55 replies to this topic

[Bruce Moxon]

The new book on Saint Jack by Our Own Doug (take a bow DN) is already in the shops here. I've had to tell every member of my family NOT to get it for my birthday.

Now, I remember that there was supposed to be a Sydney signing / release / launch. Anyone tell me when and where? And Doug, will you be coming? I'd love to get your autograph on it as well.

Might have to take the T53 along to be signed as well - relax it's 1/43 scale.



Bruce Moxon

[Patrick Fletcher]

A tenative post to TNF and the new JB book thread.
Will there be a signing session in Melbourne before the GP?
Although nothing to do with the AGP I am looking at the treasured offical programme of my first big motorace dated 16th February 1957 and in pencil on the front cover is the autograph of Jack Brabham - I have to get an update.

[Barry Boor]

I have my copy already!

To those who are interested, check out the book on Amazon! I'll say no more......

[eldougo]

[/B][/QUOTE]

Here you go john this was posted by ray some time ago.I guess i see you there.

[Doug Nye]

Sir Jack's schedule...

Friday, March 5, 2004

4.00pm BOOK LAUNCH– TECH BOOKS 295 SWANSTON ST
6.00pm Book to be launched by Tony Charlton. Melbourne
Followed by signing. (Jack’s Repco
Contact: Caroline Radford 03 9663 3951 ext 221 Brabham on display)

Saturday, March 6, 2004

12.00pm BOOK SIGNING - GRAND PRIX TECH BOOKS STAND
2.00pm


6.00pm BOOK SIGNING – MELBOURNE MOTOR SHOW HONDA STAND

DCN

[Patrick Fletcher]

DCN many thanks for Sir Jack's Melbourne schedule - I shall not miss the chance to get the updated autograph and purchase the book.

[paulhooft]

Love to have one:
but Melbourne.. is to far a drive from the Netherlands..
I am afraid I cannot be there in time...
Paul

[T54]

Congrats to Doug for writing what will more than likely be the most accurate and interesting book about my all-time favorite Aussie and one of the greatest human beings I have ever had the priviledge to meet.

T54

[Mat]

Just heard the BT19 will on display at the Technical Book Shop on Friday, as well as some funny little cooper 500 based contraption that may or may not have been Sir Jack's first cooper. See you all there!

[Krayy]

Doug,

Any idea if Sir Jack will be doing a book signing in Auckland?

[john medley]

I have just glanced at my copy, and a few errors are worth noting:

Page 16 -17. This photo shows Jack Brabham and Dick Cobden in Cooper Bristol and Ferrari V12, but the third car is not Lex Davison's Ferrari -- because Brabham in" Redex Special" Cooper Bristol never raced against Davison's Ferrari. The third driver is Stan Jones, the car the ill fated Maybach 2, and the venue Southport 1954 Australian Grand Prix, where all three of these cars retired, the Maybach with a particularly big bang, so that Lex Davison won in his HWM Jaguar.

Page 28-29. The Offenhauser driver shown is not Ravell, but Ray Revell

Page 34. The photo is at Mount Druitt not Southport.

In the background of various photos are various notable characters not mentioned. On Page 45, for example, that is Clive Adams on the right contemplating the Cooper Bristol. Clive bought the sad Alta engine from the ex Peter Whitehead Cooper Alta, put it in a Cooper Bristol copy ( but with Goliath gearbox/rear end that considerably lowered the driver) but didnt race that car, so put it in his pretty Prad Alta sports car crashed near Bathurst and rebuilt eventually as later Australian Champion Spencer Martin's second racing car, the Prad Holden.Clive Adams and Jack Pryor built quite a few Prads, and Clive was on the committee of the Australian Racing Drivers Club with JB.


The particular singleseater Prad that carried the Alta engine so briefly will reappear in Holden-engined form in 2004 after lying dormant for nearly 50 years.

[Dick Willis]

John, did you notice the photo on page 36 of the RedeX Special at the Katoomba circuit in the Blue Mountains which didn't open until 1961, some 7 years after Jack had sold the Cooper Bristol.

Also on page 36 and 37 he relates the story of the Harley clutch and the Holden carbs,which had been discussed on this forum some months ago under a topic started by Doug Nye on Horace Gould at Mt. Druitt and which explains why we had difficulty in identifying the Stromberg carbs ( page 38 ) when we talked about it at Phillip Island, on Frank Ashby's advice he had fitted different air intakes to the top of the carbs but the Stromberg float chambers are clearly visible.

Our highly esteemed TNFer, John Medley, also gains inclusion in the book with his graphic eye witness account of the Gould/Brabham match race at Mt. Druitt, also on page 39.

I liked the picture on page 91 of a Type 51 Cooper waving its inside front wheel in the air which he says is normal behaviour for that model and which wasn't eliminated until the advent of the Type 53 lowline. My T51 also waves it front wheel and everyone is trying to tell me that my car has a problem, but now we know it is normal.

What a great book and I look forward to reading it in more detail.

[Ray Bell]

Could that have been at a Leura Hillclimb, Dick?

That would come close to being a 'Katoomba circuit' and would be in period...

[Dick Willis]

Ray, I hadn't thought of that, will have to do some checking to see of he actually ran there in the RedeX, although the book does say---circuit.

[Ray Bell]

True, Dick, true...

But you can picture the scene: Doug to Jack - "And where's this at?" Jack replies - "Oh, yes, that's Katoomba."

Easy to understand...

[Dick Willis]

I've been through all my AMS of the 53/4/5 period and the only hillclimb I can find where Jack ran the RedeX was at King Edward Park in 1954 where he came second in the NSW championships,------so the whereabouts of the picture remain a mystery, anyone else have any ideas.
Meanwhile, back to the AGP !

[275 GTB-4]

KMART KMART KMART KMART KMART KMART KMART KMART

$39.95 on sale now!!! I got mine today! (settle! petal! )

[lynmeredith]

I don't suppose that Canberra is on his signing schedule? Does anyone know?

If not, will any Canberrans be going to Sydney for THE SIGNING (sounds like a movie title) and wish to share a ride?

Lyn M

[Vicuna]

I'm enjoying my personally signed book.

What ever became of Dick Cobham?

[Ray Bell]

Dick Cobden I think you mean?

If so, he's been turning out to Historic events for a few years now, very much the younger man of the racing set of his day...

Lyn, I'll ring you about the trip to Sydney.

[Mac Lark]

I read a fair chunk of the book yesterday on the way back from that exciting GP last weekend.

Jack seems to have spent a lot of 1959 and 1960 getting burnt feet. Much of the heat that caused this seemed to come from the proximity of the radiator.

So my question is, and it will be obvious that I'm no techno, why did it take another 10 years for side radiators to make it into F1?

Jack and Bruce were the smartest team mates - in engineering terms - to ever win GPs. I just wonder if it occured to anyone, or if it was simply not possible then - for whatever reason..

[Ray Bell]

A good thought... but maybe if you look at a Cooper of that period and see how little room there is at the side you'll have other ideas...

They might also have been thinking about junk tossed up by the front wheels, and the impeding of the airflow by the wheels. Maybe, also, the cost of a second radiator?

[Bruce Moxon]

Got my book - and I paid retail! Jack and Ron both obliged. Jack also did the honours on the base of my T53 model.

Gawd - everyone was there. Dick Cobden (named above), Bill Brown, Spencer Martin, Max Stahl, Barry Ferguson, Paul Samuels, John Cummins (gee, he looks frail now), Peter Finlay and I don't know who-all.

A bow Doug - the book looks great. Fabulous pictures and the anecdotes in the captions look really good. I'll have to read it when I find a quiet Sunday afternoon.

What a great day




BM

[Ray Bell]

Yeah, Cummo took a fall about 18 months ago, took ages to recover...

Nice to hear your commendation of the book, I couldn't make it yesterday as it turned out. Will have to catch up later.

[Dave Wright]

Originally posted by Mac Lark
I read a fair chunk of the book yesterday on the way back from that exciting GP last weekend.

Jack seems to have spent a lot of 1959 and 1960 getting burnt feet. Much of the heat that caused this seemed to come from the proximity of the radiator.

So my question is, and it will be obvious that I'm no techno, why did it take another 10 years for side radiators to make it into F1?

Jack and Bruce were the smartest team mates - in engineering terms - to ever win GPs. I just wonder if it occured to anyone, or if it was simply not possible then - for whatever reason..

I guess there were much easier solutions than moving the radiators to the side (which would also have increased frontal area quite significantly). Jack didn't seem to suffer from burnt feet for the next ten years. And when radiators did finally move to the side I doubt it was to prevent burnt feet.

[karlcars]

Phil Hill gave me an insight into the burnt-feet problem based on his experience at Ferrari.

Phil said that after the engine was moved to the rear, the Ferrari people just decided that there had to be a lot less heat up front and stopped worrying about insulating the driver's compartment. As a result, he said, the heat in the rear-engined cars was worse than ever!!

[Coogar]

First To Dick Willis......
As one who worked on - okay, polished - one in its heyday, I can confirm that T51s did wave their inside front wheels in the air, but only if they were being driven fast enough..... Obviously youn are doing it right......Enjoy !
The book looks fabulous (Thank You Pavilion- Chrysalis for the review copy) but the dreaded innumerate typesetter/proof reader disease does appear to have struck.
According to Ps 66/67, Pescara seems to have had a variable lap length - must have been disturbing if you happened to be racing on it at the time - of between 27k (body text) and 25.75k (caption).
I don't think the race in question was in 1954 either (P66) since the rest of the text seems to be in'57.
Errors, but NOT down to DCN though, I'm positive.
These, however, are mere quibbles. So far (P68) it's a great read.
My only real complaint is that the format makes it too cumbersome to enjoy during a leisurely lunch accompanied by a bottle of something nice and red.
Sadly, with the book in place on the table there's no room on the table for food, bottle or glass.........
The solution ?
Right.....Find a restaurant with bigger tables !
I'm looking.......

[mark f1]

275 GTB-4,

$33 at Big W. Got mine today!! Excellent.

Mark

[275 GTB-4]

Originally posted by mark f1
275 GTB-4,

$33 at Big W. Got mine today!! Excellent.

Mark

Ahhhh phooey!! damn bargain hunters!!

Page 35 - Kim Bonython probably isn't happy with the typo

[Ray Bell]

I'm told that the Grand Opening and the Jack Signing were a huge success... over 300 people and Jack swamped for autographs... and Ron too...

My copy has been put aside... all I need to do is find time to pick it up.

[Mat]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
I'm told that the Grand Opening and the Jack Signing were a huge success... over 300 people and Jack swamped for autographs... and Ron too...

My copy has been put aside... all I need to do is find time to pick it up.

Yes, the launch and all signings were a great success!

[Catalina Park]

I got my copy on Thursday night at Castle Hill (Sydney) Jack was signing books and the line was about 200 people long!
I may have paid full price but I did get an autograph! Thanks Jack!

[Joe Fan]

Originally posted by Coogar
First To Dick Willis......
The book looks fabulous (Thank You Pavilion- Chrysalis for the review copy) but the dreaded innumerate typesetter/proof reader disease does appear to have struck.

I haven't seen a copy of the book but I can tell you from my own personal experience, as well as the experience of the others, a perfect book is probably a second or third edition unrevised. I have some typos in my book too that really piss me off but I have seen the errarata sheets of award-winning books that made me feel better about mine. The typesetter days are long over and most publishers use Quark or InDesign to set up their printing files. A few of my problems were due to last minute changes and relying too much on the computer screen vs. the print out version.

InDesign has a document grid that automatically shows up in the background that makes it difficult to see some characters clearly on the screen, especially if one of the lines of the document grid intersects with the character. You can turn this feature off but for pages with photos, it needs to be on most of the time so that you can see text boxes and how images are placed on the page and within margins. There are so many things you can screw up. And with book worth its salt, there are always going to be little things that slip by five or six sets of eyes. They say the best way to copyedit it to read backwards. Farm funny the to me drive would it, book word 80,000+ a for but, article word 1500 a for ideal be might this.

[275 GTB-4]

Finished Brabham by Nye tonight:

OUTSTANDING, ENTERTAINING READ!!

Well done Mr Nye!!

We are fairly lucky to have Jack still with us after his close calls.

Very sad to read again the loss of so many great hero's from my youth.

[oldclassiccar]

Researching Brabham's Redex Special on the net, I found a photo showing the parked car in Doug's book (p36), taken at the Katoomba circuit with Brabham's son Geoff at the wheel.

An original snap taken at the same event, with the car almost in the same parked position and Geoff at the wheel also, turned up in a batch of photos recently. I've added it in here in case it's of interest:

Redex Special

rgds, RJ.

[D-Type]

Sorry to disappoint you - but see Post 12 and the following ones.

[oldclassiccar]

Sorry to disappoint you - but see Post 12 and the following ones.

No disappointment, thanks for pointing that out, page updated accordingly

RJ

[Catalina Park]

Seeing how the photo was taken by Souvenir Snapshots in Katoomba I wonder if the it may not have been a race meeting at all and possibly just a promotional event for Redex. Something like the Katoomba Show.
Betty Brabham's mother lived in Katoomba. So it might have been at day out for the family and take the car to display it.
The other thought is that the photographer may have just jumped on a train down to Mt Druitt for the day.

I can't for the life of me think of the name of the owner of Souvenir Snapshots. He was a very nice bloke that owned a photographic shop in Katoomba. He would be at every event around the district taking snaps and handing out his business card. He would often display the best looking proofs in the window of his shop.
My dads brother worked for him for a few years somewhere around 1958 to 1960. I still have a Zeiss Ikon Contina that was bought by my uncle through the store.

I will see if I can find out who has his negatives. Is there a number on the back of the photo?

[oldclassiccar]

...
I will see if I can find out who has his negatives. Is there a number on the back of the photo?

There are two pencilled numbers, 6979 and 17.

rgds, RJ

[Catalina Park]

There are two pencilled numbers, 6979 and 17.

rgds, RJ

I will see if I can find out anything.

[Catalina Park]

I have located the bloke that owns the negatives and he is going to see if he can find any from that era.

[johnny yuma]

I've been through all my AMS of the 53/4/5 period and the only hillclimb I can find where Jack ran the RedeX was at King Edward Park in 1954 where he came second in the NSW championships,------so the whereabouts of the picture remain a mystery, anyone else have any ideas.
Meanwhile, back to the AGP !

Graham Howard had a story in Auto Action 2010,Jack Brabham competed but was disqualified at Hawkesbury Hillclimb in 1950 in his speedway midget,then in 1951 ran at Leura Hillclimb.Photo won't be either
place as 1.Geoff not born yet and 2.wrong car.
Dick ,Jack's run at King Edward Park in 1954 would be right car,right 2 year old Geoff..could the
photo be taken at Newcastle ? Perhaps that Katoomba photographer got around a bit,maybe knew Betty's
family or whatever.

Edited by johnny yuma, 31 January 2013 - 01:47.

[Catalina Park]

I had a good chat to my mum the other day about the Katoomba photographer. His name was Jimmy Atchell. (I am not certain of the spelling)
He was probably more of a studio/portrait photographer than a sporting event photographer. Mum used to take us to Jimmy to get photos taken when we were little.
My father got Jimmy to take some photos of one of his trucks to use in advertising in the early 60's.



Betty Brabham's mother lived one block away from this photo! My mother met her (mum told me her name but I have forgotten it!) at a mutual friends place in the early 60s and used to chat to her in passing.

My thoughts about the photo of the Cooper.
Notice that there is only one racing car in the photo.
In the photo in the book there is a horse in the background.
There is no sign of spare wheels or trailers in what appears to be a pit area.
In the photo in the book there is some posts next to the car.
In the other photo there is a length of rope laying on the ground.
I think the car is on display at a show or event, it appears to me that it was in a pegged out roped off area.
Maybe the Katoomba Show? (On the way to Orange at Easter 1954?)

[275 GTB-4]

Any chance we can get your Mum on TNF Mike??

[Catalina Park]

Any chance we can get your Mum on TNF Mike??

Just another thought. The Katoomba Showground was used as a Speedway in 1953. So when Jack captioned the photo the "Katoomba circuit" could he have been referring to the once used Speedway?

[ken devine]

This forum never ceases to amaze me an interesting thread like this restarts after 9 years. My purchase of this book has an interesting
story Jack was launching it at a Perth yaught club and as a promotion he was on a local radio station that day and i rang up and got to speak to him and reminised about him competing in the 57 and 62 AGPs i also told him about a photo that i had of him and his 3 sons
when they did the demostration runs at the clipsal 500 some years earlier, i had bought the photo from the Adelaide advertiser and i
asked if he would also autograph that also, he was most interested as when i lined up with my newly acquired book and photo he
smiled saying that is great and shook my hand. By the way that phone call won me the caller of the day prize a weekend at a local
resort.

[Lee Nicolle]

Graham Howard had a story in Auto Action 2010,Jack Brabham competed but was disqualified at Hawkesbury Hillclimb in 1950 in his speedway midget,then in 1951 ran at Leura Hillclimb.Photo won't be either
place as 1.Geoff not born yet and 2.wrong car.
Dick ,Jack's run at King Edward Park in 1954 would be right car,right 2 year old Geoff..could the
photo be taken at Newcastle ? Perhaps that Katoomba photographer got around a bit,maybe knew Betty's
family or whatever.

The V twin speedway midget is still around. Here in Adelaide though it has not been used for a while.

[D-Type]

Is that the one that appeared at the Goodwood Revival a few years ago?

[tsrwright]

Is that the one that appeared at the Goodwood Revival a few years ago?

Yes, and btw the car has been in Sydney for the best part of 20 years and sometimes gets an airing at speedway track days, along with the occasional hillclimb.

The attached picture, published by permission of Fairfax Media, shows (l to r) Ron Taurenac, owner Don Halliday and Jack at a book signing in Sydney a bit over a year ago.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Edited by tsrwright, 05 February 2013 - 09:43.

[Catalina Park]

There are two pencilled numbers, 6979 and 17.

rgds, RJ

I just got a reply from the owner of the archive, unfortunately it seems that none of those negatives or proofs have survived the various fires and floods over the years.