18 replies to this topic

[JimBradshaw]

A friend of mine had just bought a 60's Benz from a 92 year old gentleman in Perth.

In conversation with this astute and gentlemanly man, it has transpired that he raced several cars at Caversham in the early 1950's, including a supercharged MG TF and a Wolsely 4/44.

I have searched google and Atlas F1 and received patchy results.

He is not computer literate and so my friend and I would like to hear and see any stories, photographs of Mr Davies with a view to passing them on to him.

Many Thanks
JB

[Terry Walker]

Ray Davies certainly raced MGs, I met him at the Caversham reunion day last year where Sir Jack Brabham was a guest. Ray was leafing through my Caversham race results folder, printouts of the stuff on my website and naturally we fell into conversation. I was able to send him a pic he didn't have of the MG TF at Caversham, and took a pic or two of him.


Ray at Caversham in 1956 (front car)



Ray at Caversham 2009:

[hansfohr]

Obviously Ray Davies isn't the same guy who founded the Kinks.

You'll find Ray's early '50's results (driving his faithful #31 MG TF) here:
http://www.terrywalk...s/1951-1955.pdf

[Terry Walker]

That b + w pic was the one I sent to Ray Davies (by snail mail). Along with a printout of all the race results I could find for him. Although Ray remembered that particular race very well indeed, he was astounded to see that shed in the picture. He had no memory of it, which, given that it was there for years, at least until late 56 or early 57, shows a lot of concentration on his part on the racing, and not scenery watching.

Unfortunately, that pic was the only one I have found of Ray in action.

[Ray Bell]

So he turns up in Racing Car events in late 1953...

Wonder what car he drove? Not mentioned in any results there.

[Terry Walker]

Would have been his MG. "Racing car" was pretty flexible in 1953. MGs were great because you could run in two categories at the one meeting - sports cars and racing cars. Lots did. Syd Anderson used to race his Healey 100M in the racing car category too.

[GeoffR]

Obviously Ray Davies isn't the same guy who founded the Kinks.

Yeah, that's who I thought of also. Did he drive a L_O_L_A??

[Lee Nicolle]

That b + w pic was the one I sent to Ray Davies (by snail mail). Along with a printout of all the race results I could find for him. Although Ray remembered that particular race very well indeed, he was astounded to see that shed in the picture. He had no memory of it, which, given that it was there for years, at least until late 56 or early 57, shows a lot of concentration on his part on the racing, and not scenery watching.

Unfortunately, that pic was the only one I have found of Ray in action.

Terry, what sort of surface was Caversham then? It looks like either poor grade coldmix or oiled dirt.

[hansfohr]

Yeah, that's who I thought of also. Did he drive a L_O_L_A??

Yeah, but right into a Dead End Street.

[GeoffR]

Yeah, but right into a Dead End Street.

Not a club down in old Soho??

[Terry Walker]

The surface varied over the years, but it was never classy. The main straight was meant to accomodate fully laden bombers, so it was pretty tough, nice deep hotmix. The loop out the back was the dispersals track, didn't need to absorb the impact of an aircraft landing, just taxying. So it was pretty thin. At the last reunion I was talking to an old time driver about how poor that section was, how it had deteriorated, and he said, nah, it was always like that!

The track was always maintained by club working bees, members patching holes and doing their best. Once in the 50s the Club was given a whole lot of drums of some sort of liquid tar, and spent a weekend pouring it into the worst bits.

Basically though, the loop was rough as guts. Which is why, in the 60s, as single seaters got more delicate, there were a lot fewer racing at Caversham. There was a revival once supersmooth Wanneroo Park opened in 69. That b + w pic, from the middish 1950s, was before the access bridges were built over the track for the 57 AGP. A year later that shot would have been dominatedby a pedestrian bridge, and the shed was gone.

The area is swampy, and by the end, in 1968, the surface of the track was very tatty indeed. I'ts a lot drier now as annual rainfall hereabouts has declined.

Clarify: the loop was always bitumen. Just not very good. Definitely not oiled dirt.

Edited by Terry Walker, 19 March 2010 - 12:43.

[Ray Bell]

Hotmix?

I'd have thought it was the usual airstrip stuff, loose stones bonded with hot bitumen, then stones over the top and rolled... maybe swept too?

[Terry Walker]

Okay, bitumen. Hotmix is I think a trade name. Or was.

[Lee Nicolle]

Hotmix is hot bitumen and fine gravel mixed which is poured on by machine and rolled flat and hard.While there is different grades ofcourse it is generally very tough and smooth. Used these days on most suburban streets.
Cold mix is generally a layer of bitumen, with a layer of gravel and rolled with a big roller.. Usually done twice and is used on most country roads. Not as tough and generally more 'rumbly' to drive on. And the gravel pulls out far worse leaving marbles.Not really suited for a modern racetrack at all. Though ofcourse was far more common in the 50s. And there is several qualities of this too.

[JimBradshaw]

Hotmix is hot bitumen and fine gravel mixed which is poured on by machine and rolled flat and hard.While there is different grades ofcourse it is generally very tough and smooth. Used these days on most suburban streets.
Cold mix is generally a layer of bitumen, with a layer of gravel and rolled with a big roller.. Usually done twice and is used on most country roads. Not as tough and generally more 'rumbly' to drive on. And the gravel pulls out far worse leaving marbles.Not really suited for a modern racetrack at all. Though ofcourse was far more common in the 50s. And there is several qualities of this too.

Lee,

Bituminous concrete is commonly known as hotmix and is as you say, the surfacing most commonly used on most high volume roads and highways. There are varying grades for different uses.

Cold mix is bituminous concrete used for small areas, typiically a temporary repair for a small road openings or on a suburban footpath.

What you have called Cold mix is in fact a Bituminous Spray Seal, wherein bitumen is spayed onto a pavement and stones are immediately spread and then rolled into the bitumen to produce a sealed surface. Two coat spray seals are the most common form and may be seen on most secondary rural roads and unfortunately, on some Victorian highways where Vicroads has been doing work on the cheap. This treatment invaribly features loose stones for some time and has an abrasive surface with high road noise when traversed. The original Philip Island surface, 1955, was a spray seal and it was said Bib Stillwell's D Type Jaguar with no diff, would wear out a set of rear tyres in 5 laps.

Hope this clarifies matters.

JB

[scheivlak]

Obviously Ray Davies isn't the same guy who founded the Kinks.

Scandalously OT or not?

As this it called The Nostalgia Forum:

[ken devine]

For the 1962 AGP the circuit was resealed and loose fine bluemetal was on the surface on a couple of weekends before the event
they had closed meeting in the form of regularities going in the reverse direction supposedly to bed in the bluemetal unfortunatly it
did some damage to the front of our cars.

[JimBradshaw]

For the 1962 AGP the circuit was resealed and loose fine bluemetal was on the surface on a couple of weekends before the event
they had closed meeting in the form of regularities going in the reverse direction supposedly to bed in the bluemetal unfortunatly it
did some damage to the front of our cars.

Yep ken.

That is typical of a bituminous spray seal, loose stones for some time after sealing.

Explains why Bill Patterson's Cooper had stone guards fitted for the 1961 Gold star meeting.

Aso, a spray seal will only seal the surface, it has no depth and therefoe cannot be used to improve the shape of a pavement.

In other words, a bumpy and wavey pavement will remain bumpy and wavey after a reseal.

JB

[ken devine]

Getting back to Ray Davies he built a chassis using Holden running gear about 1958,i saw it in Jack Ayres Maylands used car yard,
the chassis may have gone into the road going version of the Byfield Holden that Stan Starcevich raced.