Thought I would post this. Caught up with Fred Courtney in Kaikohe yesterday and he has a very interesting workshop. No doubt most of you will be familiar with Fred and his car. Hopefully Fred will join in and give us a quick history Etc of the beast. (a famous beast at that)
Any one else who has photos of some ones garage post them and join in.
Neat workshop! With a bit of jiggery-pokery in Photoshop, you'd be hard-pressed to know how old these photos are. Could almost be from 1960.
Photoshop out the roll over bar and the eighties kiwi and it would look like a sixties photo.
I was going to say something similar
This one is 1962. Close enough? Note also the seatbelt, which it had as early as 1952, I think.Originally Posted by pallmall
The earliest seat-belt photo I can find of the car is from 1960...
Although not the "Northland Special" - George Smith had lap belts in the GeeCeeEss in the 1950s.
A closer shot :
Are those Ardun heads Roger?
Certainly look like them to me
(and George Smith did use them on the GeeCeeEss from time to time)
Short history on rear cowel, this car has/is history.
George Smith ran the GeeCeeEss in a number of different engine and body configurations - here are some :
.....Left-hander on to the main straight at Mairehau road race..........regards427/MJAlthough not the "Northland Special" - George Smith had lap belts in the GeeCeeEss in the 1950s.
If those are Ardun heads, where are they now? Ardun heads are among the most desirable vintage speed parts ever. Less than 300 sets were made by Zora and Yura Arkus-Duntov, and although there is a company now re-manufacturing them, original sets can easily fetch US10K on the rare occasion they come on the market.
Steve ,some thirty years ago when I had a business in New Lynn ,there was a guy that looked like the Fonz that used to come down to one of the workshops in our street for Friday night beers ,one night when he had drunk too much to drive I dropped him home and he showed me his collection of old school V8 speed equipment,it was mind boggling ,he had been telling us all these stories about what he had ,I don't think we really believed him,but in amongst his Aladdins cave was a pair of Ardun heads,where they are now I don't know.maybe we should start a thread about people who collect stuff like this ,they must be out there
Yeh Bob, is like barn finds. Every time I pick up an English Classic car magazine, there is the lastest 'barn find', usually some exotic piece of machinery that was shoved away for 'the duration' then promptly forgotten about.....often because the owner didn't return from the battle front....very sad. Some of these machines have been deliberately bricked up in some grotty little lock-up. I'm not sure of the mentality of people who do this. I know David McKinney is NOT a 'pom' but having lived there for so long ,could perhaps enlighten us as to why English folk do these things. Mind you there are some funny buggers here in NZ who have fields full of cars which 'they are going to restore ONE DAY'!!!! They seem to get all possessive, and bitter and twisted, and wont let anyone have a look, and I mean genuine buyers, not the thieves that are floating around. There must be garages full of all sorts of stuff, kept because 'you never know, I might need it oneday'!!!!! Yeh right....... Thinks.. must go and have sort out of the junk in my shed, there is an inorganic collection tomorrow'.........later on.......NO, I just might want that one day. Anyone got any storage out there???
Wow, thats amazing Bob! I think 3 or 4 sets might have found their way to NZ. There is a set on a T-Bucket hot rod that was built in the early 70s and is basically untouched from when it was first built, but I don't know of any others.
Gerald, I think hoarders are the world over. I've heard some amazing stories of cars in the US parked in paddocks, that are extremely desirable in certain circles, but that the owner won't part with, because they "want to restore it someday". There is a website somewhere on the www dedicated to Chrysler Superbirds, ie, Dodge Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds that are slowly sinking into the ground.
I'm pretty sure the Ardun heads are not with the GeeCeeEss now - just to check I'll have a look through all it's bits and pieces and also see if the notes from George and Tom Sheehan say anything about them.
I must confess I am a hoarder/collector of Lotus Twin cam engines ,especially the odd ones or the ones with a bit of history
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