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Skoda turns up the heat!

21 August, 2019

 


 

In 1971 Skoda decided rallying might just give its cars some much needed cool factor — and it very nearly worked. The rear-engined layout and some serious engine fettling paid off in class wins and even some impressive overall results here and overseas.

TheŠkoda on the cover of New Zealand Classic Car issue 345 is much rarer than most rally cars. Škoda’s competition department built 100 cars and persuaded the FIA the other 900 required for homologation had been sold to the Czech police…

The 1973 version was even better than the Rallye 110 Colin Waite had campaigned with Laurie Evans for Takapuna Skoda dealer Clifton Motors. Instead of a five-port cylinder head and an engine bay-mounted radiator, the 120 sported a much more effective eight-port cylinder head with twin Weber carburettors, a close-ratio gearbox, and better cooling via a front-mounted radiator.


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“The locally built Skoda was especially good in rough conditions,” Colin explains. “When things got slippery, the traction was far superior to some of the rear-wheel-drive Datsun 1200s and Corollas. In some conditions, the 120 S Rallye could outperform some of the much faster BDA Escorts and Mazda RX-3s.”

Twenty-five years later, Colin found his former 1973 Heatway Rally car in a barn quite by chance.

In 2001, he was in the South Island competing in his Formula Junior Stanguellini when he stopped by the Ranfurly museum for afternoon tea. As he was sitting outside on a bench he struck up a conversation with a local chucking some rubbish in a bin next to where he was sitting. After they exchanged a few pleasantries, the conversation turned to cars. Colin explained that he was competing in the Formula Junior.


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Colin recalls, “The local asked me what other motorsport I had been involved in and I told him that I’d once competed in a few rallies around the country driving a Skoda. The local immediately responded by saying that his neighbour in Alexandra had two old Skoda rally cars sitting in his barn.”

Colin couldn’t resist the urge to take a look. He eventually found the cars hidden away in an old barn just out of Alexandra that was once used as a staging post for the Cobb & Co stagecoaches back in the 1800s. Colin recognized the cars immediately. They had suffered the effects of time and the harsh cold for 18 yearsThe owner had bought the Skodas in 1983 with the intent of restoring both cars, but that plan never eventuated. 


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There were the makings of one good car there and Colin couldn’t resist taking it on another journey — back to its prime. And, for September, in Classic Car 345, it is a genuinely cool cover car.


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Taipan – surpassing interest

“It’s merely a passing interest,” insists Selby — despite owning three variants of the classic VW Beetle, including an unusual VW van that was sold as a body kit for a Subaru. In his defence he points to a 1961 Ford Thunderbird, a car that he converted to right-hand drive. However, on the VW side of the ledger, since he opened Allison Autos in Whanganui 27 years ago, Selby has built 15 VW-powered Formula First cars, followed by a beach buggy, restored a derelict Karmann Ghia, and hot-rodded a common or garden Beetle into something that has to be seen to be believed. As speed is not something generally associated with classic VWs, though, Selby is still waiting for this particular modification to catch on amongst the hot rod faithful.

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.