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Melbourne Desk
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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 04 April 2010 00:54
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Photos by Martin Stubbs and Richard Abey
Text and Handycam by Bill Hunter
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Aston Martin DB4 - Ray Narkiewicz
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Above:Alfa Romeo 8C-35
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Above: Alfa Romeo TZ 1
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Above:Alfetta
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Above: Alfa Romeo G1
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Above:Elva Courier
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Above: Gipsy Fiat
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Above: Beside the seaside
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Above: Rod Jolley - Cooper Climax
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Russell Baker - Dirt track racing car.
Russell bought this car after its racing life was finished about 13 or 14 years ago. It is very light: "built like
a go-kart really. In its heyday speedway preparation was rather crude -- not like you would do now."
For such a small car the 2.3 L (120 cubic inch) motor gives it a very high power to weight ratio. In
speedway racing you need power for the turns and revs for the straight. It has a Morris rear end.
The Offenhauser can run at about 5000 rpm but Russell tries to keep it down to 4000. A normal
speedway race is usually something like 10 to 12 laps, and a feature at the end of the evening would
be about 20.
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Millthorpe Special - Frank Robinson
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Morris Special and Alvis
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Bugatti 37/35B - Alan Telfer
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Dick Willis, NSW _ Mildren Cooper
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Graeme Marks - Mac Healey
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CharlieMitchell - TS Special
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Click here to view video No 1
Graeme Marks - Mac Healey (car number 2) " The car was in very bad condition when I bought it. There was a lot of rust and other damage which had been cut and welded at different times and different engines had been put in. At one time it had a Holden engine, then went back to a four-cylinder Healey engine. Everything on the car now is Austin Healey: much of it has been modified, but it is all Austin Healey parts. The car was originally built from one that had caught fire and whose aluminium bodywork had melted. So there was this new Austin Healey with a melted body on it. Greg McEwan in South Australia did the work and renewed it up to its present condition. Its top speed is 139 mph. The drum brakes come from an Austin Atlantic. The four-cylinder engine produces 190 brake horsepower.
Charlie Wilson - Ts Special
Charlie Mitchell is the owner driver of the green racing car number 30 -- the 1949 TS Special. " It is a Western Australian car, but I have spent a lot of time in Victoria. I still do a lot of races in the West. The engine is a Staghound which was built by the Canadians for the British Army. Originally it was in a vehicle that weighed about 14 tonnes, and was good for 57 miles an hour. The car has a gearbox from a 1942 Chevrolet truck and a 1935 Ford V8 differential. The gearbox is a four-speed close ratio. There is 223 brake horsepower at the back wheels."
"I have just come from New Zealand where I was taking part in the Bruce McLaren meeting. This car actually raced against Bruce McLaren in 1962 at Caversham and at the Grand Prix race at Pukekohe. It is great racing in New Zealand and they are a good bunch of guys."
Click here to view video No 2
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Last Updated on Sunday, 06 March 2011 04:57
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