George Smith - the GeeCeeEss and other cars and boats

[RogerH]

At Steve's suggestion I've started a new thread on George Smith who is best known for the GeeCeeEss but was also involved in earlier racing cars and later racing power boats.

George was involved with NZ motor sport from the late 1920s to the late 1960s and with a series of cars from the ex-works Austin Seven single seater (Rubber Duck) through to the Chrysler Firepower V8 powered Alfa Bimotore he was one of the more successful drivers.

He was most famous for his GeeCeeEss which he and Tom Sheehan (father of "Jandels" Sheehan) built. George also had a period as the Western Springs promoter and although he had a rough and ready style he was successful at wide range of motorsport.

Here are some photos to start off the thread :





As good as George was in the GeeCeeEss - here he is about to be caught and passed by Ron Roycroft in the Alfa.

[Steve Holmes]

Fantastic! This will be an interesting thread Roger. Just out of interest, was the Chrysler Firepower V8 that Smith ran in the Alfa Bimotore the same engine used in the GeeCeeEss?

[RogerH]

Fantastic! This will be an interesting thread Roger. Just out of interest, was the Chrysler Firepower V8 that Smith ran in the Alfa Bimotore the same engine used in the GeeCeeEss?

Yes, it was evidently the same motor. George thought the Alfa Bimotore would be an improvement on his self built GeeCeeEss but he had all kinds of trouble with it and even though he also named it the GeeCeeEss he hated it and soon passed it on. It would now be worth millions.

I have a photo of the Bimotore GeeCeeEss but it is promised to one of the forum subscribers for a possible book on NZ motor sport. It looked a lot smarter than the "old" GeeCeeEss - but looks aren't everything .....

[Steve Holmes]

The Bimotore was certainly a handsome car, but theres a lot to be said for character in a race car, and the GeeCeeEss had that in bucket loads. I actually thought Smiths earlier Chevrolet V8 special was a good looking car too. But that could just be the hot rodder in me coming out!

[AMCO72]

Am really looking forward to this thread, as are I hope most of the folk who subscribe to this forum. George was a larger than life character, right up there with Ron Roycroft, although I dont think George was QUITE as polished a driver as Ron. They both had a similar attitude to how their cars looked.....pretty rough I think would be a fair assessment, but who cares so long as they did the business, and they certainly did that, and were entertaining to watch......they put a smile on your face. I'm going to ask a stupid question here but I'm serious......those BIG Ardun heads...were they an OHV conversion of the side-valve V8? 'Go and stand in the corner'!!

[Steve Holmes]

Gerald, yes thats correct, the Ardun heads were an OHV conversion for the Ford side-valve V8. They were designed and made by brothers Zora and Yura Arkus-Duntov, the name Ardun being a play on their last name (AR)kus (DUN)tov. Zora of course would go on to become the father of the Corvette. The Ardun heads were created mostly for the hot rod and drag racing crowd, which had exploded just prior to and following WW2, with several speed equipment companies such as Edelbrock, Meyer, Offenhauser, Bell, etc, being established to build and/or sell speed equipment for hot rodders, and in particular for the Ford flathead V8 motor.

There are thought to have only ever been around 400 sets of Ardun heads produced, and original sets can fetch upwards of US$10,000 on the rare occasion they come on the market.

[pallmall]

The Ardun heads were actually designed to be fitted to flatheads in Ford trucks to give more power.
Hot Rodders, of course, picked up on the potential straight away.

[Steve Holmes]

Here are some NOS Ardun heads sold by RM Auctions in 2009. These heads sold for US$26,000! RM Auctions description says there were actually thought to have been no more than 275 sets made, so ever rarer than I thought.

[Steve Holmes]

The Ardun heads were actually designed to be fitted to flatheads in Ford trucks to give more power.
Hot Rodders, of course, picked up on the potential straight away.

Yes thats right Gavin, and to solve overheating issues. I wonder how many sets were actually used for truck applications.

[bob homewood]

Steve ,you better start looking for those ones I saw ,because they were definately the same as those ,exhausts and all

[woody]

Check out www.ardun.com

[RogerH]

Here is a copy of a letter (I have the original hand written version) from Tom Sheehan to Bill Clark (who owned the GeeCeeEss at that time). It explains the original construction of the car and motor :

[Steve Holmes]

This letter makes for interesting reading Roger. I like how Tom Sheehan described the Ardun heads as truck heads. He is correct of course, as Gavin has already pointed out. In 1971 when this letter was written Ardun heads would have still been quite desirable in certain circles, but for a race team they would have just been trying to make as much power as they could with what was available, and when the Chrysler motor was available, the Ford motor would have been put out to pasture. I wonder what became of it.

[woody]

A chap in Dunedin (Bill Patterson) in the late 60s built a vee bottom boat (Aquanaut) powered by a Allison V12 super charged aero engine, 1710 cu. in. developing 1500hp at 3300rpm. The boat won the Masport Cup in 70 at Picton. In 71 Bill defended the cup at Otago harbour but lost to Bill Stokes with Voodoo. Bill owned Highcliff Motors and had Rolls Royce Merlin engines 2000hp as spares. The boat has never been seen since late 71. Anybody around Dunedin that could see if the boat is still around.

[David McKinney]

...when the Chrysler motor was available, the Ford motor would have been put out to pasture.

Not entirely, Steve. The Chrysler - initially at least - wasn't the most reliable, and was frequently taken out and replaced by the Ford between practice and a race

Unfortunately, it's not possible to work out exactly which engine was used when

[RogerH]

George in the GeeCeeEss (with Ardun heads) - CWF Hamilton Trophy 100 Mile Road Race 1951

[RogerH]

GeeCeeEss in a later form with what looks like the Chrysler Firepower motor.

[Steve Holmes]

Post #16, at Hamilton in 1951. It looks great here with the sprintcar style nose.

What is car #30 in post #17 Roger? Is that the Stanton Special?

[pallmall]

I understand that at some time in the late 90s the original nose was found, and the then owner had plans to put the car back to its early configuration. Is the original nose still in existence? And if so in the right ownership?

[Steve Holmes]

Which is the original nose Gavin?