FINAL DAY OF CAR ECONOMY RUN

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29798, 14 April 1962, Page 8

FINAL DAY OF CAR ECONOMY RUN

(From Our Own Reporter)

DUNEDIN. April 13. The surprise of the 1963 Mobilgas Economy Run which ended here today was the exclusion of the car which was expected to win class C, the Wolseley 1500 (R. E, Spicer, Christchurch). The car was excluded when it was discovered that the carburettor jets were not standard.

Mr Spicer said the instruction book supplied with the English-assembled car was not the correct one for that model. When the jets were altered before the run to conform with those specified in the handbook they were, of course, incorrgct. It was an unfortunate accident. The clerk of the course (Mr J. L. Bell) said a protest against his decision to exclude the Wolseley was not upheld. In the previous eight economy runs only one other car, also a Wolseley, had been excluded because it was not standard, he said. In both cases the cars would have won their class.

There were no upsets in the placing® in the other classes. The Peugeot 403 moved to first place in class C replacing the Wolseley, the Austin A6O moving to second and the Singer Vogue to third.

The cars left Christchurch on the final 234-mile leg from 6 a.m. The weather was at first overcast and cold, but by about 8 a.m. it had cleared and become warmer.

A refuelling stop was made at Waimate, the com-

petitors then going to Dunedin, where the first car arrived soon after noon. At Dunedin teams of officials under Mr E. Gunn, of Dunedin, started to refuel the cars, calculate places and fuel consumption, and check seals, oil, and water. The winning cars were later stripped down at a local garage for careful examination by the scrutineers.

This evening the Minister of Transport (Mr McAlpine) presented prizes to the winners. The final results were:—

Class A (up to 900 c.c.).—Fiat 500 (L. Mackay, Dunedin), 50.74 miles a gallon, 1; Morris Mini Minor (L. J. Critchley, Levin). 54.61, 2; Austin Seven (N. D. Johns, Whangarei). 53.88, 3; Renault Dauphine (W. B. Cummings. Wanganui). 47.49, 4. Class B (over 900 c.c. and up to 1350 c.c.).—Morris Minor 1000 (F. G. Rickard, Ashburton), 51.83 miles a gallon. 1; Volkswagen (L. F. McKendry. Nelson). 47.78, 2; Austin A4O (T. B. Dougherty Alexandra), 46.8. 3: Skoda (P. K. Andrews, Palmerston North). 4527. 4; Ford Consul 315 (J. N. McKenzie. Balclutha), 43.71. 5; Triumph Herald (T. R. Foothead. Wellington). 43.19, 6; Ford Anglia (J. D. Shields. Alexandra). 41.42, 7; Simca Etoile (R. A. Scampton. Tawa). 38.02 , 8.

Class C (over 1350 c.c. and up to 1950 c.c.).—Peugeot 403 (D. Downs. Christchurch), 47.7 miles a gallon. 1; Austin A6O (C. E. Waterhouse, Dunedin). 38.77, 2; Singer Vogue (H. W. Dysart). Hastings. 37.44 . 3; Morris Oxford (R. Hunter, Dunedin), 37.1, 4; Vauxhall Victor (L. L. Irvin. Frankton Junction). 36.96, 5; Humber 80 (J. M. Thompson. Hauraki Plains), 34.14. 6.

Class D (over 1950 c.c. and up to 3000 c.c.). —Vanguard Six (E. W. Wilkinson, Ashburton), 33.08 miles a gallon, 1; Vauxhall Velox (J. N. Boag. Dunedin). 31.17, 2; Holden Special (R. M. Moore, Christchurch). 30.72. 3: Austin A 99 (D. Kilpatrick Blenheim), 29.62, 4; Ford Zodiac (G. H Tait, Nelson), 29.32, 5; Rover 3litre (D. J. Lindsay, Masterton), 28.24. 6: Humber Snipe (M. C. • Paterson. Dunedin). 27.19, 7.