Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 4 i RETROMOTIVE

GREETINGS! You may have noticed a difference in the first few pages of Volume 4. Ads. Yes, a lot of people had commented on the lack of ads in the previous volumes and it has always been my intention to get some support from advertisers to fund the magazine, but honestly, I was too busy doing my ‘day’ job and putting the magazine together. Add in a normal everyday suburban family life and well, you’d be surprised how fast a how a day goes by! Now the magazine has found its own rhythm and the audience and awareness of Retromotive is growing, you will start to see a little more advertising in the magazine. The content and aesthetics will remain the same. The magazine has survived its first year and…

ARTHUR Goddard, humble author of a major chapter of automotive history, is a tallish bloke with a deep-chested laugh. Still an astute old bugger at 96. This is the ex-Englishman who was chief engineer behind the first Land Rover, the man who turned the vision of Rover’s technical director Maurice Wilks into a road-going, paddock-bashing four-wheel drive. In ten months. Today Arthur credits the speed of the project - Wilks’ concept was a vehicle to chase defence contracts plus replace his farm’s Jeep - to Solihull factory teamwork, prompt decision-making and an array of Rover car bits to pilfer. “And I could pick people to do the jobs,” says the modest Arthur. “I didn’t have to be all that good myself because I had a suspension man I could pull…

Any muscle car fan worth his mullet knows the story of the ‘Winged Warriors’ from the 1969 and 1970 season of NASCAR racing. The Super Bird was the poster child of the era, but that doesn’t mean that the other cars that competed don’t have their own unique story to tell. The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II didn’t win a championship but was no slouch when it came to winning races either. The Cyclone Spoiler II won eight Grand National races during the 1969 and 1970 NASCAR seasons, equalling the total number of wins by the 1970 Plymouth Super Bird. “They’re a unique car but they only appeal to a small amount of people,” concedes Greg. “They aren’t as well known as the Daytona or the Super Bird, but they were…

Arubbernecker leans out of the window of his mid-nineties Commodore and lays praise on Con Liapis’ Buick GS Stage One as we position it for a photo. “Sweet Falcon, mate!” The pain sweeps over Con’s face, its muscle memory formed over the years. He’s used to it. Con is a one-man army on a crusade to spread the knowledge of the Buick GS Stage One to the muscle-headed masses. I’ll admit, I was oblivious to the car and the impressive street credentials it harboured until meeting Con. He has the largest collection of Buick GS Stage Ones outside of the States as well as a few other interesting cars. “THE BUICK GS STAGE ONE IS POSSIBLY ONE OF THE GREATEST MUSCLE CARS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF.” We struck up a…

The term ‘cult‘ gets bandied around a lot when discussing sports cars. Usually, vehicles produced in low numbers, with mouth-watering performance and a devoted army of fans that would give up an organ just to own one. But in some cases, cult status is more than just supply and demand. In some cases, a car will come out of nowhere and define a generation. The Honda NSX was such a car and it was the perfect encapsulation of the early 90’s sports car landscape. In somewhat of an asymmetry, Honda’s reputation of producing reliable, small engines meant that their customer base was more loyal than it was excitable. If you’d told someone in the mid-1980’s that Honda would produce a supercar that would outperform the likes of Ferrari and Porsche,…

IF you’ve been around the world of classic cars, chances are you’ve come across Courtney Cutchen-Frisk’s photography. Courtney has forged a name for herself with honest and sharp imagery. To stand out from the crowd and create meaningful work, you can’t just be a mere tourist, you must have a passion for the subject you shoot. For Courtney, that passion comes in many forms but most notably in the form of a car close to her heart (and to mine), the Datsun 240z. It all started when Courtney took an auto shop class in high school. If it wasn’t for this class, her life would probably look vastly different now. It wasn't a burning desire or interest in cars that made her take the class, rather a request from a…

“WE NEED TO PRESERVE THE HERITAGE. THAT’S IMPORTANT FOR ME AND FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN MOTORSPORT.” FUEL pump on. Hit the starter button…chirr…chirr… chirr…chirr…and now the engine stut..stut…stutt… stutters to life with fuel-blown bark. Belches exhaust flame. Settles down to a deep menace of mechanical ended up with hearing issues, laid back just ahead of the likes of this racer’s motor through a storied career. From speedway cars to Formula One, Sir Jack Brabham was a talented driver and intuitive engineer, claiming three F1 driver’s titles 1959, 1960 and 1966 - plus two F1 Constructors’ championships with partner Ron Tauranac in 1966 and 1967. This gleaming race car idling here, this green and gold open wheeler, is a rare BT7A; the seventh design from that Brabham-Tauranac collaboration. Built…

"WHAT? You’ve come to see me in a KIA?” Angelo looks like he has had the wind knocked out of him and I think I’ve pissed him off even before I make it to the front door of his workshop. “It’s my wife’s… its good on fuel and….” I stop. “At least tell me you have something better at home.” We talk Landy’s “It’s the 3.5 V8” – “Good motor that one.” That seems to placate him. Angelo wanders over to a hose and starts to wash the day’s work off his hands. “50 years turning a spanner,” he offers. “But I don’t get no awards or gold watch," he laughs. People like Angelo are rare these days. A life time of knowledge and experience that will retire with him.…

Most humble home handymen, such as myself, arrive home from Bunnings with a boot load of MDF and set about creating a bookcase or shelf that will self-destruct at the first hint of supporting any weight. Brad McKernan, however, is using a bunch of MDF he brought home from Bunnings to help create a Porsche 550 Spyder. The project has been a long time coming for Brad, owner of McKernan Restoration. He owned a fibreglass replica of a 550 Spyder as a young apprentice mechanic back in NZ. “It cost me about $15K for just the chassis and fibreglass shell. That was decent money back in the early '90s, especially considering the wage I was on as an apprentice.” “THE AIR COOLED ENGINES FASCINATE ME. SO SIMPLE YET SO COMPLEX…

"THE SOUND OF THE D-TYPE STARTING UP STILL SENDS CHILLS THROUGH MY BODY." YOU may have heard about the D-type Jaguar, it’s kind of famous. You may also be aware of its race pedigree and unmatched winning streak at Le Mans in the late 50’s. But you may not have heard of Ron Gaudion, the young Australian mechanical engineer who was the first person employed on the Jaguar D-type project and was also the only person to ‘spanner’ on the ‘55 works car and the ‘56, ‘57 Ecurie Ecosse entries at Le Mans. The D-types didn’t just win the 1957 Le Mans – they utterly dominated it. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. A lone Ferrari came in 5th. The D-Types were running against a field of 12 Ferraris, 5…

I met Justin Reed, a Porsche enthusiast, at a monthly car meet in Melbourne.(@wilsoncarsandcoffee on Instagram). After a few pleasantries about what wheels we have driven to the event, the conversation soon turns to watches – specifically, an original vintage Breitling chronograph that belonged to his late father, Brian. “The watch was always kind of special. It was kept in a drawer and I can remember being fascinated with it when I was younger. I just associate it with a great period in my father’s life and can imagine him driving around with it on in the 356 that he purchased new in 1961-which we still own today.” The Swiss watch brand Breitling is commonly known for their association with the aviation industry, and their pilot watches, but it has…

Sue Maher was raised in a household with an everchanging landscape of automotive influence. Her father, Ray Christie, set Australian records behind the wheel of a humble VW 1200 and was a champion rally driver. Sue doesn’t consider herself a car enthusiast but found herself creating a replica of Antarctica 1 - a car that played a role in Australian history as well her own families. A 1962, ½ Ruby Red VW Beetle was the first ever production car to traverse the icy terrain of Antarctica. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a publicity stunt initiated by the manufacturer – it was chosen by the 1963 ANARE (Australian National Arctic Research Expedition) team leader, Ray McMahon. A 1962, ½ RUBY RED VW BEETLE WAS THE FIRST EVER PRODUCTION CAR TO TRAVERSE THE ICY…

Lorna Venema has a stunning collection of Studebakers. Lorna loves riding on the back of her son’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Lorna is 83 years old and still drives her 1974 Avanti II with a factory Chevy 400 small block V8 into town in to do the shopping. Lorna is quietly spoken, has kind eyes a warm smile and giggles like a teenager. We chat and she attempts to fill me with sugar. “Everyone that comes to visit gets some tea and some cake or a biscuit.” We start wandering through Lorna’s immaculately maintained Studebaker collection. “There are over 40 years of memories here,” Lorna tells me. Lorna offers stories and details of every car we pass, most of which bring a smile to her face and a laugh to the room.…

It’s rare to be surprised these days. Generally, when you ask someone about their childhood automotive influence it’s their father, brother or mates they knocked around with. Refreshingly, Peter Schortemeyer was influenced by his mother’s love of her Renault 5. A car that, in turn, surprised Renault and the buying public upon its release. The R5 was far from Peters first love. As a boy growing up in the Netherlands, he lusted after slightly more exotic cars. “The A310 Alpine was the first car I fell for.” It’s low slung stance, staunch angular design and a face full of headlights would excite anyone with a heartbeat. His Nordic adolescence may have shaped his design aesthetic, but time spent in South Africa as a teenager whet his appetite for speed. “In…