Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 120 i Australian Muscle Car

I’d just turned eight when the 1970 Bathurst 500 was held. I remember it well. I was already a fully formed car and car racing nut, and already in my tiny mind there was an awareness that the Bathurst 500 in October was a very big deal, the most important day of the year – even more important than Christmas Day. I was a Holden fan (because, as was the way of things back then, our family car was a Holden, a HK Kingswood wagon), and so naturally I had a soft spot for the Torana GTR XU-1. Even half a century later the LC model XU-1 is still my favourite all-time Australian muscle car – narrowly ahead of the LJ. The LC gets the nod for me because it…

Owners of V8 manual Commodores and HSVs from the VT2 series up till VZ now have the opportunity to upgrade from their original T-56 TREMEC six-speed transmissions to a new version of the superior, later-spec Magnum six-speed. Australian TREMEC specialists Mal Wood Automotive now offers the new TREMEC Magnum -F™ six-speed transmission – effectively a TR-6060 Magnum six-speed (released here on VE series Commodores in 2009) – which has been designed to replace the T56 as fitted to pre-VE, LS1 5.7-litre V8 Commodores and HSVs. The ability to retrofit the newer Magnum to earlier-model Holdens provides the solution to the shrinking pool of quality T-56 replacement parts (for a gearbox model series that’s now 30 years old), as well improving performance. And for those with supercharged or modified LS1s, the…

Ever wondered how the famous Hollywood-style MOUNT PANORAMA sign on the side of the mountain Bathurst came about? The idea was the brainchild of local real estate agent, John Ireland. He and business partner John Nicoll (of Nicoll and Ireland Real Estate) originally tried plastic sheeting (Fortocon) laid out on the side of the mountain to form the lettering. Working from the Mapping Authority on top of the hill in Panorama Avenue, they instructed people on the ground where to position the lettering. Once they were satisfied the lettering was properly positioned (so the sign could be legible in the distance), the plastic sheeting was pegged in, in preparation for painting. As estate agents, Nicoll and Ireland knew which of the various local painters to approach for their volunteer labour,…

Issue #117’s story on the General Motors South Africa-assembled HG-based Chevrolet SS featured a Lina Mint-coloured coupe ‘repatriated’ to Australia by Kim Burt of Vintage Motors Australia. It’s one of about 50 ‘Monaros’ he’s loaded into containers sent back to Oz. The Melbournian inadvertently found himself in the business of ‘big game’ car-hunting in the 1990s. He married a South African-born lass and during the couple’s regular trips back to her homeland to visit family, found himself ‘virtually tripping over’ familiar-looking Chevs from the late sixties or early seventies mildly restyled by GM for African tastes. These were either assembled in Port Elizabeth from Aussie-manufactured CKD kits or fully imported. The Holden Brougham became the Chevrolet Constantia, the Monaro was rebadged as a SS, the Kingswood the Kommando and the…

The expansion of both Hare & Forbes and Brad Jones Racing have remarkable synergies. The stockist and suppliers of machine tools, sheet metal and fabrication equipment, H&F cater to all machinery needs and is one of the largest in Australia. The head office is located in Sydney with supply branches in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. BJR Beginnings BJR was started by brothers Bradley and Kim Jones and participated in several categories before joining the Supercars Championship in 2000. It went from a two-man operation running a Formula Ford to Series Production, AUSCAR, NASCAR and Super Touring to a team building and racing four Supercars plus several covering Super2 and Super3. Family Business Both businesses are very much family-oriented and that has been the foundation of this very close relationship that…

Todd Martin today runs a business called Muscle Car Events. Among the recent events Todd’s company staged was last year’s hugely successful 40th anniversary Repco Round Australia Trial re-run. A similar event is planned for 2022, but for Toranas – in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Peter Brock’s ’72 Bathurst 500 win in an LJ model GTR XU-1. But all of this started with Todd’s purchase of the ex-HDT Brock LC XU-1. “When I realised what the car was, it was the catalyst for me getting involved in events. I did the first ‘XU-1s on the Mountain’ event at Bathurst in 2002. The plan was to get as many XU-1 road cars and ex-race cars together at Bathurst over the weekend of that year’s Great Race I’d hoped for…

Ron Gillard shared an XU-1 with Warren Gracie to 10th place at Bathurst in 1970. Theirs was a low-budget effort, and one which highlighted just how good the XU-1 package was, as Gillard explains: “All we did was put a roll cage in it, and I blueprinted the motor. I got a little bit more out of the engine by fiddling with the oil pressure and the lifters – because nobody understood hydraulic lifters back then, and they weren’t a problem anyway as long as you didn’t rev them too hard. Heasman set up the suspension; we bought three more wheels, because there was five with the car, eight Michelin road tyres, and went to Bathurst. “With the fuel tank, basically one GTR tank on top of the other, we…

The first actual (if unofficial) Holden factory motor racing start was at Bathurst in 1968. But David McKay’s Holden Dealers Racing Team was such bare bones affair that the real beginning might be better accepted as the debut of Firth’s HDT, which was at Sandown in September the following year. Either way, it was rather a long time coming. Because as John Bagshaw explained in AMC issue #29, Holden had been under pressure from some of its biggest dealers (such as Reg Hunt and Bill Patterson) since the beginning of the decade to get involved in racing. “It almost went back to the Coad brothers who won the first Armstrong 500 (at Phillip Island in 1960) in a Vauxhall Cresta,” Bagshaw said. It’s been widely speculated over the years that…

Holden’s motorsport involvement ends this year. Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander brought things to a close in style with a Bathurst 1000 win, even if neither van Gisbergen nor Red Bull HRT team-mate Jamie Whincup was able to prevent a Scott McLaughlin Ford hattrick in the Australian Touring Car Championship. Had Whincup got up in the series, it would have been really something: a record eighth title for himself, and Holden’s 22nd and final ATCC. But it still wouldn’t have been as special as the first Holden ATCC victory. Sometimes you just can’t beat the original. It’s certainly true in this case, because when it comes to Holdens in the ATCC Norm Beechey’s Monaro HT GTS 350 stands above all others. It was the first of many but it…

Whilst F5000 in Australia may have been in the doldrums, Formula 2 was a different story with shirtmaker Van Huesen offering $50,000 prizemoney for the 1974 series. This was an unprecedented amount and top drivers and cars came out of the woodwork to enter, Muir included. He sniffed out a bargain Elfin 622 but the deal collapsed. Instead he entered his old Rennmax BN2 that he raced at the Singapore GP for the Hume Weir round. It was hopelessly uncompetitive but at Oran Park he leased Terry Quartly’s new Rennmax BN6 (inset right) with an old engine and finished a strong third. “That engine only had about 150hp when the opposition had 190hp,” he recalls. “If I had a competitive engine I would have won that race as the Rennmax…

The whole future of my race team was under a cloud by the time we got to the 1995 endurance races. It had been clear for some time that cigarette sponsorship would be banned at the end of the year, but we knew Philip Morris was working on a way to continue. They couldn’t sponsor anything else and were keen to retain a presence in V8 racing, even if they couldn’t use their branding. While that had given me confidence about the future, much had changed in the company. The good people we had dealt with for years, including Ken Potter, were no longer involved and in June 1995 I was presented with a contract that was clearly unworkable. No one could run a two-car race team for the amount…

The Lister sports cars grew out of a family wrought iron gate and fencing business in Cambridge, England. It was a family business, but one member – son Brian – was more interested in motor racing than garden architecture, and from that background he developed one of the 1950s’ great kit sports cars. His first effort, known as the Asteroid, was powered by a JAP motorcycle engine but while quick it was also temperamental and it wasn’t until Lister met Scottish driver Archie Scott Brown in 1953 that things started to go right for the brand. Scott Brown had overcome severe physical handicaps to become a racing driver, having just one arm and two badly deformed feet, but his precise sense of balance was expressed in a great feel for…

The last Group C Torana built during Harry Firth’s reign at the Holden Dealer Team has sold at auction for $910,000. While the hefty sale price makes it one of the most expensive Holdens to ever change hands, it fell short of expectations that the car would top $1m. Auctioneer Lloyds even speculated that such a significant and rare racing Torana A9X might attract as much as $2m. According to Lloyds Auctions chief operations officer Lee Hames, the car was purchased by a ‘passionate Australian collector, who wishes to remain anonymous. It is said that under its new ownership the racing A9X will remain in Australia. The car is the first Torana A9X Hatchback built by the HDT. It was debuted by John Harvey in the ’77 Sandown 400, before…

Australian motor racing great John Harvey has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Harvey’s family shared this news of his condition on social media. The message read: “It’s with great sadness our family would like to share the news that our wonderful father John has recently been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. “Together as a family we are by his side, helping him remain as comfortable as possible. “Unfortunately this is not a race he can win but as usual he shows the dignity and strength that he’s known for. “Our darling dad has the love of his family around him and always remains the gentleman. “Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you from Beverley, Donna Harvey, Lyndall Blackmore, Gavin Harvey, and all the family.” Harvey won…

Two big announcements in 2020 – that of Holden’s demise and Supercars outlining the framework for its Gen3 technical rules – left many fans pondering which marques will contest the championship from 2022. These developments also had AMC considering which manufacturers, if any, might step up to the plate at the prospect of Bathurst 1000 success. After all, that’s a marketing opportunity not to be sniffed at. We already know Chevrolet Camaros will populate the October classic’s grid, after Supercars announced it had successfully obtained the rights from GM to produce and race facsimiles of the legendary Chevy coupe. Thus, we’ll see the first Chevs in the race since 1984, when ex-Nine Sports and Barbecues Galore Camaros last fronted. And Mustangs are a given, whether they enjoy factory support from…

After the HDT cars suffered valve train issues it was left to privateer Don Holland to lead the XU-1 charge. The Sydney ace went on to finish a gallant third – and not all that far behind the two works Fords, either. In fact, Holland believes he could have won the race, had it not been for a freight mix up with the Dunlop racing tyres he’d ordered (the tyres arrived in Australia the following week). Holland did have one set of those Dunlops, which he saved for the last stint – and suddenly the car was three seconds a lap faster. With that kind of gain across the entire 500 miles, things indeed might have been very different had Don’s Dunlops got here in an aircraft rather than a…

The ultimate pivot Pivot is such a buzz word in the modern world, especially after events of 2020. Rewind 50 years and there’s no better example of a motoring pivot than when Holden moved from the big, brutish GTS Monaros to small, nimble Toranas. The revolutionary move was as successful as it was unexpected. A real muscle car The original 186ci (3.0-litre) LC Torana GTR XU-1 changed the face of domestic motoring and motorsport by shoe-horning the engine from a large car into the body of a small one. In doing so, Holden created a car which was the very essence of the ‘muscle car’. Don’t mention the (on-track) war Typically, the GM-H press release issued at the car’s launch made no mention of the words ‘racing’ or ‘Bathurst’. Instead…

Christmas 1999 was not a time of great cheer at Ford’s Australian outpost. As the new millennium approached the convex and confusingly shaped AU Falcon was being eviscerated in the sales race by the Holden Commodore VT. What had launched in September 1998 as the blue oval’s brave pitch to a new generation of large sedan buyers instead was turning the balance sheet red. No-one recognised the threat more than a big bear of a bloke from Benalla called Trevor Worthington. A Ford man since the mid-1980s after graduating with an aeronautical engineering degree from RMIT, Worthington had spent years at Ford’s product development centres at Broadmeadows, Geelong and the You Yangs learning his trade on everything from the Capri convertible to heavy trucks and, of course, Falcon. His talent…

Missing XAmple The XA Falcon has been something of an enigma amongst muscle car fans. Unloved for many years, it was always considered the ugly step-sister in the GT family. But the desirability of the RPO83 mechanicals, and its perfect record of Bathurst starts and wins, has done a lot to improve its image. I owned an XA GT lookalike Hardtop back in my youth, so I have a soft spot for them. The recent arrival of the Scalextric Moffat Phase I GT-HO highlighted to me that the XA Hardtop GT was missing from my slot car collection. Scalextric hasn’t made an XA yet, and it remains to be seen whether it will make a mould for the 1973 and ‘74 Bathurst winners. Rather than wait to see what they…

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…

While rummaging through the AMC photo archives, an unfamiliar sponsor’s logo on the side of Allan Moffat’s Boss Mustang 302 at the Easter 1970 Bathurst meeting caught our eye. Sterling. We remembered Sterling as a fag brand some years ago, but the chequered flag logo seemed to suggest that this wasn’t a pre-Camel Filters/Peter Stuyvesant Moffat tobacco sponsorship deal. As the trackside Sterling banner and the magazine ad shows, Sterling in this case was a kind of motor sporting fashion label, selling ‘Sterling’ branded driving jackets – available in Capri Red, Monaro Blue and Porsche Black – and chalk-stripe wool ‘GT’ flaired slacks. And as the full page magazine ad shows, with every Sterling garment purchased came a free Sterling GT badge for your car! The ad goes on to…

The new Gold Coast Motor Museum at Upper Coomera was chosen by the local Legends’ Coffee Club for a ‘surprise’ nostalgic 90th birthday celebration for John French. The guest of honour needed no introduction to around 100 friends and motorsport personalities from all circles of racing, including his old mate and 1980 Bathurst 1000 co-winner Dick Johnson. Sadly, because of COVID-19 restrictions, French’s southern motoring friends couldn’t attend this private function which also doubled as the annual Legends’ reunion. Along with traditional birthday celebrations, including calls from Allan Moffatt and Fred Gibson (naming but a few), invited guests were treated to a tour of the museum, proudly owned by motoring enthusiasts, brothers Grant and Carl Amor. Around 70 collectables, (from a T-Model Ford to Ferraris), bikes, and associated memorabilia are…

Tasman memories Reading Steve Normoyle’s article about Warwick Brown dredged up one of the more vivid memories I have of being a spectator at motor racing events in my younger days. Back in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, I was part of a small group of motor racing fans that went to most meetings at Calder and Sandown. Every year we tried to do the Melbourne and Adelaide rounds of the Tasman Cup and the South Pacific Touring Car Series. At Sandown, our preferred viewing area was on the fence at Lukey Heights, later to become Marlboro Country. Arrive when the gates opened, haul eskys and rugs to the fence. Then, settle down for a small nap to make up for the early morning start driving down from Central…

It all started because Todd Martin wanted a genuine Torana GTR XU-1. It was back in the mid-1990s, and Todd didn’t have a lot of money, so he didn’t have a lot of options. Even that long ago, prices for solid, original XU-1s were beginning to get up there, and so the best example he found that he could actually afford was a tired old thing in fairly dire need of a thorough restoration. But Todd’s pecuniary limitations ended up resulting in an inadvertent windfall. Because the battered exterior of this yellow Torana, weathered by years spent lying dormant in paddocks and sheds, hid a secret. This was not just any LC model Torana XU-1 – this was an XU-1 with a rather special provenance. Of course, uncovering the secret…

When the Torana LC GTR XU-1 first broke cover in August of 1970, no one saw it coming. It was a surprise to the motoring public and much of the motoring media alike. The first mention of it in Wheels magazine was in that year’s August issue, the mag reporting that Holden was building a ‘tri-carb Torana GTR’ for Bathurst. In the previous month’s issue, editor James Laing-Peach clearly had no knowledge of the car about to be released as the GTR XU-1; he made no mention of it at all in a preview of contenders for the Bathurst 500. But then why in 1970 would anyone have expected such a car as the XU-1? Holden was still riding high on the sales and racing success of the Monaro. The…

A bizarre side effect of the early ‘70s Series Production arms race between Holden, Ford and Chrysler was the phenomenon of the big fuel tank. Ford started it with the GT-HO’s huge 36-gallon (we’re talking 164 litres – that’d be around $250 to fill your Phase II at the bowser today!) and Holden responded with the XU-1’s 17-gallon (77 litres) tank. That might be half the size of the Falcon’s tank but bear in mind the VF model Commodore’s tank only holds 71 litres. A 77-litre fuel tank in a small road car weighing little more than 1000kg is simply absurd. Colin Bond has an interesting take on that big tank trend. The former Holden Dealer Team star reckons that had the regulators imposed limits on tank sizes, Series Production…

I’m standing at Skyline at the top of Mount Panorama, a few metres back from the iconic white control tower/commentrary building. From my vantage point I’ve got a perfect view of the track all the way back around to the approach to McPhillamy Park. That’s because there is no else one here. Apart from a handful of police and security guards, the trackside flag marshals and TV camera operators, I’m pretty much the only one up here. It’s a peacefully quiet Sunday morning. You can hear magpies singing in the trees. The only hint that the 2020 Bathurst 1000 is about to start is the faint sound of V8 racing engines you can hear down in the valley, where the cars are lining up on the grid. And it is…

The birth of Group C Sun and fun in the South Pacific The grandly named South Pacific Touring Car Championship in the early and mid-1970s was really anything but grand. It was restricted to one part of the South Pacific, namely Australia, and wasn’t even a top-billing series, being instead part of the support category card for the four Australian rounds of the Tasman Cup Formula 5000 series. But the 1973 edition was notable in that it featured the first racing appearance of the new Group C category. Peter Brock in his HDT Torana LJ XU-1 was winner of the first round at Surfers Paradise, where John Goss gave the new XA Falcon GT Hardtop model its race debut. It was not an auspicious beginning, with Goss blowing not one…

The wheelstander is a purely drag racing invention: a vehicle artificially enhanced to hoist its front wheels clear of the track and carry them at maximum height for the full length of the strip. It was a concept accidentally discovered by American racer Bill Shrewsberry in 1965 and was for a decade so popular that there were dozens of these cars all over the world ripping up and down race tracks on two wheels, wowing spectators and providing a new level of commercial attraction for track promoters. In Australia it’s hardly seen any more. But it does have a rich history, founded here principally by Shrewsberry and Sydney driver, Neville Alder. It began in Australia in 1965 when Victorian George Stewart lightened the front end of his “Draggin Wagen” VW…

Barry Fennell Another view of the famous opening lap Bathurst crash in 1969 from Barry Fennell. The race continues, almost as normal, as marshalls work to clear the debris and wrecked cars from the track. Check out the size of the crowd - the top of the Mountain was as packed with fans that year as we can remember seeing in any era. Remember that this was only the seventh year of the Bathurst 500, and the Holden vs Ford battle that’s so synonymous with the race was only in its second year. Anthony Sendon Tony Sendon has sent in some ‘70s drag racing shots from the Sunshine State. They’re from Amberley (in 1973) and Surfers Paradise, showing Victorian visitor Ron Harrop and his famous Humpy with Holden six power,…

Holden HJ GTS Monaro Coupe in Absinth Yellow Another Monaro from Classic Carlectables and another great-looking ‘must have’ for Holden fanciers. This 1:18 scale model is limited to just over 600 units, so you might want to be quick. The interior features high backed two-toned seats. The seat belts are fabric with individual buckles for that realistic appearance. Boot includes spare wheel with retaining wing nut, jack and tyre lever. GTS wheel rims are an outstanding feature on this model, note the retaining nut on spare wheel. Detailed engine and surrounding bay that looks just as good as the original. Note the decal on the air filter. The chassis has great detail. Sump and under engine look the part, even working suspension. Press a button on the chassis to assist…