The Ian Algie GTV blew me away when I first came to NZ. Now safely in the hands of Gordon Burr so we have seen it out at Hampton Downs. I hope some of the other wilder cars are seen out again.
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I was probably standing a few feet behind you at about the time you took this pic of Ian Algie's GTV, very cool car. Clever boys, those Algie lads.
And I agree with Oldfart in post #9, Dr Rog was a good guy to have a talk to.
Last edited by MP54; 11-06-2012 at 11:45 PM.
This would be my pick of all the sports sedans on the down side took ages to warm it up to race ,note the small wheels
I'm really enjoying these Ray, just fantastic! That shot of the Algie Alfetta is brilliant. Those pieces of wood being used as a ramp look slightly perilous.
I have a copy of an old NZ Hot Rod magazine article on this car from 1984. It looked very similar to our photo, so I assume you snapped this at around the same time?
As Jim said, note the small wheels. The Minilites on this car measured 13 x 10, and 13 x 13.
[QUOTE=Steve Holmes;20127]I'm really enjoying these Ray, just fantastic! That shot of the Algie Alfetta is brilliant. Those pieces of wood being used as a ramp look slightly perilous.
Yikes - look how young Barry is, standing next to the car!!!
The ramps were dodgy alright - probably the same ones i saw collapse as they unloaded Barry's Monaro off the Ford/Dodge transporter about 5 years later !
Paul Leuch in the Connaught. Loved that car... Paul also drove other desirable cars, some of which might appear here, some may not. Whenuapai 1986.
On a trip back to the UK to a Nottingham Sports Car Club Sprint, it was gratifying to see the club in such good health, having lost out to various circuit clubs over the years, so that racing was no longer viable. I took over as Competition Secretary (and newsletter editor!) some time before I left the UK and managed to build up the sprint side from just me competing regularly, to a very successful well supported Sprint Championship, that often ran concurrently with AMMC (Association of Midland Motor Clubs). At the 2004 Sprint, they had a great turnout of Austin Sevens and also Ginettas.
One of my all time favourite NZ photographs. Nigel Russell at Taupo.
Famous car and well known writer/owner, Simon Taylor. The HWM based Stovebolt Special.
The ERA being given a run for its money by the Parnell MG at Monaco, 2012. If the McLaren Trust group had sat in their allocated seats, on the front row and immediately behind the dratted catch fencing, I wouldn't have managed many decent pics at all. Fortunately, they got there early and bagged the top row of the stand - and that meant standing on the seating, facing backwards!
Last edited by ERC; 11-07-2012 at 03:31 AM.
Simon Taylor had been lusting after the Stovebolt Special all his life since he was at school, and finally convinced owner Murray Smith to sell it to him in 2000. I absolutely love the car.
Peter and Maggie Blankstone's GT40 at Prescott Hillclimb.
Willie Green in the GP Delage at the reopening of Donington May 28th 1977. Yes, the sun does shine in the UK now and again...
There is a very tenuous NZ connnection here. Curborough sprint course and Arthur Nash in the 1293cc Turner. Arthur is I think a distant relative of one Walter Nash. Arthur also built the 1293cc Mini engine I have under my work bench.
For Austin Healey fans.
As I was flagging at this event, I didn't get a programme so can anyone please supply a date? Richard Pilkington's glorious Lago-Talbot or is it Talbot-Lago...
Last edited by ERC; 02-16-2017 at 04:29 AM.
From the 2011 Australian GPOriginally Posted by ERC
For Austin Healey fans.
As I was flagging at this event, I didn't get a programme so can anyone please supply a date? Clive Pilkington's glorious Lago-Talbot or is it Talbot-Lago...
He's Richard Pilkington in the programme and the car is a Talbot Lago.
The Pukekohe meeting was held on February 1, 1987.
Yes, recognisably Richard Pilkington
Lago-Talbot is a common (though incorrect) description. Guess it just sounds better (like D-type Jaguar or 250F Maserati)
Thanks for the above - both posts. Milan, that helps me a great deal as I managed several pics that day as they have been sitting in a folder "TBD" (to be dated), for far too long.
Nice pics of the Healey now in Australia. Amazing how these cars pop up so far from home!
Another of Dad's of course. The wonderfully named Bluebelle Gibbs, with her HRG. Husband Len was also a keen racer.
Paul Leuch in his Lister Jaguar - Pukekohe before ripple strips replaced the earth bank. Was this car destroyed by fire in East Tamaki or was it rescued and shipped off to the UK?
This was Lotus state of the art motorhome at the time. Fortunately it has now gone to a good home on the south coast of England and it is in very original condition, being sympathetically restored -and used. Compared to today's luxury F1 motorhomes, it is surprisingly basic.
Last edited by ERC; 11-10-2012 at 10:55 PM.
It can't have been as badly damaged as reported, becuase PL raced it again a year or two later. And yes, it's now back in the UKPaul Leuch in his Lister Jaguar - Pukekohe before ripple strips replaced the earth bank. Was this car destroyed by fire in East Tamaki or was it rescued and shipped off to the UK?
I am shure Dave will tell us about just how bad it was along with the toothpaste car when he recovers from his trip to Canada, I think it was close to a write off ,he may explane how its a replicar as well!!
This was taken at a Silverstone test session, probably 1976, but I am really not sure, as I do have a pic taken in 1977 at the British F1 GP, so it might even be early 1977. Accurately dating pics from sessions like this is almost impossible as I wasn't keeping a diary from 1970 to 1990!
There was a very successful MGA (and also an MG T series) championship running in the late 1970s and although I know this is Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire, once again, no date.
Nicky Ellis in the very successful Cowgate sponsored Lotus Elan. The stars on the side reflect the race wins. Apparently this very potent car was eventually shipped to the USA.
A more recent pic (2012). This very rare Q type MG is undergoing a full restoration in Sydney. The quality of the restoration, in what is effectively a private workshop, is just stunning. The figures spoken of the cost of purchase and the cost of restoration (for a paying customer) made my eyes water...
Last edited by ERC; 10-02-2014 at 08:46 AM.
[QUOTE=ERC;20292]This was taken at a Silverstone test session, probably 1976, but I am really not sure, as I do have a pic taken in 1977 at the British F1 GP, so it might even be early 1977. Accurately dating pics from sessions like this is almost impossible as I wasn't keeping a diary from 1970 to 1990!
If I have done this right, only the photo of the 1976 DeCadenet Lola based Le Mans car will remain!
Photo is us testing various bodywork variations before the 1976 Le Mans race which is of course in June, so the photo will date from around April or May 1976. The final bodywork for that year was the long tail/ short nose variation with the wing mounted much lower than shown but incorporating those high cockpit sides.
Frankly the car was a bit of a pig but after all but one (the winning one) works Martini Porsches failing, all the works Renaults burning pistons and with our DFV engined car stopping only for scheduled stops (and going twice the distance between fuel stops than the turbos) we bought the old girl in 3rd overall in 1976.
Last edited by Howard Wood; 11-12-2012 at 02:16 AM.
[QUOTE=Howard Wood;20333]Howard, what was the handling like on this car? Its very chunky looking, with quite a blunt nose. But my limited understanding of aerodynamics suggests this should give it quite good downforce at the front?This was taken at a Silverstone test session, probably 1976, but I am really not sure, as I do have a pic taken in 1977 at the British F1 GP, so it might even be early 1977. Accurately dating pics from sessions like this is almost impossible as I wasn't keeping a diary from 1970 to 1990!
If I have done this right, only the photo of the 1976 DeCadenet Lola based Le Mans car will remain!
Photo is us testing various bodywork variations before the 1976 Le Mans race which is of course in June, so the photo will date from around April or May 1976. The final bodywork for that year was the long tail/ short nose variation with the wing mounted much lower than shown but incorporating those high cockpit sides.
Frankly the car was a bit of a pig but after all but one (the winning one) works Martini Porsches failing, all the works Renaults burning pistons and with our DFV engined car stopping only for scheduled stops (and going twice the distance between fuel stops than the turbos) we bought the old girl in 3rd overall in 1976.
[QUOTE=Steve Holmes;20352]Enduro racing back then was different, outright pace was less important and there was a huge difference between qualifying pace and race pace. During the race we had a target number of laps per hour and pretty much ignored what the works teams were doing, not that we could do much anyway. The limiting factor for the turbo cars were the regulations covering fuel tank size and no fuel stops in the first 20 minutes which effectively prevented them having the wick turned up too far in race mode. Even so one of the Martini Porsche works cars ran out of fuel out on the track after 19 minutes so that was one down! No safety car to get the thing back to the pits then.
So the answer to your question is the handling was pretty poor, the car really was maximized to get down the Mulsanne as fast as possible and be simple, strong and robust enough to run at a constant pace for the whole 24 hours. Real Tortoise and the Hare stuff.
The '77 car which John and I built and was a new design only using some Lola components like uprights etc was a much better car all round and in fact won an endurance race at Silverston later in its career whereas this car's lap times anywhere other than Le Mans were real slow. Incidentally that short nose was all the rage at the time but the '77 car had a much longer nose, long tail and the wing lower than the engine cover and was much better through the air with no reduction in downforce.
ps.
Exactly as displayed in your next photo Ray, this is indeed the '77 car, compare the nose profile with the '76 car and the rear wing almost invisible behind the bodywork. We discovered in the wind tunnel that there was no reduction in downforce but a considerable reduction in drag with the wing there. Probably only the upper surface of the wing was doing any work as there would be little if any true laminar flow but lots of disturbed air tumbling off the engine cover.
Last edited by Howard Wood; 11-13-2012 at 04:55 AM. Reason: subsequent photo posted
[QUOTE=Howard Wood;20366]Thanks Howard, sorry for the stupid questions, I find this really fascinating. How did you come to create the bodywork designs and then develop them to gain the best combination of downforce and low drag? I assume there wouldn't have been any sort of wind tunnel, even though some teams had the access to wind tunnels, so how did you come to the conclusions you did on body shape? Was it a case of creating what was the most logical shape at the time based on the experience you'd gained, and what the opposition were doing? And how did you test the different designs once created? Did you ever use the cotton threads trick, or was it more seat of the pants?
Shame they don't have the (noisy) racers any more...
Last edited by ERC; 11-11-2012 at 02:27 AM.
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