I have Chassis number 71. Built to and maintains original Mk 1 features (10" wheels, drum brakes etc). The car was built by Donald Conway of Edendale around 1999. I understand Ross Cameron of Dunedin still owns one. Geoff, Whangarei
I have Chassis number 71. Built to and maintains original Mk 1 features (10" wheels, drum brakes etc). The car was built by Donald Conway of Edendale around 1999. I understand Ross Cameron of Dunedin still owns one. Geoff, Whangarei
Sorry, should have said Terrapin 71. I thought the reply would attach itself to the box. Geoff
I have been looking for a Terrapin for years, anyone know of one available?
Isnt funny how you can get things so wrong...! (I have never lived in Wellington....) I bought the body which was the latest thing from Jack Roush in the USA.. I got my good friend Lynsay Willis from Rotorua to build me a spaceframe chassis for it....and I had all the latest and greatest engine stuff done in the States along with the last two close ratio gearboxs to come out of the Super T10 factory just before it burnt to the ground....(leaving a major problem for GH's Corvettes which ran these gearboxes for a long period of time..) The car had a Speedway engineering quick change diff in the rear. This car was almost completed when personal reasons forced me to stop and sell it to my buddy George Shewiery. George actually ran the car for this time at Wellington street race. May have been the same year I did the Group A race in a Toyota with champion Sports Sedan driver Brian Friend. The collection of all the engine parts, heads etc, and gearbox was to be organised for pick up before I was to fly with my wife to be a guest of Jack Roush and pick up the Mustang body. The slowness of the Yanks that were doing my special cylinder heads forced me to put back my flight to the East Coast by one day. I was pretty pissed off but didn't wanna leave without my heads. What occurred next sends shudders down my back. Those Yanks that were so slow that I had to re schedule my flight saved my life! The plane we were to fly back to the West Coast..(LA's John Wayne airport )...on crashed on take off killing everyone on board! Crazy! Another little snippet of interest is that a week or so later on board the flight back home to NZ via Hawaii for a weeks rest was none other than Randell Edgell and his wife Janice. They had been there to sort out the purchase of a Jack Roush Merker XR4i which I had seen in a corner of one of Jack's shops. This is the car Kayne Scott pedalled for the ever popular Mark Petch... To my knowledge Mike Oldhan still has the car....(I will ask him when I next see him)...I have so many snippets of interest to share on this site I better start recalling. Thats another day. Kindest regards, Tony Rutherford.Originally Posted by Habu
With stories like this , I think Lost Race Car Drivers would also make a good thread.
Terrapins are great clubbie cars. Robust, with enough ground clearance to do hillclimbs and relatively easy to get bits for. Sometimes I think I would rather have one of those than my FF which is really too low for hillclimbs.
There must be a few more Terrapins hiding in sheds-there have been a few raced here over the years.
Last time i saw this car was at manfeild 2003 a very fast car, it had a nissan v6 turbo on this day .the oil hoses only had radiator hose clips to hold them on and they would come off from time to time.I did take a number of photos of this car,the sound it made on fill sing down the front of manfeild a very nice car.The only thing i did not like was the way the roll cage was made,the front part came up and a cross the front windscreen and down the other side.The driver was from wellington,looking at the wheels they had four wheel nuts on the front and five on the back. My view was at that time the tow vehicle was a gold falcon ute reg number of what i can see from the photos was 2BADDyep thats the one. None of the parts look Gp.A to me. Would have expected centrelock wheels at the very least, these look bolted on. The look continues!
Hey there guys, I recently heard of an interesting car that Bill Leckie apparently first started out in. Word has it that he built the car himself, a Hillman Imp powered by a Coventry Climax engine thru a hewland rearend. I would think that would have been quite a clever combo for back then. Any pictures or info on this.
Hi George there are quite a few pics of it in a thread called RIP which was started when it was rather erroneously suggested that Bill had died. It has become a thread now for others who have passed. This is a shot of it from I believe the 1975 GP meet at Pukekohe. There are better ones on that thread.
OK, thats pretty bloody freaky!
I might have already posted this one on here, but does anyone know what happened to the Bill Leckie V8 Capri? Bill last raced it in the 1977 season, as pictured (photo supplied by Milan Fistonic) before it was outlawed with the MSNZ maximum 2 litre rule for 1978. I did speak to Bill about it a few years ago, and he told me he removed the McLaren running gear from it, plus the rear axle and gearbox, and traded the body and all the molds for a V8 Bedford van, to a guy who had a backyard car wreckers yard. I can't remember where Bill said the wreckers yard was, could have been in Papatoetoe? The guy who got it told Bill he was going to get it up and running again, but it hasn't been seen since.
On one of my trips to friends in the early 80s I saw the Capri parked on the side of the road to the east of Huntly past a wreakers yard. I will look at google and try to give the name of the road. The wreakers yard I believe is now no more.
Oh wow, thanks Bruce! Thats really interesting. Although it doesn't sound too good for the Capri. What shape was it in? Was it complete or just the body?
Tahuna Road, must of been late 1984 when I met Lynne. Still sign written but stupid of me I didn't stop and have a nosey. It was still white.
Is that Jim Richards driving the Capri? After Bill's accident JR drove the car while Bill recovered as I understand the car itself was not badly damaged.
Really wracking the grey matter at the moment Steve. It was on a trailer but thats about it. Would of been 5 to 8 ks back from the main road. Someone will remember the wreakers yard. It was parked at the entrance to a farm on the left side heading away from the main road further on from the wreakers yard. I should of stopped.
Thanks Bruce, great info. Good memory! Hope some more light can be shed.
Yep thats right Howard, JR drove it at Puke when his Mustang broke something, and Bill was still recovering from the burns he received at Manfeild. Richards actually broke the saloon car lap record that day, previously held by Jack Nazers Victor.
If ever any of you are going to Fiji you might ask Bill himself. He spends a lot of time in Fiji where he runs a charter boat out of Port Denarau. When not out on his boat you will often find him at a bar at Port Denarau called "Cardo's" with Ross Grenville and some other ex NZ racers.
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