Here you go, have at it boys! Kicking off with AMCO72s questions from the Doyle/Dickie Fastback Anglia thread on the debate over race replicas, and the NZ special, the Custaxie. This is a race replica thread, not just limited to the Custaxie, so go ahead and post your questions/arguments/answers on anything to do with people building and racing race replicas:

Does anyone out there actually KNOW that there is a problem with the Custaxie, or is it just 'pit talk'. The last time I saw it racing was at the 'Evolution Motorsport Classic Speed Fest' at Teretonga on the 20th of February this year. We were down there with the Amco Mini and Angus had the pre65 Morris. He had done a deal with Robbie at Ruapuna that they would swap cars at Teretonga. In the event Robbie did not drive the Morris but Angus drove the Custaxie. I think Robbie wanted Angus's imput as to how the handling might be 'improved', and to this end the car seemed to be in a thousand bits after each race getting 'improved'. I'm not aware of any events since that meeting that the Custaxie would run in, but there may have been. Also at that meeting there was a very nice Ford Escort RS that was 'reputed' to have 300hp under the bonnet, and that it was also having problems with COD compliance. But again this could have been pit talk. I raced around with this guy throughout the weekend, and if that car had 300hp then I'm 'a monkeys uncle', as my old bus has only 106hp at the wheels. So fastback55, I'm sure you will put the car back to 'as near as possible' to how it was, and as you say, ALL race cars change from one year to the next so who's to say what is correct.

The responce from RogerH:

My understanding with the "Custaxie" is that it is not a restoration of an existing period race car (like the Anglia in this thread) but an attempt to reconstruct a car that no longer exists.

If it wants to run at MSNZ events with a COD it does so under Schedule CR and it has two choices - either as a "Replica" or as a "Retrospective Special". If wants to be called the Custaxie then it should be under the "Replica" regulations which state " ... means a car built with the intention of replicating a vehicle that existed in any one of the period classifications. The car must comply with the applicable articles of Schedule K as if it was an original vehicle". Essentially this means that a car is constructed today to replicate an actual period vehicle in the configuration that it ran in period.

From what I understand the "Custaxie" has not been built to replicate what it was in period and changes and "improvements" have been made so it is a different animal from what the real Custaxie was in period.

The option that is left for it is for it to be a "Retrospective Special" which is defined as " .... means a car built for racing events which by its design, silhouette and manufacture has created a vehicle that could have been first manufactured in a previous era ...". However, this doesn't allow the introduction of non-period bits, for example, 6 pot callipers (I'm not saying the "Custaxie" has these). Additionally, it couldn't be called the Custaxie because it doesn't replicate what the Custaxie was.

There are people spending the time replicating period race cars, warts and all and if the car doesn't exit then it can be called what it was called in period. However, if the car does exist (even in bits) then someone can't come along and replicate it and give it the identity of the period car. I bet fastback55 would not be too impressed if someone built up an Anglia from scratch and put "55" on it and called it the Doyle/Dickie Anglia.

It probably all seems a bit bureaucratic but the Custaxie was a great car and it would have been just as easy to build it essentially as it was rather than try and "improve" it into something it never was.