the boy from levin,like to hear some talk on this.
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the boy from levin,like to hear some talk on this.
There is a story in the latest NZCC - 40 yrs on from that dark day at Pukekohe
yes i was at pukekohe that day and i said hi to bryan before he went out,I was standing just before the first turn and to see him go through there he had the car up on its toes and dancing ,to this day i have not seen it done the way he did it, i went to his service in levin-sad day ,each time i go to levin i always stop and go in to where he is- on the corner of mako-mako rd and Tiro-tiro rd.this weekend i will be in levin so will look in,i see its getting very hard to read his head stone you can just make it out, I see no one from levin has put something up about bryan,whats up,maybe the car club could--come on something about-THE BOY FROM LEVIN.
Sad, sad memories when I hear that name. He was a favourite of this young fan, driving in that flamboyant tail-out style. So when getting the chance to get a ride to Pukekohe for the first visit I got my harsh reminder of the words on the back of the ticket "Motor Racing is Dangerous...." The pall of smoke from the scene over on the back straight was dark and forboding and with it was a sense of doom. The same sense of dread has always struck me at events when someone has met such a fate, a spiritual sense that life can be fickle and to be appreciated.
I would love to learn more about this guy whose talent at the wheel promised so much, one of my first, close-at-hand racing idols.
race car builder george Begg who is no longer here, asked bryan to drive his f5000 before asking David Oxton to drive,can you see what bryan would have got up too driving a f5000.
I shared an apartment in Levin with Bryan in the mid 60s, introduced him to Anne who he married, sadly she passed away a few years after Bryan died. I was just out of high school and working for Rob Collier at Performance Accessories in the infamous shack in Tyne street (Bob Homewood knows it well!). We prepped Bryan's old Brabham there, completely stripped the chassis to repair various cracks and replaced bent tubes and of course the maintenance on the Climax engine and Colotti box was never ending.
I have enough memories and anecdotes to fill a book but perhaps better to contribute in small doses rather than take up too much space on this post. Hopefully Rob Collier will add his thoughts, the Tyne street workshop hosted many race cars including regulars Frank Gardner, Kev Bartlett and Max Stewart. I also recall working on Digby Taylor's Lotus 27 and his McBegg, which I thought at the time was an M1 McLaren. Cheers, Grant Ellwood
Thats more like it get on this thread,years ago i was on the phone talking to someone in Tauranga he wanted to buy some autonews off me, and we got talking about levin and how it was in the good old days and we talked about Bryan Faloon ,i think he said to me he ended up with the car ,the one that i am clear on is that he had the plans for the stanton porsche ,look at this this way the plans are there and i do know there are some in levin who could build it up maybe someone down the track will .
David Manton in Tauranga had Bryan's Brabham in his collection for a while, think that car is now in Oz. Regarding the Stanton plans, I did have the Rorstan (Climax) chassis plans, originally built by Bobby Brittan (Renmax) and I think he modified the Rorstan to fit the Porshe engine. I haven't read Michael Clark's article about Bryan yet so hopefully there is more info there. Back to the plans, I'll look through my papers here in Virginia but its possible I might have them in storage back in NZ.
I thought the Rorstan-Porsche (as it originally was) was a different car from the Rorstan-Climax, though they no doubt had some parts in common. Perhaps MAC's article explains...
The Faloon Brabham went via Australia to the UK around 1994
Grant - I've got the Rorstan plans tucked away. Can't recall whether you gave me the originals or photocopied them. What's this about you introducing Bryan to Anne? you never introduced me to any nice girls.
Attachment 5633
Happier days for the nice guy and the nice lady
Attachment 5635
This one of him in the Escort from the Levin 4 hour race deserves to be in this thread as well
I pulled into levin late on saturday the levin show was on the place was full ,after doing the job i had to do i stopped in at the cemetery as i allways do when i am in levin ,this time the flowering shrubs are starting to take over so i removed some of it so i could see the head stone reading of the head stone this time was very hard to read ,standing back and having a good look around no one has been there for a long time this time i had paper and pencil with me so i put down what i could read off the head stone ,I know this may not read like this but here goes it goes somethink like this ,SOME PEOPLE ARE SO AFRAID OF LOSING THAT THEY NEVER ENTER THE RACE JUST BECAUSE NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE THEIR WINNING, THEY DENY THEMSELVES THE FUN OF TRYING ,THE RACE ISNT ALWAYS TO THE SWIFT NOR THE BATTLE TO THE STRONG OFFEN VICTORY GOES TO THE ADVENTUROUS AND PERSISTENT.
I never had the privilege of meeting Bryan but owned the old #57 Anglia for a fair while. Everyone always spoke very highly of him. I'll see if I can load a picture of him at Cabbage Tree, at this stage he had gone to the 1650 cc engine with a locked diff.Attachment 10102
Another pic of Bryan, must be the Brabham?
Attachment 10103
Yes, if that's 1968 it's his first Brabham (BT4), before he joined the Rorstan team
I have just discovered a folder with newspaper cuttings and headings/story about the accident. Photos of wreckage etc.
I remember cutting these out of 8'oclock, Sunday news and Herald. This accident impacted on me at the time as I and mates had travelled out on train and were over back of straight waiting for train when the accident happened.
I may post photos along with other classics I have found tucked away in 'Scrapbook' forum, not sure, but they are history.
Rob Collier, Francis Atkins and I were mechanics for Bryan when he ran the Brabham. I'm not sure if Rob and Francis are active on this site but personally I would have no objection to seeing any of the accident pics posted here.
I have the same collection of newspaper articles, one of the reports showed Graeme Lawrence's wrecked Lola but described as Bryan's car. The Brabham was comparatively lightly damaged compared to Graeme's car, it would be easy to assume Bryan was in the Lola. I have always thought it was a miracle that Graeme wasn't killed also.
Having been brought up in Levin in the heady days of the Levin Motor Racing Circuit, I have many recollections of things and people automotive.
I remember Bryan mostly as the driver of a Ford 105E Anglia (gray or pale blue, I think)
I recall this road registered car becomming progressively lower and louder as weeks & months when by.
I remember Bryan racing it successfully at the track but also it being driven along Queen Street past our family garage (Hudson & Burnham) where I often worked after school.
I think Bryan and his family used to attend the church nextdoor to the garage.
I will have a look through my old Levin memorabilia to see if I have any pics of the driving star from the past who was taken from us far too early.
Ross
I have the programme from that fateful day in '72
Must admit I liked the idea of having the NZ Motorcycle TT races in the same programme !
People got value for money then...
Hope the competitor list shows up ok
Attachment 23572
Attachment 23578
Wow, thanks for that Jeff : amazing to scoot through that list and see not just the calibre of the great drivers and their associated machinery from those far-off and heady times, but all those others who balanced the fields : up-and-comers, has-beens, legends and dickheads alike : they're all there. So many memories...:D
Here's a few more pages from the 72 GP Programme :
Attachment 23644
Attachment 23645
Attachment 23646
Attachment 23647
Well another year rolls by, will pop down there this weekend as I try to do each year.
Bryan died at 29 years old, when I worked with him in my teens I thought he was "old", what I would give to be 29 again.....
Custaxie, I would like to assist but perhaps we should check with his family first. Can you email me direct - ellwoodusa@yahoo.com
Some years ago - might have been around 15 - I happened to be in Hamilton when a National car show was on at Mystery Creek so I went to have a look. I was wandering around in the building and came across an Anglia 105E racer. Talking to it's owner, he told me it was Bryan Faloons old car and he was restoring it to exactly how it was when Faloon raced it.
The guy was very friendly but before we really got into a conversation some acquaintance of his walked up and commenced talking over the top of me ( one of those people who didn't get taught manners when he was young ) so I wandered off.
When I saw it the car was well advanced in it's restoration so it seems strange that it wasn't completed and become known.
Anyone know anything about it?
Attachment 29400
How's this for coincidence?
Last week I asked if anyone knew about Bryan Falloon's old Anglia that I saw when it was well advanced in it's restoration. Today, I was hunting for something in my shed, picked up an old POR15 catalogue and saw this photo on the front cover. The car itself.
David Hunter