Lost Race Cars

[seaqnmac27]

In looking through some MotorActions, I would like some more information on 2 Ford Escorts as they are both completely new to my knowledge. Peter Hustler drove what is variously reported as a 7 or 6.5 litre Escort and the second is the ex Osborne Falcon engined Escort. Any pics? where are they now?

[Impala 65 SS]

Greg Taylors ,Mazda.
Attachment 25460

[501racer]

This car is now being restored to group a trim after becoming a PRC rally car in 1992. It was rolled by Andrew Meidecke in a rally and repaired and then rolled by Geoff Maguire in Tasmania. It was sold to Neville Davis and he still has the car along with Tony Longhurst's 1989 Wolf B & H car.He is looking for a set o fRonal or DJR wheels to complete.

Here are some photos of the last Bagnell Sierra being built at Meidecke Motorsport in about August 89.

[Marty]

501 , I had a feeling that the '89 car was in NZ.

[Marty]

The Sleepyhead Nissans were actually entered as Team Nissan Racing New Zealand and had this very unfortunate end to the 1987 Bathurst

The Nissan finished the race in 21st pos, 23 laps down.

We had already lost around 10 laps changing the gearbox before the rain came. I still have a scar on my right forearm from draining the oil.

The other team car had a major shunt on the thursday with Kent driving, in those days you could run a T car.

[MarkQ]

The Mazda bodied Sports Sedan at Wellington street race, this was another car built by them after the Commodore, Brett has tried to find the original Commodore but don't think he is having much luck at moment.

The ex Brett Willis Mazda sports sedan as it is now, owned by Keith Stewart. Its runs a 6 litre fuel injected Chev, Jerico and 4WD. It finished 6th overall at last weekends Race to the Sky, its no oil painting but it sounded fantastic and went very well.

[Jac Mac]

Any chance a certain ute will be converted to 4wd & rear mounted engine to give him some competition next year Mark?

[MarkQ]

Hi Jack, new family = no race car for a while at least. Lots of clever engineering in many of the cars competing up the hill.
Probably one of the last international race meetings that you pretty much have no rule book and a smart thinking guy can build something awesome and compete at the top level. Definitely your sort of event Jack!

[Jac Mac]

Hi Jack, new family = no race car for a while at least. Lots of clever engineering in many of the cars competing up the hill.
Probably one of the last international race meetings that you pretty much have no rule book and a smart thinking guy can build something awesome and compete at the top level. Definitely your sort of event Jack!

Yes as far as building the car goes, but having to comply with all the new helmet/overalls, belts and roll cage certification is outside my senior citizens comfort zone--- can I use my gold card?? Just about got a whole circuit around the farmlet now, no rules! Your Dad was wanting to run the VCC stuff up the driveway...mind you he has never fronted for a test drive....they would all need a new set of dentures on the next day! Could call it the 'Old Feet' Festival!

[Go Slideways]

Ok, I'm on a roll here, so I'll keep going. In the early 1970s, when Jim Richards still lived in New Zealand and was taking just about any drive offered to him, he did quite a bit of speedway and rallying. Those helping his career along were Jim Carney and Jerry Clayton. Clayton would later supply the 302 Boss Mustang he and Murray Bunn would build into the Sidchrome Mustang, but prior to that, had a speedway saloon built from an HQ Holden Monaro, which, at the time, would have been a near new car. From what I can tell, the Monaro sported a couple of different paint schemes, including one for Sidchrome Tools, as pictured.

Attachment 131

Richards raced the Monaro out of Waikaraka Park, though I don't know how much travelling he would have done with the car to other tracks.

It would eventually be sold to Palmerston North racer Bill Dorn, who did just about everything in speedway, including Stockcars and Modifieds. All Dorns race cars were painted up like large American flags, and the Monaro was the same. He raced the car during the 70s, when it was sold to another Palmy racer. It was eventually retired, but I'm quite certain, later re-appeared as a Streetstock, painted black, when Streetstock racing was introduced to Palmerston North speedway in the late '80s/early '90s.

Attachment 132

Most Streetstocks end up getting crushed, as they're eventually no good for anything else. Was this the case with the old Jim Richards Sidchrome Monaro?

I'm pretty sure that the Monaro was originally raced by Ian Easton before Jim Richards, but I'll check. I do know that Jac Jac was the first one to put stars on it, and during the election period he ran the "Vote National" slogan because it was fairly easy for farmers to tell the tax man that Monaro's and associated costs were in fact tractors lol.

This photo is from Ian Easton's personal collection.




I think that the car was originally a tarmac race car from brand new but was crashed while driving it from Levin circuit to Auckland at Tokoroa, and then converted to a speedway car.

[Steve Holmes]

Thats a cool photo of the Monaro! Thanks for posting. You are right, it started its racing life as Neville Crichton's Castrol GTX racer, and competed briefly during the 1973/74 racing season before it ended up taking a swim on the way back from an event at Levin. It was a rare factory 350 Chev 4-speed car, painted metallic brown.

It was definitely converted for speedway for Jim Richards, and in fact ran for a season or two with the correct HQ nose before being updated to an HJ. Is this the same car raced by Jac Jac?


Terry Marshall photo.

[John McKechnie]

Evan Watson built up a HQ 2 door Monaro to race on the dirt track

[Go Slideways]

Trevor Adamson raced it as a Streetstock in the 90s as number 9p. It was left hand drive but was changed at a later date as they didn't like that as a Streetstock, the car ended up scraped and the cage was put into a new car and sold, then sold again. The roof and cage ended up in a scrap yard in Feilding but has since been scraped and long gone

[Go Slideways]

I'm pretty sure that the Monaro was originally raced by Ian Easton before Jim Richards, but I'll check. I do know that Jac Jac was the first one to put stars on it, and during the election period he ran the "Vote National" slogan because it was fairly easy for farmers to tell the tax man that Monaro's and associated costs were in fact tractors lol.

This photo is from Ian Easton's personal collection.




I think that the car was originally a tarmac race car from brand new but was crashed while driving it from Levin circuit to Auckland at Tokoroa, and then converted to a speedway car.

Jac Jac just told me that his car:
"wasn't Neville Crightons it was raced by Jim Richards and Steve Millen at Levin motor races were they crashed it and repaired to drive it back to Auckland and got written off at tokoroa when they crashed into a lake. Jerry Clayton then turned it into a speedway car for Richards and Millen - I put it in vote national colours during the elections, because I always pick a winner lol"

[Go Slideways]

Jac Jac Eastons Mustang - "This was a genuine Trans Am bought into NZ by Dexter Dunlop"


It is now in the Bowden Collection in Australia.

[BMCBOY]

[QUOTE=Go Slideways;61596]Jac Jac Eastons Mustang - "This was a genuine Trans Am bought into NZ by Dexter Dunlop"]

I found this in the archives from Manfield 1977

[Go Slideways]

Thanks so much BMCBOY - I'm a huge fan of Jac Jac, and of Ross Cammick


Jac's Monaro that he put the stars and stripes on.
He got told off by the official body for putting stars and stripes in the numbers on the 302 Boss Trans Am car in the picture above.

[Shoreboy57]

I recall (if memory correct) Ian Easton doing demonstration laps at Manfeild in a sprintcar back in the day - it looked pretty wild, especially since it had to turn right as well as left.

[Steve Holmes]

I recall (if memory correct) Ian Easton doing demonstration laps at Manfeild in a sprintcar back in the day - it looked pretty wild, especially since it had to turn right as well as left.

I was at that meeting too.

[Steve Holmes]

Jac Jac just told me that his car:
"wasn't Neville Crightons it was raced by Jim Richards and Steve Millen at Levin motor races were they crashed it and repaired to drive it back to Auckland and got written off at tokoroa when they crashed into a lake. Jerry Clayton then turned it into a speedway car for Richards and Millen - I put it in vote national colours during the elections, because I always pick a winner lol"

Jac Jac probably wasn't aware of the Crichton history. The car was so totally different from when it because a speedway car. Its only in recent years this information has become more widely known.