Denny Hulme Festival

[AMCO72]

OK, on with the story. The Austin Mini 850 was purchased in september 1960 by Denny. With Denny at the time was George Lawton, also on the driver to Europe scheme, and he purchased an identical car. The pair used to zoom round London and it's environs, and knowing both these drivers to be 'lead-foot larrys', have no doubt that they terrorised the neighbourhoods where-ever they went. Anita, Dennys sister, thinks that Denny may have got a loan from his Father, Clive, to buy the car, in any case they clocked up some miles over in the UK, with Anita doing driving duties at times!!

The car came back to NZ when Denny returned. There doesnt seem to be a record of what happened to Georges car, but was sold before he died. Denny bought the Mini back to the farm in TePuke and eventually sold/gave it to his brother in law, Murray, Anitas husband. He kept it, replacing the engine at some stage, till he passed it on to his son Paul in 1984. Between these two the car underwent a few 'modifications' to make it more suitable for rallying.....extra lights, oil pressure gauge, vacuum gauge, flash wheel trims, Cooper grill and speedo, and just the latest high-back seats from a Japanese van. Not sure how much 'rallying' was done, but a good bit of thrashing round the farm was in order.....hence the very noisy gearbox it has today.

Eventually it was parked in the barn in 1989, this date coinciding with Anitas divorce from Murray. The boys meantime had used the passenger seat for a gocart, which they eventually tired of and the remains went to the tip......so the only front seat left is the tatty drivers seat, the one that Dennys bum sat in!!!!

The interior of the car was in very poor condition, with A1 Axminster carpet replacing the thin original, and also used as door linings.......CHOICE. It's a shame that the front seat has dissappeared, even though it was scruffy, as to find an early replacement in red with silver brocade today is nigh-on impossible. For the festival I have installed a couple of seats from a Riley Elf which look ok but are not correct.

The task of getting the thing to go was a major, and I wont bore you with the details. Suffice to say that everything needed complete dismantling, cleaning and freeing with a couple of gallons of WD40 used. Sometimes resorting to the BIG hammer was necessary, but in the end everything now works, sort of, and I have been for a drive out in the country behind Cambridge.......because I couldn't resist it!!!!!!!!!!
Fortunately the 'law' was asleep that evening and I escaped a jail sentence.I dont think the cop would have been impressed by the fact that the car used to belong to one, Denis Hulme.....NZ's only world champion F1 driver........'who do you think you are Sir, Stirling Moss. Well no, actually Denis Hulme. Yeh right!

I have spent a good few hours trying to get some gleam into the paintwork. Unfortuately the body has been repainted at some stage, rather poorly I'm afraid. I am only trying to get it into respectable condition, because I think Denny would appreciate the effort, and the public will see a tidy little car, instead of an old clunker and perhaps wouldn't have inspected it as closely as they might. Having said that, Greeta told me that at one stage after their split-up, Denis had told her to 'dig a big hole and bury the bloody thing'. not a very sentimental man I dont think.

The question now is what happens to the car after the festival. I have tried to convince Anita that they should sell it after its exposure at the festival. Unfortunately I think they have an unrealistic idea of it's value, so I fear it will end up back in the barn, to 'rust in piece'...........

The car will be on display over the two weekends of the festival, and Anita and myself are going to drive it round the track during the lunchtime demonstrations.......cant wait.