Innholdsfortegnelse for #282 19-12 i Just Cars

It’s one of the great “car movies” of all time (VASTLY superior to the 2003 remake) and arguably did more for Mini Cooper sales than anything else that decade, but the 1969 feature film, The Italian Job, wasn’t all about the hot little British cars. The film opens with a Lamborghini Miura negotiating the Great St Bernard Pass (between Switzerland and Italy) at speed, with the vision flicking between external shots of the Miura, the driver (Italian actor Rossano Brazzi) at the wheel and the driver’s view out of the windscreen as the title credits roll. As everyone who’s seen the film knows, that opening ends dramatically when Brazzi’s character enters a tunnel, only to run head-on into a bulldozer, ending him and his Miura in a mafia ‘hit’. Lambo…

In JUST CARS #269, we reported on Travis McKimmie’s Holden HG utility that had been impounded by French Customs due to alleged “secret compartments” in the vehicle to store drugs. Now, more than a year after it was seized at the French port of Calais, Travis has finally got his ute. The back story to this is that Travis, an expat Aussie living in the UK, had seen the HG ute advertised for sale in Holland in March, 2018, and bought it. The ute was freighted to Calais, where Travis had arranged to pick it up and trailer it back home (with a view to using it as his daily driver). However, in a routine border check, French Customs found traces of cannabis in the vehicle. Further inspection uncovered the…

Kia Motors used April’s New York International Auto Show to unveil a new, limited-edition variant of their Stinger performance sedan – the Stinger GTS. While some elements of the upcoming model are the same as the GT version sold in Australia, the GTS gets mechanical and cosmetic parts we don’t, including all-wheel drive and a new ‘drift mode’ that’s available on AWD Stingers sold in the North American market. The GTS will also be released in RWD form. Drivetrain for the Stinger GTS is the familiar 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 used in the Stinger GT sold here, outputting 272kW at 6000rpm and 510Nm at 1300rpm. Transmission is the same 8-speed auto that we get, too. The new all-wheel drive version of the Stinger GTS uses what Kia calls Dynamic AWD (D-AWD).…

FOR SALE The fact that Holden never brought a factory convertible to market didn’t stop individuals from making their own ragtops over the years. Since the very first examples were built in the 1950s, many more have followed, running the gamut from applaudable to deplorable. The unit presented here comes from the better end of that spectrum, as it was built by one of Australia’s best exponents of the craft. BODY BY FISHER Dale Fisher has been one of the best - and certainly the most prodigious - producers of Holden-based convertibles in Australia. In a feature article on Fisher back in 1987, Super Street magazine declared the Sydneysider had built more two- and four-door Holden convertibles than anyone else. Of course, we’re not talking about hundreds here: probably closer…

A 1972 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 soared past its pre-auction estimate to be the top-selling car at Shannons Melbourne Autumn Auction on 29 April. While heritage number plates still dominate in terms of overall sales (including the Vic reg ‘59’ plate that sold for $535,000), most of the car consignments for this auction performed well, with some exceeding pre-auction estimates. The Torana came to the Melbourne auction with No Reserve, but a guiding range of $80,000 - $100,000. What made this particular example unusual was its rare ‘Strike Me Pink’ paint and paperwork showing it to be the first documented LJ-model XU-1 produced at the GM-H Elizabeth plant. Delivered new to Melville Motors in South Australia, the Torana was racing as a Sports Sedan in Western Australia not long…

The National Corvette Museum (NCM) in Bowling Green, Kentucky, recently unveiled a new vehicle in the museum’s display - one with a history that goes back to the earliest days of America’s Sports Car. This past April, a new Gateway exhibit, focusing on the backstory to the Corvette and the inspirations behind its creation, saw an unusual ‘1953’ Corvette take pride of place. What made this particular first-year ‘Vette unusual was that half of the body was removed. Recently built, the aim of the ‘half and half’ car was to be both a teaching aid and a display vehicle – so it was a perfect fit for the NCM. A less obvious feature on the cutaway car was the fact that its chassis was the third built – #003 –…

First loves are always remembered. It’s the same with first cars. Everyone remembers their first wheels, and many of us would love to have them back. Such is the case with Rod Martin, who’s been searching for his first car – a 1961 Ford Zephyr MkII - for more than a decade, but recently upped the ante in his quest. Victorians may have seen Rod’s wanted ads for the Zephyr in the Herald-Sun newspaper earlier this year. When JUST CARS saw the ad, we decided to do our bit to help Rod track down the car. When it left Rod’s hands almost thirty years ago, the Zephyr had been modified in several distinctive ways, so Rod hopes this may make the car memorable. MIXED MARRIAGE Rod purchased the Zephyr in…

Walk in to a new Mitsubishi dealership, walk out with an old Holden. That’s the story of this feature car in a nutshell. Sounds weird, right? Well, that’s because it is! Western Australian couple Peter and Hazel Blake are the proud owners of the car featured here, which was a spur of the moment purchase almost eight years ago that has since become a much-loved vehicle, so much so it even has a pet name - Felix. So, how did Felix become a part of the Blake family? Read on… ACT, BELONG, COMMIT While he doesn’t consider himself a true revhead, Peter does have petrol in his veins. As a youngster, he raced stock cars on both sides of the country, specifically Victoria’s Nyora Speedway and Bibra Lake in WA.…

Shannons’ newest auto-themed competition will see the winner score a trip to the Holy Grail of American racing – the Indianapolis 500. The 14-day trip - in May, 2020 - will see the winner and a friend start their adventure in New York, then fly to Chicago to pick up a Lincoln Continental hire car (subject to availability) to drive to Indianapolis, with stopovers in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky, to visit unique museums, exclusive automobile collections and other tourist attractions. At the 2020 Indy 500, the winner’s race weekend package includes Paddock Penthouse tickets and pre-race pit passes for two, motor coach transportation, VIP Reserved seating for the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade and much more – even a police escort to the track on race day! After the race…

With this year marking the 60th Anniversary for the Mini, celebrations are being held all over the world. This coming July, it’ll be Melbourne’s turn when the Victorian Mini Club (VMCI) host ‘Minishow 2019’ at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. Scheduled for July 7, Minishow 2019 will welcome all eras of Minis, from the classic round nose, through the clubman and on to the modern Mini, as well as variants, like the Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf, and custom Minis, so there’s really something for everyone! End-to-end displays of old and new cars, restored or original, will feature, with prizes up for grabs for display cars across a number of categories. Penrite Oil have generously donated oil and associated products for category winners. Minishow 2019 will also feature trade stands covering…

A Holden is a Holden and a Ford is a Ford and never the twain shall meet, right? Err, not quite. Fords have been fitted with Holden running gear and vice versa over the years, with some clever builders melding Ford and Holden sheetmetal in the past, too. But go back further and you find what’s arguably the first true combination of ‘Holden’ and ‘Ford’, but not in the way you might think. BOB’S STORY Bob Holden is a name that should be familiar to most JUST CARS readers, but for those unfamiliar, understand from the start that the man is a bona fide racing legend. Holden’s best-known track performance was at the 1966 Gallaher 500, where he drove a Morris Cooper S to victory with Rauno Altonen. That Bathurst…

In mid-2017, the WA chapter of the FE-FC Holden Car Club put the word out about a TV production crew that were looking for an FE, FC or similar to use in an upcoming programme. Peter and Hazel answered the call, offering Felix up for the show’s producers… without any real idea of what they were in for. “After some preliminary pics back and forth to assess suitability for camera crews and Go-Pro cameras to be in the car with the stars, arrangements were confirmed,” Peter explained. “We trailered the car up to Perth ahead of the shoot day, Monday 16 October. We were kindly accommodated at the Pan Pacific Hotel and the concierge even kept an eye on the car that night. “Monday morning duly arrived and so did…