NZ Cars - A Cottage Industry

[kiwi g]

Hi Paul
Did you say somewhere on here you had a tiki car or part of ?
I am interested in any and all information
Cheers Joe

if you were after the original new Zealand tiki . as in previous posts .
I have the roadster version of the lyttelton coupe version . body only .
this is not the imported body but the original Dunedin based model .

[RogerH]

Would anyone know the origins of this car :

https://www.racecarsdirect.com/Adver...6/ford-special

It was meant to have been built in New Zealand in 1961.

[Spgeti]

A Jarvie body Roger. Oldfart May have the goods on it.

[Oldfart]

A Jarvie body Roger. Oldfart May have the goods on it.

I did try to communicate with the guy a few months ago, no response. I will try phoning him in an hour or few. Dubious to say Goodwood or Mille Miglia in the extreme!

[RogerH]

From doing some subsequent research I presume it could be the Jarvie bodied Buckler 90 built by Merv Mayo around 1956 and later run by Malcolm Gill?

[Oldfart]

From doing some subsequent research I presume it could be the Jarvie bodied Buckler 90 built by Merv Mayo around 1956 and later run by Malcolm Gill?

No Roger, that is Kelvin Browns car which he owned back in the day, and now still has, or again.

[RogerH]

No Roger, that is Kelvin Browns car which owned back in the day, and now still has, or again.

Thanks Rhys - maybe the one for sale is a later built Jarvie but not on a Buckler chassis?

[Oldfart]

Thanks Rhys - maybe the one for sale is a later built Jarvie but not on a Buckler chassis?

to the best of my knowledge, there were few Jarvie bodied Bucklers. If this wasn't in the wilds of Scotland I would go and have a look!. I see nothing from the photos to indicate Buckler.

[Roger Dowding]

Have been advised by Ross Osborne from Dunedin who is a member of Austin Healey Car Club that this is a Furi - Jaguar powered. built by the Bennett Brothers ..

The Car
Attachment 45837

The engine - Supercharged Jaguar
Attachment 45838

Is anything else known about the vehicle above.??
Also can someone enlighten me what this car is - from the programme of the 1984 Dunedin Street Races.
The " Crowe Special " Race #76 Driver R Shand year 1960 and engine 3800 cc, so could be a Jaguar

Attachment 45839

Update ; Mar 2019;
Have been sent a detailed History of the Jim Bennett Cars the Furi's - name originally by taking letters from the main components of the first one " F " o " R " d and A " U" st " I " n.. but not quite in order.

Question?? Do I post it here ? or on my Dunedin thread - as using that for a lot of random articles - probably there but will highlight it here - have a lots of scanning and editing to do..
May take a while but " Watch This Space "..
The reason the Furi is not in that entry list is because Jim only ran in the Standing Start Sprints on the Saturday run by the Otago Sports Car Club - he didn't run it in the Sunday races. More to follow.
Meanwhile looking for the information on the Car Reg No " 341968 " - The " 1960 LVVTA F10 " Sports Car photoed recently by Nigel Watts on his new thread. -
Well it is a damp Saturday afternoon and a bit early for my evening Beer[s] or two ..

Cheers

Roger

[Roger Dowding]

Attachment 21261
F10 Special, Clarrie Ranby, PAPAKURA

" The car as mentioned by John McKechnie on Nigel Watts new thread - now have seen three photos of it "

Attachment 21262
Aspen Sirus, George Spratt, AUCKLAND

Attachment 21263
Almac Sabre, Patrick Harlow, Upper Hutt

Thanks Guys.

[Roger Dowding]

Patrick,

Full credit to you for approaching such a subject. It's bound to attract criticism as did Vercoes's book but without such as yours and Vercoes efforts, much of NZ's motoring history would be consigned to history. Sure! You'll be reprimanded for mistakes but take solace in the fact that you've saved some of it. I'll buy a copy.

Does anyone know was the book published - I agree with Russ Cunningham, that these things are hard to do and when done " bound to attract criticism as did Vercoes's book " That of course was two books, have both and while inaccurate in places - give you somewhere to start from and gather correct information, and have proved useful over the years .. especially with all the photos provide in Graham Vercoe's book ..

As mentioned have been given a lot of information on the Jim Bennett Specials which I will put together in the coming weeks [ maybe months - as have to scan and print a lot of " stuff " ..

[Spgeti]

I agree Roger and the book has been published. Like the Vercoe books a valuable reference and starting point on research.
I use this thread as well and my favourite it the Ching.....I should have bought it.

[Milan Fistonic]

I have found the book to be very useful.

[Puma]

That is a very "beggared about with" car. Nice basic shape with no real period features left!

Considering there wasn't much of the original car left when I purchased it. Only the body shell. No floor, no chassis & from the boot back missing. That is a pretty cheap comment.

[Milan Fistonic]

Frank Cantwell's Puma at Levin in 1959

[Oldfart]

Considering there wasn't much of the original car left when I purchased it. Only the body shell. No floor, no chassis & from the boot back missing. That is a pretty cheap comment.

Really? The original was Ford 10 based. Minilite type wheels are nothing like what it would, or could have had in period. The widened arches are nothing like what it had.
A restorer has choices to make before they start, like original, or using the shell to create something "sort of new". If it was you Puma, who did the rebuild you made a choice, keep the shape and use newer components. That does almost automatically mean that you had almost no period components as per my comment, which even Patrick Harlow, the author agreed with.
I have been working on a Buckler here in the UK, originally built by Allan Staniforth, author, and suspension guru. i have chosen to build it just as he did. That means rough, gutless and skinny Ford 10 wheels. It's as it was. I could have gone for crossflow Ford, or MX5, and more sophistication. That would have killed it's originality. Neither of us is right, nor wrong, but we must accept whatever others say.

[Puma]

Really? The original was Ford 10 based. Minilite type wheels are nothing like what it would, or could have had in period. The widened arches are nothing like what it had.
A restorer has choices to make before they start, like original, or using the shell to create something "sort of new". If it was you Puma, who did the rebuild you made a choice, keep the shape and use newer components. That does almost automatically mean that you had almost no period components as per my comment, which even Patrick Harlow, the author agreed with.
I have been working on a Buckler here in the UK, originally built by Allan Staniforth, author, and suspension guru. i have chosen to build it just as he did. That means rough, gutless and skinny Ford 10 wheels. It's as it was. I could have gone for crossflow Ford, or MX5, and more sophistication. That would have killed it's originality. Neither of us is right, nor wrong, but we must accept whatever others say.

Actually the car original was on a space frame with Austin A35 running gear.
I found all this out about the car after It had been built into what it is today. Original or not. Who cares. I built it to use & have fun with.
If you really want to get technical it should have been on an Austin Seven chassis Considering the body was Ashley.