Preview: New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 313

NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR JANUARY 2017 ISSUE 313

Kiwi

,�� HR PREMIER HOLDEN

JANUARY 2017

themotorhood.com

ISSUE 313 $11.99 INCL. GST

HOLDEN HR PREMIER STATION WAGON • FORMULA JUNIOR LOTUS 22 • MINI SUPER DELUXE

CLASSIC

LOTUS A RCH A EOLOGY

FORMUL A JUNIOR LOTUS 22

S T A T I O N WA G O N

MEAN MINI PASSION • L ANCIA STRATOS, A WORTHY REPLICA

CONTENTS

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JANUARY 2017

FEATURE CARS

6 IT’S IN THE GENES

1966 HOLDEN HR PREMIER STATION WAGON

16 LOTUS ARCHAEOLOGY

LOTUS 22

26 MEAN GREEN MINI

1962 MINI SUPER DELUXE — WITH A TWIST

SPECIAL FEATURE

66 AUTO ELECTRICAL

WE TALK TO THE EXPERTS

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New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com

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CONTENTS

313 JANUARY 2017

COLUMNS 40 48 54 60 62 90

MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK KITS AND PIECES MOTORMAN INTERNATIONAL MARKET REPORT LOCAL MARKET REPORT PRICE ON

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK — SEARCH ‘NZ CLASSIC CAR ’

EVENTS 64 80 82 84

INTERMARQUE CONCOURS 2017 PREVIEW HIGHLANDS 101 HISTORIC MUSCLE CARS WAIMATE 50

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54 60 REGULARS

34 READERS’ WRITES 36 ONLINE THIS MONTH 38 SUBSCRIBE AND WIN 74 NATIONWIDE NEWS 88 EVENTS DIARY 92 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR 94 CLUB CORNER 96 QUICK QUIZ / CROSSWORD 98 AUTOMOBILIA 102 SELL YOUR CLASSIC 103 EDITOR’S PICK 104 CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE 110 LOCAL SPECIALISTS 112 NEXT MONTH 4

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FEATURE

1966 Holden HR Premier station wagon

IT’S IN THE GENES

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New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com

C A R S H A V E F E AT U R E D H E A V I LY T H R O U G H O U T D A N I E L A R M S T R O N G ’ S L I F E — E S P E C I A L LY T H O S E O F T H E A U S S I E VA R I E T Y. H O L D E N G E N E S H A V E D E F I N I T E LY B E E N P A S S E D D O W N T O H I M F R O M H I S F AT H E R , W H O H A S O W N E D E A R LY H O L D E N S S I N C E T H E L AT E 1 9 7 0 S Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Adam Croy

themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

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FEATURE 1962 Lotus Type 22

LOTUS ARCHAEOLOGY LOTUS T YPE 22

A S PA R T O F I N T E R N AT I O N A L DIAMOND JUBILEE C E L E B R AT I O N S , M A N Y O V E R S E A S FORMULA JUNIOR RACERS ARE SCHEDULED TO COMPETE AT H A M P TO N D O W N S , TA U P O , CHRISTCHURCH, TIMARU, AND TERETONGA THIS SUMMER. TO MARK THE OCCASION, WE LO O K AT T H E H I S TO R Y O F T H E LOT U S 2 2 T H AT WA S R A C E D I N N E W Z E A L A N D B Y R O LY L E V I S I N T H E E A R LY ’ 6 0 S Words: James Black Research: Michael Clark Photos: Adam Croy

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T

he story of our featured Lotus 22 — frame-number 22/47 — is both interesting and tangled. While some parts of the tale have become a little misty over time, much of the car’s history has been disinterred by those with a far wider breadth of knowledge than I.

The 22’s initial ownership sequence was provided by the late David McKinney, a Kiwi who resided in the UK and an internationally acclaimed motor sport historian. Despite David’s renowned research abilities, when it came to this particular Lotus 22, it would appear that he made the incorrect assumption that its frame number and chassis-plate number would be the same — we now know that is not necessarily the case. Indeed, further research as reported to us by New Zealand Classic Car’s Motorsport Flashback guru Michael Clark — who enjoyed regular communications with David — have confirmed that the Lotus 22 carrying chassisplate 47 was originally purchased by a Frenchman named Jean Lucienbonnet, who was killed in a Formula Junior race in Italy during August 1962.

The Jonathan Williams connection Digging deeper into the 22’s history, it has now been confirmed by Duncan Rabagliati, renowned motor racing historian and founder of the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association, that this car was raced by the late Jonathan Williams in Formula Junior races during 1963, the Lotus being a replacement for the Merlyn-Ford MkV that Williams crashed at Monaco in May 1963.

Further details were initially rather more sketchy, and, although it seemed that Williams did, indeed, purchase a Lotus-sanctioned frame marked ‘22/47’, it is unclear whether the frame was a brand-new factory item or one that had previously been raced.

Muddying the historical waters is Williams’ known involvement with Roy Thomas — aka ‘Tom the Weld’ — a highly regarded mechanic and fabricator. There exist several references to Thomas having produced replica race-car frames, as well as supplying various componentry such as uprights and other suspension parts.

In his autobiography, Shooting Star on a Prancing Horse (published posthumously), Williams writes about the assistance he received from Thomas, and at least

one obituary for Williams referred to his Lotus 22 as being something of a ‘Roy Thomas special’ in respect of not just uprights and suspension members but also the actual frame.

However, Michael Clark believes that a non-Lotus-sanctioned frame would not have had a marking such as those on our featured Lotus 22 and is of the opinion that there has probably been some misunderstanding by journalists and historians. Williams himself has gone on record as saying that Thomas did have an involvement with both his Lotus 22 and 1964 Formula 3 Lotus 22/31. However, it seems highly unlikely that this 22’s frame is a Thomas-built replica.

From June 1963 to the current day, the history of every owner of the Lotus is known and recorded. However, what remains unknown is the history of ownership from the date of the frame’s manufacture in 1962, until June 1963. Duncan Rabagliati has stated that he’s 99.9-percent certain that this car is genuine and mentioned other Lotus 22s that have a frame but no chassis number. It is highly likely that the frame of our featured car was originally a spare frame for the works team.

Because so much is uncertain, and because key people who could potentially answer the necessary questions are no longer alive — Sir Frank Williams remains the one person still living who may know the origins of this Lotus — it is necessary to make some assumptions with regard to this Lotus 22. As Michael Clark observes, no historian likes assumptions, but, in some circumstances, there is no obvious alternative.

Williams and Williams More details relating to Williams and this Lotus 22 were included in Adam Cooper’s book, Piers Courage: The Last of the Gentleman Racers (Haynes, 2003). In it, Jonathan Williams explains how he first met Frank Williams (no relation) while racing at Brands Hatch. Jonathan, having inverted his Mini, scrambled up the bank to watch the rest of the race when an Austin A35 did exactly the same thing. Jonathan helped the driver out, and they both sat on the bank to watch the remainder of the race. The A35 driver was, of course, Frank. themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

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FEATURE 1962 Morris Mini

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MEAN GREEN MINI I T H A S B E E N S A I D T H AT ONCE A MINI IS IN THE F A M I LY, Y O U N E V E R R E A L LY L E T G O . T H I S I S E S P E C I A L LY T R U E F O R DEAN FOSTER, WHO HAS LOVED MINIS HIS WHOLE LIFE Words: Dean Foster Photos: Duncan Rourke

D

ean Foster’s links to New Zealand’s automotive industry go back several generations to when his grandfather, Horace Harman, owned HS Harman Ltd, a car dealership and workshop in Whanganui that sold and worked on everything from Fiats to Dodges. Dean’s mum recalls having A35s and A55s in the driveway growing up, with her first car being an Austin Mini.

Here, Dean shares his story of how he came to love and cherish the Mini marque, and became involved in keeping them alive all these years.

A passion ignited My first car was a 1974 Leyland Mini, which I bought through the good old Trade and Exchange back in 1996 with money I had saved up from my first job. It had been fully customized and souped up with a worked 1330cc engine, a lumpy cam, and a 28/36 downdraught Weber. It had been painted red, with a white roof and Cooper stripes. The Mini featured a rear roll cage, bucket seats, a chin spoiler, flares, and 10-inch GB Minilites — the featured Mini still has the GB Minilites and Mountey Woodrim steering wheel from this car. The Mini’s signature centre instrument cluster had been replaced with a custom dash set up on the driver’s side, meaning either the passenger or I could reach through the large hole left in the central firewall to achieve full throttle out of the downdraught Weber when it ran out of pedal travel! themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

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KITS AND PIECES

Words and photos: Patrick Harlow

A WORTHY REPLICA AFTER VISITING A CAR SHOW IN ENGL AND,

S T E V E S T R A I N WA S S M I T T E N B Y T H E L A N C I A S T R ATO S , AND THE SEED WAS SOWN

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W

hen Steve Strain and his wife Carole travelled to England for their OE in 1987, his intention was to work as an accountant for few months then for them to travel as much as they could.

Steve, being a bit of a petrolhead, also liked to go to car shows, so that was on the agenda, too.

At one show that he attended with a friend, there were four or five identical cars that stood out from the rest because of their futuristic styling. These were replicas of the famous rally car of the ’70s, the Lancia Stratos.

Although the Stratos was brought into existence by Lancia, its pedigree ran far deeper, with running gear by Ferrari hidden under an amazing body sculpted by Bertone.

All this effort was aimed at only one thing — winning the World Rally Championship. The goal was reached surprisingly easily, as the mid-engined Stratos stormed to victory during the 1974, 1975, and 1976 seasons. Over the years, a Stratos — in the hands of privateers — has won almost every rally in the world. From the first paper sketch to come out, the car succeeded at what it was built for: becoming rallying’s first, and greatest, supercar pin-up.

Sadly, it has been largely forgotten by the younger generation, but, for those who saw it in action, it will forever remain an iconic car. Real examples are becoming rare, as Lancia produced fewer than 500, many of which were damaged way beyond repair in various rally events or by everyday owners who found that the car was very easy to spin into the scenery on corners, due in no small part to its ultra-short wheelbase. These days, you would be very lucky to buy one for less than half a million US dollars.

Bitten by the bug However, back to the story! The cars that Steve and his friend were looking at were not genuine examples of the legendary Stratos; instead, they were kit cars, built in East Sussex by a company then known as ‘Transformer Cars’. It offered the car in two styles — the early Group 4, like Steve’s version here, and the production Stradale. The company later changed its name to ‘Hawkridge Developments’, and, these days, it’s known as ‘Hawk Cars’.

Leaving the show should have been the end of it, but Steve’s friend had been badly bitten by the Stratos bug and was keen to build one for himself. Steve was in a similar state but more cautious. After having had long discussions with the owners of the show cars, he started to ponder how easy it would be for the two of them to build a car each. And just like that, the seed was sown. Over the coming weeks, it would germinate, until, finally, Steve would decide that it would not be too big a deal to just pop down to East Sussex and have a look at one. themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

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PROMOTIONAL FEATURE Auto Electrical

AUTO ELECTRICAL P L AY I N G W I T H E L E C T R I C A L S Y S T E M S A N D G E T T I N G I T W R O N G C A N B E A C O S T LY E X E R C I S E . M A K E S U R E Y O U K N O W W H AT YO U ’ R E D O I N G A N D W H E N TO TA K E I T TO TH E E X PE RTS BY F O LLOW I N G TH I S H A N DY G U I D E Words: Jaden Martin Photos: New Zealand Classic Car archives / Supplied

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ost of us find the electrical bits inside our car something of a mystery, and the thought of toying around with a component that has wires poking out of it can be pretty daunting. So, when a piece of that puzzle seems amiss, what do you do?

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It’s important to understand what is going on, what additions to the electrical system mean for the running of your vehicle, and when to take it to the people who know what they’re doing. We got in touch with a few industry insiders to find out what the most common

issues are in the older range — covering wires and harnesses; batteries, cables, and terminals; fuses and relays; points ignition; starter motors and alternators; LED lights; plugs, switches and the cost of it all; and — god forbid — what can be done to fix things up following a fire.