MotorMarques Team

MotorMarques Team

Monday, 02 April 2012 02:35
Published in Melbourne Desk

Eddington - 2012

    Excitement that recalls the style and class of older times.
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   Maserati smoking its wheels as it sets out on the quarter mile sprint
Eddington is 142 km out of Melbourne  - 40 km from Bendigo. It's not very easily found. That needs to be understood. The neighbouring places are Baringhup West, Laanecoorie. Neereman and Waanyarra.  Many road maps and sat nav systems don't even tell you how to get there. But the true believers manage  to come from all over the country. Amongst others, author John Medley from NSW - as you will see in a forthcoming Part 2 of this article, featuring Richard Abey's classic photos.Despite the remoteness, there are full amenities, of course, and there's always plenty of room to walk about, admiring the competition and other cars. And you see people you've known about over many years, who are not necessarily rich and famous - just people who compete in classic machinery, without sponsors or extravagant teams of engineers.  Whilst the meeting is conducted under strict CAMS rules, there is a freedom from many of the constraints and interferences that are imposed on many modern big meetings. Country Fire Authority motor vehicles outnumber the official cars you see around higly publicised events. You can look the cars over, talk to the drivers. There are no huge concrete blocks or walls of safety netting obscuring your views of the quarter-mile sprint. (see what I mean? Miles - in the older style of things) And there's no endless chatter over the PA system either that you get at big-crowd circuits round the place. Nor are there rows of stands flogging model cars,'memorabilia', or old magazines.  The cars were magnificent. The drivers were brilliant. And that's what everyone had come to see.   
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 Jim Russell  The Kieft   Maserati Replica  Betty Lowe's Alta
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 Chatting to owner-drivers  Standard Special  Austin 7   Self-governed informality 
 
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   Graeme and Betty Lowe
 
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 Mackdonburg Special  Clear view of the track Keith Roberts Riley Special Robert Sales'  Fiat Ballila
 
Tuesday, 13 March 2012 05:01
Published in Melbourne Desk

Phillip Island Part 2

                               Main Photographer - Lucas Hunter 
                                                   The begining
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 Singer Car Club  Alfa Romeo 1750   4 Cyl engine  Red Flag incident
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 Riley (left) and MG TC Spanish/French - Hispano Suiza Austin Healey  Lamborghini
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 Bugatti 8 Cyl Engine - Type 35 (?)  TV star and admirers  The Bird
 
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                                                    And the End 
                                                                                             vintracecar2
Monday, 12 March 2012 02:29
Published in Melbourne Desk

Phillip Island Festival of Motor Sport 2012

The place to be in Australia this autumn - during the weekend  9th - 11th March 2012 - was Phillip Island, Victoria.Over 500 fabulous cars were entered in 47 events, and hundreds of the most desirable cars from all over the world were there for the 2012 Festival of Motor Sport.
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 The Island is 140km from Melbourne, and the drive is supposed to take an hour and 30 minutes. Along the Highway I spotted an AC Cobra, a Morgan 3 wheeler, all kinds and ages of Alfa Romeo, two or three Testa Rossa, Porsche, Maserati, MG Magnette, TC-TF, TR2, Aston Martin, General Motors and Fords, a pair of XK 120, and a couple of Bugatti. It was going to be a Festival all right.Here is a glimpse of some of the competitors in the Classic tradition. 
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 Victoria Le Gallais - BrabhamBT15 Formula 3  Wayne Sayers - 1960 Elfin (blue)P. McKnight - Aarons Lotus (green)    Tony Osborne - 1958 Simca Spl  Thomas Benson - 1952 BMH Spl'Comic Book'  2200 cc 
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 Monoskate - Graeme Raper  Mac Healey - Graeme Marks  Cooper Climax T 45 - ScottyTaylor   TS Special - Charlie Mitchell
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 Dick O'Keefe - Photon (Lotus 11)  John Anderson - 1962 Cooper Butler 1496 cc  Nigel Gray - Singer Special Sports  Alfa Romeo 6C -Trevor Montgomery
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 Des Donnan's FN Boulogne   John Rundell - 1953 Maybach 2  Ferrari Tipo 500 Bruce Jones - Ford Zephyr Spl
 
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 Michael Stupka - Citroen 11D
 
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 Bob Pinkerton - 1955 Peugeot Spl  Bill Prowse - 1968 Alfa Ricciardi Spyder  Kent Patrick - Bugatti 37A GP  Geoff Burton - Brabham BT 29
  Click here for more photos in Part 2
                                                                                  vintracecar
Monday, 13 February 2012 06:46
Published in Melbourne Desk

Part 2 of Fiat Car Club

 
                  Click on any of the smaller images to bring up a bigger picture.  
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Readers are invited to submit further information on cars and other matters of interest. 
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Friday, 03 February 2012 05:47
Published in Melbourne Desk

Winton in May

Sat 26 & Sun 27 May 201236th Historic Winton, Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, Vicwww.historicwinton.orgConducted by the Austin 7 Club with assistance from theHistoric Motorcycle Racing Association Vic.Australia’s largest and most popular all-historic motor race meeting, presents a weekend of non-stop racing featuring over 400 historic racing cars and motorbikes from the 1920s to the 1980s.  Sat 26 & Sun 27 May 2012 36th Historic Winton, Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, Vicwww.historicwinton.org Conducted by the Austin 7 Club with assistance from the Historic Motorcycle Racing Association Vic. Historic Winton, Australia’s largest and most popular all-historic motor race meeting, presents a weekend of non-stop racing featuring over 400 historic racing cars and motorbikes from the 1920s to the 1980s. Celebrations in 2012 include plenty of birthdays:110 years of Cadillac.90 years of Austin Seven, Lancia Lambda, Austin 12/4. 85 years of A Model Ford. 80 years of Austin 10 and Hillman Minx. 75 years of Volvo, Cadillac LaSalle. 60 years for the Austin Healey 100, Renault 8, Austin Champ. 50 years of Ford Cortina, AC Cobra, Austin Freeway, Triumph Spitfire, Morris 1100, Lotus Elan, MGB, Chrysler Valiant. Historic Winton highlights are: The ever-expanding Shannons Classic Car Park featuring car and bike club displays, including Pre-War sporting Rileys. Spectator access to the Competition Paddock where all the fabulous old racing machines are on open display. If you have a classic or special-interest car or bike, you’re welcome to join the spectator car park display on the Saturday or Sunday. Raceway entry fees: Sat $20, Sun $30, competition paddock $5, children 14 and under n/c. Public enquiries: Noel Wilcox ph 03 5428 2689 email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Sunday 27 May 2012Invitations are extended to join in a special display on Sunday 27th May incorporating: Historic Commercial and Military Vehicles - the older the better - free entry for commercial or military vehicles 50 years and older. U Bute Aussie Ute gathering for pre-1975 vehicles - with a giveaway pack for the first 200 utility entrants, and great trophies awarded to Aussie Utes of special interest. Friday 25 May 2012As part of 2012 Historic Winton weekend activities, invitations are extended to join in theBenalla & District Classic Car & Motorbike Tour assembling 9am on Friday 25 May at the BenallaArt Gallery. Red plate vehicles welcome. The tour concludes with a 'Shine & Show' display outsidethe Benalla Civic Centre from 3-5pm. Further information, please phone David Lidgerwood on03 5764 4291 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Proudly supported by the RACV,Benalla Rural City Council and The Austin 7 Club, organisers of Historic Winton.  
Friday, 27 January 2012 04:22
Published in Melbourne Desk

Australia Day 2012

Kings Domain, Melbourne. January 26, 2012. Photos & Story:  Bill Hunter   
 
Australia day 2012.  A bright and sunny morning in the King's Domain, Melbourne. Youth and freedom are required of us in our national anthem. (1st verse, 2nd line)  Motormarques set about doing its patriotic duty.The RACV organised the event reported in this article. In Sydney, the NRMA staged a similar display, where amongst other treasures was the midget speedcar originally driven by Sir Jack Brabham back in the 40s and 50s.    
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Speed cars and motor bikes, street sweepers, jeeps, old European champions and luxurious American coupes - they were all there to be admired.
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One particularly interesting car was the little black tourer shown above (2nd row from the top - to the right of the old motorcycles.) This is a 1915 Italian SCAT. The marque was successful in racing, having won the 1911 and 1914 Targa Florio.Next pictures to the right of the SCAT are the Singers - about 998 cc engine capacity. The Club had its usual brilliant display. Just returned from the Mornington Fly the Flag rally, they were, as always, sparkling and irresistable.The little ivory-coloured car next to the Singers is the rear-engined Renault 4cv from the immediate post World War 2 period. They were tiny. They had small engines (760 cc). They were made by the millions. Anybody who has ever owned one will be quick to tell you that they were 'adorable'.  To the right of the Renault is the massive Cadillac. It too seats 4 people! And right of that again is the Ford Anglia tourer with a 4 cyl (1172 cc) side valve engine. The tan and beige tourer (above, left) is a Graham Paige. Then the Alfa Romeo, and next to that is a lime green 'Scammell' street sweeper - a  utilitarian machine intended to clear Melbourne streets of horse dung.Last photo in that row shows a couple of admirers of a pre World War One Minerva - a Belgian machine with a famously large engine.
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Since the cars were placed more or less in random order, the photographer just went with the flow. Most  readers will identify the little grren tourer top left of this group. It is an Austin 7. The sky-blue two door car next to it is a Studebake from the early 1960s, and right of that are two photos ofthe magnificent little blue Senechal of the 1920s - noted for winning the Bol d'Or 3 times in succession. Its tricky front suspension and shock absorber arrangement are worth a close study! Getting it sorted was a puzzle for the present owner (it was his late father's car)In the next row, below the Senechal is the red, racy-looking Jensen, then another Austin 7, and the beige-coloured Standard tourer. The sporty red two-door car, last in this row is a Bristol probably from 1946, with an engine derived from the BMW 6.
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Top left: a line up of Jeeps.  From my admittedly slight knowledge of what classic car enthusiasts do or don't admire, I sense that American World War Two military vehicles, having played such an important role in the War in the Pacific, don't get the kind of respect that many Australians give to the great classics of Europe. The photo at the top left of this set suggests otherwise. To the right of the column of Jeeps is the bright red Prince A200 with its bonnet up, flashing its internal magnificence to all who knew what they were looking at. This car, this engine, provoked a generational switch from the reverence given to European performance cars in Australia, to admiration of the brilliance of Japanese design and engineering. Since the model of the Porsche shown in the photo to the right of the Prince, Porsche are no longer seen as suburban racers, but one of the most successful auto racing teams the world has ever seen. The photo top left of the above set is of a Lanchester from about the 1950s.  By the time this car was produced, the company had been acquired by Daimler, but this car still still carries the Lanchester badge. Then the white (ivory, surely) Thunderbird. Left hand drive, chrome, buttons and switches to dazzle any beginner, headrersts to show how up-with-it the car was, and a couple of Australian flags to let everyone know that the Americans were not getting this one back.Finally, a benevolent dragon, powered by feet, appeared - bells and cymbals - cheer and goodwill.  Farewell Australia Day 2012. See you all next year!   
  closescene
Monday, 28 November 2011 02:02
Published in Melbourne Desk

Rob Roy last event for 2011

Richard Abey, Martin Stubbs and Bill Hunter. Rob Roy is about 200 km from where I live. I always have trouble finding my way there, specially with new roadworks, traffic diversions and ring roads skirting Melbourne these days. I had to use the Sat nav to get me to the Yarra Valley, Christmas Hills and Clintons Roadwhere the hillclimb has been located since 1938. Today's meeting was promoted and conducted by the MG Car Club Victoria.The weather did not look promising last Sunday 26 November. Heavy rain had fallen all the previous day, and I needed the windscreen wipers much of the time.John Coffin made a comment: " When I got here yesterday," he said, "the rain was horizontal, and this morning I heard something that I have not heard in years. It was the little creek behind us there running at full level. "Another bloke said he saw a wombat down there. That must have been quite a sight.Paul Schilling tried to start his Kawasaki-powered air-cooled car. The engine refused to start. The team cleaned the carburettor, checked the distributor, pulled out the plugs. Everything they could think of. Darren Visser waved his hand over it. The grandchildren gave the little car a push start, and the trademark cloud of white smoke began pouring from the exhausts. Loud cheers.John Gillett had no trouble with his fabulous MG K3. Graeme Raper was doing some adjustments to the So-Cal, as it would be Louise who would be driving it. A whole fleet of Austin sevens gathered together for a photo shoot. Norm Beechy was there. Graham Hoinville and commentator/driver Don Kinsey likewise. Drivers' briefing was completed and everything was ready to go by nine o'clock.Please Note - Click on the small images below to see a larger version. Sometimes a second click will improve focus and enlargement of the picture. Look for the + sign in the small circle.
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 An interesting AC undergoing restoration  John Coffin (green & black suit)  Graeme Noonan - Cooper Mk V11  Fred Greeneklee - Cooper JAP
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 Graeme Raper's George Reed Spl'Monoskate'   John Gillett's s/c MG K3  Leo Bates' magnificent F3 Lobito  Martin Stubbs talks to John Marriott sitting in his Austin 7
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 Trevor Cole having a good day in his Astin 7  Will Charlton - Fraser Clubman  Glen Bishop in his immaculate Austin 7  John Coffin - Robbins 500
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 Darren Visser - 'Cyclo'  Doug Burnip MG TC  Chris Farrell MG TC  Louise Raper in the 3990cc So-Cal Spl
Given the nature of historic car racing, it is only fit that a special trophy be awarded to drivers who have a fair bit of history behind them as well. This trophy is based on “an index of performance" and not the fastest and most expensive car. The competition is only conducted at Rob Roy and is for drivers aged 65 years of age and over. The index of performance is based on the driver's age added to the age of his or her car and divided by their best time up the hill. (Ref - Official Programme.)Of the 14 previous winners of the "Trophee" since 1997, Motormarques spotted 7 at the 20th Historic & Classic Hillclimb on Sunday 27 November 2011.Trevor Cole, Graham Hoinville. Ian Rankine, Don Kinsey, Ray Sprague, Walter Magilton, and Bill Prowse. 
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 Darryl Duff - red Chev Camaro  Darren Visser driving 'Cyclo'   John Hickford's Lancia Lambdareplica   Bill Redpath - Redpath Olds Spl
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 Graeme Noonan - Cooper Mk VII  John Gillett s/c MG K3 Ross Simmonds - Ford V8  Owen Dickson - Austin 7
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 Martin Stubb's Austin 7 - not sureit likes the heavy rear wheels/tyres   Walter Magilton - MG NA Magnette  Louise Raper - So Cal Spl  John Nash - Indy Car USA Ford
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 Philip Gray - Ford Spl  Phillip Hallo - Austin 7  Kenneth Innes-Irons  Austin 7  John Marriott - Austin 7
Some of these champion trophy-winners have raced at the legendary Templestowe Hillclimb quite a few years ago now.Templestowe was a 969 metre long track, designed and constructed in 1951 by members of the Victorian Sporting Car Club, and which was enormously popular in its day. Urban development engulfed it and the final event was conducted by the MG Car Club on 6th December 1987. I mention this because there was a giant construction at that venue in the form of giant brake shoes. This steel and concrete construction was moved to Rob Roy and its reconstruction was completed in November 2009. The event at Rob Roy described in this article was a special "opening" celebration.
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Please Note: Motormarques holds a great many more photos of this event, as well as of other events presented over the years by Motormarques. Many of these are Hi-res and quite large. You are invited to Register with Us (see the Create an account box at the bottom of the left hand column on our Front Page) for more information. 
Friday, 28 October 2011 19:54
Published in Melbourne Desk

Motorclassica 2011

Photos by Richard Abey. Motorclassica is an annual event that is reminiscent of the glory days of  motor car exhibitions that heralded a 'great new era' of motoring. Held in Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Buildings - itself constructed to celebrate Melbourne's 'arrival' in the wide world of Trade and Commerce - it is one of  the most interesting automobile exhibitions of our time.Derek Bell (shown above) Is a British motor racing driver in the same league as Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Phil Hill and Mike Hawthorn. He won atLe Mans five times between 1975 and 1987 each time in a Porsche for the Rothmans, Porsche Systems and Golf  teams. He also won two World of Sports Car Championships in 1985 and 1986, and in the 12 hours of Sebring three times between 1986 and 1989. He has been described as the"the most liked driver of his generation."  From our photo you can easily see why.   
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1925 Vauxhall 30-98 OE VeloxTourer. Chassis No OE 229, Engine No OE 239 1913 Vauxhall D Type - 25 hp open tourer Auburn 1967 Fiat Dino - Pininfarina   1987 cc, V6 quad cam  engine
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Bugatti 1927 Salmson Grand Sport 1932 Fiat Ballilla 1937 Aston Martin
The 1927 Salmson Grand Sport is still much respected in Europe and  Australia. Built at  Billancourt, powererd by an 1100 cc twin cam engine, the marque won 550 races (including, in 1923, a  463 km Grand Prix at St Sebastian - covering 463 km at an average of 82 km/h.)  It appears these daysat local competition such as Phillip Island and Rob Roy. Motormarques last saw and admired it at the RACV rally to Mornington a year or two ago.(2008)DSC08395_800                                                         Sproingg !!  Holden has gone back to the future.
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Nigel Tait's 1968 Matich SR4. 550bhp. 7500 rpm.  Pre-war MG Sports Roadster 1938 BMW 328 Roadster 1959 Facel Vega - see below
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1933 Hispano Suiza HS 26Cabriolet. Part French built by Ballot  1973 GMH Torana. Repco Brabham 1968 1958 Lancia Aurelia BT 20 GT  value around $140 - 180 000
  1973 Holden Brock HDT LJ XVI Torana.  This car was first raced at Bathurst in 1973. Brock went on to win the 1973 Manufacturers' Championship and the 1974 Touring Car Championship in this car. 1959 Facel Vega - Boulevard supercar. Chrysler 360 (5.9 litre) engine. Chrysler Torqueflight automatic transmission. Power steering. Top speed 150 mph. People who owned Facel Vega cars included the Shah of Iran, Tony Curtis, Joan Fontaine, Ava Gardner, Ringo Starr, Danny Kay, Stirling Moss, and Pablo Picasso. 1968 Repco Brabham BT - 31. This was a one-off Brabham Formula One car built by the Brabham organisation in 1968 for use by Sir Jack in the European Formula One series. The 3 L car was not able to be built in time for the 1968 world championship, so Sir Jack brought the vehicle back to Australia and enteredit in the Tasman Series here. It first appeared at Sandown Park with a 2.5 L Repco Brabham engine. Its current owner is Peter Strauss who uses it in historic racing with 2.5 and 3.0 L engines.  
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Maserati 1960s - 3500 1966 Matra Djet V6 (? Rene Ballot France) V4 Ford engine. Vauxhall Auburn
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Alfa Romeo SS Jaguar RACV Austin 7 van Citroen DS 23
Thursday, 13 October 2011 23:22
Published in Melbourne Desk

Launceston Museum

  
In a recent trip to Launceston, Richard visited the National Museum of Tasmania. 
  Photos by Richard Abey
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1951 Riley 2.5 1954 Riley Pathfinder 1949 MG TC 1935 Alvis Speed 20SC
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1936 Fiat Topolino 1964 Daimler SP 250 Sports 1965 Alvis TE 21 Drophead Coupe 1977 GMH Torana A9X
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1913 Siddeley Deasy 18-24 hp 1911 Itala 14-18 hp 1913 Standard 1928 A Model Ford
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Austin 7 Citroen B14 F 1925 Alvis SC 12/50 1935 Riley Imp 
As can be seen in the photographs above, Richard photographed the placards accompanying the exhibits. A typical example is shown below.
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