the Twombly group of companies for loans and interest.[1] Shortly after this, Twombly became involved in an expensive divorce case and was eventually jailed following accusations of bigamy and misconduct.[2]
Attachment 29813
Wow, it seems that this race back then certainly had some very unique cars.
Any body remember it at all?
Twoomby sounds likes like a real character- half a mill in 1915
Oldfart- you know quite a bit on cyclecars-have you come across this one ?
After reading the very well researched Rorstan thread I was reminded that somewhere I had an old B&W photo from the 1964 NZGP at Pukekohe. I took this photo at the Elbow Corner and Tony Shelly had just gone past the left side and Jim Palmer is coming under attack from Bruce McLaren in his Cooper as he comes out of the corner and on the right is Jack Brabham slowing for the corner in his BT 7 A.
On the very next lap Brabham crashed into Shelly at this spot and was lucky to escape unhurt as his car just missed the horse stable building after being launched in the air. The next lap McLaren slowed to check on Jack and Tony and then gave Jack the "finger" as he accelerated away. The crowd roared at all the excitement.
Attachment 29888
( Ken Hyndman photo )
According to another Forum, the Pontiac is being peddled by either John Windleburn or maybe Colin Prast .. if anyone has 1966 67 Pukekohe Race proegarms, like the ones I gave away in 2008, will have the answer, can't quite make out the Race number.
The Lycoming should be Jimmy Boyd
In my garage again and found another piece of Motoring history " The History of the Dunedin Festival Road Races 1953 - 65 ", entitled " Racing Round the Houses " by Scott Thomson [ who wrote the Ron Roycroft History " Up to Speed " ], published in 1983 by the Vintage Car Club of N Z Otago branch, I purchased my copy at the 1984, Dunedin Street Race Revival meeting. Also found newspaper clipping and some photos both mine and ones from the Otago Daily Times.
here are the front and back covers of the book [ booklet really ]
Attachment 29988
Attachment 29989