Whatever happened to these Kiwi Single Seater racing oddities...

[Gerard Richards]

Following on from the interesting feedback relating to the survival or demise of various Kiwi big banger sporties, my mind drifted to a number of eccentric one off open wheeler beasts. In particular coming to mind were the incredibily light rear engined single seater powdered by an outboard motor, driven by Dennis Williams? who crashed on debut at Pukekohe into the fence near the grandstand and was badly injured. Was this car a Valour and led on to the later Valour Formula Fords? Also leaping to mind was the Katipo F5000 car that Robbie Francevic drove for a couple of South Island Gold Star meetings in early 1971. This car was based on a Matich SR3 sports car and financed by Mark Petch. It didn't go well I remember Robbie saying to me, I wonder what happened to that. And lastly a very obsure, home built F5000 car from about 1972, driven I think by a guy called Ross Williams. It looked a bit like a Lola T300. Not sure if it ever lined up for a Gold Star start I do recall it appearing at the Ruapuna drags though. Theres a couple of interesting questions for any hardcore historian who might care to respond....

[bob homewood]

The Outboard motor car you mention was built and driven by Dennis Smith ,it actually crashed on the back straight ,that was the end of it in that guise ,but Dennis built a sports car simlarly powered in latter years

[David McKinney]

1. Dennis Smith's Spider had no connection with the Valours. I believe some of its components were later used in a sportscar, which Smith held onto for a long time. Whether or not he still has it, I don't know
Bob beat me to it on that one

2. The Katipo was rebuilt as a sportcar, then as a single-seater again - but now called a Matich - and raced by Robbie Booth in the 1975/76 season. It was then pensioned off for hillclimb use, first by Dennis Phillips and later by Russell Greer, who won the 1980 hillclimb Gold Star with it. Again, nothing definite known of it since - it may have returned to Australia

3. Ross Williams called his car the Alross. It was built using the engine, transaxle and some suspension parts from the AML, itself a one-off F5000 car. The AML had in an earlier incarnation been the Begg-Daimler (and is again now)

[Gerard Richards]

Thanks for that update Bob and Dave, very interesting. One other question though regarding Dennis Smith of the "Spider" outboard motor fame. Was this the same Dennis Smith that went on to drive one of Valour Formula Fords in the 1972-73? season and was involved in the somewhat interesting Valour racing car operation. I seem to recall the government of the time changed the tax codes or something like this, which unfortunately put this promising local race car constuction company effectively out of business. The only other Valour I recall was the Formula Junior car that Jim Boyd drove in the 1963-64 season I think? This is the one that the steering wheel came off at Waimate, causing Boyd to hit the hay bales...

[David McKinney]

The FJ Valour and later FF Valours were the work of Trevor Larsen in Huntly.

I don't recall a Dennis Smith being involved, but Dennis Martin did race one

[pallmall]

The Dennis Smith Spider must have been around 1965. Here is one of many photos I took shortly before it destroyed itself and nearly destroyed Dennis on the Pukekohe backstraight. This photo was published in NZ Hot Rod in 1970, fortunately, because I have none of the others now.

[RogerH]

I think the Spider is still owned by Dennis Smith in sports cars guise - like a mini Canam car. I last saw it a few years ago at the Chelsea hillclimb where it was very noisy but wasn't running cleanly.
The remains of the Valour FJ car are owned by Nigel Russell although some bits are apparently still in Wellington somewhere. A restoration is planned sometime .....

[Grant Ellwood]

I bought a Valour roller plus various jigs and moulds from Dennis Martin in the early 80s, also aquired a Lotus 69 then sold the Valour ensemble to someone I can't recall now.

The FJ Valour and later FF Valours were the work of Trevor Larsen in Huntly.

I don't recall a Dennis Smith being involved, but Dennis Martin did race one

[GD66]

It barely fits inside the parameters, but late one afternoon at Bay Park at the end of a pre-Xmas test day, probably/maybe/arguably in the 1969/70 season, certainly within the years of the Cambridge racing team, a small but eye-popping single-seater appeared discreetly and proceeded to amaze the small assemblage with some sub-record laps. Complete with small front fairing and a rear wing, it was a kart in full Cambridge livery, with a Mac 91 mounted on and driving each corner. The times, now long forgotten, were incredible, and there was an air of stealth and suppression, and I never saw or heard of this pre-superkart again.
Ring a bell with anyone ?

[David McKinney]

Could it have been Peter Herbert's Triumph Ant? I don't know whether it ever wore Cambridge colours, but the rest of the description seems to fit

[markec]

It is one of many I have been given the photo's of so I can scan them for ease of storing them.

[GD66]

Is it Peter Hughes' Lotus 33-Daimler ?

[stubuchanan]

As seen at NZ GP 1969


image hosting

Not sure what the oddity is about it. Maybe the Daimler V8 engine. It didn't have the wings at this point.

Young brother, on left ,holding part of camera case doesn't look much different 40 plus years later! Can't say the same for me!

Stu

[markec]

The p;aue in front says"This car id fitted with Transal racing alloy wheels" designed developed manufactured by Transal racing alloys ltd Auckland.
I have a large number of photo's of cars I don't know what they are quite a number of 50's front engined single seaters, also many of sports cars of the period around the Cambridge sponsoring. When I get time I will post some more. You are probably correct with it being a lotus, alyhough it looks like a darker colour green.

[stubuchanan]

It's definitely a Lotus, Mark, it says so on the body just past the "Peter Hughes" sign. As for the colour, it's a 40-year-old colour slide and it looked a bit pale, so I reduced the brightness to make it clearer. Anyway, when Peter Yock imported and raced in 1967 it was white with an orange stripe, and had a V8 BRM 2 litre engine which neither he nor later owner Hughes were able to make run properly. The Daimler V8 wasn't really much better. Hughes was entered by Continental Cars in 1969 and Transal Racing in 1970.
Here it is in December 1967 Peter Yock driving:



Stu

[David McKinney]

I don't think Hughes ever raced the car with the BRM engine - ISTR it was beyond economical repair
He ran the Daimler engine only in 1969, then a Lotus twincam in 1970

[pallmall]

The photo posted by Markec looks to be the Lotus with the Twin Cam fitted. And although it was always described as a 33 out here it was in fact a 25.

[David McKinney]

We called it a 33 because that's what the Parnell team called it when they uprated it - and gave it a new chassis number. But you're right, it started life as a 25

[markec]

Thanks for the info, I will post some pics of the same era but of sports cars, hopefully this evening, they are of cars Ido not know anything about.

[Nigel Barclay]

Dave the 'Katipo/Matich' car was in Timaru for many years with Dave Morrison, I remember it being converted to look like a modern wing/sidpod car at Vaughan Motors by Dads car yard in Church Street in the mid 80's, saw Dave this year and he told me John Gobbe in ChCh has all the remains, I may be wrong but I think Dave had a new chassis fabricated and the original Matich one was scrapped on his farm!

Cheers
Nigel Barclay

1. Dennis Smith's Spider had no connection with the Valours. I believe some of its components were later used in a sportscar, which Smith held onto for a long time. Whether or not he still has it, I don't know
Bob beat me to it on that one

2. The Katipo was rebuilt as a sportcar, then as a single-seater again - but now called a Matich - and raced by Robbie Booth in the 1975/76 season. It was then pensioned off for hillclimb use, first by Dennis Phillips and later by Russell Greer, who won the 1980 hillclimb Gold Star with it. Again, nothing definite known of it since - it may have returned to Australia

3. Ross Williams called his car the Alross. It was built using the engine, transaxle and some suspension parts from the AML, itself a one-off F5000 car. The AML had in an earlier incarnation been the Begg-Daimler (and is again now)