Facing down the Howard 3

22 November, 2017

As Saturday, 25 November looms, it marks an important date for competitors in the TQ class at Western Springs speedway, as they compete for not only the Auckland champs, but face down the imposing challenge of ‘Howard3 racing’ all the way from Kansas in the good ol’ USA.

So what is a TQ? Originating from humble beginnings as a chopped Austin 7 chassis fitted with a 500cc motorcycle engine, ‘Three Quarter Midgets’ or ‘ TQs’ have evolved a long way since. As the name indicates, they are slightly smaller than a Midget at around 280kgs and 2.8 metres long. The Western Springs lap record is held by Craig Todd at 14.338 seconds, with drivers averaging speeds of around 95kph during races. The majority of cars are now chain driven self-starting machines featuring 750cc engines running on 98 octane gas.

The visiting ‘Howard3’ comprises twins Nicholas and Matthew, who are 19, and big sister Lindsey age 22.They will arrive and slot themselves straight into some top notch equipment as they compete in both the Auckland title and a special ‘Auckland TQ Challenge’ against three local drivers who will be announced at a function on 23 November at Hanger Bar in Henderson. MCing the event is our own Grumpy Ninja (Warren Sare) who fortunately talks better than he drives.

The Howards will have access to the ex1 Guptill Racing machine, the Le Cren family 14a and the Allwest Racing 5a car, so will have all the tools needed to face down the best of the local stars. Nicholas is noted to have removed the wing off his usual stateside ride in an effort to get use to car behaviour, while Lindsey gave both boys a good hurry up in recent events.

Likely to be in the running for the Auckland team are:

2nz Kaleb Currie Racing — the highest national ranked local driver finishing second in his rookie year at the NZ title
15a and 88a Baker Racing — Ryan and Scott Baker, perennial podium threats at the springs who both have numerous title and feature wins to their names.
16a Ryan Barry Racing — regularly amongst the results and knows the track well
8a Harris Racing Team — Lawrence Baker, former national and local title holder, and one of the most experienced drivers around (yes … that means he’s old)
64a Gina Harris — class stalwart and sure to want to mix it up with Lindsey to see who gets ladies bragging rights.
6a Shaun Cooke — former national mini sprint champ and always quick around the springs
7a Jayden Busch (Busch Racing) — a Johnny Missen trophy winner who is developing strongly
71a Danny Keene — Keene Composites finished last season strongly and has been quick early in the season.

Join us on the Thursday, 23 November, to the meet the Howards and find out who will be flying the Auckland TQ colours against the challengers. For ticket info see ‘Western Springs Speedway’ on Facebook

NZ Classic Car magazine, September/October 2026 issue 407, on sale now

16 August, 2026

We love bugs!
A bit of TLC that became a major restoration
The 1302S, or ‘Super Beetle’ as it became known, was built for two years before it, too, was replaced by a further-enhanced Beetle, the 1303, continuing an amazing 65-year lineage for one of the World’s best-known shapes.
The world’s best-selling single-model vehicle, the VW Beetle, possibly established another record for the amount of controversy it has created since the inception of the Type 1.
In a meeting with Hitler in June 1934, Ferdinand Porsche was contracted to build a ‘People’s Car’ that could accommodate two adults and three children, was air-cooled and simple to maintain, and could cruise economically at moderate speed along Germany’s proposed new Autobahns.
Our feature car, a 1972 1302S ‘Super Beetle’, was found by Dave and Michelle Dickie in Mosgiel a few years back. It was a runner, but like most VWs of this age, it needed a little TLC. They were looking for a daily driver for Michelle when they first came upon the VW being sold locally on behalf of its owner.
“The owner offered it to his grandchildren, and they didn’t want it, so he got the guy out at Mosgiel in the Mobil petrol station to sell it for him, and he put it on Trade Me for them. We never met the owner, and we were always dealing with the guy at the petrol station. We put a bid on it, and we were the only people that bid on it.”
Their bid was eventually successful, eight years ago. Not knowing much of the history, in situations like that, it’s always a risk buying a car, but they were in for a bit of a surprise.

The other Q car

12 August, 2026

Say the word ‘bond’ to anyone in the street and around 80 per cent straight away think of pop culture’s least-secret secret agent. The other 20 per cent may think of the wad of cash required to secure a flat or hire equipment that one gets back providing the fixtures and fittings stay much as they were.
However, mention ‘bond’ in specialist classic car circles and people will spin a very different yarn. If you dig deep enough, you will find an eccentric British carmaker that, throughout its 23 years in business, spawned some quirky and charming little cars.
The company was founded by Paul Sharp in 1922 under the name of Sharp’s Commercials Limited. However, the company did not start producing cars until 1948. The first car to carry the Bond name was the Bond Minicar. A three-wheeled, soft-top, two-cylinder eco car, the Minicar was a big hit at the time as the desire for an economical urban runabout that didn’t attract four-wheel car tax was strong in post-war Britain. All in all, 34,285 Minicars were produced over 26 years in a variety of variants.

Facing down the Howard 3

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