Here is another shot at Puke (care of unknown photog), she sure had some number plates.
Here is another shot at Puke (care of unknown photog), she sure had some number plates.
It looks much better there, it fell a long way in 3 short years, but I don't recall the Rod Coppins and Johnny Riley drives. Can someone refresh my memory.
Bruce.
Much like your Firebird Bruce, and its rapid decline during the mid 70s. I guess you could say the Firebird was fortunate to have fallen into the right hands, the Monaro wasn't.
I think thats one of Gerard Richards' own photos above. He wrote an article on Spinner Black recently. Did Coppins race the car when it was still in Cambridge colours? My understanding was that Spinner didn't much care for the Camaro, so Coppins drove that, and he had the Monaro built for himself to drive alongside, but rarely ever found the time for it, and eventually passed it on to Thompson. From memory the Monaro was fitted with a 350ci Chevy, which was too big for the 5.5 litre engine limit, so what was it built for? Only thing I can think of was for the international saloon races that took place each year with promoters (usually Bay Park) importing cars and drivers from Australia, US etc.
The Monaro was an HK, so it could have been a 327, and i'm sure that if it had a 350, it woulld have been called a 327 anyway.
Its got an HT grille Bruce, plus I'm quite certain I read that it was fitted with a 350, and it definitely ran this way when Grady had it. Will go and double check my sources though.
Yep it was an HT grill but skinny HK tail lights. You could well be right about the engine, I'm just throwing ideas around.
Bruce.
My recollection was that when Grady Thomson (no 'p') ran the car it was with a 350, so he couldn't compete in championship events. But that's without checking...
Well spotted Bruce!
David, you are correct on both counts. Grady didn't spell his name with a 'p', and the car definitely raced with a 350 during the 1969/70 season, when the NZSCC engine maximum was 5.5 litres. I have been through several magazines, and they almost always note the car had a 5.7 (350) engine. I'll need to check every magazine covering that season, but of the ones I've seen so far, the Monaro doesn't seem to compete in any NZSC championship races. Grady raced the car in the Mercury $1,000 series, and at the big Bay Park Easter 1970 meeting, where the organisers imported Terry Allan and his big block Camaro, which was also a non-championship event.
Its hard to imagine now, but back then the most important races for many competitors were the high profile events where the organisers shipped out international cars and drivers. These were the events that attracted the big crowds. So maybe the car was built to run at these events. Rick Deihl (who built the PDL Mustang II) told me that the PDL team ended their 1977 NZ saloon championship season early so they could take PDL II to Australia to race. For many teams, winning the high profile events was of greater importance than winning championships, as NZ motorsport at the time relied heavily on international support. The PDL team held a comfortable points lead in the championship over Jack Nazers Victor when they pulled out.
Not disrespect intended to his memory, but Grady was never a serious championship contender in anything he raced. I suspect he just couldn't be bothered with the expense of changing the Monaro's engine, and was happy to run it a few times a year
A few Aussie Sports Sedan Monaro's from over the years,
Beechey's restored Monaro at the Muscle car masters meeting at Eastern Creek.
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Tino Leo at Winton,
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Bob Stevens at Amaroo Park,
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Paul Axiak in his Historic Touring Car at Oran Park,
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Great photos Timbo. Got any more?
The Tino Leo HQ is the Bob Jane car which has now been restored by owner Des Wall back to its original 1972 Improved Production guise.
The Bob Stevens car is the Pete Geoghegan HJ Monaro sports sedan, which was owned at the time (when Geoghegan raced it) by Laurie O'Neil. The car still exists, but requires a complete restoration, but hasn't been changed a great deal from its 1976 guise, which was its second year of competition.
Thanks again Timbo.
Yes I'd agree with that David. I don't think Grady took his racing too seriously, and probably didn't care about being NZ champion. The car was built for Spinner Black, who didn't have a lot of time for racing, with his numerous business dealings, so perhaps he just thought he'd run it at a few big (non championship) events each year, where it was OK to have the larger engine.Originally Posted by David McKinney
Bob Jane, leads Jim Richards and a crossed-up (as usual) Pete Geoghegan, 1975.
A couple of more modern Monaro's we can't forget are the Gary Rogers Motorsport built Nations Cup cars with Chev 427's under the bonnet.
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Well thats interesting Bruce! Got any more info? Says Graeme Addis on the side and his Charger raced as #6 too from memory.
I only found that pic in an old hard drive yesterday, I have no idea where it came from. It looks like the dip coming into the front straight at Puke, (cabbage trees in the background) but I could be very wrong. A GTX entry perhaps, it looks about the right level of preparation.
Anybody else remember the car ?
[QUOTE=Ellis;748]Beechey 327 at Symmons Plains Tas
Ellis, I think you'll find that picture is actually mine, but that's ok, and not a problem.... I'm happy to see the pics out there...
My point in posting is that it was actually taken on the cars first run at Calder Park in 1968..... Norm won the first race from Pete Geoghegan in the Mustang, the second encounter of the day never occured, as the Monaro spent the rest of the day on the back of the Shell truck. As to why that was, I do not know....
Here is a shot of the HK in "Electric Blue".... the same spot in the tent, facing the other direction
I was born and breed less than 10 minutes walk from Norm's workshop in Sydney Road Coburg.... many times after school, I used to wander up the back lane behind the workshop (which was also the workshop for the car yard) and tucked down in the right hand corner were Norm's race cars, sometimes in full view... the HK above.... latter the black Camaro, and also the 1970 ATCC winning Monaro...
Last edited by Leo D; 06-23-2011 at 10:25 AM.
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