True about the Rowe Cooper always in top condition, though it did suffer this ungainly twin Triumph conversion around 67-68. I think it only appeared once in this form, around three years after Rowe last raced it, so I don't think he did this to it. I'm informed it's now owned by the Pennrite people in Victoria.



Wish I could figure out how to post photos without this annoying imageshack stuff

the cooper mkv is owned by penrite oil it is beautifully restored right down to it's original polished
aluminium body.it was displayed at the 2006 agp and was featured on the rob roy anniversary cd.

Odd it should be No 14, which was Dick Turpin's number for his Triumph Spl from about 1968. 14 was the number Rowe used for his brief outing in an Elfin in 1966.

Noting the different nose aperture, engine cover and exhaust pipe configuration between the two photographs

Gordon, it's not annoying if you use the line 'hotlink for forums (i)'...

That's further down than the other lines that you see when you've uploaded the pics.

All the same, you haven't posted that using Imageshack at all.

an interesting array of cars on starting line for christmas cup in 1961 at caversham.including repco alta
zephyr ,ferrari and the supercharged alta.

rest of grid including cooper mkv now owned by penrite.

The thumnails also enlarge perfectly for myself.......... Cheers Peter N...

Ken,
Vin Smith's No7 always looked good in its original guise. Not so good when he altered it to rear engined.
No17 the beige mono, I don't recognise. I thought at first it may have been the Taylor Styles but it appears to have a Holden engine and it is too soon for the GMC engine ?

A little niggle before I go. When advertising was forbidden on racing cars back then and in later years, why is it that we could always see "Reimann Motors" on cars he sponsored? [Doug Green's Ferrari].

I believe it was that the entrant could be placed on the car, with certain size restrictions.

The beige car is an HRG with a Lancia sliding pillar front suspension. Driver is "Dave Gordon", a pseudonym. Not much later he repainted it rather colourfully.

Because you were allowed to display the entrant's name in letters 2" (50mm) high on each side of the car....Whoopee
Also, I can't help but feel slightly amused at (in retrospect) the supposed enormous performance of these cars with their huge 2.2l cast iron straight 6 Grey motors producing something in the region of maybe 140/150 bhp for tarmac-tearing performance... it reminds me of a comment that has stuck in my mind for years - John Cummins was race announcer at Hume Weir and was commentating on the Holden race and he was almost beside himself with amazement as he enthused over "the spectacle of 140bhp and no brakes..."
How we have become spoiled...
Hi Cummo...
BTW - great clear photos Wilyman Thanks

Seldo,
Would love to take credit for the Caversham pictures. Ken Devine and Terry Walker are your men.

The two pics of the grid were provided to Ken Devine by Sid Taylor's daughter Lyn, then about 18, who took them by climbing onto the roof of the timing tower. She is now Mrs Lyn Morgan, and was at the Caversham reunion day.

Interesting that the Higgs Peugeot is at the back of the grid. That would have been when he had the engine sleeved down to 1100cc, to run as a formula junior. I always wondered why he did that, as there were no other formula juniors in WA. The car always had "Peugeot Junior" written on it, even after he'd taken it out to about 1720cc.

That would be the Bondly Vanguard in black, surely? I've never seen a pic from the side, I don't think, it doesn't look half bad.

'Bondly' or 'Bondley'?

Very handsome pics, by the way, well worthy of posting here. Keep 'em coming!

Pressed the wrong button, mate?

Maybe Twinny will slip it into the right thread...

car 17 is the hrg holden driven by dave gordon who was discussed on a previous thread,he was thought
to be in wa under an assumed name.the car was originally the stan jones hrg,the car was later owned by
george webber and speaking to george recently he told me it was taken by an oil company to cover a
debt,after that it dissapeared and beleived to have been broken up.trevor eastwood has some body
panels which were discovered in the midland area.

the bondley special was always a very reliable car and fortunatley was never broken up,after peter retired from racing about 1964 he stored it in his workshop.it was discovered in 1986 by darrel manning who
restored it and it has been a consistant runner in wa historic racing eversince.it is now owned by trevor
eastwood.this year it was again restored and given a new body and made its first appearance at the
phillip island historics and also ran at the agp.it was recently joined by two other original racing cars of
it's time the ts special and the plymouth special at caversham 57agp anniversary.
as for vin smiths alpha in the picture this would have been one of it's last meetings in this form before
being made into vindid.

G'day Ray,
Whoops! Yes thanks for the wake up call. Way past my bed time when posted.

Mr Twinny will you please shift my c%*#k-up to "Personal Photos of Australian Racing '50's-'60's.

I'd hardly use the word discovered, if you don't mind me saying...

I know I spoke to Peter about the car some time in the early eighties. And I only spoke to him about it because someone else told me he probably still had it.

Full marks to the guys who do prise these things out of dark corners and restore them, display them and race them. Even fuller marks if they restore them genuinely, keeping completely to the form of the car as it raced at some time.

Fullest marks, in my opinion, to those who can pick up on a car that's been destroyed and construct an exact replica so that they are replacing something that's truly been lost.

I have got a Chrysler 6 and a Vauxhall 4-speed gearbox... I wonder if I'll ever be able to do anything with them?

It was so much simpler then. Western Australia, 1962, AGP time. Bruce McLaren right, Eoin Young left, open trailer, Austin A55 towcar. The location is Rod Styles' garage, East Victoria Park, just two blocks from where I lived at the time, where the Cooper Climax was stored. Bruce and his wife stayed at Sid Taylor's house.

Photo taken by Sid Taylor's daughter, now Mrs Lyn Morgan.

Not an A55, but an A90 I reckon.

Nope. A55.

I'm not an Austin expert, but that definitely looks A90 to me. The only other model it could be in my mind is an A50, but the A55 had the different rear-end on them like the A95, not the "cow hips" that the A50 and A90 had, like in the photo. The trim on the side implies A90 to me.

And the 2.6 six would have made a better tow car than a 1.5 four.

Just looked at the '56 Observer's Book of Automobiles, and the key difference in appearance is that the A40 and A50 have plain side panels, whereas the A90 has a side chrome strip curving down from the headlights to the rear wheel arches and thence straight back, also 5 chrome bars leading to the bonnet louvre, so looks like an A90, albeit still with only 85bhp

Roger Lund.

BTW, Brilliant photos as ever, Terry, wonderful for us outside Oz.

I always thought the A90 had a longer wheelbase to accomodate the six, and I was judging by the amount of mudguard behind the wheelarch. Ken Devine, an Austin man, thought it an A55. The car was probably built at Zetland in NSW and Aussie BMC products were always a bit different.

Incidentally, the last of this set of 3 pics at Styles garage is the famous Mini Cooper that Bruce drove in a touring car support race. Pat Mclaren in the car.

I think it is an A55, but I am no expert.
Fantastic pics Terry (as usual!)

I was so intrigued I looked up Robson's The Cars of BMC . The A90 had a 4 inch longer wheelbase, and the photos show it all between the wheelarch and the front door shutline, quite noticeable. I'd say the A90 style chrome strip on the A55 was an Aussie variation.

My money's on an A50 or A55 - wasn't that chrome strip one of the differences between those two models? Likewise A90/A95
I'm sure the car in the picture is 1500 size, not 2600...

Yes, I'm all for the A50/A55 size...

The cars were totally different in size, and the A90 and A95 were very different in profile. The A90 had a stubby boot, the A95 was at least six inches longer in the overhang. Way more than just a chrome strip differentiating them.

I checked after posting mt last and agree the A90/95 differences were more than I said
However, I was focussing on the smaller model, and can now confirm my suspicions
(For English readers: the A40 Cambridge was never sold in New Zealand, and I don't think in Australia either)

No, not in Australia...

What was it, this body with a 948cc A-series or something?

1200cc, so presumably the old Devon/Somerset engine, in the A50 body

They made that old clunker that late?

I never knew that...

you blokes will argue about anything.the tow car is definatley an a90 westminster.the a55 had a higher
side moulding from the back door to the tail,it also had a heavy moulding around the grille and large chrome
headlight rims. the a40 cambridge in the uk became the a50 cambridge in australia.the famous 1200 engine
went onto power the datsun 1600 after it was stretched.i am the proud owner of two a40 devons,one only
having done 38,000 miles.

Disagree Kevin,

The car in the pic is either an A50 or an A55..the A90 Westminsterr was a longer more purposeful looking machine with none of the "nana" looks of the A50/A55......the chrome side strip was introduced on the A55 - mimicking the A90's- because some A55's had a gay two tone colour scheme.

I just hope there were no hills between the servo in the pic and Caversham!

Stan

This is an A90 (UK edition). Souce: The Cars of BMC, by Graham Robson. Check the extra length of the panel between wheelarch and door shutline.

This is really getting way off topic but,

I would wager that pic is a pre-production mock-up...it has traficators (all the A90's in Au had flashing indicators - the first ones i ever saw), the door fit doesnt look right and generally the car doesn't have the "presence" of an A90 Westminster.

Stan

look closer at the picture,apart from what i said in my previous reply the a55 had a lightning bolt strip
running from 2" behind the headlight to the wheelarch.the pic.terry shows is an a90.

I also think it is A50/55- perhaps someone should ask Rod Style- I am positive he would remember with complete details.

you guys wont listen will you the a55 is nothing like the car in the picture.when i find a suitable pic i
will post it.

Just to change the subject: unusual telphoto shot of the main straight at Caversham showing the hump in the middle. Stan Starcevich, Lotus Cortina, Ron Thorp, Cobra. Pic by Phil Jordan. EDIT: 1965 Six Hr?

Oh hell, back to the debate:

A40-A50 Cambridge. Note wheel arch lip at front, goes right around the opening. Same as tow car.




A95: front wheelarch lip only around rear half of arch, then crease forward to headlights. Same as early A90 pic. Not the same as tow car.

1966...

Ron and Marie Thorp had the front numberplate on the car in '65 not in '66. I'm not sure who was in that Cortina, and I'm not sure it's a Lotus Cortina, maybe a GT500, but Starcevich ran his Holden in '66. That would be Gordon Stephenson in the Alfa.

On looking this up, I'm amazed at how little detail there is about entries in RCN... but one note is there that I'd really like for you to chase up for me:



Quite apart from showing the wide variety of types of cars running, this paragraph shows that the mechanical parts suffered badly those days, perhaps because of that long straight and the tight corners onto and off it.

Terry, Ken, Wilyman, cavvy and other WA folk, do you reckon you can find out about that Phoenix? What class was it in? Are there pictures? What model was it? Is Mr Annear still around? Did it, or any other Phoenix, run in other years... and at other meetings?

Annear's Phoenix wasn't a Dodge Phoenix, but a one-off sports car. I don't think I have a pic.

the phoinex was a renault dauphine with a peugeot engine,which was bobs favourite engine,the only time
he used any thing else was a supercharged holden in the pegasus sports which he built in 1960,but i think
this was unsuccessful and he reverted to a peugeot.bob believed in experimentation as soon as it went well
he tried something else.bob is still around i spoke to him at the agp anniversarry,i am trying to get acontact
number or ray you could contact the vscc the may have it.
terry there is a pic.of the supercharged holden in the vandal file you may like to put it up.

By all means... put it up...

My primary interest was in thinking it was a Dodge Phoenix. But I'm always interested in Specials, of course, and especially ones with Peugeot engines. Even if they're not built properly... that is the only reason Peugeot engines fail, isn't it?