12 replies to this topic

[normbeechey]

I have seen footage of the 1960 AGP at Lowood.

There seems to be two Maserati 250F’s in the film. One is plain red with Arnold Glass written on the side and the competition number of “7”.

The other is red with a yellow triangular patch on the nose and the number “8” on the car.

Both cars appear on the racetrack in the film.

I have seen still photos from the Grand Prix that shows Arnold Glass in the #8 car. Did he have two cars?

Can anyone explain that??? Ray???

The film has no soundtrack and seems to have footage of the 3 lap preliminary race spliced into the footage of the main AGP race at various spots at well, which makes it very confusing.

Thanks
Chris.
www.MotorsportArchive.com

[David McKinney]

Will check later, but OTTOMH I think the Capitol Motors (Glass) 250F was the only one in that race. Maybe one of the shots is from practice, before he changed numbers? Or - horrors! - from another meeting altogether?

[Don Capps]

Our David might be onto something: at the AGP meeting in June, the Glass '2516' had number "8" during the race and at Lowood in September for the Queensland Road Racing Championships, the Glass '2516' wore number "7" -- that might explain the problem....

[Vitesse2]

Not necessarily, Don.

The AGP 50-race history has a colour picture of Glass' car in 1960, numbered 8 - the nose is not yellow, but appears to be a dark blue-grey, perhaps to avoid confusion with Stillwell's Cooper?

In 1959, at Longford, Glass carried number 7, with a light-coloured nose (no colour picture in the book, but it could be yellow or white). In B&W pictures, the number 7 appears to be the same colour as the body of the car and appears to be painted very thick - roughly twice the width of the number 1 on Stan Jones' car in the same race.

But perhaps that confuses rather than clarifies .....;)

[normbeechey]

Thankyou all. I think you are all on the right track.

I think the footage of car #7 must be from another meeting, maybe the September meeting as Don suggests. Glass must have repainted the car plain red by then.

Excuse my ignorance Don but can you explain what “2156” all about? It was all before my time I am afraid. BTW, how do you know so much about Australian motor racing history?!

I agree with David that the car could have run #7 on practice day for the AGP but I don’t think the yellow nose paint would have been added overnight as well as the number changing.

Richard says that Glass’ car ran with a light coloured nose in 1959 and according to “The AGP 50-race history” book, the car that Glass ran at the AGP was the ex-Reg Hunt car and Hunt also ran it with a light coloured nose job. Bib Stilwell also owned the car at some stage before Glass acquired it.

I agree with Richard that at first glance the nose of the Glass car in the photo in “The AGP 50-race history” book appears to be a colour other than yellow, but I think it is a combination of poor colour reproduction somewhere along the line and poor lighting (the nose is in the shade) which makes the nose look dark.

BTW, in the report in the book it is very often stated that Mel McEwin drove the Tornado Corvette but there is one stray reference in the report that says that “newly-acquired” Tornado was driven by Stan Keen. Can anyone confirm who raced it? I have not heard Stan’s name for some years. Is he still with us?

Anyway, it seems the producer of the film used footage from two different race meetings and at least three different races and spliced them all together and called it the AGP!!! Ah, those were the days….

Many thanks to you all,
Chris.
www.MotorsportArchive.com

[Don Capps]

Sorry, '2516' is the chassis number of the Maserati 250F that Glass drove.

As for my "knowledge" of Australian motor sport, consider the member of this place and even a dullard like me catches on to some things eventually.

[John Ellacott]

There was only the Glass Maserati 250f at the 1960 A G P at Lowood- number 8. Car number 7 was Ern Tadgell's Sabakat, a Lotus based front engined car now with a Lycoming aircraft engine.It unfortunately crashed and burned in the 3 lap Champions Scratch Race, won by Lex Davison, before the Grand Prix. Others in this forum could tell you more about this car. The AGP was my only visit to a Queensland race.

[normbeechey]

Thanks John. Glad that Davo had a minor win at least. I did notice the Sabakat in the entry list too. Sounded like it was a "courageous" attempt! Pity it was burnt to the ground.

I am surprised the fire wasn't covered in the film as it burned for more than an hour, it seems, but I did notice that Bob Jane's Maserati 300S started the preliminary but it may have DNF as it DNS the AGP.

The enclosed trailer that seemed to be the Maserati’s had “New York Motors” on the side. Was that a Bob Jane business???

You were lucky to have been there and witnessed such a classic race.

Chris.
www.MotorsportArchive.com

[Ray Bell]

From memory, John also has slides from the meeting... in fact, I'd be totally surprised if he didn't!

Stan Keen is still about, I'm fairly sure. But I'm prepared to believe that the mention of his name in that report is a pure error, unnoticed by proofreaders, but only Graham Howard can verify this.

There are some people in our lives we mistakenly get tangled up at times... perhaps Graham has done this?

[normbeechey]

Thanks Ray. Good to hear that Stan Keen is still around.

[Graham Howard]

Bloody hell, I have never noticed the Stan Keen/Mel McEwin swap until Ray pointed it out. The explanation is exactly as Ray forecast it would be. I have checked the text proofs (I did not keep copies of the page proofs) and I missed the mistake back at that point. I don't know who else proofed the text, tho' there were some changes to style which were not mine. Chevron flatly declined to correct the innumerable mistakes in the entry lists, but made all the non-style corrections I asked for.

Another of my mental lapses is in the 1951 chapter where I meant "Eucla" but wrote "Echuca" without picking it up, either then or in the proofing.

Apologies for a late response - I have been away from TNF for a while.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Graham Howard
.....I have been away from TNF for a while.

'A while' too long... way too long...

And though I might have 'explained' the error, it was actually normbeechey who pointed out the inclusion of Stan Keen's name in the report. I've obviously read the story a few times and never noticed it myself... or not that I recall.

Regarding the disscussion about the 250F... it appears in another photo on page 261 which shows the flash at the front as possibly white...

What pics do you have from that meeting, John Ellacott?

[cooper997]

Just dusting this old thread off rather than start a new Lowood thread to bring the following to the attention of those interested..

 

I've just procured issue 72 of Old Bike Australasia because it has a feature of Lowood. Obviously the magazine is for motor bike enthusiasts so most of the feature is slanted that way. But interestingly there's a couple of colour photos of Glyn Scott and his Cooper and some programme covers.

 

Be quick if you want a copy from newsagents, because within the mag it mentions the next issue is due on 14/6/18. http://www.oldbikemag.com.au/

 

Stephen

Edited by cooper997, 06 June 2018 - 08:24.