The Bruce Wells Collection - Oran Park - Part 1

[Steve Holmes]

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Its been a while since I posted up the last batch of photos from the extensive Bruce Wells Collection of Australian motorsport photos. The next couple of chapters are from the recently lost Oran Park, in New South Wales. This was a great little track, with plenty of elevation, undulation, and challenging corners, and where the punters could get up close and personal to the action. It was originally just 1.6km in length, soon extended to 1.9km, and then in 1974, had the additional "loop" Grand Prix section added, complete with overhead bridge, bringing it out to just over 2.6km.

Oran Park can lay claim to being the birth place of Sports Sedan racing, originally known as Sports Racing Closed, and was a regular hot spot for locally built 'specials', both tin tops and sports/open wheelers. It remained off the radar of the bigger events for years, with Warwick Farm being the preferred venue for major racing events in NSW. Oran Park finally picked up its first Australian Touring Car Championship round in 1971, and its first Tasman Series round in 1974.

This first chapter of photos are from 1964, when Oran Park was just two years old. These are from events held in May and July of 1964. I'm going to be relying quite heavily on help from Roaring Season members to ID many of the drivers in these photos, so please feel free to jump in and name names!

[Steve Holmes]

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[Steve Holmes]

Here is the next batch. I'm fascinated by the little Fiat 500 thats been modified with wider wheels etc. Would love to know more about this car. Note that its racing with the sports cars and specials, and not the touring cars.

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[Oldfart]

SOME of these cars are what we want for the "Going Even Older" class.
The Bambina is well modded, radiator shows not very Fiat!

[TonyG]

nice Morris in the background of the same shot!

[Steve Holmes]

SOME of these cars are what we want for the "Going Even Older" class.
The Bambina is well modded, radiator shows not very Fiat!

Thats right Rhys, this is how they were all raced once.

[Steve Holmes]

Next batch:

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[Steve Holmes]

These are the last ones from this event.

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[Steve Holmes]

Now, these are from the July 1964 event.

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[Dave Silcock]

Hi Steve, the 47 car in #5 is a Citroen based special. note the lack of drive shafts at the rear. Interesting, most engineers would have turned the whole thing around and put the motor in the back.
Cheers Dave.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, well spotted Dave! That'll help me with my search to find out more about the car and who drove it.

[Steve Holmes]

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[bry3500]

This is the Fiat Steve
More pics and info here
http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15728

[bry3500]

Fiat

[jim short]

No 20 raced in nz built by Paul England in the 50s copied the Maser and called it a Ausca ran a holden mtr. I think Repco moded the head. that same body was at the Wellington Kit Car show about 5yrs.ago

[Steve Holmes]

Woah, Bry, thats amazing! I take it the car still exists? What a weapon.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Jim, great stuff. What was the body made out of?

[jim short]

I think fiberglass they may have made more than one??

[bry3500]

check the link Steve..the car still exists, great story behind it. The current owner bought it as a barn find and is aboout 50% restored.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Bry, amazing story. This car I would consider a very early version of a Sports Sedan, or Sports Racing Closed as they were previously known. I think this car may even precede that But any event organiser celebrating historic Sports Sedans really needs to have this car at their event. Thanks for the link Bry.

[Steve Holmes]

I think fiberglass they may have made more than one??

Thanks Jim, its an impressive looking car.

[Steve Holmes]

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[bry3500]

Thanks Bry, amazing story. This car I would consider a very early version of a Sports Sedan, or Sports Racing Closed as they were previously known. I think this car may even precede that But any event organiser celebrating historic Sports Sedans really needs to have this car at their event. Thanks for the link Bry.

Angria105 and I were just saying the same thing Steve - interesting to see it running with the sports cars.
More info including current owner here - http://www.spriteparts.com.au/garage/abarth.html

[bry3500]

The Renault 750 in post #26 is possibly Ted Ansell

[bry3500]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU7VpK-lHQU

[Peddler]

This is spectacular. All that elegant design and execution lavished on the rear and tin snips on the front. BMC donk, but from what? Like the Dauphine above it seems to retain the hilarious European wheels at the front. These little rear engined Europeans are so tempting to mess with, witness my brother and I attempting to make something of the engine from our rotted in half Dauphine Gordini and 2 4CVs. It started and drove. Stop.

[Steve Holmes]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing as you Peddler, that rear bodywork treatment is really nice! I'd love to know what it was like to drive. Surely must have required full concentration!

[Steve Holmes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU7VpK-lHQU

Great find Bry, that is amazing! Looking at it closely, I'm wondering if this is the very same meeting as the first group of photos in this thread, from May 1964.

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[Lee Tracey]

I am rather surprised at the high percentage of assorted French cars in these shots. Obviously Australia had much less reliance on the UK and US than we did for their motoring needs, and dare one say mosre sophisticated taste? The variety of cars on track in these shots is incredible. It certainly makes me realise what we are missing these days with our super tightly controlled rules in the name of the Great God Parity.

Cheers
Lee

[Steve Holmes]

I think that variation was par for the course for many countries in the early '60s, before manufacturers began building cars specifically for the purpose of road racing, and competitors gravitated to the faster cars. The first season of the Trans-Am series in 1966 had an incredible variation of vehicles, of all makes, from all countries.

[Steve Holmes]

OK, just winding down towards the finish:

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[Steve Holmes]

Last ones. Special thanks once again to Bruce for sharing these beautiful photos. I'll be creating new threads for more Oran Park pics over the coming weeks.

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[Cannan Morris]

Car #55 Cannan Morris, originally with side valve Morris 8 then as in this photo 1100 cc ohv Skoda, driver would be John Channon. Car built in Merrylands Sydney by Colin T Cannan in the late fifties.
Cheers Richard.

[Steve Holmes]

Richard, thanks for this. I assume by your username you have a connection with this car?

[Cannan Morris]

Yes Steve, I have owned the car for quite some time & I'm at present working on it to get it back on track, a bit of a mystery car I couldn't find a single photo of its early life. A few years ago I was able to find the original driver, John Channon thanks to the ease of the internet, he then supplied some much needed photos for me to go on, he was the Singer Car Club Captain & told me that when the club initially got Oran Park Circuit laid out & graded the car was the very first car to put its wheels on the track & drive completly round start to finish. The car was designed & built by Colin Cannan & John Channon when they were young fellows that wanted to go racing.
Cheers Richard.

[Steve Holmes]

Richard, thanks so much for this. I'd love to see more photos of the car, and find out how you came to own it. What amazing history to have been the first car to complete a full lap of OP. Please feel free to create a dedicated thread on this car Richard, I know it would be of great interest.

[howardvs]

Is car 47 the Citroen Special of Don James?

[Dale Harvey]

Yes.
Dale.

[Steve Holmes]

Is car 47 the Citroen Special of Don James?

Thanks for the info.

[bootlegger]

SOME of these cars are what we want for the "Going Even Older" class.
The Bambina is well modded, radiator shows not very Fiat!

My name is dave pagano and i am the current owner of warick holyoaks amazing little racer.
Warwick actually directed me to this forum.
The car has had a wonderful adventure being bought almost new by warwick in italy. Warwicks family owned cc tyres and sponsored one of the corners at oran park.
He then drove it around europe for eighteen months before shipping it here.
It seems to me that it became a race car as soon as it landed.
The transformation of this car into a sprite powered special was gradual but eventually it became a force to be reckoned with it its class holding the oran pk lap record in 61 and 62.
I bought the car off warwick in 2008.
It has a heavily modified sprite engine with the stan brown crafted alloy tail extension.
Up front it has fj holden brakes with the wheels cut down to twelve inches.
I am restoring the car in its second last guise with non cut down front gaurds and the radiator mounted inside the bonnet area.
The body is almost ready for paint and all the machining for the engine is done.
I have been to a few historic car meets. Ive tried to find out what class it would run in.
When i describe the car the officials look at me like i have two heads. I have no idea what class it would fit into.
I am very interested in boat racing history also and have a pretty large collection of vintage raceboats old cars trucks and bikes.
One of my boats is powered by a rolls merlin and won everything there was to win here in the late sixties early seventies.
I plan to have this car done this year. I want warwick to run her again.
Any other info regsrding the car would be greatly appreciated. I cant wait to see this car run.
I too thinks its a little weapon. Dave 0413766501

[Steve Holmes]

Hi there Dave, sorry I hadn't replied to your post sooner, as you can see the forum gets a bit quiet at this time of year.

Thanks so much for joining the site and posting about the Fiat. I'd love to see any other photos you can share, and also how the restoration is coming along. Please feel free to create a dedicated thread for the car, it certainly deserves to have its own thread. I can only imagine what officials must think when you mention the car. I know there are plans under way to bring together some historic sports sedan grids, and this is certainly where this car needs to be, although it really pre-dates sports sedans. This would be one of the cars that eventually spawned the sports sedan phenomenon, and deserves to be recognised for this.

[bootlegger]

Thanks steve. At present i am setting up a new workshop so all my projects are on the back burner.
I plan to have the fiat done mid year.
I have no idea how to post pics. Im happy to forward you a couple of emails with lots of pics.
Some are already on this thread.
My plan for the car is to just get it done. Run at wakefeild pk gear days. Im figuring i can run in regularity. Plus i need to get a COD.
I am also gathering parts to build a maserati 450s replica.

[Steve Holmes]

Dave, please feel free to email me any photos you'd like posted up here, I'll create a thread and post the photos, and you can fill in the details. Would be of huge interest here.