Oddball engines and prototypes

[WilDun]

No. Aviakit or some similar name. English make. The pudding basins were on the way out and it would only be a couple of years before the first "jet" helmets. Google a pic of Stirling Moss around 1960 and that's what he wore.
It's possible that the helmet is the reason for the pic being taken....

Yes I think you guys are right, everything fits the Manx! - Hoped you South Island boys would come up with the answer, - now, who was the rider? - bet that'll be sorted soon!

[Grumph]

Yes I think you guys are right, everything fits the Manx! - Hoped you South Island boys would come up with the answer, - now, who was the rider? - bet that'll be sorted soon!

Couple of memory neurons collided, it's a Stadium helmet. Reason I said it might be why the pic was taken is that if the date and place are correct, Moss was driving at that meeting. His helmet and this guy's would probably have been the only ones there of this type. It's definitely not Moss riding, LOL.
Could well be someone just back from overseas - with a manx and poncy helmet....

[husaberg]

Couple of memory neurons collided, it's a Stadium helmet. Reason I said it might be why the pic was taken is that if the date and place are correct, Moss was driving at that meeting. His helmet and this guy's would probably have been the only ones there of this type. It's definitely not Moss riding, LOL.
Could well be someone just back from overseas - with a manx and poncy helmet....

Iwas just reading something Barry Briggs wrote he said he met up with Bert Munro in Invergiggle one time he said he was petrified that Bert would offer him a ride that fear turned real when not only he did but he handed him a steel dads army helmet, Barry gave him his New Bell. that pic almost looks like a speedway face mask


Denny Hulme and Jack Brabram were there in 1960 along with bruce mclaren
Denny Used to race Scambles also
John Surtess was there the Next year 1961



Results for Cars
Lady Wigram Trophy (Jan. 21st)—Christchurch, N.Z.

1st: J. Brabham (Cooper-Climax)
2nd: S. Moss (Lotus-Climax)
3rd: A. Hyslop (Cooper-Climax)

Getting closer here is the 1961 500cc list

[Grumph]

That'll probably be a silk scarf worn under the helmet.
Pretty sure that was the year Moss turned up with a Cooper for practise, broke the lap record and everyone said "it's a Cooper circuit"....So when the Lotus turned up, he raced that.
Also pretty sure it was the year we all lined up in the pits to look down the throats of Mclaren's Cooper carbs....There was a valve head sitting in one carb throat. Which is why he drove the Lycoming...

[husaberg]

That'll probably be a silk scarf worn under the helmet.
Pretty sure that was the year Moss turned up with a Cooper for practise, broke the lap record and everyone said "it's a Cooper circuit"....So when the Lotus turned up, he raced that.
Also pretty sure it was the year we all lined up in the pits to look down the throats of Mclaren's Cooper carbs....There was a valve head sitting in one carb throat. Which is why he drove the Lycoming...

I am not sure if you can see the pics i posted
if not i will email them
Bravo on the memory

Lady Wigram Trophy (January 23rd)

The New Zealand season continued with the Lady Wigram Trophy held on the Christchurch airfield and Brabliam followed up his win in the New Zealand Grand Prix with another win in this event, leading from start to finish. Piper had his Lotus F.1 going well and did his best to hold on to the leader, while Burgess drove a 2.2-litre Cooper-Climax, but was slowed by losing fourth gear. In practice McLaren broke the engine of his works 2-1/2-litre Cooper and looked like having to be a spectator, until a New Zealand driver offered him his car, a home-built Lycoming special, which McLaren gratefully accepted and drove with great spirit to finish fourth.

I cant find Moss though

Pos No. Driver Car Laps Time Grid
1 Australia Jack Brabham Cooper T51 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl 71 1hr 40min 42.0sec 1
2 United Kingdom David Piper Lotus 16 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl 71 + 9.8 s 3
3 United Kingdom Ian Burgess Cooper T51 / Climax 2205cc 4cyl 71 + 2:01.0 s 2
4 New Zealand Bruce McLaren Lycoming Special / Lycoming 4733cc 4cyl 71 + 3:18.4 s 17
5 New Zealand Pat Hoare Ferrari 256 / Ferrari 2996cc 4cyl 71 + 4:17.9 s 4
6 New Zealand Jim Palmer Lotus 15 / Climax 1964cc 4cyl 68 + 3 Laps 6
7 New Zealand Len Gilbert Cooper-Bristol Mk II / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl 67 + 4 Laps 7
8 New Zealand Syd Jensen Cooper T45 / Climax 1460cc 4cyl 66 + 5 Laps 9
9 New Zealand Bill Thomasen Ferrari 750 Monza / Ferrari 2999cc 4cyl 65 + 6 Laps 15
10 New Zealand Ron Roycroft Ferrari 375 / Ferrari 4493cc V12 64 + 7 Laps 11
11 New Zealand Bruce Webster Cooper Mk VII / Porsche 1582cc 4cyl 64 + 7 Laps 12
Ret New Zealand Denny Hulme Cooper T45 / Climax 1964cc 4cyl 68 Oil Pressure 10
Ret New Zealand Morrie Stanton Stanton-Corvette / Chevrolet 4640cc V8 56 Spun off 14
Ret New Zealand Les Moore RA Vanguard / Vanguard 2088cc 4cyl 8 Tyre 15
Ret New Zealand Gavin Quirk Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl 7 Engine 16
Ret New Zealand Johnny Mansell Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl 0 Universal 16
DNS New Zealand Malcolm Gill Lycoming Special / Lycoming 4733cc 4cyl Did Not Start
DNS Australia Len Lukey Cooper T45 / Climax 1964cc 4cyl Did Not Start
DNA New Zealand George Lawton Cooper T45 / Climax 1964cc 4cyl Did Not Attend
DNA New Zealand Allan Freeman Talbot-Lago 26C / Talbot 4485cc 6cyl Did Not Attend
DNA New Zealand Bob Smith Ferrari Super Squalo 555 / Ferrari 3431cc 4cyl Did Not Attend

Found this also 1961 GP
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/new...rand-prix-1961

Doco on Kim Newcombe
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/lov...-and-loss-2007

[Grumph]

'61 was the wet one. Best remembered for three Italian GP cars stacked in the ditch outside Bomb-bay corner, LOL.
Seeing the Tec-Mec in the entry lists brought that memory back in spades.
'60, Moss - According to a book I have here, he was at Ardmore '60 and '61 so I'd have assumed he was at Wigram both years too. May have been a non-starter

Looking at the bike entry list for '60, I knew a lot of them. Not many left alive now.

[WilDun]

'61 was the wet one. Best remembered for three Italian GP cars stacked in the ditch outside Bomb-bay corner, LOL.
Seeing the Tec-Mec in the entry lists brought that memory back in spades.
'60, Moss - According to a book I have here, he was at Ardmore '60 and '61 so I'd have assumed he was at Wigram both years too. May have been a non-starter

Looking at the bike entry list for '60, I knew a lot of them. Not many left alive now.

Unfortunately I missed all of this car racing in Auckland, I didn't arrive in NZ till mid '66 and all the racing, (both cars & Bikes) had been moved to Pukekohe by then.
Although I do remember Mike Hailwood driving a car at Pukekohe (think it was a V6, - Honda maybe). I took my wife to Pukekohe to her first (and last) motorcycle race there to try and convince her that bikes were great - unfortunately Cal Rayborn (from USA) died right in front of where we were sitting, so she would never entertain even the thought of bikes after that!

Thanks Husa - a lot of good stuff on your post!

I have no idea about the guy on the Manx in the photo - at Wigram? in 1960? just trying to find out for someone who had that photo in his posession.

[WilDun]

Just saw his (short lived) Harley Davidson racer for sale.
It's a beautiful machine and as far as I can remember it was a production racer version of the works Aermacchi machine which Renzo Pasolini rode in the world champs in the early seventies (when he and Jarno Sarrinen collided, killing them both, - Monza?).
Was it designed by the Villa brothers in Italy?

[Grumph]

They'd certainly have had input. There was at least one and possibly two of them in NZ thanks to Ginger Molloy.
I think they went up for sale a couple of years back and i don't know where they went.

[Michael Moore]

Here are some photos I took at Laguna Seca AMA national of the 500 Aermacchi (H-D) twin with 4 carbs





cheers,
Michael

[husaberg]

Just saw his (short lived) Harley Davidson racer for sale.
It's a beautiful machine and as far as I can remember it was a production racer version of the works Aermacchi machine which Renzo Pasolini rode in the world champs in the early seventies (when he and Jarno Sarrinen collided, killing them both, - Monza?).
Was it designed by the Villa brothers in Italy?

As far as i know it was all Aermacchi till later. villia had a bit to do with them then left to race what became the villia twins and 4.
The water cooled 250 twin came after a few unfruitful years with an aircooled twin
Kiwi legend Bryan Thomas the guy that made the 250 desmo mini manxs made a rather neat Villia v twin replica a few years ago, i have been meaning to post it.
From what i understand the left over techs from aerrmacchi later formed the basis of Cagivas earlier efforts mx then GP.
Afterwards they then became Husky employees when husky moved to Italy. bugger knows what they would do now Husky is just rebadged KTM's
I actually have one of the aermachhi 2 strokes engines sold as Harleys. Pretty sure they were 100% Italian, My father has a minerelli powered 125 Indian as well.
Harley had earlier homegrown (i think) two strokes based on DKW copies like the bantam (hummer?)

there was a right up on that 500 in classic racer with the last year.
From the association with Macchi Harley ended up with handling knowhow and access to top line forks brakes that forked and braked.
I would also assume they gained a fair bit of decent cylinder head design that later appeared on the XR750's
Paso also raced an iron XR750 road racer around Europe.

[Grumph]

Where do you start...Dunlop treaded front and I assume a Goodyear slick rear. The dreadful Scarab front calipers, but at least this version has the back brake on the wheel...
Then if you follow wobbly on the ESE thread, the extra volume of the big reed boxes means it should run very low frequency reeds - which then don't work at the top end.
But if it had been offered, I'd have ridden it, LOL.

[Michael Moore]

That 500 was ridden by Gary Scott, and IIRC it was the 1975 Laguna race where I took the photos.

[WilDun]

I've learnt a lot more on the HD Aermacchis in the last few posts than I ever knew before! From the early seventies until nearly 2000 I had virtually lost track of everything motorcycle and what went on in that period, - thanks to you guys I'm finding out!
So I guess that Pasolini would have ridden the Iron 750 after Cal Rayborn died? (my wife and I witnessed that - and that took the gloss off bikes for a while!) Paso wouldn't have ridden the 750 HD for very long though? - as I remember seeing Jarno Sarrinen doing autographs at the Earls Cort show in London (1973 ?) I do remember both he and Pasolini were killed soon after that.

[husaberg]

I've learnt a lot more on the HD Aermacchis in the last few posts than I ever knew before! From the early seventies until nearly 2000 I had virtually lost track of everything motorcycle and what went on in that period, - thanks to you guys I'm finding out!
So I guess that Pasolini would have ridden the Iron 750 after Cal Rayborn died? (my wife and I witnessed that - and that took the gloss off bikes for a while!) Paso wouldn't have ridden the 750 HD for very long though? - as I remember seeing Jarno Sarrinen doing autographs at the Earls Cort show in London (1973 ?) I do remember both he and Pasolini were killed soon after that.

scroll up
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=...solini&f=false

i never knew for sure the Duc paso was named after him though.
The Harley XR750TT appears to be in the Barber museum.
FRom memory they had reversed oiling.