Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 95 i Australian Muscle Car

Avery different issue this time around, as we dedicate some 30 pages to the most muscular and innovative motor racing series of all time – Can-Am! This was where, between 1966 and 1974, ground-breaking open sports racers were fitted with the biggest bloody production-based engines possible. The magazine publishing game, even for a retro-focused mag like AMC, is all about identifying trends and catering to what’s popular or quickly gaining traction within the title’s genre. So it’s my job to keep an eye on what’s ‘turning on’ readers and potential readers alike. And the Can-Am era has been looming ever larger on my radar – with US, British and European magazines all dishing up content at unprecedented levels in recent years. Now it’s AMC’s turn to jump on the big…

Holden has announced a third variant for the 2018 NG Commodore range, which goes on sale early next year. A light off-roading Tourer version built around the wagon body, with raised ground clearance and mode-selectable all-wheel-drive will be offered alongside the Commodore sedan and Sportwagon. An extra 20mm of ground clearance with a skid plate and protective body cladding form the basis of a Tourer, which recalls the VZ Commodore-based early noughties Holden Adventra crossover. The AWD system, which can send a high proportion of drive to individual wheels, provides driver selectable modes, including a ‘sports’ setting that also introduces specific steering and transmission calibrations. The model should give Holden an ace in an SUV-focussed market, alongside the traditional sedan and wagon variants. Meanwhile, as the Commodore’s Opel Insignia basis…

Jimmy Stone is best known to AMC readers as the co-principal of Stone Brothers Racing through its 15 years of operation, 1998 to 2012. SBR was the outfit that returned the Blue Oval to the top of local tin-top racing in the noughties. Its three successive V8 Supercar titles, 2003-2005, for Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall, were built upon the engineering genius of the elder Stone brother. Younger brother Ross was SBR’s operational and commercial chief, as well as filling the role as frontman to the eternal gratitude of Jimmy, who prefers to keep a low profile. Jimmy was a 22-year-old F3 race mechanic when he landed a job working for his idol Bruce McLaren in the late 1960s. He then spent four full seasons as an integral part of…

At first glance, this looks like a pretty standard, run of the mill 1973 VJ Chrysler Valiant Charger XL. Looks can be deceiving... The XL model was one step up from the bargain base Charger; its equivalent sedan was the Valiant Ranger XL. The Charger XL was most commonly optioned with either the 245ci or 265ci hemi six engine, coupled to a three-speed auto or four-speed manual transmission. Honest performers in their day but hardly what you’d describe as supercars. Yet anyone piloting a Falcon GT-HO was in for a rude shock if they took on this particular Charger X! The only exterior features indicating this is no ordinary Charger XL are the ROH alloy wheels, small ‘Six Pack’ badges on the front guards and dual exhausts. But opening the…

The history of Tickford in Australia is a little bit like Halley’s Comet – it appeared with a flourish, shone brightly for quite some time and then faded almost into oblivion. And now, after disappearing from view for a considerable period, the Tickford name is back in orbit. But unlike the famous comet, it hasn’t taken 76 years to return again. With Prodrive Racing Australia, the outfit that fields four FG X Falcons in the 2017 Supercars Championship, reviving the name and ‘T-wings’ branding for the company’s drive into vehicle enhancement, it’s timely we review Tickford’s first appearance in this country. First time around it was a fun ride for Tickford, the Ford Motor Company of Australia and the thousands of Ford enthusiasts around the country. You could say it…

The announcement that the two manufacturers’ drag racing tournaments would be combined to distil the utter champions from among each brand now seems an inevitable development, but it made for major headlines in the sport in 1971. And it wasn’t just a change in the nature of the opposition among the competitors. One of the most notable aspects at the first and subsequent Ford vs Holden events was the vocal involvement of the crowd. At most events the fans watched in rapt attention, but at a Ford versus Holden contest they’d be shouting and cheering as their chosen heroes did burnouts or came into stage, and there would be a huge roar with each win light and a groan from the loser’s camp. The initial categorisation of vehicles followed the…

1968 Holden HK Monaro GTS 327 – Inca Gold with Parchment interior Due by a stunning Inca Gold-coloured 1968 Holden Monaro GTS 327 in 1:18 scale. The GTS 327 is the model, in 1:1 scale, that has posted some incredible auction results of late, but you can order an affordable version now from Biante stockists or by visiting www.biante.com.au. It has a recommended retail price of $250.00. Images are of prototype sample and not necessarily indicative of production models. More info at the Biante website. FPV BF GT-P – Mercury Silver FPV BF GT – Toxic Green Biante is catering for Blue Oval fans of FPV mid-noughties muscle via a pair of 1:18 models: a BF GT-P in Mercury Silver and a BF GT in Toxic Green. Both have a…

“Celebrating our performance heritage” Heritage Touring Cars will again headline the Muscle Car Masters. It will be the 13th consecutive year the actual Group C/A machines that tore up tracks like Bathurst between 1973 and 1992 will hit Sydney Motorsport Park for the Masters. HTC is one of six categories now confirmed for Masters weekend, October 29-30. The full line-up is: Heritage Touring Cars (Group C/A) Historic Touring Cars to 1964 (Group Nb) Historic Touring Cars 1965-72 (Group Nc) Sports Sedans (National level) Kumho V8 Touring Cars (superseded V Supercars) 6-Hours of Sydney (production cars and production sportscars) Master Blasts demos (for historically significant racecars) Other track sessions will be confirmed in the coming months. Every year we dip our lids to a handful of muscle car milestones – the…

One of the glamour cars of Australia’s long and illustrious Sports Sedan history is back in Australia. The Peter Fowler-built Mercedes-Chev that wowed fans in the early 1980s in the hands of John Bowe, Brad Jones and Bryan Thomson was returned to Australia in early 2017 after spending most of its life in New Zealand. New owner Simon Pfitzner purchased the car from Roger Williams in time for it to run at Mallala’s Historic meeting over the ANZAC long weekend. The beast looked and sounded superb upon its Aussie track return. It sported a six-litre Chev engine at Mallala rather than the twin-turbo it had under its Teutonic skin when it helped Thomson clinch the 1985 Australian GT Championship. Pfitzner, a leading figure on the Historic Sports Sedan scene, plans…

Readers: Alf Kuffel (and son Jay) Car: 1970 XW Falcon GT-HO Phase II Hometown: Sydney’s Northern Beaches. What is it? “My muscle car is a September 1970-built XW GT-HO Phase II painted in the hero colour of Brambles Red with contrasting saddle trim – the chosen war paint of the Ford ‘works’ team from the heady days of series production car racing. It is the only Phase II built in this combination which makes this car a one-off example. Over the years I have owned the car, I have put my own stamp on it having attended to almost all facets of the car from stroking the motor from the stock 351ci to a very healthy 408ci; installed a 3.25 LSD diff with custom billet axles; significantly re-worked the suspension…

In 1967 Peter Mabey was a young apprentice mechanic. He had only been with Matich a short time. He had previously worked for a BMC dealer in Sydney, but left because he felt they had been exploiting him. “I could do a complete Mini gearbox overhaul in four hours,” he says, “so that’s what they had me doing all day. It was like a production line. I wasn’t learning about anything else, because they were using me to make money on gearbox rebuilds.” If Mabey was looking for an employer who might offer a wider range of work experiences, then he had come to the right place when he knocked on the door at Matich’s Castle Cove service station... Q&A AMC: The car didn’t finish any of the…

McLaren M8E Duncan Mackellar Queenslander Duncan Mackellar has owned the ex-Roy Woods Racing machine for five years and like most owners is smitten with the thundering beasts. “They were really the only class with unlimited rules. It was also a really cool period in history with things like the moon landing and the Concorde being built which we won`t see again. My car is chassis 10 of the approximately 18 customer cars built under licence by Trojan in the UK. In 1971 Sam Posey and Vic Elford drove it and gained a few podiums. I’m a Porsche fan so the Elford link is cool too. My engineer Barry Lock was with McLaren from 1968-’74 (see separate story). How we came to know each other is a good story: We were…

Paul Watkins Paul set up the ‘Lost Toowoomba Showgrounds Speedway’ page on Facebook and sent us these images after noting Toowoomba was not included in our Sacred Sites special a few issues back. There’s a simple reason for this: we had no images of the Darling Downs venue. Now, thanks to Paul, we do. “I loved the article on defunct speedways in issue #92 and was looking forward to issue #93,” Paul says. “I was a little disappointed to see that the old Toowoomba Showgrounds did not get a mention. It was one of the major speedways in the last century, operating from 1926 (bikes) and through the 1950s (stockcars era) and then the 1960s to 1980s with Saloon Cars.” Paul raced an orange and black FJ at the Queensland…

Falcon EB GT The 1992 EB GT celebrated the 25th anniversary of 1967’s original GT with 265 produced. The body was adorned by a full kit, the most notable styling feature being the deep front spoiler, bonnet air vent over the carburettor together with ‘barnacle’ events either side to help expel under-bonnet air, wide boot lid spoiler at the back and unique-to-the-GT five-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels. Plus the badges, of course. Power came from a 200kW version of the Windsor V8, with the drivetrain being predominantly standard XR8. It would dash from 0-100km/h in 7.57 seconds, cover 400 metres in 15.48 seconds and could run to 222km/h. Falcon EL GT Where EB was perhaps a little tame, the 1997 EL was in-your-face with aggressive styling by Steve Park. Most notable…

“Two sq-sq-squirts and a w-w-w-wiggle” was how five-time Australian touring car champion Pete Geoghegan described the simple layout of the circuit then called Calder Raceway. It was clearly a less than flattering but nevertheless accurate summation of the little track that served Melbourne motorsport well for many years in its original form. Like the man who dominated the venue both on and off track for half a century, Bob Jane, Calder was uncomplicated, pugnacious and unpredictable. Sometimes it could be as cold as its name suggested and at others as hot as Hell itself. With laps times of well below a minute, even in a Formula Vee, and with only four corners joined by a couple of medium-length straights, Calder provided plenty of action for the fans, who had a…

Some muscle cars are bought by loving owners who pamper them like members of the family. Other muscle cars, though, aren’t so lucky. Some get stolen, smashed or thrashed. Some get parked and lost under a layer of dust in an old shed, others get left outside to brave the elements and slowly rust away. Sad, but true. We eyeball plenty of beautifully maintained and/or fully restored muscle classics in AMC, but as serious car pervs we have to admit there’s few things more intriguing – or exciting – than spotting an old classic in a paddock, or a shed, or under a shady tree, that’s seen better days and in need of some TLC. Some are beyond saving, but they all have a story to tell. So, get out…

Plans by Ford to offer a factory fast Roush supercharged Mustang have failed to meet with ADR approval, providing a ready-made niche for a growing aftermarket Mustang tuner base. One of those is former Ford Australia hi-po division Tickford, which last fettled Falcons in 2001. The Campbellfield, Victoria outfit returned in 2016 under the ownership of Prodrive Racing Australia and offers a pair of power-up packs, with a third in the works. There’s the 270 Power Pack, which takes to the EcoBoost four-cylinder with engine computer, intake and exhaust modifications to free kilowatts to the tune of a 270kW total. The 360 Power Pack applies the same thinking to the V8 Mustang GT to deliver a 360kW peak and 585Nm. An as yet unreleased ultimate, supercharged package will likely be…

First there was Bush Mechanics the television series; now there’s Bush Mechanics the museum exhibition. The popular and quirky TV show, which first aired on the ABC in 2001, presented an Indigenous Australian take on motor mechanics. It was made by Aboriginal media company PAW Media and directed by David Batty. The five episodes centred on the left-field repair techniques of the show’s stars as they traversed outback areas in their dilapidated cars. These solutions were often humorous, always inventive, sometimes wacky and repeatedly unpredictable. A good example was the episode where a stationwagon’s roof collapsed under the weight of a band’s equipment. Unfazed, the occupants removed the roof with an axe, flipped it over, loaded their gear on it and tied it to the back of the car as…

Perth was the place to be over the Easter long weekend for Blue Oval faithful as the Falcon GT Club of Western Australia hosted the 17th Falcon GT Nationals. Overall, 140 cars were entered, with entrants coming from all over Australia, including a group from North Queensland, who drove all the way. Although numbers were down a little, compared to events held in the Eastern States, the quality was still high, with a number of rare and unusual GTs and GT-HOs being presented. As usual, scrutineering and pre-judging kicked off proceedings on Thursday and Good Friday, with the ‘Show and Shine’ being held on Easter Saturday. Unfortunately, due to high cost of hiring Barbagallo Raceway, there was no on-track activities this year, however most agreed that the Sunday cruise to…

“The SR3 was such a good handling car, so simple to drive. It didn’t have any vices.”- Frank Matich The Can-Am series was only one year old in 1967. But even at that early stage it was already fully formed as a no-holds-barred powerhouse of big-banger sports car racing. At the same time in far-away Australia, there was a big-banger Can-Am style sports car also already fully formed. Frank Matich’s Traco-Oldsmobile V8 was already up and running by the time the Can-Am kicked into gear, and its replacement, the Matich SR3, was just the type of machine for the new North American sports car series. The elements were there for a potentially successful Australian assault on the Canadian-American Challenge Cup to give the series its full name. Matich in the…

The sustained success of New Zealanders in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup is in stark contrast to the haphazard and poorly rewarded involvement of Australia’s leading drivers in the famed series. While Denny Hulme and Bruce McLaren were Can-Am’s only two multiple series champions, it wasn’t until the final appearance of an Aussie in the series that a driver from New Zealand’s great sporting rival even managed to finish on the podium. That was Jack Brabham in Texas in November 1969, the second of his two outings in the series for Ford. Prior to this was a string of frustrating and eventful outings for the four Australians credited with a Can-Am start: Brabham, Frank Gardner, Frank Matich and Paul Hawkins. It was the latter who got things rolling – quite literally…

As we head towards our landmark 100th issue, to be published in February 2018, we’re digging out some ‘Kodak’ moments from the archives of the mag’s early days. Here’s an image, which ended up on the cutting room floor back in 2002, from issue #3. It was taken just outside ‘Jeff’s Shed’, the former commercial chook shed (pictured right) in Queensland that houses Jeff Bloom’s extensive collection of Aussie muscle cars. Jeff, we’d love to revisit, presuming we’re invited back?…

Body number VJ7D29 1281 VJ VJ series Chrysler 7 265 Manual transmission D Deluxe price class – Charger XL 29 Charger 1281 VJ Charger XL build number 1281 SOA 394 Special order accepted number 394 Engine number D364D 00004 D Australian built Hemi Six 3 265 – cubic inch 6 Competition Six Pack (E38,E49) 4 Four –speed manual transmission D 1973 00004 Engine serial number Option codes E49* 265 Six Pack competition engine 302bhp D20 Four speed manual transmission A54 Sports pack A74 Protection pack A97 Convenience pack B51 Power brake booster D74 3.72 heavy duty limit slip diff G25** Front door vent windows T15 ER70 H14 radial tyres W35 ROH cast alloy wheels Z15*** Delete three-spoke steering wheel YJ Sunfire yellow L1 Parchment trim Build date 28 November 1973…

Slotworx and the Aussie V8s F or slot-racers, one of the unfortunate byproducts of living down under is that we are a rather small and far-away segment of the hobby market. Of all the commercial manufacturing companies, only Scalextric has blessed us with a consistent collection of Australian models. While Scalextric offers a good range of Australian touring cars from over the years, sadly Supercars are no longer in the range. However, one industrious Aussie has more than stepped in to fill the gap. Wollongong’s Cameron Neilson is now the producer of the Slotworx range of Aussie V8s in 1:24 and 1:32 scale. Slotworx products not only look the part, but feature a high quality metal chassis designed for club racing without becoming too complex for the novice racer. Complexity…

Tracking down the US Matich Tracing racecar lineage can be baffling. Take for instance the history of the Matich SR3s raced in the United States. Two are known to have returned to Australia, while the location of the third, which was long thought to have remained in the US of A, had been a mystery. Until now. Excitingly, we can confirm that the Australian-built, V8-powered sportscar in question does indeed live on stateside and we’ve uncovered its chain of ownership. Our story begins in the Northern California community of Mill Valley, near San Francisco, where Marvin Webster owned Webster Racing Enterprises. In 1967 he added the Aussie-built Matich SR3 to his team and, with constructor Frank Matich behind the wheel, debuted it in Las Vegas in April. The car didn’t…