Honda S800 raced in Australia 1967 to 1972

hi . my name is ken brian , alive and well. If i can be of any help to your enquiries i will kindly assist.  my email address is =-------- bangalee14@bigpond.com.

hi . my name is ken brian , alive and well. If i can be of any help to your enquiries i will kindly assist.  my email address is =-------- bangalee14@bigpond.com.

I don't recall Sandra Bennett racing one, but she certainly may have...

Noel Riley's car was owned by Bennett Honda, I'm pretty sure, anyway. Ken Brian, from memory, was also a Bennett Honda employee.

Noel was first sponsored by Campbell Scott in the period...plus maybe Dunlop and an oil company all arranged through Campbell Scotts.

I believe that's what really gave his career a kick along.

(So, both Seldo and Tinker may have it wrong...and 2Bob wins)

Edited by 275 GTB-4, 31 October 2014 - 04:05.

Edited by 2Bob, 22 September 2016 - 00:27.

macoran's post from 2009 of the Vic berris cutaway of the Honda S 800 has long since gone so I thought I post a link again.

http://www.autoneuro...honda-s800.html

Originally posted by 2Bob
.....Does anyone remember a rally run out of Bathurst in 1965 (I think) called something like Mini 1000? Was for cars upto 1000cc and over 1000 miles. First prize was a pair of Mini 1000s (delux?) to mark their release in Australia. Sue Besemeres (mentioned above) drove a Honda S600 navigated by self in this rally but unfortunately we ended up wearing a tree somewhere just out of Canberra in very early hours of the morning. Car was pretty badly damaged but eventually repaired and painted a very nice BRG.

Edited by 2Bob, 22 September 2016 - 22:04.

Yeah,Evan Green's baby,AARC did a tour of Zetland around 1967 and he waffled on for 30 mins. or more about how it was going to go National and was cheap advertising/publicity for BMC.

http://www.bmcexperi...sue9/mini-monte

Could this 1965 event be the one? The Bathurst 1000 Trial held over August 27-29. Two Mini De Luxe were on offer, with a stopover in Canberra for 5 hours & a squabble over who won.

Given it has been mentioned, can I add that the (first) 1965 Mini Monte was for Minis only over Easter that year with the new Mini De Luxe released a couple of weeks earlier. The event had 4 start points -  Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. With the competitors to travel very similar distances and arrive at Warwick Farm. Gus Staunton was the event director, with Barry Ferguson winning in a new De Luxe. BMC made a film and there's only Minis to be seen

Two other Mini Montes were run in 1967 and 1968, but the NSW Police rally ban saw the end of it. In 1967 it was opened up to allow 1100s to enter as well.

Stephen

Could this 1965 event be the one? The Bathurst 1000 Trial held over August 27-29. Two Mini De Luxe were on offer, with a stopover in Canberra for 5 hours & a squabble over who won.

I knew a guy in the 90s from Superkarting that raced a Honda Sports car in Prod Sports in NSW in the late 80s i think... His name is Mick Jarvis, he used to tell me he had some duels with Mike Conway....... Not sure if it was a S800?

Edited by timbo, 23 September 2016 - 10:21.

The registered Honda (RED 800) in the above photo was my daily driver. It was powered by a Toyota 4AGE engine built by Bob Holden. I do not actually remember racing that car and would love a copy of the photo.

The other car in the second photo was built by and driven by a friend of mine. It was powered by a Mazda 10A rotary.

Also, the earlier discussion re the Honda that was in Canberra sounds like my 12A rotary powered S800. I built it after seeing how well the 10A went. It had no racing history. I bought a damaged body shell in the early eighties and added Mazda running gear.

Mark Ferrier

It seems the majority of Hondas used in competition were powered by anything except Hondas. I used to do a lot of dirt sprints and circuit sprints hillclimbs etc and the Honda Club were part of the regular entry.

There was a couple with 2 litre Fords, one with a red Holden motor and the grandaddy was Kevin Johns widened one with a Chev in it. He also ran a Honda Zot with a Morris 1100 in it.

I have known of them fitted with pushrod Fords and from memory a BMC B series as well.

I saw one on Lenos site with a big bike engine as well. Yamaha? No reverse, get out and push!

A modern 2 litre sized Honda engine could be the go, I guess it is not too hard to turn them around to go North South in the cars.

It seems the majority of Hondas used in competition were powered by anything except Hondas.

I'd say that 'the majority of Hondas used in competition' were used in Japan, and were powered by Honda engines.

I worked for Larke Hoskins (Honda Dealers) during the time that BH were the distributors and sold the last crankshaft BH had for either an 600 or 800 but I have another memory as well. Bob Morris of touring car fame worked for his father Ray and they must have been early Honda dealers and I can remember Bob turning left at Holt Road from Taren Point Road with a potential customer hanging on to the top of the windscreen as the car got up onto two wheels or close to it demonstrating how well it went around corners. Memory is a very dubious thing over 50 years but that is how mine remembers it. 

I'd say that 'the majority of Hondas used in competition' were used in Japan, and were powered by Honda engines.

We are talking Hondas in Australia.

We are talking Hondas in Australia.

I think it's worth making the distinction every now and again.

Err, the title of the thread!

Originally posted by MarkF100
The registered Honda (RED 800) in the above photo was my daily driver. It was powered by a Toyota 4AGE engine built by Bob Holden. I do not actually remember racing that car and would love a copy of the photo.
The other car in the second photo was built by and driven by a friend of mine. It was powered by a Mazda 10A rotary.
Also, the earlier discussion re the Honda that was in Canberra sounds like my 12A rotary powered S800. I built it after seeing how well the 10A went. It had no racing history. I bought a damaged body shell in the early eighties and added Mazda running gear.

Err, the title of the thread!

What I'm saying is that [I think] it would help to make the context clear in a bald statement like the one I picked up on. What's so difficult about adding "...in Australia..." to your sentence? 

Ray

Kim did race a blue S800 in the mid to late seventies. It had its original engine with twin 40mm webers and race cams plus upgraded suspension. It was originally a white road car.

I cannot recall a ford powered car in NSW.

Mark

There was a couple of road cars with pushrod Fords, were written up in Hot Rod or similar in the day.

While a pushrod was never a ball of fire the power to weight would be quite good for the day.

A  more modern such as a 4AGE etc or a rotary would be good, though a modern 2 litre or so Honda as good and at least it would then be all Honda.

They were a pretty seeming fairly well finished car for the day but the engines were too high tech and not big enough. 

Originally posted by MarkF100
Ray
Kim did race a blue S800 in the mid to late seventies. It had its original engine with twin 40mm webers and race cams plus upgraded suspension. It was originally a white road car.
I cannot recall a ford powered car in NSW.

Garry Chapman drove a factory S800 roadster in SA at Mallala for Adelaide's Dalton Honda dealership.
Ian Alexander had a Coupe I think.
Plus Bruce Porter and the famous Mike Drewer (Clipsal PR Manager) drove S800s at Collingrove hillclimb.
I think that Ian Alexander ultimately built a clubman style car with Honda bits and put a Rotary Mazda in the coupe ????
I may have photos.
Will look and post if I do.
Smeetsie

Hi Smeetsie, yes Ian Alexander had an s800 coupe he put a 10A in it and used it at Collingrove hillclimb from '74 to '76. It was then left to deteriorate for many years, I have nearly completed it's restoration. The clubman he ran had a Hillman Imp motor.

Steve Alexander

Steve ,was this car drag raced in the early 1980's as i recall seeing one at AIR at that time

One running drags  in Sydney these days. A very large turbo and a 2JZ with an S600  sort of  wrapped around it.

8 second runner I believe. 

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 05 November 2018 - 02:15.

Hi Smeetsie, yes Ian Alexander had an s800 coupe he put a 10A in it and used it at Collingrove hillclimb from '74 to '76. It was then left to deteriorate for many years, I have nearly completed it's restoration. The clubman he ran had a Hillman Imp motor.

 

Steve Alexander

I reckon Drewer ran a S600, complete with two clouds of smoke.

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 04 November 2018 - 11:37.

Steve ,was this car drag raced in the early 1980's as i recall seeing one at AIR at that time

Hi Fred, no the car didn't do any drag racing at AIR. In the 80's he wasn't driving competitively just scrutineering.

Steve

Edited by Ray Bell, 05 November 2018 - 22:54.

Vfour83, did many cars use the Imp engine in clubmans racing, and in what period ?. I have a separate period research agenda.
Many thanks
Roger Lund

Hi Roger, I don't know of any others using the Imp engine. He was trying to be different as his was front wheel drive, when the others were rear wheel drive. He didn't get the speed or power he was hoping for from the Imp with a super charger.

Steve

Based on that then he wouldn't have competed in a clubman class race. I will try and find some information as in a program or results to see what class he competed in.

Edited by Ray Bell, 10 November 2018 - 20:30.

These cars went incredibly well at the Farm.

Yeah,you could hear that high pitched squeal in the Pits as they went down Hume straight,apparently one of the racing S800's could rev to 11,000-12,000 RPM.

Nothing to do with Australia (sorry...) but a very interesting and - for me at least - desirable S800 is coming up for auction soon:

  https://www.artcuria...ing-mkii-3887-5

Would love to get my backside in that seat, my hands on that lovely faded 'Mach' steering wheel and go...

Edited by Ray Bell, 19 November 2018 - 16:38.