Die verskil kan duidelik gesien word

Die 13 de model het byval gevind en toe het dinge begin gebeur.

Ek glo die fotos was nie nommer 13 nie maar seker baie naby aan nommer 13.
Die wiele op die fotos was glo asbakkies wat gebruik was.

Op die stadium het Bob vir Collen Chapman van Lotus faam ontmoet.

Daar is toe ‘n werkswinkel gehuur in Croydon waar in alle erns begin werk is. Die klei model is met gips bedek en daarna in 22 seksies afgeneem. Die is oorgeplaas op papier na volskaal. Die is weer oorgeplaas na hout en latte en afgewerk met ‘n boor en jigsaw en so is die raam gebou. Die raam is met draad en hession oorgetrek Terwyl die werk aan die gang was kon hulle nooit perspektief kry oor waamee hulle besig was nie. Die is weer met gips afgerond en omdat dit so koud was het die mock-up begin kraak. Om dit te verhoed is die model geverf. Om verdere krake te voorkom is parafien verwarmers aangeskaf om die garage warm te hou.

Om aan die lewe te bly het hulle baie goedkoop geëet - ‘n bord warm water word bestel en spagetti word by gesit of ‘n bord warm water met tamatiesous en daar was ‘n bord sop.

Willie is intussen terug Suid-Afrika toe om dinge hier te begin reël vir die bou van die motor.

Nadat die gips mock-up klaar was en almal tevrede was is die mock-up met veselglas oorgetrek.Die kattebak en enjinkap is uitgesny en afgewerk.

Om geld te kry het Bob ‘n bak aan ‘n Engelsman verkoop vir £75 . Daarmee is die garage betaal en sy Landlady. Met hulle betaal was daar te min geld vir ‘n kaartjie huistoe. Hy is toe na Donald Parker wat ook ‘n bak gekoop het vir £35 . Om ‘n krat te bou vir die bak het Bob met ‘n fiets gery en vloerplanke gekoop vir twee pond.

Met ‘n kaartjie in die sak en die krat is Bob na die skip en die krat is aanboord as “personal luggage”.Omdat hy die laaste drie nagte voor die skip vertrek het nie geslaap het nie het Bob na die kajuit gegaan en eers toe die skip by Las Palmas verby gevaar het wakker geword.

Dit dan is die geskiedenis van die Dart se begin.

In Suid Afrika.

Die onderstel is hier ontwikkel en deurlopend getoets tot hulle tevrede was. Die eerste onderstel is uit 19 gauge pyp gemaak maar het krake ontwikkel. Vir produksie motors is 16 gauge pyp gebruik wat van Andrag bekom is. Die gedagte was dat die onderstel eenvoudig en reg moes wees. Die torsie stress was 2000 pond en moes nie meer as 1 graad draai nie en ‘n deurbuig belading van twee ton hê. Die veiligheids orde was 1.4.

Die onderstel is vir drie maande getoets voor die bak opgesit is. Die rede was dat al die wiele dopgehou kon word en die suspensie beoordeel word. Met die bak op het die Dart baie veiliger gevoel en kon die Dart harder getoets word. Bak het ook baie by gedra tot ‘n stewiger onderstel. Die Darts is gebou met “understeer” en daar was nooit ‘n rol in die motors nie.Lokale inhoud van die Dart was 65% gewees.

Teespoed het hulle egter getref met die eerste bestelling veselglas en resin. Die resin het hard geword op die skip agv hitte in die skeepruim. ‘n Tweede bestelling is geplaas en die keer is die resin verkoel en het goed hier aangekom.

Daar was ook teespoed met die bekleedsel en Verster is laat kom om te help.

Die Darts op die stadium het vir £742 verkoop.

Interessant - Bob het ‘n Flamingo Engeland toe geneem en vir Sterling Moss gewys. Die het in sy nagklere om en om ‘n sirkel in London gery vir ‘n hele uur. Toe hy terugkom het hy ‘n smile op sy gesig en se: One thing, I dont like those idiot lights.

Daar was net een V8 Flamingo gebou en dit was Bob se motor.

Hier stel ek Verster de Wit aan die woord.
Dit is ‘n skrywe van 9/4/1964.

Dit lees:

TO MR. GOODALL FROM V. DE WIT.

As requested I shall attempt to give you an outline of high-lights in the history of G.S.M.

PERSONEL

J.v.R. van Niekerk. Bob went to school in a place called Stanford – his father being an ex schoolmaster, I believe in this town. From what I hear he showed great mechanical knowledge and skill even as a school child, and it was therefore obvious that he would embark on a career in the engineering world. After matriculating, he attended the Stellenbosch University and studied Mechanical engeneering. At this time I believe he built one or two motor cars from bits and pieces which included things like left overs from aeroplane parts etc. Even at this early stage his capabilities asa racing driver came to light as he participated in local club events, rallies etc, and whatever car he owend or entered was always made to go faster than the manufactures succeeded in doing. During this period I believe he met Willie Meissner, who at the time, also studied engineering. From what I hear Willie, being much younger, more or less made a idol of Bob and assisted him a great deal in the manifacturing of these “backyard specials”. After graduating, and obtaining his B.Sc. degree in engineering, he joined a firm who were agents, marketeers and manufacturers of heavy machinary, bulldozers etc. He was employed in the capacity of a engineer and I am given to understand learnt a great deal about the design of agricultural machinary.

In view of the fact that I did not know Bob at this time, I can only quote above mentioned from “hear say”

W. Meissner. Willie was educated at Grey College, Bloemfontein, and I believe, proved to be an outstanding pupil, having gained top marks in all the subjects he took. Because of his natural interest in motor cars, he also embarked on a career involving engineering and proceeded to the Stellenbosch University immediately after matriculating. As I pointed out just now, he met Bob there, and being a few years younger he more less served as a sort of unpaid apprentice to Bob’s nocturnal activities and by that I mean building of motor cars after hours. Brilliant as he was as a scholer, he apparently spent more time racing and building cars than in his class rooms. I do not think he faired too well at University as a result of this. At any rate, he never completed his studies and decided to become a apprentice motor mechanic. AsWillie comes from a family of extremely high social standing, it is unnecessary to say that his relatives, and mother in particular, frowend upon his aim of becoming “an ordinary motor mechanic”. However, he was adament and after serving five years as an apprentice, he qualified. There is a story which been told from reliable sources, that his instructors and examinators on many occassions approached him on technical data concerning engines whilst he was in his 2nd and 3rd year of apprenticeship – he apparently knew more about the workings of internal combustion engine than his instructors. After qualifying, his mother assisted him in aquiring a substansial share in Winford Motors, where he, together with Dave le Roux and Mr. Chalmers, built this concern up to a healthy little business. As Willie was not at this stage particulary concerned in managing a concern and enjoyed working with motor cars instead, he was not particulary happy. His mother then further assisted and joined him on a trip to the U.K. to investigate the possibilities of finding a career wherein his obvious talents could be recognised.

V. de Wit. Unlike these two rather brilliant scholars, I had an interest in motor cars and architecture. Due to lack of “grey matter”, I took the easy way out and studied art, as this calls for drawing ability rather than brains. I studied fine art under Maurice von Essche for a few years. Realising that there was no money to be earned in fine arts, I changed my course to commercial art. Upon completion of this course, I joined the Metal Box Company as a commersial artist and at this stage met Willie Meissner, as I too tried my hand at motor rallies etc. As this work was extremely frustrating I decided to proceed over-seas where I could obtain experience in industrial design. As a result of my love for motor cars it is natural that I attempted to find employment as a body motor stylist. By good fortune I found employment with the Rootes Group where I had the opportunity of expressing in 3D instead on paper.


ORIGIN OF G.S.M.

At this stage I had a flatt in London and received a surprised visitor one weekend by the name of Willie Meissner. With our common interest in motor cars we naturally hit it of immediately and he informed me of his intensions to manifacture a car in conjunction with a “friend” in South Africa. From what he told me he had no problems in designing the mechanical aspects and he assured me that he had a few thousand pounds available for the would be project. I suppose, being a fellow South African, he requested me to design for them a body shell. As far as I was concerned I did not have all that much faith in their project as I had by now learnt something about the tremendous cost involved in tooling up, marketing, advertising etc. Willie counteracted this by suggesting that if an article was comparable it would create a demand and therefore if you did have an article for which there was ademand, the finding capital would be no problem at all. We believed we were capable, with the available funds, of producing one or two prototypes which would be comparable and with which we intended creating the demand. At this stage Willie cabled Bob, who immediately resigned from his position which he held in Cape Town, sold his Peugeot and took the first boat over to the U.K.as their life long dream could be fulfilled. Bob arrived and we got together by a series of meetings actually getting stuck in.

DESIGN OF THE G.S.M.

As neither Bob nor Willie were acquainted with fibreglass, it was important to first of all learn as much about this material as possible and in doing so Bob found employment at various concerns for very short periods and in this way obtained sufficient knowledge of constructing articles in fibreglass. In the mean-while I completed sketches and built sufficient models of the would be vechile in my flat and eventually arrived at the design of the Dart. Aswe expected the whole operation to take a few months, we were not particulatly alarmed at the available capital. As things developed, we encountered one problem after the other and what we had hoped will take a few weeks, eventually turned out to become months of hard labour. If it were not for the persistent preserverance of Bob and unequalled determination shown, the project would have failed at this stage. When it became clear that we will succeed, Willie returned to S.A. in order to form a company, register the firm and complete all the red tape involved. Bob stayed on and eventually managed to manifacture the first mould from the prototype. At this stage the company had no money to return the mould, and Bob for that matter, to South Africa. As Bob had by then proved that he fights hardest when things are blackest, he succeeded in manufacturing two body shells from the mould, sold them in the U.K.for 70 Pounds a piece and in so doing obtained the required capital. To further cut expenses he crated this mould from flooring boards which he purchased from a local demolished house and brought it out as personal baggage. I stayed on in the U.K. to act as a sort of liaison officer between the then newly formed Glassport Company and the U.K. suppliers of parts.

GLASSPORT MOTORS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Bob’s first undertaking on his return was to manufacture and build one complete chassis, which was tested extensively and proved to be a great success as far as the engineering aspects were concerned. Two more bodies were completed and two cars were completed. These two vehicles, crude as they were, never-theless aroused tremendous interest, especially in that they were succesfully raced against M,G ‘s, Truimphs etc. As a result of the tremendous interest shown by the public it was wrongley believed that future sales would be assured. Close scrutiny of these vehicles proved that it is important to add finish and detail and they therefore requested me to join them on a full time basis. My plans were to proceed to the Chrysler Corporation in the U.S.A. but these I immediately set aside and returned by the first available “cheap” plane. The months that followed once again proved to be ones of hardship in that the necessary capital was not available and we had to live from hand to mouth in the true sense of the word. The vehicles which were first sold were purchased by racing enthusiasts and in so doing we slowly created an image in the minds of public that the car was invincible on the race track. Unfortunately not so many people raced cars in S.A. and we soon found ourselves in a position where we were in great debt to Willie , who somehow financed the whole project up to this stage. We therefore had to sell our motor cars to Sea Point cowboys and others in so doing found that the Dart could not compete in as far as finish and detail were concerned. Due to our lack of experience we realised at this late stage that had minor alterations being incorporated in the basic design of the car, we would have had a product which would be comparable to the mass produced sports car as far as finish is concerned. With our backs to the mast we had no option but to overcome these faults.To the very best of our ability and immediately set our minds thinking along the design of a new car which would be all that much better. As the manufacturing cost was much greater than we imagined, the company slowly deteriorated from the finance point of view, but never the less earned for itself an irrevocable name as been the first S.A designed and built motor car. In order to grab at the last straw, drastic measures were taken to cutt overheads and expences to the extent where anything resembling a 5th wheel had to be disposed of.  I therefore left the organisation to join an oil company and in so doing succeeded in keeping the flesh and bone together as far as Glassport was concerned for a few more months. As my trek at the time did not represent a great percentage of the overheads it did not make much difference and the situation deteriorated to the extend where Willie, through no choice of his own, had to throw in his towel. Once again Bob, through unequalled persistance, refused to give in and miraculously kept the name of the Dart alive, by building the odd car in his backyard. It is at this stage when people like Sandy Brunette and others who shared Bob’s faith in the undertaking, came into the picture and unselfishly assisted Bob, in carrying on regardless. However, the gods were kind and threw out the lifeline in the form of Messrs. Bonuskor.

The details from this point onwards are beter known by yourself and I therefore leave it in your capable hand to continue.

Sorry Paddy it is the best I can do.

VERSTER DE WIT

Uittreksel uit die CAPE ARGUS:

U.K. Venture

In an effort to expand the market for the car, Willie and Bob took the Dart to England in 1960, where it was raced with conspicuous success at Branch Hatch and Silverstone. A small factory was established in Kent and the car - fitted with a modified Ford 105E engine – was manufactered under the name of G.S.M. Delta.

Nog informasie: