MotorWerks Magazine Volume 13, Issue 2

THE ULTIMATE READING EXPERIENCE VOLUME 13 ISSUE 2 Published by Tree Free Publishing a Division of Webtronic Enterprises

e u s s I a g e M n i a t Knox Moun ald, Dave Stephenson, Frank Ew r, ke Oc er nif Jen ue Iss s Featured in thi Climb. g 2023 Knox Mountain Hill ttin se ord rec the d an all Grant Sinclair Daryl Sm

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The Ultimate Reading Experience 2

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P ub li s h e d B y M o t o r We r k s M e dia a Division of Webtronic Enterprises

Editor-in- Chief / Publishe r Ian Rae EDI TO R I A L We s t C o a s t U S A Edi t o r N o rman N e l s o n E a s t C o a s t Edi t o r C raig N e l s o n S o c ial M e dia D ir e c t o r J e s s e N e l s o n S c o t t i s h R a c e Edi t o r G le nn A lc o c k Eur o p e an Edi t o r Ma x Ro n c he t t o E a s t Au s t r alia Edi t o r Mar k C o llin gwo o d T im e At t a c k Edi t o r Enrique M c L e g g o n C o lumni s t Jame s H o u ght o n C o lumni s t Damie n B ra dley

PH OTO G R A PH Y P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r P h o t o gr ap h e r

Ma x Ro n c he t t o N o rman N e l s o n Ro al d R ake r s C raig N e l s o n Kevin Ehrlic h J o hn S c r o e de r A lic y n D r ew D it o Milian To m Ma x we ll Jani s R ae S am M o o r e

H OW TO R E AC H U S P h o n e:(9 05) 4 67-514 8 m o t o r we r k s m e dia1@gmail.c o m

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FEATURES

14 The Linwood Connection 28 Pony Powered A30 54 Knox Mountaineer - Garrett Mealing 60 Oregon Invader - Jennifer Ocker 66 Amanda Schuffels 70 Ontario Import - Frank Ewald heads West!

81 Emmett’s Story - A Brave Young Lad! 4

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90 Greg Petroski 92 Dave Stephenson, An Englishman Abroad!

96 Alternative Motorsport - Sherry Anthony goes hillclimbing.

106 King of The Hill - Aran Cook 112 Paul Meadow’s Bryn Raswir!

120 THE 944 - Road Racing to Time Attack 130 No Small Feat - Daryl Small’s Commodore

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EVENTS

36 Sixteen Years and No More Waiting!

44 it’s All About Having Good People!

53 Six Women at Knox!

54 Knox Mountaineer! Mealing Multitasks!

REGULARS

6 New Products 12 Latest News 96 Featured Photographer - Stuart Wing 114 Contact Point - See our advertisers

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NEWProducts APR Performance now has 2023 Honda Civic R aero parts or kit available

Noted carbon fiber producer of aero parts, APR Performance is pleased to announce they now have a selection of aero parts available for Honda’s very popular 2023 Civic R. The wide range of products have been so well recieved and current demand is huge. The individual products include a Front Air Dam/ Lip, Front Bumper Canards, Rear Bumper Spats, Side Rockers, and Cooling Plate.

The choice of rear wing is left to the customer with both the 67” GTC-300 Adjustable Wing or GT-250 Adjustable Wing being available.

The parts are availble individually or as a complete Aero Kit including the Front Air Dam, Side

Rocker Extensions, and Rear Bumper Skirt.

Contact APR Performance for current lead times at (909) 590-3796 or sales@aprperformance. com

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Ford Unveils the Mustang GT4 Ford’s iconic Mustang® brand is further expanding its legendary status with the formal debut today of the Mustang GT4 at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in eastern Belgium.

The Mustang GT4 is the latest in the Blue Oval’s motorsports efforts, dubbed “Ford vs.

Everyone” by Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. It’s based on the all-new 2024 Mustang Dark Horse™, just like its sibling the Mustang GT3. With the reveal, Ford officially continues an uninterrupted tenure in the SRO-sanctioned GT4 category, first entered in 2017.

And like the Mustang GT3, it receives a bold, colorful livery adapted from Troy Lee Designs’ liveries for the Mustang GT3 and SuperVan 4.2. Troy Lee is recognized as one of the premier motorsports livery designers in the world.

“The Mustang GT4 is a key member of our motorsports lineup,” said Global Director Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports. “It’s placement between the Mustang GT3 and soon-tobe-unveiled Mustang Dark Horse R keeps the brand in competition at all levels of on-track performance and is an important part of our customer racing program. With this new version, based off the seventh generation’s new Dark Horse model, we’ve upped the game and are ready to challenge an entire world of competitors.”

The introduction of Mustang Dark Horse in 2023 was the precursor to a broader launch of a family of Mustang racecars debuting this year. These include the new Mustang GT4, the recently revealed Mustang GT3, as well as the upcoming

Mustang Dark Horse R and more. All will carry on the standing of Mustang as Ford’s most raced and most successful nameplate, racing at legendary tracks around the world from Daytona to Bathurst, featuring accessibility ranging from the heights of professional GT racing all the way to consumer track days. Mustang truly will be racing everywhere.

With the new Mustang GT4, Ford Performance further expands its robust partnership with Multimatic, who will build every Mustang GT4.

The Ford Coyote-based V8 race engines in the Mustang GT4, developed fully in-house by Ford Performance, will be assembled by Ford in Dearborn, Michigan.

“We’re proud to work with so many great partners on these race vehicle programs, said Christian Hertrich, Motorsports powertrain manager, Ford Performance. “It’s also special to be able to do all of the engine work for the Mustang GT4 fully inhouse. We’ve got a great team, and I’m excited for Mustang fans to see the Mustang GT4 in action.”

The Mustang GT4 race car also features Multimatic DSSV dampers, a Holinger dog-ring

gearbox, paddle shifters with pneumatic actuation, natural fiber body panels, as well as a unique aero package developed to meet GT4 category targets.

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This new degreaser aggressively dissolves grease, dirt and oils that the competition can’t. The PowerJet Spray Nozzle blasts away contaminants quickly. CRC Chlor-Free Universal Degreaser leaves no residue, and fast evaporation means less downtime. It works on a wide range of applications including motors, chains, wire ropes, cables, gears, generators, power tools, parts, bearings, pumps, heavy equipment, and anywhere a low flashpoint is acceptable. Available in a 14-wt. oz spray can (part no. 1753974), CRC Chlor-Free Universal Degreaser is rated NSF K1. It is non-corrosive and won’t harm metals.

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APR Performance is pleased to announce that our Pre-preg Carbon Fiber Mustang Shelby GT-500 Hood Vents are now available and ready to ship.

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This full factory replacement unit utilises the OEM factory hardware and rain-tray, making installation a breeze.

For more info please contact sales@aprperformance. com

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Still love the Look of Carbs but want to go EFI?

There is no doubt that since OEM cars went to fuel injection on their road cars its spread into the aftermarket has grown in leaps and bounds.

Admittedly there was some resistance from those who were a bit averse to tuning with a computer instead of changing carb jetting. Yes there was a learning curve, but as time went on people began to understand the benefits to using EFI, the cost of EFI systems came down and the manufacturers came out with systems that could self teach and create fuel maps based on basic input from the owner.

Holley was one of the first to get on board as they say and started to offer EFI systems in the mid to late ‘80s. Over the years they have developed systems that would just replace the carburettor or be more like the stand-alone systems people think of when talking about EFI systems.

The original Sniper EFI system came out in 2016 with a price just under $1000 and this month the Sniper EFI 2 became available with prices starting around $1400, which is pretty impressive considering the seven-year time difference.

Listed below are the main and new features that the customer can expect. Now while this is a great upgrade to those running muscle cars I believe

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it would be a huge benefit to those wanting to race with EFI but not to go through the need to learn EFI tuning with a laptop. The self-learn feature is perfect for those types of racers.

Main Features • All new design – the #1 EFI Conversion just got better!

• Only four wiring connections required: Battery+, Battery-, Switched Ignition, and RPM • Calibration wizard only requires that you answer a few simple questions about your engine to create a base map and begin self-tuning – No laptop required • Supports up to 650hp naturally aspirated or 575hp on boost with four 100 lb/hr injectors • (NEW) Next generation ECU features improved RF noise and interference resistance (stands up to old car wiring, noisy alternators, faulty plug wires) • (NEW) Redesigned throttle shaft and plate geometry for a smoother throttle feel Additional Features • (NEW) Integrated transmission kick down provisions for GM TH350/400, 200-4R/700R4 and Ford C4/C6 applications • (NEW) “Hidden Harness” wiring harnesses exits from the rear of throttle body for a clean appearance • (NEW) Inputs and outputs consist of: 2x Ground Inputs, 2x Ground Outputs, 1x TPS output (0-5v), and 1x Tach Output • (NEW) Redesigned injector connector for improved reliability

• (NEW) Onboard contactless magnetic TPS sensor ensures an accurate TPS reading • (NEW) Next Generation mil-spec style M8 positive lock connector for CAN1 and CAN2 provides the latest in CAN bus technology for a simple yet robust connection • (NEW) Cast-in fuel crossover from the primary to secondary fuel rail • (NEW) Sniper 2 throttle bodies are serialized in house, which provides each unit a birth certificate for an improved customer service and warranty experience in the event of any unit needing to be inspected • The included genuine Bosch LSU 4.9 wideband oxygen Sensor provides real-time fuel map learning • Included clamp-on oxygen sensor kit ensures a leak free oxygen sensor installation with stainless steel T-Bolt clamps and a stainless steel weldable oxygen sensor flange • Patent Pending Sniper 2 is Part of the Sniper EFI Complete Ecosystem • Sniper 2 is compatible with the complete Sniper EFI Ecosystem that includes plug-n-play Hyperspark

Ignition systems (coil, ignition box and distributor), fuel systems (fuel lines, fuel pump hangers), multiple displays, and more • (NEW) Main harness includes plug-and-play HyperSpark distributor support, for integrated timing control, making your ignition setup hassle free (adaptors for other ignition types sold separately: 558-329 CD Box to Sniper 2, 558- 330 MSD Pro Billet / Crank Trigger to Sniper 2) • (NEW) Wide Variety of tuning interfaces: from a 3.5-inch full color LCD Touch Screen Handheld, 5-inch Digital Dash, or the Bluetooth dongle, which allows you to connect either an iOS or Android based cell phone to your Sniper 2, for tuning, gauge displays, or even tech support through the Sniper 2 App • (NEW) Optional Power Distribution Module (PDM) further simplifies wiring, especially when used in conjunction with an ignition system • Available with fuel system kits: a complete fuel system consisting of: 20 ft. of 3/8 in. Vapor Guard Fuel Hose, Fuel Pump, fuel pressure regulator, filters, necessary hardware, and bulkhead fitting to return fuel into the tank

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LATESTNews Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge Sydney, in conjunction with local Honda gurus JDMYARD and Spoon Sports Japan, are proud to announce the Spoon Sports FK8 Type R Endurance Racecar will be lapping Sydney Motorsport Park with none other than Japanese racing legend Tarzan Yamada behind the wheel!

The well known blue and yellow outfit of the iconic Japanese tuning brand will be giving VTEC fans the true JDM Honda experience, as we welcome the return of Eiji “Tarzan” Yamada who will be driving this

and competent pilot to take on the journey around Sydney Motorsport Park.

The original ARVOU S2000 shop car was a cult hero in the Hot Version episodes with legendary touge battles around Gunsai under the captaincy of the Drift King, Keiichii Tsuchiya, No One Better, Nobuteru Taniguchi, and many more huge JDM personalities from the show, but was terminally damaged when Manabu ‘Max’ Orido unfortunately lost control at speed and wedged the roadster under a guard rail, thankfully without any injury.

What was able to be salvaged, fortunately, were the original car’s motor and supercharger – the

ARVOU Racing Shop, one of Japan’s legendary Honda tuning houses, are confirmed to compete at World Time Attack Challenge Sydney 2023 in the iconic ARVOU S2000!

Yusaku Shibata and his team are heading to Sydney Motorsport Park this September as part of the Japanese contingent to pursue their One Perfect Lap! Shibata-san is no slouch himself as a driver, having dabbled in Super GT, Super Taikyu, as well as the Japanese Attack series, proving he is a confident 12

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same 53-second Tsukuba configuration – allowing a new S2000 chassis to continue ARVOU’s F-series tuning legacy.

Under the hood of the Voltex Japan Circuit Version 3-kitted S2K sits a HKS Supercharged F20C motor, not as technologically fandangled as his peers in the top-end of competition and only outputting a modest but highly-effective 450HP.

Matt Plowman’s Scura Motorsport Lotus Exige is almost a decade in the making and we are pleased to announce its entry into the 2023 Plazmaman Pro Am Class at the Yokohama World Time Attack Challenge! With over a thousand horses from the Honda power unit and less than a thousand kilos to get moving, this insane creation is set to be the dark horse entry in the top categories to watch our for!

On a recent visit to Queensland Raceway, the WTAC team had the pleasure of seeing this incredible Batman-esque machine out testing at a private track day. It was also the first time Andrew Brilliant has seen the car since its inception 8 years ago, as the car is draped in his AMB Aero design and the front bumper is equipped with his signature Infinity Wing design. Watch the video below to see Andrew take the WTAC team for a walkthrough of this insane long-time-coming entrant!

“It’s kind of surreal, to have seen this car on screen in CAD drawings to seeing it in the flesh so many years later. This car is a favourite of mine, I truly think this chassis is a cheat code for time attack!” says Andrew.

Matt’s team is competing under the Scura Motorsport banner – Scura is the feminine singular word form of the Italian word ‘scuro’ which translates to ‘dark’ or ‘to wear dark colours’ which is absolutely apt in this instance. To retain the carbon look with an added ‘Scura’ touch, there is a translucent black layer in the clear coat which makes this car visually stunning in the sun. The high-gloss finish had an almost golden iridescence under the Brisbane sun, it’s definitely an exterior which begs for a second glance.

Under the clamshell, the Lotus is powered by dreams – a Honda K20 now sits behind the driver.

The 2.0L has been stroked out closer to 2.2L, giving an increase of torque and to enhance compression for the Garrett G35 turbo strapped to it!

The K-series swaps are quite popular due to their aftermarket support and proven power capabilities well into the four-digit mark as soon in other special WTAC guests such as Mike Burroughs’ K24-swapped Ferarri 308. Matt has indicated the car is definitely in the vicinity of 1000HP and weighs under 1000kg!

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Words by Grant Sinclair and Ian Rae Images from GS Collection, Tom Shephard, Col Rooney 14

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Grant Sinclair is a very lucky guy as far as I am concerned! Why you might ask? Well Grant is the proud owner of a Maguire spaceframe Hillman Imp. Why is that so special? Nostalgia, my first dedicated race car was an Imp.

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I bought my Imp off my good friend George Coghill. It had a checkered past in more that one way having been brought into Caithness by former hillclimb standout Barrogill Angus before going through various owners and ending up with George.

The reason Coghill was selling the car was that everyone in the up to 1000cc Special Saloon arena were looking for ways to go quicker and having only a 998cc engine, the only other way to go faster was to make the car lighter.

Various chopped up Imps and Minis appeared with lightweight panels and more and more of the OEM chassis cut away. George found a Rawlson panelled Imp in the Motoring News with a subframed front end that weighed a bunch less than the steel Imp I now owned and we set off and campaigned the new car on the hills and at Ingliston; the best wee track on the planet.

Evolution in motorsport happens quickly and that year was no exception. John Maguire in Coventry explored the rules to the extreme when he fabricated a spaceframe (tubeframe) Mini and had Tom Shephard drive it on the English circuits. The car was not so much evolutionary as revolutionary, if you wanted to be competitive you had to have one. The Maguires were available in various states of finish and a handy raceteam could easily finish the car, scale it and be at the track winning in a very short time.

So what now? The decision was made very easily when Shepherd appeared in an Imp version and it displayed a pedigree every bit as stout as the Maguire Minis. So on a snowy February weekend Coghill, myself and my racing partner Henry Sinclair headed away from the frozen of Caithness towards the relative warmth of Coventry. We brought with us a bare Imp shell, that was needed for the next Imp customer. John and Tom would then cut it apart leaving the roof, windshield surround, door pillars and sills, and mount it on top of the next Maguire chassis. At that point we headed home with Maguire Imp chassis 002. - Ian Rae 16

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So after reading about Ian’s history with Maguire Imps that brings us back to my personal Maguire Imp. I grew up around motorsport in Scotland, following my parents, to events most weekends in the 70’s and early 80’s. We would be at Knockhill and Ingliston for races and sprints, Turnberry for auto tests and in the forests of Galloway for stages of the Scottish and Lombard RAC Rallies, seeing drivers like Stig Blomqvist, Hannu Mikkola, Jimmy McRae, Russell Brookes and more local drivers/characters like Jimmy Flemming duke it out for supremecy in the forests.

My parents were members of East Ayrshire Car Club (my Dad laid claim to designing the East Ayrshire logo) At that time, my dad Ian Sinclair would compete as well as spectate, he autotested and sprinted a Hillman Imp, and Imps have always been part of our family’s DNA. I hadn’t been around motorsport since the early 80’s and that changed in 2019, when again my father re-discovered the sport and spent a lot of time converting a Clan Crusader to take a standard BMW K Series engine upgrade.

His plan was to sprint and hillclimb it but couldn’t get it to fit into any specific class.

When the Maguire Imp we now have came up for sale, he jumped at the opportunity. Throughout 2019 he participated in sprints at Kames, Fintry, and Golspie. In his only year competing with the car, I supported him at most events, ensuring he enjoyed his time on the track, while I tried to look after as much of the paddock work as possible.

At the end of that first-year, he delivered the engine to Stuart Brownsey of Rodwell Motorsports (Dorset) for a rebuild, after the Wills rings had failed, which involved a 987mile, single day round trip to Dorset. Unknown to us, my father at this time was starting to succumb to an unknown, but advanced kidney cancer, and within eight weeks of diagnosis he was gone. It was then I stepped up to the plate, took ownership of the car, and although I had never competed, I wanted to use the car as my father had always intended. He was never

holding back and always wanted to get the most out of it. (Crossing the line backwards at Kames on an 8ft wide track showed he never wanted to leave anything out on the track!)

2023 will be my third season with the car, and it has already seen me travel to Prescott, Harewood, Aintree, 3 Sisters, Golspie, Forrestburn & Kames, where I’ve picked up a number of 1st in Classes, and not only as a class of 1! I am starting become at one with the car and gradually exploring the limits.

01, 02 and 03 September 2023 Kinneil Estate, Bo’ness EH51 0PR Bo’ness Sporting Automobile Club www.BSAC.scot

This year’s Bo’ness Hill Climb takes place over three days and will be organised by Bo’ness Sporting Automobile Club.

On Friday 01 September – The Electric Chariot Scottish Championship.

This is the final round of a national schools and colleges championship for self-built electric cars.

On Saturday and Sunday 02 and 03 September – is the annual Bo’ness Hill Climb for classic, vintage and historic cars.

Please see our website for full details and information for drivers and spectators.

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My Plans are to race the car at as many different venues as possible within the UK, and I’m also considering a European venue, whilst trying to keep it maintained to as high a standard as possible.

For every minute on track, there seems to be a considerable amount of garage time, but I guess this is the nature of the game, when you are testing the car on single track hills and sprint circuits with aggressive rumble strips, it takes it’s toll on the fiberglass bodywork.

The Imp’s history is quite extensive and will need a little more research to fill out all the details.

However, from what I know, it was

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John Maguire’s chassis 001, built by John and Tom Shepard. According to Tom both the Mini and Imp chassis designs were a collaboration between the two. Tom not only built the Maguire Minis and Imps (I have a photo of John & Tom standing next to the car), but also drove the first cars to develop them.

I was told Tom’s prowess behind the wheel had a lot to do with the successful marketing of the cars.

Personally I don’t have any real details of how the car performed when he owned it, but I do know that it has a bit of Scottish history as it was raced at Ingliston. Tom told Ian, “Remember it well !

The wet cowsheds…”

From there it went on to be raced by Lyndsey Robertson. After further discussions with Tom

Shephard himself, Ian found out that Tom’s recollection was selling the Imp to Michael Hanson to sprint and hillclimb.

The next step in the ownership chain was Keith Scott from Northern Ireland, and during his time with the car he won a fair amount in both sprinting and hill climbs.

During Scott’s’s time, the car was upgraded to include a Hewland gearbox, which can take a lot of punishment off the line (7,000rpm and dumping the clutch would wreck the standard imp box and transmission donuts, but the Hewland handles the torque very well, and helps me to 2.3 seconds range for the 64ft, which isn’t too bad – I’m sure I could do better if I lost the extra ballast!)

As I was working with Ian Rae on this article

we found out more on the history of the car. After Keith Scott a name well known to Imp fans came into the picture; Col Rooney. Rooney will be familiar to those who frequent all the Imp sites on Facebook for his love of the Imp, both he and his father having a history racing and building Imps or Imp variants.

Col told us that by the time he saw the car it was not in a great state, many parts of the chassis were severly rusted and the installation of the Hewland was not exactly pretty or really fit for the intended job. Rooney had been commisioned by Scottish race car collector Tom Blackwood in 2017 to

restore the car but after a thourough investigation he decided the best plan was to take the chassis, build a jig to suit it and then build a whole new chassis.

The re-build followed the original Maguire design and was completed in 2018,

by Col Rooney (Imp restoration specialist). The car is referred to as a Maguire, but could easily be a “MacaRoon”. The cage has been uprated to comply with modern standards, and the build quality is fantastic. Col still has the jig for the frame, and there are lightweight panels available, so it is possible to get one built!

Just like the Maguire cars the chassis was built using CDS round tube and ERW rectangular and square tube.

Shephard did tell Ian there were some later cars built with T45 tubing to make them lighter but the cost for those was substantially more.

The Imp wishbones were retained but updated by removing the lips joining the upper and lower sections together. They were then seam welded to ensure they had lost no strength. The rubber bushing were removed and replaced by brass or some sort of oilite bushings. Mounting to the chassis was by rod ends attached to the chassis on plates that allowed a fair degree of ajustability ensuring proper geometry setup was available to the All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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racer.

Ian remembers that the brakes on George’s car were either Girling or AP from a F3 car and when asked by George why, Maguire himself grabbed a standard steel caliper and compared it against the F3 version on a scale. Enough said, what a weight reduction! As my car is on Girling brakes I assume it is as delivered from Maguire’s Coventry workshop.

The pedal box is built with front/rear master cylinders along with the clutch and accelerator pedals and was built into the chassis. In fact Ian told us Maguire used the same setup built onto a flat plate and that was what Henry and he bolted to the floor of their Clan.

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Hillman Imp

The Build List

Engine:

- 1120cc bored to 74.5mm - Peak Power 108bhp @ 7200rpm, - Peak Torque 86ft-Ibs 5,700rpm - Arrow Con Rods 5/8” - Full Block Strengthening kit - 1.4” & 1.125” Valves - Fraser B Cam – 32-72-72-32 - Fully Fabricated Sump - Extended Bronze Sleeve Cam Carrier - Lightweight Steel Tappets - 65mm straight crank - Large Capacity Oil Pump - Team Hartwell Head - Twin 40 DCOE Weber Carburetors - ITG Air Filters

Cooling:

Exhaust System:

- Custom built turbo back exhaust

Suspension:

- Koni Coilover Adjustable Suspension

Brakes:

- Girling F3 front/rear calipers - Discs all round

Electrical:

- Luminition Electronic Ignition & Rev Limiter - Stack ST400 Tachometer - Smiths Water Temp Guage - Smiths Oil Pressure Guage

Aero / Body:

- Front Radiator - Davies Craig Water Pump - Mocal oil heat exchanger

- Full spaceframe modelled after the original Maguire Imp 001 Custom built by Col Rooney - Lightweight fiberglass panels

Drivetrain:

Interior/Safety:

- Hewland Mk9 Gearbox - AP Racing Sintered Clutch

- Pyrotect carbon fiber race seats - OMP full harnesses - Hand held Fire Stick

Wheels / Tires:

- Black Enkei RPF-1 18X10.5

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Still Old School - no fuel injection!

The 1020cc Rodwell Motorsports engine is fed by twin Webers with ITG air filters.

Spartan is a good way to describe the interior of Grant’s Maguire. Instrumentation is minimal with only a rev counter, xx and oil pressure guage. The two red hoses you see in the photo above are the water lines running to the front radiator. For those of you wondering what the orange light on the dash bar is, racers before the days of digital dashes used a turn signal repeater lamp to warn for low oil pressure.

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RACING TIP#1 Don’t store your fiberglass car in a damp garage! I’ve had to fully repaint the car over the winter ‘22/’23, as within 3 weeks of going into storage, the entire paintwork was destroyed. It took 4 months of hard work to get the car ready for the season, finishing the car on the Friday before the spring meet at Kames. The car ran too well, as I

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felt I could beat a Zenos E10s, but it resulted in me having an unscheduled meeting with the tire wall and caving in the rear left wing. Thankfully, the Zenos driver and close friend Chris McDaid started the repair work and had the new wing on by the time I arrived in Turkey the next morning on a business trip!

RACING STORY - The crash at Kames has subsequently been put down to mechanical failure, rather than driver error (that’s my story & I’m sticking to it) as after the car was restored and I arrived at Prescott Speed Hillclimb 2 weeks later, the clutch pedal was solid, as the slave cylinder had seized. It must have been the issue, right?

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A lighter version of our 'Swally' session ale. From Peely-Wally. Lit: pale in appearance. The taste is crisp and light with subtle citrus and floral notes. So it's an easy drinker that's affy tasty, so git it doon ye, but no' too hasty!

A blend of pale malts, oats and Centennial and El Dorado Hops.

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Words by Andrew Willis, Images by 28

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Twenty-seven year-old Andrew Willis grew up in a family that embraced motorsport. And after going racing with his Dad for more years than he can remember and going along with his brother when he went karting, he was given the opportunity to race in the Ministox class in 2011 at age fifteen at Hednesford Raceway in Cannock. The class is an entry level for short oval racing and it is a full contact class so the Mini’s compete with bars all around them and through them and you race around in circles and crash into each other. “That was my first experience of racing for myself.” he said. “I did this for only a year before becoming too old to do that formula, so it was time to find something else to race.”

“After Ministox I went into another full contact formula I did that for about two years before setting my sights on what I thought was the height of short oval racing; Classic Hot Rods, a formula that was filled with MK1 and MK2 Escorts, Anglias, Minis and cars of the like. It was where names like Barry Lee, George Polley and Duffy Collard introduced the British public to our minature version of NASCAR. I have always loved classics and really wanted to do

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that. So at age 18 I decided that I would build my own Classic Hot Rod, with very little money whilst still being an apprentice at my Dads garage, I looked into what car to build.”

“I didn’t want to build an Escort or an Anglia as I couldn’t afford them and I really wanted something different because I like being different!

I looked into tons of different styles, shapes, and makes, one day Dad and I were out collecting some parts and we saw a little black Austin A30 and he told me that one of those was his first car that his Dad gave to him. So naturally that went towards the top of the list of contenders to build. But an A30 isn’t a good race car base, they are too short, too narrow and too tall but I guess you can’t really say that when you look at what the legendary Aussie, Peter Brock did with his A30. So naturally I chose to build one, I found one online and went and purchased it. Then we set about the task with my limited knowledge, budget and skill set to build the car. In short it was a tough year building it out of second hand parts and any bits of metal I could find.

But after a year and abit I had this bright yellow blob of an A30 ready to race. And race I did with

three seasons under her tyres we won two races and had a hand full of podiums. Which was incredible considering I built the whole car for around £7000 and I was racing against people with £15,000 engines. In my first season of Hot Rods, the last race of the year featured the bigggest event of the series with 29 cars on the grid. I started in second position, and made it into first by turn one.

I led for the whole race with must faster machinery chasing and trying to pass me but I managed to hold on, and win the race by one car length.

But ever since I first raced her I always thought what it would be like to build a all out racer

version of an A30 with a spaceframe with a V8. After the third season I took her off the track for upgrades to which I bought other stuff and she never got finished. I always wanted to go circuit racing, so I bought a 1964 Ford Falcon to build into a Pre 66 Touring car after helping out with one for a few meetings. So I did a few bits to the Falcon before realizing how much it was going to cost to build the car and make it competitive and even if I did build it, I had never tested my ability as a driver so I could build a good car and be a terrible driver or the other way round.

It was then I decided to go into a one-

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make series and test myself there. I bought a Ginetta G40 and went racing in the Ginetta G40 Challenge. Before my first meeting I’d never been round a circuit not even on a track day. But after a few meetings I got the hang of it and over the season I missed winning the championship by 15 points but along the way I managed 5 wins and 10 podiums over 18 races, thus proving to myself that I can drive beating teams that train and coach their drivers whilst I would be in the rain working on the car or eating cake.

After doing that for a year I sold the car and didn’t know what to do next. I had an Austin A30 road car that was off the road at the time. When it started life, she was completely standard with 4 inch wide tyres and an 803cc 4 cylinder engine. The plan was to cut everything out leaving just parts of the original 1955 body, some steel panels with wider arches added.

At that time I still had the Ford Falcon and I decided to sell it. After having a mosey around the workshop I found myself looking at this little black A30 and a 289 Ford V8 with a gearbox on the back sitting next to the car. I think you can see where this is going. So, after the initial idea I had seven years previous, I decided it was time to try and do this and build an all out race A30 with a spaceframe with a V8. Now this is where the famed ‘Brocky’ and myself would theoretically agree to disagree!

Brock’s A30 was not powered by a V8 but by a 179 c.i. Holden straight-six motor. Now everyone knows that a Holden would be tough to source in the UK and with the 289 c.i. Ford already sitting in the shop it just made sense to go that route.

And set about it I did, we starting to take the car apart on 2nd May 2022 with various design changes at the start that slowed the schedule down a lot and after various head scratching along the way I managed to build this dream car of mine. It was built at the workshop that my Dad and I now share, in a corner, on the floor with no computers or blueprints just pen and paper and a tape measure, 34

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slowly making it up as I went along. Sure it was very tough but it was finally worth it when she made her debut on 3rd June 2023.

We have only been out with the car three times since it was completed and we really get a kick out of is when people come over to see her in the pits, she really seems to be a fan favorite for such a new car to the scene. When they ask me what engine its got in it and I say it’s a five litre Mustang V8, they just can’t believe it and they say bloody hell and tell me I’m either brave or nuts.

I have to say it has been a great experience building this car but a huge part of this project has being able to do it working alongside my Dad. The race team is basically him and I but we have been helped out along the way with good advice and and assistance from good friends, but I built 99% of it on my own with my own thoughts. Sponsors are our workshop products suppliers JLK Workshop Products and my company 25/7 Race and Restoration.

Our plans for the future are to carry on racing and developing the car, and keep getting it faster; hoping next season to add about 150 HP with a new engine with a higher spec and loose 100kg off the car and driver. We will start out by using aluminum heads, an aluminum gearbox and drilling some holes in brackets.

2023 Austin A30

The Build List

Engine:

- Ford Falcon 5 Bolt 289 V8 - 302 internal to make it a 5.0 L, - Standard block standard heads - Triple valve springs - Holley 4777 carb - Fast road cam - H beam rods - Lightweight crankshaft - Forged pistons - fully balanced bottom end

Cooling:

- Custom alloy radiator, the biggest I could fit in - Large oil cooler, - Electric water pump

Drivetrain:

- 4 speed mustang side loader BW T10 Gearbox - Custom propshaft ( Only 14 inches long) - Ford Capri Atlas rear axle (52 inches wide)

Exhaust System:

- Home built ceramic coated exhaust system including manifolds

Suspension:

- Custom coil over shock absorbers - Double wishbone front end

- 4 link rear with an adjustable Watts linkage - Mini front anti roll bar

Brakes:

- Front 260MM Vented discs with 4 pot Wilwood calipers - Rear 247MM single pot Ford Sierra Cosworth calipers

Electrical:

- Home made wiring loom - MSD ignition - STACK Classic gauges

Aero / Body:

- Standard 1955 A30 steel body - Arches and rear quarters cut and extended 5.5” - Removeable front end - Wooden front splitter - Alloy flat floor - Rear diffuser

Interior/Safety:

- Full integrated roll cage - 6 point harness - Plumbed in fire extinguisher system

Wheels / Tires:

- Custom 3 piece split rims 13x10 alloys - F3 rear tyres 250/575/13 all round.

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Words by Ian Rae, Dave Stephenson, Images by Ian Rae All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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nox Mountain Park is Kelowna BC’s largest natural area park, it spans 385 hectares located just north of the downtown core. The park supports many activities including walking, running, hiking, biking (road, cross country and downhill), birding, nature appreciation, sightseeing and winter recreation. But once a year it becomes the mecca for motorsport fans and racers in the Okanagan Valley. The Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hillclimb takes over the park on the Victoria Day long weekend and the oldest paved hillclimb in North America returns with racers climbing over 240 meters to the summit once again.

There were plenty of unknowns heading into the 64th running of the hillclimb.

Last year’s King of the Hill, Mark Uhlmann, was not on the entry list.

Garrett Mealing and his 1995 Eagle Talon where back again, hoping to improve on the second place from last year. Third place in 2022, Roger Sieber was also back again with his outrageous Hayaboostacart. Plus throw in a wild card in the shape of hillclimb rookie Darren Graham and his 2009 Nissan GTR and nobody could predict what would happen.

Then just two days before the event, an entry that would strike fear into the hearts of every competitor hoping for the King of the Hill crown. Aran Iolo Cook and his massively modified Arco X10! Cook was King of the Hill in 2019 with an astounding 1:45.311, and this year he was back with even more aero and a

turbo bolted to the side of his Kawasaki super bike engine!

But we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves, the road, as noted above is fully paved, is narrow combining off-camber corners, and steep grades; a nice Sunday drive, but hardly what you would consider as a racetrack. It is 2.2 miles (3.5km) long and climbs approximately 800 feet (245 meters) in elevation for an average grade of 6.7%.

2023 was the 64th running of the event with only the Covid epidemic halting the continuous run since the original event 1958. Thousands assemble in the Park at the foot of the mountain to witness the fastest Hill Climb, Rally and Road Race Cars from across the Pacific North West compete against

the clock on the course winding its way up above Okanagan Lake. It’s a fan and driver favorite with a real party atmosphere which includes a big car show, a beer garden, lots of food trucks, a play area for the kids when they got fed up with noisy cars and best of all two full days of racing! A winning All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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combination, for sure! Another big factor is the sheer variety of cars racing. The Knox Mountain Hill Climb attracts vintage Datsun’s and Alfa Romeos, Volkswagens and Hondas, Mustang, home-builts, Dodge Neons and Peugeot 205s, Eagle Talons and Subarus, and purpose-built formula cars. Also, a record number of female drivers at this year’s event with six in attendance vying for Queen of the Hill title.

The record for the fastest time up the Hill has stood since 2007 when John Haftner took his highly modified SuperVee up the Hill with a landmark run of 1:37.065 and nobody had got close until Mark Uhlmann challenged in 2022 on his way to King of the Hill running a 1:39.989 in his Stohr WF1 sports prototype.

Aran made his intentions clear right from his practice run, tearing up the hill in a barely believable 1:43.263, a full two seconds faster than his 2019 winning of time of 1:45.311. This time from practice would be enough for King of the Hill most years, 40

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but Aran didn’t let that hold him back. He wanted that record. Throughout Saturday he chipped away the seconds to finish up Saturday’s racing on a 1:36.678, enough to reset the sixteen year-old record. But that wasn’t enough for Aran, Sunday morning he went even faster, finishing run six with a 1:34.743. Rain put an end to any hopes of going faster throughout Sunday afternoon, but Aran’s work was done, beating the sixteen year old record by more than two seconds and cementing himself as King of the Hill for 2023.

The battle for the other podium spots raged on, Darren Graham and his GTR took to the Hill like a duck to water considering he had never been to Knox Mountain before; going under two minutes on his practice run. He then chipped away the seconds to end Sunday with a 1:48.926, an incredible time for him in his rookie year. Good enough for the third fastest full-bodied car ever up the Hill.

Roger Sieber also saw big improvements this year in the Hayaboostacart, while a 1:53.263 was good

enough for third place in 2022. But this year he really wanted to beat his rallying co-driver and great friend the very determined Garrett Mealing. Saturday was shaping up to be a great battle between the two friends with just half a second between the two after three runs on Saturday. But then disaster struck for Mealing with alternator problems on his fourth run on Saturday. After sourcing a replacement after a plea on Facebook he made the start on Sunday morning only to be side lined with engine problems. Roger refocused himself on a new target and did everything he could to try and catch the GTR of Darren Graham on Sunday. He came close, but couldn’t quite match the savage power delivery of the GTR. He did however dip into the fourties with an incredible 1:49.894. Only fourteen drivers have ever gone under one minute fifty seconds, so it was a truly great achievement in a home-built car.

The ladies’ field was stacked this year with three returning racers and three rookies., which shows

the Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs Women in Motorsport initiative is indeed working. Women in Motorsport aims to the increase the participation of women and girls in all aspects of motorsport competition, whether as a driver, crew, courseworker, official, volunteer or spectator, there is a place for everyone in motorsports.

Jennifer Ocker took her 2004 Impreza up the Hill in 2:04.708 to take home the Queen of the Hill title for the third year in a row. Second place was incredibly close with a battle going down all weekend between returning racer Bonnie Wall in her CRX, and Sherry Anthony in her rookie year with her Nissan 350Z. Bonnie set a new personal best with a 2:14.661, but Sherry chipped away the seconds all weekend as she learnt the Hill to pip Bonnie by a mere tenth of a second with a 2:14.096.

Hill climbing is often as much about racing yourself as it is your competitors, so its worthy of note a few racers who smashed their personal bests or set

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new class records. Basil Santamaria has one of the best-looking Subaru’s there is! In 2022 he battled through some drive train issues in his rookie year at the Hill, but just couldn’t quite break through the two-minute barrier. In 2023 he put that right, finishing the weekend with an impressive 1:52.129.

Garrett Mealing in the Talon reset the GT-M record again with it now sitting at 1:51.154. Julian Pascoal was happy with his rookie year in 2022, but this year carved another four seconds off his best time to get painfully close to breaking two minutes finishing the weekend on a 2:00.697. Greg Carvouras is rapidly shaping up to be one of the fastest racers in his 2004 Corvette at the Knox Mountain Hill Climb.

In his rookie year in 2022 he climbed the Hill in 1:57.680, this year he took that personal best down to a 1:54.736! Good enough for sixth fastest overall at this years Hill Climb and also beating the SP-4 class record set by Andre Marzialli in 2014 in his supercharged BMW M3. Wade Pollock was another driver showing huge improvement over his rookie

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year. In 2022 he took his Honda Civic up the Hill in 2:09.281, this year he used the knowledge gained in 2022 to get up the Hill in 2:03.283. And finally, Kevin Wall who has been racing Knox for many years came to the Hill in 2023 with one aim in mind, taking the SPX-1 record away from Gavin Aitken. Gavin set the record in his Subaru way back in 2010 with a time of 2:06.650. Kevin shaved a full second and a half off

the record in his Honda CRX, resetting the record to 2:04.968.

The 64th running of the Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hill Climb was a huge success, and the dedicated individuals who put on this event are already working on the 65th running in 2024.

Everyone involved would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who helps us in putting on this event. Whether you are a corner or gate worker, security guard, car show organiser, time keeper, sponsor or service provider, organising committee member, Tow Truck driver or you help out in any way to put on this event, THANK YOU! We could not put on this event without you. If you would like to learn more about the event then you can check out our website at knoxmtnhillclimb.ca and we are on Facebook and Instagram at knox.mountain.hill.climb.

We are always looking for more volunteers and racers. We hope to see you next year at the 65th Annual Knox Mountain Hill Climb.

Have you noticed that there are not many photos of the competitors in this article? That is because they are included in the magazine in a feature article on them and their car or is a one or two page Racer Spotlight photo that we have spread thouth the magazine.

It’s a new idea that we have come up with where the racer gets some dedicated exposure directly on them. We hope you like it!

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he Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hill Climb takes a small army of volunteers to put on each year. The 2023 edition was the 64th edition of the longest running paved Hill climb in North America, some of the volunteers and committee members have been helping out since the 1970’s!

We thought the readers would like to have a bit more insight into how many people and just how much work goes into putting on an event of this size.

Over the race weekend the Hill climb needs a minimuim of forty volunteers to work as track workers, tow truck operators and gate workers.

Track workers are stationed at every corner of the hill to ensure spectator and racer safety, they are the first ones on the scene if a racer has a problem or accident. They then radio it into race control so appropriate action can be taken if required. We have an ambulance on site for the entire weekend, and every corner has plenty of fire extinguishers.

The corner workers are also there to keep the spectators safe, ensuring they stand in safe places and are not putting themselves or others in danger. Mario’s Towing has been surporting the Hill Climb for many years with there Tow Trucks and Tow Truck drivers. If a racer does have an off or a mechanical, they offer fast and efficient Tow Truck services to get us back racing as quickly as possible. The gate workers are responsible for getting people into the event, ensuring everyone gets a wrist band and gets all the event information they need.

In the back ground is an incredibly dedicated planning committee who work tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that this event happens year in, year out. It currently stands at around fourteen members, some have been around for more than four decades, others just a couple of years. This is a good time to mention that the Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hill Climb is put on by the Knox Mountain Motorsport Society, which is a non profit 44

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Words by Dave Stephenson, Images by Ian Rae

society. All the money taken in during the event is put back into the event, and part proceeds are given to a local charity every year.

Our volunteer co-ordinator Sheree Wall first volunteered as a corner worker way back in 1975! She then volunteered as a corner worker on and off right up to 2013 when she joined the organising committee to help out with registration and volunteer co-ordination. In recent years she have also taken on the role of race controller, being responsible for monitoring the radios used by the corner workers to ensure the Hill is safe for the racers and spectators.

Our head of the organising committee Bryan Fulton has held that role for the last seventeen

t ! l AbPoueop It’s AGloo e l d g n i Hav

years! Before that being responsible for the car show and the car show gate. It’s a very important role ensuring that everything comes together for the event and no details are missed.

It’s safe to say our course marshal is a lifer! Bruce Newton has filled this role since 1986! An incredible thirty seven years of ensuring the course is safe before and throughout the race weekend. He was also the original President of Knox Mountain Motorsport Society when it was first established and has helped out in many ways since he was eighteen years old.

Our pit marshal Wayne Bailey has also been around for while, having first been responsible for the hot pits some twenty three years ago. He has

also been our chief liason with the City of Kelowna for many years ensuring all our paperwork is perfect and being the one stop shop for the City of Kelowna’s paperwork and questions.

We have only really had two tech inspectors at the Hill. Brian Browning handled it from 1984 all the way up to 2010, Brain was also one of the first guys on site and one of the last to leave the Hill for a great many years helping to set up and tear down the Hill. John Edwards started helping out with tech in 2000 and has taken it over completely since 2010.

We are doubly lucky because John roped his wife Taralyne into helping with tech inspections, and she has now taken over driver registrations.

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Society President Allen Reid is also our society Treasurer. Allen has been involved with the Hill Climb since the late 1970’s and has been King of the Hill on more than one occasion. Over the years Allen has been responsible for many aspects of the Hill Climb, from set up to organising and everything in between, along with his partner in crime Brian Browning always one of the first on site before the racing starts and one of the last to leave once it’s all done for another year.

Our timing guy Anthony Rehlinger is a very talented tech guy having taken over the timing of the timed runs in 2011. He also gives us countless hours dragging trailers backwards and forwards, building tire walls and testing the timing systems before the event gets under way.

The announcer Matt Scaife, is yet another lifer at the Hill. He took over the announcing trailer some twenty three years ago, and has been there ever since.

Prior to this he was our volunteer co-ordinator for many years.

Now we get to a few of our newer members. Garrett Mealing has been on the committee since 2016, and he roped in his buddy Dave Stephenson in 2017. They are both racers and between the two of them take care of the Facebook account, Instagram account, Car Show, Beer Garden, Tire walls and promotions from local radio and news outlets. Another racer turned volunteer Frank Ewald joined the committee in 2019 and ensures we have all the Porta Potties we need, the concrete no posts end up where they need to be and all the racers have the correct Race License they need. Leading us onto our final 46

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committee member David Street, who has been running the finish line of the race for a number of years, before joining the committee in 2018. He is now the secretary of our committee meetings and responsible for the food trucks everyone enjoys so much.

We really do give a huge thank you to all our committee members both past and present. This write up really does only represent a small portion of what these guys do each year to make this event happen. They work incredibly hard in the lead

up to the event, during the event and after it. To ensure a safe and fun weekend is had by all. If your interested in volunteering for the Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hill Climb or becoming a committee member please get in touch with us through our website knoxmtnhillclimb.ca or the Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hill Climb Facebook page or Instagram at Knox.mountain.hill.climb. We can’t wait to see you next year for the 65th annual Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hill Climb!.

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Larry Sandham loves competeting with his Mini Cooper S at the Knox Mountain Hillclimb.

The Victoria, BC resident has run the Kelowna BC located hillclimb for more years than anyone else.

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A record Six Women Compete at the 2023 Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hillclimb The Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs is the official FIA/ASN Canada Motorsport Sanctioning Authority for British Columbia and their Women in Motorsport initative paid big dividends in 2023 with six women challenging not only the Knox Hillclimb but their male counterparts too.

Their mission statement is, “Our ongoing goal is to increase the active participation of women and girls in the CACC motorsport disciplines. We do this by promoting opportunities designed to encourage new enthusiasts to enter the sport and enabling their interest with straightforward information required to compete on track and/or volunteer at events.We strive to build women’s belief in their potential and foster an “I can” attitude towards motorsports by sharing profiles and achievements of current women participating in CACC motorsport.

We support female driver development through mentorship, training, and competition bursaries.And finally, we strive to retain current female enthusiasts

through recognition of achievements and ensuring the community is an inclusive and safe place for everyone.”

The CACC encourages everyone to come join with us in the thrill and excitement of motorsport competition. The Women in Motorsport initiative aims to the increase the participation of women and girls in all aspects of motorsport competition.

Whether as a driver, crew, course-worker, official, volunteer or spectator, there is a place for everyone in motorsports.

Find out more about CACC Women in Motorsport on their Facebook page or reach out directly to wim@caccautosport.org.

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Mealing multi tasks preparation for the Knox Hillclimb All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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n 2022 I had a great year realizing my ambition to set a new class record at the Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hillclimb, but for 2023 I had high hopes of going much faster than 2022.

I had reduced the weight of the car by nearly 150 lbs and the car setup was feeling great during early season testing at Area 27 in Oliver, BC. Replacing the doors and rear hatch with fiberglass was an easy win for weight loss. However, it was a fair amount of work to make sure the car looked good. Repainting and re-doing the livery while also helping with the organizing of the Hill Climb itself and holding down a job or three kept me on my toes. Not to mention I had to replace the turbo from a failure last season at Speed Fanatics Motorsports Park. Leading up to the event I also manufacture the trophies for the event through my family business Mealing Welding and with Knox Mountain transitioning to the new SCCA Time attack rules there were 37 trophies to be made due to the plethora of classes.

This leads us to event week, where I arrive at the hill Thursday morning. However I ended up making two trips from Penticton about an hour away to bring my RV Trailer and the car trailer to the event. We used Thursday to setup our pit area quickly and then started assembling the Park grounds with everything required for 64th running of the event. Dave Stephenson and I rounded up a crew of racers to help build the tire walls in only a matter of a couple hours! This job can take all day without the proper application of humans. Then on to making sure the fencing crews are placing the temporary fences in the correct places to keep everyone safe from the cars speeding up the narrow mountain road.

On Thursday evening we have our final committee meeting with the year-round volunteers and went over anything that still needed to happen on Friday. There is so much going on that I can’t pretend to know everything that is happening in the 56

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background. Between making sure my car is fully prepared, getting inspected by tech and running errands to make sure everything is moving forward and everyone that needs help is getting it I don’t sit still for more than a moment until nightfall Friday where we finally get a chance to catch up with friends!

Saturday morning and it was race day! I got up around 6:00am to do the last-minute stuff on my car like getting the tire blankets on, generators ready and making sure all my race gear is close at hand. By 7am I head to the start area to start shuttling our amazing corner volunteers to their respective locations. These volunteers have the hardest job on the hill during the race. Enduring rain, sun, heat, cold and everything in between over the course of the weekend all while being “stuck” up the hill until the racing is over around 5pm.

Once I return from that I load the truck up again with any new drivers to take them on a course tour so they can see the hill before they try to go up it in a race car. The hill is closed to cars past turn 3 the rest of the year so the only way to see it aside from this slow pass is by walking or biking it and that is quite a chore. After, the course tour I am as fully engaged in my own driving as possible.

The first run goes well and I put in a 1:55 which is a solid run and sets me up well to push on run two.

Run two is great, I am feeling at one with the car and hustle the Talon to the top in a near class record 1:51.864. Knowing that everything is working well my confidence increases. Run three and I am on full attack mode, however I miss third gear right off the launch and it takes a couple of tries to get the car into gear and still manage to reset my 2022 record of 1:51.392 bringing it down to 1:51.154, which would end up as 4th overall at that point.

Now I know there is a bunch more time in the car with a clean run. Unfortunately that was not to be on Saturday as on the starting grid for the fourth run of the day the car dies due to a failed alternator.

I send out a plea to the internet for an alternator

as no parts stores near by have one. A local car enthusiast messages me back quickly and says he will remove the alternator from his Talon and bring it to me right away! I get the “new” alternator in and all is good!

Thanks to that good samaritan I am ready to attack the hill on Sunday morning, I give the car a final check over and get ready to go. Weather is good and I am confident. The first seven turns feel amazing until arriving at turn eight and I start to heel-toe the car down through the gears, as I go for first, the car just dies. Usually this is just a mistake on a slow shift and releasing the clutch will bring it back to life with little time lost. However, nothing happens on clutch release, and I coast to a stop just after turn eight. Trying to start the car fails and things don’t sound good. I roll the car to the pits after the rest of the cars run and proceed to diagnose the issue. Unfortunately there is no easy fix and we retire the car to the pits and myself to the Vice and Virtue Brewing Co. Beer Garden.

I got to enjoy the rest of Sunday as a spectator and met a few first timers to the event that were having a blast. Spending time with friends and family while cheering on all the drivers was my consolation prize for not driving Sunday. I am typically too focused on my own driving to spend much time enjoying the rest the mountain has to offer.

That evening after the dust settles I get

handed the Mic from our long time announcer Matt Scaife and he asks if I would like to MC the Top 3 Podium! Hell Yes I do! My good friend Roger Sieber managed a third place overall for the second year in a row with his first ever sub 1:50 run of 1:49.894.

Newcomer Darren Graham and his R35 GTR grab second place with an impressive 1:48.926 especially since he had an off early on Sunday morning in the damp conditions.That put him in rare tin top territory of only three other production cars to ever break the 1:50 barrier. Aran Cook, now a legend, has destroyed a 16-year-old record this year. He piloted his extensively modified ARCO X10 to an astounding 1:34.903! Eclipsing the previous record set by John Haftner in 2007 by 2.162 seconds.

Many thought Mr. Haftner’s record would never be beaten with the condition of the aging road. It was my honor to announce the fastest podium in the Knox Mountain Hill Climb’s History. All three podium drivers went sub 1:50 and a new bar had been set.

Now the real work began. The die hard volunteers and racers tear the hill down and replace any barriers and signage that is removed to facilitate the race. I work into the afternoon on Monday with many of our dedicated crew finalizing the tear down late into the next week. Our volunteers are the key to this races success, and it wouldn’t be possible without them. My deepest thanks go out to everyone that makes this race possible!

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f i n n Je Words by Ian Rae, Jennifer Ocker, Images by Ian Rae 60

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6 year-old Eugene, OR, resident Jennifer Ocker considers herself a late bloomer when it comes to motorsport.

The CEO of a community health center told us it was 2009 when the bug bit her. “I started autocrossing sharing the car with my incredible husband of 28 years, Rob Ocker. Rob was so much faster but that did not put me off, I just dug deep and chiselled away at the gap in time between us.

That gave me the confidence to try something new and I competed in my first hillclimb at Larison Rock in Oakridge, OR. It was soooo scary and I was soooo slow, but I loved it so much!”

Those experiences allowed Jennifer many other opportunities, namely racing with the Mueller family at Lemons and Lucky Dog events, and eventually becoming a permanent member of The Dirty Little Freaks, aka The All Girlz All Starz. She got to race with some really fast women and learn how to handle a RWD car on tracks including Sonoma, Buttonwillow, Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, PIR, and The Ridge.

“They were experiences of a lifetime for sure,” she told us. “What I realized was, the more I participated in road racing the faster my times at hillclimbs. I always shoot for top 10 but have finished second a couple of times and top five more than I can count. Thanks to all you fast people who stay home!” she said laughing. When asked about her most memorable moment in racing? “There are so many” she replied. ”Probably the highlight was being on the Lemons team ‘Soccer Moms’ and winning the Index of

Effluency in a very well prepped Dodge Minivan at Sonoma Raceway. That thing was really on RAILS! When it comes to a race car Rob and Jennifer’s weapon of choice is a 2004 Subaru STI. “Rob came home one day and told me it was his turn to get a car and he wanted a four door family car.” said a surprised Jennifer before going on, “A Subaru? I thought it strange and VERY out of character. But we went to Portland and met the owner, the first thing I heard was the blow-off valve. A silver STI slid around the corner and Rob looked at me with a sheepish grin. “It has four doors.”

Rob planned the mods out thoughtfully. Suspension first, then some of this, some of that. When the first cage was going in, the car did catch fire but luckily the interior had been removed so all we lost were the dash and wiring harness. And would you know it, the two things that are really hard to find for a 2004 STI. Rob spent months replacing the interior painstakingly, suede headliner, ostrich A pillars, door cards, a show car for sure. And kind of fast with it.

When we hooked up with Surgeline.com, we were persuaded to gut the interior and lose the OEM glass.” Rob and I disagreed on this for a couple of years before he finally said, “It’s your car, do what you want.” It still causes him pain to see the emptiness that once was a labor of love for him.

Seriously, the car was drop dead gorgeous!

When asked about the future plans for the car? “I think it’s perfect the way it is. It had a lot of mods over the winter so we’ll see what this season holds. You will be able to see if they made a All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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difference when we arrive in Canada for the Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hillclimb.” And talking of Knox Mountain, the first time Jennifer competed at Knox Mountain she lost her transmission on the fifth run and was still able to finish 21st. On her second visit to the scenic Okenagan venue in 2022, she was able to squeak out an 11th place finish because two very fast Subarus that normally set the pace had issues. “I’ve been studying video in preparation of the 2023 event and have high hopes this will be my year to break the women’s record held by Susan Haggaman (1:54.714) set in 1999 in her Griffin Super V. I do wear glasses now so I have better depth perception and may be able to go deeper into the corners. But time will tell, we always have a great time up in Kelowna, it truly is a must do event for us.”

She went on, “Despite hating the fact that hillclimbs are my preferred type of racing to participate in, my husband Rob is my biggest supporter. He travels with me, takes care of me, takes care of the car, makes sure I can focus on the task at hand and most of all not worry about the details.

During the event itself we could see things were not going as well as the Ocker’s had expected.

The WRX sounded seriously ill at times as it acended

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the hill. Not being able to get assistance with tuning over the Internet saw Jennifer reach out to other racers on site for ideas and recommendations and by the end of Sunday the black WRX was sounding more on song.

Subaru WRX

The Build List

Engine:

- IAG “Magnum” spec short block -14mm head studs - “Fire Lock” head gasket - IAG Stage 5 ported and polished heads - Surgeline.com custom rotated turbo kit adapted to a Killer Bee Holy Header mated to a Garrett g35-900 turbo pushing 28psi of boost making over 630whp as rated Surgeline.com Mustang Dyno, flex fuel integration.

Cooling:

- Mishimoto aluminum radiator - Aftermarket oil cooler

Brakes:

- ST60 Trophy Kit front brakes - StopTech slotted rear rotors - DTC60 brake pads

Electrical:

- AEM 7 Series Infinity Stand Alone ECU, - AEM CD-7 Digital Dash

Aero / Body:

- APR GT-1000 dual element wing - Custom built front air dam and splitter assembly - Fender flares to allow extra clearance for wider wheel and tire combo

Interior/Safety:

- Custom built turbo back exhaust

- Custom built roll cage spec’d for Pikes Peak requirements, - Pyrotect carbon fiber race seats - Pyrotect full harnesses - Safecraft Fire Suppression c/w auto and manual activation

Suspension:

Wheels / Tires:

Drivetrain:

- X-Shift Sequential transmission upgrade

Exhaust System:

- ST Suspensions XTA coilover kit with adjustable top hats front and rear - Super Pro Control Arms

- Black Enkei RPF-1 18X10.5

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My motorsports history isn’t as long as some, but when I was able to buy my first car, I bought a 1998 Honda Civic and started to modify it, I didn’t have plans of racing at the time, but once the car was done in 2017 I started competing in our local autocross to put the modifications to the test. I fell in love with competing against myself, and other competitors in a safe environment, and felt like I fit in with the “racing” crowd which helped. I put my car into the car show at Knox Mountain, and watched a

Honda Civic race up the hill in 2018, and I knew with some persistence that could be me one day. I started research in figuring out how to get my licence and what equipment I needed and what I would need to do to my car, but with little seat time at a race track I had to register for a time attack in Mission, BC at their road race course. And after the adrenaline of Time Attack I just kept going back, got my senior licence for Time Attack which was enough of a licence to race Knox.

Once dipping into the rules of saftey equipment for my car and myself, I built a car that I could both race up Knox Mountain and road race with. Which is the car I raced this year; a 1994 Honda Civic.

In 2022 I started off with a best of 2.48, and this year I ran a new personal best of 2.20.1 even after having some car issues I felt more comfortable holding the gas down in the corners and can’t wait for next year to get another PB and hopefully break the 2.20 mark.

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Words by Frank Ewald, Images by Ian Rae and Author

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Frank Ewald was a school principal in Kitchener, ON. Currently sixty-three years old Frank took early retirement and with his wife Pam upped roots and headed West to Abbotsford British Columbia. There was a great reason for that but we will let him tell you the story later in the article. s a little kid I used to get ‘heck’ from my parents for teaching other kids how to skid to a stop on their bikes. I’ve always loved driving fast, I inherited that trait from my father but didn’t get to the track until my two daughters were both teenagers. My youngest, Katie, really took to the sport. She even set a class record at the Mosport Grand Prix track in 2010 or 11 that still hasn’t been beaten to this day.

And while she’s in Australia now, she has bragging rights about beating me at Mosport consistently! (I say Mosport as this happened before it was renamed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.) And my bragging rights go way back at Dunnville (a now long closed track) I was faster than Time Attack standout James Houghton, but of course, that didn’t last long!

Initially I got into motorsport for track days. Then I started doing Solo 1 which eventually changed to Time Attack. I did that with CASCOR which is now known as Ontario Time Attack.

There are a few CSCS Time Attack events in my portfolio and, here I’m dating myself again, I ran with ChumpCar at awesome tracks like Mosport, Calabogie, and Watkins Glen. Eight years ago I moved to the West Coast and I’m now participating in CACC Time Attack (I’m currently the CACC Time Attack Director) and Knox Mountain Hill Climb. I also participate with a private Time Attack group, SpeedyGoat. Speed Fanatics Motorsport Circuit is our local track at Mission, BC. Some distance away are private tracks like Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit and Area 27. Taking a trip across the Rockies takes us to Rocky Mountain Motorsports Park – which I’ve been able to visit but haven’t driven yet.

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border, I love visiting The Ridge in Washington. I’m looking forward to getting to more of the tracks in the future. Another track on my bucket list is Phillip Island Circuit in Australia – just a few hours from my daughter’s home. Maybe some day!

My most memorable moment in racing?

Honestly, the first time that my daughter beat me at Mosport! And that she beat me in my own car, that was a highlight. Second is that the car and my daughter still hold the Touring 3 class record at Mosport Grand Prix track. And since that class is now eliminated, the record is hers for perpetuity.

That is pretty cool for sure!

When it comes to my race car it could almost have EVO behind the NX1600 as I have evolved the car through the years to where it sits now. The Nissan NX1600 is a sport cute car that I bought new in 1992. At the time I could have bought an NX2000 demonstrator for the same price but at that date and time the engine nomenclature SR20DE

meant nothing to me. The GA16DE engine that the NX1600 was fitted with was more than sufficient for a second car for a man with a young family. It was a daily driver in Ontario winters, so it was sprayed against rust twice a year. And that is where I met James Houghton, he protected it against rust at the family business Houghton’s Rust Control and more than once I got invited in for a lunchtime meal as we looked after my car, we chatted about James’ cars, and I enjoyed chatting with his Mom and Dad as they had been involved in motorsport for years.

When the modification bug started, it was with ta focus on improved reliability. I added Ground Control Coil Overs; Eibach Springs; a VRS 2.5” stainless exhaust; but then it got more extreme and serious with Hotshot Headers and CAI; JWT cams, and a custom tune with a soldered in daughter board.

It was with this setup that Katie set her record at Mosport. She ran in Touring 3 class and won everything; I ran in Touring 2 and won enough to

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be class champion, however, Katie was faster than I was at several of these events. With Katie proving herself we then installed a 54C SR20DET from a Pulsar GTi-R, which we ran in stock configuration for one year and it was a fun engine, but it wasn’t until I needed a hose so I pulled an inconsequential one out from the engine bay and ran into a store to get the replacement piece I needed. Back in the car and merging onto the 401 to head back to our race at Shannonvile, Katie stepped on the gas and squealed tires. Staring at each other, I told Katie to slow down and do it again. We cleaned up this weekend. As a turbo newbie I didn’t realize that I’d opened the turbo up to virtually unlimited boost. Good thing I was running race gas that weekend or the engine replacement would have happened a lot earlier.

The next route was to put forged parts and a cam and a larger Precision turbo in the 54C. This was about 350 whp and was really nice on the street but a challenge to keep cool on track. The factory LSD simply couldn’t keep up so a used Nismo LSD went in. Then in 2018 at Knox Mountain Hill Climb I did an infamous money shift; third to second we put it back together, it simply wasn’t the same. When when I really, really wanted fourth. While we did the teardown for a full rebuild, we discovered that the 54C block was severely damaged. And that led to the installation of a Honda K24 engine. It was drastic departure from almost 30 years of Nissan focus but after many discussions with James I knew we were heading the right way.

All fabrication require to mate the engine to the Nissan chassis done by AES Auto. This was the first B13 Nissan running with a K series engine that I am aware of. I noted on the build list that I was running a 72mm K-Tuned throttle body, I also have a K-Tuned 80mm version with a port matched and polished RBC intake, but haven’t had the time or money to run it on the dyno.

The rest of the car was not ignored, suspension upgrades includes ES bushings throughout. The first major upgrade way back was KYB AGX shocks and Ground Control Coilovers. This 74

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The Build List

1992 Nissan NX1600 Engine:

Honda K24 - 12.5-1 Wiseco pistons - BC Rods - Drag Cartel 2.2 cams - Unit 2 Fab Steel Oil Pan

Drivetrain:

- M-Factory 1.5 plate LSD - RSX 6 speed transmission - Exedy HyperSingle clutch - Assorted Honda model axles mated together to fit the Nissan - K-Tuned Race Shifer - K-Tuned Race Cables.

- 3” stainless exhaust, - Magnaflow muffler

Brakes:

- Fast Brakes – Wilwood 11.75” front and rear BBK. - Wilwood Master Cylinder and proportioning valve - G-LOC Brake pads – typically R16 front and R8 rear.

Suspension:

- Feal Suspension 442 coilovers - Energy Suspension bushings

Exterior/Aero:

- 72mm K-Tuned Throttle Body - RBC intake ported and polished by myself, welding by AES Auto.

- APR GT250 rear wing - Greg Amy custom air dam (modified by Bron Palko) - Homemade plywood splitter with Professional Awesome splitter rods.

Electrics:

Interior/Safety:

Intake:

- ECUMaster Classic, tuned by AES Auto - Digital Dash by MMM Engineering

Cooling:

- Koyo Rad and Oil Cooler - Mocal thermostatic sandwich plate - Derale power steering cooler.

Exhaust:

- K-Tuned Big Tube header

- 4 point bolt in rollbar - Kirkey Race bucket seats - OMP 6 point harness - OMP steering wheel - NRG quick release

Wheels/Tires:

- Volks Racing TE37 15”x8” ET35 - Bridgestone RE-71RS 225/50/15 - Rays Gram Lights 15:x8” ET 35 - Falken RT660 225/45/15

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A K swap sounds simple, but this wouldn’t have been possible with AES Auto and their fabricating and design skills. Everything had to be built to make this swap happen. At the time this was the only running B13 and K24 swap of which I was aware; now I believe there are a few. Not many though.

Looking at these photos from 2023 you will see that in the some that Frank was not running any aero.

‘Simply The Best’

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Frustrated with not matching his previous times or speeds on the hill he removed the aero to see if that twin-forged made any difference. Suffice to say the aero was back on for the next run and the possible culprit hand-forged hi-forged seems to be worn spherical bearing housings that were allowing the car to wander at speed.

rotary-forged

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pseudo-forged cast-forged

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fake-forged

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EMMETT’S Story

As Ian Rae pointed out, I’m a recent transplant from Ontario and some of you may be wondering what caused this move. Some of you may have already guessed family and you would be correct. But there’s more to it, as there usually is.

With one daughter in B.C. and another in Australia (although the permanent move to Australia didn’t happen until mid 2016) my wife and I often joked that our kids either hated us OR we had raised strong, independent young women! I like to think that it is the latter!

The move to BC was fuelled by a challenging diagnosis of our 6 month old – at the time – only grandson. The diagnosis was a rare genetic disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Type 1. This disease shuts down the communication between the brain and the muscles – including swallowing and breathing. At the time of diagnosis there was no treatment available and life expectancy was quite limited. There were four youngsters of similar ages diagnosed with this disease at BC’s Children’s Hospital at the same time and my grandson Emmett is the only one of the four who has survived.

With this turmoil in our family, we loaded up a moving van and landed in beautiful British Columbia. My grandson has been fortunate to be involved in a blind drug trial that started when he was 8 months old (he is now 8 years old) that involved 124 youngsters around the globe. Any initial hesitation about this drug trial disappeared the

moment we saw physical improvement in this little one – who at this point only had movement in his right arm and very limited side to side head movement. He couldn’t sit up as he’d choke on his own saliva.

Fast forward 8 years and this little boy has had 30 lumbar punctures to inject the drug Spinraza into his spine. This drug is approved by Health Canada now and is one of three treatments now available for this disease. Spinraza allows the nervous system to create a new pathway for the messages from his brain to get to his muscles. It is not a cure. Every four months a lumbar puncture is required. But this little boy is so enthusiastic about life and everyone that he knows. He has to be monitored constantly as choking is a lifelong concern. He eats nothing by mouth, everything directly via a g-tube to his stomach.

And he loves adventure. We build and sail cardboard box boats – the last one we sailed on the Pacific! We launch air powered pop bottle rockets.

We go biking on a 3 wheeled bike or he goes behind a bike on a WeeHoo trailer. He loves camping and hiking, we have a unique ‘WeCarryKevan.org’. backpack for hiking where a wheelchair cannot go. I’m building him a manual all-terrain chair (with a Kirkey seat and 5 point harness) for more challenging hikes. He plays wheelchair soccer in a power wheelchair with a modified computer that responds with braking/turning in almost whiplashlike speeds. He has also been driving his own power wheelchair since he was 16 months old. His current chair is 3 years old – and he’s worn it out. It was in the shop for 3 months last fall getting repairs. Right now he’s waiting on new bearings and tires to replace items that are literally wornout. And he is looking forward to the next time that he can go for a ride in Grandpa’s race car!

You can read more about this incredible youngster at his blog – www.emmetts-journey.com All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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Sheridan Empey has been running the Knox Mountain Hillclimb for 20 years. He set two records during that time and is currently the fastest FWD car ever on the hill.

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Greg’s first year was 2017 and he was running the old SPX-3 class. In 2019 he was able to take the SPX3 record with a 1:57.5.

After the couple years break, Time Attack/ Time Trials rules changed to be more up to date and more inline with the rest of the world. The biggest change that brought was no longer allowing Hoosier A7 tires. “I am required to run 200tw “street tires”.

My goal since the change was to beat my old PB which I did this year with a 1:57.2! I am the only one competing in MAX 2 class so that’s the record. I also believe I was the fastest car not running a slick or semi-slick.”

“I was plagued with CV joint issues and I went through four axles over the course of the weekend. Something to work on for next year and improve on my PB.”

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n Englishman Abroad!

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A DECADE OF INNOVATION IN BRUSHLESS FUEL PUMP TECHNOLOGY

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ave Stephenson is an transplanted Englishman now living in Vernon, B.C. A certified petrolhead as they call them in the UK, Dave grew up watching WRC, F1 and BTCC throughout the 90’s. Colin McRae was his hero growing up and rally has always been a huge love of his. He bought his Peugeot 205 GTI in 2004 and did a track day later that year at Elvington airfield with the car in bone stock form and that did it for him, from there on the mission was to turn it into a full track car.

“I did my first of four Nurburgring trips in 2005 with some friends after watching the Top Gear episode with Clarkson driving a diesel Jaguar around the Ring. I just had to go after that,” he said . The car was largely stock on that trip with its orginal 1.6 8 valve engine. “Through the winter of 2005/2006

it was built up to be largely what it is now. We threw the interior out, installed a Safety Devices 205 challenge spec cage and for more power we built a 405 MI16 engine up from parts sourced from Ebay, but only mildly modded as we wanted maximum reliability and other than one head gasket problem in 2012 it has been very reliable. It was built with all new Peugeot liners and rings, lighted and balanced flywheel, ARP bottom end bolts, 306 GTI6 baffled sump with extended oil pick up, a Group A oil pump spring, Pipercross reground cams, Yamaha R1 carbs on custom manifold. At the same time car suspension was polybushed, and got a Bilstein

suspension upgrade plus a Quaife ATB diff fitted. It served him well with three more trips to the ring through to 2008. On the 2008 trip we also took the car down through the French and Italian Alps, then across to Monaco and back up through Le Mans.

“I moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2007, bought a house in 2009, the car had been in storage in the UK all this time other than trips back to take it to Europe I never really got a lot of seat time in it.

I then decided to blow the crazy amount of money needed to import it. It arrived two months after I packed it up in a container in Liverpool, after going by ship to Montreal, then rail to Vancouver. It was great getting back to running some track days and autocrosses with it, it was like an old friend coming home.

I think I first spectated the Knox Mountain hill climb around 2009 and really wanted to race the 205 there. But it took until 2013 to get the car up to Canadian safety standards with some additions to the roll cage, battery isolator, seats, etc. I raced from ‘13 through to ‘15, then kids and a fixer upper house came along causing a pause to racing. In the years I didn’t race Knox I was still there, helping run the finish line in 2016 and 2018 and even took on the announcer’s mike in 2019.

Like fellow racer Garret Mealing, Stephenson divides his time between being on the Knox Mountain organizing committee and preparing and racing the Peugeot. In fact the weekend after this years event he went and ran in an Autocross.

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Sherry Anthony Goes Hillclimbing All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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The Story : I don’t come from a racing family, I had no inspiration to race besides loving cars themselves. I didn’t grow up watching any motorsports, I didn’t get to play with go-karts as I grew up in a small town with no kart tracks close by. However, I did grow up pointing out any nice car I saw on road trips for as long as I can remember. In everything I’ve done in life, I have always wanted to go fast or faster and cars offered that so when I was old enough to drive, I bought my first car a 1995 Eagle Talon and my love for cars quickly took off at full speed from there. I still own my Talon to this day, mostly due to Garrett Mealing, another Knox Mountain Hill Climb driver who has been my inspiration for many years to keep and finish my Eagle Talon.

• List personal info regarding your history in the sport/cars/ motorsport I spent my early driving years passionately driving the streets and mountain passes, I didn’t get to an actual racetrack until 2021. My first official racetrack which I still consider my home track was and is Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit formerly known as Mission Raceway. I successfully completed driver training in 2021 and I spent the rest of 2021 participating in track days at SPMC and Area 27. In 2022 with a Novice Race license,

I needed to get my car fitted with all the necessary safety equipment for it to pass tech inspection for official races but that became a challenge for me financially.

Luckily, I was very fortunate that the owner of Speed Fanatic Motorsports club, Gary Kwong was willing to rent me one of his racecars, an NA Miata. The experience was like no other, I showed up for all 3 of my door-to-door CACC sanctioned races which were throughout the 2022 season and the Speed Fanatics team took such great care of me that all I needed to do was show up and drive!

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is drive and you can focus on only driving. At the end of the 2022 season, I completed all three races and even managed a second place spot in one of the races. Leaving 2022 behind and entering 2023 with a Senior CACC race license in Time Attack and Road Racing meant that I could now participate in the Knox Mountain Hill Climb, my dream! But I still didn’t have a car ready so the race was on! Due to setbacks with parts and sponsors, my 350Z wasn’t officially ready to race the Knox Mountain Hill Climb until just six hours before the first run up the hill was scheduled to start. However all the hard work was worth it and I ended up being the second fastest woman and I took home the first place trophy in my class!

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I first tried AutoX back in 2018 then I started Ice Racing in 2022. Drifting has been on and off over the years but at the end of 2022 I bought and built myself a Fanatec racing sim and have been more serious about drifting since 2021.

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My 350Z I bought completely stock in 2021. I installed a Mishimoto radiator and Trackspec Motorsport hood vents to help keep any overheating issues away. For suspension so far I have installed DS series BC racing coilovers along with GK Tech rear traction, camber and toe arms. I had GK Techs angle kit but I didn’t enjoy the kit so I removed that not long after installation. A full angle kit is the next purchase.

Nissan 350Z

The Build List

Engine:

- Stock 3.5 VQ35DE Rev Up with 300HP

Drivetrain:

- 6 Speed CD009, - LSD differential for grip racing - Welded differential for drifting

Electrics: - Stock

Suspension:

- DS Series BC Racing Coilovers, GK Tech rear arms for Traction, Toe and Camber.

Exterior/Aero:

- OEM steel body - AIT Racing side skirts - Ducktail spoiler

Interior/Safety:

Cooling:

- Mishimoto Radiator - TrackSpec hood vents

- WRC ProDrive race seat - DriftShop 6-Point Harness - Grip Royal synthetic suede steering wheel - NRG quick release

Exhaust:

Wheels/Tires:

- STOCK! Nothing else should be used but stock with any VQ.

Brakes:

- Brembo brakes all around - 2 additional Brembo calipers in the rear for my GK Tech hydraulic handbrake.

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In 2023, just weeks before the start of the Knox Mountain Hill Climb I had a custom FIA cage installed, the cage was built by CageKits and welded in by a local enthusiast and fabricator Shawn Browne. My interior is mostly gutted now due to the cage, there’s nothing much left besides a dash, the center console and some chopped up door cards to clear the door bars of the cage. So where do I go from here? Who knows, I love any motorsport

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- 18x10 Enkei RPF1 with - Zestino tires (Acrova’s or Gredge’s)

Cutting it Close!

Lorne Stead takes the shortest route possible past the Park gate! His first Hill Climb was back in 1978 in a Mini Cooper S. He then moved through a variety of Datsuns. The brown Datsun

1200 sedan he currently races has been a race car since at least the early 80’s and is the car Lorne currently runs in Vintage Races and at Knox Mountain Hillclimb

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King Of The Hill You won’t see many single seaters in MotorWerks Magazine, we really tend to focus on tin-tops. You will spot the odd one in a ‘Featured Photographer’ article but that is more about helping out budding motorsport photographers than anything else.

But in this issue we decided that Aran Cook’s record setting at the Leavitt Machinery Knox Mountain Hillclimb could not go unrecognized.

Cook must have felt at home amongst the trees on Knox Mountain, he must have thought he was a lumberjack as he chopped away at John Haftner’s previous record of one minute and 37 seconds that was set back in 2007. His self maintained and modified Arco X10 single seater sure was the perfect axe for the job as he continued to chop two seconds off his own new record.

Great job Aran!

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Paul Meadows is a proud forty-five year-old Welshman who would not be upset if you called him a ‘Bryn Rasiwr’. In English that translates to Hill Racer, which is particularly apt considering how much Paul is a huge part of the Welsh hillclimbing community. The Welsh motorsport community tended to be more focused on rallying as Paul grew up, even his father David was involved in thundering through the valleys and forests of his native Wales.

It was in fact rally drivers who influenced the young Meadows and gave him the thirst to become involved in motorsport himself. But it was not the likes of fellow Welshmen David Llewellin or Gwyndaf Evans that were his inspiration but World Champion Ari Vatanen, Dave Metcalf and Irish tarmac specialist Bertie Fisher Meadows takes over his story, “My first introduction or interest in motorsport was formed in my early childhood. My father and friends were involved in rallying. As an adult I was a keen spectator of touring car racing. I always thought competing myself was wouldn’t be possible for me financially. I knew nothing of hillclimbing or sprinting until I chanced upon a sprint event at Llandow Circuit. I thought I could give it a go, caught the bug and it just went on from there. First competing in

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2014 with Peugeot 205 GTI (which I still own, by the way) shown below. In 2016 I bought the Renault Clio Cup car you see in this article, took my time and prepared it for competition, ready for use in 2018. I have always competed in the same class, Modified Production which is for 1400cc to 2000cc normally aspirated cars.”

He went on, “I compete in both Hillclimbs and Sprints but tend to enjoy the hills more as a rule.

I’ve had reasonable success in both cars; on paper I guess you would say my best results have been 3rd overall in the Welsh Championship in the Peugeot and 2nd Overall in the Clio in the same championship. I’ve won my class in the championship a few times and had class wins in other championships also, so you could say I have been quite successful. An overall championship title still escapes me but it is still a goal I’m aiming for.

Outside of the drivers seat I’m very involved with Welsh Sprint and Hillclimb Club.. I’ve served on the committee for a few years and helped to form and run two club championships that have grown each year and continue to be successful. This season I’ve done a little bit of marshalling also which was fun, although my heart really is in being in the drivers seat. Marshalling is actually something every

racer should try at some point. Consider it as giving something back to the community. Without our volunteer members of the Orange Army, motorsport would be in a sad way indeed.”

“I have so many great memories and experiences whilst competing.. such as the time in my Peugeot my billet alloy gear knob came off mid lap in a sprint. Each time I braked hard or cornered, this solid piece of metal flew around the car past my helmet. Yet the most memorable one that I really enjoy sharing as I believe it sums up the grassroot and friendly atmosphere of the sport best. My brake caliper failed on a run up Wiscombe hillclimb, as I was going over a brow into a 90 right through a gate. I braked hard and the pedal hit the bulkhead… somehow I got through the gate and avoided the gate posts, some trees and the banks on the other side. Thinking my event was over I returned to paddock. My closest rival in the class was a chap called Lloyd Bettinson. Lloyd gave me his spare caliper, fitted it and bled the brakes for me enabling us to continue racing each other. He could easily of not helped and taken a easy class win. It was true sportsmanship! I almost felt slightly guilty by

winning the next run by a tenth or two over Lloyd, although he has beaten me on other occasions.”

It is always close racing and a fantastic atmosphere. I think that 2016 was my favourite

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season to date. Four of us chasing the honours in the same class, Martyn Ferris. Lloyd Bettinson and Dave Mockford and myself, swapping fastest times back and fore on each subsequent run.

That season Martyn came out on top winning the Welsh Championship outright. We formed life-long friendships that season. Great memories for sure.”

Paul is lucky that he does not have to travel crazy distances like we used to do from the North of Scotlnd. His main focus is the Welsh Sprint and Hillclimb Speed Championship but he includes events that are part of the HSA Speed Championship, Midland Speed Championship, ACSMC Hillclimb Championship and the Curborough Sprint Championship. These include iconic locations like Prescott, Shelsey Walsh and Loton Park.

Now getting back to the car itself, Meadows bought the Clio from a friend as a bog standard road car with a big dent in the passenger door and long scratches in the paint work along one side and for better or worse he thought it it would make a great basis to build a good modified production hillclimb car.

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Paul tells us the car is so stiff it tries to vibrate itself apart at times. “When we first built it , we spent each event tightening every fastener on the car after each run but it has settled down okay and it performs well. We have the car roughly where we want it or at least to standard we can afford.

The next plan is to play with some aero mods and possible flat bottom the car.”

The team is basically myself and my Dad. I drive and Dad spanners as well being photographer for the club members. And of course I could not do this without the help of my great sponsors, Regis Fuels and Mel Williams Tyres who have been long time sponsors.

-- -`

The Build List

2017 Renault Clio 182 Engine:

- F4r 2 liter engine - Arp bolts - 197 camshafts - Running 45mm Jenvey ITBs - Solid engine mounts

Drivetrain:

- Bercket dog box - Gripper Limited Slip Diff - Hydraulic clutch - Paddle clutch - Lightened flywheel

Electrics:

- Dta s40 ECU - Electric steering

Exhaust:

- Pure motorsport manifold and exhaust.

Brakes:

- Tilton pedal box

- Standard calipers - Carbon Loraine pads

Exterior/Aero:

- Fibreglass panels including doors bonnet, tailgate - Polycarbonate windows bar windscreen.

Interior/Safety:

- Removal of : Interior sound deadening, underseal, wiring looms, unwanted brackets etc.

- Cup spec roll cage (Single Source Engineering) - Race shifter - Majority of parts from Pure Motorsport Renault race specialists.

- Sparco FIA Seat - Sparco FIA Belts

Wheels/Tires:

--Speedline Corse 15” - Kumho C03 super soft tyres for the dry - Kumho V70 with extra cuts for the wet

Suspension:

- Gaz gold coilovers suspension.

- Fully rose jointed - Wishbones and axle strengthening plates.

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48 year-old Pavel Kovaceski had always dreamed about going motor racing and in 2009 a good friend of his, Mark Gorgovski persuaded him to go out and do a track day at Sandown Park in suburban Melbourne in their current cars. Paul was running an Australian built 1971 Ford Falcon 500 that ran a 302 Windsor Ford small block, a toploader 4 speed gearbox and 9” diff. Mark was a little more current with a late model 2005 Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo, but his aim was the same, to find out what these track days that everyone was going on about were like. After that first track day the duo couldn’t stop raving about the fun they had so went ahead booked in for a second day and it was back to Sandown for another pedal to the metal day.

Paul (as he is known) takes up the story from here. “On that track day I met Chris Muscat from Centreline Suspension who was one of the instructors for the day. After taking him out for a run in the car on one of the sessions he had 122

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a good chat with me when we were back in the pits. Following the track day I was mentored by Centreline Suspension with a view to getting into racing and guiding me along helping with the cars development from a street car, whilst stripping the car, getting the roll cage installed along with the installation of the suspension. After the car was setup and log booked Centreline Suspension provided their trailer whilst I was out running in the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championship.

“Now we get to the interesting part of my racing history. There was always a passion to go out racing but there were plenty of roadblocks that stopped it from kicking off earlier in my life. The first outing for me on a racetrack was in 2009 in the Ford Falcon as I mentioned above, that led to the purchase of the 1983 Porsche 944 that I currently have. After the purchase of the 944 I prepped the car for racing and had gone on to obtain my National Circuit Racing License. I thought to myself if I am going to start I may as well get the best

license I could. After receiving the license I ran the 944 in the Victorian State Racing Series, competed in two rounds in 2012 and another two rounds in 2013. It was about that time I found out about the World Time Attack Challenge and I liked the idea of competing against the clock and spoke to WTAC head honcho Ian Baker which led my debut in Time Attack in 2014. I was so enamoured with the event that it became an annual pilgrimage to Sydney Motorsport Park for World Time Attack Challenge which brings us to 2023.”

We asked Paul about memorable moments in motorsport and he replied, “There have been quite a few moments to choose from; when running through the testing to obtain my racing license we were gridded up for a five lap race, mind you I drove my 944 to the track that day. In practice I could not keep up with any of the other cars in a straight line but I was told by one of the Motorsport Observers that I was outdriving all the others through the corners and he wanted to see if I could win the race.

Started from 7th place I had started to chase down the others and made enough gains through the corners to claw my way up to 3rd position and had the leading two cars in my sights, thinking if I had another two laps I could have come in 1st. Still with that effort in what was my first ever race at a track I was over the moon.”

In 2012 running at my very first race meeting I had gone out on a fresh set of slicks mid Winter in Melbourne. After seeing a couple of cars spin on the

out lap of the practice session and thinking the one lap was enough to get heat into the slick I found myself spinning around on the final corner right in front of the pits. Quick thinking and not wanting to feel any more embarrassed than I already was I put the clutch in a flicked the car around plucked first gear and dumped the clutch. This was the very first 360 degree spin that I had ever done and to top it off was in front of a few hundred gear heads.

“I purchased the car in late 2010 as a road going 944 with a naturally aspirated 2.5L and 5 speed manual. The crazy thing was that with a good polish the 944 would have looked great at any of the local car shows. The car had come in as a non sunroof 1983 model with no power steering and no ABS. I had stripped the interior and got it across to Centreline Suspension who installed the suspension and built the roll cage.

After I installed all the associated safety items it was log booked as a Race Car in the Sports Car category.

2013 saw the introduction of a 2.5L Turbo engine out of a 1986 model along with a 6 speed out of a 968. It was a big change going from a 90rwkw car to a 170 rwKW car and initially it ran with an open diff, so trying to get the power down to the ground coming out of the corners was a interesting to say the least.”

2014 saw the team install a LSD prior to running at WTAC for the first time, and then in All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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What do you do during COVID? Turn the race car back into a cruiser!

2015 aero upgrades and a piggy back computer were installed in an effort to improve performance.

Issues with the wiring on the piggy back computer meant the car went backwards in power due to not being able to control the boost and just running off the wastegate. In 2016 we installed an Autronic ECU and finally had some of the power gains we were looking for but it was still not where it needed to be for WTAC.” “2019 saw the introduction of the 3 liter engine that was sourced from Rod Pobstek which produced a lot more torque coming out of the corners. On discussion I later found out that the torque tube and transaxle that I had purchased from

him a few years before was the one that was mated to this engine. It is funny how things work out.”

“The Covid lockdowns in Melbourne were crazy and seeing that my car was stuck in Sydney and I was in Melbourne not knowing when the next outing was it seemed like a great time to have all of the Haltech engine management installed and a big thanks to Haltech for their support. This gave us a great advance in engine management and protection and some extra power due to the control.”

“I am looking at installing a drive by wire throttle body from Haltech along with wheel speed sensor and a Motorsport ABS system over the next couple of years to take the car to the next level.

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I would love to one day be able to take the car to the USA and run it at a few of the Time Attack events there, hopefully we may be able to see that happen over the course of the next couple of years.

I can’t count how many times people have come up to me saying,”Oh wow an RX7”, “Great looking Mazda”, so this year I actually went out and installed a Porsche crest off a 911 GT3 just so that everyone has a reference on the front of the car to assist in knowing it is the German RX7 instead.

For all of the people that don’t believe cars have feelings and have not listened to Jeremy Clarkson speak of this in Eric Bana’s “Love The Beast”. In 2016 when competing at WTAC we were chasing down an intermittent vibration from the car. It was weird, it did not appear in every lap nor in every session for the event which made it harder to track down. After getting under the car and sticking our heads in the engine bay to check that everything was buttoned up correctly, the car rode the whole event through and just as it was about to be reversed up to line it up to go on the trailer it made a terrible bang and clanking noise that would have woken up the people that were living near the race

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track and shutting the car down immediately. We pushed the car onto the trailer thanks to the help of the Dream Team RX7 crew from Japan only to find when we arrived back in Melbourne that the car had shattered the bell housing, bent the torque tube, cracked the transaxle casing and bent the input shaft. It was amazing to all of us that the car did what it needed to do to finish off the event and then told us it had enough. So to all the naysayers for the car to hold out the way it did is amazing just to ensure that we would finished the event and ran in every session. This is when you know you have a keeper.

I could not do this without the help from my great team members and helpers: James Kovaceski, Alex Kovaceski, Mal Babic, Mark Gorgovski, Paul Kopec, and Stuart Rankin. My parents Dimitrija and Stojna have supported me since I got into motorsport. I am very lucky to have some fantastic sponsors like Haltech, MOMO Australia, Motul Australia, Autoglym Australia, Brypar, Fuel Autotech, Kovacorp, Traction Tyres and Centreline Suspension, thanks guys, I could not do this without you.

-- -`

The Build List

1983 Porsche 944 Engine:

- Porsche 3L 968 motor - Fitted with 8 valve head - Arrow Rods - Wossner Pistons - Honed inlet manifold - Bosch 1650 Injectors - Garrett GTX3582R turbo

Drivetrain:

- 6 speed transaxle from a 968 - KAAZ 1.5 way LSD - 968 bell housing and torque tube

Electrics:

- Haltech Elite 1500 ECU - Haltech IC7 display - Haltech Flex fuel sensor, Wideband and knock sensors

Cooling:

Suspension:

- KW Motorsport 2 way adjustable coilovers - Racers Edge Front Control Arms with solid bushings

Exterior/Aero:

- Front Splitter, Canards, Bonnet vents and rear Wing all from Topstage Composites - 924 Carrera GTS front bumper

Interior/Safety:

- MOMO Daytona Racing seat - MOMO 6 point harness - MOMO MOD. 88 steering wheel - Centerline Suspension roll cage

Wheels/Tires:

--MOMO Heritage 6 18x10 - 265/35/18 Yokohama Advan A052 (WTAC Control Tyre)

- PWR radiator and twin oil coolers

Exhaust:

- Custom exhaust by Notaras Motorsport in Fyshwick

Brakes:

- Front AP Racing 6 piston calipers

- Brypar 356mm two piece full floating rotor.

- Rears are still the standard 944 NA caliper and rotor with a race pads.

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The interior is dominated by parts from Haltech and MOMO, two of Paul’s loyal supporters. The MOMO Mod.88 350mm steering wheel provides great feel especially without any power steering in the car and when sitting in the MOMO Daytona seat I am happy to sit in there all day and not get out, hence the big drives around Melbourne when not racing.

Brypar (another Australian company) have machined up 356mm 2 piece full floating front brake rotors with custom hats to match an early 944 setup with a state of the art AP Racing 5000r 6 piston calipers.

A Haltech IC7 display dash keeps Paul updated with the data the Haltech Elite 1500 recieves from the 4 cylinder Porsche 968 motor. The introduction of the Haltech IC7 and CAN Keypad eliminated the need for additional gauges and switches as majority of the functions are now controlled or viewed by these.

The six spoke MOMO Heritage 6 wheels in 18” x 10” really suit Paul’s 944. The wheels are shod with WTAC spec 265/35/18 Yokohama Advan A052 tires.

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Words by Bill Pearson and Daryl Small Images courtesy of Daryl Small

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The Australian made Holden Commodore is probably the most raced car in Down Under motorsport of all time. They are a big family car, but were relatively cheap to buy and modify, and with endless go-fast bits and ideas on offer, they inevitably became the favourite of the back yard mechanic building a race car in his shed. Since the closure of Holden as a manufacturer these cars only continue to rise in popularity, swept along by a wave of growing petrol head nostalgia, never mind the Holden versus Ford rivalry that exists to this day.

One prime example of this motorsport love of old “Common Doors” is Aussie hillclimber Daryl Small, who races the VL, a model that was produced from 1986 to 1988, although Daz’s is a bit like that old axe – new head, new handle, but still that same great axe.

So how did Daryl get involved with motorsport? “My first venture was back in 1968 at Mountainview Hillclimb, in Grafton, in a Holden HR.” he told us.

What else did you race before your Commodore was our next question? “An FJ Holden with 13-inch wheels and triple carburettors was probably my

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favourite, and anything else that went till it blew up! I did have a Mk 5 Bolwell (Ozzie fiberglass sports kitcar), but I never had the skills to do more than just paint it. Then I got my hands on the Commodore VL, it was literally just a damaged shell of an ex-Holden Dealer race team car, which had been crashed at the Lakeside (Queensland), circuit by the Lusty Brothers. Simon Harrex offered them another Commodore roll caged chassis (a sister frame of his great Sports Sedan). They shoehorned the mechanicals and the undamaged shell onto the Harrex Chassis, and also added his great fibreglass Sports Sedan body panels and spoilers.

So, my Commodore was made up of three donors: part HDT shell, the Torana mechanicals, and the Harrex chassis and cage. It had Jongbloed wheels, a Jaguar diff and uprights with Lockheed brakes (from the Bryan Thompson F5000 parts bin). As the car had passed through multiple hands before 2000, when I bought it as a roller for $10K, it was in a poor state. I sold on some items to upgrade to get things up to scratch.

Daz fitted a 350 Holden V8 he bought from the classifieds for $5K and a close ratio top loader gearbox. he was determined to hillclimb race it,

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but was on the back foot with not enough funds to prepare it to the level it needed. It was parked up for a few years, until he rebuilt the car’s rear end with a Winters Quick Change rear axle with inboard Wilwood brakes, which were designed and mounted in house. The rear uprights were fabricated around the cambered end of a Ford 9-inch V8 Supercars diff, with tailor-made and hardened 31 spline floating axles with Porsche 934 ends. He currently runs 5 .75 gears, which equals 23kph per 1000 revs in direct drive (4th), but it is perfectly geared for hillclimb acceleration. The current motor is a Chev factory Dart 358/6000cc from the Oldfield Speedway car, modified for E85 fuel. At 7000 rpm it gave 530 rear wheel hp on the Dare Motorsports Hub dyno in Lismore, and 1150nm of torque. It is strong enough to run at higher revs if need be, but that need is rare. The top loader gearbox is trouble free, and its 4 c/r ratios are almost identical to the first 4 gears on Hollinger V8 Supercars boxes. I run 16 x 11-, and 12-inch rims, usually with A15 Avons, and have just added a pair of 18 x 12 rears as another option.

I have recently had the car corner weighted, and it came in a little under 1300kg. We set it up to be 35kgs heavier in the rear. I have lost 40kgs myself since it was last scaled, so I should be even better weighted now!

We asked him what he liked about hillclimbs in particular? “Hillclimbing is about the cheapest way to race against quality opposition,” he stated, “ It is a pretty simple equation of great bang for buck.

Mind you I have tried running the VL some other venues, some drags, Surfers Paradise flying laps, and at the Morgan Park circuit in Warwick Qld. All the hard work Daryl put into the Commodore did pay off with a 2016 Australian national class title win and a class record at Bryant Park Vic also, along with some runner ups in other years of the AHCC, some Queensland state class titles, and my Grafton Sporting Car Club’s championship.

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a roll over at the Mt. Cooperabung finish line, and when his throttle jammed at Mt. Riverview after being rebuilt. What damage and repair difficulties did you face after Mt. Cooperabung? “That rollover was caused by a Porsche 934 31 spline CV cage breaking on the inside rear axle at full noise on the final corner which turned the car into the wall.

The damage looked worse than it really was, really

only superficial, with not a scratch or ill effects on myself. The car was easily repaired, ending up lighter with a nice new paint job. The Grafton accident was caused by a wayward wiring loom falling in behind the throttle linkages, which jammed the throttle fully open. I went into the loop at full revs in 3rd so it was a big head-on hit into the tire

wall under full power. I was blessed to have no injuries at all. Surprisingly, yet again the damage to the car was mostly superficial. It is slowly coming back into form.”

What plans do you have for the car? “I am hoping it

will be competitive at our 2023 National titles event at Newcastle in October. I will be 74 years old by then. It’s 36 years since I won my first AHCC and Queensland titles at Mt Cotton hillclimb back in 1987 with a 2 door Gemini Sports Sedan, running a sweet Badman White 327 small block Chev. The challenges of carrying on despite my age provides an added boost, and great satisfaction. I am still waiting for

the car to keep up to me, and when it does is when I may think about retiring. It’s a year-by-year thing, but it keeps me in tune with similar mates, who have done it for much longer than I have.”

“I have many loyal supporters who have followed me through out my journey. Along with the people doing likewise, they all inspire me.”

Above: See how far back the motor is located in the Commodore chassis.

Top Right: The self designed and fabricated IRS includes parts from a V8 Supercars Ford.

Bottom Right: A Winters Quick Change rear end makes ratio changes a breeze.

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