Tag Archives: Wayne

’69 Spoiler – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

No sooner had Chevrolet announced the arrival of it’s Camaro model in 1967 to compete against Ford’s Mustang than racers in the USA were lining up to challenge the Mustang’s hegemony in the Trans Am series with the 302 cui / 5 litre Z/28 variant like the example seen here at a Silverstone Classic Press Day a couple of years ago.

Among those racing Z/28’s in 1967 way Bobby Brown whom records show raced a Penske Z/28 with George Wintersteen and Joe Welch in the 1967 Daytona 24 hours where they qualified 22nd but retired.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Bobby also raced a Robert Chevrolet entered Z/28 in the 1967 Sebring 4 Hour race in which he finished 6th from 9th on the grid.

Records show Bobby racing a Z/28 on two further occasions at Lime Rock in 1967 winning his class in a SCCA event in mid May.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Today’s featured car is believed to have been raced by Bobby in 1967 before being shipped to the UK in 1968 where Malcolm Wayne drove it in the British Saloon Car Championship the following season Mike Kearon did likewise.

In 1970 the car went to Bill Davis Racing where it was part of a two car stable that included a Z/28 built from scratch that was driven by Roy Pierrepont.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Adrian Chambers acquired the car in 1971 for his SCA Freight team that was joined midway through the season by Australian Frank Gardner who won two British Saloon Car Championship races with it.

Frank also raced the car in a couple of rounds of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft 1972 finishing a best 2nd at Diepholz.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

After it was replaced in the SCA team by a second generation Camaro Frank had today’s featured car sent first to New Zealand and then to Australia where he raced it into 1973.

John Pollard appears to have been responsible for fitting the larger ’69 spec rear spoiler in preparation for his entry into Australian Super Sedan races somewhere around 1976.

Thanks for joining me on this “’69 Spoiler” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Hudson Commercial – Terraplane Six Cab Pickup Express

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A couple of weeks ago I was ferreting around for answers to questions I had about the Hudson Super Six Special I featured a couple of weeks ago, on the Hudson Forum, when much to my delight surprise I found out that Hudson had marketed a pick up truck under the Terraplane brand between 1932 and 1939.

Wayne Graefen found this example with the standard Detwiler pick up body in McMinnville, Portland Oregon belonging to Hudson collector Mr Robert (Bob) Harbaugh in 1985 and purchased it taking the photo above with Mrs Harbaugh standing in front of the traillored pick up.

Over the next 18 months Wayne took all the paint off replaced a wooden door hinge pillar and procured some missing parts before painting the truck and getting the bumper bars rechromed. Wayne then sold the truck to his business partner Press Kale who over the following two years had the stock flat head 212 cui 6 cylinder motor and 3 speed manual transmission rebuilt.

Press did a deal with Coker Tire Co. who used the Terraplane Pick Up on their SEMA stand in Las Vegas in exchange for some white wall tyres. Wayne tells me that the 1/2 ton truck is still 100% stock including the vintage 6 volt electrical system and the cable operated mechanical brakes.

Alex Burr at the Hudson Forum reckons around 1281 commercial Terraplanes were shipped of all types including pick ups, vans, and bare commercial chassis which were shipped to body shops for full custom bodies.

My thanks to Wayne Graefen for sharing the Terraplanes story & photographs and to Alex Burr for the production volumes of the Terraplane commercial vehicles.

Thanks for joining me on this Hudson Commercial edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a vintage racing MG. Don’t forget to come back now !

Cherry & Jones – Vauxhall XVR

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The Vauxhall XVR, seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed, was the first Concept Car ever exhibited by Vauxhall Motors, it appeared in public at the Geneva motor show in 1966.

Wayne Cherry who had been involved in the design of the Chevrolet Camaro / Pontiac Firebird and Oldsmobile Tornado was transferred from GM central in Detroit to GMs English manufacturer Vauxhall Motors in 1965 and with is credited with the Stingrayesque styling of the XVR alongside the Director of Styling David Jones.

3 XVR models were built powered by 71 hp twin carburetor 1594 cc / 97 cui 4 cylinder motors as used in the performance VX 4/90 variation on the Vauxhall 101.

The XVR was built on a custom built chassis with independent suspension and disc brakes all round.

Gull wing doors were part of the futuristic XVR package, even though they had already been seen on the production Mercedes 300 SL dating back to 1954, though unlike the Mercedes the doors on the XVR also form the unusual for the period split windscreen.

It is not known why Vauxhall halted production of the XVR concept which is known to have been put through trials at Vauxhall’s Research and Test center after it’s public debut in Geneva.

Elements of the concept are said to have found their way into the design of the Vauxhall Firenza including the styling of the dashboard and tail lights.

Although as we shall see next week the German chapter of GM, Opel, would build a car that took it’s styling from it’s own Opel Experimental GT concept dating from 1965 it would take another 34 years before the Vauxhall brand name would appear on a two seat sports car namely the Vauxhall VX220.

Thanks for joining me on this XVR edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Luton’s Finest – Vauxhall HP Firenza 9F37REX111999

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Like the recently featured South African Chevrolet Firenza Can Am the High Performance (HP) Firenza was a top of the range Viva HC Coupé model but built for the UK market and though intended to be produced in far larger numbers, 30,000 projected units, only 204 HP Firenza’s were built along with a further 197 estate / station wagon variants.

The distinctive ‘Droopsnoot’ grp nose was restyled styled by Wayne Cherry and based on the nose of a well known Dealer Team Vauxhall Firenza raced by Gerry Marshall called ‘Old Nail’ that will it’s self be the subject of a future GALPOT blog. The twined headlights are interchangeable with the Renault Alpine A310.

Under the unusual for the period aerodynamic nose was a 131 HP 2297 cc / 140 cui slanted 4 cylinder engine enough to power the HP Firenza with a drag co efficient of cd 0.4 from rest to 60 mph in 8 secs and to a top speed of 120 mph.

Though the paint work of this particular car built in 1975 is not the original ‘Starlight Silver’ this car carries similar decals to those carried by a small series of vehicles for a one off publicity race organised at Thruxton to launch the model, a race won by Barry ‘Whizzo’ Williams.

The HP Firenza was undoubtedly a styling triumph for Vauxhall yet the car was also an unmitigated marketing disaster thanks to the after effects of the ’70’s fuel crisis, though design elements of the nose did find their way into future Vauxhall products notably the Chevette and Cavalier which were in essence badge engineered Opel models.

Thanks for joining me on today’s Droopsnoot edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at another performance saloon carrying a blue oval badge. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring

Tag Archives: Wayne

’69 Spoiler – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

Hudson Commercial – Terraplane Six Cab Pickup Express

Cherry & Jones – Vauxhall XVR

Luton’s Finest – Vauxhall HP Firenza 9F37REX111999