Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 148 i Australian Muscle Car

Most people think of Bruce McPhee’s 1968 Bathurst win as the starting point of Holden’s long and illustrious racing history. Yes, six-cylinder Holdens were racing years before then (McPhee himself raced them), but ’68 saw the debut of the V8 Monaro coupe, and it was pitted against a direct V8 rival in the XR Falcon GT. Ford vs Holden in a straight fight on the Mountain, for the first time. Game on. And yet… Five years earlier Holden had tried to win the Bathurst race with its then-new 179cid EH model. An improved S4 version was developed especially, a team of Victorian Holden dealer entries was assembled. It was as much a factory racing effort as those within GM-H who wanted to go racing dared to try to get away…

One of AMC’s great laments about modern motor racing (and we don’t think we’re alone), is the ‘cookie-cutter’ nature of the cars. In the pursuit of the Holy Grail of performance parity, the cars in most categories these days are as near mechanically identical as is possible. Our premier ‘touring car’ category is a classic case: the Mustang and Camaro (and soon to be Supra) Supercars are virtually identical apart from their body shapes and engines – and both of those are ‘adjusted’ to ensure no model is faster than the others. It might make for close racing, but it means that ultimately the cars themselves are of little interest – because in their technical/mechanical makeup, and their performance, they’re more or less identical. The only time the specification of…

amceditorial@chevron.com.au | Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards NSW 1590 Was Moffat robbed? The last issue of Australian MUSCLE CAR magazine must rate as one of the best, with a number of great stories on the 1984 James Hardie 1000 and many previously unpublished photos. However, in regards to the podium photo on page 23 was Moffat, as per the caption, ‘musing over the fact that once again his Mazda RX-7 had been “out-homologated” by the HDT’ – was he more likely musing over how on earth did the #25 car, which lost over four minutes (or by other accounts five minutes) in the pits to replace the gear lever, had slower routine stops all day than his car and an extended final stop to add oil actually finish ahead of…

A youthful and healthy 92, he lives in retirement with his wife Margaret in country Victoria, memorabilia on the walls, an MG TF parked in his garage and his memory sharp about automotive events more than 70 years ago. Early days Stan was born in the tiny NSW country town of Yenda near Griffith in the Riverina, but spent much of his life in Sydney. In 1947 he started his mechanical apprenticeship at Hipsleys Ltd, a large engineering business later absorbed into Repco. “There were 27 or 28 apprentices there and we were all interested in motorbikes and motor cars,” recalls Stan. “I didn’t get involved with the bikes, but I did get involved in the cars.” So soon after the war, cars and parts were in short supply, so…

It’s been a fair wait. While the S650 seventh-generation Mustang was rolled out in the States back in mid-2023, new Mustang buyers down here have had to cool their heels for some 18 months. In other words, until now. The 2025MY S650 Mustangs are in Ford dealer showrooms now. The good news is there’s plenty of stock, although not if you’re wanting the new performance flagship Dark Horse model. The 1000 Dark Horses earmarked for Australia are all already accounted for. The S650 is the next-gen Mustang but it’s not all-new. In simple terms, the major points of departure are the body and interior; the drivetrain combinations and much of the mechanicals are carryovers from the S550. Like every generation of Mustang since the original ’64 model (perhaps with the…

Tim Smith started out in motorsport as a teenager in club events. He enjoyed it so much that he decided to try his hand at racing. But his Ford Cortina GT road car wasn’t fit for that sort of purpose, and so he started looking around for something better. “I’d read about Peter Brock racing a Series Production XU-1,” Smith says, “so I thought I’d get one of those. They were pretty quick, and you didn’t need to do much to them. So I bought an XU-1 and started racing it.” It was through racing the XU-1 in Tasmania that Smith came into contact with Brock. At the time, 1970, Brock was in his first season with the Holden Dealer Team. It was obvious even then that Brock was destined…

In the parlance of today, the HK Monaro GTS 327 in 1968 was a ‘game changer’. The first full-sized Holden two-door. The first V8 Holden; a Holden to take on Ford’s ground-breaking Falcon XR/XT GT. With the GTS 327’s arrival, the battle between Ford and Holden at Bathurst was finally joined. For all that, there’d been an earlier high-performance Holden ‘game changer’, years before the big pillarless Monaro coupe. The EH, with its all-new 149 cid (2.4-litre) and 179 (2.9-litre) ‘Red’ six-cylinder engine range, represented a huge step forward in engine design, cubic capacity and power from the old ‘Grey’ six which had served for the 15 years since the original 48-215 model Holden. At the time, 1963, Holden did not compete in motorsport. At least not officially, because racing…

Slot.It Nationals Continuing along with my journey into competitive racing, last month I attended the Slot.It Nationals 2024 meet held at Syndey’s Slot Shop and hosted by Eddie and Maria Palminha. Three racers from my own Illawarra slot group travelled to Sydney to compete, so I went along to cheer them on, and also see how these events roll out. They were joined by 26 other competitors that came from across Australia, with visitors also present from Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. With such an investment in time and effort, it requires a big commitment from all parties to make it a truly national competition. Like any competitive event, strict adherence to a clear set of published rules was essential, and these were published six months in advance to give competitor…

I don’t know if I’m in the minority, but when it comes to XA-B-C I prefer the look of the four-door Falcons. The big coupes’ rear guards – I dunno. Anyway, Classic Carlectables sent us pictures of this sweet XA GT in a lovely shade of gold. There will be just 550 of these available. The detail includes a boot with a finely-moulded soft rubber mat that is removable, along with the jack bag and spare wheel with retaining cover. The interior has the XA sports steering wheel, full dash instrumentation and components, with driver’s and passenger’s side rubber floor mats. The engine and surrounding bay have an outstanding level of detail including accurate graphics. The chassis detail continues with accurate representation of the sump, gearbox, engine underside and exhaust.…

“Are you guys crazy?” It was a question put to Toyota Australia’s Sean Hanley moments after he announced Supras would contest the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026 at the company’s national dealer conference. Make no mistake, Toyota’s announcement was a major moment in the history of Australian motorsport. The question came from a general motoring journalist who was as gob-smacked as every other observer at the shock news. Frankly, it was a fair question. Why had Toyota jumped in now, of all times, with Supercars’ glory days seemingly well behind it? The company had the opportunity to compete when the category was riding high, circa 2009, with bumper crowds, free-to-air television audiences and rights deals, plus new glamour street races. The series had a real buzz about it when it…

Elsewhere in this issue is our feature on the ’64 Australian Touring Car Championship Holden S4s of Brian ‘Yogi’ Muir and ‘Stormin’ Norm Beechey. The latter is an absolute legend of Australian touring car racing, while Muir went on to make a name for himself in British touring car racing, contesting the British Saloon Car Championship in every season from 1966 to ‘82. He never quite cracked it for a title win, but he did finish runner up twice (and claimed two class championship titles). Of course, the British Saloon Car Championship is these days known as the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Earlier this year former AMC editor Luke West attended a BTCC round at Oulton Park (see page 86) during a recent European odyssey. As a proud Aussie,…

Motor racing’s biggest names have helped move a lot of metal over the decades. The list of charismatic characters who played a part in car company marketing efforts is long and distinguished, whether it was through on-track deeds, media appearances or advertising. But just a select few – the most famous, successful and marketable – enjoyed the ultimate honour of having their names slapped on a limited-run road car. Race driver signature specials were mostly the domain of the OEMS and their performance partners. That said, a couple of independent businesses and racing teams also took on the daunting task of producing limited editions marketed around a star steerer. Yet the privateers were rarely successful as these businesses grossly underestimated the sheer magnitude of low volume engineering, production, sales and…

A weekend at the classic natural terrain road circuit in Cheshire took me back to a time when touring car racing down under was booming. As I sat amongst the bumper 25,000-strong crowd, I couldn’t help feel that, if I squinted a little, I could very well have been at a mixture of, say, Oran Park, Lakeside or Phillip Island some 30 years ago. Such was the vibe. OK, Oulton Park was a bit greener, leafier and lacked a V8 soundtrack, but both the atmosphere and race format evoked memories of ATCCs past, with picnicking families everywhere, their cars parked 100m back from the fences. The fact trackside fans got to see three 25-minute sprints on the Sunday (after qualifying Saturday) for the headline act struck the biggest retro chord.…

Versatile workshop Service Tray This handy Service Tray from Hare & Forbes Machinery House can be used standing, seated, or on the ground, allowing you to use the Service Tray for a wide range of tasks. The Service Tool Tray is easy to manoeuvre with a sturdy grab handle and four swiveling caster wheels. The tray is removeable and can be used as a floor tray. The stand can be adjusted to heights between 800mm and 1200mm. Designated screwdriver and socket holders keep your tools where you left them and the two magnetic and three larger non-magnetic compartments keep your parts organised while you work. FEATURES • 725 x 455 x 35mm top tray (LxWxD) • 800-1200mm adjustable tray height • 4 x rubber outer caster wheels (2 x locking)…