In the anecdote below I will try to paint a picture of an Australian character who

was larger than life Eldred Norman. I will focus on Eldreds mechanical exploits,
but also try to paint a picture of the times that he lived in. I will also give some of
the history of the vehicles Eldred campaigned, both prior to and following his
ownership.
The information noted below is based on material originally written by Jon
Chittleborough in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of
Biography, Australian National University, and an obituary written by the late John
Blanden. It also draws material from a wide variety of online sources. Eldred was a
frequent occupier of column space in many newspapers, and in particular
Adelaides Advertiser. The National Library of Australia online files recording this
era are outstanding resources see the image of Eldred in his late 30s perched in
his Maserati to the right, taken from an (Adelaide) News article of September 1952
celebrating Eldred winning the Sporting Car Club of South Australias Morgan
Trophy for top aggregate points in speed events. A special thanks also to Terry
Walker for his excellent recording of Western Australian race history.
Eldred De Bracton Norman was born on the 9
th
of January 1914 in Adelaide South Australia, second
of six children of Australian-born parents William Ashley Norman, solicitor, and his wife Alma Janet,
daughter of Daniel Matthews. Thomas Magarey, an Irish-born miller and pastoralist and Member of
the South Australian House of Assembly and the South Australian Legislative Council was Eldreds
great-grandfather. Eldred attended Scotch College Adelaide and briefly studied law at the University
of Adelaide. In 1938 he set up an engineering workshop and motorcar-dealership in Adelaide.
Rejected for military service in World War II because of asthma, Eldred began to make garden tools
and to manufacture charcoal-burning gas producers to power vehicles. In May 1941 he married
Nancy Fotheringham Cato, a 24-year-old journalist. Eldred and Nancy had three children in the space
of three years Michael, William and Bronley in 1943 (Mike, Bill and Bronnie).
In 1946 Eldred was purchasing ex-army vehicles left behind by the Americans and selling them in
Adelaide at a profit. While visiting the Australian Territory of Papua-New Guinea (PNG did not
become independent until 1975), he acquired a war-surplus Dodge weapons carrier chassis along
with a host of Jeeps and Blitz trucks at an auction in Port Moresby. Eldred used the Dodge to
construct a race car - the Double V8, or more commonly Double V8. The Double V8, shown to the
right below with Eldred in the cockpit, was built from bodywork from aircraft and a tubular steel
chassis. Power came from two Ford Mercury 239ci flathead V8 engines for a total capacity of
7,800cc. These engines were good for 100-
110bhp each when run independently, giving
Eldred some 200bhp in the Double V8.
Engine cooling suffered, with a tendency to
overheat on long races. The engines were
coupled flywheel-to-crank snout with a four-
row chain drive. This large machine had
independent suspension and water-cooled
drum brakes supplied by two SU fuel pumps.
The drum brakes produced spectacular
clouds of steam as he applied them, despite
being undersized for the task. The rear brake drums were built inboard, operating on the back axle
and additionally cooled by a fan worked by the tail shaft.
Being South Australian road-registered, Eldred was frequently seen driving the Double V8 around the
Adelaide hills with trade number plates tied with string or a strap around his neck. Between 1948
and 1951 he drove the car successfully in hill-climbs and various race tracks in three States. The
vehicle was also driven long distances to compete at tracks such as Fisherman's Bend, Victoria a
900-mile roundtrip journey sans mufflers.
The clipping to the right,
from the News of the 19
th

of April 1949, shows the
Double V8 at the Barossa
Festival (Nuriootpa circuit,
South Australia). The
clipping to the far right is
from the News of the 8
th
of
October 1949. The
meeting referred to at
Woodside, South Australia
was the scene of a tragic
double fatality during
motorcycle races. The car
was also raced at
Fishermans Bend later in
October of that year.
In addition to circuit racing, Eldred also raced the Double V8 at
Sellicks Beach, South Australia where racing was undertaken
between mile posts. An annual speed trial and motorcycle races
were held on three kilometres or more of sand along Aldinga and
Sellicks Beaches up to 1953. The Double V8 won both the
unlimited scratch race and over 1500cc handicap race held at the
beach by the Racing Drivers Association of South Australia in April
1950. This event drew more than 5,000 spectators. One incident
with Harry Neale at the wheel of the Double V8 ended with the
Double V8 deposited into the sea, ripping off the bodywork and
leaving Harry sitting on the chassis, wet but unhurt see clipping
above right from the Broken Hill Barrier Miner of the 2
nd
of May
1950. Eldreds can-do, larrikin spirit was also evident in the way he
once retrieved the telephone cables laid out for communication between officials at each end of the
Sellicks Beach strip by fitting a bare rim to the Double V8 rear axle and firing up the twin V8s to
power what must have been Australias most powerful fishing reel.
The Double V8 was also campaigned in hill climb service, and was entered in the South Australian
Hill Climb Championship at Glen Ewin, Houghton in March 1950. On the day Eldreds was the fastest
car.
The Double V8 marked the start of Eldreds entries into the Australian Grand Prix.
The January 1950 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held at the
three-mile square layout clockwise street circuit in Nuriootpa, shown to the right.
Formula Libre (or Free Formula) allows a wide variety of types, ages and makes of
purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head", with the only regulations often
governing basics such as safety equipment. Eldreds Double V8 retired from the
Grand Prix after only two laps. Bear in mind however that only thirteen of the field of
twentynine vehicles actually finished.
Eldred entered the Double V8 in the Onkoparinga class handicap at the Woodside circuit in October
1950, coming second place by one minute despite
having speeds of up to 120mph on the straight. The
Double V8 was also entered (and took third place by 3.6
seconds slower than first place) in the Western
Australian Hill Climb Championship at Mundaring in
February.
The 1951 Australian Grand Prix was again run as a
Formula Libre event in March at Narrogin, Western
Australia. The 4.4-mile anticlockwise Narrogin circuit is
also shown to the right. Eldred entered
the Double V8 into the race. While
leading on the seventh of twentyfour
laps the Double V8 again broke down
(this time due to suspension failure),
leading to Eldred retiring from the race.
The Double V8 is shown at this
meeting in the two images to the right,
taken by Len Moore.

The Double V8 was sold by Eldred later
in 1951 to Syd Anderson. Anderson was
proprietor of the Sydney Anderson
Automotives used-car dealership in
William Street and once Western
Australias largest hire fleet owner with
some thirty cars. During both Andersons
and subsequent ownerships the car was
modified repeatedly. According to
legend, Syd swiped a large mixing bowl
from the kitchen, cutting it in half to
make two air scoops for the Double V8.
Anderson raced the Double V8
extensively, including the following West Australian
meetings:
The Great Southern Flying 50 meeting at Narrogin in
March of 1952, winning the scratch race for over 1500cc
(Eldreds Maserati, see below, picked up the under
1500cc win), and coming eighth in the meeting main race
(Eldred came second).
The Northam Flying 50 meeting at Northam in April,
winning the three-lap scratch race for over 1500cc.
Anderson also competed in the five-lap handicap but did
not land in the top three positions. He did however place
fifth in meeting main race.
The Goomalling Speed Classic at Goomalling road circuit in June. Anderson placed fourth in the
fifteen-lap handicap for Racing Cars, first in the three-lap scratch race for Racing Cars over
1500cc and first in the five-lap handicap race for Racing Cars. Anderson is shown driving the
vehicle at the 2.4-mile anticlockwise circuit in the colour photograph above. The Goomalling circuit
layout is shown below the photograph.
The Great Southern Fifty meeting at Narrogin in March of 1953, winning the three-lap scratch race
for over 1500cc (Class A).
The Caversham Speed Classic in December of that year, winning the three-lap scratch race for
racing cars over 1500cc, placing second in the five-lap handicap for racing cars and third in the
twelve lap handicapped main event for racing cars.
Anderson also competed in speed trials in the Double V8. At Narrogin Airstrip in February 1954 he
recorded the fasted time for the Standing Quarter for Racing vehicles at sixteen seconds, and also for
the flying quarter at 8.9 seconds.
Anderson entered the Double V8 in the Johore Grand Prix in Malaya. I suspect this was 1953 as the
race was not held in 1954 due to concerns raised by the Johore Welfare Committee, a part of the
state government. Unfortunately, he had to retire from the race due to overheating. In one incident
during his ownership of the car Anderson was badly scalded when the radiator plumbing in the cockpit
let go.
The Double V8 was then sold by Anderson to James Harwood, a navy veteran, musician and motor
enthusiast in Perth. Harwood tossed a penny with Anderson to decide the purchase price - either 50
or 100. Harwood won. The vehicle was then towed to a business in which Harwood was a partner -
Performance Cars at 173 James Street where Bill Strickland (the renowned sports car and speedway
speedcar/modified sedan driver) removed the two Ford V8 engines. The engines were later sold to a
speedboat constructor. The Double V8 body was then placed outside James business as advertising,
though was removed a few days later at the request of Perth City Council.
The images below shows Toby Carboni in the Double V8. In the period of 1955-1957 Carboni raced
the car extensively in Western Australia. Im not sure if Toby is the same person who went on to found
Carbon Brakes with Greg Nolan, or the extent of his association with the Double V8 (owner or just
driver).

Carboni entered the Double V8 in the following events:
The Northam Flying 50 in August of 1955, placing sixth in the seven-lap racing car handicap
(Anderson was racing an Austin Healey in that race and came fourth). Carboni also entered the
three-lap scratch race for racing cars over 1500cc though did not finish.
The Western Australian State Championships in September. In the first heat of Race 1 of the
Racing Car Championship, Carboni placed fifth (Andersons Austin Healey coming in third).
Returning for the second heat of Race 3, Carboni retired after seven laps (Anderson winning this
race).
The Caversham Benefit Cup in October, placing fourth in the three-lap racing car scratch race.
The Spastic Welfare Cup at Caversham in November. Carboni entered the six-lap handicapped
Race 2 though retired after two laps. He returned for the twenty-lap handicapped Spastic Welfare
Cup for Racing Cars but again retired after ten laps.
The six-hour Le Mans Production Car Meeting at Caversham in May of 1956, placing second in
the three-lap racing car scratch race and second outright in the fifteen lap Triangle Cup scratch
race for Racing Cars (though not in the top four handicapped places).
The Australian Grand Prix at Caversham in March of 1957. Carboni entered the class for Racing
Cars but did not start.
Keith Windsor bought the Double V8 body (probably in 1957) and installed a
V12 Lincoln Zephyr engine, shown to the right. Lincoln produced these
engines from 1936-1948, ceasing production nearly a decade before
Windsors repowering of the Double V8. Im not certain if Windsor used the
267ci, 292ci or 306ci engine (110-130bhp), though in any case was a marked
reduction from Eldreds 478ci (~200bhp) double V8 powerplant. The images
below show Windsor and the Double V8 in V12 format. Windsor debuted the
V12 Double V8 in the Christmas Cup at Caversham in late November 1958, competing in the five-lap
racing car scratch race for over 1500cc, though did not place in the top three positions. Sadly,
Windsor found the V12 vehicle was not manageable and subsequently scrapped it.
The images below are of the Double V8, though I am not sure of the period. The colour image shows
the car chasing Sid Taylor (in a TS Special) and Syd Negus (in a Plymouth) off the straight at
Caversham.

After the Double V8, Eldred then bought a 1936 Maserati Type 6CM, shown below right during part of
its life in Europe. 6CM stood for 6-cylinder monoposto (monoposto is a fancy Italian way of saying
single-seat). The vehicle was fitted with a twin overhead cam 1493cc engine (shown below), with the
Roots supercharger driven directly off the crank and being fed by a Weber 55AS1 carburettor.
Eldreds vehicle (chassis 1542), one of only twenty-seven built, had some 175bhp on tap a power to
weight ratio four times greater than an EK Holden.



The Maserati had originally been delivered to Franco Cortese in April 1937. It then went to Scuderia
Torino and to Ecurie Auto-Sport for de Graffenried and Balsa after World War II. It was later sold in
the United Kingdom to Sam Gilbey (1947) then to Colin Murray (1949). Murray raced the vehicle in
the Formula 1 class, including:
The April 1950 Goodwood circuit race,
The June British Empire Trophy at the Isle of Man circuit. He vied against a thirteen car field,
though retired after nineteen of the thirtysix laps due to an accident,
The August Silverstone race. He again retired, for reasons unknown, from the field of nineteen
(which included Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss).
Murray brought the car to Australia in 1951, racing it in the March 1951 Australian Grand Prix. Like
Eldred, Murray did not finish the race, completing nineteen of the twenty-four laps against a field of
twenty-eight (remember that Eldred, in the Double V8, completed only seven laps during this race).

Murray later sold the Maserati to Eldred, who built from scratch a new engine block from steel blocks
and welded sleeves with hard chromed liners, cast two new magnesium bronze cylinder heads with
hardened steel inserts and revised valve geometry, adapted connecting rods from a Singer 1500 and
reconditioned the rest of the engine. This delivered 200bhp at 6,000rpm from the newly engineered
engine, four and a half times higher power to weight than our EK Holden.

Eldred circuit-raced the Maserati in the 10 -mile race held at
the Woodside closed-street circuit in October 1951. The course
route is shown to the right. Eldred finished the Woodside
Jubilee for High Powered Cars race in third position. After
finishing Eldred stopped in the pits, raised his bonnet, and with
a pair of pliers released two tins of pork and beans that had
been wired to the exhaust manifold to cook. Eldreds culinary
skills were noted in Adelaides News The Odd Spot column.
The vehicle was also raced at the Lobethal, South Australia
circuit in December.
Similarly to the Double V8, the Maserati saw service in a
variety of forms of motorsport. In December the Maserati was
entered in the 460-yard Glen Ewen hillclimb at
Houghton, South Australia recording the
fastest time, breaking the previous hill climb
circuit record and winning the meetings
Unlimited class race. The vehicle was crashed
in the March 1952 hillclimb at Collingrove,
South Australia, stripping the gearbox in the
process. This made for hard work in
preparation for the Great Southern Flying 50 at
Narrogin, Western Australia a week later.
Eldred did however manage to get the
Maserati back into working order and 1700
miles across to Western Australia. He achieved
first place (and fastest lap at 2:27) in the under
1500cc scratch race, third place in the five-lap
handicap race (posting both the fastest time
and fastest lap at 2:20), and second place in the main
handicapped Great Southern Flying 50 race event (again
posting fastest time and fastest lap at 2:19). Remember from
above that Anderson had also entered the Double V8 at this
meeting see the clippings to the right from the West
Australian from the 14
th
and 22
nd
of March 1952.
The Maserati also got a work-out in March
1952 for the public opening of the
Collingrove Hill Climb track (see clipping
below from the Sunday Mail of March 1952
and track layout below). Eldred posted the
fourth fastest time of the day (43.2
seconds), and won the category for Racing
Cars over 1500cc and all supercharged.



The clipping to the right is from the News of the 21
st
of July
1952.

Whilst campaigning the Maserati, Eldred also drive other
vehicles. In May of 1952 he won the South Australian Sporting
Car Club's reliability night trial in a Holden. Only eleven of the
twentytwo starters finished, with Eldred losing 580 points over
the ninety-mile course, returning at 1am. In a normal trial of
this kind, the winner would have lost 30-40 points and got
home by about 10.30pm
Eldred raced the Maserati in the April 1952 Australian Grand
Prix. This was again a Formula Libre motor race, held at the
3.8-mile anticlockwise Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst,
in New South Wales. The course is shown to the right below.
Eldred did not finish the race, completing ten of the thirtyeight laps due
to engine troubles (the Maseratis supercharger relief valve had come
unscrewed). Eldreds race-mate, Frank Kleinig, had to retire his
Kleinig-Hudson 8 Special after only
four laps. Kleinigs name will be
familiar to early-Holden fans as the
man responsible for quite an array
of grey motor speed equipment.
The blurry image to the right, from
the Advertiser of April 8
th
1952,
shows the Maserati prior to the
race.

The noisy supercharged Maserati was
never very fast, and had an insatiable
appetite for pistons, including melting one
out at Sellicks Beach in October of 1952.
The photo to the right shows Eldred racing
the Maserati on Sellicks Beach (alongside
T Hawkes Allard) at this meeting, the first
all-car beach program held in South
Australia after the war. Bill Norman
remembers being employed at age six to
tightening the Maserati engine's many
inaccessible nuts, one-sixth of a turn at a
time.

By 1953 the Maserati had been twin-supercharged to 285bhp, with
the second supercharger sitting in the cockpit under the scuttle.
The first supercharger remained crank driven, with the second
supercharger duplex-chain driven off the first (that is one looong
drive chain, running the length of the engine). The car was being
tested at the Collingrove hill-climb on Easter Monday. The vehicle
would not run under 40mph, was good for 0-120mph in ten
seconds, would stay at 120mph at half throttle, got 80mph in first
gear and slurped methanol at one mile to the gallon. The power to
weight ratio was now six and a half times greater than an EK
Holden. The vehicle returned to Port Wakefield, South Australia for the Anzac Day race of April 1953.

The clipping to the right is from Adelaides Advertiser of the 6
th

of October 1953, again linking the Maserati to Collingrove hill
climbing. Eldred also raced at Port Wakefield Tourist Trophy
race that month, snapping the gear lever off the Maserati and
finishing in third gear at 9,000rpm (the redline was 7,000rpm)
despite suffering badly from hay fever.
Eldred then sold the Maserati in October of 1953 to Ted
McKinnon (a Melbourne motor dealer), who raced it in the 1953
Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Victoria (again in Formula
Libre trim). Ted finished 15
th
out of the thirtynine car field (Eldred
did not enter the Australian Grand Prix in 1953). The vehicle
then passed to Eddie Thomas in 1954, possibly for the
Seaton brothers, who entered it for Ken Cox the same year.
Cox later raced it with a Holden engine from 1957-1959,
mainly on Victorian country tracks. The Maserati fell into
disrepair, and was sold by Gavin Sandford-Morgan to Alf
Blight in 1966. It was restored over many years until it raced
at Mallala in 1982. Alf is shown at Amaroo Park in the
1980s in the image to the right. The Maserati passed to the
United States, then to Robin Lodge (United Kingdom) in
1987, Ren Mauris (France, who held it from 1988-1997,
having been sold to him though Christies Monaco sales for $197,000), until sold at auction to Bernie
Ecclestone in 1997.


Eldreds racing interests were diverse, as can be seen in the cutting to
the right from the Adelaide Advertiser of the 21
st
of October 1952, which
shows Eldred winning the Production Car Handicap at Sellicks Beach.
The vehicle Eldred is driving is a production Singer SM 1500 Sports,
with a 48bhp 1497cc engine. In November of the same year Eldred
entered the Singer in the Collingrove hillclimb, recording a time of 51.5
seconds in front of the crowd of 4,000 people.

Eldred won the South Australian Sporting Car Car Clubs Kennedy
Memorial Trophy that year for gaining the most points in all forms of
competition.

After not competing in the Australian Grand Prix in 1953, Eldred returned in
1954. In the interim he had purchased South Australias first Triumph TR2,
registered SA 1435 for 1,189 see clipping to the right from Adelaides
News of the 22
nd
of February 1954. The original disc wheels were replaced
with wire wheels, and an overdrive fitted (operated by a lever mounted
beside the transmission tunnel). The vehicle had a completely standard
white body and red interior, with a passenger tonneau, single aero screen
and headlight tape... no roll bar or seatbelt. The Triumph utilized a
Standard Vanguard engine, fitted with a 136ci/rev G.M. 2-71 supercharger,
driven at 1.1:1 by four A-section belts and producing 12psi of boost. Eldred
experimented with home-made fuel injection, eventually returning to a 2"
SU carburettor. Engine internals were largely standard but the crankshaft
was ground undersize, then built up with hard chrome. Tyres were
Adelaide-made Hardie cross plies, similar to those used later on the Zephyr Special.


Eldred drove the Triumph 1300 miles to Southport, Queensland,
towing a trailer with two 44-gallon drums of methanol racing fuel.
The 5.7-mile clockwise Southport circuit is shown to the right.
Winning the Brightways Trophy and Cords Piston Ring Trophy
support races on the morning of the Australian Grand Prix gained
him entry into the main race, in which he came fourth. By the end
of the race the supercharger drive belts had stretched so much that
boost had dropped from 12 to 8psi. One of Eldreds race-mates,
(later Sir) Jack Brabham, had to retire his Cooper T26 after only
one lap, whilst the 4.3L Maybach Special II of Stan Jones broke in
half at two chassis welds, depositing Stan in the scrub at 100mph.
The image below shows Eldred in the Triumph at the 1954
Australian Grand Prix.






Eldreds Triumph was driven from the track,
and without any rebuild it then towed the
trailer, trophies and 600 prizemoney 1300
miles back to Adelaide, rattling gently from
cracked pistons.






Whilst the Triumph is famous for its Grand Prix performance, it also
received a considerable workout in other events, as can be seen by
Eldreds (aquatic) racing in the clipping to the right from Adelaides
Chronicle of the 24
th
of June 1954. The race shown is the mud-trial run by
the Sputh Australian Sporting Car Club, in which Eldred took third place.
The course included a creek crossing and hill at Brownhill Creek, a
narrow hills track at Coromandel Valley, and the crossing of the Finniss
River as shown to the right with a mud slope and sand course. Imagine
doing that in a modern Grand Prix car, and afterwards racing in a Grand
Prix. The Triumph was also entered in the Collingrove hillclimb of April. In
September the Triumph was raced at Fishermans Bend, Victoria then at
the Port Wakefield races a day later. Eldred was to come fourth in the
Churchill Motors scratch event at the latter meeting. The image to the
right, from Adelaides Advertiser of the 8
th
of October 1954 shows Eldred
preparing the Triumph.

In one incident in the Adelaide hills, Eldred noted that the Triumphs tyres
had all deflated. The cause was finally found high loading under speed
had forced open all the tyre valve stems.

The Triumph was raced briefly by his Eldreds good friend Andy Brown
then disappeared.


For the 1955 Grand Prix Eldred assembled a new car in ten weeks. The 2262cc supercharged Zephyr
Special was unique in using the engine as a stressed chassis-member. The Zephyr engine was
canted 45 to the right with a modified FJ Holden front crossmember bolted to the timing cover. A 6"
torque tube bolted directly to the engine extending back to the clutch and gearbox. The body, fuel
tank and seat are bolted to brackets welded to the tube and the three-speed ZF transaxle from a
Tempo Matador truck with directly attached fabricated rear suspension. Drum brakes were taken from
a Standard Vanguard. The engine generates 280 to 300bhp and is good for 90mph in first, 130mph in
second and on a long straight just
under 160mph in top.
The photo to the right shows the
Zephyr Special in 1955, taken at
Port Wakefield. It was then called
the Eclipse Zephyr. The name
Eclipse came from the Adelaide Ford
dealer, Eclipse Motors (Eldred had
an engineering workshop and was a
motor dealer from 1938). The
previous name for the car was a bit
of a mouthful - the Norholfordor -
because it was built from Holden,
Ford and Tempo Matador parts.
Before you ask, a Tempo Matador
was a VW-powered light commercial
vehicle made from 1949 to 1954.
The October 1955 Australian Grand Prix was held at the
Port Wakefield circuit, in South Australia. The 1.3-mile
clockwise circuit is shown to the right. Refueling during
the race was undertaken from a 44-gallon drum
pressurized with nitrogen oxide to speed things up.
Eldred finished eighth out of a field of twentythree. The
race was won by (later Sir) Jack Brabham in a Cooper
T40. The Zephyr Special was so unconventional that it
was referred to as that "diabolical device".

In 1956 Eldred sold the Zephyr Special to Keith Rilstone.
The photo to the right is of Keith competing in the Eclipse
Zephyr at Caversham military airstrip in the Swan Valley,
Western Australia in 1961. Caversham became Western
Australias first dedicated motor racing circuit, and hosted
the Australian Grand Prix in both 1957 and 1962. Military
needs resulted in the Western Australia Sporting Car Club, the operators of the circuit, moving to their
new home at Wanneroo in 1968.


The photograph to the right is from Rilstones
ownership, and were taken at Mallala Race Circuit
South Australia. Note that the carburettor is not one
of Eldreds legendary 3 SUs... this one came from
a Maybach.

Finally below is the car in its present form. The
Zephyr Special is now owned by Graeme and
Robyn Snape of Gundagai NSW.






In 1956 Norman abandoned racing to concentrate on inventing. He built a large astronomical
telescope in the propertys tin shed, then a rotating observatory in the "plane paddock" (no property is
complete without an old bomber). Scientists from the Weapons Research Establishment would visit to
see his home-made automatic telescope mirror-grinding machine complete a cycle, watching as it
automatically applied paste, water, rotated, oscillated, separated, etc, grinding mirrors to a tolerance
of 0.000003. Many of his prototypes, including a car tow-bar and a photographic device to capture
burglars, never reached the production stage.

With Nancy, he made a motoring trip in 1961 which took them through seventeen countries, including
the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Iran and Pakistan. A sign of the times was ASIOs interest
in Communism. There is a one hundred-page file covering Commonwealth Police investigations into
the Normans activities. ASIO intercepted the Normans mail and recorded telephone conversations
leading up to their trip. A confidential memo dated April 1961 to Headquarters ASIO from the Regional
Director South Australia, indicates that they have nothing known regarding Eldred, but Nancy's name
was linked to others (details blacked out in the public report), was present at a public meeting of note,
and had signed a petition organised by 'Overland' (a magazine whos editor was an ex-member of the
Communist Party). The Prime Minister Robert Menzies was well known for his anti-Communist views,
and was kept informed by memo of the goings and comings of Eldred and Nancy. The trip was
undertaken by shipping a 1961 Ford Falcon station wagon to Spain, complete with oversized fuel tank
and camp bed in the back. They applied for passports to go to USSR and China in 1961. This request
was vetted by ASIO, as part of their 'investigation' of the couple.

Eldred is also renowned for his sliding vane supercharger manufacturing,
which started in Adelaide and then continued after the family moved to
Noosa in 1966. Eldred manufactured eight different superchargers (the Type
65, Type 70, Type 45, Type 75, Type 90, Type 110, Type 265 and Type
270), and adopted some truly innovated designs, including a supercharger
clutch drive reminiscent of Mad Maxs car. Eldreds superchargers ended up
on a number of Mike and Bills vehicles, including an ex-PMG FE van and
Bills Bills supercharged MGTC, a winner at Lakeview Hill Climb in October
1965. Eldreds reflections on supercharging were published in his book
Supercharge! published in 1969. The image of Eldred to the right, taken
from Supercharge! shows Eldred in his forties. Eldreds habit of road testing
race vehicle continued, with his HD Holden utilitity acting as a test-mule for many of his
superchargers. The HD had all drum brakes interesting to handle given that when fitted with the
Type 110 supercharger and Eldreds own 3 SU it could make 140mph. Eldreds passion for sliding
vane superchargers was taken up by his son Mike. Mike manufactured an improved version of the
sliding vane design in Sydney the mid 1980s, making six models (the 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and
400).

Norman and Nancy pursued a wide variety of interests. Eldred for example had written a six-article
series for the Motoring News section of Adelaides News in 1952 (including How Compression
Operates). Nancy worked as a journalist and art critic for the Adelaide News, and became a poet and
novelist. Her most famous trilogy "All The Rivers Run", was published in 1958. The story was adapted
to a television mini-series starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters which ran from 1983 through
1989. Nancy became prominent as a conservationist and Aboriginal Rights activist. An active member
of the Sporting Car Club of South Australia, Eldred often took his children to events, leaving Nancy
free to write. During construction of the club's 0.4-mile hill-climb track at Collingrove in the Barossa
Valley, Eldred used a .45 caliber sub-machinegun to hammer soil in around fence posts. For years
the case of hundreds of bullets lay open in the shed for the three children to play with, together with a
quantity of dynamite which Eldred finally disposed of when it began to weep nitroglycerine. Eldred
was one of the foundation directors of Brooklyn Speedway, S.A., Ltd, the company which built and
operated the Port Wakefield track from early 1953.

Stories abound of how Eldred outpaced police as he tested cars on the road between his Adelaide
workshop and his Hope Valley home. The police would be on his doorstep moments later, looking to
nail him for driving an unregistered vehicle. "Oh, no, it hasn't been running at all... not for a couple of
days" he would tell them. Feeling
the warmth of the engine cover, the
police exclaimed that it retained its
heat well and departed. Eldred
soon learnt that it wasnt a bad
idea to hose down the bodywork
after such a run. His tactics were
not always successful though, as
the clippings from the 11
th
of May
1938 and 3
rd
of October 1946
edition of Adelaides Advertiser to
the right show. Eldred was also
booked for speeding over an
intersection (with fins of 1. and
10/ costs in November 1939), and
with driving an unregistered car (no
penalty, though slugged with 7/6
costs) in August of that year. In
one of the incidents above, the
Assistant Police Prosecutor noted
that Practically every regulation In
the Traffic Act has been broken. In
another incident, when the
magistrate shook his head and
said, "What will I ever do with
you?" he quickly answered back:
"How about we start a monthly
account?".

Eldred was sadly taken by lung cancer on
the 28
th
of June 1971 at Noosa Heads.
Nancy passed away at Noosa on the 3
rd

of July 2000. Both Eldred and Nancy
were recognised in a number of ways.
Nancy, pictured right, was appointed a
Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in
June 1984 in recognition of services to
Australian literature. The Canberra
suburb of Franklin includes Nancy Cato
Street. The Jubilee 150 Walkway is a
series of one hundred and fifty bronze
plaques set into the pavement of North
Terrace, Adelaide. It was officially opened
in December 1986 as part of the celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding
of the state of South Australia. The plaques contain the names and deeds of one hundred and
seventy people who made major contributions to the founding and development of South Australia.
The plaques are arranged in alphabetic order. Eldreds plaque, shown above right is located between
the Art Gallery Of South Australia and the University of Adelaide.