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Thread: Rod Coppins

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce302 View Post
    Stu, What an excellent photo. I was hoping for a good shot of the Tec Mec, but this just amazing. Rod would have been in his early 20's (21-23) at this time.
    Thank you very much.

    Bruce.
    Here is an almost identical shot. Neither Cardon's Lycoming nor Coppins' TecMec got off the line and Simon Taylor was an easy winner.



    Some time ago I posted 2 other TecMec photos on another thread, don't recall which, but I will post them again here for the record. Soon.

    Stu

  2. #22
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    On practice day Ardmore 1962. Scan of old enlargement done on improvised enlarger 50 years ago. Original or negative either lost or somewhere under brother's house in Australia.



    Single-seater body at the fateful March 1963 Pukekohe meeting. Incidentally, a St John Ambulance bloke was killed at the same time as Peoples. I forget his name but they do a thankless job mostly and deverve recognition.



    Stu

  3. #23
    Yes Stu, my father thought two were killed but was unsure, and I didn`t want to post it on here and get shot down. It is a shame when those that are at race meetings to help you are taken in such a tragic way.

  4. #24
    Stu, thanks for those Tec Mec pics. It was a neat looking car, I hope more images surface. Thanks.

    Back to another kindly supplied by Steve, again in the ever popular Cambridge Camaro with just a touch of oppo. March 1970 Bay Park it would seem.


    Bruce.
    Last edited by Bruce302; 12-14-2012 at 06:53 PM. Reason: added date

  5. #25
    While Graeme Addis was renowned for his wheel widening skills, my father was pretty good at it too. He widened the wheels on Rods Zephyr Corvette to fit one of the very first sets of ` Firestone Wide Oval' tyres in NZ, several of John Wards cars, John Rileys Traco Olds Anglia,etc, and also these ones on the Camaro. These rims were originally a set of the `skinnys' off the previous Glenvale Camaro.

  6. #26
    Bruce-that is Terry Allens blue Camaro behind him.
    Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-14-2012 at 08:52 AM.

  7. #27
    No John, Terry Allens Camaro was white at this meeting. If Bruce scans the grid photo from this meeting, you`ll see who was there.

  8. #28
    First time Terry Allen came here car was blue March 29,1970 (Rod was 41 then), second time car was white- Castrol colours Dec 28 1970 (Rod was 141 then) I was there and saw Brillo both times.
    In motorman mag May 1970, it even shows a pic of Terrys blue car with damage to the right front bonnet after this incident..So the oppo shown is from a whack from behind, well caught on camera.
    Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-14-2012 at 08:53 AM.

  9. #29
    John, if you had started your previous post, ` In Motorman mag.... instead of asking a question, you would have explained yourself. One of my photos that Bruce has got clearly shows on a sign in the windscreen that the white Terry Allen Camaro was racing on Dec 28th, and in another photo of the grid line up, there he is. My old photo albums, two of which Bruce is using some photos from on this thread, are not all year specific, even though Terry Allen obviously raced in NZ twice in 1970. If you know something, post it, as Stu did regarding the St Johns guy.

  10. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by stubuchanan View Post
    On practice day Ardmore 1962. Scan of old enlargement done on improvised enlarger 50 years ago. Original or negative either lost or somewhere under brother's house in Australia.



    Single-seater body at the fateful March 1963 Pukekohe meeting. Incidentally, a St John Ambulance bloke was killed at the same time as Peoples. I forget his name but they do a thankless job mostly and deverve recognition.



    Stu
    Just thinking aloud here, but did coppins swap the "250F" body off and replace it with the sports car version, then swap it back to "250F" for 1963??

  11. #31
    You can almost "hear and smell" that photo bruce






    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce302 View Post
    Stu, thanks for those Tec Mec pics. It was a neat looking car, I hope more images surface. Thanks.

    Back to another kindly supplied by Steve, again in the ever popular Cambridge Camaro with just a touch of oppo.


    Bruce.

  12. #32
    Great pics of the TEC- never seen them before.
    Last edited by John McKechnie; 12-14-2012 at 08:49 AM.

  13. #33
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    TecMec Body Swap

    Quote Originally Posted by rogered View Post
    Just thinking aloud here, but did coppins swap the "250F" body off and replace it with the sports car version, then swap it back to "250F" for 1963??
    I presume it was Coppins who fitted the central-seat sports car body. This body was on Roycroft's 4.5 V12 Ferrari when it first arrived in 1956 and was then replaced by a 1952 Indianapolis-style body built by John Morrell. Coppins ran it at the main meetings in summer of 1962-63, put it backwards into a wall at the very wet Dunedin meeting, but had it sufficiently straightened out to run at Waimate the next week. Perhaps there was no great advantage in his running it as a sports car, or the body wasn't worth fixing properly.

    There was a thread a while back on the TecMec or Mansel's driving of it; perhaps a "search" might find it?
    Or our member from London might remember.

    Stu

  14. #34
    I'll get the next batch scanned this weekend Steve. Some very good material.

    Quote Originally Posted by fullnoise68 View Post
    No John, Terry Allens Camaro was white at this meeting. If Bruce scans the grid photo from this meeting, you`ll see who was there.

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by rogered View Post
    Just thinking aloud here, but did coppins swap the "250F" body off and replace it with the sports car version, then swap it back to "250F" for 1963??
    Yes. Mansel raced the Tec-Mec with red single-seater bodywork. Coppins raced it the following season with the Ferrari sportscar bodywork until his Dunedin accident, as Stu says. He then ran it with the red single-seater body at Ohakea and Levin at the end of that (1961/62) season.
    The following season the car was grey with touches of red

  16. #36
    Before we carry on with the cars, here is a less happy interlude. This is Rod's headstone showing the picture of his Firebird. A fitting memorial for a very popular racer who was taken to soon. I won't make the location public for obvious reasons.
    Photos again from Steve Elliott.


    and a close up of the Firebird image.

  17. #37
    Absolutely right Roger. There are lots of photos of Rod and he always seemed to keep it on the straight and narrow, which is why the tail shot out is neat.
    I have been told that others were "induced" to give Rod a tap and a hurry along from time to time, just to liven up the show. This could be one of those times.
    Bruce.

    Quote Originally Posted by rogered View Post
    You can almost "hear and smell" that photo bruce







  18. #38
    Here is a pic of the Terry Allen Camaro promoting the end of year meeting at Bay Park.



    and Terry Allen followed by Bryan Thomson at Bay Park. (Steve Elliott supplied photos)


  19. #39
    Bay Park, Dec 1970 grid, Rod is on row two in the Cambridge Camaro. Up front is Joe Chamberlain, Paul Fahey, then Bryan Thomson next to Rod, back to Terry Allen and Johnny Riley, then Clyde Collins in the Falcon.
    Good size crowd, all standing in anticipation of some serious action. (Steve Elliott supplied photo)


  20. #40

    Tec Mec

    We probably don't need to dwell on this one and its not the sort of thing I believe in posting ,but this is from that day at Pukekohe



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