2011 09 sep - Constructors Car Club

Spare Parts
On the cover: CCC in the DomPost
page 22. Manfeild Track Day page 10.
September 2011 Issue 8 Volume 24
In this issue
Coming events...........................................2
Club minutes Tuesday 09 August 2011.....3
Club Officials
The President’s page..................................5
President: Phillip Bradshaw
This month’s mystery car..........................6
Secretary: Dave Clout
Last month’s mystery car...........................6
Club Captain: Richard Kelly
Amero GT 1974 to 1977...........................7
Treasurer: Stewart Collinson
Club Meetings
The Constructors Car Club Inc meets at
7.30pm on the second Tuesday of each month
at The Vintage Car Club, 3 Halford Place,
Petone (Eastern end of Jackson Street).
Manfeild Track Day 17 September..........10
The 4AGE is Dead –
Long Live the 3SGE?...............................12
Amero Corvette 1983 to 1995................16
Visit to Juniors Kustom Rides and
Classics 25 August..................................19
CCC in the DomPost...............................22
Prospective members or others interested in
building their own cars are welcome to attend.
(The club does request a donation of $2
towards running the meeting, and includes a
raffle ticket. Meetings generally include a guest
speaker or demonstration followed by general
discussion and supper.)
Tools Explained......................................24
The Club Magazine “Spare Parts” is produced
monthly from February to December each
year. Contributions and advertisements are
welcomed.
Correspondence......................................34
CCC Event Calendar...............................25
Winkin’, Blinkin’, and Nod.....................26
Amero California 1993 to 1995..............28
This month’s mystery motor-man............31
Scruting Robin’s Pelland..........................32
Correspondence......................................36
Buy and sell.............................................37
Car club website classifieds.....................38
Who’s who September 2011....................40
Cut-off date for contributions for the next magazine is Tuesday 27 September 2011.
Send contributions to Brian by email: brianworboys@gmail.com or to Secretary
by ordinary mail.
Club Correspondence to:
The Secretary, Constructors Car Club, PO Box 38 573, Wellington Mail Centre, Lower Hutt 5045
Editor: Brian Worboys, phone: (04) 476 3799, brianworboys@gmail.com
Printing: The Colour Guy, 10 Raroa Cres, Lower Hutt, phone: (04) 570 0355
Design and typesetting: Tanya Sooksombatisatian, tazyas@gmail.com
Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Constructors Car Club (Inc).
Coming events
Saturday 17 September
Tuesday 08 November
Driver Training Day
Manfeild Autocourse, Feilding. This will
be run in conjunction with the MG Car
Club under a MotorSportNZ permit. We
will require the entry fee up front to reserve
a place – no entries on the day. Cost is
$60.00 per member driver and $80.00 per
non-member. Passengers are free.
Club Night
Speaker – We will have a member of the
Serious Crash Unit along.
Vehicle – TBC, a bit far out to worry
about yet.
Sunday 25 September
Tararua Rodders
Chrome ‘n Custom Auto Festival, Events
Centre, AP & I Show Grounds, Victoria
Street, Levin. This a bi-annual show with
hot rods, motorbikes, speedway vehicles,
competition cars, jet & sprint boats.
Tuesday 11 October
Club Night
Speaker – TBC, but we might have one of
our new members who has an interesting
background.
Vehicle – TBC
Open Invitation from VCC :
Wednesdays – 9.00am to 4.00pm tea &
coffee, meet members of VCC in their club
rooms for a chat – any retired members
with time or members on leave …
Friday Nights – 7.30pm to 10.00pm
– Drinks, chat and spares room open …
drop in, you may even catch them on a
film evening.
Club minutes Tuesday 09 August 2011
1. Welcome/Visitors:
General welcome.
Member, Dave Dean, down from
Marton – has one of the early Almac TC
replica’s.
Isaac Stead – the old hearing let me
down again …
Old (as in length of service) members
back in Wellington again – Craig &
Sharon Burleigh.
1a. Phil to mention that Mike Macready is
back home now – articles about Mike &
Rhya in Saturday’s Dominion Post.
2. Coming Events:
Reminder about visit to Juniors Kustom
Rides & Classics on Thursday 18 August.
Interest in a February 2012 Manawatu
run? Sam Hunt gave a bit of a rundown
of possible attractions that we could visit.
There was interest so Sam will put together
a more detailed plan.
Richard told us that the Manfeild
Track Day, Saturday 17 September, was
all planned with members already paying
up front to reserve a place. Non members
are also welcome. Remember – there is no
entry on the day – we don’t want to be collecting & looking after cash on the day.
Reminder of visit to Speedtech Thursday
20 October.
3. Treasurers Report:
(Only if something new, committee get
monthly updates)
Stewart – Statement of Income &
Expenditure finally sent to Ministry of
Economic Development.
5. Technical Committee
Report:
Grant stepped in and gave a brief report
and asked for any required scruts.
6. Technical Questions:
There were two or three, I missed recording them.
7. Magazine:
Brian asked for information on your
projects. The rest of us are interested in
what you are doing.
8. Mystery Car:
Last month (July)
Stewart Collinson – Gogomobile - wrong
This month (August)
Richard Kelly – Ferrari Monterel
Shooting Brake
9. Mystery Man:
A new feature in the magazine. Guess the
name of person in the photo. Just a bit of
fun for answering on the night, though
no doubt some members will use it as an
opportunity to send in an article for the
magazine as they show their knowledge of
motoring personnel.
Too easy – Colin Chapman … numerous
correct guesses.
10. Buy, Sell, Swap:
Members please note – they should fill
in a form before the meeting (available
from kitchen bench) if they want details
recorded in the next magazine minutes.
Brian Robinson is looking for an in-line
electric fuel pump.
4. Committee Report:
Nothing this month.
11. General Business:
Orders for Ken’s RapidTool – who hasn’t
picked theirs up from Dave yet – need
to produce receipt from Stewart – Dave
Pointer. We also one spare one to sell
– contact Dave C.
12. Tool of the month:
Sam Hunter had us all smiling as he unwrapped a huge axe the purpose of which
is to square off logs. Sam inherited it
off his father and brought it back from
Australia in his luggage – must have been
well before 911. Sam sure knows how to
entertain!!
13. Guest Speaker:
Member Ken McAdam on seat belts. Who
would have thought the common old
safety belt could have evolved so far. With
Ken’s relaxed style the subject proved very
entertaining – thanks Ken, we will let you
off speaking for a few months now!
14. Guest Vehicle:
Allan Foubisher, member of Capital
Rodders, with his 1934 Dodge Sedan V8.
This is a real steel bodied car un-molested
but lowered and set on mag wheels. Gone
is the original old V8 and in it’s place a
late model 360 cu in crate motor set as
low as possible to help with the improved
handling. It also has a strong Ford 9"
differential to get the drive to the rear
wheels.
15. Raffle:
Number: 16
Name of winner: Alex McDonald – we
owe him a prize.
16. Swap meet continues …
Meeting closed at 9.??pm
Guess vehicle
Top: 1934 Dodge Rimless Headlight
Middle: 1934 Dodge
Above: 1934 Dodge 360 Cubic inch V8
The President’s page by Phil Bradshaw
Just do it
I stopped driving the Leitch on a regular
basis about 8 years ago. Basically it all
got a bit too hard - we were living on a
dirt road and the car was always filthy,
which then meant my uniform regularly
got covered in crud on the commute to
work. We lived 55 km from work and
were finishing off building our house, so
I would quite often have to pick things up
on the way home, and the Leitch physically wasn’t big enough a lot of the time.
One thing led to another, and before I
knew it the car had sat for the best part of
7 years. Our relocation to Wellington from
Dunedin at the start of last year prompted
me to get it back on the road so it could
be driven north. This was influenced to
a large extent by my strong desire to not
get the Leitch transported again, after the
damage caused by Jeff’s vehicle movers
when they transported it to Dunedin.
To my surprise a concerted effort over
2 days got the car up and running, and
it passed a WOF first attempt (although
I thought the inspection was a bit once
over lightly). The Leitch handled the drive
to Wellington without any drama at all,
although the starter motor died not long
afterwards. I replaced it with a spare and
drove the car until the WOF expired,
which was about a year ago now.
The car developed a fuel leak around
the same time and so I parked it up again
as life (and major house renovations) got
in the way once more. 12 months passed
and we needed to get another car mobile,
so I spent most of a day on the Leitch, replaced the 17 year old braided hose that
had degraded and took it in for a WOF
after driving it for a few days to settle
things down.
I have to admit driving to work with the
top down (even in fog with an air temp of
only 1 degree) for a few days last week has
served to remind me why I built the car in
the first place. Unsurprisingly it failed the
WOF on a number of items, but none of
them significant or difficult to fix, so as I
write this I have about 25 days left to sort
it out. I reckon 50 bucks in misc bits and
pieces, 6-8 hours of my time and effort,
a couple of new tyres and a new gearbox
rubber mount should do it.
The moral of the story is, the car has
basically sat for the past 8 years all for the
lack of me spending a total of 3 days fixing
it up. To be honest I had made an assumption that the car needed a major rebuild
(and hence $$$ we don’t have at present)
given its dilapidated state, but in reality
this is almost all cosmetic and hence functionally the car has little wrong with it (as
reflected in the WOF).
I can make all the usual excuses about
life getting in the way, other priorities and
so on, but end of the day I just didn’t get
around to it. And hence my challenge to
you - if, like me you have been guilty of
not getting around to it, over the next
month spend a couple of evenings or a day
one weekend on your project and rekindle
the flame.
The longer days and better weather are
almost on us – just do it!
Phil
Phil Bradshaw
President
This month’s mystery car
This is a competition. Do you know what this vehicle is?
Please provide country of origin, manufacturer, model name and number and other
distinguishing details.
Have a go. Announce your best guess at this month’s club meeting and get it recorded
in the minutes, or email it to The Editor. The winner will be announced in the next
issue of Spare Parts. Extra points will be awarded for any additional interesting relevant
information, pictures etc. provided.
Last month’s mystery car
No one guessed last months car.
Bill Pinkam provided the image
and he tells us it is a Ferrari 456.
However,
from
wikipaedia…
“A wagon (estate) called the
Ferrari 456 GT Venice was also
built. Only a small handful were
made by Pininfarina. Prince Jefri
Bolkiah of Brunei ordered seven
to be built. After Pininfarina designed and built them, the prince
only purchased six. Each wagon is
rumoured to have cost the Sultan
around 1.5 million U.S. dollars”
Amero GT 1974 to 1977
by Patrick Harlow
Mark Stacey’s Amero seen during October of 1985 Credit: W Wing
Growing up in Wellington with a father who
was an A grade mechanic meant it was very
easy to for Gordon Hook to learn about cars.
Leaving for Auckland in his mid twenties he
started working part time for a fibreglassing
company making swimming pools. Later
this became a full time job and by 1972 he
found himself in the role of factory foreman
overseeing their entire production range
that included boats, industrial panels and
household components.
It was here that, with the bosses’
permission, he started building his first
car in his own time using their equipment.
The car he produced was the 2 + 2 Amero
which was inspired by the styling of the
relatively new Ford Capri and of many Italian
supercars of that time. The origin of the
body that was used to make the plug for the
moulds is, however, unclear. Mark Stacey
who owns this body said that Gordon made
extensive changes to it such as moving
the headlights six inches further forward,
redesigned the rear spoiler and modernised
the recessed rear window details. Mark
believes that the original car was originally
built as a one off by somebody that worked
for Air New Zealand before the body found
its way into Gordon’s hands.
Originally it was intended that the Amero
would have a single donor car, the Mk 1
Cortina. However Gordon ran into problems
trying to get the Ford Macpherson strut
front suspension arrangement to fit. To get
around this he also started using Hillman
Super Minx parts in the front of the car such
as its front suspension system and power
boosted brakes. Fortunately both the Minx
and the Cortina used the same stud pattern.
The only Ford component that made it onto
all the cars produced was the Cortina Mk1
windscreen. Donor cars constantly changed
throughout the cars short production life
depending on the parts that Gordon had
on hand or the parts that the buyer wanted
to fit. The prototype was intended to have
Ford parts but it ended up having mostly
Vanguard items as Gordon just happened
to have a partially disassembled Phase 3
Vanguard “out the back” and lacked the
cash to buy the Ford donor.
Above: Friends from
the Auckland Sports
Car Club gathered
around Mark Stacey’s
Amero Credit: W
Wing
Right: Under the
bonnet of Mark
Stacey’s car sits a
Holden in line six
Credit: W Wing
Not all cars were sold with a chassis as a
couple of buyers wanted only the body. The
first chassis was a 2” x 3” tubular platform
chassis. It was intended that the car would
have two types of chassis available, a
tubular platform chassis and a folded steel
backbone chassis similar to the Lotus Elan.
A single backbone chassis based car was
started but never completed as the buyer
Above: Amero going
into the shed to start
it’s full restoration
Credit: M Stacey
Above right: Amero
Credit: R Gray
Right: Hook Amero
with Humber 80
running gear Credit:
R Gray
left to go overseas. One car, it is believed
even made it onto a VW chassis.
Richard Gray who test drove the
prototype for an article for the Sports Car
Talk magazine wrote; “Dropping the clutch
off the line would see the car rocketing
away with both wheels spinning but with
no appreciable tail wag.”
Even with the four cylinder Vanguard motor
in the car Gordon was pleasantly surprised
at its performance and fondly remembers
a dual he had with a Datsun 240Z on the
Auckland motorway in which the Amero
edged ahead. Six bodies in total were made
but Gordon became disenchanted with the
number of people that were interested in the
car as a project but never had the money to
put up front to start it. Additionally it must be
remembered that Gordon still had a day job
to do and was kept very busy at the factory
doing everyday fibreglass work so he never
had the time to fully develop the car into a
full production kit, indeed most cars were
sold without any interior fittings or a floor
pan. This may seem a little surprising but
it must be appreciated that a road going
coupe is a very difficult car to produce in
kit form. Given time and sufficient money
to develop it this car could have had a very
different history.
Bibliography
Thanks to Mark Stacey and Richard Gray
Pictures from Mark Stacey and Richard Gray
“Hooked on Corvette” by Richard Gray.
Sports Car Talk Special Edition 1984.
Manfeild Track Day 17 September
Thanks to everyone that has already responded and paid for the upcoming track day at
Manfeild.
Entry Fee is $60 for club members of the CCC, MGCC and CDCC, $80 for all others.
The charge is per driver. (Passengers are free).
Please make payment by 10 September to Constructors Car Club Inc Account # 030531
0536795 00
Please use your name and 17 SEP as references.
Once your payment has been received I will send you a confirmation along with a copy
of the entry form if you would like to complete it in advance (entry forms will be available on
the day).
We really appreciated the payment before the day from as many people as possible to
make the running of the day as smooth as possible.
Entries will be accepted on the day too.
PROVISIONAL ITINERARY
The day’s sessions will be adjusted according to weather conditions and drivers requests.
Times shown are a guide only.
• 9.00 am Sign in
• 9.30 am Drivers briefing detailing speed, passing, use of flags and general behaviour.
• 10.00 am Warm up exercises with tutors. Slow speeds 50 to70kph to show corner
entry and exit braking points. Helmets not required. No passing on corners passing on
straights only.
• 10.30 am Group 1 will be controlled to approximately road speed, passengers allowed
for the purpose of driver tuition. No passing on corners, no excessive speed on straights,
helmets and overalls only required in open-tops.
• 11.15 am Group 2, faster speeds, fewer restrictions, passengers only in approved
vehicles, helmets required plus overalls in open-tops. Helmets are required in cars with
full roll cages in all sessions except the slowest group where Tuition is being done.
• 12.30 to 1.00 pm Lunch
• 1.00 to 1.30 pm approx Group 1
• 1.30 to 2.00 pm approx Group 2
• 2.00 to 2.30 pm approx Open
• Then it all goes around again till 4.30 Approx.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Richard Kelly
Club Captain, Constructors’ Car Club
10
Getting ready for a track day
One of the key things to making sure you can enjoy a day at a race track in your vehicle of
choice is making sure that your car (or bike) is ready for the day. Here are a few to dos that
can help make sure your car is all ready to go.
1. Clean It Out
4. Suspension and Steering
Remove everything from inside the car and
boot. A tennis ball under the brake pedal
is no fun. Mystery rattling noises coming
from the tools you left in the boot can also
ruin your on track session when you start
worrying that a wheel is going to come off!
Check the suspension front and rear, and
steering. Check the driveshaft’s universal
joints. If something looks worn, replace it as
the track is not somewhere you want any of
these bits failing.
2. Brakes
Change engine oil and filter. Check
transmission and differential oil, power
steering fluid, and coolant and all the hoses.
Unless you want to change brake pads
during the weekend, make sure your brake
pads have plenty of their material remaining.
If you install new pads, bed them in before
you head to the track. If you don’t bed the
pads, the car won’t stop the first time you
use them from high speed.
Check there is plenty of material left on
the brake rotors.
Flush the brake fluid. Brake fluid absorbs
water, which will boil and cause brake fade
when you stop from triple-digit speeds.
3. Tires and Wheels
Check your tread depth. For track driving,
start with a little higher cold tire pressure
(five to seven PSI is good) than the vehicle
manufacturer recommends. Torque the
wheel nuts to the manufacturer’s specs.
5. Fluids and Hoses
6. Clean it.
Clean your windscreen and check the wipers
are good. Refill the wiper water reservoir. A
clean car always goes faster!
7. Plan to arrive early.
Get to the event with plenty of time to
complete entry forms and sign on for the
day. Missing driver briefing usually means
becoming a spectator for the day. Don’t
do this.
It’s always a good idea to check over your
fluid levels, tyre pressures and make sure
your wheel nuts are properly done up before
each track session.
11
The 4AGE is Dead – Long Live the 3SGE?
by Phil Bradshaw
One of the stops on the recent project tour
was Phil Derby’s place. I found this visit
most interesting for a couple of reasons,
one of which was Phil’s amazing spaceframe
project and general engineering ingenuity.
The second reason was the brief
opportunity to inspect and compare two
Fraser 7s. Whilst the old adage that no two
Lotus 7 type cars are the same is absolutely
true, it was amazing to see just how much
the Fraser has developed over the past 18
years as I compared the 1992 and 2010
variants. I would suspect that virtually no
Fraser components are interchangeable
between the two cars.
Interestingly despite the age gap both
cars ran Toyota 4AGEs, albeit the 2010
Fraser featured an injected black top quad
throttle body 20 valve whilst its older sibling
had an early 16 valve converted to carbs.
My own Leitch has a silvertop 20 valve,
but I built it originally (also in 1992) with a
1983 vintage injected 4AGE, sourced from
a written off AE86 Toyota Levin.
There can be little doubt that the 4AGE
is a modern classic engine, but I am
increasingly of the mind (admittedly with
some caveats) that its time has passed as
far as being the best option for traditional
north-south RWD applications, especially
from a bang for buck perspective. There
are several reasons for this.
First up the simplest gearbox solution
is a T50 with suitable bellhousing. These
basically went out of production in 1987
(i.e. almost 25 years ago…) and were
made in comparatively small numbers,
noting that the vast majority of 4AGEs were
transversely mounted in FWDs. Demand
12
for T50s remains high, with the result that a
genuine AE86 style 22 spline gearbox with
bellhousing, gear lever and yoke etc will
readily sell for $800 on TradeMe.
RWD inlet manifolds are also very sought
after (FWD manifolds have the inlet at the
‘firewall’ end) and only suit the early ‘big port’
engines. The RWD inlet manifolds alone sell
for $200, to say nothing of the unique RWD
alternator bracket, water plumbing fittings
or gearbox braces. Fortunately most Lotus
7 style cars generally don’t have firewall
issues, so the FWD engines fit with minimal
modifications when mated to a RWD
gearbox provided the top of the footwell
doesn’t interfere with the water plumbing.
Other body styles may require firewall
modifications to clear intake systems, water
plumbing or distributors.
In stock naturally aspirated form the
4AGE produces 120-165 HP, depending
on variant. Generally speaking 16 valve
engines make 120-130 HP and 20 valve
160-165 HP. It was introduced in 1983 and
last produced in blacktop 20 valve form,
which went out of production around 1997.
In fairness the 4AGE is a great engine
that is very reliable, compact, light and
with potential for significant performance
gains through modification. It is easy
to run on factory EFI or can be easily
converted (especially 16 valve variants) to
carburettors.
There are also supercharged variants,
which produce around 160 horsepower
but with more torque than a 20 valve. These
engines respond very well to turbo charging
and upwards of 240 horsepower appears
to be easily achievable on a modest budget,
with some people extracting over double this for drag racing applications. Realistically over
~200 horsepower you need to upgrade the T50 to a W-series ‘Supra’ gearbox such as
the close ratio W58; this will cost as much as a T-50 but you will need to source a custom
bellhousing in addition.
I consider the main downsides to the 4AGE as being age, condition, relative performance
and cost: 16 valve engines are all over 20 years old now and most will have well in excess
of 200,000 km on them. In fact, it is hard to find a 20 valve with less than 160,000 on it.
From recent experience it is virtually impossible to get an AE86 RWD equivalent set up
for less than $2k, let alone replacing cambelt, clutch etc – and significantly more if any
rebuilding is required.
So, what other options are there then?
If you want to stay Toyota then I think the obvious successor is the 2 litre ‘BEAMS’ 3SGE
with 6 speed gearbox from the SXE-10 Altezza. These were introduced in 1998 and were
produced until 2005. This is the final variant of the 3SGE, which dates back to 1985 in
its original guise. The engine makes 210 HP from the factory in manual transmission form.
Specs are below:
Engine
Engine type
Bore and Stroke
3S-GE
(2000 Twincam 16 Valve Dual VVT-i)
86.0mm x 86.0 mm
Displacement
1998cc
Compression
Ratio
11.5
Max Power
154kW(210PS) @7600rpm
147kW(200PS) @7000rpm
(Auto)
Max Torque
216N.m(22.0kg-m) @6400rpm
216N.m(22.0kg-m) @4800rpm
(Auto)
Compared to a stock AE111 blacktop 20 valve 4AGE with 123 kW @ 7800 rpm and 16.5
kg-m @ 5600 rpm, or an AE101 supercharged 4AGZE with 126 kW @ 6400 rpm and 21
kg-m @ 4400 rpm you can see the appeal of the larger engine.
The good news is the BEAMS engines are readily available as a conversion package for
around $2350-$2500 on TradeMe, typically with around 100,000-140,000 km on them.
Given how popular the Altezza is and how poorly many of them are driven there is also a
plentiful supply of written off cars available for about the same cost.
Unsurprisingly the 3SGE is physically bigger than the 4AGE (and heavier) and will need
modification (including most likely a dry sump conversion) to squeeze one below the bonnet
line of ‘original size’ Lotus 7s. That said, although it is snug height wise, I fitted one into my
105E Anglia project without any modification to the engine, inlet manifold or exhaust system,
although the firewall had to be recessed about 100mm. The 6-speed gearbox is also larger
and longer than the T50, and the gearlever sits further back on a remote extension, although
there is actually an alternative location which relocates it about 70 mm forward.
13
The engine is fairly easy to wire up to run
on factory EFI, although a trap for young
players is the factory hot wire air flow meter,
which mounts into the integral air filter
box. The AFM is extremely touchy when it
comes to turbulent airflow, with the result
that ‘hacking off’ the factory air filter box
results in extreme driveability issues. Given
the size of the air filter box I suspect most
CCC cars simply won’t have the space
to accommodate it. Also something we
discovered the hard way is that the inlet
manifold is isolated from the engine by a
non-conducting gasket – the ground wire
we attached to the manifold wasn’t!
Fortunately the fix is only an online shop
away with a variety of aftermarket pod filter
kits including a custom housing for the
factory AFM sensor unit which resolves
the airflow issue. 2nd hand versions in great
condition typically seem to cost around
$180 on TradeMe including the filter and
some silicone hose joiners. Experience has
proven that you have to get the right sort
of pod filter adapter otherwise driveability
issues can remain; Apexi brand ones seem
to work just fine.
The BEAMS engine runs a returnless fuel
system, which is what an increasing number
of cars do. Given the high compression
ratio 98 octane fuel would be best. The
Altezza fuel tank capacity is 60 litres. The
engine appears to have only been sold new
in Japan, so wiring information is limited,
however translated wiring diagrams for the
engine are easy to find online. The rest of
the wiring is generally speaking the same
as the export models, for which loads of
information is available.
The engine has a sort of drive by wire
throttle system whereby a conventional
accelerator cable attaches to the throttle
body, but the first ~½ of the throttle butterfly
14
opening is actually controlled by an electric
motor. Once you get over about ½ throttle
the mechanical linkage ‘slop’ has taken up
and you then have a straight mechanical
link. Some people remove this system and
fit a straight mechanical one, but the factory
system appears to work well for most
applications.
The engine has a number of other modern
features such as continuously variable valve
timing on both camshafts, direct fire ignition
(individual coils on top of each spark plug)
and hence no distributor. The Altezza has a
front sump that holds close to 5 litres of oil,
with the recommended grade being 5W-30.
Given that the engine makes over 100
hp/litre it should come as no surprise that
the factory tubular exhaust header is quite
well designed. These are a 4-2-1 system,
and by all accounts messing with it tends to
reduce performance. The headers fit in the
Anglia (albeit the firewall has been cut out
to provide clearance, but this is more due
to engine length and the exhaust doesn’t
require much more than the clearancing for
the engine). My aim is to fit the majority of
the Altezza exhaust, cut and shut as required
to suit the shorter floor pan.
The cooling system is conventional, with
an aftermarket Honda Civic alloy radiator
being suitable dimensioned for most CCC
type applications with the right size inlet/
outlet and a suitably thick core (double
the thickness of the stock civic core). The
Altezza thermostat housing cover/pipe will
most likely need cutting and welding to get
a better hose alignment.
The 6 speed manual engines make
more power and have a different torque
curve compared to the auto trans versions.
Apparently the manual engines also have
titanium valves. The Altezza comes stock
with 215/45x17” tyres and a 7.5” 4.1 diff
ratio (with most 6 speeds having a Torsen
LSD); for the Anglia (which will be running
195/60x14” tyres) this translates to a 3.9
ratio, which will result in virtually identical
driveshaft RPM for a given speed. Gear
ratios are below:
Gear Ratios
6-Speed
Manual
5 Speed
Auto
1st
3.874
3.357
2nd
2.175
2.180
3rd
1.484
1.424
4th
1.223
1.000
5th
1.000
0.753
6th
0.869
---
Reverse
3.672
3.431
Differential
Ratio
4.100
4.100
So far I have helped Russell Ashley get
one of these engines up and running in his
Citroen project, and have partially fitted one
into my Anglia. Both cars are some way from
driving, but I have every expectation that the
engines will work as advertised given how
they run in situ. What this means is, provided
it will fit, this model 3SGE is a really good,
cost effective option for a RWD project.
If it won’t fit, then something like a
1600cc or 1800cc Mazda MX5 engine/
trans combination would be well worth
considering. These make similar power to
the 16 valve 4AGEs. I have to admit to having
no experience with these, but given their
popularity as conversions and especially for
cars like the Almac Club Sprint someone
with more knowledge within the club can
write that article!
If you want more power, then something
like a turbo Nissan SR20DET 2 litre (or NA
version) has to be a great option. These
are about the size of the BEAMS engine,
but as Nik James has shown, will fit into a
Mk 1 Escort engine bay with virtually no
modifications. Again, I will volunteer Nik to
write that story in good time.
Another Toyota option may be the 2ZZ-GE
range of all alloy 1800cc engines as fitted to
Celicas and performance Corolla derivatives
post ~1999. By all accounts these are
compact, light and make good power,
however, as they only come transverse
mounted I have not considered them. There
are companies making adapters and the like
to mate these with RWD gearboxes, but I
suspect the Altezza engine (albeit physically
a bit bigger and heavier) will be a better
option from a bang for buck perspective.
The Honda S2000 engine and 6 speed
would be a very good option, but these still
tend to be extremely expensive.
So, provided you can make it fit fairly
painlessly, I would say the 4AGE is dead;
long live the 3SGE!
15
Amero Corvette 1983 to 1995
by Patrick Harlow
Hook Vette
Credit: R Gray
By 1976 Gordon Hook had started his own
fibreglass manufacturing company and
was manufacturing a car called the Amero.
When production of the Amero finished his
company initially produced replacement
panels for Holdens and Fords because
fibreglass was cheaper than the original
steel components. As he became known
for his fibreglass work Gordon soon found
himself also doing repairs to fibreglass
sports cars. As luck would have it during
1976 he had two Corvettes in his factory
with accident damage in different places,
this provided Gordon with the opportunity
to take moulds off the undamaged parts of
both cars making it easy to repair them. An
additional windfall was that he would have
moulds to repair future cars.
However another idea had began to
germinate and in 1979 a business trip to
America with three friends enabled Gordon
to get hold of a burnt out corvette that
included a chassis, roll cage, floor, firewall
Left: Greenwood prototype at a Motorkhana in
1996
Above: Greenwood prototype All credit: R Gray
16
and independent rear suspension which he
could use to make patterns and moulds. The
first chassis was made without the use of jigs
but this would gradually improve throughout
the cars production life. Like the original it is
a very simple platform chassis
A Holden HQ front cross member was
welded onto the chassis to ensure rigidity
and correct location of the running gear.
The HQ Holden front suspension and
drive train (motor and gearbox) bolt into
this. Most mechanical parts came from the
Holden with the Holden HQ Statesman
being the recommended donor car as it
could provide a whole variety of other parts
such as instruments, wiring etc. At the rear
it has been designed to accommodate
the Holden 4 link live axle and drive shaft.
However Gordon has also built some with
Chevrolet rear end and Jaguar independent
rear suspension units. A full roll cage was
welded onto the chassis which would be
used to attach the fibreglass panels.
Most of the interior was made up from bits
imported from the US with the exception of
the dashboard which was built by Gordon to
suit right hand drive cars.
Windscreen, lights and specialist
Corvette bits were also imported directly
from the States. For $10,000 dollars
buyers got a body attached to the chassis
with all doors, hatches etc. fitted. On the
road Gordon thought it would cost about
$17,000 in 1984 depending on the type of
motor fitted. Gordon was more interested in
building the body rather than the chassis as
fibreglassing was his area of expertise. If a
buyer came with the money up front Gordon
let them take the chassis jigs home so that
they could weld up their own chassis which
saved about $1,000 on the purchase price.
All: Hook Vette Credit: R Gray
17
Above: Gordon Hook Corvette Credit: R Gray
Above right and right : Hook Corvette 2008
Credit: Trade Me
Below: A picture of the Greenwood Corvette
taken at the Auckland Speedshow 2011 004
Credit: Peter Benbrook
Below right: Apart from the colour the boot and
headlight covers are the only major changes
done to the Greenwood Corvette prototype
Credit: Peter Benbrook
The car came in three formats roadster,
fastback and ‘T’ tops with the ‘T’ tops being
the most popular. AT the time the car came on
the market Corvettes were quite expensive
to buy and only came into the New Zealand
in left-hand drive form. Gordon’s car was
basically a replica of the C3 Corvette made
between 1968 and 1982. Although most
of the base body panels were modelled off
an original Corvette a high proportion of its
variations were made in house by Gordon.
18
It is believed that Gordon produced
about 24 Corvette replicas. He had started
to construct a replica of the Greenwood
Corvette but it never made it into production.
The prototype was finished and later sold.
Bibliography
Thanks to Richard Gray
Pictures from Richard Gray, Peter Benbrook
“Hooked on Corvette” by Richard Gray.
Sports Car Talk Special Edition 1984 and
1989.
Visit to Juniors Kustom Rides and Classics 25 August
by Phil Bradshaw
Around 30 turned out for the visit to Junior’s
Kustom Rides and Classics on 25 August.
They are a full service workshop doing not just
custom fabrication but WOFs, certification
and the like. They cater to all vehicles, and
whilst they are trying to become known for
more than hotrods, American classics and
muscle cars, it is apparent that this makes
up the bulk of their business.
The premises are huge with over 20
cars/projects on display, in various stages
of completion and ambition. As is often the
case, looks can be deceiving with quite a
few cars piquing my interest.
Top of my list was a 1971 Volvo P1800E
coupe. The car has been completely gutted
with a custom floor pan and firewall (and
much more) fabricated to drop over a
custom chassis featuring more or less the
complete running gear from a late model
LS1 Commodore. To say this is a significant
project would be an understatement, and
the finished result will be stunning in that
the car will look largely stock externally
(certainly to the untrained eye) and yet with
significant performance and style. I became
enamoured with a wagon version of one of
these years ago and always thought it would
make a cool base for a custom car, so to
see one being given such an extreme (yet
tasteful) makeover was fantastic.
Another vehicle that was easy to overlook
was a tidy satin black late 40s Ford Bonus
pick up sitting on large chrome mags. It wasn’t
until you got close to it and looked that the
mountain of work that had gone into it became
apparent, as most of it was very subtle and
blended seamlessly with the original design.
Modifications included what looked to be a
late model tray with period fenders grafted on,
custom grille, custom suspension (Jag IRS),
heavily modified interior and unseen under
19
the closed bonnet a blown Cleveland V8. As
an aside, something I learned recently was
that the reason a Windsor is so much smaller
than a Cleveland is due to the Windsor being
a 60 degree V as opposed to the Cleveland’s
90. This truck was a classic example of a
project where the more you looked, the more
you saw as you absorbed the detail.
Then there was a 51 Chev sedan that has
had so much bodywork done it is starting
to become unrecognisable as to what the
original car was – not only has it had the roof
chopped, but the entire body has been cut in
half lengthwise and widened by some 200250mm. It is also now sitting on a custom
chassis with LS1 engine.
Whilst I will never be able to afford to
commission the likes of Junior’s to undertake
a project, the insight and inspiration was
priceless, and has given me much food
for thought. Much of what I gathered was
the detail and thematic approach to the
projects, whereby the modifications are in
concert with each other, not competition as
is often the case.
Overall an exceptionally worthwhile visit,
and for those who missed out I would
thoroughly recommend attending their
annual open day in December.
20
All photographs by Eion Abernethy
21
CCC in the DomPost
22
23
Tools Explained
by anon
DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine
useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar
stock out of your hands so that it smacks
you in the chest and flings your beer across
the room, denting the freshly-painted project
which you had carefully set in the corner
where nothing could get to it.
WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and
then throws them somewhere under the
workbench with the speed of light . Also
removes fingerprints and hard-earned
calluses from fingers in about the time it
takes you to say, ‘Oh shit!’
SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to
make studs too short.
TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool
commonly used to launch wood projectiles
for testing wall integrity
HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for
lowering an automobile to the ground after
you have installed your new brake shoes,
trapping the jack handle firmly under the
bumper.
BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw
primarily used by most shops to cut good
aluminium sheet into smaller pieces that
more easily fit into the trash can after you
cut on the inside of the line instead of the
outside edge.
PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.
Sometimes used in the creation of bloodblisters.
TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for
testing the maximum tensile strength of
everything you forgot to disconnect.
BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool
commonly used to convert minor touch-up
jobs into major refinishing jobs.
PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used
to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for
opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans
and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also
be used, as the name implies, to strip out
Phillips screw heads.
HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting
tools built on the Ouija board principle…
It transforms human energy into a crooked,
unpredictable motion, and the more you
attempt to influence its course, the more
dismal your future becomes.
VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to
completely round off bolt heads. If nothing
else is available, they can also be used to
transfer intense welding heat to the palm of
your hand.
OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost
entirely for lighting various flammable objects
in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting
the grease inside the wheel hub out of which
you want to remove a bearing race.
24
STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for
opening paint cans. Sometimes used to
convert common slotted screws into nonremovable screws and butchering your
palms.
PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal
surrounding that clip or bracket you needed
to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.
HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses
too short.
HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon
of war, the hammer nowadays is used as
a kind of divining rod to locate the most
expensive parts adjacent the object we are
trying to hit.
SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: (A personal
favorite!) Any handy tool that you grab and
throw across the garage while yelling ‘Son of
a BITCH!’ at the top of your lungs. It is also,
most often, the next tool that you will need.
UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and
slice through the contents of cardboard
cartons delivered to your front door; works
particularly well on contents such as seats,
vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles,
collector magazines, refund checks, and
rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for
slicing work clothes, but only while in use.
Hope you found this informative.
There is no need to send me a thank you note.
No trees were harmed in the creation or
transmission of this message.
However, a large number of electrons
were temporarily inconvenienced.
CCC Event Calendar
September
Tuesday 13
Club Night 7:30 PM Clubrooms
Guest Speaker: Snap on Tools Man
Guest Vehicle: 20v Mini
Saturday 17
Manfeild Track Day
Must pay before the day
Contact Richard Kelly
October
Tuesday 11
Club Night 7:30 PM Clubrooms
Thursday 20
LS1 Tech Night 7:30 PM
Speedtech Motorsport
115 Gracefield Road Seaview
November
Tuesday 8
Club Night 7:30 PM Clubrooms
Guest speaker: Police Serious Crash Unit
Guest Vehicle: Racing scooter
Sunday 20
Christmas Lunch Club Run
Tin Hut, Featherston TBC
December
Tuesday 13
Club Night 7:30 PM Clubrooms
BBQ & Prize Giving
January
Tuesday 10
Club Night 7:30 PM Clubrooms
Book Night
February
Tuesday 14
Club Night 7:30 PM Clubrooms
Skite Night
Sunday 25
Club Run
Southwards Car Museum &
Otaki Studebaker Museum
25
Winkin’, Blinkin’, and Nod
by Stewart Collinson
It’s the little things that are sent to try us. I’ve
written before about how diodes can simplify
tricky circuits by stopping electricity going
to places it’s not wanted. This time my hamfisted electronics moves on to capacitors.
The Frankenbuild has American-style rear
lights. Just a red tail and brake. No separate
orange indicator. Clean and stylish? Yes.
Simple? Well… err… not really.
The problem is that American-style lights
assume an American-style indicator stalk
that contains the sliding brass bits needed
to turn lights on and off - shown as triangles
in the circuit below. In an American car the
brake lights go through the indicator stalk!
53-56 Ford pickup
However, the Frankenbuild has a
sophisticated Audi indicator stalk without
the Yankee slidey bits. To make it work I
dreamed up the circuit shown below in
which the necessary switching occurs
outside of the stalk.
It uses two single pole double throw
(SPDT) horn relays wired so that the normally
on terminal links the stop light switch to the
brake lights.
26
Frankendiagram
• Follow the brake light circuit with your
eye. If the brakes are applied then both
lights are powered directly.
• Now follow the right indicator light
circuit. For the moment think of the
diode (symbol >| ) as simple wire and
pretend the capacitor (symbol || ) isn’t
there. Also remember that power from
the indicator switch has already gone
through the flasher unit so it’s pulsing on,
off, on, off. This energises the relay coil,
which pulls the relay to the live indicator
terminal. Indicator power flows to the
right light, which obligingly winks. When
the indicator pulses off, the relay releases
and returns to the dead brake terminal,
which cuts power to the light and makes
a nice clicking sound as well.
• Ah clever reader I hear you ask, “what
if I push the brake pedal and use the
indicator at the same time?” Without
fancy electronics the indicator will pulse
on and pull the relay down to the live
indicator terminal, but when it pulses
off it will return to the live brake terminal
with the effect that the light will glow
continuously. Actually, I found that the
light winks slightly as the relay clicks back
and forth, but not enough for Mr Lvvta or
Mr Wof
This is where the capacitor comes in. It acts
like a tiny battery that charges up when the
indicator pulses on and stores just enough
power when the indicator pulses off to hold
the relay on the now dead indicator terminal
for about 1/3 a second. No power is going to
the light and it winks off. This cycle repeats
itself every time the indicator pulses on.
The diode is a ‘one way valve’ so that the
capacitor only has to energise the relay coil
and not power everything else connected to
the indicator circuit.
This circuit works well. Here’s a pix of it.
(below)
The diode is the trusty IN4004 mentioned
in my previous article. The capacitor is an
electrolytic 16V 2200uF (Jaycar, part #
RE6238). Both have to be wired in with
the correct polarity. An electrolytic ‘cap’ will
probably explode if reverse wired.
A bigger 4400uF capacitor would give
about 3/4 second delay on the relay, while a
1000uF would get it down to less than 1/4
of a second.
This circuit can be reconfigured as a
simple general purpose time delay circuit.
Smaller relays or other devices such as
LEDs will have different time periods
(maybe 10 or 20 seconds on a LED).
Forget the maths, experiment and see
what happens. Fancier electronics starring
transistors and resistors could get it a delay
of 10 minutes or longer without resorting
to an integrated circuit.
A word of warning, capacitors will hold a
charge for a long time. Even at only 12V, a
2200uF capacitor can draw a good spark
if shorted; enough to leave a burn mark on
your hand or start fire. Never put one in your
mouth. A high voltage 100V+ capacitor can
deliver a fatal 300 joules or more in one belt
(about the same as a defibrillator), which is
why you should never put your tongue inside
a TV set.
27
Amero California 1993 to 1995
by Patrick Harlow
Prototype in the early stages of construction surrounded by members of the Auckland Sports Car
Club Credit: Walter Wing
Having reasonable success with the South
Pacific Corvette replica. Gordon once more
turned his hand to designing his own car.
In the 70s he had produced a car called
the Amero GT. Although a great little car
it had suffered from lack of development
The holden six seen here was later replaced with
a 5.0 litre V8 Credit: Walter Wing
28
and was produced using whatever parts
were on hand. The Corvette was a better
car as it was designed to use the Holden
HQ, HJ, HX or HZ as the primary donor car.
As these cars were still plentiful the Holden
would once again become the donor car
for his next project.
Starting in 1992 with the now reasonably
developed Corvette chassis and spy photos/
drawings of the forth coming 1993 Chevrolet
Camaro he set to work. Unlike the Corvette
this car would not be a copy, instead it was
intended to resemble the showcar version
of the next generation Camaro. Anybody
who knows Camaros will see that the two
cars are clearly different but that there is a
close family connection. Most of which can
be seen from profile pictures of the car. The
Amero name was resurrected and the car
was called the California as homage to the
country that inspired the car. Gordon had
hoped to beat the new Camaro onto the
market but due to other commitments and
not having the same research development
budget as General Motors saw the prototype
finished in mid-1993.
The use of the Holden live axle allowed
the car to be a definite 2+2 making it also
the most user friendly car that Gordon
has produced. Most components were
sourced from the Holden mentioned above
and designed to bolt straight. Besides the
suspension and drive train the Holden wiring
loom, dashboard, hinges, locks and handles
were also used. Even the windscreen from
the donor car could also be used albeit
at a steeper angle. The car could even be
built with any luxury extras that were in the
donor car such as power steering, electric
windows etc. Builders who chose a Holden
Statesman as the donor car could build a
very superior GT car. The only modification
made to the donor parts was the rear
suspension when the top and bottom arms
were shortened from 225mm to 125mm.
Both chassis and roll cage were built using
jigs in a form that Gordon calls a Uniframe. The
fibreglass panels are bonded with structural
adhesives to the roll cage, and together form
a stiff and strong body chassis.
All on this page:
Amero California
Credit: Richard Gray
29
Richard Gray editor of the Magazine
Sports Car Talk drove the car in 1993 and
wrote. “Steering is well weighted, not too
light, and surprisingly direct and responsive
for a power assisted worm and nut setup,
although it doesn’t talk to you like a good
rack and pinion – it just steers. Turn-in is
smooth and precise – it simply heads
where you point it. Cornering is appreciably
flat, as one would expect from a car with
a fairly low centre of gavity, wide stance
and moderately high combined roll centres.
Firm dampers combined with standard
V8 springs make the car feel taut without
producing a hard ride.”
Only a small number of these cars were
built, maybe two or three, before production
stopped in 1995 when Gordon decided to
go to Australia. The moulds and jigs went to
Jim Meldrum of fibreglass Auto replacements
in Warkworth. He onsold them to Anthony
Judd of Gisborne and it is believed that no
more cars were made.
Bibliography
Thanks for help from Richard Gray
Pictures from Richard Gray, Walter Wing
30
Top: From this angle the higher waist line gives
the car a chunkier appearance than its American
cousin Credit: Richard Gray
Middle: Holden rear end is reliable and easy to
repair Credit: Richard Gray
Above: Interior featuring the Holden HQ
instrument panel Credit: Richard Gray
Camaro has clearly influenced the California styling Credit: Richard Gray
This month’s mystery motor-man
Who is this? Do you know his name?
Have a guess.
Then turn to page 40 for the answer.
31
Scruting Robin’s Pelland
by Brian Worboys
The pictures on this page are from a scrute
of Robin Hartley’s rebuild project in July.
The car is a Pelland Coupe. Hopefully
Robin will soon write up the full story on this
most interesting project. In the meantime,
the following is some background on this
marque reproduced from Wikipedia.com:
On his return from Australia, Peter
Pellandine set up Pelland Engineering
at Thetford, Norfolk. In 1979, he began
to manufacture kit cars developed from
his Pellandini steam car. The two-seater
Pelland Sports used the Volkswagen
Beetle drivetrain but mounted backwards
to create a mid-engined configuration. This
was intended to enhance the dynamic
characteristics of the car. The body shell
was a GRP monocoque with VW front
torsion bar suspension but Pellandine’s
own design traverse-leaf arrangement at
the rear. It was essentially a roadster but a
gull-wing hardtop was available.
The design was sold to Ryder Cars of
Coventry in 1980 who marketed it as the
Rembrandt and explored the feasibility
of replacing the flat4 VW engine with
a midmounted water cooled Ford Kent
Crossflow engine. The company was then
sold on to Graham Autos based in Tyneside.
Very few cars were built by either business
and some time later it was sold again to
Listair.
Listair subtly updated the styling in the
late 1980s and sold it as the Dash. They
also offered the option of an Alfa Romeo
Alfasud engine.
Dash Sports Cars of Chesterwood,
Hereford then took on the project in 1990.
32
Top: The Alfa engine in the boot
Middle: The Pellan
Above: Fabricated front suspension
Opposite: Tim tries the driver’s seat for size
33
Correspondence
From our American correspondent, Walt
Hi Stewart,
Got a problem. This 62 Ford Falcon I bought turns upwards of 3500 RPM at 50 MPH
with the present set of 13 inch wheels. I need a set of 15” X 6” inch 4 lug 114.3 BHD
2. 44” center hole steel wheels with about a 20MM pos offset. Anyone got any lying
around in Paradise????
Thanks
Walt
-------------------------------------------------------Hi Walt
Probably a little late in coming, but one of the guys in the club found these links
http://www.fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36292
http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=32375
I checked the first one and it seems to be on topic. (In fact a Triumph TR6 wheel looks
like it fits although I’m not so sure about offset)
Most impressed by your use of a metric PCD, 114.3. Even us metric kiwis are prepared
to call it 4.5”
Regards
Stewart
-------------------------------------------------------HI Stewart,
Good to hear from you. Thanks for the inputs. I have done a lot of study and investigating on this damned wheel business. I gotta be honest with you. Fords have never
been, shall we say my “Cup Of Tea”. I owned a few in the early part of my life and we
never got along well. The only reason I bought this one was because of the 2.4 and the
automatic. Definitely a woman’s car! As I said my brother bought this one in my stead.
Of course I know now that my brother hates me! I am still struggling with overheating
problems. The 110 degree days don’t help. I’ve gotten to the point where I have jacked
the rear of the hood (Bonnet in English!) up about an inch and a half so I can get a better
flow of air through the engine compartment. I sort of shot myself in the foot when I
added an air conditioner. It took a while to find out that the original pump was defective
and was causing a drag on the lil’ 2.4. But after I threatened the bozo that sold it to me
that it was bad, he replaced it and that went along way to solving the overheat.
Having Purchased this “Ford”, It was, of course, “Henry’s” opportunity to get even
with me for all the bad mouth I had given his rather poor excuses for automobiles over
my lifetime. The Falcon must have been his wet dream, it has proved to be the worst
impression of an economy box that was ever created and finding a wheel that would
prevent the engine from turning over 4000 RPM at 55 MPH has proved to be difficult
at the very least. The shape of the fender, the room inside the wheel well, has been a
challenge to find a fifteen inch wheel that would fit. I started with trying to use a early
Mustang wheel which has the same dimensions as the Falcon but are one inch larger at
14 inch. Even with the largest tire it would have only made a 4 or 5 mile and hour differ34
ence at speed. Not enough to make a difference. A 15 inch wheel proved to have much
more options in tire size and therefore more options with power verses speed options. A
15 inch wheel with a 215-75r tire would make a difference of 8+ MPH.
But trying to find a wheel in this day and age of front wheel drive with a decent offset
has not been easy. Not only not easy to determine but almost impossible to find, much
less at a decent price. I used to pay 5 bucks for a second hand wheel. They are asking
upwards of $75 bucks these days. Buy the time you add a decent tire your talking $350
bucks. FOR TWO LOUSY WHEELS! No Way!
However I have found the correct wheel. I have found that an early Honda Accord or
Prelude will work. A little like fitting a size 8 shoe on a size 12 foot but it will fit. It is
a 15 inch wheel with a 5.5 inch width, a critical dimension. A 6 inch wheel is too wide.
Now comes the most critical dimension – the offset. This particular Honda wheel has
a 38 MM off set, which is exactly the same as the Falcon wheel. Now the Falcon wheel
has a 3 1/2 back spacing with a 5 inch wheel, but I find That equates to only a 1/4 inch
difference with the 5.5 inch width and that will still keep the spring at a decent distance
to the tire without fear of rubbing. The fender should be close and if necessary I can
tweek the fender a might. Okay – I saw you flinch! Hey this is by far not a show piece
and certainly not a pristine original. Hell it’s going to be the wife’s daily driver!
As for me and the metric system – well lets just say my wife is trying to teach me but
this old leather brain of mine still vacillates back and forth. Sometimes involuntarily.
Hope you and all the other Gear Head Kiwi’s are healthy and happy. Lord knows you
live in paradise. As for us Yanks I’m just sitting around gun in my lap, waiting for the
rest of the gang to drop by on our way to Washington. The rumour is there going to
open the season on Politicians soon and I’m going to bag me a few!!! Complete and utter
morons – the lot, and completely out of touch with the American people!
Good to hear from you again. Remember I’m here for you guys if you ever need
anything.
Walt
If anyone has any suggestions, or can help Walt in any way, please let Stewart Collinson
know: stewart.collinson@xtra.co.nz
35
Correspondence
Questions from Jean-Pierre
Hi Brian,
Sorry, no, not an article but maybe a suggestion from a (dumb?) starting kitcar builder,
starting to get worried about his project not ever going to be on the road…
When I was young I always wanted to be a mechanic but those engines were always
to small so I ended up being a jack of all trade and master of none. Now a new hobby
brings me back to mechanics but there is a law to keep things safe,
So here is my question and I hope someone is able to give me either some reading
material to find out myself, or a nice article in spare parts for all the members to know
how we should look at it:
I bought an unfinished project that has been on the road (legally wof and rego) in
1990. There after it only has been used for racing and then it went in storage for 12
years. Original owner papers are there as is the rego on registration, but no vin or chassis
number. To get this certified LVTA what do I look at? The original chassis is triumph
herald (yes it is a LYNX) but what is it with certifying this today? Do I need crumple
zones and airbags, or when is a chassis deemed strong enough for today’s standards.
Nice short simple question?
Here is another one… If my kit is in an running state to be certified how is the law
on driving it to the testing station, it hasn’t seen the road in 12 - 14 years, so no wof
or rego… I have heard as long as you have an appointment you can legally drive your
vehicle to the appointment… worst case scenario is an accident…
Sorry Brian to put you up with this, but it might be good for an article or two in spare
parts. Hope to hear from you even if it is like; good luck getting that done…
Cheers,
Jean-Pierre Paalvast
-------------------------------------------------------Grant Major replies:
J-P,
In response to your enquiries – A car that was road registered prior to 1991 presents
an interesting case in regards to certification. Essentially 1991 was when the rules came
into effect, so anything that was ‘legal’ prior to that date is considered to continue to be
‘legal’ as the legislation is not ‘retrospective’ (i.e. it doesn’t demand that existing vehicles
are continually reworked to meet new requirements).
As such the certification process is not obligatory, but is often sought nonetheless,
otherwise the owner has to justify (every time they are challenged) that the vehicle predates the requirements and is in fact ‘legal’. Certification process, as witnessed by the
attachment of an LVV Certification plate, will provide a contemporary documented
record of the cars’ construction and proof of its being ‘legal’. As the vehicle (and its
aspect of compliance) pre-date the legislation the LVV Certification inspection focuses
on documenting what’s there, and seeking confirmation or proof that it hasn’t been
further modified after 1991, and checks that there’s nothing plain downright dangerous
about the vehicle (as even if it pre-dates compliance requirements there is a duty-of-care
36
on the certifier to check and require correction of any work that is a clear and present
danger to the owner and other road-users).
The fish-hook in this can be demonstrating that there have been no subsequent modifications that must meet the (post 1991) legislation that was in place at the time of that
later modification. The generally accepted practice is to resort to photos, news articles,
and statements of other parties that testify that the vehicle’s construction is ‘original’
and pre-1991
In brief LVV Certification on a pre-1991 car can be well worth it and no hard to
achieve (without further modification) but will rely on the owners ability to support their
contention that the vehicle pre-dates the requirements through providing some proof of
the construction (and it not having been subsequently changed).
Separately on your question on can you (anyone) drive and unregistered, un-warranted, un-certified car for the purpose of obtaining registration/warrant/certification
– the wisdom is ‘no’, and the recommendation is to get a car trailer (or tow-truck) as
that minor cost is a lot less than the consequence of being pulled up for it, or worse of
having an accident while doing it.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Grant Major (for Constructors Car Club)
Buy and sell
Wanted:
Wanting to find
Electric In-line low pressure petrol
pump for use with a carburettor equipped
engine. Facet or similar.
Contact : Brian Robinson,
Ph (04) 233 1445 or
Email – beejay.Robinson@woosh.co.nz
Dear Patrick
I wonder if you could assist. I understand that someone in NZ had a partly
completed Lotus 23 replica based on a
Barry Leitch kit for sale.
Do you know who it was and whether
it was sold? I hope you don’t mind the
intrusion
Regards,
Ian Bailey
[mailto:bailey@wentworthchambers.
com.au]
Wanted:
Front windscreen for a SAAB 900 classic
86-92. I can remove at my risk if close to
Wellington.
If you can help please Email
robin.hartley@xtra.co.nz
37
Name
Partner
Phone Home
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Jared Scarlett
Debbie
477-9568
494-9637
McGregor Mach 7
Peter Schofield
Diana
9343973
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(09) 634-9035
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Pamela
973-7202
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479-3038
479-3039
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Shane Sutherland
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(06) 836-7276
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021 663-776
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236-6196
236-6196
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(06) 364-3657
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Jane
(06) 329-2923
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Lorraine
234-6976
568-2148
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499-1515
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Edgar Vandendungen
Ann
562-8913
568-6007
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(09) 818-4090
(09) 818-4090
CR2
Rob West [t]
June
(04) 297-1062
(04) 297-1062
West 42, Almac TG
Brendon Wilson
Adele
233-9286
027 440-0436
Sylva Striker Mk 4
Glenn Wilson
Jo
476-0366
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John Wilson
Jenny
(04) 297 3329
Walter Wing
(09) 271-2604
09 273 2750
Toyota 4AGE
Paul Woodfield
Vicki
(06) 323-0922
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Brian Worboys [ct]
Sireena
476-3799
(021) 328-037
Road Rat
Craig Wylie
Cynthia Munro
386-4499
473-7723
Caterham 7
Colin Young
Vicki
234-8080
(027) 234-8080
43
Notice
Items owned by the club that club members can borrow:
Engine hoist
Custodian: Nik James
Car show equipment
Custodian: the Show Committee
The Hobby Car Manual
Custodian: Grant Major
This month’s mystery motor-man ANSWER
And the mystery face:
Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS (18 November 1906–2
October 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars. One of the most original car
designers of the modern era, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation (BMC)
in 1959. but also designed two more of the five best-selling cars in British motoring
history – the Morris Minor and the Austin 1100.
44