Quote Originally Posted by thunder427 View Post
Sticking my neck in the nose !!!!!!!!......True or False ????

Mr Bellis, Ex Police deptment, proprietor/owner, 'Coachman Steak House', owner of the Ex Clyde Collins OSCA/Cortina, part-time 'Boy' racer, ordered a ,as quoted;.."A mega Motor Built"...from a Sydney/Australia engine supplier/builder, in those times you could send a motor out of the country of New Zealand for 'reconditioning',re-importing the then 'rebuilt' item did not incur the heavy import duty//Tax a 'new' motor would,so our 'Boy racer,(a paid up member of the Christchurch 'Party People', Great Fridaynights!!) exported some old ,read 'Junk' engine with the required Number stamped in place..........well the rebuilt engine arrived and was installed, but the 'Australian' end didnt pick-up the 'dud at the Sydney Docks...some Custom's officer poking around ask's the question....'whats with this piece of Shite"????...checks the 'Con-note',does some research I'm guessing, only to find the same motor/number was exported back to NZ some week's/months before...........I seem to remember that the Cortina may have been impounded!!!!!!!......the engine removed ........Our Paul Kirk should remember in more detail, he was at some of those Friday Night parties......all the Car yards personal got together after the 9oclock close of bussiness,somebody always had a party going or out to the 'Russley' or the 'White Heron' for late drinks,the line up of American Muscle Cars was something else, could be up to twenty 'Left Hand Drive' cars linning the street............Just the Best Times....when 'SEX' was safe and 'Sky Diving' was DANGEROUS!!!!!!!!!!!!.......................regards thunder427/MJ
Yeah, Thunder, I did get seriously involved with the ex-Bellis Molloy Weslake 32 valve Chev engine, but it was after the customs went around to his workshop and siezed it. It went to auction as a Holden Racing engine, and was bought by Roy Granger who installed it in a speedway supersaloon and suffered much frustration and expense, then sold it to another speedway competitor on the west coast (probably Greymouth). He later reposesed it (because he didn't get paid for it), and asked me if I was interested in putting it together for him. Like a silly buggar (I liked a chalange) I said "Yes".
Well, there's a long, and some may say, interesting story to be told and if anybody's interested I'll put pen to paper (so to speak), and tell that story another day!
PK.