COMING EVENTS

Oct 4^th-5^th                                       Australian Historic Motor Festival Winton

                                                           03 5766-4235

Oct 26^th                                           Morwell Hillclimb

                                                            Ray DaCosta  5940-1647

October 28^th                                     General Meeting

Nov 8^th-9^th                                       Sandown Historic Meeting

                                                        David Floyd 9509-1392           

Nov 29^th-30^th                                   Wakefield Park HSRCA     

                                                        PH 02 9907-0136 FAX (02) 9948-3205

Dec 13^th                                          Christmas Function & Patrons Night

                                                        Dorothy Tate 9802-4739 or Helen

                                                        McDonald 9589-1217          

VHRR Clubrooms are situated at 30-32 Lexton Rd. Box Hill

LUNCH MEETINGS WEDNESDAYS (NOT CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS)

RED PLATES SCHEME    Our club Volunteer doing this task   

is Lloyd Shaw. Contact him on ………0415.351.164

ALL THE ABOVE CLUB ACTIVITIES INCLUDING THE WEDNESDAY LUNCH ARE DESIGNATED RED PLATE ACTIVITIES.

Visit our website: www.vhrr.com

BOOK REVIEW: Colin Chapman Wayward Genius by Mike Lawrence

This is an important book for enthusiasts of the Lotus marque to read as the author has utilised the 20 years since the death of Chapman in 1982 to sort out the fact from the fiction, myth from make-believe and media- hype from mystery as presented by previous histories.

The book begins with the list of spivs and scams that were responsible for the creating of the Chapman image and legend. It is a surprise to read that Chapman did not de-siamese the Austin 7 engine, design independent front suspension, exchange aerodynamics for streamlining or originate the clubman style of sports racing car. Not many people know he lifted numerous ideas from his highly motivated band of helpers, friends, colleagues and when the company was at its peak, his large number of skilled employees. Whilst Lawrence dispels these and more previously concreted facts, he demonstrates the engineering motivation, self belief, dedication bordering on fever and futuristic thinking which made the man world famous world-over, that he was an unquestionable hero. Hence the clever title of this book.  

In the end, Chapman does die unlike Elvis and of a true heart attack unlike the pressure of drugs, jail sentences or bankruptcy that claimed the lives of some of his last group of business colleagues.  

For the Australian reading, the amount and quality of influence given to Chapman and his Lotus organisation by Derek Jolley, the South Australian racing driver will also come as a big surprise. 

All in all, it’s a most interesting book and you can decide whether you believe Mike Lawrence or the other authors of Lotus stories that include Doug Nye, Ian Smith and Robin Read. Priced at $66.00 from VHRR member Tony Johns Motorbooks.                                          Roger James  

The Hewland Story-The Conclusion                          Roger James

As was stated at the beginning of these articles, there is no single definitive history of the development of the Hewland gearbox and the reports in the various magazines from the MK VI onwards become a little confusing.
 

By 1965, Formula One had gone to a 3 Litre engine capacity and the use of V8’s required stronger gearboxes with internal oil pumps to ensure adequate lubrication and temperature control. Designs based on the VW were now superseded and Mike Hewland developed his own case with these concepts. Given the name LG500 (because it was a large gearbox) it was aimed to accommodate the American 5000cc engines and the first 4 speed example was used by Eric Broadley in the  Lola T70.

The contemporary report from Doug Nye indicates that the Australian Paul Hawkins (the same bloke that terrorised South Melbourne in his Austin Healey) persuaded Hewland to invest in the production of LG’s and an initial 30 were made to cover pattern and tooling costs. Hawkin’s vision of the Formula 5000 was correct and nearly 500 of these units were sold, with the design offering an alternative 5 speed model.  

The Nye story then introduces another Australian who needed stronger transmissions for his F1 cars. He commenced with the 5 speed version of

the MK IV (nominated the HD for “Hewland Design”) but soon found its limitations and commissioned a new and heavier model for his BT19. This of course was Jack Brabham in 1966 and the box was designated DG because somebody leaned over Mike Hewland’s shoulder at the drawing board and commented “ That’s a different gearbox.” The initials stuck!  However, there is a report that the initials came from Dan Gurney who incorporated this model into his eagles.

In this same year, the Mark 7 was created as an adaption of the MK 4 with 6 speeds for the 1000cc Formula 2 class. New customers for the DG included Cooper,BRM and McLaren for their F1 cars and a big demand developed in America for the Can–Am and Indianapolis series.

With 67 employees and numerous sub-contractors, the Hewland Company by 1968 was bigger and more successful than Mike had ever expected. Two additional models (the FT 200 for F2 and the FG 5 speed for F1) were added to the range, but production was aimed at filling orders for the 3 and 5 litre cars.
 

Today, Hewland Engineering Limited has annual sales of seven million pounds and makes a wide selection of transmissions including the Mk8/9 which replaced the famous MK4. Updated manuals are available for all models. Mike Hewland is still alive and is widely regarded as “the father of motor racing transmissions.” The company’s interesting website is www.hewland.com

5/8/03 Cams State Council:

It was reported at State Council that there are a growing number of racetracks and events that do not use CAMS Insurance and this issue should be highlighted to Club members urgently.

If an event has a CAMS permit you can be assured that it has full insurance coverage.  However if the circuit/event does not have a CAMS permit (eg: private practice – at some tracks) then the insurance coverage may be very poor or even may not exist.

Members are encouraged to seek clarification of who the insurance coverage is by and what is the amount of coverage before participating in these events.                                                                           Mike Devine

VHRR SMALL ADS

Australian Motor Sports Needed to complete collection: I have about 90 issues to swap, trade, or to help others complete their collection. But I need the following:

1953 January 1954 April,October,December  1955 February 1960 December

1961 All ………..Greg Smith 03-9596-8851 or bugatti@bigpond.net.au

Patron Inauguration & Christmas Break-up        December 13^th

Official Welcoming and Inauguration of our Patron Sir Jack Brabham plus

Club Championship presentations. The Manningham is our venue again. 
Bookings ………Helen McDonald 9589-1217 or Dorothy Tate 9802-4739.