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I have been asked to post some pics of Dad (Ian Munt) by a couple of people of late so thought I would start this Legends of OSCA thread for all the Amazing drivers that many of you all loved back in the day. You all had your favourites whether it was Munty, Ozzo, Hyde, Crowe, McElrea etc etc so post your pics, stories etc and with the 50th OSCA anniversary coming up in 2020 this seems quite appropriate. Cheers all
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Ian Munt also raced a Capri, was it that one, in Australia...
Mid-seventies, wasn't it?
Yes thats him Ray. Ian was living in Australia at the time and purchased the Bruce Carey V8 Capri Sports Sedan. He raced it for a while, mostly at his local Oran Park track, before taking it back to New Zealand where it has remained since.
Yes, I had forgotten those details, though I doubt I ever knew the car went to NZ...
Bruce Cary, of course, went on to become one of Ron Tauranac's leading men, not only in the factory but also engineering on lead cars being run with Ralt assistance.
He finally returned to Australia and engineered for Andrew Miedecke on his Ralt in FPacific, but died prematurely from cancer.
Great recollection Ray. I think this car was one of the first to wear Mawer wheels too wasn't it? It raced with them for many years in NZ. I believe they're still with the car.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Bell
Interestingly, Carey took the car to NZ to race when he owned it. Did Bay Park and Pukekohe (I think), before returning to Aus with it.
Evan Munt has some great recollections of this very car.
It's 'Cary', Steve, no 'e' in it...
His brother, Ray Cary, had a wheel alignment business somewhere around Bankstown and raced an Elfin Clubman for a long time.
Bruce had an Anglia with a Falcon six in it before he built the Capri. His workshop was just up the street from Dave Mawer's place and they worked together on a lot of stuff. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Big Dave did the suspension design. At that time, Bruce was an engine man more than anything.
Mawer wheels had been around for a little while, but this was probably one of the first tin-tops bigger than a Mini to use them.
One of the catalysts in it was that somehow the Grace Bros sponsorship was available to Bruce by the time he finished the car.
Ray...so this is the Grace Bros Capri...the only one?
Hi all, yes Bruce Cary built the car and was the first wheels by Dave Mawer in the 15". Sponsored by Grace Bros and Bruce came out to Bay Park 1973 Easter. Rules were changed and the Capri within a year became a second or so too slow after having some really good runs in its first year. Grace Bros sponsorship also went to the Geoghegan Bros. Pic I posted is from Australia and Dad ran those colours for the first couple years before the boxy flares Silver/Black colour scheme was introduced
I don't recall any others, John...Quote:
Originally posted by John McKechnie
Ray...so this is the Grace Bros Capri...the only one?
I do recall that having this sponsorship put extra pressure on Bruce to have the car at certain meetings, regardless of the cost being more than he could afford. Then again, maybe even running at fewer meetings without sponsorship would have tested his ability to keep pace with the costs.
Thanks for the correction Ray.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Bell
Here is the car when still owned by Cary, when it visited NZ.
I was speaking with current owner Keith Tunnicliffe on the weekend. He has torn the car apart to restore. It evolved somewhat over the years, mostly the flares and other aero-aids. He he favoring the period when it was silver and black, as per the late 1970s/early 80s.
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Mike Feisst photo.
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Can anyone name all these likely lads?
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Crowe, Osborne, Hyde & Munt
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Waterbed World era mid 80's, McElrea and Fisher in tow
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1996
Thanks to Evan Munt & Family for putting some great photos of Ians fantastic crowd pleasing cars.Im sure Ian was very happy to see his son Evan racing the Viva before his unfortunate passing.I always wondered were the old Capri went lucky it was tucked away for future use. Evan was able to race all 3 Cars which was a fantastic achievement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Munty
Thanks for the kind words