Lost Race Cars

[Homer]

To save starting new thread, a few years ago while Tranzam was still a stand-alone class, I remember George Shewirey (spelling) running an older style mustang in the class. For memory it was blue and white. What was the history on that car and where is it now?

[Steve Holmes]

Yeah that car was built by George, or at least it was built for George. He still owns it. I always thought it was imported from the US, but he just painted it up that way.

[Habu]

Yeah that car was built by George, or at least it was built for George. He still owns it. I always thought it was imported from the US, but he just painted it up that way.

To the best of my knowledge, the car in question is now owned by Mike Oldham. George bought the car from someone in Wellington? It was built/finished over a very short timeframe, and was powered initially with a Cleveland engine - possibly later with and SVO Windsor style engine. It definately gave George a taste of Transam style cars, and when the opportunity arose, he of course purchased the Sylvester Mustang.... Im sure Mike Oldham, or someone who knows him could fill in all the correct details of his car.

[Powder]

Here's the car at Pukekohe, Jan '99.



At the time I wondered if it was a Roush Mustang from the States, but comparing the photos tonight, there's not a lot in common, but perhaps the Roush cars were the inspiration for the build.

http://photos.speedtv.com/gallery/RO.../03Ng3cx72kc0G

[rogered]

Fairly s

ure the build was started in rotorua

[Rod Grimwood]

rogered you are right: The short of it is Lyndsay Willis built the frame etc for Tony Rutherford and Tony had a Roush body he bought back from USA. He onsold project to George and he got it up and running.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks for that info you guys. Habu, you said Mike Oldham has it, does he race it? He also bought George's Pre-65 Mustang many moons ago.

[Habu]

Thanks for that info you guys. Habu, you said Mike Oldham has it, does he race it? He also bought George's Pre-65 Mustang many moons ago.

Hi Steve, Mike has raced the car, cant remember which year he raced it last - memories a bit hazy on that one. Think he ran it in the TraNZam series that was promoted a few years ago. Last time I saw the car run, it was painted a gunmetal grey colour. Yes, Mike owns George's old Pre-65 Mustang, also owns a really nice Falcon Cobra coupe that he has had some success in.

[Steve Holmes]

Ahhh, thanks for that. George showed me a picture of the car as it looks now, in gunmetal grey. I'd forgotten about that until you pointed out it was the same car.

[Steve Holmes]

There is a 1968 Holden Monaro HK currently on Trademe that I thought might have been the old Spinner Black Cambridge car that raced in New Zealand in the late '60s and early/mid '70s, later owned by Grady Thomson, Jim Carlisle, and George Bunce. There are several similarities between the two, including add-on fibreglass rear flares, which Spinners car had fitted, plus the fuel filler cap relocated to the top of the rear quarter panel, plus the Trademe car was once fitted with a rollcage.

However, the Spinner Black Monaro was involved in a road crash in the '80s, in which it hit a power pole sideways, causing substantial damage that the previous owner thought was enough for it to have been a write-off. Also, the car on Trademe, according to its body tags, is Bright Blue Metallic with Bright Blue Metallic interior. The Bright Blue Metallic paint can still be seen in places under the current red, and the Bright Blue Metallic rear seat is still intact. Spinners Monaro never had a back seat, even right into the 1980s when it had become a road car. Plus, Spinners Monaro never had a head lining.

It had me going there for a while though! Here is the link for anyone who is interested: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=508465725

[John McKechnie]

Hi Steve, If you check the same Monaro in Autonews,number 15,volume3 February page 26 you will clearly see that Grady Thomson has a back seat.As it is a black and white photo, and as the seat can clearly be seen, then the seat is a light colour such as the teal blue as the body tags state.

[Steve Holmes]

John, I thought you told me Spinners car never had a back seat, hood lining or body tags when I was looking at that Trademe Monaro?

[John McKechnie]

All the information verbally from people said there was no interior, even with that recent interview with Spinner Black by Gerard Richards for Classic Car mag ,it said the same thing.Problem is listening to people and their memories from 40 years ago. I listened and believed also as we all do.
I have only just got the mag now from Russ Cunningham and have now seen it for the first time. I recently got 15 motoring mags from this period off him and this is the only clear photo of the interior in all of them.
Photos show so much, this one for example , the simple hoop roll cage at the B pillar position with a pipe each side going back to the parcel tray.
Interestingly , I now have also read David McKinneys article on Grady from 1970 for the first time.A good reporter that gentleman.
Will post updates as the the newer paint is scrapped off and its earlier history can be seen.
So far have found Bunces Burnt Orange and some sign writing , also a large area of white paint-could very well be Team Cambridge- on roof and right rear pillar .Dark blue paint on B pillar
Unfortunately there were no front guards, bonnet and boot lid to scrap paint off.

[John McKechnie]

Does any one know what happened to the set of webbers and manifold that John Riley had, and sold to George Bunce for his 350 HK Monaro..They were sold on in 76-78.I would like to get them and put them back on the original motor for this car.

[seaqnmac27]

So how about we start a thread on race cars that appear to have vanished from trace. See if we can't track a few of them down.

Here is one I've been trying to learn the fate of for some time, with no luck. I first found out about this car when writing an article for Australian Muscle Car mag a couple of years ago. The reason it grabbed my attention was because it was built in the Wairarapa, in New Zealand, where I moved with my partner Helen a few years ago. While researching various magazines gathering info for the article, I stumbled upon details of this car.

It was built around 1971 by Wayne Fuller, and fitted with an FVA motor reportedly from Paul Faheys Escort. Fuller raced the car in OSCA during the 1971/72 season, and was often the fastest car in the field. At the end of the season Fuller set his sites a little higher, and took the car to Graham Berry (of Berry & Chung hot rodding fame) to have a heap of fabrication work done on the firewall and transmission tunnel, so he could fit a 350ci small block Chevy, with twin off-set Holleys.

This was quite an ambitious project at the time, and appeared to have quite a bit of potential. The newly rebuilt Escort finally debuted at Bay Park in late 1973, driven by 24 year old Roger Brader, another Wairarapa hot shoe. It was very quick in a straight line, as fast as the front running machines of Allan Moffat, Jim Richards, Leo Leonard (in Mustangs), Red Dawson (Camaro), Rod Coppins (Firebird), and Paul Fahey (Capri), but required some development work on suspension and brakes.

Brader and Fuller raced the car at several events throughout the 1973/74 season, but at seasons end Fuller decided to sell it and go boat racing instead. The Escort was sold engineless to Warren Steel in the Hawkes Bay. Steel had planned to fit a smaller Chevy motor to compete in the 4.2 Saloon Car Championship, but failed his eyesight test, and had to sell the car.

It was purchased by John Scott in Auckland, who owned a transport company. This would have been late 1974, or early 1975. From there, the trail goes dead. I'm not sure if the John Scott who purchased the Escort was the same John Scott who raced speedway in the '70s and '80s, but that John Scott did happen to own a transport company, also in Auckland, so perhaps it was the same person. Either way, I've not been able to track him down.

Would love to know what happened to this car, and if it survived. Obviously Escorts were pretty popular during the '70s, and it could have ended up anywhere. Was it converted for ShellSport? Was it scrapped? Was it pushed into someones shed and forgotten about?

Anyway, here is a pic of the car at Levin when it was still fitted with the FVA. It changed little when the Chevy was shoe-horned in, except the wheels became slightly wider. It was silver with a green stripe down each flank, then later had a red or orange stripe.

Attachment 128

So this is a different Escort to the one Brader and Fuller were rallying in 75 Steve?

[Steve Holmes]

Yes it is Sean. Wayne owned the car, and sold it to Warren Steel in 1974 without the motor. I think Wayne actually went jet boat racing after he sold the Escort, then probably got back into rallying.

[bob homewood]

Here is one for GD66 you might remember the story of this Mini and perhaps some of the guys in it ,not much of a photo I am sorry but this Mini was a bit " different"

[RacerT]

Just to throw another car in the pot, does anyone know where the 'Scarab" sportscar is. I owned it in 1968 and converted it to road legal, which was a bit of a hoot! Powered by a Studebaker Hawk V8, 3 speed box, Ford V8 rear end, VW Kombi fron end complete with drum brakes.
Looked like a large U2!
It is reputed to have left the back straight at Pukekohe when the brakes faded and ended up on the main road, where it eventually re-entered the circuit through the main gates.

[John McKechnie]

I remember hearing this story, but never knew which car it was. Heard rumours it was a F5000 or a high powered sportscar. Did it take out the fence or was the gate open?

[David McKinney]

Too early to be a F5000, especially as its description as "a large U2" suggests it was front-engined

Racer:
Was the car built by Mike Austin, do you know? For some reason I thought it was imported from the South Island, but can't recall anything quite like that racing there either