That would be an interesting article, as a lot of NZ motorsport history involved with Peter, for such a quite guy he did alot in all forms of motorsport.
That would be an interesting article, as a lot of NZ motorsport history involved with Peter, for such a quite guy he did alot in all forms of motorsport.
Roger, the black MkI Zephyr that is pictured a couple of times, is this Spencer Black? Also, where was the photo of Coppins leaning over his Zephyr hood taken?
I'll try and get something together but I don't know detail of all of Peter's extensive motor sport involvement. Because he lived and worked locally we use to catch up in his workshop (he worked from home in later years) as he and I were interested in old Jaguars and he did some fabrication work on my race cars and some magnesium welding for me. His fabrication and welding was superb and even recently an old race mechanic was working on one of my cars and spotted a weld and said "only Peter Bruin could have done that". When he passed on, I bought a few trailer loads of tools, parts and race car jigs off his wife in order to essentially preserve the many jigs for old Cooper, Lotus, Brabham etc race cars.Originally Posted by pallmall
From what I know Peter had a history with McLaren in both the UK and the US. He also built the first VW engined speedway midget which Barry Butterworth drove and Peter was very proud of this car and had a number of photos of it on his wall.
He was a very low key guy who did not boast about his achievements but he was recognised as one of the best fabricators around and he was sort out by overseas owners to do fabrication work on their cars. I recollect seeing him reconstruct 1960's single seater chassis that looked exactly like they were in period and one of his last jobs was rebuilding a McLaren CanAm monocoque.
He was a very clever guy.
I'm pretty sure the Mk1 Zephyr was the one owned by Ivan Cranch. It had a Jaguar motor set back in it so Ivan had to sit squashed to the side and changed gear almost behind himself. Peter and Ivan lived close by each other and I think Peter may have done some work for Ivan.
I'm not 100% sure where the Rod Coppins photo was taken but at a guess it could be Matamata.
In a sport with its fair share of "blow hards", Peter stood out as a quiet achiever and a genuinely nice bloke. Although he had a period career as a race mechanic he always said he preferred the welding torch to the spanner and his fabrication work was quite sublime.
Sorry but I can't help myself, the Mk 1 pictured is in fact a Consul, I would guess to be competetive amongst Lotus Cortinas etc the 4 cyl Consul motor would have been long gone.
Thanks Howard. You just beat me to it. Yes Ivan Cranch's car was indeed a 4 cylinder Consul. I think they may have had a shorter bonnet to the 6 cyl Zephyr making the Jaguar implant even more of an achievment.
Here is an example of a project Peter was involved with. The following explanation from Norm Holloway gives the background :
"Thought you might like to see the 'finished product'. Bruce Ellwood originally commissioned the alloy body which was based on the Ferarri 500 F2 car. John Hearne bought the project but was unhappy with the Alfa 105 series running gear which he considered to be 'out of period'. He aquired a couple of derelict Alfa 1900 doner cars and had Peter Bruin design and build a 'period' chassis. this included changing to transverse leaf springing and building up a De Dion rear end. Graeme Brayshaw sorted the engine (his workmanship was complimented on by the English tuners). Sadly for us, the car is now domiciled in the UK where John hopes to run it in hillclimbs. He has already been told that it will be accepted at both Shelsey Walsh and Prescott."
Yes the Consul had shorter front guards etc and there was a difference in the bulkhead area as well ,I remember that from some guy years ago who thought he could put the 6cyl Zephyr motor straight in
David you can probably help with this one ,I have the same group photo from another source named "Shell Drivers " ,looking at those present and the badges on most of the overalls that would make sense to me why they were together for this photo shot
Yes, it was done for a Shell advertisement. I happened along at the time and have a similar photo - except that none of the drivers is looking at me
L-r: Ken Sager, Johnny Riley, Jim Palmer, Andrew Buchanan, Bryan Thomas, Kerry Grant
Taken at the November 1964 Pukekohe meeting, I think
Thanks David ,you have restored my faith in my memory a little bit
Thanks Howard, yes I did wonder that when I was punching out that post, maybe it was a Consul. I'm one of those people who needs to see both models parked side by side to tell the difference.I'm pretty sure the Mk1 Zephyr was the one owned by Ivan Cranch. It had a Jaguar motor set back in it so Ivan had to sit squashed to the side and changed gear almost behind himself. Peter and Ivan lived close by each other and I think Peter may have done some work for Ivan.
I'm not 100% sure where the Rod Coppins photo was taken but at a guess it could be Matamata.
This is stunning! Would love to see some in-build shots if there are any available.Here is an example of a project Peter was involved with. The following explanation from Norm Holloway gives the background :
"Thought you might like to see the 'finished product'. Bruce Ellwood originally commissioned the alloy body which was based on the Ferarri 500 F2 car. John Hearne bought the project but was unhappy with the Alfa 105 series running gear which he considered to be 'out of period'. He aquired a couple of derelict Alfa 1900 doner cars and had Peter Bruin design and build a 'period' chassis. this included changing to transverse leaf springing and building up a De Dion rear end. Graeme Brayshaw sorted the engine (his workmanship was complimented on by the English tuners). Sadly for us, the car is now domiciled in the UK where John hopes to run it in hillclimbs. He has already been told that it will be accepted at both Shelsey Walsh and Prescott."
I managed to get a few photos of Peter Bruin's Cooper at a National Meeting at Pukekohe
when they were using the Elbow and photographers could stand on top of the stables.
Great position to stand.
p
That is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Steve, Peter made me some extractors for my Escort back in 86 when i was talking to him about the problems i was having getting anything the right size to fit, he said drop car down and i will do them in spare time. They are all separate pipes to length and twist down and around into slip on collector under firewall, still got them. The workmanship is unreal. He was a real gentleman. A clever one at that.
Is there anything better looking than a nicely crafted set of headers? Actually, don't answer that! I'd love to see some pics of those though Rod.
I have found a few more pictures of Peter Bruin and his cars in my archives
This is another car that Peter designed, built and raced - the Fiat Targa - does anyone of any period photos?
Photo from Groundsky
I suspect there might have been one in Motorman in period
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