Mike- yep, these guys remember that back then they were always the last race on the program.
Why, you ask?
because the fans would sit through anything- unreliable F5000, FV,- to see these loose cannons. After they had been on, there was no reason to stay.
And rivalry- hah, they are competitive. This is who they are and this is what they do.
Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-20-2013 at 03:22 AM.
Barry swung round today, he heat treated the newly cast radiator tanks.
Found an empty 44 gallon tank, put it next to the stove, filled it with water.
Heated the tanks to 150 degrees in the stove for 4 hours.
Then used short forceps and quickly dropped straight in the waterI.
There is only a 2 second lag from oven to water- no time to worry about charrred finger tips.
got an email from Graeme, and he is so pleased that Barrys tyres are here and the radiator is well under control-
*Heard it all before….., watched one motor mouth, panicking to get in and going, pull his helmet on backwards..thought “that’s one way to stop the verbal noise”.
The only reason Barry would look in his mirror, is he’s just had his boot wrinkled, a love tap, a reminder from you know who that there is something quicker behind. Actually, a mirror in Barry’s car is excess weight because most of the time it would be empty.*
Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-20-2013 at 08:59 PM.
[/QUOTE] Heard it all before….., watched one motor mouth, panicking to get in and going, pull his helmet on backwards..thought “that’s one way to stop the verbal noise”.
The only reason Barry would look in his mirror, is he’s just had his boot wrinkled, a love tap, a reminder from you know who that there is something quicker behind. Actually, a mirror in Barry’s car is excess weight because most of the time it would be empty.[/QUOTE]
That would have to be one of life's truly embarrassing moments, bat at least he couldn't be accused of letting the red mist distort his judgement.
Well I guess that not having a mirror is one less thing to worry about and following drivers will politely let you know when they are trying to pass.
Mike
Dad found the photo he took of Barry standing with his car at Pukekohe. We have it dated as 9 October 1988, I was 11 then.
We would have driven out to watch the days' racing in Dad's 1967 MK 2 Cortina, white with red vinyl interior, bench seat, and 4 on the tree. I used to love going to the race track with Dad in his Cortina, which he'd rebuilt and painted at home, a trend that has continued with all of our old cars right up to this day. Dad kept that car immaculate, as he does all his cars. Ah the memories of the good old days, and I'm only 36!!!!
Thanks for the update John on Barry's progress, and I hope others are having success with their preparations. I think this class will be the spectacle of the event and create a lot of excitement.
Last edited by Andrew Metford; 02-14-2017 at 01:37 AM.
Andrew- simply smashing pic, like all of us, has survived brilliantly. Our team will be looking after Barry, and updates will be done regularly.
Graeme also is loving this occasion and adding his growing excitement-John,
Known Addis quotes;
• “To have fun and nostalgia with an “Old Girl” you have to forget about winning, just do it as fast and hard as you both can, until one of you needs to smoke”…November 2013.
• “I have won stuff, but what I can’t beat is that evil in me ..Racing” Taupo 1986.
• “creation, construction, racing…3 drugs better than sex” Pukekohe 1984.
Yours to publish if you want.
B/rgds,
GA.
Graeme has kindly given another gem from the past for us to enjoyHere you go, John:
*At a televised GP meeting at Pukekohe I was being interviewed live by Tony Palmer.
With the camera poked in my face he asked “Can you tell us what modifications you have done to the Charger?”
I thought ‘idiot..has he got a week?’ and said “ Yeah well it has a Morris 1100 gear knob”
The interview ended right there and he went away.
GA.*
Thanks Graeme, keep them coming please.
That's goldOriginally Posted by John McKechnie
Wish that interview was on youtube
I started this thread on the 21st November, one month later we are going to hit 8000 views.
Thanks guys for following this and keep your contributions coming.
Adrian Dobbe is having his motor in the Viva freshened and we wish he and John Sampson all the best as they work to get the car ready for us to enjoy.
Barry,
I have been without a road car for a couple of years and I am so light and skinny from riding my push bike everywhere that my car will be too light and fast for you to catch, unless you have been working out.........
Addis reply:
Do they make helmets that small? Small heads in big helmets tend to rattle about over 140 mph, blurring the wearer’s vision and the wonderful sight of the Charger going away!
Of coarse Barry always did carry a bit of weight, 'Yea Right' TUI
That's obvious from the great photo in post # 144.
That's a horny looking car to add to the collection making it back to the track after many moons hiding away.
Historic racing forever.
Not sure i have your skills as a "wordsmith"
Just to remind you all that 4th January is cut off date for the program.
Also that there is the cheque option that Jim Barclay has pointed out to assist the commitment to entries.
Any body trying to get in late will be late ,22 entered so far.
Its all about showing the world these cars in this class have lost none of their crowd pulling power,and if the reason for not entering was because someones engine was too powerful ,they will go into the draw for the - Spitting for Dummies Award, the prize will be a crate of Glaxo with a thousand teats..
Historics is about just being there.
The emphasis should be on participation.
Owners and drivers to be encouraged to do their own thing as fast and as hard as they comfortable with.
Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-22-2013 at 08:25 PM.
Hell John - go careful with the prizes here as we don't want to give them all the shits and not turn up at all LOL
The fans want to see the cars on track and doing their thing. I have been to all of the Festival races and I couldn't tell you who won any one of the races - I simply don't care about the results. I just want to see the cars and drivers enjoying themselves.
Mike
Not sure i have your skills as a "wordsmith"
Roger email me grimmie64@xtra.com.nz with your contact and phone numbers (mobile & home)
Email from George
'No I wont be taking the siddy to the festival as I don’t want to wipe away the hard fought achievements of this old racecar by cars like the Mercedes that look like they were from the same era but in fact have an 850hp nascar engine in them that lap HD 7 seconds a lap faster than the likes of my poor old car.
I don’t have a problem with any period correct car blowing the doors off the old girl as that is just how it was. Don’t get me wrong but I do hope that the allcomers race at the Festival does bring out some more true Sports Sedans although I have my doubts after my experience, but then you do get a lot of people that will run their cars when there is a large audience to watch. I will still be a runner in something like the defunct NZHSS if there ever is enough cars but for the meantime she can just sit in the garage.
Also, I don’t do show and shine as I am a racer and prefer to be on track with the cars going as hard as I can with my cars without damaging them. So it wasn’t something I liked doing when I took the siddy to those shows to try to help get that series going. But anyway I hope you have an enjoyable day there, but I wont be going at all because of course I would be pissed off that I wasn’t running. Sorry to disappoint you but I am a man of principle and don’t hesitate to back them up.'
George
John, don't forget to send me a bank account number - or two!
George, the speed differential between your car and the one quoted is considerably closer than the Sports/Sports Racing/GT grid which I'd be in if I was running. Try 12 or 14 seconds a lap, not 7.
Sad that you are not running or showing, as you at least got this great ball rolling, but we always respect someone with principles. If any one car is so out of kilter that it puts several drivers off, then it needs to be addressed by the organising team.
I for one would be happier with some sort of speed grouping rather than just by age, which is somewhat meaningless in the context of the Festival.
Like kiwi285, I haven't a clue who won any races either and there have been fingers pointed at one or two past cars, but I'm oblivious and don't really care, just as long as we get a great variety on track or even on display. In fact, I am happiest going on the Friday and Saturday before the inevitable attrition or decimation sets in! I often have to give the Sunday's a miss anyway.
Regarding post #156
When I took on this position as class coordinator I was very aware of the elephant in the room- unlimited modified engines.
There is Rays thread on - So, exactly which cars are deemed Hot Rods?-and fotunately we have seen publicly the cars discussed. They were Escorts and not an allegedly NASCA engined certain Germanic manufactured car or others looking like they were from the same era.
I personally like to see the facts-"but in fact have an 850hp nascar engine in them" rather than wild public statements.
We have 22 drivers entered who do not consider this an issue., they are the ones who want to race, and are all winners in my eyes.
Any major changes between lap times from last year and this year will be too obvious.
Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-23-2013 at 06:55 AM.
What would be better for the sake of "parity", the "Nascar" engine in the Merc or the original Twin turbo power plant which would be a damn side quicker. If I was able to get home and see this event I would not care what the engine was, I would just be happy to see the car.
I did not think there were any cattle stations on offer at this event so what does principles have to do with the speed you are prepared to drive your car at. The public are not idiots, 99% know that the cars are from different eras and don't care. They just want to see and hear the cars.
It all seems a bit silly to me but what do I know.
Regards
Tony
Just an update on cars here folks.
I was hoping to get Robert Bartley with Custaxie 2 and Tony Boyden with THAT Camaro .
Both said they would love to be part of this, however the timing has not come together for this event.
A little history on another car to be here is Shane Johnson 1965 Mustang.
It has been seen in the CMC series, but I feel that with its history it is acceptable on this grid.
Malcolm Uddy ran it in the 90s.- 1995 it won the first NZ Targa Rally, also raced for 20 years in Sports and GT against the Fulford Porsches.
The body is stock metal, suspension and steering components are in the original place, engine is period and his attitude OK fits here.
Cam Crawford also has a car that was CMC series. His XA Coupe is invited as the car body and suspension is stock configuration, 351c motor.
If it wasnt for the alloy heads and wheels it could run HMC.
Both these cars are definitely period enough to be here.
TonyG- great attitude mate- there is so much more to racing cars than winning. Be great to have you here as you are a regular contributor.
Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-23-2013 at 07:39 PM.
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