MG Car Club of South Australia
PRESIDENTS REPORT
From.. Allan Semmler
The Motor Sport enthusiast amongst
us will remember a recent meeting at
the club with guest speaker Barry
Lowe entertaining us with tales of his
rallying experiences.
Barry knew Rae and I were in the Engineering Business and a few weeks
later he rang to enquire whether the
world renowned “Head of Manufacturing” for the Supaloc Racing Team,
would consider making some bits for
his ridiculously fast Holden Commodore rally car.
The parts in question were tie rod
ends that he was breaking on a regular basis. It appears that spare parts
for old model commodores are manufactured overseas (you can guess
where) and while they may suffice for
normal road use, are not up to the
rigors of rallying.
Barry rang me early
May and invited me to
act as co-driver for
round 2 of the Kensington Park Tyre Power Rally Sprint
held at the Walkerville Car Club
Track, aptly named WALKY PARK
which is located between Truro and
Blanchetown on the 15th of May.
He advised that the roads to the track
can be a little dusty and maybe I
should consider not driving the Audi.
Unfortunately I neglected to take his
advice!! (bad idea) The turn off the
main road is about 20Kms past Truro
on the left hand side. From the turnoff
there is approx 25 Kms of very dusty
road to reach Walky Park, (I spent the
following Friday cleaning enough dirt
to top dress the average size lawn
from the Audi).
I manufactured replacements from
high quality 4150 grade steel which I
am reasonably confident will stand up
to the hammering experienced in a
top line rally car.
When it came to agreeing on a price
for my services I suggested that I
would be willing to forgo payment in
exchange for a ride as a passenger in
his car at a convenient time. Barry
was only too pleased to accept my
proposition, although, he insisted on
paying the cost of the material.
($93.00) I had to purchase a full bar of
material so he can bend or break a
few, as a bar of material is enough for
about 30 tie rod ends, the 10 that I
made should keep the car going for a
while.
back to index
If I remember the details correctly,
there are 3 tracks on a property of a
couple of hundred acres of what can
be best described as low scrub, dirt
and dust. Credit must be given to the
Walkerville club for maintaining this
venue, there is a large building used
for registration and food preparation
etc. along with good toilet and various
storage facilities. There are also two
graders used for the maintenance of
the tracks.
I took a very good friend along for the
day, Andy Carrol from Pernod Ricard
Wines who has supported the MG
Club with free wine gift packs used for
raffles and gifts for helpers at Kimber
Runs etc.
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