More wooden cars.

In miniature this time.

Take a look at these 1:18 scale carved wooden Bolwells. Vic Garra had a Nagari one made. A few members were so impressed that they got together and had one made for Merryn for her birthday. You will note that these models are not generic, but personalised, with scoops in the right place, ditto for exhaust pipes etc. plus correct rego numbers and mag wheels. Simon had one made of his Mark 7 and he is very happy with his. It cost him less than $400.00.

Craig Jones, in Sunbury, Victoria, makes these models. Check his website www.cjones.net.au
email : camjones1@bigpond.com

I was a bit worried that an open car like an Ikara might be out of the question, but take a look at this..

While on the subject of models of iconic Australian cars,  here's some Ascorts done in resin.

And here's a Buckle Mini Monaco model.

Pete S recently took delivery from Germany, a model of a red Zeta Sports complete with South Australian number plates.

BT62

Evoking the spirit of the iconic Brabham marque and the legendary cars that have carried its name, Brabham Automotive has today announced Brabham BT62 as the name of its first project, along with an audio tease of the car at idle during dynamic testing.

Since 1961, when Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac began designing and manufacturing cars, all Brabham vehicles have been given the prefix 'BT', in honour of the team's founders, along with a chassis numbering code for each specific type of car.

With its unveiling less than two months away, the all-new Brabham BT62 continues the lineage of the marque's greatest and most memorable cars, from BT7, the first Brabham to win a Formula 1 race, to BT19, which made history in becoming the first car bearing its driver's name to win a World Championship; the radical, ground-hugging BT46B 'fan car', and BT52, the first turbo-charged car to win a Formula 1 World Championship.

As the next to bear the legendary BT designation, the latent potential of the Brabham BT62's engine note hints at a car that is inspired by Brabham's historic racing pedigree and uncompromising and fearless determination to succeed.

Reflecting on the significance of the name, Managing Director, David Brabham said. "I am thrilled to announce Brabham BT62 as the name of Brabham Automotive's first project. With more than 700 racing cars produced since its inception in the 1960s, the Brabham marque boasts a remarkable heritage, so to see the first Brabham in 26 years wear the iconic BT designation will be a huge moment in our history."

Far more than just a concept or styling exercise, the Brabham BT62 has already been through a rigorous and extensive engineering programme and is nearing the end of an intensive testing process prior to its global debut.

The Brabham BT62 will be unveiled on Wednesday 2 May 2018, marking the next chapter in the evolving story of one of the most celebrated and evocative names in motor racing history.

Another one hits the road.

.....and a couple more.

New bits.

This is B9/001's chassis.

Replacement tubing necessary due to rust. Nice work Tim. You could actually poke holes in the old metal with a screwdriver. I hope the rest will be OK. B9/001 was a prototype so holes were drilled to attach things,  Then they'd decide to put an item somewhere else, facilitating another set of holes, leaving the old holes. So it's a pretty holey old chassis.

B9/002 is a prototype too. However, it doesn't resemble B9/001's chassis much, but then again all 12 chassis seem to be a bit different to each other. 

A trip around The Bend.

Front straight.

Front straight - turn 1.

Turn 1.

Turn 2.

Turn 3.

Turn 5.

Turn 5-6.

Turn 6.

Turn 8.

Turn 9.

Turn 11.

Turn 12-13.

Turn 13.

Turn 13-14.

Turn 14.

Turn 15

Turn 16.

Turn 17.

Turn 17-18.

Turn 18.

Turn 18-19.

 Turn 19.

Cruisin magazine.

In this edition is a nice photo of a Mark 4, the twin to the one that Allan Black has just bought.

A shout out to Ben Galli in Melbourne.

I love his photography.

Sold!

This very fine example.

And it's crossing to the other side. (Of this great brown land).

Tell him he's dreaming.

The ad in my local newspaper said, 'for sale - kit car. No wheels or tires, $500 cash'. Of course, I had to call. The grumpy old codger that answered said he didn't know anything about it except that his sorry, no good brother in law parked it behind his house six years ago and gave him the title in exchange for $500 and he hasn't see that b*****d since and he wants it gone.
So -- I drive all the way to his house and he points to an open shed in the back yard and says 'cash money if you want it'.
As I approached the car I could see that it was something unique, unlike the rotting Avengers, Bradleys and unfinished dune buggies I usually see. As I got closer my heart began to pound. When I stood next to it I broke out in flop sweats.
I almost ran back to the house, banged on the door and struck the deal. He was holding a clean title and my hands were trembling as I wrote out a bill of sale and counted out five one hundred dollars bills and in less than fifteen minutes I officially owned a GENIUNE DeTomaso Mangusta. I almost fainted when the old fart handed me the keys and I was dialing a flatbed tow truck as I hobbled back to my new car on wobbly legs to wait.
Then............................... I woke up.

Good to keep the recipe handy.

One thing about Lake Gairdner.

There's no shortage of variety.

Just another Kenworth. Is this a lightweight racing body by Bolwell?

Another wooden car.

Barry and Chris encountered this in their journey across the continent.

At least it's not shaped like a radiogram.

Buckles are good.

My Buckle GT Tourer

Not just any young man and not just any car. Twenty-seven year old Bill Buckle had been living the dream in Britain, dabbling in motorsport, following the F1 circuit and feeding his interest in cars in general. "I had always had an interest in motorsport and cars, my father had an automotive business and I grew up around cars," Buckle recalls. "I had been following the F1 and looking at various things and I saw some of the fibreglass specials they built there and I thought they were pretty crappy and I could do better. I came back and talked the directors of Buckle Motors into letting me do it ... and we did it."

The Buckle GT Tourer was under way. Buckle built a full-size plaster model on which to mold the fibreglass shell which would sit on a box chassis designed by then relatively unknown Aussie mechanic and designer Ron Tauranac, the man who was to go on to be the genius behind the famous Brabham Formula One cars.

"We settled on a 2.5-litre Ford Zephyr engine, initially because Ford would sell us new parts where Holden wouldn't. I am glad we settled on Ford because I believe they were the better engines."

Buckle's dream saw 25 of the sleek 2+2 rear-wheel drive GT cars built before the uphill struggle of getting his unknown local product out into the market began to tell. "Every one knows it is hard to sell an unknown brand against names like Austin Healey, MG, Triumph ... even though I had every hill climb record and race circuit record on the East Coast for GT cars. And it was a nice coupe with a big boot and big fuel tank that went like hell."

By 1958 Buckle had moved on to start importation of partial CKD Goggomobils for which he would build a local fibreglass body. Starting with a sedan version of the Goggo, followed by a coupe, Buckle then hit upon the model that was to become part of automotive legend. "The Dart was the third model we did here. I decided it was easier to build a body that you didn't have to have doors with a real simple little thing and it just clicked. We couldn't build them quick enough."

Despite the popularity of the Dart, Goggomobil faded from the scene and Buckle was left facing a harsh reality. "When I finished doing the Buckles and then Goggomobil, Buckle Motors which was my father's business, but he had died when I was 19 sort of fell over because the guys running it when I was doing all this building cars and motorsport didn't really have their eye on the ball. "Then I had to get out and make a dollar so I didn't worry too much about the cars I had built. That is when I started Bill Buckle Autos at Brookvale which finished up to be a pretty big dealership."

Buckle says he all but lost track of his clutch of cars, except for one which was offered to him by an acquaitance who worked for finance company AGC which had repossessed the car in the late 1960s. "My son, Bill junior, pulled it apart and then probably went surfing or something and a lot of it sat in boxes at one of our factories. When we had a move from there somebody had a look at the boxes, didn't know what it was and threw it all out."

That almost sealed the fate of the car which sat unlamented in various warehouses and garages for almost 40 years until Buckle's interest in his cars was reignited by a chance meeting just weeks ago. "I had to give a talk at the Powerhouse Museum a couple of weeks ago about building cars in Australia 50 years ago," Buckle says. "They have had a Goggomobil Dart for years and I have a couple of nice ones so they thought it would be good if we could get a Buckle there as well. "I rang this bloke and he agreed to bring his Buckle down from Lithgow. When I saw it it was just so beautiful and I thought then that I should really own this as I am not getting any younger. So I made the bloke an offer he couldn't refuse and got the car."

Buckle says that there was a lot of satisfaction in getting a prime example of one of his cars back, but there were some initial nerves involved in bringing it back to Sydney. "The funny part is that I drove it back from Lithgow with some apprehension but after a couple of kilometres I was absolutely at home. It doesn't rattle, it drives properly, it goes around corners, it stops and there is plenty of grunt."

Since getting his "new" Buckle, interest has been revived in the almost forgotten ghost in the garage. "When I bought this (new) car I got a few extra parts and I've sourced quite a lot of other parts so I think I will now finish restoring the one we have been sitting on for the past 40 years."

Buckle concedes that the original plan to build his car was "probably a bit more passion than commonsense" but there is still an enormous sense of satisfaction in what he achieved. "When I saw the car at the Powerhouse Museum I immediately thought `Did I build something as beautiful as that?' Even today they are a pretty good looking thing."

Buckle GT Tourer 
Price new: 1875 pounds 
Price now: $40,000 (show condition) 
Years built: 1956-1959 
Number built: 25

 20 November 2009 

 by 

Kevin Hepworth

, The Telegraph