Spending his formative teenage years sitting beside Wairarapa country roads watching race cars go by, Tim knew he was going to go hill climbing. The Datsun bug bit hard, and ignoring the Australian V8 advice of his apprentice mates, it was always going to be the pursuit of light weight and balance, rather than a horsepower chase, that inspired him. Tipping a 240RS over a cliff was a low point in Tim’s motorsport career and after a lot of soul searching it was time to build a sports car. Bucking the trend of big horsepower 4WDs claiming victory, Tim has won the Wellington Hillclimb Championships three times.

Tim Sillay - 1993 Mallock Mark 31

Spending his formative teenage years sitting beside Wairarapa country roads watching race cars go by, Tim knew he was going to go hill climbing. The Datsun bug bit hard, and ignoring the Australian V8 advice of his apprentice mates, it was always going to be the pursuit of light weight and balance, rather than a horsepower chase, that inspired him. Tipping a 240RS over a cliff was a low point in Tim’s motorsport career and after a lot of soul searching it was time to build a sports car. Bucking the trend of big horsepower 4WDs claiming victory, Tim has won the Wellington Hillclimb Championships three times.

1993 Mallock Mark 31:

Scratch-built in a Wellington shed over two years, this is a copy of the last of the front-engined Mallocks. Clubmans sports cars are front-engined – requiring a triumph of packaging to get the driver, the engine and a decent floor (that supports some aero) in between the wheels. Using the unusual choice of an old Nissan FJ20, this homebuilt special can hold its own on the circuits against the Radicals, Junos and more modern rear-engined cars. It has won the Wellington Hill Climb Champs twice, competing in the outright ‘unlimited’ class.