[Surferdude]

After years of promising mysekf I would, I'm finally going this weekend. Well, Saturday at least.
Here's the website.

http://www.leyburnmotorsprints.com.au/

I've printed out the entry list and there's a few guys there I want to catch  up with.

I may have mentioned it before but I only found out a few months ago that the guy behind this is an old rally and trials mate of mine.
Really looking forward to catching up. We've been talking on FB for a while now.

The drive is about 3½ hours from home, through some great territory behind the Sunshine Coast, Somerset dam and up the range north of Toowoomba.
Leaving home about 4am. 

[Surferdude]

Pics will follow in due course.

[Aussie Keith]

Nooooooo!!!! Curses, I'm busy this weekend - the price of not paying attention. Have a great time, can't wait to see the pics.

[agentr31]

ive always wanted to go too!!

i got jealous when my ex said her uncle lived there! could have had free entry if i had ever paid him a visit i guess!

[Surferdude]

I made it home safely.
560 klms round trip.
Left home at 4.05am and got home at 5.15pm
Had from 8am till about 1.45pm at Leyburn.
I drove up and back via Beerwah, Peachester, Woodford, Kilcoy, Esk, Ravensbourne, Toowoomba to Leyburn.

I live at Pelican Waters, Qld, so if you're interested in seeing the route I took and why, maybe go to Google maps and put that route in with the vias. Engage "Satellite" view and zoom in on the road from Beerwah to Woodford and then the one from Esk to Crows Nest (or maybe Hampton, through the Ravensbourne National Park). It was still almost dark when I got to the top of the range.

Throughout the first couple of hours I drove to music from a USB stick. Good 60's and 70's stuff. As I was alone, the music was loud and I drove "just a bit mor quickly" than if I had "her" with me. . I should also make mention here of the i30 headlights which have, from time to time on this forum, come in for some criticism. As I've said in the past, I have absolutely no problem with them. I've spent more than my share of time behind a bank of 6 Cibie Oscars and Super Oscars so I have some idea how good you can get your lighting. However, on Saturday morning, I was on a sealed road,sometimes very winding, with gravel edges and trees not far away. At other times I was on more open, somewhat less than straight or flat, country roads. Of course I wouldn't break the speed limit. What's 4,000 RPM in 5th again?    I had no problem with visibility and had plenty of time to see any errant wildlife which might have decided to "venture" out onto the road.
So, my verdict on the lights is that they are more than adequate for pretty much any kind of halfway sensible driving.

Later in this story I'll give some feedback on the TomTom which performed pretty well, despite my deliberately trying to confuse it in places like Toowoomba where I pretty much knew where I was going.

Here's the view from Ravensbourne.




And just a couple of minutes later. With a bit of zoom.



A few klms further on, this old hall at Perserverence used to be VERY rundown in my rallying days and the road past it was gravel. Looks like the locals have tarted it up nicely.

[Surferdude]

The pub here has been continually licensed since 1863. The marshalling area is out the front and the start line is in view of those on the verandah.





Aussie readers will know Will Hagon. Here he is on the pa commentary team.



There's an aweful lot of Australian and Queensland motor sport history in this shot.
On the left is Dennis Brown who started his career navigating in things like a GT Falcon, whilst still serving his mechanical apprenticeship at Bryan Byrt Ford in Brisbane. He went on to rally an XU1, Escort, 180B and drove for the Holden Precision Driving Team. Most recently he was called over to Namibia to help sort out problems they were having with the cars being used in filming the new Mad Max movie. Also did some stunt driving for it while he was there.
In the middle is Alan Cutts whose "Valley Steering Services" and later, "Redcliffe Steering Services" could probably lay claim to preparing more rally cars than anyone else in Queensland. An absolutely funny guy who was also a very quick punter.
On the right is Lloyd Robertson who created the Holden Precision Driving Team and ran it successfully for something like 30 years.
An early member of the VW Club in Queensland, Lloyd and his team started with VW's, then (briefly IIRC) Cortinas, before doing the deal with GNH which saw them come to the forefront of show displays for years. At one stage they used Hyundai Sonatas as well as Holden Storms (Utes).  He rallied things like a Porsche powered Beetle in th early 70's, an ex round Australia Monaro, an SLR 5000 and so on. Now happily "retired" at Noosa he ran an interesting Indy Roadster replica here.

[Surferdude]

OK. Some beasties.

There's 27 Litres under the bonnet of this thing. Pics of the engine later.



Lloyd Robertson's replica of the 1959 Willard Battery Special which was driven by Parnelli Jones at Indianapolis for 5 years from 1960. He  was the first driver to lap at better than 150 mph (in 1962) and won the race in 1963.

The replica has equal length torsion bar suspension and a Chev 302 powerplant (the original Offenhauser engines would be exhorbitant). The car had a few teething problems on the Saturday.



This is a 1932 Triumph Wolsely Special.



And a 1936 Ford V8 Special.



Lloyd looking pensive in the marshalling area for his first run.



A 1935 Ford V8 Indy Special.

[Aussie Keith]

A great drive up there topped by what looks like a very good day out. I'll need to go next year I think. I've driven those roads you mentioned although I normallly come back the other way from Esk down the motorway. But the drive up the Brisbane Valley and then up through the Ravensbourne national park is a cracker early in the morning.

[Surferdude]

Some power plants.

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Just in case you didn't believe it........





Says the same on the other side........

[Surferdude]

Some of the big American muscle.

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[Dazzler]

Thanks very much Trevor 

Some of those will hopefully make it to the next Longford Revival (Assuming the next one will be in March 2014) Think it might be a similar event 

http://longfordrevival.com.au/LR/page_standard.asp?asset_id=2596

[Surferdude]

And a few interestingly "different" things.

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Note the rego plate on the police display.



Not a competitor, but the guy was sleeping in it.



The things you see when you haven't got a gun..........



Two very quick Skeltas.



And a surprisingly quick Bluebird Mk 1.



V8 (5700cc) FC Holden.



I want one of these.

The guy is 72 years old, lives in Maryborough (Qld) and wanted something different. It's a work in progress but boasts an R12 engine, mated to an R10 gearbox with the radiator re-located into the front. Seats are Honda buckets.



Some people will do anything to attract attention.

[Surferdude]

And two for Rusty from the spectator parking area.

[Dazzler]

Say Skelta under Shelter three times quickly 



Loving the photos Trev 

[Doggie 1]

I met Will Hagon over in Canberra for the P76 40th.
Had a chat with him at the side of the road (he was driving a new VF Commodore) and he was also one of the guest speakers at the dinner.

[Eureka]

Nice cars.  A few months ago I was at a car workshop here in Melb and there was a 1930s-type Ford V8 side-valve special out the front.  The next day on the way to Ballarat, at Myrniong there was a sprint but I didn't stop for it.  i guess the Ford might have been going there.  Might try to get to the event next year.

[Just Rick]

Trev
Great pictures,but the Morrie was no surprise,but I must say this is only the second one I've seen,back in 76 about six months before I had my accident,I test drove a complete ground up build of a two door convertible,powered by a 351,cut down ford running gear,being young and extremely stupid thoughs days I was willing to shell out good money for this fully ticketed build,but after a ten minute test drive,it scared the living begesus out of me,so thought better of it.

Instead in the same caryard they had one of these.

The one I bought most almost identicle to this,worse purchase I'd ever made,couldn't keep the damned thing on the road,sold it after eight months,swore never to buy another ford after that,mind you I did in fact many many years after did buy a 1600 escort(good car) and later agian a XF ute (good when I wasn't having to work on it) not had a ford since

[Phil №❶]

An action packed day.  Surferdude. 

[eye30]

Some great pics and enjoyed reading your novel

[Surferdude]

There's always some "Ouch" moments.
A Cooper s slid off over the back and hit the tyre bundles. Not a lot of damage but the passenger door and rear panel will need some real work.

This V8 Falcon was turning left over the finish line but going waaaaayyy too fast. At least he 4 wheel drifted which minimised the damage. You cansee the size of the hay bails. The one out of sight is turned at 90° to the rest of them from his impact. Incidentally, Director, Mike Collins runs a local business doing contract hay bailing. 



And this Subaru Impreza STi got sideways over the finish line and never recovered. There's a concrete barrier off to the inside about 50 or so meters after the finish. He got it VERY hard.

[Surferdude]

And just a nice selection of the sedans.

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For Keith_h




For AgentR31

[Phil №❶]

Wot, no 120Y's 

[Surferdude]

Wot, no 120Y's 

No. But the guy who developed and built the Skeltas used to rally one very effectively.
IIRC, engine back about 8" with a re-designed firewall to accommodate it.

[Surferdude]

Anyway, you've got a Hillman Imp, Singer, etc etc. What more do you want? 

[Surferdude]

The trip home was pretty uneventful - apart from the guy in the Commodore who tried to keep up with me coming down from Ravensbourne. 

I'll dig out my TomTom topic elsewhere and update that with a report on the satnav perfomance.

[Surferdude]

I just found this link from Leyburn.
 I posted a pic of a silver STi which hit the concrete barriers over the finish line.
This is in-car video from another STi who seems to have a problem as he crossed the finsh line also. But keep watching for his second run. I hadn't seen this.

[Dazzler]

  Thanks for that Trev 

[2i30s]

oops.