KITS AND PIECES: MISTRAL MADE IN NZ
MISTRAL: A SUPER-CHILLED WIND THAT BLOWS HARD THROUGH THE SOUTH OF FRANCE; OR, A SUPER-COOL CAR MADE IN THE UK AND NEW ZEALAND
This sports car is a relatively well-known classic English kit car that was built in sheds throughout the UK from 1956 through to the ’60s. However, these pretty little cars were also manufactured here in New Zealand, initially in Christchurch (1957–’59) and then in Dunedin (1960–’64).
Unusual car, unusual motor
The story of this pretty little car begins in Surrey, England, with a little company called ‘Microplas’, started by Sandy Wemyss, Mike Eyre, and Bill Ashton. Bill Ashton designed the body, which had the same wheelbase and was roughly the same size as the Cobra. The car was called the ‘Mistral’. The most distinctive feature of these cars are the deep gills on the front fenders, something that set them apart from the crowd. The gills were not just for show; they were actually added to improve airflow for the air-cooled AJB flat-four engines. This engine was designed by Archie Butterworth and in its heyday was thought to be the next great racing engine. Unfortunately, due to reliability issues, only a dozen of the engines were ever made. Back in 1956, when Bill Ashton was shaping his new fibreglass body, Butterworth’s engine was going to be the default engine for the Mistral; although the engine was a failure, the gills remained.
One size fits all
Like many other small car producers of that era, Microplas sold the car as a no-frills bare body. It was designed to fit any chassis with a wheelbase between 2200mm and 2400mm and a track of anywhere between 1140mm and 1270mm, but it was up to the builder to do the fitting — build manuals were unheard of in those days. Wheel-arch shape and size, interiors, etc. fell to the imagination of the builder. Even the bonnet and boot were not cut out of the body. The
instructions were simple: “The body, using the two-inch flanges which can be added to the body for stiffening, can be fitted to chassis such as A40, TR2, Ford 10, Singer 9, etc.” With these ‘highly detailed’ building instructions, Microplas was able to sell around 500 fibreglass bodies between 1955 and 1959.
Made in New Zealand
In 1957 Bob Blackburn, the manager of the Christchurch-based firm Weltex, contacted Microplas with a request to build Mistral cars under licence in New Zealand. Seeing an opportunity, Bill Ashton arrived in New Zealand shortly after the first body, not only to give Weltex technical support on how to build the car but also because his girlfriend was working at Auckland Hospital on an extended overseas holiday. On arrival in New Zealand, Bill was in time to see the first completed Mistral racing at Ardmore, driven by Bob Blackburn. That first car, built in 1957, was basically a one-piece affair hinged at the rear to allow the entire body to be lifted out of the way to provide walk-in access to all the mechanical bits. Bob shared with Bill the issues they had had in manufacturing the first body, and Bill made a few suggestions from his own experience. Weltex employed him as a supervisor, and production started.
Raced in New Zealand
Bob drove that first Mistral to, and then raced at, racetracks all over New Zealand. In its first race, it scored a first, followed by a second in that year’s ultimate race: the 1957 Ardmore New Zealand Grand Prix in Auckland. After that, Bob and his wife went on tour around the North Island in the Mistral. During its first season, Bob’s Mistral started in 21 races and scored top three placings in 13 of them. At the end of each meeting, the car was then driven either home or to where Bob was lodging. Never once was it trailered.
Adapted in New Zealand
As in England, the Weltex body was sold to be fitted to a variety of donor chassis. A few owners opted to design their own chassis as part of the build process. In the car’s second year of production, the list of optional extras was expanded to include a boot, opening doors, and a hardtop with side curtains. The body could now be ordered with a fitted boot box and boot lid. A bonnet hatch had been designed for it but many builders preferred to have the entire front section of the body tilt forward for easy access at the racetrack. However, each of these luxury items had a price. Door hinges were $2.40 per set, boot hinges cost over $4.30, and the windscreen and chrome surround was a heady $50.
In 1960, Weltex decided to start production of another car called the ‘Puma’. Production of the Mistral moved to Emslie & Flockton Ltd in Dunedin. Emslie & Flockton sorted the kit even further, offering such things as chrome bumpers and a chrome-plated grille as upmarket optional extras, bringing the Mistral more into line with other cars of the era.
Even though the kit was said to be well sorted, it was still extremely primitive by today’s standards. Longevity was not assured; in the ’50s, fibreglass was still a relatively new product. As part of the construction process, colour was added by throwing a pigment into the mould when the body was laid up. Because of this, several glass fibres were exposed to the elements and water got into the body through capillary action. Gelcoat was still a few years away. Mistrals that have survived are mainly those that were well painted, as water getting inside the fibreglass caused delamination to occur. Also, the body was very light and the hand-laid fibreglass tended to vary between too thin and not very thick.
The Mistral re-entered production for a brief time from the late ’80s through the ’90s when Roger Wilson of Wilson’s Classics produced four more examples of the classic-looking roadster, albeit with modern mechanicals.
History in New Zealand
The only difference between the New Zealand Mistral in this article and the other cars that rolled out of the Dunedin and Christchurch factories is the wider intake at the front of the car. This Emslie & Flockton car was restored and raced by Brian Morris in the early ’80s, with a tubular chassis and a Triumph Herald front suspension and steering box grafted to it.
Restored
Merv Paterson bought the car in 2007 and did a second restoration over a four-year period. The car is still mechanically in the same condition as it was when Brian sold it, with a Mk1 Ford Cortina non-crossflow 1500 engine attached to a fourspeed gearbox.
On return to New Zealand, Don regularly trawled through the classifieds looking for classic homebuilt cars and came across this one in 2012
The Mistral’s current owner, Don Gerrard, lives in Rangiora but grew up in Auckland. His father was the president of the Northern Sports Car Club in the early ’60s. Some of Don’s happiest moments were when his father took him to club events to watch hill climbs and circuit racing. It was while there that he saw his first Mistral and was impressed with the fact it had been built in a shed by somebody who liked tinkering with cars.
As an adult, Don went to the UK for his OE and ended up staying there for 30 years. Modern cars were nice to drive but Don always thought of himself as a seat-of-the-pants driver, so in 2002 he decided to invest in a classic kit car called a ‘Convair’. Although slightly worse for wear it was enough to get him hooked on this genre of cars. Sadly, when the family decided to return to New Zealand, the Convair was still a long way from being road ready and, suspecting that it would not be easy to get such a car road legal here, Don decided to leave it behind. Interestingly, the Convair was manufactured in the UK during the same time as the Mistral, and the two factories were only 80km apart.
To race again?
On return to New Zealand, Don regularly trawled through the classifieds looking for classic homebuilt cars and came across this one in 2012. It was in such great condition that Don was not going to let it go and put a bid on it straight away. He has tracked down most of the owners in the competition logbook. He discovered that his particular Mistral has been raced on every circuit and venue in the South Island over the past 38 years or so. As far as he is aware, the car has always been road legal.
Don was enchanted by the idea of being able to drive the car to an event, race it, and then drive it home, and it was something he was determined to do. Since owning the Mistral, he has raced it in classic car hill climb events and on the circuit. To date, the Mistral has been driven to and from every event and then simply parked in Don’s garage.
The Mistral is still in pristine condition, and now lives a fairly pampered life. Don has no intention of selling it. After all, how many people get to own a unique piece of New Zealand racing history that they can drive down to the corner dairy to buy a litre of milk?