Posts by Lance
BROOKLANDS CHALLENGE LEVELS RACEWAY
Always excited to see our race season get underway at Levels, Timaru. To expand our competitor numbers we now send invitations out to our other like- minded clubs, eg Mainland Muscle, CCC, Shellsport, Rennsport and other competitors that have races at our February southern classic. Over all the entries were pretty good although quite a…
Read MoreOLD TIMERS REPORT WAIMATE SPRINT
Mid-winter most of us hunker down under cover. But not the Old Timer. Here is his report on the late July Waimate sprint. On a fine frosty morning 30 cars lined up for a timed sprint on the outskirts of Waimate Township. The sealed course had a short straight to a tight right hander that…
Read MoreWhich Car Was That – A Story of Two Loti
This story begins back in ‘67 when I first saw Peter Yock’s Lotus 33 in the Baypark paddock. Except it wasn’t a Lotus 33, it was a 25. The history of this car can be found in Eoin Young’s book “Jim Clark and his Most Successful Lotus”. This ties the car back to the Lotus…
Read MoreA Cohort of Racing Chevrolet Coupes
In the good old days saloon car racing was a filler to pack out a real race programme. There was no formal championship for saloons until 1959. (That they were also called “stock cars” implies that few or no modifications would be allowed or accepted). But the championship changed all that and before long the…
Read MoreThose Elusive Coupes
The Chevy Coupe project is not forgotten, just delayed. In the meantime here is some more appetite whetting to fill the gap, being background notes on a few puzzles about these cars in general. The first of these is how come every now and then you will come across, say, a 1938 NZ registered Chevy…
Read MoreCHASSIS STIFFNESS AND TUNING – HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
Once upon a time, when race car chassis were rudimentary things and suspensions were rock hard drivers were given a very hard time. This is what Mike Hawthorn had to say about the Riley on which he cut his racing teeth. “This was my first season and also my only one on pre-war cars with…
Read MoreBlue Flame Bonus
The Snoop suggested an article on the Silvester Chevy Coupe. A quick look uncovered many more racing Coupes, so the story will be a bit bigger. In the meantime, to get the ball rolling, here is a potted history of the Chevrolet 6. Introduced in 1928 these engines are affectionately known either as “Stovebolt” or…
Read MoreEdward’s Engines
In the late 1920’s a young engineer designed a most unusual motorcycle engine. It was a pair of OHC parallel twins geared together in a four cylinder block with a single head. The idea was taken up by Ariel and became the Square 4. The designer was Edward Turner, and his legacy is the stuff…
Read MoreWhen is a Sports Car a Saloon?
The snoop has ferreted out a dusty old photograph of a sports car attempting to disguise itself as a saloon. I remember it well, having been perplexed by it myself when I first came across it. It is the ex Frank Cantwell Tojiero Jaguar on it way down the food chain. At Wigram in 1965…
Read MoreFangio’s C Type
Following the last newsletter Ray Deaker passed onto the snoop a video link to a mountain run demonstration of “Fangio’s C Type”. Good viewing it is too. These cars were made for fun. Google “sideways in Fangio’s C type on a wet mountain road” to join that fun. But there is more to the story.…
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