Monday, February 28, 2011

Triden's new home.

Wayne's got the Triden safely installed in his garage.
Goodonya Wayne.

Ikara No.11 - a superb job.

Kevin has finished the Ikara and doesn't it look great in orange.


Hi Guys
 
Please see attached photos of the Ikara completed. As you can see I have used black grill mesh on all openings and vents and fitted thread serts in the side pods to take 6mm stainless steel button head screws.
The rear section from side pods back can be unbolted  for engine removal or maintenance and also the lights can be unplugged for removal. I have installed 200lbs coil over shocks on the front with adjustable ride height that can be changed to a lighter spring for a softer ride if required.
I obtained a 3 day permit to drive the car to the spray painter and motor trimmer, both very impressed with the finish. At this stage I will remove the bonnet and  nose cone for rework to prevent the front edge of bonnet rubbing on nose cone on opening and closing, and also adjust stroke of windscreen wiper as it jumps over both  right and left sides of windscreen.
Hopefully the Ikara will be completely finished in about 2 weeks.
 
Regards Kevin Ratsch  
 There's a lot more photos. Just wait until the next NSW Slipstream comes out.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Buchanans - popular in Tasmania

Here's some Buchanans spotted by Keverall Thompson in 1960 & 1961 before he moved over here to Glen Osmond.
SYMMONS PLAINS 1960
Norm Baker's Buchanan MGTD and a supercharged MGA.

SYMMONS PLAINS 1961
Max Boulter, Buchanan Repco Holden.
Derek Holden, MGTD Buchanan and VW Karmann Ghia.

In good company

Front row on the grid, Calder 1967.
The 2 top Elfins, the 2 biggest names and the Bolwell Mark 4 Holden.

Roger's Simcas

There were apparently 6 of these Simcas imported into Australia and Roger T's uncle ended up with 5 of them. When he died, Roger became the next custodian of the collection.
In this photo which is really of the Peter Chambers 1948 Ken Wylie Special in the Bathurst pits in the late 40s/early 50s, car number 20 is one of these Simcas.
Is this the one that got away or does Roger have a car with a racing history?

What a coincidence. Look what's turned up on eBay today.

This is a must have for all J & S Hunter enthusiasts. This is a ultra rare Australian special which was produced in the early 1960`s. Approx 12 cars were produced with very few remaining - approx 5 including this one. Most Hunters used holden components although this example has a Citroen light 15 Chassis and is front wheel drive. This fibre glass body requires full restoration but comes complete with doors.

Essentially what you are getting is a fibre glass body. The chassis is rusted and i would suggest holden running gear.    Hunter cars were extensively raced and this would be suitable after a full restoration to be entered in historic events. This body at one point was on the roof of the factory at Ashfield for advertising 

I currently have a fully restored Hunter but have no where to keep this spare body. Veiwing can be arranged by appointment and i would suggest that potential buyers do this.

Hunters were featured in various publications including :

The official racing history of Holden by Stewart Wilson
Great Australian Sports cars & Specials by Mike McCarthy

I can be contacted on 0405731161 , and viewing can be arranged . The car is located near Windsor , postcode 2756

This body requires full restoration and is for the body only , but it is an extremely rare Australian special. This is one of approx 12 built and most chassis were constructed by Jack Pryor of Prad Fame. 

This is RARE dont miss out !


Just go to eBay home page and type in j & s hunter. There's lot of pictures.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Triden in recent times.

Here's a photo I didn't realise I had.
Graham Waller is a tall man. Hence the high roll bar. Builders scaffold Dick Willis calls it.

sedans

Before the Buckle sports car, Bill Buckle raced this Citroen Light 15.
And before the Buchanan, Nat Buchanan raced this Sunbeam.

More Hunters.

These two photos were taken by Barry C at the last Leyburn Sprints. That's John in B8/26 lined up behind the other red monster. Well, that monster is a Hunter. Barry didn't realise it was a Hunter until Stacey pointed it out. That's quite understandable considering the back in particular is rather modified. The rear was changed because the the original rear window used to blow out down Conrod Straight. The owner has had it since 1978. It's V8 powered and is a very potent car with more work being done to the motor this year. There are 2 others similar to this car in Newcastle.
This one lives in Camden in Sydney and the owner has had it for a very long time. It has a GTR Torana dash and a good body, a standard chassis and red motor etc.

He must have liked it!

Looks like Wayne's bought back his dad's old Triden.

Some Holway pics.

For you Pete and everybody else, since you asked.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Kapunda - week 21

A shed find I guess.
It's a Rambler Matador.

Mystery car no.11 - the answer.

Barry C writes......

Spot on with the wa rego. The car belonged to Hal Harford who worked with his brother and father in an engine recon business in Victoria Park, WA . Apart from the unusual hatch and windows it also featured a BMW independant rear end. The car had tripple webbers and all the mods you could think of in a red motor and performed well. Unfortunately Hal lost controll below kings Park and the car was badly damaged and ended up in the Swan River. ( April 1983) Hal was badly injured and spent many months in hospital. The car was never repaired and sold to Charlie George. It ended up on a rubbish heap in Corrigin. 
                                                        

Sales Brochure.

An eBay member wants to show you this item



This is an interesting one, does it breach any copyright or anything?
I notice that this sellar just sold an original brochure at a significant price.
I did bid on the original, but dropped out early, and was contacted after the sale to see if I wanted a photocopy.
Interesting.
Simon

Bolwell Mk7 Copy of original sales brochure
Current price:
AU $10.00
End time:
05-Mar-11 19:43:03 AEDST
Check out this item

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Where are they now? - number 11.

Here's one that hasn't been seen for a number of years. A rather unusual Mark 7 for quite a few reasons not the least being the hatch back and door windows. Peter G found the photos in a Vic. club album. Looks like WA rego in the first 4 pictures at least.
Is the bottom picture of the same car?

Mr. Gadget

John H. is wondering if his Bollie is the first with a start button......
I don't know the answer to that but I'm guessing the answer is "no".
"Also the black box on top of the dash is an electric speedo, runs off GPS so quite easy to install."

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bucket seat - from Simon.

For those who do not know what a bucket seat is...




Now you know.

Mallala memories.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Ron Tonkin - Earlier days.

Before the Triden Ron ran a TF. Here he is in close company with Jack Waye in the Holway.
Port Wakefield , Easter 1959. We've featured Jack's Holway before. Have I mentioned that he was Tom Drewer's grandfather? I like checking out the spectators' cars in these old photos. There's an assortment here.
Also from Ron's album is the Capricornia. Not sure if it's the same weekend.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

McArlus Cars - 17

Inching ever closer to a drive!

In the time that I have spent worrying about the driveshafts, I have been taking care of other jobs that needed finishing.
There are a few small and fiddly fibreglassing things that needed taking care of.
Fortunately some of the earlier body modifications were done by Ron at my house, so I was a little more familiar with the stuff than I had been before, which makes it a lot easier to see how a part could be made. By using masking tape, cardboard and plasticene, it becomes easier to visualize the required shapes and make the necessary moulds.
On each top corner of the seat panels, there was a mismatch with where it joins the roll bar and door. I needed to add to the seat panels so that there was less of an unsightly gap, and particularly on the LHS, where the radiator is, so that the radiator is sealed nicely for maximum airflow.
Each of the seat panels also extend all of the way up the sides until they meet the door, on the yellow car this extension piece is aluminium, pop rivetted to the chassis. Since the entire fiberglass panels are removable, in this case they needed to be bolted down so that the spring door catch doesn’t just pull the fiberglass panel out.
By using a couple of riv-nuts into the chassis, I could hold the fibreglass down, but I had to make a couple of fibreglass “bulges” to keep the bolts square to the chassis rail.
While at it I made some large dome shaped aluminium washers to spread the load over the panel. Incidentally, I have screwed a 6mm internal star washer onto the 8mm bolt, so that no well meaning pit crew can accidentally lose on of my custom made washers out at the track!
The rear inner guards are flat panels, made on a piece of glass, as in window, and then bonded into the body. I made the cross stiffening ribs by gluing in some dowel and then glassing over it. This was more difficult than I expected as the fiberglass doesn’t like to take the external bend shape, but eventually I got a pretty good result. 
The battery access panel is simply cut into the panel near where the gearstick is, but rather than simply cutting a hole, I decided to make a small return to give the panel more strength. In addition to that it, by glassing it in with the panel in position, I was able to pull it a little more into shape, as for some reason this panel didn’t fit as well as it should.
Last I talked myself into modifying the back of the seat. This had been made as a big flat panel that isn’t the shape of my back. For ages I have thought I should alter it, but wasn’t sure if the work involved would be worth the gain.
Eventually I did and it is well worth it. By cutting a horizontal slot through the middle of the back and cutting two vertical slots, I made cuts shaped almost like an “H”. To avoid distorting the panel too much as I bent these back I made horizontal relief cuts at the top and bottom of the “H”, without actually cutting all the way through, just enough to bend easily, but still all hold together. I could then bend the seat back to shape and hold it in position with some aluminium tags, making sure it didn’t foul the exhaust or engine.
By beveling all of the cuts, and masking all of the gaps, it is a simple matter of glassing narrow strips of mat over all of the cuts and gaps
The middle of the seat back has now been pushed back by 25mm and the top and bottom stay where they are, giving a slightly curved shape.
The end result is much better to sit in and will allow me to either sit further back, or have some extra padding, either of which will be a good thing.
By the time its trimmed no-one will ever know
Regards
Simon
LHS seat infill.
RHS seat infill.
LHS door catch.
RHS door catch.
Battery Access.
Rear Inner Guard Front View.
Rear Inner Guard Rear View.
LHS seat back.
RHS seat back.