More from the 1975 NZGP, Baron Robertsons Elfin MR5. This photo was quite dark, the car being parked beneath a tree, so I've tried, relatively unsuccessfully, to lighten it up without it looking washed out.
More from the 1975 NZGP, Baron Robertsons Elfin MR5. This photo was quite dark, the car being parked beneath a tree, so I've tried, relatively unsuccessfully, to lighten it up without it looking washed out.
this may be a bit better Steve
Great stuff Bry, thats heaps better than my effort. Thanks heaps.
Is that the right colour? It seemed to me to be a deeper colour - candy-apple-red - or something similar. That may have been a Riley favourite colour, I remember the V8 Coupe from way back being a deep red, when it wasn't two-tone primrose and lilac! And was the Lotus the same colour when it was a single-seater? See below.Originally Posted by kiwi285
I also loved this short lived scheme for the Riley Mustang. It obviously had a fair amount of paint as well
This slide labelled GP 1969 Pukekohe.
Stu
Yes
I love that photo Stu. Yours and Mikes are the only two colour photos I've ever seen of that Mustang when it was red, so its hard to know the exact shade. I think you might be right about this being a favourite colour for Riley. His Olds V8 Anglia Allcomer car was the same colour. At the time the magazines said the Anglia was candy apple red.
The Candy Apple Red colour from memory started off on Ken Smiths car and I think possibly M & K Smith car painters as they were known painted both John's Anglia and the Lotus at that time
From memory the Smith Lotus 22 and Riley's Lotus 18/21 appeared in their new colours at about the same time. The Anglia would have been a year or two later
The Riley pic is at Renwick in early November 1964, the Smith one at Levin later the same month
Last edited by David McKinney; 11-09-2012 at 01:36 PM.
In reference to the John Riley Traco Olds Anglia, this car spent quite a lot of time in my fathers engineering workshop in Takanini at the time John raced it. As for the ex Dennis Marwood Camaro, John had some `so called expert' engineer in Papatoetoe from memory semi space frame the front of the Camaro, ( note the bodgy front wheel arches in the photo)which actually buggered the car and created all sorts of handling problems. Apparently the guy owed John some money and stuffed the Camaro in lieu of paying him!
Thanks Steve, great info! Your comments about the Camaro are just as Gerard wrote about this car when doing a magazine feature on Riley a few years ago. And current owner Tony Antunovich said the first time he drove the car down the road just after buying it the bloody thing damn-near killed him. It was a real mess.
Beautiful photos David, thanks for posting. The colour shot in particular is fantastic, the paint on that car really looks brilliant.
Also looks like the Coppins Zephyr Corvette in the background?
The Peter Sundberg Escort twin-cam. Bob Homewood emailed me some really great info on this car, and the other two Don McMillen Escorts of the period. Here is what Bob said on this car:
The second Don McMillan car which I will call the "Spears Escort " as the Lotus Twin Cam engines were built and supplied by them for that season ,I was involved in building that car for Don when I returned from living in the South Island mid 1972 ,we built that from a new bodyshell and if you look at photos of it you will see it was one of the later round headlight bodyshells ,it was painted yellow and carried Spears signage.I worked on this car all the 72/73 summer season (at this time I was also building my own Escort the one mentioned before above and preparing and racing various XU1 Holdens ) at the end of that season the car was sold of to some one in Nelson ,(was it Dick Tout ) .I don't know what engine if any went with it,as around 1978 I brought both the motors we had used in the Escort that season from Spears and I still own them albeit they are now in bits in my collection of Lotus Twin Cam racing stuff
From the Auckland Car Club Ardmore 10 December 1960 meeting :
Simon Taylor (164) Jaguar followed at a distance by Johnny Riley in a distinctive red Chevrolet in a 3-lap(!) saloon race, rounding College corner ahead of them would be eventual winner Red Dawson in a V8 Ford.
Sorry about poor quality and composition of slide - after 52 years I'm not even sure if I or my brother took photo, but it was my camera.
Stu
is this the same Chev coupe that George Bunce raced in the early 60s-see race program 1963
I think Riley still had it in 1963, then Peter Elford in 1964 (though probably not for long)
I thought the Bunce car was an ex-Dixon - Bob Homewood will know
David, was with George the other day and he said he had the ex Riley Coupe.Have sent this to him for comments
Last edited by John McKechnie; 11-15-2012 at 12:28 AM.
I think I have this right ,the Riley coupe was ex Dixon ,then went to to Riley,then possibly Peter Elford and then to George Bunce
Not sure what you're apologising for Stu, thats a beautiful photo! And its in colour. Got any more?From the Auckland Car Club Ardmore 10 December 1960 meeting :
Simon Taylor (164) Jaguar followed at a distance by Johnny Riley in a distinctive red Chevrolet in a 3-lap(!) saloon race, rounding College corner ahead of them would be eventual winner Red Dawson in a V8 Ford.
Sorry about poor quality and composition of slide - after 52 years I'm not even sure if I or my brother took photo, but it was my camera.
Stu
Tin tops at speed. Moffats Mustang absolutely scrapes the ground here, that car sat so low.
Paul Fahey and his favourite race car, the Alan Mann Escort.
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