Team Cambridge Monaro

[thunder427]

....Lee, Tim Slako is a real Kiwi pioneer in motorsport,lives and runs a very succesful 'tune Shop' in Perth, is the Australian distributor of 'Red Line Oil' products, Tim is one of those people in motorsport that you can't help admiring,he has that ,'I'll give it a go', approach, topped up with a 'ton' of talent, I recently rang Tim,first time in a lot of years,as I had a couple of young friends,from overseas,on a road tour of OZ, stuck in Perth,transport had died,Tim in his usually friendly,leave it to me approach, had them in a 'realiable' 4x4 and on thier way....thier parents in Germany are ever so gratefull to Tim for his Honesty and Integrity.....Tim's a Good Guy!!!.....But ,then he is a Kiwi!!!.........................thunder427/MJ

[Milan Fistonic]

Milan, I have another request on a program. At the Bay Park International, Tasman Formula race 28 December 1969 -Motorman February 1970- in the saloon cars, Spencer Blacks Holden Monaro was mentioned , the motor blew again. After this meeting he sold the car to Grady Thomson. Do you have the page showing the 0-5500 Saloon car class with this entry, car number and driver? If so, can you post it please .Does anybody have any pics of this at all?

Obviously things changed between the time entries were submitted and race day.

[Bruce302]

Feel free to add to the Coppins thread John, I have more to scan as time permits, but it may be a day or two. How's the 'Smurf' ?

Milan-once again you have found gold. Great details here.
Interesting that this information on Coppins is here and not on the official Coppins thread.

[fullnoise68]

I spoke to a guy this afternoon, pretty much in the know at the Monaro/Camaro changeover. Rods words in relation to the Monaro: `that thing belongs on a leash'

[Bruce302]

Great progress John, but are you allowed to play on Christmas day ? Of course the promise of a drive and some black lines up the drive should be approved.
Bruce.

Bruce-Please take this info across, it has interest as he has different numbers and gives more history of his transition to the Camaro. He didnt just buy it and race it.He bought it on the eve of the Mercury 1000 series, after guest appearances in it for several meetings.
It is amazing going through these old programs when you know what to look for. Just look at what we have foungd just on this thread.
Just come back from seeing Barry Algie and told him that I saw him in the program for racing at Puke 7 Dec 1969.He had forgotten he was there.The car was supposed to be green, but he said it was blue-told him that was the info he gave, not what was reported.
XA Smurff comes back tomorrow at lunchtime.Motor /box is all ready and waiting. May be driving it Xmas day. My plan of all brakes, front end, rear end has come together. Pass seat, fire extinguisher-2 clips- and seat belts all in.

[Bruce302]

Looking at the period photos there were a lot of cars poorly set up. Nose high in particular. Further development saw the Monaro become a reasonable handler. Rod had the Camaro behaving to his liking, with regular tail out cornering, and the Monaro isn't that much different in basic design.

I spoke to a guy this afternoon, pretty much in the know at the Monaro/Camaro changeover. Rods words in relation to the Monaro: `that thing belongs on a leash'

[Bruce302]

Indeed send the pics through, I'll gladly post them on the HMC thread. I know the IDA's are not for the Smurff but it could do with some too right ?

Santa may leave a moon manifold with 48IDA set up in my stocking.Rest assured Xmas day will still give me 4 plus hours to work on Smurff- will do interior quarter, door panels and rear parcel tray. Should be a good days smurffing. If I flick you some smurffs tomorrow , would you like to post them?

[J42E48]

Hi Lee-the very same Tim Slako who had the dayglo pink Mini here went to Aus and raced big cars over there.

Tim Slako raced an E38 in the 72 season of the WA Production Series along with another fellow Kiwi, Jim Mullins.

[Milan Fistonic]

Milan-hi, I am back again with another request on a program if you can help me again please. Once again the year is 1969 the meeting is Pukekohe. I dont know the exact date , except that it was November,and was the NZ Saloon Car Championships. The Team Cambridge Camaro was entered and to be driven by Jim Palmer.Only practiced Friday-never raced.The Team Cambridge Monaro for Rod Coppins was not ready .
Do you have the entry in the program for 0-5500 race, if so can you post it please?
.Riley pulled out during racing.First meeting for Fahey in new Escort, and Barry Phillips first run in his Cooper.

Sorry I can't help with an entry list but I can tell you that the meeting you refer to was the 1969 Benson & Hedges held on the 1st of November.
In Allan Dick's report he has this to say about the Team Cambridge cars.

Spinner Black's cars weren't ready. The Camaro for Palmer was in serious braking trouble in the practice on Friday and non-started. The Monaro for Coppins never arrived at all.

Then in a reply to a reader's question about Black, Allan states:
The Camaro, which incidentally is a new car and not the one raced by Black last season, did several laps on the Friday before the B & H meeting, but it appeared to be in dire braking trouble. Jim Palmer drove the car.

[Milan Fistonic]

Milan, I have another request on a program. At the Bay Park International, Tasman Formula race 28 December 1969 -Motorman February 1970- in the saloon cars, Spencer Blacks Holden Monaro was mentioned , the motor blew again. After this meeting he sold the car to Grady Thomson. Do you have the page showing the 0-5500 Saloon car class with this entry, car number and driver? If so, can you post it please .Does anybody have any pics of this at all?

This what was written about the two cars in Autonews.

Spencer Black had entered both the Monaro and the Camaro. Originally Spencer was to drive the Chevvy with Rod Coppins having a drive in the Holden. In fact this is the way that they practised the cars - at first. However during the second session Coppins took over the Chev while Black took out the Holden. Accelerating out of Harmans Corner the motor went bang, the rear wheels locked up solid and the Monaro-well-she was all over. Bad news inside the sump. So Rod was given the Chev Camaro for race day while the Monaro was taken home.

[J42E48]

For J42E38-Tim Slako was racing that day and came 6th in his Mini Cooper S.

What day / meet was that? I was more referring to the whole 72 season for the Production Touring Cars, which both Mullins and Slako campaigned in E38's for most if not all the races. Both chargers had kiwi logos on the guards to let those locals know their roots........

[stubuchanan]

Milan- thanks for this extra info. In the Motorman mag, I wondered why there was only 2 races, that explains where there rest of the days racing went. Man ,these two 327s had some issues at the beginning of the season.
Jim Palmer was quite a successful peddler in his HK 327 and HT350 Monaro in the Production races, interesting to consider how he would have gone in the Camaro .
Hope he will be at Hampton Downs so I can talk to him-does anyone know?
As with previous request I am looking for the entered race numbers from this program for 0-5500cc.
Does anyone have a program from this Benson and Hedges 1969 race meeting and can help me here please.
For J42E38-Tim Slako was racing that day and came 6th in his Mini Cooper S.
That is a very interesting post script that the Team Cambridge Camaro was not the Team Lexington Camaro. This is glossed over when this car is discussed.
Does anyone out there have anymore details on this ?. Also what ever happened to the earlier car?
Looking at all the racing pix from 68-69 , there was no number plate .

I have a B & H 1969 Programme :
There were 4 races on the day -
1. National Touring Car Championship 1001 - 4200 cc 10 Laps
2. National Touring Cars 0 - 1000 cc 10 Laps
3. NZ Saloon Car Championship Race 0 - 5500 cc 12 Laps
4. B & H 500

I can scan the entry lists for you and post them up tomorrow. I may also be able to decipher some of my 43-years-ago notes on the programme. May even have done lap charts for races 1-2-3

Stu

[Milan Fistonic]

This is from Autonews Vol 3 No 14 in the Teretonga report.

Thompson has bought the [Monaro] from Spinner Black. He bought it minus motor and installed the 350 mill from his brand-new road-going GTS350, shoved in a cam, added a set of side draught Webers(!) and has gone motor racing. "There's a lot of work to be done before I do any winning."

[Milan Fistonic]

Milan-can you tell me what number Autonews that was in. I have vol 3, number 11.
In this the Monaro was for sale and gave its lap times for practice at this meeting-
Apparently at this practice session, Coppins in the Monaro was lapping in 65.8 .
The Camaro was lapping 65.7, so there was not much between the 2.
Fahey was doing 67.2, Dawson 64.4,Riley 65.3
$8000 could buy this Monaro complete ready to go with new four wheel trailer.
Had 48 IDA Webers with Moon manifold, now have found this to go with the car.

It came from Vol 3 No 12 though the actual magazine has Vol 2 No 12 on the cover.

[stubuchanan]

here is program for this race

Here is my page of same programme with grid noted on top right corner of page, Riley on pole. Not sure who was supposed to be on row 2 with Rodger Anderson or on row 5 beside Brocklehurst, but clearly they non-started.
Dawson used '35' race number not 135 as in programme. Not worth repainting both doors I guess!



Also Fahey Escort getting close scrutiny -



And the 2 North End Motors (Kamo) Mini Coopers of John Weston and Tim Slako. I presume Tim was from the North, like Weston



Don't seem to have a picture of Bob Homewood's car, sorry Bob.

Stu

[Malcolm McLeod]

Yep, Tim Slako is an expat Northlander, from Waipu.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Mr McKechnie sir,
If it's the John Stone I'm thinking of, then he is the chief photographer at The Northern Advocate newspaper in Whangarei, you should be able to get him at: photos@northernadvocate.co.nz . He still competes on occasions in the Classic Trial events, in fact was champion a few seasons ago. That's if I'm thinking the right person....

[fullnoise68]

John, I hope you`ve got one hand on the keyboard and the other in the toolbox LOL!!!

[Bruce302]

great archive photo John, I know how hard that was to get. In some ways it is good taht it did sit for so long and not actually get totally demolished on the road.

Bruce.

[Milan Fistonic]

Milan-back with new request on this Monaro quest. I have had a very kind gentleman supply to me a pic of the Monaro at the Port Road Drags , Wellington about 1970. Got the best time of 10.07 seconds.
This was 3/16 of a mile standing start .Was running 58 DCOE Webers with McKay cross over manifold, and very F5000 exhaust type system .That is fast!!! Anyway they were experimenting with a down draught set up as well.This was featured in an early 1970 Wide Wheels mag.
Would you have this mag, as if there are pics I would love the get a really good copy of it-some of these pix can be grainy.

I can't find anything about the Drag meeting but the May Ruapuna Mercury Series report has this photo of the Monaro carbs.



In the report it mentions that the Monaro had been repaired after the Levin shunt. Thomspon finished second to Fahey in the second preliminary race and retired from the main race after the gear lever broke. He tried to carry on changing gear with what was left of the lever but eventually the gearbox stuck in second and he was out.

The shunt happened at the mid-April Levin meeting where "most saloon events except the championship races were supposedly for all-comers, but the only significant addition to the fields was the Monaro of Grady Thompson, which apart from its un-necessarily gutted interior, and over 5.5-litre engine, would have qualified for the championship events in any case."

In practice Fahey did a 54.0 sec; Coppins a 54.2 sec; Nazer 54.8; Riley 56.0 and Thompson also 56.0. Thompson finished third in the Levin Saloon Car Championship race behind Fahey and Coppins.

"In race 9 Grady Thompson had the Monaro going extremely well, but it looked very twitchy, and eventually he lost it at Beach Bend, and caught it again, only to hit the bank at Rothmans, doing considerable damage to the car. This was said to have been caused by a blown tyre."

Then at Ruapuna "the next day."

"After stuffing his hot Monaro into the bank at Levin, Wellington driver Grady Thompson won the main race at Ruapuna the next day in the similarly painted production Monaro that he usually uses as a tow car."