Toyota Celica

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gordini
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Toyota Celica

Post by gordini » Tue 08 Jun 2010, 09:32

Anyone here that can shed more light on the first Celica that raced here in SA and Moz. Apparently Oom Koos was the pilot in the first car. Toyota made a cockup on the car, it was destroyed just before a race and they had to buy an old auntie's car to prepare for the race.....

Who can help with pictures, etc....
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gordini
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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by gordini » Wed 09 Jun 2010, 23:49

Come on gents....someone has to know something!!!!!
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zahistorics
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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by zahistorics » Wed 09 Jun 2010, 23:49

Yes Basie,

They (not sure who was driving) crashed the Celica in practice the day before the 3hr at Roy Hesketh. I was there with Jack Holme and can clearly remember the anouncement on the PA system. There wre two road legal Celicas in the car park. Toyota promised to swap a brand new Celica for one of them. Swap was arranged and the machanics reshelled the crashed car. Amazing - completey rebuilt a car, including paint srtipes and stickers overnight.

I will scratch around for some pictures.

About time ime we got back to historic race cars :)

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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by zahistorics » Thu 10 Jun 2010, 00:39

You can just see the Celica in this picture, at the very left, behind the yellow Chevron B8
1971Kyalamistartinggridwith4.jpg
1971Kyalamistartinggridwith4.jpg (71.83 KiB) Viewed 7435 times
That would have been the original pre-crash version.

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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by zahistorics » Thu 10 Jun 2010, 00:55

Celica 1971 Springbok Series results:

Unless stated otherwise Koos Swanepoel shared with Geoff Mortimer

Kyalami 9hr 10th
Killarney 3hr 12th
LM 3hr 9th
Blawayo 3hr 12th (Mortimer/Burford)
Goldfields 3hr Did not start
Roy Hesketh 3hr 12th (Mortimer only)

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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by henryk » Fri 11 Jun 2010, 13:04

H

The 1st race Celica built by Toyota S A was written off in Practice for the 9 hour at Kyalami.

Practice took place in one of the famous Reef thunderstorms.

The main straight was actually flooded with cars aquaplaning.

A Cape Town based Mini Cooper driven by Brian Ferreira was "picked up" by the water and it smashed into the Armco along the old main straight after the bridge.

Following shortly behind the Celica, driven by one of the Porter brothers, suffered the same fate and actually crashed into the back of the Mini. With the impact the fuel tanks at the back of the Mini exploded and Brian suffered crytical burns. He passed away the following afternoon. He was my cousin and his death hit the lCape racing community hard.

By co incidence he was also the mechanic who prepared the S A Championship winning Y151 Meissner Escort.

The Celica was also destroyed. Toyota then sourced a road car from a hairdresser and rebuilt it into a new race car overnight. Quite a feat.

That is the same car that was driven by Oom Koos Swanepoel and Garth la Reservee the following year.
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gordini
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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by gordini » Fri 11 Jun 2010, 13:08

Have you got pictures Henry???
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henryk
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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by henryk » Fri 11 Jun 2010, 14:42

Hi Basie


Presume you're looking for pictures of the Toyota.

Yes I have, but they are amongst a 45 year collection of motoring magazines.

Will see what I can find over the weekend
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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by irpac » Fri 11 Jun 2010, 20:27

Sorry to change the subject, there's a nice race capri in there as well , who's was it, what is the history behind it?
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Re: Toyota Celica

Post by zahistorics » Sat 12 Jun 2010, 14:58

Irpac: Read a bit about the Cologne Capri here http://www.africanmusclecars.com/forum/ ... f=17&t=431. That Capri was partly the inspiration for the BvR's first V8 Firenza race car that later becam the Can-Am. He was determined to beat the Cologne works team with a local car.

So it seems like there were two Celica crashes and rebuilds using private road cars, one at Kyalami and one at Roy Hesketh.

Looking at the race results it is possible that the Roy Hesketh rebuild may have been a rebuild after the car crashed in practice at previous meeting at Goldfieds, but that is not how I remember it, and surely Totota would not have waited till the day before the race at Roy Hesketh before trying to source a new shell.

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