october 2009 wheelspin
DESCRIPTION
Sporting Car Club of South Australia MagazineTRANSCRIPT
Sporting Car Club of South Australia Incorporated
Share the Passion
October 2009Volume 48 Number 4
.
Rally SAMount Crawford
THE SPORTING CAR CLUB OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, INC.
Founded 22nd May, 1934ABN 67 -853 093 023
51 King William RoadUnley, SA 5061
Telephone: 08 8373 4899Fax: 08 8373 4703
e-mail: [email protected]: www.sportingcarclubsa.org.au
PATRONHis Excellency
Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AO CSC RANRGovernor of South Australia
Office Hours:Wednesday to Friday
9.00 am to 4.00 pm
Monthly Meetings: Club General Meeting 1st Wednesday Historic Racing Register 2nd Tuesday Classic Section 1st Friday HQ Section 3rd Wednesday Vintage Section 2nd Friday Veteran Section 3rd Friday Vmax Motorsport Section 4th Friday Competition Section Meetings held quarterly Please note: the bar is open only on General Meeting and Section Meeting Nights
The Sporting Car Club Library hours: Club General Meeting Night
(1st Wednesday of the month, excluding January);
All designated Section meeting nights;Wednesdays 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
Fridays 10.00 am - 12.00 noon
Wheelspin Production:Published once every quarter
Publishing dates:(1st January, 1st April,1st July, 1st October)
Please submit all articles eight weeks prior to publishing date.
Editorial Team: Paul Murrell
Michael Wapler
All material sent into the office for publishing should be typed in font Arial 9 point. Photographic images should
either be paper prints or on CD in 300 d.p.i. quality when-ever possible. Please note that older type storage media,
e.g. floppy discs or zip-discs are no longer acceptable.
It is always appreciated when items submitted for publica-tion will be handed in not later than the above quoted
deadlines.
IGNITION 1
A Word From The Immediate Past
President
This article will appear in the October copy of WheelSpin and I will no longer be President. I will have passed over to the other side – to be part of the barmy army of ex Presidents.
As a fellow car fiddler, I hoped to professionally tinker with the beast that is the Sporting Car Club to seek to make efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of the Club. My guiding principles being to keep the Club simple and improve participation.
There were three projects that evolved out of my experience of being in the chair. They have been to introduce a committee structure to the Board and Club – it is still being introduced and I leave it to the next President and Board to manage that implementation.
It will not be an easy task to complete – the internal audit committee, for example, created some excitement with its work.
Another was to try and have the constitution amended to encourage nominations and make the Board more responsive of the members. An attempt to have the Board elected as per good practice in corporations and Clubs failed to get the 75% required to change the constitution. The members present at the Special General Meeting voted 37 for; 28 against the change to simplify the Board by letting the Board elect its own officers rather than have direct election to each position.
It was disappointing to have only 65 voters out of a membership of 1700 (despite a special mail out and attendant controversy) and more frustrating to have the matter voted down by a failure to get 75% approval when it is accepted wisdom that one third of the people will always oppose an idea at any one time.
Perhaps another matter for the incoming Board and President to address.
A third proposal mooted has been to have the Club use its strengths to maximise its income. That strength is the events and sporting activities of the Club. Embedded in the Club is a collective talent that makes the Club a repository of knowledge and experience to make any car event, if not any event, to happen.
The proposition is to set up a not for profit corporation with the Club as the member. It will have an independent board made up of non- Club nominees and Board nominees that will run a company designed to run events and to insulate the Club from risk. The model would be a variation of the Aston Martin Car Club of Great Britain, the Crows in South Australia and many such Club ventures that keep the Club’s integrity and character and, at the same, time permit the Club to use its strengths.
Again I wish the incoming Board and present well in pursuing the project.
Finally, my whole term has been dominated by the need to find a General Manager. I came to (temporary) office when there was a terminating General Manager and the President had resigned from office because of ill health. A replacement General Manager lasted only a few weeks and in the interim the Club was managed by the
continued on page 5
Disclaimer: The articles printed in this magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the Sporting Car Club of S.A., Inc. nor the Editorial Team. All opinions, technical tips and methods are the views of the person submitting the article/s, and the
Club cannot accept any responsibility for these whatsoever.
2
SEPTEMBER PRESIDENTIAL AND BOARD ELECTIONS
At the Annual General Meeting of the Sporting Car Club on 2 September 2009, the Membership elected Rodney Gibb as
their new President. Eric Ozgo was elected Club Secretary and Rob Thompson and Geoff Chennells were elected
Board Members. Congratulations to all newly
elected Office Holders.Club President Rodney Gibb
OUR COVERReg Marrat and Co-Driver Club Member David Langfield
in action at Rally SA at Mt. Crawford
photograph by courtesy of SCC ClubmemberLisa Arklay
A Most Generous Legacy
Page 8
CONTENTS 3
Where it all starts - the home of the Sporting Car Club in Unley
The Sunseekers At Clare Valley
Pages 10 & 11
Elfin Reunion In Adelaide
Page 15
Around The Houses Day
Pages 12 & 13
The Cars From Thuringia
Pages 16 & 17
IGNITION A Word From Your Immediate Past President …….…1, 5
TOOL KIT Names And Addresses Of Club Contacts, Updated ...….4
BARRY’S QUESTION Answer To “Barry’s Question” Of July ...…..…………5 “Barry’s Question” For October ......…………………...5 FROM THE SPORTING CAR CLUB LIBRARY Formula One Names Consigned To History …...………6 By Any Other Name …………………...……………...6 Collingrove – Early Days Remembered ……………...6 Gems Discovered – Book Reviews ………………6, 7 Quotes – ‘Those Were Other Times’ ………………….7 Now On The Shelves – Summary Of New Books Available To Members ...….....7 The Face Behind The Fizzy Drinks ………………….7, 8 A Most Generous Legacy ………………………………8
UNDER THE BONNET A Word From Your Club Secretary Manager ...………9
BARRY CATFORD’S RACING QUOTES …………………..9
LADIES’ QUESTION TIME Answer To July’s Ladies’ Question ….……….............9 Ladies’ Question For October ..………..……………....9
PETROL FUMES Classic Section News…… Sunseeker Rally 2009 ………………..…10, 11 Veteran Section News Veteran News And Events …… …..............12 Round The Houses ……………………..12, 13 HRR News ElfinReunionInAdelaide………………...15 Vintage Section News The Angas Delages .……….….……..…18, 19 HQ News HQ Nationals At Eastern Creek ………..….27 HQ Enduro At Mallala ……………………..27 Competition News Impressions From Shannons Nationals …....21 Rally S.A. ……………………………...28, 29 MICHAEL’S EUROPEAN COLUMN Rare Species – The Cars From Thuringia ……...…16.17
OUT AND ABOUT A Most Unusual Barn ………………………….…22, 23
AT THE SHARP END You’re Not The Boss Of Me ..……………....………24 Rules? What Rules?…….. ..…..……………………...25 A Worthy Cause ……………...………………….….25 BMW Out OF F1 …………………………………….25 Supercar Merry-Go-Round …………………………..25 Postscript ……………………………………………..25FOUR CORNERS Brands Hatch Capers ….………………….…....….26, 27
YOUR CLUB CONTACTS
TOOL KIT4
President: Rodney Gibb …………..(H) 08 8284 7543 (M) 0412 835 385 [email protected]
Immediate Past President: Michael Keenan ………..(M) 0413 449 635 [email protected] Vice Presidents: John Bryant ……..……....(B) 08 8362 8860
(M) 0418 818 998 [email protected] Robert Thompson …… .(H) 08 8379 3474 (M) 0408 859 411 (B) 08 8276 7722
Treasurer: Sean Wheelan ………...(M) 0412 618 122 (W) 08 8431 4700 [email protected]
Club Secretary Eric Ozgo ……………….(H) 08 8336 6114 [email protected]
Board Members: Geoff Chennells ……... (H) 08 8278 8465 [email protected] Ann Ozgo …….….........(M) 0417 847 329
(H) 08 8336 6114 [email protected]
Tony Parkinson ………..(M) 0408 805 518 (H) 08 8383 0481 [email protected]
CAMS Delegate: John Bryant ………...…..(B) 08 8362 8860 (M) 0418 818 998 [email protected]
Classic Car Section: Andy Morgan (Chair) .... (M) 0417 907 996 (H) 8272 1961 [email protected] Allen Morris (M) 0408 826 324
(Secretary)……….……..(H) 08 8263 2485
Competition Section: Lyndon Punshon (H) 08 8536 8236 (Chair)………….……(M) 0417 826 284
Historic Racing Register: Ann Ozgo (Chair)… (M) 0417 847 329 [email protected]
John Bryant ………..(B) 08 8362 8860 (M) 0418 818 998 [email protected]
Historic Registration Officers: Colin Bourner ……...(M) 0417 801 381 [email protected] Ray Mossop ………..(H) 08 8258 9295 Rex Howard ……….(H) 08 8278 5337 John Wien-Smith - (Log Books) (B) 08 8373 4899
HQ Racing Register: Greg Goding………..(M) 0418 807 437 (Chair) .......………....(H) 08 8387 3118 [email protected] Alison Bennett (Secretary) (H) 08 8387 3118 [email protected]
Veteran Car Section: John Ellis (Chair)…(H) 08 8362 3230 Christine Chennells (Secretary)…(H) 08 8278 8465 [email protected]
Vintage Car Section: Ruth Day (Chair)…….....(M) 8278 6563 [email protected] Graham Treloar (Secretary) (M) 0418 824 768 (H) 08 8332 7437
Club Secretary Manager: Colin Bourner …………(M) 0417 801 381 (H) 08 8337 3190 [email protected] Events Mallala Office: Penny Gordon …......….(B) 08 8271 5689 (M) 0408 842 363 (Fax) 08 8272 5396 [email protected] (alternative) [email protected] Manager: Alan Caire…………(B) 08 8373 4899 [email protected]: Sandra Brooker ....(B) 08 8373 4899 [email protected]
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BARRY’S QUESTION FOR “OCTOBER”
How did the company ‘Bridgestone’ get its name?
Barry Catford
BARRY’S QUESTION 5
Answers please to Michael Wapler at:[email protected]
continued from masthead page (1)excellent staff – and not enough thanks can go to Sandra for her willingness to take up some difficult tasks – led intermittently by the Secretary Colin Bourner and myself.
The Board, recognising the experience of Colin and the administrative and management needs demanded by the Club, has now appointed Colin as Secretary Manager of the Club. He can now use his talents and experience in making sure member’s needs are met and the Club is managed (albeit part time) efficiently.
Members who were not present at the August General Meeting of the Club will have missed the explanation for the delay between the resignation of the replacement General Manager and the appointment of Secretary Manager. In simple terms, the Club was pursuing an opportunity to share management and receive rent from CAMS, who are restructuring. The negotiations were protracted as they offered great synergies, thus unfortunately delaying the decision to appoint an officer until August 2009.
As a parting and now distant advice to the new Board is to plan its actions to accommodate the facts that whilst the Club many be called a Sporting Car Club, it moves very slowly; it makes a lot of noise that drowns out communication and it runs on an unusual fuel mix – good will, hope and obsession.
That is why the Club needs a separate rational entity to make it in the 21st Century – not a replacement model but an additional one. A bit like having a new car in the garage, the working one – while we work on the other one.
Michael Keenan
IGNITION
Answer to ‘BARRY’S QUESTION’ FOR “JULY”
In the July issue, Barry asked you: `Name the three cars and respective drivers in this photograph?
The photo, taken during the British GP at Silverstone in 1952 shows at the starting line:
in car No. 11, Alan Brown driv-ing a Cooper Bristol …
in car No. 12, (Sir) Stirling Moss driving an ERA …
in car No. 29, Peter Collins driving an HWM Alta.
Formula One Names Consigned To History
Since listing 26 team names in the previous Wheelspin, I have been asked how I managed to omit Jordan. How indeed!
After searching through the excellent Grand Prix records kept by Paul Sheldon and Duncan Rabagliati, I have found a further dozen. Who knows, there might
even be more. Seemingly, the list is endless and now we learn that BMW Sauber will be joining it at the end of the current 2009 season:
Jordan, Benetton, Eurobrun, Theodore, Wolf, Shadow, Ensign, Stewart, Surtees, Fittipaldi, Chevron
and, as Paul Sheldon described it, ‘the delightfully dreadful’ Dywa which lasted five laps at Monza in 1980.
All the above names have disappeared since the 1980s.Ian Smith
By Any Other Name
It is common practice today for car manufacturers to share components with each other.
One example of this was advertised recently by a large Adelaide used car dealer.
They had for sale a Subaru with a Boxster engine – you learn something new every day!
Collingrove Hill Climb– Early Days Of Constructing The Course –
‘I remember Eldred Norman with a machine gun saying “Come on! … Let’s dig a few holes first” and he fired the gun into the ground to make holes for the sticks of gelignite to blow up the tree stumps and the big rocks.
Henry Short and I built the toilets, but I flatly refused to dig holes, I said that I didn’t mind carpentry but I didn’t dig holes!’
Geoff Berry.
(Geoff Berry was an undertaker). Extracted from ‘With Casual Efficiency’ by Dennis Harrison
BOOK REVIEWSIllustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Stylesby Lennart W. Haajanen
Here is a book on a subject that is long overdue; the clarification (in some cases, the correction) of body styles terminologies that have been misused.
Haajanen comes highly recommended with a thought-provoking foreword by Karl Ludvigsen. It is also significant that the author has dedicated his work to
Denis Jenkinson, a man widely renowned as a stickler for both accuracy and detail in all his writing.
With the aid of many clearly detailed drawings, the author defines the large number of body styles used by car makers down through the years. Of significance are the origins of the many names that have been used from time to time. A commonly
6 FROM THE SCC LIBRARYmisspelt body style is Spider. ‘The term spider was used in France and other European countries to denote the extra rear groom seat on spidery outriggers. Subsequently, the complete carriages … were termed Spider. Early automobiles inherited the term in both France and Italy.’ The author notes that ‘Spyder is a fairly common way of spelling Spider. Spider is the correct and originally Italian and French spelling.’
The term GTO introduces a note of humour into the subject. Standing for Gran Turismo Omologato (Italian for homologated) it means that a manufacturer has proved that their race car has been produced in a stipulated minimum number to comply with race regulations. The term was initially applied to one Ferrari where it is extremely doubtful that the car had in fact ever been homologated and to the American Pontiac Tempest Le Mans as a marketing tool only. Here it should be stated that it was necessary in their advertising to educate the punters how to pronounce Le Mans.
Jeeps are regularly referred to in news releases concerning military actions. Almost always the vehicles referred to are anything but Jeeps. It is an example of lazy or ignorant journalism. ‘The seven slot Jeep air intake is the trademark of the Chrysler Company.’
The defining of the term Coupé occupies five pages so I will not delve into it too much here except to say that the line, ‘an enclosed modern two-door fixed-
top up-market coupé’ stands out and that it doesn’t seem possible to include the Rover four-door coupé within that description!
Broughams, Business sedans, Convertibles, Phaetons, Berlinas, Grand Routières, microcars, and many, many more – they are all here and Lennart Haajanen is to be congratulated on leaving no stone unturned to come up with the definitive work on automobile body styles.
It is a most valuable addition to our library and will be referred to constantly.
Ian Smith
Lewis Hamilton – My StoryBy Lewis HamiltonPublished by HarperSport
This book by 2008 F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton is about as inspired as its title. If you are hoping for some insights into the McLaren/Ferrari controversy, all you will learn is that Lewis was “stunned” and feared that his first F1 season could be wrecked. As for his wins, his impressions of the various cities he races, the people he has met and works with, you’ll have to be satisfied with descriptions such as “it was cool”, “it was sweet”, “I felt good”, “Kuala Lumpur is
a really cool city” and, here’s a real surprise… Malaysia really is “so hot”. Some of the material about his early years is interesting, but there are no real enlightenments and you never understand what drove his father, a railway worker, to provide his obviously talented son with the expensive equipment to go karting and earn the support of
7FROM THE SCC LIBRARYMcLaren from such a young age. All in all, this book is an even bigger disappointment than Hamilton’s 2009 F1 season. Hamilton may be a superb driver, but as he says (over and over) he should let his driving do the talking.
My Other Wife is a CarBy John M WrightPublished by Allen & Unwin. Rrp $26.99
The Sporting Car Club is home to a smorgasbord of different car makes and models, and one feels John Wright would feel right at home. In his latest book, subtitled, Confessions of a Car Tragic he reminisces about the cars he has loved and hated over his life. They total more than 130, and still counting. His favourite marques include Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Fiat (including a grey 1100 with yellow racing stripes), BMW and Mercedes Benz. Like any proper car tragic, most were bought second-hand and many caused him considerable grief, from the 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow that threatened to impoverish him to the FSM Niki 650 (complete with Nardi steering wheel, sports exhaust and RACER number plates) that made him the butt of jokes. If you’ve ever bought a car with your heart more than your head (and who amongst us hasn’t?), you’ll recognise yourself in this book and, hopefully, be able to laugh at the memories.
Paul Murrell… Those Were Other Times!
‘I remember a cold evening in the winter of 1951-52, when Jacques and I were in Stuttgart and were supposed to have dinner with Uhlenhaut (Daimler’s Development Chief at the time). At the last minute, he had to cancel, but sent his colleague Kostaletzki to spend the evening with us. We talked a lot, not about racing cars as nothing has transpired about Mercedes’ plans. Then, at the end of the dinner, much to our surprise, Kostaletzki took us in the dark, cold night to the factory, which had only just recovered from its wartime damage. In the greatest secrecy he took us to the experimental department, and there was a scantily bodied sports car built around mechanical components of the newly launched Mercedes 300: the prototype of the 300SL! He started it, took it out and drove first Jacques and then me as fast as he could (and he was no mean driver) around the factory blocks. It was just fantastic and highly impressive. Had it been today, Kostaletzki would have been fired the following morning, but those were other times!
from Paul Frère ‘My Life Full of Cars’
selected by Barry Catford
NOW ON THE SHELVES
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Handbook 13.1.00.92The Jensen-Healey Stories. Peter Browning and John Blunsden
2.3.02.30Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Graham Robson 2.4.01.20Wonderful Wheels, Pedr Davis
2.4.01.38Alpine Trials and Rallies 1910 - 1973, Martin Pfundner 6.1.00.84Michael Schumacher: The Edge of Greatness, James Allen 4.1.01.65Lagonda in Detail 1925 - 1935, Arnold Davey 9.4.00.36Car: The Best of the 60s and 70s
2.2.00.22The Singer Story, Kevin Atkinson 2.4.01.46Oldtimer Catalog 2006, Günther Zinke 2.1.00.24 Backfire: A Passion for Cars and Motoring. Alan Clark 2.9.00.23To Finish First: Formula One, CAN-AM & Indianapolis, Phil Kerr
3.1.00.65Original Austin Seven: Restorer’s Guide, Rinsey Mills 2.6.00.48Race to Win, Derek Daley 2.9.00.24On the Road Again – Australians & their Cars, Kevin Nordbury 2.4.00.81.1
Blue Blood – History of the Grand Prix Car in France, Serge Bellu 2.3.01.80Chasing Shadows, Stephen Lewis 2.14.00.18The Caterpillar Story – Caterpillar Inc. 2.13.00.18America and the Automobile 1893-1923, Peter J. Ling 2.2.00.39Automobile Rating, Ray F. Kuns 6.1.00.73Speedway’s Sensational Sixties, Tony Loxley 6.1.00.75Original Jaguar MK1/MKII Restorer’s Guide, Nigel Thorley
12.5.00.09Forza Minardi, Simon Vigar 2.3.02.32Rambler Classic Ambassador 1964 Workshop Manual 12.2.00.02Jensen: A History of all Models, Richard Calver 2.3.02.33Special: Australia’s Holden. The Untold Story, John M. Wright
2.4.02.01Porsche, Anthony Pritchard 2.3.02.35Hey Charger: Chargers of Australia, Gavin Farmer 2.3.02.36FIA Formula One World Championship 2004, Bruce Jones 6.6.00.38DAF: World Trucks, Pat Kennett 2.13.00.20Rory Pitman Scrapbook of Motorsport from 1936, Scrapbook 26 McLaren – The Cars 1964 - 2008, William Taylor 2.3.02.37Grand Prix – Driver by Driver, Philip Raby 4.1.01.71
The Face Behind The Fizzy Drinks
This season’s Formula 1 has so far had all the suspense that stems from the exciting emergence of winning teams other than the usual suspects.
While the leading teams this season, Brawn (previously Honda) and Red Bull, have been around for some time, they were much more in the background in previous seasons where McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, and Ferrari were battling it out at front.
Particularly Red Bull, with their rookie driver Sebastian Vettel
(above) and somewhat distracted team mate Mark Webber (below) are leaving their mark on this season’s competition. While one may wonder about the seemingly sudden appearance of the two front runners there is – unsurprisingly – a very good reason behind each team’s success.
continued next page
FROM THE ERIC RAINSFORD LIBRARY8 FROM THE SCC LIBRARY
In particular Red Bull, an Austrian fizzy drinks manufacturer, would not have such expertise in-house and the man responsible for their remarkable success – Adrian Newey (above), their Technical Director – may not register on everyone’s horizon. Yet, together with Ross Brawn, he has been one of the leading lights in Formula 1 since the early ‘90s.
Uncommonly, Adrian Newey studied aeronautics and astronautics as he was of the opinion that aeroplanes have more to do with Formula 1 racing cars than automobiles. This rather unconventional thinking and his method of working out details and finding solutions to problems during lonely nights at the office seems worlds away from the circus that is Formula 1 today, where huge resources are spent by large engineering teams. Just consider this: McLaren-Mercedes are employing 800 specialists designing and developing the engine, gearbox and chassis for their racing cars.
In contrast to Ross Brawn who, as team leader, has to be an organiser and sets out the tactics for each race, Adrian Newey is working with the freedom of an artist and solely concentrates on the development of Red Bull’s racing cars.
But Newey’s quiet approach has a history going back to the days of Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, and Mika Häkkinen. Newey is said not to have enjoyed working for the pedantic Ron Dennis, preferring the freedom to follow his intuition and own method of working: “During my formative years I was at the drawing board one day, the next day was spent doing design calculations, and at the weekend I was a racing engineer. Nowadays, we have huge design offices and each of the engineers is engaged in a narrowly specified area of activity. How can someone who has expertise in one particular area build a complete car?”
While still narrowly in front, Ross Brawn is very much aware of Red Bull snapping at his heels. “You never know what Red Bull is up to. But one thing’s for certain, they are damn fast at the moment”, was a recent comment.
Michael Wapler
A MOST GENEROUS LEGACY
Those regular visitors to the Library would have seen the large number of bound magazine copies that have been looming on the window sill for some weeks now.
On closer inspection it would have been revealed that they constitute one of the most valuable assets your library has on the shelves. Those hefty tomes are bound copies of the British motor magazine ‘The Autocar’ and they comprise a complete set of this weekly magazine from the first issue in – wait for it – 1895 through the year 1903 in sixteen bound volumes.
One may not even have suspected that there was a weekly magazine containing only matters concerning this new-fangled contraption called an automobile, but the information within it would keep you enthralled for months on end.
The library is deeply grateful to our late Member Doug Mullins who left this exceptionally valuable set of literature from a truly bygone age to our library as a legacy in his will.
No doubt, having whetted your appetite, you will come rushing into the library to browse or study among these ancient magazines. They are available to members to read in the library but due to their rarity and value – and to some degree the fragility of the paper – the magazines are not available on loan. You may take photocopies of items of interest to you but this will need to be done with great care and should perhaps best be requested of your library staff.
On behalf of the Sporting Car Club and its Members, the Library has expressed our sincere thanks to Doug’s widow Barbara who has passed the magazines on to us as was Doug’s wish.
This is another excellent reason to drop into our magnificent library when you are next in the Clubrooms.
Your Library Staff
Above, the motor conveyance of the Sultan of Morocco as illustrated in ‘The Autocar’, above
Cover of the first issue of ‘The Autocar’ of Saturday, 2nd November 1895, price 3d.
LADIES’ QUESTION TIME 9
ANSWER TO LADIES’ QUESTION FOR JULY
Glenn Ford and ‘Blackboard Jungle’ were the correct answers. Replies came in from Meg and Denis Basson, Vanessa and John Eason, and Alan Caire.
Glenn Ford, born Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford was born in Sainte-Christine-d’Auvergne, Québec, Canada in 1st May, 1916 and died in Beverly Hills on 30th August, 2006. He took his stage name from Glenford, the Canadian town where his father was born.
In 1939 Glenn became a US citizen. He had moved to California with his parents aged eight.
In his life at the Holiywood studios, he starred in a large number of movies and later in TV serials.
In true Holywood style, he was married four times and had one son, Peter, from his first marriage.
In the ‘Blackboard Jungle’ his co-star was Anne Francis. The film has been credited with sparking the Rock and Roll revolution by featuring Bill Haley & His Comets’ Rock Around the Clock, initially a B-side, over the film’s opening credits, establishing that song as an instant classic.
LADIES’ QUESTION FOR OCTOBER
Yet another film star, this time from the European side of the Atlantic. One of the all time cinema greats she possessed a sharp wit, once remarking about her figure ‘Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti’. No doubt, you will have the answer ‘pronto, pronto’.
Michael Wapler
A n s w e r s please to: M i c h a e l
Wapler at:m i w a p @o z e m a i l .
com.au
FROM THE CLUB MANAGER
It was quite an honour to be asked to take up the newly created position of Club Secretary Manager.
Having made the decision not to stand for re-election for the Board position of Secretary, one had to do some serious thinking about taking on a permanent a p p o i n t m e n t , albeit for only 2 days a week. With the full support of my wife Kay, I agreed to take on
the task with enthusiasm. I will endeavour to continue the good work achieved by Warren Schirmer but to it add my own style of “customer service” for members.
I see the role as providing sound management of the Club administration, but with a strong emphasis to shape the Club to meet member needs and expectations. There also is an urgent need to encourage more members to participate in volunteering for the various Club’s sporting and other activities. Without volunteers, the Club could not have achieved such successful recent events as The Sunseeker Rally, the National Veteran Rally and the ongoing Collingrove and Mallala competition events .
We have some great opportunities to strengthen our Club financially through the support of existing activities and the up and coming events such as the Lobethal Grand Carnival. For these events we need new volunteers, and the more support we gain from our members in this capacity the less each volunteer will be asked to do!
Do remember that volunteers usually get the best viewing positions.
I expect to be at the Club on Wednesday and Thursday of each week, with few exceptions and will, of course, be available on those days for Conditional Registration inspections.
Colin Bourner
BARRY CATFORD’S RACING QUOTES
‘...Frank’s (Williams) on the subject of drivers, of racing cars being driven to their limits and he’s in a reverie. “I watched Lewis (Hamilton) in his first time in an F1 car at Monte Carlo practising on the Thursday and I thought this is one of those once-in-every-10-years sort of guys, Jackie (Stewart) and Jimmy (Clark) sort of thing. Phwoar! Right up to the wall every time. He could do it blindfold. The best spot was where the French TV guy was, on the entry to the first part of swimming pool. They come out from Tabac up to the wall and the camera’s about three feet above there. It was here in ‘04 when Kimi (Räikkönen), Juan Pablo (Montoya) and Michael (Schumacher) were all flat-out together through there, all trying to win at ten-tenths. Just fantastic. That lucky cameraman!”
You would not hear any other Formula 1 team principal say things like that. This sort of enthusiasm is what burns at the core of Frank Williams, still, after all this time in the game. This is what keeps his fire burning. It’s a cliché only because it is true: he is the essence of racer.’
Excerpt from an interview with Frank Williams in Autosport,, February 2009 issue.
UNDER THE BONNET
SUNSEEKER RALLY 2009
An excited group gathered at the Sporting Car Club under grey skies and a cold wind. A 9.00 am start had us heading north looking for that elusive sun.
By mid morning the sun was shining brightly as we motored through the green wheat and barley crops. We were soon in Kapunda for morning tea where we enjoyed Sandy’s delicious biscuits and slices with a hot coffee.
Back on the road again we headed towards Clare, in particular Annie’s Lane at Quelltaler where we were treated not only to tastings of their great range of wines but a delicious lunch which was enjoyed by all. With our wine purchases stored safely in the cars it was just a matter of untangling the vehicles that filled the car park.
The afternoon was spent exploring the Clare Valley wineries and produce outlets. All too soon it was time make our way to the Clare Country Club, our base for the weekend.
One group was spotted ce lebrat ing Eugene Lewandowski’s 60-something birthday. I’m not sure whether it was before or after the drinks but a Mercedes SL driver was seen tearing the screen door off his room in an attempt to get in. I think the front door would have been easier.
Saturday evening we regrouped in the dining room where Gordon welcomed everyone especially the first time Sunseekers. A delicious buffet dinner was then enjoyed by all. Willshire Motor Trimmers sponsored the dinner and Annie’s
Lane provided additional prizes for the raffle. The Sunseeker Committee provided the basket of goodies.
Sunday morning dawned with rain tumbling down. Not to be deterred we headed for Bute where more of those biscuits and slices appeared to be enjoyed with our coffee.
By the time we reached Moonta the skies had cleared. The Moonta Mines Museum was a fascinating journey back in time Life in the mines would not have been easy.
The train ride kept us all very much in the slow lane. The second group thought they may have to walk back to the station when the train came to a sudden halt several times. After being told to stay within the confines of the carriages one young adventurer affectionately known as Frog poked his head out for a better view only to have his hat blown off and cause some delay while it was retrieved.
On to Moonta Bay for lunch by the sea at the Sea Gate Bistro. The sun we were seeking went into hiding again and rain set in for the afternoon as we drove back to Clare.
Sunday evening was a somewhat more formal affair with everyone looking resplendent in their evening wear.
Much poetic licence was apparent in Allan Marks’ somewhat satirical roll call. The auction items were keenly sought with spirited bidding for the BMW day with Allan Moffatt being a big hit. Emma Page jewellery donated by Robyn Crouch was popular with the ladies. A great night enjoyed by all.
Monday morning dawned with a clear blue sky for our journey home.
First stop was Tanunda to visit an interesting display of vehicles courtesy of David Braunach and Karl Lindner.
We proceeded on to Seppeltsfield Winery for lunch in the worker’s dining room.
Raffles, raffles and more raffles was the order of the weekend. Almost everyone must have won a prize.
The Sunseeker Trophy was awarded to Brian Grant and the Bill Potts Trophy went to Neil Francis. Now I know why cars are washed in the rain.
All in all a great weekend enjoyed by everyone, and a special thank you to the Sunseeker Committee for putting together a most enjoyable weekend.
Dennis Butler
10
Photos this page:left centre: Pat and Bob Underwood with Gaynor Francis
bottom left: Brian Edwards, John Lucas, Martin Lewiscentre right: Pat Underwood having a tipple.
Collage opposite page (clockwise from top left):The Sunseekers at Seppeltsfield Winery; rolling into
Moonta Station; Graham Treloar keeping a watchful eye on procedings; Jo Gosse, Brian Horewood, Chris Burgess,
Keith and Thelma Taylor with Rob Thomson and Bronwyn Veale,Janet and Graham Juttner with Garry Percy,
Noel and Leanne Cotton, Chris Burgess,Jill and Dean Clough,
centre: a perfectly turned out MG-TD of Grant & Julie WhiteBrian Grant with Sunseeker Trophy,
Neil Francis (with Bill Potts trophy) and Laurie Cousin.
Photos kindly provided by Ron Johnson and Ross Pope
PETROL FUMES
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12 PETROL FUMES
COMING EVENTS
October 16 – Leon Mitchell will speak on the history of the Vivian Lewis company. This was an early SA manufacturer of cycles, motor cycles and motor cars.
November 20 – Two historic cars on stage which were connected with the 1939 Australian GP joint with Vintage Section – the MG K3 and a Singer Le Mans which has returned to this state after many years absence. The Vintage section will join us on this night.
December 11 – Veteran Section will join the Vintage meeting
COMING MEETINGS
October 25 – London to Brighton Run – this event is regularly organised by the VSCC. We ask our drivers to support this event each year.
Oct 31-Nov 1 – Meander to Milang Weekend Rally – a pleasant weekend of motoring to visit some interesting places and drive some pleasant roads near Adelaide. Ring Chris 8278 8465 if you still need information on this event.
Nov 21 – RAA Trophy Day – check your newsletter for details on this event.
Dec 6 – Club Picnic for all picnic-lovers.
PAST EVENTS
August 15 – AVCCA Conference – The Association of Veteran Car Clubs in Australia held its annual telephone conference on Saturday 15th August. All states were represented and the items discussed were:
– the timetable for National Veteran and National 1 & 2 Cylinder Rallies
– the reprinting of the National Register of Veteran vehicle owners
– the nominations for the Montagu Trophy – won by Rob Woolley from the ACT club. Rob spent some years as Secretary for the AVCCA and has organised several national events for veteran vehicles.
– reports from all clubs were tabled
Our club was represented by John Ellis (National Chairman 2009-9), Chris & Geoff Chennells, Peter Templer and Peter Mullins.
AROUND THE HOUSES DAY – June 21, 2009Our visits on this day were to the Mt. Barker area. We drove
up Greenhill Road with very little other traffic and saw the hills at their winter best – green paddocks, attractive gardens and some autumn leaves still on the trees and vines. Our first stop was at Mike and Shirley Sheehan’s garages where we were intrigued by the range of items that they have gathered over many years. Unfortunately Shirley was out looking after the family business. Many of us already knew that Mike was involved with the Adelaide Hills Restorers Club and had a
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collection of agricultural machinery and related memorabilia, as well as his veteran and vintage Ford T’s and IHC Autobuggy, but few expected to see a private picture theatre and collections of movie projection and film equipment and old clocks. There were collections both small and large and many items that were just personal mementos from past rallies they have attended.
Our sincere thanks go to Mike and Shirley for allowing us to trawl through their sheds. We then travelled a few kilometres further into the hills to Paech’s farm, a property which has been in the same family for four generations. Steve and Bev Paech were happy to host our group. They too are members of the Adelaide Hills Restorers Club with more interesting agricultural machinery, but also early farm buildings and part of the old house on display with appropriate items on display in each. Their home also has some beautiful blackwood furniture that was made for the large family dining room in the nineteen thirties. Here Bev’s lovely old china and glassware was on display. Bev has also developed another new display of early family clothing, wedding dresses, children’s toys and books and family photographs. I am sure that many ladies would be happy to have a dedicated space for their family treasures. Bev’s brother and sister-in-law were also on hand to help guide us around the displays. In appreciation, we took up a gold coin collection to be donated to a charity of their choice as they did not want any entry fee from us. The $65 donated went to a special fund at the Adelaide Women’s & Children’s Hospital to provide a piece of specialised equipment for a needy child. We thank our hosts for their generosity in opening their collections for our day’s entertainment. It was much appreciated. Those attending were: -
Ian Wilson 1925 Arrol-JohnstonGeoff Vaughn 1929 DurantRon & Rita Inwood 1971 MGBIris & Arthur Mullins modernMike Poland 1972 Holden HQIan Motley 1936 Austin 7Kevin Fagan 1913 BuickTony & Sheena Beaven 1977 Jaguar XJ6Stuart & Claire MacDonald 1961 Alvis TD 21Graham & Orris Lennon 1952 HoldenGarth & Barbara Pennington 1934 Armstrong SiddeleyJohn Treloar 1925 EssexArthur & Nola Clisby 1939 VauxhallGeoff & Chris Chennells 1962 Valiant “S”Andew Christopherson 1949 Armstrong SiddeleyPeter & Chris Templer 1975 ValiantBruce Standen & Trevor Shepherd 1950 Riley 2.5 LGraham & Josie Treloar modern
Chris and Geoff Chennells
VINTAGE COLLINGROVE14
15PETROL FUMES
ELFIN REUNION IN ADELAIDE
There have been several events around Australia this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Elfin Sports Cars.
However, on the weekend of 15-16 August, the Elfin Reunion Weekend was rightfully held in South Australia, the ancestral home of the marque.
Garrie Cooper’s small factory at 1 Conmurra Avenue, Edwardstown, turned out 248 Elfin racing cars between 1959 and the founder’s untimely death in 1982 at the age of only 46.
Although Garrie’s intention was to sell racing cars to fund his own racing, Elfins achieved far more than he would have expected. They won a total of 22 Australian and seven overseas titles, four of them by Garrie himself.
The Reunion Weekend was the brainchild of some former Elfin employees, most notably Ron Lambert and Bob Mills. They had planned to have a reunion of the employees, but somehow it got a lot bigger.
Owners of Garrie Cooper-era Elfins were invited from around the country, as well as former employees, customers and drivers.
People did in fact come from all States, and in the case of Bob Mills, from America.
Regularity events were planned for the HQ Enduro race meeting at Mallala on Saturday, August 15.
This attracted 20 Elfins, ranging from the earliest prototype Streamliner through to 623, mostly from interstate.
But the South Australians didn’t disgrace in the results, Sam Nitschke (Clubman) taking the first from Stan Ward (623) and Victorian Bob Cracknell (600B), whilst Graham Jarrett (Streamliner) won the second by a huge margin from Cracknell and Queensland’s Vern Hamilton (623).
Trevor Lambert, with the ME5 looking great in its new colours, and NSW’s Steve Webb (ex Henry Michell 360 Repco V8) were both black-flagged in the opening event for exceeding their nominated times by more than 3 seconds.
The Sporting Car Club’s rooms hosted a dinner on Saturday night, with three-times Australian Gold Star Champion and twice New Zealand Grand Prix winner John McCormack as patron.
The Elfin Heritage Centre’s Bill Hemming interviewed McCormack before turning his attention to long-time Elfin employees John Webb and Fulvio Mattiolo.
Brique Reed then went about the crowd with a roving microphone, asking questions of many on their dealings with Elfin and in particular Garrie Cooper.
There were many toasts during the evening, including one to Elfin personnel who have departed, a list of names being read out.
Later in the evening there was an auction of the last two genuine Elfin steering wheels. It was very entertaining to see Graham Jarrett bidding against his father John!
On Sunday, the Elfin Heritage Motor Show was held in the Jubilee Pavilion at the Wayville Showgrounds. This attracted many more cars than ran at Mallala, with almost every model of Elfin up to 1980 on display, as well as a Birrana and Brabham.
John LemmIn action at Mallala: Mark Goldsmith’s Elfin 622 leading
Steve Webb’s Elfin 360 into the ‘Esses’
Lorraine Cooper with John Jarrett
Brique Reed interviewing Kevin Shearer at the dinner Elfins on stage during dinner at the SCCSA Clubrooms
Ben Bidstrup presents awards to John Webb and Fulvio Mattiolo
photos courtesy of John Lemm
16 RARE SPECIES
SIMSON – THE CARS FROM THURINGIA
Thuringia is Germany’s most central State and is one of only two States of the Federation which does not share any international border with another European country. Colloquially known as the ‘Green Heart of Germany’ about 30% of its total land area is covered by forest.
The abundance of timber was a natural resource for the mediaeval iron and steel industry as it produced the charcoal necessary for iron smelting. For a very long time there was a tradition of fire-arms manufacture present in the valleys of central Thuringia around the town of Suhl. The illustration below shows a water mill driven gun barrel boring machine.
It was around 1854 when two brothers, Löb and Moses
Simson, bought such a water mill. The business soon diversified from the manufacture of simple hardware items to more lucrative products. In 1862, the company was re-named Simson Bros. Bayonet and Ram Rod Manufacturers and by 1884 the company made complete firearms culminating in large contracts supplying the Prussian army with their standard infantry rifle.
In 1896 the manufacture of bicycles began and by the turn of the century, the company was not only a large small arms manufacturer but one of Germany’s largest bicycle makers.
Due to the close contacts the Simson’s had with the military in Berlin, they knew about the plans of the authorities to support the manufacture of trucks and – to a lesser degree – of cars.
The Simson company, by now run by four brothers, grand-children of Moses, decided to invest in car manufacture and after buying a furniture manufacturing business that had gone
to the wall, they had the manufacturing space and some of the carpentry craftsmen that were required in car manufacture. A range of cars, simply named ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ were developed and fitted with an in-house developed 2.6-litre side valve engine. Model ‘A’ was first launched in 1911.
The same engine was used to manufacture an ambulance which was supplied to the Prussian army until 1918.
Interestingly, the marketing of the cars and light trucks followed in the footsteps of the arms business. Many clients, in Europe and overseas who were primarily customers of Simson firearms became customers for cars too, due to the trust they had in the quality of the Simson products.
During WWI, car manufacture naturally took a back seat as arms manufacture was stepped up but after Armistice Day in 1918, the arms business was no longer such a good prospect and the company very quickly began to modernise the pre-war car range.
The engine was upgraded by replacing the side valves on the intake side with overhead valves, giving an instant boost to power output, but in the longer term, completely new models were required and this led in 1923 to the development of the Simson Supra range (below} which was launched in 1924.
The new 2-litre twin OHC engine (above) was as advanced as that of any competitor and it clearly showed the engineering prowess of the company stemming from their expertise in arms manufacture.
At that time, perhaps more so than today, motor racing success encouraged sales and marque recognition.
With the
17RARE SPECIES2-litre engine Simson entered motor racing in a number of events and in 1925, the company had its most successful year in motorsport culminating in victories in road racing and hill climbs as well as long distance races. More about the Simson racing activities will be published in the next edition of WheelSpin.
The year 1926 brought
new parameters which affected the car manufacture substantially. The Allied Mission of Control, which still oversaw all military activity in the country, awarded Simson the only license in Germany to supply the newly formed Reichswehr, the army
of the Weimar Republic, with infantry rifles and side arms. All other German arms manufacturers were only permitted to export their products.
With such a monopoly in hand, the company naturally concentrated on its armaments business. The Supra range of cars was still built in moderate numbers and there was even an 8-cylinder model in development, but Germany’s economy was heading for the rocks. While in 1928, a total of 125,000 automobiles were sold in Germany that had collapsed to 50,000 by the year 1932.
The 8-cylinder model, known as Supra-A, came on the market and earned high praise by the press, but sales reached only 30 cars over the course of a year.
Worse was to come, the Nazis had usurped power in Germany in 1933 and seeing a major arms supplier in Jewish hands was more than a red rag to the Fascists. Trumped up charges of profiteering were laid against the Simsons in the aftermath of which all family members sought refuge in the US. An inglorious end to a once proud traditional German
family owned company and a great loss to the country.
The company, now in state hands, dropped car manufacturing immediately to concentrate on the armaments side of the business.
After the end of WWII, over 5000 machine tools were dismantled and shipped to the Soviet Union as war reparations. With the remaining 880 machine tools bicycles and prams were produced.
On 1st April 1946 the Soviet occupation forces
took over the company and
formed a Russian owned manufacturing company, SAG Awtowelo making, amongst bicycles, prams and hunting arms, a copy of the BMW R25 motorcycle for the Russian forces (left).
Considering the decimated means of production it is interesting to note that three years after the end of the war in 1948, some 45,000 push bikes, 15,000 hunting arms and about 6,000 prams left the factory gates. Practically all of this production was sent to the Soviet Union.
On 1st May 1952, the Soviets handed the factory over to their East Berlin stooges and Awtowelo now re-surfaced as the East German state owned VEB Fahrzeug und Gerätewerk Simson Suhl (community owned vehicle and appliance manufacturers). The AWO 425 continued in production and was now called Simson 425. When production finally ceased in 1964 it was replaced by a range of mopeds, scooters and light motor cycles.
The most popular mopeds were the S50/S51 models, built between 1975 and 1990 which, even now, are much sought after by youngsters as they are the only mopeds with a legal top speed of 60km/h compared to the EU-wide limit of 45km/h for mopeds. In particular, the S51 is easily
doctored to yield considerably higher speeds so that there is a thriving market in Germany, but more specifically, in the eastern former communist states, for these machines. All in all, between 1955 and 1990 more than 5 million mopeds were
produced in addition to motorcycles and push bikes.Production stopped in 2002, when the company – privatised
after the fall of the Berlin Wall – went into receivership.The millions of East German-built Simson motorcycles and
mopeds have a loyal fan following organised in numerous clubs holding regular meetings and rallies. Even spare parts are made again by a small manufacturer in the original home town of Suhl. The small town is still the centre of small arms manufacturing of mainly sporting and hunting arms, but sadly, the Simson family whose enterprise and family traditions have left such a lasting legacy in the history of the small town of Suhl, is no longer in residence.
One more example, if one was needed, that political influences did shape European company histories perhaps more than commercial pressures ever did.
Michael Wapler
1818 PETROL FUMES
THE ANGAS DELAGES
Special guests at the forthcoming Vintage Hill Climb at Collingrove will be the Delage Club of Australia and with this in mind, it is interesting to know that the Angas family of the Barossa Valley were keen owners of a number of Delage cars.
In the early 1920’s, Ronald Angas had his 1924 40/50-hp GL Saoutchik touring body replaced with a sporting two-seater body, by Sphinx of Adelaide, South Australia.
Ronald, his three brothers and father, were all Delage enthusiasts with the family owning several models including CO, CO2, GS and DISS, along with Ronald’s modified GL.
The fate of the modified GL was a dismal one, with the
by the invitation to the Lobethal Grand Carnival participants to joint the Vintage Hill Climb on Monday, 6th October.
19PETROL FUMES
crankshaft breaking when using the Delage to roll out polo ground on his estate. Pulling the three-ton cast iron roller at 30mph, the long suffering GL gave out. The whereabouts of the car today is unknown.
Even though the cast iron roller saw the end of the GL Delage, Ronald’s brother Colin said in 2004 “Good did eventually come out of it... as my late brother and I used the roller when we constructed the Collingrove Hill Climb.”
Ronald’s middle brother, Dudley, saw the ultimate adventure in a Grand Sport Delage when he drove across America in the winter of 1923. Driving through Pennsylvania and Ohio, Dudley noted, “Nose and feet frozen and moustache a mass of ice...” He went on to say “One thing I have noted about this Sport Model Delage is the extraordinary way it negotiates ice roads without any danger of skidding.”
In Tennessee, Dudley and his friend Henri exceeded the 8mph speed limit and were arrested as bootleggers, but were soon released after paying a $12.50 fine.
The Collingrove event will be even further enhanced this year
opposite page: Some bush tucker for Ronald Angas sitting on the running board of the 1923 GS with Sphinx bodywork, top left Ronald Angas with his 1924 GL with Saoutchik Tourer body, at family home at Collingrove, centre leftthis page: Dudley Angas driving acros America in his Grand Sport Delage, winter of 1923-24, top Mrs. Ronald Angas in her husband’s Sphinx bodied CO at Lindsay Park, centre left Sphinx of Adelaide replaced the Saoutchick Touring body on the 1927 GL
The illustrations for this article can be found in: Delage – France’s Finest Car, volume 2, available from the SCC Library…
2020
21PETROL FUMESSHANNONS NATIONALS
Photos clockwise from top left:Darren Hossack – Audi A 4 – passing Tony Ricciardello – Alfa Romeo GTV, Sports Sedans.
Kristian Stebbing – Stockman MR2 – leads a small pack, Supercarts; John Vergotis – Ford Falcon –, V8 Touring Cars.Rolling start – Sports Sedans; Mark Krashos – Porsche 997 – GT3 Cup – winner of two races.
Rob Short chased by Gavin Mailes – Formula Vee 1600cc; Porsche Cup action, led by George Bradbury.Adam Wallis – Holden Commodore – winner of all three V8 Touring Car races
photography and captions courtesy of David Langfield
22
A MOST UNUSUAL BARNThe Rosengart Museum in Germany
Should you ever find yourself in the northwest of Germany, near Cologne to be more precise, there is a little gem of a museum for you to visit whether you are a car enthusiast or not. On a recent trip to Europe with my wife Christa in tow we headed for the little coal mining town of Bedburg-Rath to visit Karl-Heinz Bonk and his Rosengart Museum.
The collection is housed in a centuries old barn in what would seem a rural back-water were it not for a gigantic power plant sitting atop a vast lignite (brown coal) deposit in close vicinity.
A most unlikely place for a car museum, but once our in-car navigation system had delivered us to the doorstep we found the rural ambience
quite charming with a beaming Karl-Heinz awaiting his visitors at the door.
The museum is only open on weekends and closed during the European winter season. We had made arrangements for a private viewing and Karl-Heinz lost no time in showing us his incredible collection of anything carrying the Rosengart name.
At first, Karl-Heinz was not particularly a car enthusiast, being a local concreting contractor and builder. He did have an interest in things mechanical, due perhaps to his familiarity with heavy building machinery.
This all changed when he had the vague idea to buy himself a birthday present of like vintage in the form of a car. One can call it fate or just simply accidental: the car Karl-Heinz found was a Rosengart LR4 N2 of 1939. Only after restoration had commenced did he realise how rare the car was and how correspondingly difficult became the access to spare parts. The restoration completed, an advert in an historic car magazine caught his eye: another two Rosengart vehicles were on offer. They duly found their way into Karl-Heinz’ garage and were subsequently restored.
By now, the fascination for anything Rosengart had taken hold and it turned into the discovery of the life story of an extraordinary man, his inventiveness (over 100 patents are known), his business acumen and his artistic talent.
Over the years, Karl-Heinz Bonk and a group of his friends and Rosengart enthusiasts, added to the collection of cars
and along with it grew a deep and sincere admiration for the man who had created them. By now, not only cars had been acquired and restored but valuable documents turned up, some in the most obscure places in rural France. Among them the Chassis Ledger listing every car made from the founding year of the car
manufacturing venture in 1928, providing chassis and
engine numbers and in addition the dealership addresses and even the colour of each vehicle supplied.
Another document shedding light on the stature Lucien Rosengart’s engineering and business expertise is a contract offered by André Citroën personally to Lucien Rosengart in December 1919 to assume a management position within the Citroën organisation to resolve the financial and commercial difficulties resulting from the change over from wartime production to civilian applications. The letter of engagement offers extraordinary financial inducements and executive power. Lucien Rosengart did assume the position with considerable success but without neglecting his own enterprises.
It is likely that his experience at Citroën led Rosengart to establishing his own car manufacturing plant in 1928, taking out a license from Austin in England to build a French version of the ubiquitous Austin 7 (see poster next page showing the range of cars built in the late 20s).
By now, Karl-Heinz Bonk had become an obsessed collector of anything Rosengart and through this, the little museum in a corner of rural western Germany is now the only place in the world where an almost complete range of cars exists together with many documents and memorabilia – nothing remotely like it exists in France.
The collection of the museum is a true testament to an extraordinary man and his life’s work which by no means comprises only cars. Rosengart’s industrial group manufactured bolts and nuts and other small metal components for cars, motorcycles, boats and aeroplanes.
A direct drive turntable for playing 78rpm records was part of the production line-up as well as an auxiliary engine for bicycles. Even a game of table soccer called ‘Superfoot’ was made and marketed by one of Rosengart’s enterprises.
It all came to an end when wartime occupation by Nazi-
OUT AND ABOUT
Germany meant Lucien Rosengart, went underground in the unoccupied south of France living under a false name to avoid deportation to a death camp. It had been believed that Lucien Rosengart had escaped the Nazi terror by living in the US (as was reported in an earlier WheelSpin on Rosengart automobiles, Vol.48 No.1 ). However, documents in the museum prove that Rosengart’s third wife had bought a country house near the Pyrenees where the couple lived through the war years under an assumed name. The museum even has a copy of the fake passport Rosengart used at the time.
Lucien Rosengart spent his retirement years at the Côte d’Azur following his passion for painting. A number of his paintings are shown in the museum.
As a result of Karl-Heinz Bonk’s diligent collecting, the museum is much more than a car museum, it is now a monument to Lucien Rosengart’s life and work, an outcome that had hardly been in prospect when the first Rosengart car was purchased as a birthday whim.
There is just one fly in the ointment for visitors from abroad, Karl-Heinz Bonk does not speak anything other than German. A legacy of his own family history, a refugee from Silesia which became Polish territory in the aftermath of WWII and with post-war austerity curtailing his school education to what was available in those fairly grim days.
Still, the infectious enthusiasm of Karl-Heinz Bonk will not be lost in translation.
Michael Wapler
23OUT AND ABOUT
illustrations page 22:book cover of Rosengart Museum book, top leftpersonal appeal to Lucien Rosengart by Andre Citroën to take up an executive post at Citroën in Paris, top right Rosengart auxiliary bicycle engine leaflet, centre rightthe elegant Rosengart LR 539 Cabriolet, bottom leftillustrations page 23:range of Rosengart vehicles made from 1929, top leftRosengart cars and memorabilia in the museum, bottom
1424 AT THE SHARP END
YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME
Recently I have no-ticed another new and disturbing trend: the desire by other motor-ists to control my driv-ing. Example 1: The other day I was driving through a school zone in Echunga. It was signposted “25 when children present” and there were flags on the crossing (they stay
there all day). It was 9.20am. Despite being entitled to travel at 60km/h (there were no “children present”) I was travelling at, in my opinion, a more sensible 45km/h (it was, after all a school zone, and children could have appeared at any moment). An
oncoming driver felt it necessary to vigorously wave at me to slow down, taking both hands off the wheel to do so. Exam-ple 2: I was driving along Daws Road at Cross Road through roadworks, signposted 25km/h. Suddenly, an agitated, fluoro-
25AT THE SHARP END
available so we can see and understand what the rules are?
A Worthy Cause?
Sometimes I wonder if the SCC is too introspective. One of the issues facing us in SA is the lamentable dearth of motor sport facilities. The state government seems to be actively discouraging the development of new facilities and, apart from Clipsal 500 and Classic Adelaide, apparently unwilling to make any funding available (yet it can find millions to upgrade a cricket ground). A proposed $25-million state-of-the-art mo-torsport complex, which would have been developed at no cost to the taxpayer other (I believe) than providing the land, has been rejected by the state government (specifically, the Land Management Corporation despite itself suggesting the site at Gilman two years ago). Port Adelaide-Enfield mayor (and SCC member) Gary Johanson told WheelSpin he had a petition with more than 30,000 names on it supporting the proposed development that would include a race circuit, skid pan, drift circuit, jet sprint boat course, drag strip, speedway, business park and conference centre. He said even envi-ronmentalists were in favour because the existing wetlands would be retained (rather than filled in and sold for housing development, which seems to be the alternative).
Isn’t this exactly the kind of issue we as the leading car club in SA should be getting behind? The Adelaide investors be-hind the consortium have vowed to make the matter an elec-tion issue and I believe we should be supporting them in any way we can. Other points of view?
BMW Out Of F1
In the never-ending soap opera that is F1, BMW has report-ed that they will not participate after the end of this season. BMW Chairman and CEO Norbert Reithofer said the decision was made as a result of “a new strategic direction of our busi-ness”. I think that means, “spending the money somewhere more profitable”.
Supercar Merry-Go-Round Continues
And in the local soap opera that is V8 Supercars, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup will abandon the Blue Oval and switch to Holdens for next season. Team Vodafone Ford has signed a three-year contract to become a Holden team for 2010. If they stuck a Lion badge on their current Fords, would anybody really notice a difference?
Postscript:
I went down to the DoT, waited in line for about seven min-utes before being told I needed The Driver’s Handbook be-cause, “Yes, there are quite a few new rules including not be-ing allowed to reverse without a seatbelt on,” the receptionist helpfully advised, “and a whole lot more.”
Then she added that a Driver’s Handbook would cost me $10. Why haven’t these road rule changes been advertised? Save yourself $10 or being fined for an offence you didn’t know existed. Download the current Driver’s Handbook from
http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/publications/reg_licence_permits.asp#drivershandbook
Then spend a week or so comparing the new one with the old one to find what’s been changed and let me know.
On another topic: I have spent some time on the Forum, just to get some idea of scuttlebutt I’m not usually privy to. What a cesspool! It’s like listening to CB radio chatter -- inane, border-line illiterate, slanderous and self-obsessed. More tellingly, as near as I could gather, the entire Forum consists of six to 12 people chatting amongst themselves. It is embarrassing to think that any non-club members who find their way onto the Forum would consider this in any way representative of the club. The Forum is a valuable resource, but let’s clean up our act.
Paul Murrell
vested road worker leapt onto the roadway (outside the bar-rier) to signal me to slow down. I checked my heads-up display that read 27km/h. If said road worker is able to ascertain a 2km/h speed variance, I suggest his talents are sorely wasted as a labourer. Example 3: Between Meadows and Kangarilla, a motorcyclist, adamantly travelling below the posted speed limit, took his hand off the handlebars to gesture me to drop back, causing his bike to wobble alarmingly (admittedly, I was travelling closer to him than 2 seconds behind).
This raises some interesting points. Motorists are being encouraged to report examples of bad driving to the police. These examples indicate that many of them have an odd in-terpretation of “bad driving”, do not understand the road rules and, as has been proven many times, little ability to judge dis-tance or speed (even when comparing it to their own). Should a police officer take action over a report (even to record the complaint on my driving record), it comes down to my word against hearsay evidence (which, last time I checked, is not admissible in a court of law). And is this why so many drivers refuse to move left on freeways when travelling at or near the posted limit – do they believe they are being “good citizens” by enforcing the speed limit on less responsible drivers?
Rules? What Rules?
Whilst preparing the previous article, I needed to check that my understanding of the road rules as they apply to school zones wasn’t flawed. I was fairly sure that flags on a school crossing didn’t require drivers to slow to 25km/h (and if they did, that would contradict the sign that requires drivers to slow to 25km/h when children are present).
First stop, Mt. Barker police station. I asked if they had a copy of the Highway Code, to be met with a monumentally blank stare. “The road rules?” I prompted, only to be told that no, they didn’t have such a thing and I should approach the Department of Transport or check online.
Stop 2, the Mt. Barker RAA office. Same response. Now, the nearest DoT is at Murray Bridge or Marion – hardly close by. Being borderline computer literate, I went online. After being bounced from the DoT website to the SA Government Legisla-tion website, being presented with multiple choices and lists of FAQs, having almost used up my download allowance pulling up documents that didn’t answer my (obviously not “frequently asked”) question I finally found what I was looking for. I think.
Wouldn’t you think the police stations would have a copy of the High-way Code? They have to enforce it, after all. And since every RAA m e m b e r has to abide by these rules, s h o u l d n ’ t they have c o p i e s
FUN CUP…IT WAS CERTAINLY FUN!I found Fun Cup on YouTube
about eighteen months ago and on going to the web site was im-mediately hooked. The big at-traction was the 25 hour race at Spa.
Confused? Fun Cup is the cat-egory, the series, and the cars, purpose built little “jiggers” devel-oped in Belgium and raced extensively in Europe and the UK
It is all about fun. No five lap sprints, all distance races with rolling starts, multiple drivers, and usually gridded from a lottery. The cars are serious bits of kit with a mid mounted Golf engine and Audi five speed gearbox. The engine runs a moderate level of tune to last the distance but still has plenty of grunt. They use buffed radial tyres and the driver sits in the middle of the vehicle giving good balance.
The iconic VW Beetle body continues the theme of fun and as
BRANDS HATCH CAPERS26
the photo shows they look tough… clever fellows the Belgians.As I weighed up the options I had to admit that Spa was prob-
ably out of my reach financially and decided to go for a shorter race that was on the calendar at Brands Hatch.
The thought of racing a strange car on a new track the other side of the globe was a little daunting, but what’s the worst that can happen? Hey, at 64 I was too old to die young!
JPR Motorsport are the UK agents for Fun Cup and also the providers of rental vehicles for people like myself who choose to do a “one off” or a whole season. Paul Rose and his daughter Roxie provided everything I needed… the car, race apparel, en-try, fuel, a mechanic for the weekend, the whole shooting match. All I needed was the credit card.
The JPR outfit is huge. I was gob smacked on the Thursday night when they arrived with the transporter, bus, trucks, motor homes etc, it was like the circus coming to town. When set up, the bus turned out to be the kitchen that was attached to a huge hospitality marquee to feed the drivers, mechanics etc.
My co-drivers Ben Lack and Jon Flinn were both a fair bit younger than me, but isn’t everybody, and were a perfect fit for
my venture. Our team, including Mike our mechanic were all of one mind, drive hard but don’t take risks, keep circulating and enjoy the session. As it worked out our lap times were within a half second of each other and we got our driver changes and fuel stops down pat. Thanks to Mike.
We drew position seventeen in the field of twenty eight cars being half petrol and half the more powerful turbo diesels. When it was realized that we were to start from the standing grid, I was elected to drive first since the other lads had not had a lot of ex-perience in that area. It suited me, I’ve started midfield at Bathurst with fifty HQs, no worries.
A blow by blow description of the race would take pages, but suffice to say we managed to complete the four hour event with-out major mishap and drove well enough to be the first petrol
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car home. We also won the award for the first rental car and had there been a prize for the most miles travelled to the track, we would have won that too, with me from Oz and Jon from China.
This was an amazing experience. To stand on the podium at Brands Hatch is like “pinching yourself territory” and together with the friendships I have made, it will be etched in my memory for-ever.
If you race cars, and would like the experience of a lifetime, try Fun Cup, but speak to me first, I’ll be only too glad to come along. I think it’s addictive and, I wasn’t kidding they do have a 25 hour race at Spa!
Graham BoulterNote: The Spa event was held in July and attracted 151 entries!
S.A. 2009 HQ ENDURO
Well, as promised the prize money pool, our attempt to lure some interstaters to Mallala, grew from last year. Dino, you are a legend.
Many thanks for the sponsorship from Tony Bobridge of Power House Fitness Centre, K&J Diesel and Marine and Wattle Constructions. Boys we really appreciate it.
On offer was $1000, spread over the first five places, trophies to 10th and awards and cash for several other categories… plus a free BBQ at the end!
All this was divided amongst the South Aussies… can you believe it, 5th place $100!
To be fair the Victorians had a round of their State series at Winton the same weekend and a greater effort must be made in 2010 to ensure that our dates do not clash.
From the onset it was clear that Graham Mason was the man to beat, but with Neil Corey out for a rare run at Mallala and ex State Champ Wayne King in Goding’s car there would be a challenge.
We hosted a new driver again… welcome Phil Smith.
Hour 1 Saw Mace lead the field away but Corey took over and held on to a very tight finish. King was 3rd until lap 39 of 40 when he expired. Boulter Jnr 4th until lap 38 when he blew a head gasket and had to be content with 7th. Meanwhile Schultz, steady as she goes, hung in there for 3rd place followed by Jenkins, and Crosbie. Note: Gaskin in the ten, well done son. Drama ahead…. Corey had also blown a head gasket and only had just made it home. Was there time to replace a head gasket and brakes before the second hour?
Hour 2 The reversal of the first and second halves of the previous results would make for some interesting first laps but probably not much in overall results.
It was Matt Boulter who led them away, but there was something wrong, smoke pouring out under the car! Now Corey’s car doing the same… a virus? Would you believe that in haste the rocker cover gaskets were fitted incorrectly to both cars in the same garage. This provided a quick shuffle which soon saw Mace at the front, Schultz 2nd and Bobridge 3rd. King was on a charge and on lap 14 Schultz was black flagged for a fuel leak. There was a close tussle between Bobridge and Jenkins which Danny won by the half hour
When they crossed the line after 40 laps it was Mason from
King with Jenkins, Bobridge and Boulter Snr further back.Since the results are decided on points from the two legs, the
big money and the mug went to Mason.Results: 1st Mason, 2nd Jenkins, 3rd Bobridge, 4th Crosbie, 5th Boulter.
Awards: Trophies for Fastest Qualifier, Mason; Slowest qualifier, Sarah Mitchell; Hard Luck, Andrew Schultz; Most consistent laps, Mason; Farmer of the Day, Garrick; and Encouragement Award, Al Smith. First Interstater home n/a.
Smiles all round, great value, two hours, forty minutes track time for $330. No body damage to report and by and large everyone went home happy.
That’s the SA HQ Enduro.
2009 HQ Nationals At Eastern Creek NSW
A change in date saw the 2009 HQ Nats held in July instead of the planned date in October. This surely caught more than a few people out, and reduced the entry numbers, however that considered a strong field of 41 cars made it to the grid.
It was Victorian gun John “Spud” Wood who broke Gary Bonwick’s hold on National dominance with a clean sweep of all heats and the 12 lap final.
Wood has been a contender for a couple of years and was looking good at Baskerville in 2008 when a minor m e c h a n i c a l failure put him out of contention.
Bonwick was never far behind but could not make his HQ National crown a “triple” John Wise in the ex Kevin Stoopman car was third overall, with fellow Victorian Brendan Avard and W.A. star Grant Howlett keeping him honest.
Four South Australians ventured north to try their luck and while not featuring on the podium, all had a ball and came home with plenty of dents to confirm the ferocity of battle.
Rising star Darren “Danny” Jenkins 11th, Dino Nicolo 13th, Daryl Crouch 14th, and Mike Pratt 17th… first time at Eastern Creek, well done boys.Graham Boulter
Mallala photos courtesy of Bob Taylor
SPRINT AUTO PARTS RALLY SA
July 31 – August 2 2009
TEAM RACETUNE SERVICES
Gearbox Dramas in Heat 1, but Strong Performance
in Heat 2
Team Racetune Services has finished the 2009 Sprint Auto Parts Rally SA in 2nd place by a very narrow mar-gin in the Classic Section for 2WD cars manufactured prior to 1986. Driving a 1974 Ford Escort Mk 1 the local crew of driver Reg Marratt and co-driver David Lang-field endured a difficult Heat
1 but bounced back in Heat 2 with a string of fastest class stage times against the more fancied BDA-powered Mk 1 Escort of John Hills and Michael Tuckey.
The team were hoping to repeat their success from late May where they won the SA Rally Championship Classic Section of the Adelaide Hills Tarmac Rally and were placed 7th outright and 2nd overall Classic Car for the combined Modern and Classic event. With the car now converted from tarmac to gravel road specifica-tion and a new 5 speed gearbox hopes were high for a good show-ing against the much more powerful machine of Hills.
After surviving slippery conditions and a loose spark plug lead on the Friday night tarmac surface super special stage around Angas-ton Oval in the Barossa Valley the crew headed out on Saturday morning for the first of the gravel stages. SS3 Goldfields has not been a lucky stage for the team and for the 3rd year running fate conspired against the team when the gearbox became jammed in 4th gear late in the stage. Forced to drive in 4th gear for the last
2 kilometres Reg managed to free it up after the finish control but 3rd gear was now only selecting on an occasional basis. With in-sufficient time to change to the team’s spare 4-speed gearbox the remainder of the heat would require a cautious approach.
The crew soldiered on to complete Heat 1 with as little time lost as possible. Some respectable times were still posted including a time on SS7 Kenton Valley only a second slower than their 2008 time. It is understood the Hills Escort was suffering from clutch problems which saw the Team Racetune Services Escort still record four fastest Classic stage times to 5 for Hills in Heat 1. In addition, the Hills crew checked in a minute early to a time control and incurred a 1-minute penalty. The end of Heat 1 ended with a win to the Team Racetune Services Escort with the Hills/Tuckey BDA Escort 2nd and 26 seconds behind.
The service crew then set about removing the malfunctioning 5-speed gearbox and replacing it with the spare 4-speed version. Unfortunately this proved a problematic process which saw the car leave the two hour major service break 21 minutes late and incur-ring a penalty of 1 minute 45 seconds for Heat 2.
With such a big deficit to pull back over only 100 kilometres of competition Reg set about trying to win as many stages and hope for the best. Another two runs around Angaston Oval saw the team record two fastest Classic stages times and three seconds recov-ered to Hills.
SS12 Biscuits was cancelled due to recent heavy rains making the road surface too difficult to run on. The following two stages saw the gap reduced by 15.7 and 4.5 seconds respectively, but it would be the middle three stages of the Heat which would set up a thrilling conclusion.
SS15 Honeysuckle had been new for 2008 and Hills was run-ning on it for the first time. The Team Racetune Services Escort took a further 15.7 seconds back on the fast flowing roads of Hon-
eysuckle, and a further 34.3 seconds on the similar SS16 Kanman-too which was entirely new for 2009. SS17 Charleston Plus was pat old stage but with a different and extended end and the Marratt/Langfield Escort was quicker by 18.2 seconds moving them into the overall Classic Section lead of the event by 12.3 seconds.
Hills then fought back on the fourth run through the Mt. Crawford spectator stage, by now starting to develop deep troughs in the
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Photographer’s Corner
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rocky mud roads, moving back into a 5.1 second aggregate lead. With only the fast but tight tree-lined 20.82 kilometre Eden High stage to run the Classic Competition was set for a close finish.
The crew were enjoying a fast and smooth run through the stage
when they were forced to stop approximately 18.5 kilometres in. A small car park was developing as a result of the heavy impact with a large tree by the Subaru Impreza of Brendan Reeves and Rhi-anon Smyth. It soon became apparent the stage would have to be cancelled for all but the Austral-ian Rally Championship cars which had all been running ahead of Reeves and Smyth.
With Hills unable to even start the now can-celled stage the Classic Section results were declared by the organisers at the conclusion of the previous stage. Both crews finished with 1st in one heat and 2nd in the other for a total of 74 points apiece for the event. The result was de-clared in favour of Hills and Tuckey on the basis of being 5.1 seconds ahead on aggregate event time.
“It’s disappointing we weren’t able to fight it out over the last stage, but the safety of other crews is paramount and we all wish Brendan and Rhianon a speedy recovery,” explained Reg. “Given the times we were doing on the fast council roads we were confident of taking back the overall lead.”
“Apart from the Mt. Crawford stage where some large rocks are starting to show themselves and we were a bit cau-tious, we were consistently quicker on the fast flowing stuff all day, sometimes in the order of a second per kilometre. At nearly 21 kilometres we should have been able to do it.”
“I couldn’t have driven any faster today if I tried – we’ve been on it all day and even beaten some of the Datsun 180Bs in the middle stag-es, except Jack (Monkhouse) of course! It’s nice to have the confidence that all the gears are there and we could really push! We were fastest Classic Car on 11 of the 17 stages – shame the bonus point for most stage wins doesn’t apply here.”
The team also finished 5th in P3 (2 wheel drive cars 1601cc – 2000cc) having had little chance of making up the time lost in Heat 1 but were at least able to run with the Datsuns on the fast flowing middle stages of Heat 2.
Team Racetune Services Motorsport would like to thank the many businesses and indi-viduals who have supported the team. These include Racetune Services (including Roland Waters who was present at the event), Bruce Interiors & Constructions Pty Ltd (BIC), Revo-lution Racegear Adelaide, Bob Jane T-Marts Modbury and Marion, Green Welding Special-ists, Road & Track Dyno, Heavylec Electrical, Dave’s Dynamic Towing & Transport and of course the dedicated band of volunteers that are the service crew. A big thank you is also given to the hard working volunteer event of-ficials and organisers.
CanTeen – Supporting Young People Living with Cancer
The Team Racetune Services Escort has carried CanTeen logos throughout the event and the SA Rally Championship in 2009. We are proud to be raising awareness and funds in support of the vital work done by CanTeen in their support of Young People Living with Cancer.
For additional information please go to: www.canteen.org.au
Sponsorship enquiries please contact Reg Marratt on 0418 861 784.Team Media Enquiries to – David Langfield Ph 0419 864 410.
David Langfield
Podium with (guest) co-driver Molly
photos courtesy of Lisa Arklay
