Home-Built Specials Still Find Favour

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29107, 20 January 1960, Page 19

Home-Built Specials Still Find Favour

the days when home-built specials dominated the programme at Wigram have passed, the spirit of enthusiasm for the sport is not dead among Christchurch mechanics. Some interesting entries have been received for Saturday’s races—some of them even with gearboxes and disc brakes that have been built locally Pride of place among the local specials which will be seen on Saturday goes to the new Stanton Special of M. F. and C. W. N. Stanton, two Christchurch motor mechanics who hold the present Australian and New Zealand speed record at 173 miles an hour. Their new car, similar in lines to the famous Indianapolis cars of the United States, develops tremendous power from a specially modified Chevrolet Corvette engine. If the hours of work that have gone into this car were to be totalled, the car would be worth many thousands of pounds. Every slightest detail has been thoroughly checked and rechecked by the Stanton brothers and the car has been constructed in such a way that it is indistinguishable from one of the finest cars to be turned out by a European motor racing, factory. Local mechanics are unstinted in their praise of the Stanton brothers’ latest car, and if there is any car which deserves to win the title of first New Zealand special to finish, then it is this one.

The Stanton brothers can look to some serious opposition from the R.A. special of Hector Green, another car which has taken hundreds of hours to build. Green built the engine for this car out of his own head—a task which most mechanics would shudder at. Yet this car has a grand turn of speed, and although it may be beset by teething troubles, it still represents an outstanding attempt by a local mechanic to challenge the factory machines.

Neil Stuart, a clever mechanic who has been racing V 8 specials for some years, will drive his car fitted with a newer and larger Mercury engine this year. With a longer stroke and a good deal more power, this car should finish in a high placing—provided the weather is reasonably cool. American V 8 car engines have a bad habit of overheating in racing. Ron Rutherford, whose cars are always perfectly prepared, will this year drive a car powered by a Zephyr engine with a Raymond Mays conversion. Most of the local specials builders will be competing in the Motor Racing Club’s championship event of 42 miles. This event is a real boon to the small-time enthusiast, for it gives him an opportunity to compete on far more equitable terms than if he were entered in the trophy race itself. There are three classes in this race—up to 1500 c.c., 1500 c.c. to 3000 c.c., and over 3000 c.c.