The town of Port Alberni has long been following the motorsports escapades of Dave Koszegi – from his days competing in the Canadian Rally Championship to his Targa Newfoundland effort in 2007. Shayne Morrow of the Alberni Valley Times put together a great article about the Spring Thaw last week. He writes about the event itself, and also includes the story behind Dave’s Porsche 356!  Click “more” below to read the full story…

Koszegi shines at Spring Thaw Rally

SHAYNE MORROW AV TIMES

It wasn’t exactly a race, but it was a great excuse to get out and drive the back roads of the B.C. Interior in some really cool old cars.

Last weekend, local racer and car enthusiast Dave Koszegi took part in the First Annual Spring Thaw Rally, which is open to driver/co-driver teams in cars from 1979 or older. Koszegi and co-driver Bob Ellison arrived in Squamish on Friday, with absolutely no idea where they were going.

“They call it a ‘historic touring adventure.’ Three days, 1,200 kilometres, and you get the route book just before you start – destination unknown,” Koszegi said.

For Koszegi, whose last road race was the 2007 Targa Newfoundland, this was a chance to air out what he’s come to call his ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus’ car. The 1964 Porsche 356 was owned for many years by ADSS teacher Jim Mayo.

“Mr. Mayo was my marketing teacher in Grade 10. He was the best teacher I ever had, and he was the guy who put me on track to my career,” Koszegi said. “In Grade 10, 11 and 12, I took any course he was teaching.

“The Porsche was his when he was in the U.S. Navy. I offered to buy it from him when I was 14.”
It took a while, but four years ago, Mayo gave Koszegi a call to see if he was still interested in the car, which was by now a little worse for wear.

“It needed a lot of structural work, including a whole new floor – three-quarters of the undercarriage is new,” Koszegi said. “But the engine is pretty much the way I bought it. Four years ago, I rebuilt the twin carbs, and I did a tune-up before the rally, but that’s about it. And it ran like a Swiss watch.”

For vintage car enthusiasts, Spring Thaw is a great way to shake off the winter blahs, according to Koszegi. For a $375 entry fee (that includes your hotels for three nights), it’s also a bargain. Ellison is a former ConAir pilot who maintains a summer residence at Sproat Lake.

“He’s flown all over the world. I figured he’d make a great navigator for a wing-it sort of rally,” Koszegi said. “It’s not a race. It’s a loose, European-style road rally. It’s completely informal – sort of, ‘See you when you get there’. This event is like motivation to get up off the couch and get your car ready to go.”

While Koszegi’s Porsche has now become the poster car on the Spring Thaw website (www.touringadventure.com), there were plenty of classics among the 40 entrants.

“An Aston-Martin, Minis, VWs, Porsches. There was a very cool (and extremely rare) Renault-Gordini and a Saab Monte Carlo – three cylinder/two-stroke  – BMWs, and even a Hudson Hornet,” Koszegi said.

The rally took place on all-secondary highways, starting with the Duffy Lake Road out of Squamish. Day 1 ended in Merritt, Day 2 at Sun Peaks Resort and Day 3 in Hope.

For those who have followed Koszegi’s racing career, from the Team Duct Tape days on the Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) circuit, to Targa 2007, one has come to expect some hair-raising mechanical adventures. But despite running a 45-year old car, Spring Thaw was relatively uneventful, compared to past events. Well, the mufflers fell off on Day 2.

“We were flying along, and I said, ‘Bob, do you hear that?’ And he said, ‘Don’t worry about it’,” Koszegi said. That exchange took place several times over the next few hours, by which time the partners could no longer hear each other.

“The mufflers had fallen off the header pipe, but because they exit through recesses in the bumper, it was enough to wedge them in place,” he said. They were able to clamp them back onto the header at the next rest stop.

“It’s one thing you remember when you drive these old touring cars – they’re noisy, there’s no power steering. When you start them up, it’s ‘Pump twice, hit the starter and hope for the best’,” Koszegi said. “Bob had a saying for it: ‘Kick the tires and light the fires – let’s get going.’ After Day 2 it was, ‘Let’s turn gas into noise’.”

The order of finish at Spring Thaw is pretty incidental to just getting out and hanging with the car guys, Koszegi said.

“And that includes a lot of couples and even families,” he said. “There was one Mini with a driver, co-driver, wife and child.”

Koszegi and Ellison took home the Spirit of the Thaw trophy, recognizing their efforts to help make the event a success. Other awards included the Iron Butt Trophy, for the entry from furthest away, the Dipstick Award (sort of a Darwin award for the goofiest mishap of the rally) and the Heart of Darkness Award.

“That was for whoever suffered the worst electrical failure during the event,” Koszegi said. “Remember, these are old cars. The Porsche has a six-volt electrical system – it’s super basic. That’s pretty typical”

Koszegi is now hoping to interest other Alberni Valley classic car enthusiasts in taking part in next year’s event.

“This year, they had 40 entries. They’ve set a limit of 50 for next year,” he said. “It would be great to get a group together next year.”

SMorrow@avtimes.net
Link to AVTimes Article