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INSIDE:
Welded, so it must be Right
The Story of George Barris
The Sensational 1908 JAP V8
Click here for Index
Magazine of the Constructors Car Club (Inc)
(on the cover) Rolf Feinson getting down and dirty with
Stewart Collinson's Porsche RS 60 replica. See Pg 19
What's in the magazine:
Club Officials
President:
ph:
email:
Secretary:
ph:
email:
Club Captain:
ph:
email:
Treasurer:
ph:
email:
Phil Bradshaw
563-7368
philip.bradshaw@nzdf.mil.nz
Brian Worboys
232-3799
brianworboys@gmail.com
Richard Kelly
232-3336
richard@kellyassociates.co.nz
John Cumming
476-2822
john_cumming@vodafone.co.nz
Coming Events ............................. 3
Club Minutes ................................ 4
Making a Fibreglass Nosecone
Part 2............................................ 6
The Editors 10 cents Worth ......... 9
Presidents Report ...................... 11
Barris Kustom Cars ..................... 13
George Barris: Just Another Car
Guy. Part 1 ................................. 15
Roving Reporter: Welded, so it
Club Meetings
must be Right ............................. 20
The club has the following monthly meetings:
Sensational JAP V8-Powered GN
Cycle Car .................................... 25
Club night: 7:30pm, 2nd Tuesday at Vintage Car
Engine of the Month:
Club Rooms, 3 Halford Place, Petone
Club Committee meeting: 7:30pm, 3rd Tuesday at Britten Motorcycle Engine ......... 29
Petone Community House, 6 Britannia St, Petone
Seen on Trade Me ...................... 31
Technical Committee meetings: as required
Contact Robert Jakobson
Club Magazine “Spare Parts” is produced monthly from Feb to Dec each year. Contributions
and advertisements are welcome.
Cut-off date for contributions for the club magazine is 6pm on the Friday 11 days prior to
the club meeting. Send contributions to Stephen by email: stephen.oneil@z.co.nz 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: Stephen O’Neil, phone 04 526-2584, stephen.oneil@z.co.nz
Design and typesetting: Watsfair, Patrick.harlow@clear.net.nz
Club bank account:
Bank: Westpac Lower Hutt | Name: Constructors Car Club | Account: 030531 0536795 00
Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Constructors Car Inc., the
Editor or its officers.
The following events are those planned for the next few months.
Please note that these are subject to change, so please refer to the latest edition
of Spare Parts, or better still check the club web site.
Stephen O’Neill—Club Calendar Administrator.
February
Tuesday 10th, 7:30 pm - Club Night
Skite Night and BBQ
Tuesday 17th, 7:30 pm - Committee Night
All members welcome- Petone Community House, 6 Britannia St, Petone
Thursday 19th, 7:30 pm - Technical Night
March
Tuesday 10th, 7:30 pm - Club Night
Speaker
TBA
Tuesday 17th, 7:30 pm - Committee Night
All members welcome- Petone Community House, 6 Britannia St, Petone
Thursday 19th, 7:30 pm - Technical Night
Sunday 22nd , Grass Gymkhana
April
Tuesday 14th, 7:30 pm - Club Night
Tuesday 21st, 7:30 pm - Committee Night
All members welcome- Petone Community House, 6 Britannia St, Petone
Thursday 23rd, 7:30 pm - Technical Night
Minutes in brief by Brian Worboys
(Secretary)
went off well with about 40 attending.
Thanks are due to Nik for the
organising.
1. Opened
5. Treasurer's report
The meeting Opened with Dave Clout
standing in for Phil as Chairman. Dave
welcomed everyone.`
None this month as treasurer not in
attendance.
2. Apologies
Robert was not here to report, but Rob
West reported that the technical
committee had identified a good #D
CAD package that
they were
recommending
for club
members to use
and share. More
will be explained in
due course.
Apologies had been received from Phil
Bradshaw, John Cumming and Stephen
O'Neil
3. Coming events
Reference was made to the events in
Spare Parts.
4. Past events
Bob Cumming reported on the
Christmas BBQ which despite the rain
6. Tech committee
Marvin Turton (Middle) brought along his Anglia based breadvan racing car.
7. Spare Parts
Editor Stephen was not present to
report, but no doubt would have
reminded everyone of the need to write
reports about your project for the
magazine.
8. Raffle
The raffle was won by Brian Hanaray,
however the prize was not available and
will need to be awarded at a future
time.
9. Car on display:
Marvin's Breadvan
Marvin Turton had brought along his
racing Anglia Breadvan. He told us
about how he had always admired the
original car of this type and so decided
to make one for himself. He started by
buying an Anglia which already had a
racing history, and carried out the body
modifications himself. He really enjoys
racing it. Certainly Marvin is to be
congratulated for the iconic race car
that he has produced and for the
contribution this makes to historic
racing in NZ. We wish him well with his
racing future with it.
10. The club awards for
2014
Dave made the presentations as
follows:
Presidents Cup: Roy Hoare
Certifiers Crank: Ken McAdam (not
present to accept.. will be handed over
at a later occasion)
Intermarque Cup: Marvin Turton
Club Spirit Trophy: Bob Cumming
Dip Stick Award: Held over this year as
no-one could be identified having
exhibited appropriate behaviour.
Editor's Award: Two recipients: Michael
Kerr and Pat Harlow. Neither present to
accept.
11. Life
Membership
- Allan Stott
Brian Worboys presented a
plaque to Allan recognising
his special contribution to
the club over the years and
awarding him life
membership of the club.
The Breadvan Anglia
months ago, I wrote an
the end of my street and asked him to
article for Spare Parts about
work some panel beater magic on it,
making a plug for the
then paint it black and clear coat it,
nosecone of my Matterati
ready for a mould to be taken off it.
project. At that time, I had the
shape about right and was trying
to get it smooth so a mould
could be taken off it. I
subsequently added a flange at
the back edge of the nosecone
for the bonnet panel to sit on,
then some indicator mounts on
either side that have a dual
purpose in that they also hide
part of the unsightly Toyota
upper A-arms.
Inspired by Brian Worboys’
use of common household items
for making shapes in fibreglass
bodies, the indicator mounts
were made by filling a salmon can
with bog, then gluing and
screwing the resulting shape to
Filling a salmon can with bog to make the
the nosecone. They are then
indicator mount shape. The glue bottle is just to
blended in with more bog.
reduce the amount of bog used.
Yes, I was the man in the
supermarket, measuring the diameter
I’m not going to talk much about the
of salmon cans with a small steel ruler.
panel beater, lest I fall foul of any
“Nothing to see here. Move along
defamation laws, but he had it for
please.”
months and months. I would visit him
Struggling to get it really smooth
regularly for a progress check and it was
and symmetrical, I took the plug down
always just a week or less away.
to the local backyard panel beater at
Admittedly, I had used two different
Mike the panel beater cutting and
polishing the clear coat.
types of bog, and they had reacted
with each other, making his job
harder. Anyway, it must be hard to
get anything done when the police
are regularly raiding your
premises…
I finally collected the completed,
painted plug in early December and
it looked pretty good. Frustratingly,
by this time, I had sold my house,
put my project in storage and was
getting ready to move overseas for
an unknown period of time. As the
plug had been made from scrap
wood, fibreglass, pantyhose and
bog, I was worried that it would bubble,
crack or distort.
Luckily, Alex at Almac Cars is far
more professional than the panel
beater. I took the plug to him one
The nosecone sitting on the chassis before
Saturday morning and two weeks
going to the panel beater for finishing.
later I was able to collect a well-made
mould and a gelcoated fibreglass
nosecone taken from that mould. He
had apparently had a hell of time
getting the plug out of the mould and
the plug was destroyed in the process.
Luckily, it had performed its duty by
then. The paint and bog on the plug had
started to bubble as I suspected it
might, but Alex’s skill and experience
meant that he was able to fix any
imperfections in the
mould before making
the part.
The completed nosecone comes out of the
mould.
The nosecone has
now been removed
from the mould,
trimmed and put back
in the mould for
safekeeping in a
storage unit with the
rest of the project
(and the rest of my worldly
possessions). Hopefully it doesn’t
become someone’s barn-find in 40
years time.
By the time you read this, I will be in
the wintery Scottish Highlands, learning
how to make whisky. With any luck, I
will find some Northern Hemisphere
automotive goings on to write my next
article about. Otherwise I might have to
write about whisky.
have yet another apology to
make as I attributed the
excellent article “A Quick Trip to
the Garage’ in the December
magazine to Richard Kelly rather than
Ross McCall. Ross did win the Editor’s
prize for best article in the magazine,
so it will be on its way to you soon.
The good news is that Patrick
Harlow is once again doing the
magazine type setting so I think the
accuracy will improve dramatically. I
will be taking over the web site as Nik
has decided to stand down. I’d like to
take this opportunity to thank Nik for
the great effort he put into the club’s
web site development.
Last Sunday I went for a motorcycle
ride over the Rimutukas to
Martinborough with a couple of old
mates for a coffee and a muffin. It was
a hot day and the Rimutukas were quite
busy both ways but I did manage to
enjoy the ride. Well I was enjoying it
until the old Honda V-twin decided to
drop a cylinder just before the summit
coming home.
I idled down the Upper Hutt side
and waited at a layby for my
companions. After a quick discussion it
was decided that I’d try to ride quietly
to Upper Hutt and leave the bike at a
service station. Well as the bike got
going and the enormous CV
carburettors open up the bike cleared,
found its heels and lunged towards the
horizon. The outcome of this minor
drama was that I managed to ride the
bike home, but every time the throttle
was released the offending cylinder cut
out.
I assume I have managed to block a
pilot jet and so I call my trusty
mechanic, Noel Turner, who has been
repairing bikes for longer than I can
remember. Noel is a guy you can trust
to do a good job and he doesn’t feel
compelled to empty you bank account
in the process. Unfortunately, as I
found out, Noel has retired from the
bike repair business after having some
health issues. This left me in a
quandary as I like to know and have
faith in people who I entrust things to;
be a mechanic, a plumber, a dentist or a
doctor. I’ve decided to do the job
myself but I still need to find myself a
bike mechanic when time or motivation
is limited.
The business relationships we have
are very important and they can only
flourish when each person respects and
Honda VTR1000
carburettors - the largest
fitted to any production
motorcycle
trusts the other, and is
prepared to go the extra
mile. Where this works
well business
relationships can last for
generations, where this
doesn’t exist you have a
situation where the
primary driver is cost
and you constantly shop around.
We have had many members who
have given the club and its members
the same trust and respect; and have
certainly gone the extra mile.
Unfortunately I was away at the
December club night when Alan Stott
received his life membership and a
wooden plaque to mark the event. I’d
like to thank Alan and all the other
members that have ensured that this is
a great club to be a member of.
I’m looking forward to another great
year with the Constructors Car Club.
‘commitment’ to the task.
is well and truly upon us.
Competence was defined as a
I wasn’t able to attend the
measure of the knowledge and skills
December Club Night as I was
related to the specific task at hand.
in Auckland (yet again) with
Knowledge and skills usually come from
work, so I wasn’t there when we
formal education, on the job training
award the inaugural Life Membership
and experience, and transferable skills.
to Alan Stott. I also am unable to
Commitment was defined as a
attend Skite Night due to needing to be
measure
of motivation and confidence.
in Dunedin. Hopefully I will have an
Motivation
is your enthusiasm for the
improved batting average for the rest
task whilst confidence is the feeling of
of the year.
being able to perform a task well
The Club Committee is planning a
without supervision.
range of activities for the coming
Clearly competence can be
months, and feedback from the survey
enhanced
by the participation of other
(published in the last two issues of
people with complimentary or
Spare Parts) has been taken into
additional skills and experience.
account. We are
also working our
Specialist tool for opening windows. (Picture Credit: Unknown)
way through the
purchase of the
first of some special
tools to assist with
builds.
Building a
vehicle requires not
just tools but also a
diverse range of
skills and
resources. I did a
leadership course
years ago and it
contended that in
order to achieve
any goal you
needed both a
suitable level of
what they termed
‘competence’ and
Likewise
commitment can
be boosted by
having someone
providing
encouragement,
sharing the
workload and
lending a hand.
I have written
in the past of the
concept of joining
up with other
club members to Phil (left) with build buddy Stephen O’Neill working on Stephen’s
form ‘Build
three wheeler. Ensuring a completion date for both projects.
Buddy’
partnerships, as such a person can do
prospect of having Stephen drop
much to boost competence and
around on a Monday was sufficient to
commitment. My biggest challenge is
motivate me to spend 2 x 3 hour
motivation – my garage is too small (it is sessions having a bit of a sort out in
a single with a small workshop) and has
preparation – which was more time
been a cramped mess for too long,
than I had spent in the shed in months.
which I find really demotivating.
It has also forced me to think about
To help conquer this Stephen O’Neill what we will do when we do get
and I have decided to become Build
together – which means considering the
Buddies. Our goal is to spend alternate
build sequence, parts and materials
Monday evenings around at each
requirements and the likes – in short, it
other’s sheds from 7-10PM. We live
is getting me back in the shed and back
about 15 minutes apart, which is easily
on track to actually do things.
manageable. Interestingly just the
I encourage you to buddy up too.
of the
highlights
of driving
across
America on Route 66
was meeting the
person who inspired
my interest in cars
through the creation
of my childhood
dream car the
“Batmobile”. Seeing
that car on the covers of a 1960 “TV BARRIS KUSTOM INDUSTRIES. 10811
Riverside Drive North Hollywood, California
Annual” was the start of my
fascination for the unique
automobile. Although the TV series
that his workshop and showroom was
would not be released here until the
just around the corner from our hotel in
mid 70s, I clearly remember going to
Los Angeles. Unfortunately my first two
see the Batman movie in 1967 in
attempts to visit his showroom had met
Ashburton’s one and only movie
with failure as it was closed. The
theatre. TipTop even released a special attached workshop had people working
Batman ice-cream to celebrate its New there but as big signs said public not
Zealand release. On the way home my
allowed I decided to make enquiries at
twin brother and I made plans to build the coffee shop next door. I was
this car. Sadly he grew up.
informed that George does not come
As it was unlikely that I would be
into work as often as he used to.
returning to America I decided to visit
However despite now entering his 90s
the workshops of the automotive
he still drives himself to work and
heroes whose creations used to
grace my bedroom walls. The
workshops/showrooms I visited
belonged to Darryl Starbird,
Carroll Shelby and George Barris,
three automotive legends. The
workshops of George and Darryl
were along Route 66 with Carroll
requiring a detour through Las
Vegas.
Needless to say I was
pleasantly surprised to discover
Patrick standing with George
Barris by the Munster Koach
opens up the showroom so that fans
and customers can see his creations.
Not expecting much luck I tried for the
third and final time on the day before
we were due to fly back to New
Zealand.
It is hard to
describe my feelings
as I walked into Barris
Kustom cars
workshops and saw
the Munster Coach,
the Batmobile, and
KITT all together. Just
to the left, working on
a new design at his
desk was George
Barris himself. Many
of his creations were scratch built and
stretched automotive boundaries. We
had a short chat and George graciously
allowed a photo to be taken of the two
of us.
Barris was born in
Chicago during 1925. After
his mother died in his third
year his father sent him and
his brother Sam to live in California
with relatives. Shortly after settling in
California their father also died. At the
age of seven he began to build balsa
wood models of cars and planes. These
models were entered in local contests
and it was not long before he was
winning awards and getting
commendations for his quality of work
and craftsmanship.
Although his brother Sam would
attain fame building hot rods, one of
the early designs was their 1951 custom
Mercury (the Hirohata Merc), George
would be the first to make money when
at the age of 14 he added a pair of cateye taillights to a 1932 Ford. He was
paid ten dollars for the job. Realising
there was money to made George
decided he wanted to become car
customizer. As the skills were not
taught at school George hung around
local customizers until they let him start
playing with their tools. George created
his first full custom using a 1936 Ford
convertible during his high school years
which lead to their first commercial
customer.
While they were still in high school
the brothers started a custom car club
and at George’s instigation it was called
the Kustoms Car Club using a “k” rather
than the “c” for “Custom”. Clearly they
were in the business to stay. The club
still exists today and is now called
Kustoms Of America.
During the 1940s George had
moved to Los Angeles initially awaiting
assignment on a ship to help with the
war effort. The war ended before he
was due to ship out so he stayed in the
city and looked for opportunities to
hone his automotive skills. When Sam
was decommissioned from the armed
services in late 1945 the two started the
company Barris Kustoms. Initially the
brothers struggled to make money with
George bringing in extra cash by writing
for hot rod and car magazines and
taking pictures. Fortunately, it was
through writing these articles that
George was asked to provide a car for
the California’s first hot rod show in
1948. Much to their surprise the car
ended up winning the “Car of the Show”
award. The resulting publicity put the
1951 Mercury
Convertible built by
Barris Kustoms for
Fred Rowe.
Driven by an
undercover
policeman in the
film “Running
Wild” (Circa 1955)
(Model by Johnny
Lightning)
1949 Mercury driven by
Sam Barris. Believed to be
the first ever chopped
Merc completed around
1950/1951. Sam bought
the car brand new late in
1948. (Model by Johnny
Lightning)
fledgling company on the
map and the orders
started to roll in.
The Hirohata Mercury
mainly designed by Sam but worked on
by both brothers was one of the most
popular cars at the 1952 Motorama
show. This car threw both boys even
more into the limelight and it was not
long before they were building cars for
film stars and movie executives.
However the custom car job involved
lots of long hours and Sam being a
family man and the quieter of the two
brothers left the business in 1956 to
focus on his family. Although Sam
would still occasionally help he built his
last Barris car in 1960 before taking up a
new career as an insurance investigator
until his death in 1967.
The company was now called Barris
Kustom Cars and George found himself
once again involved with model cars as
he managed to sell some designs to
plastic model car manufacturers such as
Revell and AMT. It was not long before
Barris cars were being assembled by
children all across the world.
Meanwhile in their workshop, work was
going at full steam with 25 people
employed. Disaster struck in 1957 when
a fire destroyed the workshop along
with 14 of the 15 cars that were at
various stages of customisation. These
cars included a one-off magnesium
bodied custom Jaguar owned by boxer
Archie Moor and a Jaguar XK120 owned
by Jayne Mansfield. Barris was ready to
give up but with encouragement from
his wife he decided to continue.
The following year new premises
were opened in 10811 Riverside Drive,
North Hollywood and the company
renamed Barris Kustom Industries. It is
still at this location and although work
has scaled down the workshop is still
busy and open to organised club tours.
Also during the late 50s as George
Barris was already providing cars for the
movie executives they started
approaching him about providing cars
for various movies as well. This was the
hot rod era, Hollywood always keen to
follow the trend was making hot rod
movies with a vengeance. The Hirohata
Mercury appeared in the movie
“Running Wild” (circa 1955). By 1958
Barris cars were making regular
appearances in movies generally in the
background and occasionally as the star
car. The demands of the movie business
was such that George created a specific
branch of the business to focus solely
on Hollywood custom cars. Even in
these early days he was building cars in
pairs. One immaculately finished car for
the close up shots with the movie stars
and another not always as well finished
1929 Ford Model A Roadster
built by Barris Kustoms for
Chuck Kirkorian. The car was
also known as the Emperor.
(Model by Johnny Lightning)
to be used as a stunt car in
case the story required jumps
or chase sequences.
The film industry was a
great promotion for Barris
Kustoms. As the 50s came to a
close, hot rods, custom and
movie cars were regularly rolling out of
their workshop. Anything from simple
paintjobs to fully customised show cars,
it all depended on what the client
wanted. Barris was now well known
throughout the movie business.
By the middle of the 1960s the hot
rod era was over, the mass
manufacturers had seen what was
happening. If all these shops could
make money by putting big V8s in to
light two door cars so could they. The
muscle car era was about to begin
heralded by the new Ford Mustang.
Overnight Hollywood stopped making
hot rod movies. Many famous names
like the “Bubble Top King” Darryl
Starbird closed their workshops and
sought other employment. Fortunately
George, by now, was well established.
He had to cut staff, but hot rods and
customs cars still left his workshop
albeit in reduced numbers. Thanks to
Hollywood he had another source of
income.
When people think of the Barris
cars that made it onto the small screen
most think of the Batmobile but there
were a couple of earlier cars that
George was either involved with or
created for top television series. The
earliest one of these was XMSC-210 as
seen in the TV Series “The Many Loves
of Dobie Gillis (Circa 1959-63). It was
wanted in a hurry so George purchased
Art and Lloyd Chrisman’s 1930 Model A
Bonneville coupe which was reworked
to have half gull wing doors, a new
paint job, new wheels and motor and
the car was ready to go.
Another TV series of the 60s. “The
Beverly Hillbillies” was a ratings success,
running for nine seasons
between 1962 and 1971.
The comedy programme
twice hit number one in
the all important ratings,
never falling below the
top 20 throughout it’s
XMSC-210 from
“The Many Loves of
Dobie Gillis”
(Model by Johnny
Lightning)
nine year run. Before taping began
design. With the help of his wife Shirley,
George was approached and asked if he George designed the Munster Koach
could provide a truck to bring the
from scratch using a tombstone type
hillbilly family of Clampetts into town.
radiator, red velvet upholster and
Starting with a 1921 Oldsmobile truck
antique head lights. The studio liked it
that he had found in the back of an old
and said that it was required to be
shed in Fontana California, he set about
presented on the set in one month’s
creating the beaten up truck that
time for the start of filming. When
became as iconic as the stars of the
Hollywood wants something you have
show. As the body had already been
to provide it in their timeframe
hacked off behind the front seat George otherwise they will go to somebody
created a platform with a park bench
else. Starting with a fabricated custom
for the use of Elly May and Granny. He
built, 3.4 metre wheelbase chassis
did not even have to
paint the truck as it’s
faded paint finish was
perfect for the part.
Later it would be
redone again when he
was called upon to
recreate the truck from
scratch for the “Beverly
Hillbillies” movie (circa
1993).
It was not
surprising that George
was approached only a
couple of years after
the “Beverly Hillbillies”
had started and asked
The Munster's Koach (above) as driven by Herman, and
to create another
Drag-U-La for dear old Grandpa to drive.
special car for a new TV
(Models by Johnny Lightning)
series called “The
Munsters” (circa 1964
to 66). The pilot had
been a success so
Universal Studios
wanted to produce it as
a series. Unfortunately
they could not find a
suitable scary vehicle
for the show’s star
Herman Munster to
drive. Never one to
rush things they gave
George three days to
come up with a suitable
Barris got the job done despite the fact
that most parts had to be custom made.
The car was such a success that for the
show’s second season George was
commissioned to make a second car
this time in the shape of a coffin and
would be called Drag-U-La.
The show only lasted two seasons as
it was and was superseded by a new
comedy show that aired at the same
time, in colour, called “Batman” (circa
1966 to 68). The car featured what
many believe to be the greatest ever
Barris car.
Next month there will be an in
depth look at this car as well as other
famous cars built by the “King of
Kustomizers.” Also the controversy of
bragging rights as the dark side of
George Barris is revealed.
Bibliography
Pictures shown are of 1/64 scale
models from Patrick’s own collection
www.kustomrama.com
What I’d do differently. George Barris.
December 2012 Car and Driver. John
Pearly Huffman.
Barris TV and Movie Cars by George
Barris and David Fetherston. ISBN 07603-0198-0
month the Roving
Reporter has travelled no
further than his own garage.
Fitting a custom-built rear
suspension on my Porsche replica has
caused a few anxious moments in
design, construction and geometry.
Any one of these could be off. Well it
was all welded in place on Saturday so
it must be right.
The ‘tricky’ aspects come about
because for reasons of mongrel
engineering I have a Mercedes 190
multi-link upright - a deep sea creature
cast in steel. So first, it needed an
adapter plate to carry the coil over. The
spring mount is cantilevered but it’s
made from 4mm steel and use of laser
Mercedes Rear Hub Adapter
cutting (by Orrsum) means that it
interlocks like Lego.
Despite hours of mental torture I
could only figure out how to use two
link points for the double wishbones.
The overall effect is triangular and
requires a separate toe arm in the same
way that front suspension would have a
steering arm.
The wishbones are ‘by the Hobbycar
Manual’. The only trouble is they were
designed and built before the CCC really
got into the Hobbycar Manual, so the
plans haven’t been sanctioned by
LVVTA. Still they are wide spaced, built
of 26 diameter 2.5mm mild steel and do
not carry spring loads. So they should
be ok???
The inner bushes are
40mm polyurethane front
control arm bushes from
a 1970s VW Beetle. The
outers are 5/8” shank ½”
eye Teflon coated rod
ends (Speedway Motors
#91002967).
John Mines tigged
them together, again as
So they should be ok???
required by the Hobbycar
manual. They sure look pretty. John
really this is just informed guesswork
required a jig - wood was ok. I used a
based on Allan Staniforth’s book,
full 327mm length of tube to form the
“Competition Car Suspension”, and
inner eyes and cut out the unwanted
Jeffrey Daniels’, “Car Suspension at
section once welded. That way the
Work”. I scratched together a
inner eyes are straight.
spreadsheet version of the Staniforth
Following good advice at club night,
string computer, BonesApart.xls. (You
I approached Alan Caldwell to do the
can grab a copy of this off my website,
NDT testing. Alan couldn’t have been
https://sites.google.com/site/
friendlier and likes to help hobbyists. He porschersk718). There are other useful
did the job ‘gratis’. I think he find these
free tools such as http://
little jobs a fun diversion from his more www.vsusp.com/
complex job of testing high pressure oil
The results say I have a static rear
and gas pipelines. And of course there
roll centre of 51.2 mm which moves to
were no issues with John’s welding.
47.6 mm in dynamic/roll situations. It
(See NDT certificate on next page)
tilts down to ground level at the front
All this welding and testing suggests
which is intrinsic to my front
I’m pretty confident about the
suspension’s trailing arms,. Daniels says
suspension geometry (see below) but
this means the front has a bigger lever
arm in roll and will react more weight to
the rear and, thus, encourage over
steer
The chart shows 2 degrees of
camber gain if the wheel is lifted 60mm,
which occurs at about 4 degrees of
body roll. Staniforth says this is a
medium-arm design (long-arm =poor
control of roll but good track and roll
centre control; short-arm=good roll
control but extreme camber change in
droop and squat). In my case the wheel
cambers at about half the rate of body
roll and thus stays relatively vertical
which discourages
understeer
In theeooorrryy this will - nah it’s all horse pucky.
There are many many other
effects: weight, centre of
gravity at both ends, tyre size
(F=195, R=215), front
suspension geometry,
springs, anti-roll bars and
driver stupidly (large
amounts of that in my car).
So ‘pop’ theory goes out the
window. All I can say is that
it went around Manfeild
pretty well in wet and dry. It
steered from the front and
followed from the back! I could feel the
weight of the mid engine but it
remained tidy.
At the risk of boring you with
diagrams. The other geometry concern
was rear bump steer. I cobbled
together a laser pointer and mirror
bump steer tool based on Steve Strain’s
approach. This is easy. The laser is fixed
to the wheel, the beam travels to a
mirror 5.0m away and back to display as
a dot on sheet of paper on the wheel.
As the wheel is moved up and down any
toe movement is exaggerated 10X at
Bump Chart
the laser dot. Possible fixes were helped fouled. The normally phlegmatic Rolf
by a handy little chart found on the
was reduced to muttering about dodgy
WonderWebWorld. . The laser will also overpriced wire. More tea ensued.
show up movement and compression in
He welded in plates to box the lower
bushes and mounts.
suspension mounts. I had previously
I clamped the toe arm to the chassis
gone mad with the angle grinder to
and moved it up and down, in and out,
‘make clearance’.
repeat, measure, repeat… I was 10mm
Rolf really needs 25 hours in a day.
out in one plane and had to pack it by
He is an enthusiastic supporter of his
4..5 mm in the other. 1.0mm made a lot netballing/basketballing daughter, and
of difference. Around Manfeild with
is constantly pursued by his work
everything clamp-bolted tight it
commitments. As best I can tell he has
seemmmmeed to work.
two car projects on the go – a
Ok, so last move. Rolf Feinson
Hondamini and a 7 Chassis - and one
bravely volunteered to load his MIG
festering is his head - a Duesenberg.
into his van and weld the toe mounts in
Ever amiable he was happy to let the
place on site. I plied him with endless
welder cool, and enjoy tea and a good
cups of Earl Grey while he squeezed
chat. Many thanks Rolf.
upside down to weld up-hand, backIt is all welded in, so it must be right
hand, cack-hand. Sod’s law prevailed.
Rolf’s welder worked perfectly down
hand on scrap steel, but soon as Rolf
Rolf upside down and skilfully avoiding
squeezed into place it spluttered and
hot slag.
Please note that Spare Parts doesn’t normally run articles from the internet, however,
this is one of the most splendid creations I have seen. I was put onto it by Julian
Kinsman, who is currently pursuing a Riley folly. Have a look at the Old Motor web
site when you have a spare hour or two.
http://theoldmotor.com/
Enjoy, Stephen O’Neill (editor)
GN JAP is constructed
around the rebuilt
remains of what was
originally a belt drive pre
-World War I GN V-twin using only
original parts and technology which
were available in period. Now
upgraded to four-speed dog clutchshifted chain drive like the post war
cars; it does however retain a wooden
chassis, GN clutch and tiny rear wheel
brakes.
What many people find to be the
most amazing part of the car is the air
cooled V8 JAP engine. It was built
towards the end of 1908 as JAP decided
to build a range of engines aimed at the
budding aeroplane industry. The firm
already had a very good knowledge of
building engines for motorcycles and
industry. John A. Prestwich’s keen
interest in early flight made this a
perfectly reasonable next step, and
both V8 and V4 engines were
constructed.
The engine in the GN is one of four
known surviving overhead valve JAP V8
In the age-old British tradition of
building specials from available
components Richard Scaldwell put
together this remarkable GN Cycle
Car over fifteen years ago. It has
been a crowd-pleaser at VSCC and
other events ever since. The GN was
the forerunner of the well-known
Frazer Nash. Most of the photos in
this story are courtesy of Stefan
Marjoram, who took these images
on a journey from England to France
this past summer. Also on the trip
was the 1905 Darracq 200 HP Land
Speed Record Car of Mark Walker
covered here earlier, and Duncan
Pittaway’s Curtiss OX5 V8-powered
Monarch.
engines and is in fact the prototype V8
which was re-acquired by the factory at
some point to be kept on display along
with a small collection of their most
innovative and interesting projects. This
1908 JAP 305 c.i. (5 litre) V8.
the lazy 305 c.i. (5 litre) lowcompression engine running quite
happily up to 2500 rpm with the high
gearing, the performance is quite
remarkable.
We have regularly used the car for
road trips to the south of France, but
have also raced and hill climbed with
great success; 37 seconds at Shelsley
Walsh is quick by any standards! But the
great thing about this car, and one of
the greatest pleasures, is the ability to
drive to and from events and still be
very competitive.
Although the original multi-jet JAP
carburetor has now been changed to a
twin-choke Zenith made for an early
Curtiss V8, the engine is almost entirely
collection of engines was still on
display after the demise of JAP
and their acquisition by Villiers
Engineering, and subsequently
fell into private hands after the
closure of that manufacturer.
As for the others, the
Shuttleworth collection has an
overhead valve V8, which
powered the famous Willows
Dirigible airship on its 1910 flight
from Bristol to London. The
London Science Museum has the
JAP monoplane with its side-valve
V8 and a partially sectioned
overhead valve V8. The Belfast
Aero Museum has one in a replica
of the first Fergusson flying
machine.
The car as it exists today still
runs tiny 400 x 19 inch wheels
and tires, but weighs only 1039
pounds (470Kg) complete, so with
original and is an extraordinary work of
engineering of the period. The original
flat-plane crank is one piece and drilled
right through the journals and runs in
five babbitt (white metal) main bearing
shells. The side-by-side one piece rods
(more like a racing motorcycle or a GP
Bugatti) are assembled by threading
them along the crank. Next the big end
ball bearings are pressed through the
opposite rod into split-ball races which
are machined and
pinned onto the
journals.
The attention to
detail and weight
saving of the
crankshaft present
an amazing work of
industrial art, but it
also makes it
extremely delicate
and spindly, seeming
as much like a
beautiful flute as a
crank shaft. As it is
now well over 100
years old, I have
elected to admire it
on my library shelf.
It has been replaced
with a new crank, so
as to ensure the safe
preservation of the
engine in its current
competitive life.
Driving the car is
of course, like any
good GN, an
experience to be
savored, more like a
powerful motorcycle
than a car. It is
extremely
responsive to the
throttle and all
cornering is conducted sideways
because of the solid rear axle, drifting
beautifully as it was designed to do. It
looks a handful but is really a delightful
predictable pussycat!
When I first put the car together in
the late 1990s it still had its open
auxiliary exhaust ports drilled in the
cylinder barrels, so the complete chaos
of oil, smoke and flame was quite
hilarious. Many period flying magazines
had letters from young pilots acclaiming
the marvelous engine, but bemoaning
the impossibility of flying for more than
about 20 minutes. By that time, the oil
soaking they received in the propellor
wash forced them to descend and mop
themselves down! To address the
problem and pass modern pre-race
inspection, small copper bands now
close the drilled barrels and a nice
period JAP oil pump is used to run a dry
sump lubrication system.
One of the main reasons why the
engine is so lovely to look at is the fact
that everything, you’d
expect to be inside, is
actually outside on
display. The camshaft
is completely exposed
(in the vee) with its
lever type followers
and pushrods. The
cam, the rockers and
the timing gears are
oiled with an oil can
before running and
seem to be surviving
amazingly well. No
discernible wear is
showing after the
many thousands of miles exposed to
the road dirt and rain. A quick oil squirt
is always entertaining to the inevitable
audience that the car attracts…… I like
to allow my beautiful wife to do this
while I watch the amazement on the
faces around!
I made the body loosely based on
the first few GN racers which Ron and
Archie Nash built in their youth. It has
the flavor and feel of these cars, but
you can’t tell exactly which one! It
certainly captures the excitement of the
great cycle cars of the period
years ago, longer
Prototype 75 hp single.
than I care to think
about, I was an
engineering cadet with
New Zealand Railways. This was when
the government owned them the first
time.
As part of my training I spent two
months working over a very hot
summer at the Linwood diesel depot.
This is where locomotives were
maintained in Christchurch. While
there I meet a young engineer who was
also made keen about motorcycles so
we got on very well and are still mates
to this day. The engineer’s name is
Steve Austin, who has built a Cobra kit
from the UK, with a Chev Corvette LS2
motor and Tremec 5-speed.
If my memory serves me right Steve
had a Ducati 860 and I had a Yamaha XS were out together. I thought my bike
750. One weekend Steve invited me to
was reasonably quick (best lap of 1:23);
a BBQ on a farm outside Christchurch
but then, in practice, going around the
and we went via a friend’s of Steve who hairpin I heard/felt a deep rumbling
was also joining us on the bike ride.
sound just before the Britten fired past
This quiet unassuming chap had a home me down the infield straight on one
built racing motorcycle sitting in a walk
wheel.
way which was a bit different. The chap
The entry on the Britten bike in the
was John Britten.
book of the 1998 Guggenheim “Art and
A few year passed by and in 1992 I
the Motorcycle” affectionately
was riding my home built racing
catalogues the technical specifications
motorcycle at the world superbike
of the machine: “It has a bore of 99mm
round at the Manfeild auto course. My
and is fed by two Bosch fuel injectors. A
bike consisted of various modified
bell drives double overhead crankshafts
Yamaha bits and was powered by a
with four valves per cylinder, producing
YZ490 engine. I was in the single
165 horsepower at 12400 rpm.
cylinder race and got a couple of second
Lubrication oil is held in a wet sump. The
or third places, but the most
V1000’s careful construction, balancing
memorable moment for me was
and assembly resulted in an
practice, where twins and BEARS bikes
exceptionally smooth motor, so no
counter balancers were included.
Primary drive is controlled by
gears, followed by a dry clutch and
five speed transmission. Its frame is
highly unconventional, structurally
composed of carbon fibre and
Kevlar composites. The innovative
use of carbon fibre (a fabric more
commonly used in the construction
of yachts and ski-boots) meant the
generation of extra speed on the
race track due to its lightness and
strength. A beam is bolted to the
top of the cylinders and stretched out to
hold the saddle. Attached to the front of
the engine is a modernised version of
girder forks, which sits upright, attached
to a swinging arm by a long connecting
rod, giving the bike an almost intuitive
sense of the road. A unique piece of
motorcycle architecture, Britten
describes it as, “a girder parallelogram,
semi intelligent front suspension, which
is much more sophisticated than a
conventional motorbike in that it can
differentiate between a bike or a bump
John Britten with his record breaking
motorbike
V1000 Twin.
165 hp @
12400rpm.
force.” The sleek form, from the shark
nosed front fairing to the rapidly
tapering tail fairing give the V1000
aerodynamics unparalleled by other
motorcycles.”
(http://www.nzedge.com/john-britten/)
I often pop into Te Papa and spend a
few minutes looking at the Britten
there. It’s a great reminder of how
great things aren’t done by talking
about them.
The following cars were seen on TradeMe and have been reproduced here as it was
thought that they could be of interest to some members.
Fiberfab Jamaican Sports [Triumph]
Rare Fiberfab Jamaican sports car.
body made by Fiberfab [ USA] in the
1960,s to fit MGA ,Austin Healey and
Triumph TR chassis. this car was built
on a TR4a chassis in 1969.Imported to
NZ in 1999, it was broken up for parts.
I rebuilt it in 2007,using the original
chassis and body but not much else!
powered by a modified PI engine of
approx. 170bhp,Toyota Supra gearbox
and Supra torson lsd diff ,cv type rear
axles,and HD rear hubs and bearings.HD
front stub axles and new boosted
brakes. built as club sport car but fully
road legal.
A very pretty car not unlike a TVR to
look at! light weight and fast! plenty of
pics of this car on Flickr and you tube,
eligible for vcc events and has vic and
motor sport log book. lots of spares
available with car including new vented
front discs, new koni rear shocks,
electric water pump, another engine etc
etc, note engine is running 2in su carbs
in place of injection, runs extremely
well! everything used either new or as
new!
NO shortcuts! for any other
technical info please ring! owner
retiring from motorsport to concentrate
on vintage restorations,. this car needs
to be in the motor sport scene, not
hidden away within our collection! see
my other listings for more.! any offers
considered, for bare car or car and
spares! may trade or swap on vintage
car!
Asking price: $18,000 Or Near Offer
Location: Masterton, Wairarapa
Ferrari 360 Modena replica made by Extreme
Sports cars in the UK
This car has been on TradeMe for about five years now and his asking price has
halved.
 New Momo Steering wheel
 Genuine Ferrari tail lights x 4 (Cost
$600)
 Genuine Ferrari badge set for
whole car (Cost $500)
Ferrari 360 Modena replica made
by Extreme Sports cars in the UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=z6djsYsAzeA
Full GRP body kit imported at a
cost of $20k, Donor car $18k, Lots
spent so far on engineering, panel
fitment etc. Should value up around
$80k when complete (See my other
listing)
Donor car is a 2000 Peugeot 406
Coupe, 3.0 litre V6 manual which has
travelled just 95,000 km’s. Car has
been drastically modified already including roof chop, suspension mods,
doors shortened etc.
You will get:
 Peugeot 406 Donor car extensive-
ly modified
 Complete kit including all panels
needed – most already fitted.
 -riginal black leather seats/
carpets/door covers etc ready to
go back in when finished
Asking price: $20,000
Located: Rangiora Canterbury
I have 3 piece 18" custom built
ROH Modena alloys ready to be made
(through Mag and Turbo Warehouse
in Christchurch), they are made to
measure to for this car exactly. (Not
included in price but ready to order
for new owner - they will cost approx
$5000 including rubber)
Please note this car is not registered, warranted or certified. It has
been deregistered. The seller gives no
guarantee it can be certified for road
use.
Would be a great promotional car or
track car, or perfect base for a sound
install show car.
A great project for the right person
– Car is unfinished as per photos and
is being sold ‘As is – Where is’.