Re: Vintage Collingrove Hill Climb

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Attachments :

Vintage Colingrove Hill Climb 2009.pdf

Hello Peter,

Hope you and others don't mind me posting this stuff of mine along with your's on the two forums.

You'd be warmly welcomed down here in this beautiful little state of South Australia, even without a Hudson or Essex.

Collingrove Hillclimb is a very special place nestled in the Barossa Valley, not far from the town of Angaston. It's now owned by the Sporting Car Club of South Australia (SCCSA http://www.sportingcarclubsa.org.au/About.mvc/Hillclimb ). Having been in operation since the early 1950s under the auspices of the SCCSA which itself was formed as a veteran car club in 1934, the course has
seen some of Australia's most famous hillclimb vehicles and competitors.

The track itself is 750 metres of challenging asphalt, climbing nearly 70 metres from the start line to the finish. The club has recently upgraded the return road with an asphalt surface. For spectator's the track offers numerous great vantage points and picnic areas. Each year there are Multiclub Events, the three round Wintercup series, Come & Try Day's and the South Australian Hillclimb Championships.

Just a few years back one of our club members purchased outright the hill climb track and property from the original rural landowners and promptly gave it to the SCCSA. How good was that? As it happens this SCCSA member is also a member of the U.S. Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club, Inc. We are truly greatly indebted to our Mr. Ray G. Pank. He has, as far as I know, always had a great interest in Hudson built cars, Hudson
engined cars such as Railtons and automobile speed competitions.

Your Sunbeam photo shows a beautiful car. A good friend of mine living just a couple of hundred metres away also has a lovely Sunbeam 24-60. I bet you know him.

We would love to have you and other Queenslanders (even Americans) come down as did Rob Harcourt in 2007 with his Lancia-Meadows special.

Please see the attached 'Vintage Collingrove Participants Promo Sheet'.

Hope this fills in a few things for you Peter. This year again I'm running my SX4 'Wizard Smith Special'. Next year I hope to have my new 'Pikes Peak' SX4 special running for the event. I've been saying this for two years now.

Cheers

Jim

(Adelaide, South Australia)

From: Peter Ransom <pjransom@westnet.com.au>
To: sx41922@yahoo.com.au
Sent: Saturday, 5 September, 2009 9:28:35 AM
Subject: Vintage Collingrove...

Hi Jim,

 

I noticed your pics of the Essex
at Collingrove.  Good stuff!  Im at present thinking vaguely
of bringing a car to Adelaide
next year to do the Bay to Birdwood and its a hell of a long way for a
simple drive up into the hills, so Ive started wondering about Collingrove.
 One of our local ( Brisbane )
blokes took his blown Austin Seven along a few years ago and had a ball.  The
car I have in mind is our 1914 Sunbeam Sports, though I wouldnt be
competing.   It would be OK for an untimed non-competitive run, and
the social side of it seems pretty good.  Any thoughts?

 

For years I entertained plans to build a Super Six racer
like James Collins has (his dad built it) and I had most of the kit required,
missing only a motor and gearbox.  But I was also restoring a big 22
Sunbeam and then the 14 came along and I could see that the racer was never
going to happen, so I sold all my Hudson
stuff about two years back.  But it doesnt stop me admiring them,
and seeing James car at Prescott
a few weeks back was quite a buzz.  He really did get it sideways on a
nasty hairpin but so did plenty of others in their Vauxhalls, Bentleys and
Frazer Nashes!  Lots of fun and nobody hurt (except emotionally, no
doubt).

 

Over the years Ive had quite a few Hudsons,
all of the F-head variety, and in 1968 I drove one from Melbourne
to Perth .  Didnt
miss a beat.  Sometimes I think I should have stuck with
Hudsons instead of getting mixed up with
Sunbeams, but then I go down to the shed and our big gal looks so bloody
elegant that I forget what the problem was!   And then I eventually
remember two wheel brakes and a big heavy car: not a good mix, really. 
The pic attached is our 1922 Sunbeam 24-60 Light Sports Tourer, aka Olive.  

 

Just remembered my first Hudson
was a 29 Landau and I believe its in
Adelaide somewhere.  

 

And so on.  But any comments on Collingrove
would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter Ransom

Brisbane

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