MotorSport Legends Issue 28

FALCON FEVER John Goss’ Ford years MOTORSPORT LEGENDS #28

$8.95

motorsportlegends.com.au

BOB’S

BEAST

Lives Again!

AMERICAN ICON

ISSUE #28

Meet the man behind the ’63 Corvette

THUNDER ROAD PETER BROCK! 50 F5000s ROCK THE SHAKY ISLES MSL28 p01 Cover Monaro-CDF.indd 1

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Contents ISSUE #28

36

NEWS

6

THUNDERSTRUCK

AT THE AUCTIONS

8

The Shaky Isles shook when one of the world’s largest F5000 fields descended on Hampton Downs Raceway.

Auction results from around the world.

44

GET SHORTY

10

A rare two-seater Mustang.

BEHIND THE WHEEL

14

20

THE GOOD LIFE

62

TRAVEL – ROUTE 66

64

22

How our man Foges gets the scoops.

54

49

FROM BEHIND THE ARMCO

24

Legendary cartoonist Stonie turns his pencil on Captain Peter Janson.

MONARO MAGIC

Best known for his exploits on four wheels, Aussie legend Bryan Thomson started his career with motorcycles.

Despite his success with sports cars, open wheelers and Jaguars, to many people John Goss will always be thought of a Ford man.

Sheppo gives an insight into some of Australia’s best drivers.

THE FOGES FILES

49

18

Mick lets rip on FPV… again.

SHEPPARD’S PIE

TWO-WHEEL THOMMO

JOHN GOSS – THE FORD YEARS 54

German design meets American engineering.

WEBB OF INTRIGUE

44

What red-blooded muscle-car lover hasn’t dreamed of travelling America’s Route 66? Read our guide to the Mother Road and turn your dream into reality!

10

26

One of Australia’s most famous and successful old race cars returns to the track.

MR VERSATILE

36

We chat to champion US race driver and legendary car designer, the amazing Peter Brock.

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THE NEW ULTRA-HIGH PERFORMANCE CATERHAM SEVEN 485 The new Caterham Seven 485 the most powerful Seven ever offered for sale in Australia.

With a zero to 100 km/h acceleration time of under 4 seconds, it’s performance is comparable to some of the fastest road cars available. The Seven 485 2.0 litre normally aspirated engine provides a power output of 177 kW (240 bhp), which combined with its under 700 kg weight, ensures scintillating performance and an involving driving experience.

The nimbleness of a Caterham in corners is something to be experienced, something only its exceptionally light weight and excellent suspension make possible.

The ‘less is more’ philosophy lives on in this latest Seven. Colin Chapman would be proud to see the evolution of the iconic Seven today.

For more information, or regarding the rest of the Australian model range, please contact:

Caterham Cars Australia, Level 1, ZAGAME building, 362 Swan Street, Richmond, VIC 3121 P: 03 9329 0344 E: chris@caterhamcars.com.au

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pole position

ROCKIN’ THE MOTHER ROAD KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, YOUR HANDS UPON THE WHEEL…

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f you’re a fan of the American automotive scene, then it’s odds on you have either visited the USA, or you’ve been thinking about it.

And for those who still have the long trip north on their bucket-list, it’s a journey I can highly recommend.

From the moment you pick up your rental car at Los Angeles Airport you know you’re in a land where the vehicle is very special, for where else could you see masses of Mustangs, Camaros and Corvettes available for rent?

Imagine driving one of these vehicles to the plethora of special interest events, such as the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500 or the

Texas Formula 1 Grand Prix, or an amazing historic event such as the Pebble Beach Concours/Monterey Historics and the Grand Prix Festival of Watkins Glen.

Of course there are other amazing things to see, such as the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and the Shelby American production facility and museum in Las Vegas.

But for many, the biggest drawcard doesn’t involve racing, it involves muscle cars – driving Route 66 in a classic or current Mustang.

Route 66 is famous for all sorts of reasons, not the least being the song (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup, and the line

Texas is just one of eight states that Route 66 passes through.

‘Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona’ from the 1972 Eagles’ song, Take It Easy.

Upon driving the road you’ll witness an amazing cross-section of the American landscape, from the sand, sun and surf of Los Angeles to the majesty of the Grand Canyon and the steely streets of St Louis and Chicago, ensuring an unforgettable journey.

In our travel section this issue, Carol Sheridan details some of Route 66’s attractions – along with its famous hospitality. It’s only an appetite whetter, as it’s impossible to document everything that’s worth seeing on this eight state, 3945km road in just one article. For more information, I highly recommend you seek out a specialist tour operator, such as Route 66 Tours, whose contact details appear further on in this edition of Motorsport Legends.

So far I’ve only driven the ArizonaCalifornia leg, but you can be sure that one day soon I’ll be completing the entire distance.

– Darren

EDITOR Darren House EMAIL

darren@motorsportlegends.com.au GRAPHIC DESIGN Jason Crowe WRITERS Mark Fogarty, Glenis Lindley, Mick Webb, Grant Nicholas, John Sheppard, Tony Whitlock, John Stoneham, Brian Zana PHOTOGRAPHERS Autopics.com.au, Glenis Lindley, John Doig (Torque Photos), Ian D Smith, Brian Zana PUBLISHER Allan Edwards Pole Position Productions PO Box 225 Keilor Victoria 3036 Phone: (03) 9372 9125 Fax: (03) 8080 6473 EMAIL

admin@motorsportlegends.com.au WEBSITE

www.motorsportlegends.com.au ADVERTISING Jennifer Gamble Advertising Manager Phone: 0431 451 470 EMAIL

jennifer@motorsportlegends.com.au DISTRIBUTOR Network Services Material in Motorsport Legends is protected by copyright laws and may not be reporoduced in any format. Motorsport Legends will consider unsolicited articles and pictures; however, no responsibility will be taken for their return. While all efforts are taken to verify information in Motorsport Legends is factual, no responsibility will be taken for any material which is later found to be false or misleading. The opinions of the contributors are not always those of the publishers.

Didn’t get our previous issue? Turn to page 66 for details on how to subscribe or to order a back issue.

MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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news

HISTORIC WINTON HONOURING THE PAST

One of Australia’s largest and most popular all-historic motor race meetings will present a weekend of non-stop racing, featuring more than 400 historic racing cars and motorbikes from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Celebrations at the thirtyninth Historic Winton include many significant anniversaries - 100 years of Morris Cowley; 90 years of Ford Australia, Chrysler and Invicta; 80 years of Talbot Lago and Morris 8; 70 years of MG TC, Bristol, and Riley RM; 60 years of Peugeot 403, Fiat 600, Triumph TR3, Citroen DS19, Jaguar Mk1, Sunbeam Rapier, MGA, Mercedes Benz 190 SL, Rolls Royce Silver Cloud,

Karmann Ghia, and Toyota Crown; and 50 years of XP Falcon, HD Holden, Peugeot 204, Renault 16 and Triumph 1300.

Historic Winton displays include the Shannon’s Classic Car Park, featuring car and bike clubs; a FordFest honouring 90 years of Ford Australia and featuring vehicles produced in Australia

between 1925 and 1980; Australian Grand Prix Aussie specials and historic motorbikes: the Big 3 Triumph, Harley-Davidson and Indian and historic commercial vehicles.

There is also spectator access to the Competition Paddock with fabulous old racing machines on open display, and if you have a classic or special-

interest car or bike, you can park in the Spectator Display Area.

Raceway entry fees are: Sat $25, Sun $35, weekend $50, competition paddock $5, children 16 and under no charge.

General public enquiries: Noel Wilcox - noelwilcox@ rocketmail.com Ph: - 03 5428 2689 In addition, on Friday May 29, you can become part of the Benalla & District Classic Car & Motorbike Tour, which will assemble at 9am at the Benalla Art Gallery and conclude with a Shine & Show display.

Further information, phone Graeme McDonald on 0417 306 332 or Email - historicwinton@ hotmail.com

PYTHON VEHICLES’ 99th Python Sports Car Python Vehicles has delivered its 99th Python Sports Car to new owner, Jeff Nadlemam.

“We are excited to hand over our 99th Python, which is also the twenty-second with our own round tube chassis design”, said George Vidovic, proprietor of Python Vehicles.

Python Vehicles Australia was established in 1980 in Melbourne

by George and has accrued more than 33 years’ experience in designing and building world class Cobra replica cars.

As a recognised leader in the sports street car field, Python Vehicles has developed its own in-house design and engineering 6

team, boasting an extensive knowledge in the development and production of Cobra replica cars.

As one of the largest Cobra replica parts outlets in Australia, Python vehicles also provides consulting services which include vehicle design changes and modifications, as well as pre-purchase reports for Cobra car buyers.

Python Vehicles ongoing product development and improvement strategy is supported through the Python Racing Team. Having a full-time, committed race team in Australia allows Python Vehicles

to incorporate improvements from their race track experience into their road cars.

The result of incorporating race proven design and

technology into manufacturing means Python produces some of the best performing Cobra replica street cars in Australia, with improved vehicle safety.

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DRIVING A MULE IN TRAFFIC Leo Geoghegan was a true motorsport legend. He was an outstanding driver, a wonderful champion and an all-round great bloke. His recent passing saddened the motor racing community, but the memories he left us will never die, including these ones, which I hold dear.

Back in 1972, I thought I was on my way to becoming a race car mechanic. I had quit advertising and was seeking my fame and fortune with the spanners. I’d been over in Adelaide pulling a FT200 gearbox out of Henry Michell’s Elfin 360 Repco 2.5, after he had experienced a difficult weekend at Phillip Island.

After I had finished the gearbox job, I swung past the Birrana factory in Adelaide, where Bruce Allison asked me to join him for the Coca Cola F2 Series round at Amaroo Park. I agreed, so we headed off to Sydney, travelling in a Hertz Kingswood wagon with Bruce’s Elfin 600D twin-cam in tow.

Arriving in Sydney a day or two later, we called by Geoghegan’s Sporty Cars in Parramatta Road. The first thing Leo said was, “Why don’t you get rid of the wagon, Xxxxx x x xx x Xxxxx x x xx x Xxxxx x x xx x save your money and use my ute?”

Well, his ute was ‘The Mule’ built by Chrysler Australia to do all the Charger track development work (as mentioned

in MSL #27). Leo had been given The Mule as thanks for his work with Chrysler; and so for a week we had this short-bed VG Valiant ute to drive to and from Amaroo.

With triple Webers, a 120 litre petrol tank and towing a light trailer, it could do damn near anything you wanted it to. Fuel consumption was not great and often we would hear the pump jockey of the day filling the very large tank, say “Hey this seems a bit short in the bed, doesn’t it mate?”

It was an awful lot of fun to drive around Sydney and something I’ll always remember. “It was a mighty rocket to drive and went like a cut cat. Great fun for a couple of lads to have in Sydney,” said Bruce.

At the time, the F2 national series was peaking, and Leo was the king, taking out back-to-back titles in 1973 and 1974, driving Birrana 273 and 274 models respectively.

Through the F2 connection, Bruce and Leo became friends. “It was great when I was out there with Leo in the early days in the F2 series, as while he didn’t say much, he certainly showed me how to do things on track,” Bruce reflected on those memories of his early racing days. “He was a bit like the silent assassin, not saying much but letting his driving do the talking. He showed me more than once (that) he was a better driver than I was.

“Leo was absolute fun to be around as well as being a great driver. Plenty of times he showed me the right way

to get around the tracks. He was a great competitor.

“I remember seeing Leo in the mid-’60s when he was driving against the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham and Jackie Stewart in the Tasman Series at Lakeside. He was there competing when my love of open-wheeler racing started; before I even had my road licence.”

Leo took Bruce and I on a cruise of Sydney Harbour before the Amaroo races started. He parked his small cruiser off Lady Jane beach so we had some scenery to look at while we enjoyed a chicken picnic lunch.

It was certainly a very different way to relax before a race weekend. Leo wasn’t racing but he made sure that he was as relaxed as us. The multiple Australian open-wheel champion certainly did things with style.

By the way, Bruce took his first F2 pole position that weekend at Amaroo Park, which resulted in his dad, Col Allison (owner of the Hobby & Toyland stores), rewarding me with close to a $50 bonus.

This nearly doubled my wage for the week!

- Tony Whitlock

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at the auctions BONHAMS

PARIS 1965 ASTON MARTIN DB5 CONVERTIBLE €1,897,500 More than two million euros worth of Aston Martin metal went under the hammer at Bonhams February Grand Palais sale, with a rare 1965 DB5 Convertible setting a new world auction record at €1,897,500 and a 1962 DB4 Convertible selling at €1,060,000.

Synonymous with Britain, and of course, British film heroes, Aston Martin has produced iconic motor cars throughout its decades of

manufacture – arguably none more so than those designed in the David Brown era: the DB4 and DB5.

Introduced in 1963, the DB5 was a development of the DB4. Classically proportioned,

the Touring-designed body established an instantly recognisable look that would stand the marque in good stead until 1970. Only a few DB5 convertibles were made in left-hand drive, making this offering a

very rare find.

It successfully combines the brand’s traditional virtues of style and performance with the delights of open air motoring, and is today a most sought after and highly prized motor car.

the undercarriage, then a pioneering feature, that has spread throughout the restoration industry as a standard practice.

Formerly a regular on the ISCA show circuit with a wild custom paint scheme, it is

once again correctly finished in T5 Copper Metallic paint with a white bumblebee stripe and tan interior. The highquality restoration has been well-preserved and the car presents as well today as it did 25 years ago.

Optional features include bucket seats with headrests, centre console, Rallye gauge cluster, deluxe steering wheel, remote driver’s mirror, pushbutton radio, power steering and brakes and Redline tires.

MECUM

KISSIMMEE 1969 DODGE HEMI DAYTONA $900,000 This astounding 1969 Dodge Hemi four-speed Daytona has been driven 6435 miles (10,356km) and is the lowestmileage example known to exist with its original Hemi engine still intact.

Of the 503 Daytonas built, only 70 were Hemi-powered, and only 20 combined that with a four-speed manual transmission, making this example very special.

In 1988, the car was restored by renowned specialist, Roger Gibson, whose work included making it the first Mopar restored with all the correct factory markings on 8

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SHANNONS

MELBOURNE 1968 HOLDEN GTS 327 $96,000 Holden enthusiasts had a special Bathurst Monaro to cheer for – a very collectible 1968 Holden HK GTS 327 coupe finished in Picardy Red with white upholstery and a rare, dealer-fitted parchment vinyl roof.

This true survivor car of a hard-driving era has had just three owners from new and importantly retains its original running gear, including its four-speed Saginaw gearbox, Salisbury 10-bolt limited slip diff, factory tramp rods,

GOODING & COMPANY

SCOTTSDALE 1967 SHELBY GT350 $126,500 This superb example of a highly desirable and distinctivelystyled 1967 Shelby (chassis: 67200F9A02383 and titled as a Ford) was sold without reserve and fell well short of the $140,000-$160,000 it was expected to generate.

The car has been restored under the care of a long-time SAAC member and features impressive presentation and attention to detail. The car sports a 289 ‘Hi-Po’ V8 engine equipped with a single Holley four-barrel carburettor, which

Bathurst fuel tank and consolemounted tacho.

All the tags appear to have remained on the car, which has body number 81837KR-00216-K5, indicating it to be the 216th example made in Sydney.

Although the Monaro has spent the past 27 years in dry storage, it has been maintained regularly and runs well today, according to the vendor. This unrestored and very collectible coupe was expected to sell in the $80,000-$100,000 range

produces 306hp at 6000rpm.

The engine is backed up by a four-speed manual gearbox.

The car was accompanied by important sales and restoration documents.

by Gijs van Lennep and Ben Pon for Racing Team Holland during its illustrious six-year international competition career. Beautifully restored and presented in original 1966 livery, the Porsche is eligible for the Le Mans Classic and Rennsport Reunion. The car is powered by a 1991cc air-cooled flat-six engine, equipped with twin Weber 46 IDA carburettors (producing an estimated 230hp at 6600rpm) and mated to a five-speed manual transaxle.

GOODING & COMPANY

SCOTTSDALE 1966 PORSCHE 906 CARRERA 6 $1,980,000 Described as an important example of a landmark Porsche prototype, this Porsche 906 was driven

and reached $96,000.

Also of interest was an HQ SS sedan, built in August 1972 and is thought to have been originally a Melbourne-built press test car. Expected to fetch $30,000, the car sold for $38,000.

GOODING & COMPANY

SCOTTSDALE 1990 FERRARI 641/2 $990,000 Campaigned during the 1990 F1 Season by Nigel Mansell, this Portuguese GP winner (chassis #120) also achieved podiums in Spain and Australia. The car was sold to its first private owner in 1991 and subjected to a complete rebuild by Ferrari during 1992-93. The Ferrari features a 3.5-litre V12 engine producing an estimated 685hp at 13,000rpm and a sevenspeed gearbox.

MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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GET S

A RARE TWO-SEATER MUSTANG GOES UNDER THE HAMMER IN FLORIDA

Photos Ford

Motor Company and Auctions America

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one-of-a-kind 1964 ½ Mustang prototype is expected to fetch between US$400,000 and $600,000 when it goes up for auction, scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2015 at Fort Lauderdale, Florida by Auctions America.

In the early 1960s, as Ford Motor Company product planners, designers and engineers were brainstorming ideas for a compact sporty car, there were numerous proposals for two-seaters.

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never got any further than sketches, but at least one running prototype of a two-seat Mustang was built and survives today, thanks to the devotion of Bill Snyder of Hudson, Ohio (USA).

The ‘shorty’ Mustang, as it is often called, was designed

by Vince Gardner and built in 1964 by long-time Ford supplier, Dearborn Steel Tubing, for a traveling custom car show. Now known as DST Industries, the company still builds and prepares many Ford prototype, concept and show vehicles.

“I saw the shorty Mustang during one of the stops of that travelling car show and decided I had to have one,” said Snyder.

“I told a Ford rep I wanted to buy a two-seat Mustang to go along with my then 10-year-old Corvette, but he said it was a one-off that they were never going to build.”

The owner of Ohio-based screen printing company Nordec, Snyder has always been a sports car fan and he kept an eye out in case Ford ever did produce a similar car.

It turns out that patience truly is a virtue, and several years

later Snyder ended up owning exactly the car he saw on that show stand.

How did this car come to be?

After choosing a Gale Halderman-penned two-door hardtop as the basis for the production Mustang in the autumn of 1962, the Ford design team continued to look at possible alternatives for expanding the line-up. A convertible joined the hardtop at Mustang’s launch in April 1964, with a fastback coming a few months later. Body styles that were considered and rejected included a four-door

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T SHORTY sedan and even a two-door station wagon.

Early on in the program, two-seaters were frequently pitched as potential replacements for the late, lamented first-generation Thunderbird, which by that point had grown into a luxury four-seat coupe. However, two-seaters then – and now – are niche products and Ford wanted its new car to have a broader appeal, including young families, so the decision was made that the car would have four seats. Despite that, when an opportunity arose to

build a custom Mustang for an upcoming travelling car show, DST brought in freelance designer, Vince Gardner, to take another shot at a two-seat Mustang. It’s not known if Gardner ever saw or had access to rejected Ford design studio sketches, but the concept crafted by the DST team bears a strong resemblance to at least one sketch from February 1963.

The resulting car is a Mustang fastback with 16 inches removed between the rear edge of the door and the rear axle.

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“THE RESU LTING CAR IS A MUSTAN G FASTBACK WITH 16 INCH ES RE MOVE D BETWEE EDGE OF TH E DOOR AN D TH E REAR N TH E REAR AXLE” Working with one of the preproduction 1965 Mustangs that otherwise would have been sent to the crusher, the DST fabricators created unique rear bodywork from fibreglass and new outer door skins that incorporate the classic Mustang side scoop.

Before it went on the show circuit in 1964, Ford engineers installed a special engine. The original 260 cubic-inch V8 that was available in Mustang was bored out to 302 cubicinches and a trio of two-barrel carburettors were installed, making this effectively a prototype for one of the most beloved engine configurations in Mustang history.

When the tour where Snyder had seen the shorty ended, the car, which was rejected for production, was set to meet the same fate as most such cars – the crusher. Not wanting to see this unique Mustang destroyed, Gardner stashed it away in a nearby warehouse.

Several months later, after Ford reported it stolen and received an insurance payout, the warehouse owner 12

discovered the car. The insurance company that paid out the claim took possession of the car and later sold it to one of its executives.

Four years after he first saw the shorty Mustang at the car show, Snyder spotted it once again, this time listed in the for sale section of Hemming’s Motor News.

“I contacted the seller and immediately sent a driver from my printing business to Connecticut to pick up the car,” said Snyder. “I’ve owned this one-of-a-kind Mustang for the last 46 years.”

Snyder accumulated about 15,000 miles on the car, but over the time, the original auto show lacquer finish cracked and the car was sprayed with body primer.

When Snyder decided to restore the car several years ago, his wife found some of the original colour under the bonnet and worked with a paint supplier to match it exactly. Since it was a concept car, the original builders had used plexiglass for the quarter windows and backlight rather than cutting custom glass.

Despite being heavily fogged after nearly 50 years, the restorers were able to buff the windows back to their original clarity.

Looking as good as, or better than, it did in 1964, the

one-of-a-kind, two-seat shorty Mustang made its debut at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida. Last year, Snyder took it to a variety of events celebrating 50 years of Mustang.

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behind the wheel

POWER PACKED P O R S C H E

WHILE SOME MAY THINK IT SACRILEGE, SCOTT MANN SAYS FITTING PORSCHES WITH SMALL BLOCK CHEV V8S MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. WORDS & PHOTOS: BRIAN ZANA

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recently had the pleasure of meeting Scott Mann, owner of Renegade Hybrids. His shop is located in Las Vegas, Nevada and specialises in fitting Porsches with Chevrolet LS series engines.

That’s right, a German sports car with the power plant of an American legend, the Corvette.

Now I know what some of you are saying, “Why change

a perfectly good Porsche engine?” Well, there are many reasons Scott and his team do these conversions. Firstly, there is obviously a market for them. But more importantly, the cars are infinitely faster after the conversion and since the LS series engine is naturally aspirated, there is no concern of turbo lag and the other associated issues when dealing with a turbo powered car.

When I visited Renegade Hybrids, it was just after the SEMA show and Scott had the shop’s SEMA car in for a final tune and shake down prior to turning it over to its owner.

Scott told me that he had only test driven the car once since its completion. When we walked into the main shop area I spotted it; a 2008 Porsche Cayman S! Scott and his guys put an all-aluminium LS7

V8, shipped directly from Chevrolet, into the car. It has been dyno tested at 600hp and adds no additional weight to the car. That’s right - more power without adding any weight - and with no change in handling characteristics.

The stock Cayman S boasted 303hp in 2008, so the LS7 with its 600hp, is a major performance improvement. As I walked around

Scott and his guys put an all aluminium LS7 V8, shipped directly from Chevrolet, into the car. It has been dyno tested at 600hp and adds no additional weight to the car. That’s right - more power without adding any weight - and with no change in handling characteristics.

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the car and listened to Scott talk about the work involved in transplanting the engine, I was amazed at how the conversion looked as though it came from the factory. The LS7 fits in the car better than the factory 3.4-litre engine and leaves more room to access it for maintenance.

Renegade Hybrids makes, or has designed, each and every part for the conversion.

They even designed heavy duty axles that are less expensive to replace than the stock Porsche items, along with a motor mount support that also reduces car flexing. They hand-build

every exhaust per the needs of the car’s owner and make it from stainless steel to last a lifetime.

As the car was built to be a daily driver that can double as a track car on the weekends, Renegade Hybrids made other modifications to help with reliability and performance. They replaced the mechanical power steering pump with a Toyota electric pump, installed an aluminium radiator, swapped the gearbox for one from a Porsche Boxster S and added oil and transmission coolers.

Once Scott was done showing me around the car

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he said that he wanted me to experience driving one of their converted cars. This would also give his guys time to pull the Cayman out and have it to temperature for us when we returned. We went out front and there was a 1998 Porsche Boxster that had been converted to a LS2 V8 with 300hp. Scott said it was his wife’s daily driver – what a lucky lady!

We pulled out of the lot and Scott showed me how quickly the car accelerated, but soon I was in the driver’s seat and experiencing all of that horsepower and torque!

It took me a while to get used to the close ratio six-speed transmission, but before long I was enjoying the feel of this amazing car.

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As I drove through the back streets of Las Vegas, the first thing I noticed was the pure power of the V8; it was a marked improvement over the stock Boxter engine.

Also, just as Scott had said, the conversion didn’t throw the handling of the car off at all; it felt just as planted and controllable as a stock Boxster.

On our return to the shop we got into the Cayman, where I immediately noted the difference in the exhaust tone.

As we pulled away, Scott started to go through the gears and showed me what 700hp

felt like in one of these lightweight sports cars.

The handling was tight and responsive and despite the extreme horsepower, the car was quite controllable. The exhaust note was pure V8 bliss.

Although this was just the second time the car had been driven for any length of time, and the tune was not yet refined, you

could tell that this was now an elite sports car and ready for some track time.

Unfortunately, we were unable to test the car on a track that day, but Scott has given me an open invitation to return and even meet him at a track to experience his 998 converted track car.

You can believe that I will take him up on that and let you all know how that experience goes.

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webb of intrigue BUILDING A BETTER FORD MICK WEBB INVENTED THE FORD SPECIAL VEHICLES CONCEPT IN AUSTRALIA DURING THE ’80S AND NOW HE’S ON A MISSION TO SHOW FPV HOW THEY SHOULD BE MADE.

I

started SVO cars with an idea that we were going to build unique cars, a special vehicle package for different people. We didn’t start with a base car, we started with a Fairmont Ghia or S Pack, because we had our luxury customers and we had our sports pack customers.

Our cars were unique in that we weren’t just putting a bunch of stripes on them and making them look fancy on the outside.

We were building a genuine special vehicle car that had a Bilstein suspension package, along with better sway bars and springs.

It made the car unique in its suspension – it handled beautifully and had a very comfortable ride.

We had the same philosophy with the wheel package. We selected a wheel package that was unique to all the cars, and nobody else could

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purchase these wheels. We used S-grade Dunlop or Goodyear tyres and they were the best and most expensive tyre money could buy at the time.

But with the Pursuit, FPV has started with a base car, put stripes on it and tried to convince people that it is a special car, which, in my opinion, it’s not.

Yes, it has got the supercharged engine, but I am amazed they would produce a car with that much horsepower but only standard brakes, standard shock absorbers – standard everything.

The thing that really gripes me is the interior. The interior was written up on their website as having leather seats with suede inserts, yet these cars come with standard XR seats with ‘Pursuit’ embroidered on them,

and the seatbelts are not adjustable for individual shoulder height. The electric window switches are just as ‘cheap’; they don’t have an automatic up and down function, which even Kia and Hyundai have had for ten years.

And the tyres… When you drive the thing hard in a

straight line and then back off the power, the car gets a speed wobble up, which frightens the bejesus out of me, I can assure you. I know other guys with GT Fs and Pursuits say the same thing and they have thrown the tyres away.

The only thing to do now is fix this car and turn it into the car I believe FPV should have built in the first place.

We are going to build a special car, a genuine SVO car that will even carry an SVO build number.

I will have Robbie Herrod, who has already increased the power, further upspec the engine for me.

Yes, I am a good engine builder, but I don’t do these late model electronic engines; Robbie is the master of these engine packages. The rest of the stuff I am capable of fixing.

The suspension will be upgraded with Bilstein shockers all around, while Russell Stuckey, from Stuckey

MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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20/03/2015 12:18 pm

Mick Webb is a championship-winning, race engineer and engine builder who has worked with Jim Richards, Allan Moffat, Peter Brock, Frank Gardner and the Stillwell Racing Team. He currently works with Jim Richards and Bill Pye in the Touring Car Masters series.

Tyres, is supplying rubber that will make this car an absolute dream to drive. We have done some tests on them already and the improvement is out of this world.

We have upgraded the brakes by fitting six-piston Brembo calipers on the front and four-piston calipers on the back in place of the original two piston front calipers and single piston rear calipers.

I’ll also be fixing up the interior. The first thing I will be doing is fixing up the seatbelt package by going to my local Ford dealer and buying an XR adjustable seatbelt bracket.

I think, after my solicitor has finished talking to Ford, I will receive the leather with

suede insert seats that the car is supposed to have. We are drafting up legal action at the moment because, even on the website today, there are claims that the car has leather seats with suede inserts and I want them in my car.

We’ll also improve the exhaust note so it won’t sound like a sewing machine – the way that Ford produced it.

When I am finished fixing my Pursuit, it will go, handle and stop like a genuine special performance vehicle should.

Perhaps if the now in-house Ford operation committed to the same philosophy it might perform better against the thriving HSV? – Webby

•Race Engines for all classes – Development & Maintenance •Dyno Service •Chassis set-up •Wheel Alignment •Car Scales •Vehicle Preparation •Storage •Transport •Trackside Maintenance & Advice Building Race Winning Engines Since 1970 3/44 Charter Street, Ringwood, Victoria, 3134 PH. (03) 9876 8586 Mob: 0407 365 414 Email: mickwebb@svomotorsport.com Web: www.svomotorpsort.com Mick Webb Ad.indd 1

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MOTORSPORT LEGENDS 26/06/2013 1:50:44 PM 19 20/03/2015 12:19 pm

sheppard’s pie

IN THE BEGINNING JOHN SHEPPARD REMINDS US HE WASN’T ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH GENERAL MOTORS AND PROVIDES AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORKINGS OF SOME OF AUSTRALIA’S BEST DRIVERS.

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often wonder why the Grace Brothers/Pete Geoghegan E49 Charger doesn’t seem to rate a mention when people write about Chargers. It was about 0.1sec behind the XU-1s at ‘The Farm’ and Surfers Paradise, and faster than the Falcons at Surfers!

I was doing a talk recently and one of the audience came up to me and said (nicely) that she was against me because I was a GM person and she was

a Ford fan. When I pointed out to her that I prepared the car that won Ford’s first ATCC in 1964 (Cortina) and the Mustangs that won in subsequent years, she said, “Oh!” and walked off.

Is there anybody out there who believes ‘Safety Cars’ do anything other than spoil a good race or make a dull race look like a thriller? If drivers were to obey yellow flags (or lights), that would solve any safety issues. As it is now, in

long races, the strategy is to stay on the lead lap and race from the last pitstop to the chequered flag!

Many years ago, when I was with the Geoghegans, ‘Pete’ came to me and said, “You know, Norm’s (Beechey) not a bad bloke.” This didn’t please me greatly as I regarded him as the opposition, not a mate!

Not long after that, Pete was having trouble with his stuttering and Norm said, “Come on Pete, spit it out!” and that was the end of a beautiful friendship!

The editor thought it could be of interest to readers if I talked about some of my experiences with the ‘name’ drivers I have worked with. I guess first of all I should name them (in chronological order) and then go back and start at the top.

Peter Manton John and Gavin Youl Leo and Ian (Pete) Geoghegan Johnny Stewart Norm Beechey Bob Jane John Harvey Peter Brock Jim Richards Charlie O’Brien Ron Harrop John Bowe Alfie Costanzo

Jim McKeown, Norm Beechey and Peter Manton at Lakeside in 1964.

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MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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John Sheppard is a former team manager and race engineer who led the Bob Jane Racing Team, Holden Dealer Team and Volvo Dealer Team.

I’ll come back to the list later, but while making this list I was reminded of a couple of bits of treachery – back stabbing - that happened. A driver went to the boss and complained that we were putting all the good bits on the other driver’s car and that’s why he was slower.

Subsequent events would prove this was not the case, but it did make me think.

Another time, one of the drivers was asked how good his car was and he proceeded to tell the boss it was a dud!

When I arrived at work on the Monday morning at 8.00am, there was a message – “Tell your f***ing driver that if I ever ask him again how his car is going, just say ‘great’, because he’s winning all the races!”

Back to the top of the list: I think the things that stood out mostly about ‘Skinny Manton’ was his absolute fanaticism about standards of preparation, his focus on weight and he’s the only bloke I have seen who would light a fresh cigarette off the butt of the one he had just finished.

He also had an intense dislike for (a certain team manager) and he used to say, “I consider myself to be superior to (him) John Youl (Cooper) and Lex Davison (Aston Martin DBR4300), Sandown, 1962.

Ian (Pete) Geoghegan leads Brian Foley and Peter Manton at Catalina Park, 1964

newspaper greeted the other car as we passed! I hope they weren’t injured – perhaps just a change of undies!

‘Pete’ Geoghegan’s Charger at Warwick Farm in 1972.

in every way – looks, money, skill, personality, ethics – he didn’t mention modesty! I must say, I now think much the same myself, except for the money!

The Youl brothers were what I will call ‘privileged’.

Sons of the landed gentry.

They were both very good

drivers and good blokes!

Gavin, after a short career in Australia, went overseas as a works driver for Sir Jack Brabham in Formula Junior.

John’s career was Australiabased and he was able to be a pain to the heroes in our F1 class, as it was then.

I didn’t tell you this, but on a road trip to Adelaide, towing their Cooper-Climax, John’s wife, Shirley, was sitting in the front seat of the MK II Zephyr station wagon, tearing a newspaper into very small pieces. I couldn’t work out what she was up to but all was soon revealed. There was a car coming towards us from the opposite direction, so John wound his window down and a ‘storm’ of shredded

On a more serious note, John was always ‘one model behind’ with his racecars as, whilst they weren’t short of a quid, they raced on a tight budget. John would upgrade to a 2.2-litre engine as the other drivers were going to 2.5 and later to 2.7!

Next issue, we can work our way down the list with a few more bits of behind the scenes nonsense.

People like me, who have run engine dynos over the years, soon get an understanding of who are the good engine builders and who are the duds. No, I’m not that dumb (or malicious) that I would name them, but I laughed one day when a team owner advised me that he had just lost another (of his engine builder’s) grenades!

– Sheppo MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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18/03/2015 3:17 pm

the foges files

RUMOUR HAS IT…

AWARD-WINNING VETERAN WRITER, MARK FOGARTY, EXPLAINS WHY RUMOURS ARE SO OFTEN RIGHT AND RECOUNTS SOME NOTABLE EXAMPLES THAT TURNED OUT TO BE MUCH MORE THAN TALL TALES

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S THE great Murray Walker once observed, a rumour is just a premature fact.

It’s an unusual Murrayism because it’s not a fractured phrase, muddled metaphor or strangled syntax.

While better known for malapropisms than aphorisms, Walker’s wry remark was as astute as it is pithy. Rumours are usually founded in some truth and more often than not they become fact – or at least the basis of it.

To me, it’s one of the best Murrayisms because reporting things before they happen is a big part of being a journalist.

As well as recording the facts as best you know them, a journo’s job is to break news.

Rumours are among several ways to secure a ‘scoop’, which is media-speak for getting a story first. It’s also known as an ‘exclusive’ and although it’s a much over-used (and abused) term these days, getting the jump on your opposition is the journalistic equivalent of winning a race.

What you hear on the grapevine is a starting point for investigation and when corroborated by knowledgeable sources, a rumour becomes a well-founded speculative story.

And that’s the big difference between reporting rumours and repeating gossip.

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Unless I’m very much mistaken, Murray Walker’s observation that rumours are just premature facts, is fact.

Without checking, it’s just hearsay. If supported by investigation that gives a journalist confidence that there is some foundation of fact, it’s informed conjecture.

Do your homework and a rumour can lead you to uncovering secrets and pre-empting events.

I’ve had my fair share of ‘scoops’ over the years and many came from rumours.

So you can see why I regard Murray Walker’s observation

as apposite.

Of course, being Muzza, there’s a twist involved in this particular piece of witty wisdom. Although it sounds very much like a Murrayism, “A rumour is just a premature fact” was actually from the 1993 telemovie Barbarians At The Gate.

Murray knew a good line when he heard it and appropriated it to support his recounting of a rumour that was particularly rife at the time

in F1. The F1 media still thrives on the whispers and tip-offs that feed their voracious appetite for off-track news – and they’re right a lot more than they’re wrong.

Exposing things before they happen – or, even better, revealing secrets – has always been my main motivation as a journalist. Reporting rumours that come true – or close to it – because of your investigative endeavours is professionally very satisfying.

MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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Mark Fogarty is motorsport writer for Fairfax Media and editor-at-large of Auto Action magazine. Foges has been covering racing for more than four decades.

You know you’ve got it right when your enquiries are met with initial stunned silence or the reaction to your ‘scoop’ story is anger.

Among countless big motor sport news stories I’ve broken over the years, three stand out.

In early 1981, I revealed in Auto Action that Allan Moffat was defecting from Ford to Mazda, switching to the RX-7 with big backing from Peter Stuyvesant. The story incensed Moffat and his gruff team manager Allan Horsley because it stole the thunder of their big announcement.

Then AA editor, David Segal, still shudders when he recalls the repercussions of that

Allan Moffat was furious when Foges broke the news of his move to Mazda, while the scoop regarding the formation of BAR met with widespread disbelieve until it was proved true.

exposé, which left him offside with the Moffat camp for a long time afterwards.

Volvo’s decision to race a station wagon in the 1993 British Touring Car Champi-

Foges’ tip off regarding Volvo’s secret decision to run station wagons in the 1993 BTCC came from a London cabbie.

onship was pre-empted by me in long-defunct British motoring magazine Car Week, with a version also appearing in Auto Action.

I learned about it from a London cabbie! He called me at the office and told me he’d heard it from a Volvo UK executive he had taken to the airport.

The unorthodox informant sounded genuine, but I was still sceptical until I sounded out my contact at TWR, which was running the Volvo team. The long pause that greeted

my assertion that I knew about the plan to race the station wagon version of the 850 confirmed it – along with the uncomfortable, evasive conversation that followed.

The other memorable ‘scoop’ was breaking the story months before it was officially announced that British American Tobacco would fund a new F1 team built around 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

Based on solid intelligence from multiple sources, it ran in Britain’s august The Times newspaper, for which I was covering the BTCC at the time.

The story met with widespread disbelief in F1 circles – until British American Racing was confirmed at the end of ’97. By then, it was also accepted that Villeneuve would join BAR in ’99.

Those stories started with rumours that proved to be premature facts.

– Foges MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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20/03/2015 12:20 pm

from behind the armco CAPTAIN OH! MY CAPTAIN…

PETER JANSON

CALDER RACEWAY IN 1976 STAGED A ONE-MAKE SERIES FOR HOLDEN GEMINIS DRIVEN BY THE HOT-SHOES OF THE DAY – PETER BROCK, JOHN HARVEY, KEL GOUGH, BOB JANE AND CAPTAIN PETER JANSON – AND BOY, WAS THAT A ‘BIFFO’ AFFAIR!

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s the cartoon suggests, Janson earned the wrath of the CAMS Stewards and was fined for dangerous driving at every turn.

In fact Peter Janson earned the wrath of a lot of people, yet you have to say, he was always entertaining. He became the ‘Clown Prince of Touring Car Racing’, always with suspicions where he got his money from and why did they call him ‘Captain.’

It was alleged that in 1976 his father was the High Commissioner of an Indian province somewhere and as a young man he had to serve in the army for one year… supposedly earning the rank of Captain.

Peter had a 99-year lease on the attic area of the old luxury Windsor Hotel in Spring Street, Melbourne and filled it with trophy heads of wild animals and Indian memorabilia.

There were stories of lavish parties and hidden bedrooms behind cupboards, and if you were lucky enough to be at one of these functions there’s no telling who you might meet.

I saw none of that, instead Peter would say, “Pop up for a drink Stonie, after 5pm when

24

I’ve finished work!” Yes, the place did look like an Indian Harpers Bazaar and Janson did have an office area and he was a generous host.

Later, what came to light was, Janson brought people together and many sponsorship deals were the result of a Peter Janson gathering. He was rumoured to have brokered the deal with Marlboro and the Holden Dealer Team.

For himself, he snagged Canada Dry, Schweppes, Massey Tractors and most famously, NGK Spark Plugs to sponsor his race cars.

He had two London double-decker buses and rented them out to the likes of Marlboro and Canada Dry for Sandown and Calder races, you might say he invented the first corporate boxes for motor sport.

CAMS would not allow advertising on Touring Cars above the window line but you could put your name on the visor strip. Janson changed his name by Deed Poll to ‘NGK Janson’ and yet again brought the wrath of CAMS upon himself.

Peter never raced a full season but he was always

at the Bathurst 1000. His trademark British hunting cap and cigar became a feature of every race but often Peter suffered the mirth of fellow competitors as a show pony.

Not so, says former Harry Firth chief mechanic, Ian Tate, who left the Holden Dealer Team to set up his own business and who had Janson as one of his customers.

In an interview with Ian, he explained how gentle and sympathetic Janson was on

his race cars and said he was highly underrated as a race driver.

Ian said he has a set of brake pads as a paperweight on his desk that he took out of Janson’s car after a Bathurst event and you could have driven the race again on them.

At Bathurst in 1979 (Torana A9X) and again in 1980 (Commodore), Peter Janson and Larry Perkins finished second outright behind Peter Brock.

– Stonie John Stoneham (pen-name ‘Stonie’) was editorial cartoonist with Chequered Flag and Auto Action magazines for four decades, Political cartoonist with Adelaide’s paily newspaper, The News 19841991. He is currently Unique Cars’ resident cartoonist. He was discovered by Mark Fogarty in 1974.

MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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18/03/2015 3:45 pm

Autopics.com.au is a photographic history of Australian motor racing from the early 1950's to the current day. Log on and explore!

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18/03/2015 3:46 pm

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MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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20/03/2015 12:21 pm

WALL RACING HAS RESURRECTED ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AUSTRALIAN TOURING CARS OF ALL TIME – THE BOB JANE MONARO.

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here are few more exciting moments in motorsport than to see a tired old racing car restored to its former glory. Such was the joy many old-time racing fans experienced when the HQ Holden Monaro 350, once owned by Australian motorsport legend Bob Jane, broke cover at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2014 after an extensive three-year restoration.

Now in the custody of Sydney’s Wall Racing, the Monaro first hit the track in 1972, at the now defunct Surfers

Paradise International Raceway, during round seven of the 1972 Australian Touring Car Championship. Steered by team member John Harvey, the Monaro finished second behind Bob Jane’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1.

With a change in rules for 1973, Jane turned the Monaro into a Sports Sedan, and it went on to have a long and distinguished career, including winning two of Calder’s hotly contested Marlboro $100,000 Series in 1974 and ’75.

Peter Brock once guest-drove the Monaro before it was sold to Sydney

racer, Phil Ward, while another motorsport legend, Bryan Thomson, also made a one-off appearance in the car in 1984.

The car’s undeniable pedigree was a key attractor for Wall Racing principal and current V8 Supercar driver, David Wall.

David has demonstrated a penchant for highly desirable historic tin-tops through the team’s ownership of the legendary Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan 1967 Mustang and the ex-Holden Dealer Team V8 Torana Sports Sedan.

MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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18/03/2015 5:06 pm

David runs the Mustang in selected Group N events and with this in mind, it was an easy choice for him to return the Monaro to its original Improved Production specification.

The car was arguably at its most attractive during that period, though it only ran in this form for less than a year.

“It is a car that had probably been forgotten about to some extent, it didn’t race a lot as a Group N car before it was transformed into a Sports Sedan. It was probably more successful as a Sports Sedan but we wanted to rebuild it as a Group N car and give it another chance – a rebirth,” explained David. “And it’s already proving to be one of the fastest Group N cars in the country.”

As a consequence of the more liberal Sports Sedan (and in later years,

Australian GT) rules, the car had been subjected to major modification during its life, though fortunately, when David acquired it, the major structure was intact.

“We obtained the car from Tino Leo and we knew it was a fair way away from being a Group N car but it was all there,” said David. “It had the backbone of what it used to be, so we acquired it and set about stripping it down and putting it back to Group N spec, just as it ran at the start of its life as an Improved

Production car. A lot of work went into making it what it looks like today; it definitely didn’t look like that when we received it.”

In addition to the modifications, David said the big coupe was also very tired.

“The car had sat dormant for a fair while before we got it. It had a blown up engine but the gearbox was okay.

“THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS TO GO THROUGH – EVEN THE PAINT CODE. I REMEMBER WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT FOR A WHILE AND IT TOOK TWO-AND-A-HALF MONTHS TO FEEL CONFIDENT ENOUGH THAT WE HAD THE CORRECT ORIGINAL PAINT CODE.”

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MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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IT’S A

HANDFUL! AS MEMBER of GRM Polestar Volvo V8 Supercar team, David Wall drives one of the most advanced sedans ever to race in Australia, but he is also a big fan of historic touring cars and the fearless drivers who bravely raced them.

As the son of a racing father (Des Wall), David grew up around race tracks, and it was through this exposure to racing that he developed a love of cars from decades past. David enjoys working on the cars, and though they are low-tech compared to the Volvo, he also loves to have a steer.

“I enjoy driving them,” said David.

“The meeting we did at Lakeside with the Mustang in 2013 was awesome. It was my first time at Lakeside and to be driving around there in Pete Geoghegan’s car was a bit surreal – driving it at one of the fastest lap-average tracks in the country and trying to get it flat under the bridge. It was good!”

In addition to racing the Mustang, David has also tested the Monaro, which is raced by John Bowe.

“I did a couple of test days before JB jumped in. He was quite happy with it, but there was definitely room for improvement. We needed to improve the handling a little bit, but drivability – power delivery – was our biggest issue.

That was mainly due to the (throttle)

linkage system on the butterflies, so we set about doing a few things to make it a little nicer. Hopefully, next time we take it out for a run, it will be a bit kinder to the right foot.”

The car runs Lucas fuel injection, a system some drivers dislike but David (and the car’s original builder, John Sheppard), said works fine when it’s set up correctly.

“It’s like anything, when it is right it is fantastic, but when it’s not right, it’s horrendous – the engine backfires and it has some very big flat spots in the fuel curve. So when it’s bad, it’s bad but when it’s good, it’s more than fine. It is probably not as nice as a late-model (EFI) engine but it is pretty close.”

David said driving the older cars is more exhausting than steering a V8 Supercar.

“When I do a ten-lap race in the Geoghegan Mustang, the crew literally pull me out of the car. The steering is very heavy, the brakes go away after three or four laps and the tyres are gone before the end of the out-lap, so it is a very different office.

“But you drive it for what it is. The brakes start to fade, so I bring the braking back and I try to hang onto the steering

“From the time that we obtained the car to the time that we were happy enough to roll it out as a finished product was three years. Absolutely every bolt was replaced and anodised or nickel plated, so you can imagine why it took so long to do, but that was the way we wanted it to be done.”

However, David points out there were forced periods of downtime during those three years.

“There were periods where there might have been six months of work and then we’d wait for a particular part, or wait for information. We know a fair few of the people who (originally) worked on the

wheel as much as I can.

The (Mustang) has the standard, skinny 1967 steering wheel fitted and by the end of it my hands are wringing and I’ve worn out my gloves. I take my hat off to Pete when he drove it.”

David said the cars also require a very different driving style.

“The guys in that era drove their cars completely sideways for a long time, and I can understand why Pete drove it sideways because the steering becomes lighter. When I try and drive (these older cars) nice and neatly, like we need to these days – trying to meet all of our marks – it’s far harder to drive. You’ve almost got to throw (these old cars) around and drive it on the throttle.”

Despite age, manufacturer and driveline differences (but common category specification), David said the said the Mustang and Monaro performed similarly on the track.

car, or who were heavily involved in it – guys like Pat Purcell and Sheppo (John Sheppard). Bob Jane also gave us a little bit of a hand at one particular point.

“The rebuild was done in the Wall Racing workshop in Sydney. There were parts of it that we couldn’t do in-house, the painting, a little bit of the jigging work, and some other bits and pieces, but everything else was done at Wall Racing.

“There were a lot of things to go through – even the paint code. I remember we had a discussion about that for a while and it took two-anda-half months to feel confident enough

“There is a difference between the Mustang and Monaro, for sure, but the cars feel similar.

The steering wheels are on different sides of the car, that’s one major thing. The Monaro has a little bit more power but the Mustang is a little bit lighter. They have their idiosyncrasies – things they each do better or worse, but they are of very similar specification.

“The Monaro is a handful. Its weight is in the high 1300kg (with driver) and the engine puts out just under 600hp.

It’s allowed to run the tyres of the era – Goodyear Bluestreaks, which are a ten-inch tyre. The grip is probably slightly better than some of the little cars that run seven-inch tyres, but in saying that, the tyres aren’t the stickiest things in the world. And, of course, there is absolutely no aero. But you make the most of what you’ve got to work with.”

that we had the correct original paint code.”

As you can imagine, there was a fair bit of work in preparing the body, though David was keen to retain as much of the car’s original sheet metal as possible.

As a Sports Sedan, the engine had been moved rearward and partially into the car’s interior, however Group N rules dictate the power-plant be located in the original road-car location.

“That meant we had to fit a new firewall and perform a hell of a lot of fabrication work,” he explained. “The floor was beyond repair – it was worn out and rusted, and it had a lot of bumps MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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20/03/2015 12:22 pm

BUILDING THE BEAST IN THE early ‘70s, Australian motorsport legend, Bob Jane, was carving up the tracks in his mighty Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1, but he also sold Holdens through his dealership, Southern Motors, so he wanted to promote the local GM brand through his racing activities. Consequently, Bob commissioned the building on an HQ Holden Monaro.

“It was built to take over from the Camaro and that didn’t really happen,” remembered former Bob Jane Racing Team boss, John Sheppard. “It took a while to build it because we were busy racing and wanting to win championships.

The Monaro became a little bit secondary; we just employed a bloke and left him in the next door shed to build it. The Camaro was still winning, so we didn’t get too excited.”

As with Bob Jane, time has dulled John’s memory of the car, and he has no idea where the detailed records he once kept have ended up. However, he does recall the Monaro’s basic set up.

“The car was set up pretty

30

much identically to the Camaro. All the running gear was the same, though we did a lot of tricky stuff on the motor. As we had one fuel injection nozzle per cylinder, we cast the manifold and moved the distributor.

“Everything was driven up the front off belts – the distributor was belt driven up the front and the fuel injection was driven up the front. We did a vast amount of work on it. It was very complicated, expensive and difficult to duplicate.

“CAMS (ended up) accepting a lesser version of that, which still worked, and probably worked better than what we had in the first place, because the manifold we made, due to my bungling stupidity, had square ports in it – you only had to touch the throttle and all hell broke loose. With a square port you get a huge opening, whereas with a round port you can open it more gradually.

“Bob Jane didn’t particularly like driving it because of (the square ports), whereas ‘Harv’ (John Harvey) liked

that because it used to hang the bum out – Harv reckoned that was pretty good. CAMS accepted a different type of manifold that was still suitable for the job.

“The Camaro was a relatively easy car to drive whereas the Monaro was a handful. Bob didn’t say that he didn’t like the car, he just said he’d prefer to drive the Camaro and I said ‘that’s alright, you’ve got another driver’, so he put Harv in the Monaro.”

Unlike today, John said there was little room for individual driver set ups and that both Bob Jane and John Harvey drove what they were given.

“In those days they didn’t have a lot of choice. (All) the cars were set up pretty much identically and the drivers drove them. I’ve always believed the more things you give a driver to figure out, the more it confuses them. That is not to say there is anything wrong with drivers, but if you have got two adjustable things on the car, they will spend whatever time is

necessary to adjust those two things. If you have got 30 adjustable things, you’ll spend all day trying to figure out why you adjusted something and it buggered something else.”

Much debate raged over best HQ body to use, with many believing the four-door Kingswood was lighter than the two-door Monaro.

“One of my favourite sayings is, ‘don’t tell me things you think as if it’s something that you know’, and everyone ‘knew’ that the four-door was lighter than the two-door.

“As Bob was a Holden dealer at the time, I asked the service manager at Southern Motors to get identical specification two-door and four-door HQs and take them to the weighbridge; the coupe was a little lighter, not by much. It was a typical case of ‘experts’ telling us stuff they think, but that turned out to be incorrect. Also, we thought the coupe was more rigid, and it was.”

There was another good reason to run the coupe body. As the four-door Monaro didn’t appear until 1973, the largest engine available for the four-door shell was the Holden 308, whereas the Monaro GTS coupe was available with Chevrolet’s 350.

Despite the car’s monetary value today and the wonderful memories it conjures up, John said the Monaro was nothing special back in the day.

“It sounds weird, but it was just another car in the factory. We had to spend our ‘love’ between the McLaren (M6), the little Brabham (BT36), the Camaro, (and Jane P8 F5000 Repco-Holden, LC Torana Repco) and in among them, Series Production cars.”

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and bruises in it, so we replaced that as well. Everything else remained exactly as is.”

Mechanically, the car runs a fuel injected 350 Chevrolet engine, a four-speed Muncie ‘Rock Crusher’ gearbox and 12-bolt Salisbury rear end, along with a Watts link that is adjustable from underneath the car.

“It is a Certificate of Description car, so we have to run everything as it was originally. The engine has the same bore and stroke and the same fuel injection, the gearbox and diff are the same, and the suspension pick up points on the chassis are the same.

“The engine runs Brownfield heads – it had aluminium heads in the day so we are allowed to run them now – and these are fitted to a standard 010 Chev Motorsport block. It runs Lucas mechanical fuel injection and the engine is dry sumped, complete with the same

boot-mounted tank. The engine makes nearly 600hp.”

The original HQ front disc brakes have been replaced with AP Racing items, while factory drum brakes are retained on the rear.

“The front calipers are the same as most of the F5000s, Sports Sedans and Group N cars that ran in the ’70s,” explained David. “They were the latest and greatest of that era. The originals were made of magnesium but now you can buy a direct copy from AP that are aluminium, and that’s what we have fitted to this car.”

The original Minilite wheels were also made of magnesium; however the current (15x10) rims are reproductions, made from aluminium alloy by original manufacturer, Minilite.

“The original wheel was magnesium, but after seeing them, I don’t think you want to put a

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BOB’S ROCKET THE PASSING decades have dulled Bob Jane’s memory of his mighty Monaro, one thing remains clear in his mind – the car was fast.

“With the motor moved partially back into the cabin (as allowed under Sports Sedan rules) it was easy to drive,” said Bob. “It had very good brakes, it had a fantastic gearbox, a lot of power and no one, including (Allan) Moffat, could believe I could pass them like I did.

“At Sandown I passed Moffat up the back straight like he was parked in a dead end street. He was driving a Chev Monza with the same engine and he thought I was running nitrous oxide, so (CAMS) searched the car but found nothing there. It was a bloody rocket. I won a lot of races with that car.

Under Sports sedan regulations, the Monaro gained front and rear spoilers that were modest by today’s standard but according to Bob, quite effective.

“The spoiler at the back kept the arse down and the front spoiler kept the air from getting under the car, which the Monaro needed because at Sandown it was doing almost 300km/h.

Despite competing against radical machinery such as John McCormack’s Repco Charger, Bryan Thomson’s VW Chev and Pete Geoghegan’s Monaro, Bob’s car remained relatively

conventional, though preserving the Monaro’s originality had nothing to do with that decision.

“I would do anything to modify a car to win races but the car was winning.

I used to race it at Calder Park, which was my own racetrack and nobody, but nobody, could get around that track in a touring car as quickly as I could; and other places too, of course. But Calder was our test track and the place we mainly built it for. The Marlboro $100,000 Series was where the Monaro shone. (And) it was still winning when I sold the car.”

Cars sold during that era were notorious for being stripped of their good parts before the purchaser took possession, however Bob left the Monaro’s new owner – Sydney racer Phil Ward – in no doubt that the car was in tip-top shape when he took delivery.

“Phil Ward couldn’t drive the thing like I could, so when he bought the car I took him out to the race track. I got in the car,

magnesium wheel back on the car,” said David. “They rot from the inside out and when we had the original wheels from this car blasted we could see they were well and truly ready to fail.

It wasn’t really an option for us to make them in magnesium, so we went with an aluminium version, but we also wanted them be alloy anyway.

“We had to get wheels specially made because Minilite had stopped making them in 15x10 inch. A new mould had to be made to do that; we needed to buy 50 wheels and we ended up going halves with David Bowden. It was the only way

broke the lap record, which I held, handed him the keys and told him, ‘Don’t bring it back’. Phil was a good guy and I don’t think he would have done that anyway, but by doing it in this manner there was no way anyone could say the good engine was missing or we took all of the good bits out if it.”

In addition to Bob Jane and John Harvey, Peter Brock also steered the big Holden as a guest driver in 1978, the car re-finished in Marlboro Holden Dealer team colours after being covered with a removable ‘skin’.

“Peter was sponsored by a cigarette company at the time and they skinned my car so that you could briefly paint another sponsor’s colours over the top without damaging the original paintwork,” remembered Bob. “I forget the exact circumstances of why Peter drove the car but he was a good mate of mine and he loved driving my cars.”

Despite being a successful, unique

we could put on a wheel that was exactly as it was in the day, as well as one we could trust.”

Other minor changes include safety items, such as the driver’s seat and belts.

“They had to be replaced because they were 25-years-old, but we fitted a Racetech seat (with no ‘ears’) in the original colour to keep as true to the era as possible.”

While many people would want to wrap a very valuable and newly restored car in cotton wool, David had no hesitation in returning the Monaro to open competition.

and long serving race car, Bob agreed the Monaro is not held in the same regard today as his Camaro, Allan Moffat’s Mustang, Norm Beechey’s Monaro and Ian Geoghegan’s Super Falcon.

“The Australian Touring Car Championships in ’71 and ’72 were won by the Camaro against Moffat’s Mustang and there was a lot of controversy, which I think has a lot to do with people’s opinions of those two cars. My personal opinion is the Camaro has its own following, never mind who drove it. The sight, the sound, the smell – people still talk to me about it 30 or 40 years later.

“The cars of Moffat, Geoghegan, Beechey and Jane, they are all hero cars to someone in one way or another, but in my case, I drove a lot of cars and I can tell you the feedback I get from people today is that they remember all of my cars, and the team colour. It was a great era and frankly I find touring car racing a bit boring at the moment.”

“We believe that the best thing for these cars is to race them – we respect them but they are race cars and we enjoy putting them out there in front of people. We are a bit cautious if it’s wet or if the conditions are changing – we are always conscious to back it off more than what is needed.”

Despite a heavy personal program in V8 Supercar, and the team’s commitment to Carrera Cup, David plans to race the car as much as he can.

“We are going to try to take them to each state once a year and make sure they are seen by as many people as MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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possible. We won’t race a series, we just want to race at the large historic race meetings.

The Muscle Car Masters is a big event, so are Phillip Island and Sandown. All of those are up our alley and every now and then they hold the Lakeside Classic, we enjoy doing that as well. It’s just a matter of what we can fit in with everything else that’s going on in the workshop, and my schedule.”

With David installed as the driver of the team’s ex-Geoghegan Mustang, race driving duties have been given to the

evergreen John Bowe, a driver with a keen sense of motorsport history .

“John has been a close friend for a while and I am sure he won’t mind me saying this – he fits the vintage – so it all fell into place and he wanted to be involved with it. He knew we were

building the car and every time I saw him he wanted to know where we were at with it. He fits in well with us; he comes away and has a good time and I don’t see that changing in the future. He’s a very good steerer and he loves driving the old cars, like I do.”

THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL BOB JANE’S Monaro was famous for many things, and infamous for others.

Perhaps the car’s most notorious moment occurred in the final round of the 1974 Marlboro $100,000 Series at Calder, when Bob ran into the Chevrolet-powered Volkswagen Type 3 of Bryan Thomson on the last corner of the series.

Thomson won the first of the round’s two races and went into the second race ahead on points. A second win would have guaranteed Thomson series victory but with double points on offer for this race, Jane could still win the title. The stage was set for an epic, winner-take-all battle.

“In the two years that we competed with the Volkswagen, ‘Jano’ hit me from the back 18 times,” remembered Bryan. Sometimes it was just a kiss and 34

sometimes it was a bit more. I’d won the first race and was leading the second race when, on the last corner of the second race, Jano dived inside the Volkswagen.

He said, ‘I thought there was room’ but he hit me from behind and both cars spun. He re-started the Monaro first, and went on to win. It was a $30,000 first prize, of which I was robbed. It was heartwrenching at the time.

“Jano was a touch embarrassed about it all, and he did give me some of the prizes – a first class ticket to London flying with Singapore Airlines, and a 250cc Yamaha dirt bike. He said, “I don’t have time to go to London and I’m not going to ride a dirt bike, so you have these, Thommo’.

“The next meeting at Sandown, we had a problem and Jano lent me an engine, so

that’s the sort of bloke he is.”

In an odd twist a decade later, Bryan drove the Jane Monaro (then owned by Tino Leo) in the Australian GT Championship round at Calder Park, after his Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC broke on the warm-up lap.

“We were contesting the championship with the Benz, which was still in development mode, and it was using turbos every meeting. In order to get points if the Benz failed, Tino (who has been a great mate of mine for many years), told me to come into the pits and he would follow me in,

allowing me to continue in the ex-Bob Jane car. Sure enough, the Benz failed on the warm up lap, so we both entered the pits and I jumped into the Monaro.

I started at the back of the grid and finished ninth, which allowed me to score some championship points.

“It was still a quick car. It had a Pat Purcell engine and it was a very competitive car. Tino won many races in it. I’d never driven it before but it handled nicely. It was an easier car to drive than the turbo Benz.

It was a nicely balanced car and that is why it was so successful.”

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Peter Brock working on a coupe version of his TR 250K in 1966.

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Mr.

VERSATILE Interview Darren

House Photos Peter Brock and General Motors

HAVING DRAWN THE CAR THAT BECAME THE ’63 CORVETTE AND TURNED THE LESS THAN SVELTE SHELBY COBRA INTO THE SLIPPERY COBRA DAYTONA COUPE, AND THEN WINNING MULTIPLE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH HIS DATSUN-BASED BROCK RACING ENTERPRISES, PETER BROCK IS A TRUE MOTORSPORT LEGEND. IN PART ONE OF OUR TWO PART FEATURE, DARREN HOUSE TALKS TO PETER ABOUT HIS LOVE OF CARS AND HOW HE CAME TO DESIGN CHEVROLET’S ICONIC SPORTS CAR.

WHERE DID YOUR LOVE OF CARS ORIGINATE? My folks were divorced so I didn’t have a dad. When I was 12 years old I gravitated to my next door neighbour who had bought an MG TC and was racing it. I started hanging out with him just so I could be around the car and help with minor chores.

I started going to the races with him and I just fell in love with cars and racing.

I asked the owner of the shop where this guy worked, “Would you let me work here after school for nothing?” I just wanted to sweep the floors and wipe down tools and stuff so I could be around race cars and the cool guys who raced them. After a while they even paid me a few bucks because they realised I was serious.

There was also an irascible old Frenchman working there. He was doing bodywork on the clients’ sports cars and at the same time was building a type of car we called a ‘Special’, essentially a stripped down racer made from production , Ray g d several times before Stin concept.

The split window was use bile smo cars parts. His name was Nadeau Old ket Roc 6 Golden including Harley Earl’s 195 Bourgeault. He had a chain across the front of his shop to keep people out, so all I could do was stand there and watch from a distance. He was fabricating this blown MG TC Special, which was the most interesting thing I’d ever seen. He’d hardly say a word to me, he’d just continue working but slowly began to appreciate my interest. I watched him work over a period of months fabricating this race car. When you are 12 years old you have never seen anyone build anything – it was really fascifasci nating to see.

Finally, when the car was done he took me for a ride in it and God, I had never seen anybody drift a car or control a car like that; he could actually the steer the car using the

throttle, it just blew me away. I said, “Boy, this is the coolest thing I have ever experienced,” and I have been doing it ever since.

There was a group from our shop that would go racing every weekend and I got to tag along with them. Before it was acceptable for someone my age to be that responsible, I was working the corners as flag-man because you couldn’t get a racing licence at that time until you were 21.

By the time I was 16 I was going to the races all the time, but I still had five years more before I could race. I liked taking pictures of race cars so photography became a serious hobby. I still have many of those pictures I took in the early 1950s – they are used often in magazines about vintage racing now.

WERE YOU ALWAYS GOING PURSUE AN AUTOMOTIVE CAREER? I tried doing other jobs. My mother was pretty interested in arts and architecture so I tried going to college to study architecture but I didn’t have the passion to continue.

I’d heard about the Art Centre College of Design in Los Angeles, which, is primarily a school for professionals. I didn’t have any art background at all but I talked my way into the school – I went into the front office and said, “I want to learn how draw pictures like you have on the wall here (laughs). I was pretty naïve, but they let me sign up on the condition that I meet their standards. The instructors took pity on me, so I learned MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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how to draw cars and do clay work.

I didn’t have the money to finish school, but in five semesters I had made enough contacts with some key people from Detroit who would come to the school to evaluate the graduating talent. When my mother wouldn’t support me anymore I called Chuck Jordan, who later became the VP of Design, back in GM and explained the situation. He said, “We’ll, send you an airplane ticket tomorrow”. I was hired in when I was 19, so I was one of the youngest designers General Motors had ever hired.

and farther apart, so that if you specialise in race car design, it’s probably all datagoverned – you can do anything with virtual computer work – all of your aerodynamic work with computers. Production car design is more about fashion than function.

In the ’50s and ’60s you had to test your ideas on the race track and all the feedback came through the driver, so it was the interface between the mechanic, the driver and the designer that determined which way they were going to go. Now you can figure that all out electronically.

Racing has got to the point where it is all A GREAT OPPORTUNITY IN WHAT MUST about downforce, and consequently it has HAVE BEEN A VERY COMPETITIVE become very uninteresting to the average MARKET. spectator because they cannot discern Oh yeah, and it is even more so today. There what’s really going on… it’s all too subtle. are so many young kids from all parts of the Drivers seldom lift going through corners world who want to become car designers so because there is so much downforce. If we it takes some top talent to make it. That era could to go back to the point where the of really innovative design has passed us by, contact patch of the tyres is restricted and I think. Even though we are building some seriously limited the aerodynamic devices, of the best cars in the world today from an the drivers’ skill would come back into play engineering standpoint, Federal regulations and the spectators would be able to see that have become so stultifying that you can’t the driver has to back off in certain corners, really do things as aesthetically pretty as you or could compare how deeply each can go could in my time. into a corner. You don’t see that The divergence between race car design and production cars has gotten farther

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much anymore and it’s made racing far less interesting.

That is what was so exciting about racing back in the ’50s and ’60s – that you could actually sense what the drivers were doing.

They also had open face helmets so you could see an expression or recognise a face, and you could actually see them controlling the car. Now they are so enclosed you don’t see it. There is little understanding of what the driver is doing anymore.

HOW DID A JUNIOR DESIGNER COME TO BE INVOLVED WITH THE CORVETTE PROGRAM? An amazing opportunity to work for (Bill) Mitchell (Vice President of Design) on the Corvette came about because of an internal management decision that had nothing to do with design. It was just a matter of timing because normally you’d spend your lifetime waiting for that kind of opportunity.

I was just very lucky. I got some great breaks and the car turned out to be successful. I was just so fortunate to have that opportunity to work under Bill Mitchell – backed up by Harley Earl, who had been there since 1927! Also

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Top: Brock wins at the ’53 Oakland National Roadster Show with his ’46 ‘Fordillac’.

Above: Brock’s first effort at design in high school was his chopped and channelled ’46 Ford, the ‘El Mirage’.

“I HAD NEVER SEEN ANYBODY DRIFT A CAR OR ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I WAS JUST BLOWN AWAY! WHEN I REALISED HE COULD MAKE THE CAR STEER USING THE THROTTLE, I SAID, ‘BOY, THIS IS THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE,’ AND I HAVE BEEN DOING IT EVER SINCE” MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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Harley Earl with the 1951 GM LeSabre concept.

involved were the Corvette’s chief engineer, Zora (Arkus-) Duntov, and Ed Cole, who led the team that put overhead valve engines in all the GM cars. His Chevrolet “small block V8” (which GM still builds today), is an icon of American engineering. Those four people were the main guys who influenced me in that era.

It was an incredible opportunity. When you work for a big corporation you usually have to work your way up through several levels before you get to the point where you can design more than a tail light or a doorhandle.

HOW DID THAT OPPORTUNITY ARISE? The men in top management had made millions for General Motors. There’s an old saying at GM – “We don’t make cars here… we make money!” Being so focused on the bottom line they felt their engineers and marketing managers were beginning to spend too much money on ‘performance’ (Primarily NASCAR and drag racing, which consumed about 90 per cent of the performance budget), so they decreed there would be no more racing! You couldn’t even advertise a new car was going to have better performance. They cut off every type of performance related activity. This mandate was called the AMA ban (American Automobile Manufacturers). Even though only a very small amount was being spent on the nascent Corvette program, it was killed off as well.

Fortunately Bill Mitchell was an avid performance enthusiast. He believed that ‘performance’ sold automobiles and was willing to risk his career to prove it. He was just about to take over as head of GM Design and wanted to use the Corvette to establish a ‘new look’ for GM. Mitchell decided to continue with it by working

secretly with the interns, who management wouldn’t suspect of being involved in such a program. Mitchell was really a bold guy – he could have lost his job had his plan been discovered.

Normally production design is handled in the real production studios. He couldn’t develop his new car there because the plan would have been discovered by top management. Instead he began working in a ‘research studio’ where new designers were placed until they had enough experience to transfer to a production studio.

I didn’t know it at the time, but when I came into work for GM, Mitchell had already been working there for more than 22 years; he had been designing cars before I was born. He had a lot of power but he

didn’t have the control of top management.

FORTY YEARS ON, THE 1963 CORVETTE REMAINS A GREAT DESIGN The C2 Sting Ray is still a great looking car, it has become an established icon of American design because of Bill Mitchell.

The price on them today is just skyrocketing, especially the original ‘63 ‘split window’ coupes. I didn’t design it that way, Mitchell put the split in after the shape was completed. It was just one of those Mitchell quirks because he admired the Bugatti 57 SC coupe of the late ’30s that originated the split window. The split had been used several times before (Sting Ray), including Harley Earl’s great show car of the 1956 Motorama – the Golden Rocket Oldsmobile.

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1959-Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer.

The book I recently wrote, Corvette Sting Ray: Genesis of an American Icon, includes the key sketch I did for Mitchell in November of ’57. We’d done a lot of sketches but when Mitchell walked in, saw this on the wall and said, “Okay, that’s going to be our new direction” I had little idea that it would become so important. It was really exciting, yes, but I had no idea. The design was actually Bill Mitchell’s. I simply interpreted what he wanted to do.

Bill had gone to the Turin Auto Show in 1957 and he saw several cars all with a similar theme. They all had a crisp beltline

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and lithe aerodynamic shapes over each of the wheels. He returned with a bunch of photographs he’d taken there and laid them out for us in the studio. He said, “This is the theme I want to work with”. He gave us free reign to do whatever we wanted, provided they had that Turin characteristic. For a couple of weeks were going all out and doing some weird stuff but they all had the same theme.

The car that he was most inspired by was Alfa Romeo’s Disco Volante (Italian for Flying Saucer). It has everything that the Corvette coupe ended up with – the shapes

over the wheels, the coupe body, and the crisp beltline – (Mitchell) just reinterpreted it.

We had hundreds of sketches doing that job and I was able to save a few of them when the program was closed up.

We did several variations on a rear-engine Corvette theme because Ed Cole had just done the Corvair engine. At that time there was a lot of interest in making the Corvette an air-cooled car because Duntov, having worked for Porsche, and raced Spiders at Le Mans, was convinced that we should be building a mid-engined, air-cooled car like

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“WHEN MITCHELL WALKED IN, SAW THIS ON THE WALL AND SAID, ‘OKAY, THAT’S GOING TO BE OUR NEW DIRECTION, I HAD LITTLE IDEA THAT IT WOULD BECOME SO IMPORTANT”

Brock’s original sketch, penned on November 17, 1957 at GM Styling pointed the way toward the ’63 Corvette Split Window Sting Ray.

Porsche. Mitchell wanted to stay with a front-engine design.

At that time I thought (Frank) Costin’s Lotus 9 was the coolest looking car in the world, so I did some designs with Lotus 9 fenders. There was a lot of stuff going on with fins in ’57 because of (Virgil) Exner’s designs at Chrysler and because of Costin’s influence in racing, but Mitchell was adamant; “No fins because that was what Chrysler was doing!”

Mitchell was leaning heavily toward a coupe (a first for Corvette) so we designed the coupe to begin with. You can see that my early clay model didn’t have the split window in it.

HOW DID THE CAR PROGRESS TO PRODUCTION? Prior to that point, Harley Earl and Zora Duntov had built a prototype for Sebring ’57 called the SS Corvette. It ran just one time at Sebring and then it was cut off by management’s AMA ban. It was supposed to have been crushed under that edict but Zora hid the car and later gave it to the Indianapolis Speedway Museum. They had built more than one SS chassis. Bill was able to buy one of those to build our prototype, which later became known as the XP 87 or ‘Mitchell Stingray’ roadster.

Although the car was designed as a coupe, we built the prototype as a roadster because

it is three times as difficult to fabricate a coupe as it is a roadster, because you have to make the doors close and roll the windows up and down. Mitchell didn’t have enough power within the company to spend the money to do it, nor did we have the time.

When the car was finished and finally ‘discovered’, top management came to Mitchell and said, “Okay, you can race it but it can’t have the Corvette name on it… or the word Chevrolet anywhere on the car!

He named it the Stingray. Once it was seen by the public, management was convinced.

The public loved the car. At that point they took the car upstairs and it went into the regular Chevrolet production studio. Under Mitchell’s direction, the production version of the ‘63 Corvette was designed by Tony Lapine and Larry Shinoda. Essentially all they did was put the roof back on the XP 87 and extend the wheel base six-inches. The basic shape had all been directed by Mitchell in our prototype ‘Racer’.

Tony left (GM) after this car was done and went to Opel and from there he became head of design for Porsche.

There was a big political shake up at GM and Larry got fired. He ended up going to Ford and there he created the Mach 1 Mustang – and much of the really cool Mustang stuff, so here were two ace

1956 GM Styling Studio, Brock in a full-size mock-up of his Cadet ‘students’ car’.

designers that both left GM after the C2 Sting Ray Corvette program.

AND BEFORE LONG, YOU ALSO LEFT GM. I’d gotten to know Harley Earl on the Corvette program and he asked me, “What would you like to do if you could do anything?”, and I said, “Boy, we ought to make cars for students that would sell for $1000. So he let me design a small car, which even today, I think would be a great seller. It’s tiny… even compared to an Isetta but that’s why it would be good for young people in school because it could be driven on campus paths and parked anywhere.

Earl was really enthusiastic about it and said we should also build a little sedan delivery version, so we did but the president of GM at that time – a guy named Harlow Curtis – said, “We don’t build small cars at General Motors” and that killed off the program. I realised pretty much at that time that the possibility of doing other great design at GM was going to be pretty remote, so I left and went to California and started racing. That’s when I met Carroll Shelby…

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THUNDER STRUCK!

MITC HELL Words TONY WHITLOCK Photos ALEX

New Zealander Alan Dunkley in his 1968 Lola T140 leads Hampton Downs co-owner Tony Roberts in his 1969 McLaren M10A. Both cars feature the tall wings used on early F5000 cars.

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Bruce Allison reflecting on his first taste of a F5000 in New Zealand in many years.

HAMPTON DOWNS’ F5000 FESTIVAL FEATURED AUSTRALASIA’S LARGEST COLLECTION OF GROUNDTHUMPING FORMULA 5000S.

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hile the 2015 Hampton Downs F5000 Festival was named in honour of New Zealand’s Howden Ganley, it was Ken Smith who took centre stage at this annual event.

Ken had not competed in the first two rounds of the 2014-15 Championship, which ran in November at Sandown and Sydney Motorsport Park, instead prepping for the two rounds and six races at his home base.

Starting in Hill Climbs in New Zealand at age 16, the 72-year-old is now in his fifty-seventh consecutive year of racing, 41 of those years on board a F5000. He won the New Zealand Grand Prix in 1976, 1990 and 2004 as well as the F5000 Revival Championship three times.

While his wins in recent years have come in both the ex-Danny Ongais Lola T332 and an ex-Craig Baird Swift DB4, he

has also won in Formula Ford, Formula Mondial and the Toyota Racing Series. He won his first NZ Gold Star driver’s award in ’75-’76 and his fifth in ’89-’90.

Ken’s Hampton Downs workshop houses not only his current racing cars, but also cars that he preps and looks after for other drivers. He has been proudly sporting the La Valise Travel brand since 1976, no doubt delivering well beyond their expectations.

Ken Smith took pole position on both weekends, the first by 1.9 seconds, achieving a qualifying lap of 59.26 seconds in the process, and the second by 0.4 seconds (60.06sec lap). After the first day of racing, he had a pair of wins. In both cases Clark Proctor (March 73A) and Steve Ross (McRae GM1) filled the other podium places.

On the first weekend, Australian Paul Zazryn (Lola T332) was the only upset, climbing from fifth to third in race two, MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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Australian Peter Brennan in his Lola T330 wearing Lella Lombardi colours leading the mid pack.

reverting to the previous trio in race three. The second weekend saw another clean sweep by Ken with minor podium places taken by Ross, Proctor and Brett Willis (Lola T330).

Ken clean swept the World Series title with 288 points, while Steve Ross was second with 219 points. Paul Zazryn was best of the fly-ins in third with 184 points.

No doubt a highlight for Ken Smith over these two weekends was celebrating the history of F5000 with many of the legends returning – Bruce Allison, Kevin Bartlett, Warwick Brown, Graeme Lawrence, Graeme McRae, David Oxton and Teddy Pilette.

Also making an appearance during the festival were Australasian motorsport legends, Dick Bennetts, Paul Fahey, Robbie Francevic, Steve and Christine Horne, Leo Leonard, Dennis Marwood, Paul and Frank Radisich, Tim Schenken and Vern Schuppan, while Brendan Hartley took time out from his Porsche testing to reunite with his mentor Ken Smith.

A good number of the drivers, such as Brown and Pilette, who reunited with their old cars, did some demonstration 46

1970’s F5000 rivals reunite. L to R: Warwick Brown, Bruce Allison, Graeme Lawrence, Kevin Bartlett and Teddy Pilette.

Left: Bruce Allison normally drove a T332 in Hobby & Toyland colours of black with gold pin striping but was happy to try another of the same model that was once Evan Noyes’ mount. Right: Warwick Brown leads his former teammate on board Lola T430/HU2 while Teddy Pilette tries his old car T430/HU1.

laps. In addition to drivers, team manager and owners, there were many former mechanics who took the opportunity to reunite with their drivers and their former charges.

In addition to the 29 listed F5000 cars, there were three BRMs – an ex-Howden Ganley 1972 P180, an ex-Jean Pierre Beltoise 1974 P201 and a 1977 Rotary Watches P207 V12 (driven twice by Larry

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A likely world-record field of around 35 F5000 cars. Front row (L to R): a pair of Lolas, a Begg FM5 and the ex-Sam Posey Surtees TS11.

NO DOUBT A HIGHLIGHT FOR KEN SMITH OVER THESE TWO WEEKENDS WAS CELEBRATING THE HISTORY OF F5000, WITH MANY OF THE LEGENDS RETURNING – BRUCE ALLISON, KEVIN BARTLETT, WARWICK BROWN, GRAEME LAWRENCE, GRAEME MCRAE, DAVID OXTON AND TEDDY PILETTE”

Perkins in 1977), as well as an ex-Ivan Capelli Leyton House 1989 March Judd V8 F1, an ex-Jean Alesi Ferrari 412 TI and a pair of 2000-built Walkinshaw Arrows Hart V10 three-seater F1 cars. There were 21 other F5000s on display (with 12 for sale), as well as seven Formula 1 cars.

This was the largest collection of quality F5000s ever assembled in Australasia.

All the fast cars of the different F5000 eras were represented. This included the early Lolas and McLarens of 1968 and 1969, the McLaren M10s of the ’70s as

Ken Smith leads a tight pack early in the first of six race wins over the two weekends on board his favourite car, the La Valise Travel Lola T332.

well as the side-radiator Lolas and McRae GM2s (which were built as Talons) onto the Begg, March, Surtees, Chevrons and the end-of-the-line Lola T430s. The only groups missing were the Australian-built Elfin and Matich cars of the mid-’70s.

Many of these makes are still racing in Australia.

The motor racing festivals held at Hampton Downs over the last five years have all been well supported by Australian competitors. Unfortunately that was not the case with this latest F5000 World

Series event. Paul Zazryn and Peter Brennan from Victoria were the only ones to cross the ditch this time.

As an example of the commitment of competitors from Australia and New Zealand, the August 2015 F5000 Festival in Monterey, California will feature 20 NZ F5000s and just four Australian cars.

A disappointing reflection but that won’t stop the event from boasting the largest ever collection of F5000s.

If you haven’t been to Hampton Downs then put this on your schedule for 2016.

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L E E H W TWO TH

OMMO

WORDS: GRANT NICHOLAS PHOTOS: DARREN HOUSE

BETTER KNOWN FOR RACING CARS, MOTORSPORT LEGEND BRYAN THOMSON, BEGAN HIS CAREER WITH MOTORCYCLES AND TODAY OWNS AN IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF HIGHLY DESIRABLE BIKES.

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or more than five decades, Bryan Thomson thrilled motor sport fans with his competitive spirit and endeavour, as he raced an enormous variety of cars with great success in Australia, New Zealand and England.

Known as ‘Mr Nice Guy’ by his peers, as he always enjoyed the fun side of the sport, Bryan has returned to the grass roots of his high-speed accomplishments – motorcycles – amassing a large collection of two-wheeled machines that are regularly ridden.

“Having spent so much time working on motorcycles in my youth, I decided that I would have bikes that I (previously)

owned, or lusted after and could never afford,” explained Bryan. “So progressively I have been able to acquire a collection of wonderful motorcycles. They are kept in pristine condition, as I enjoy riding each of them when the occasion suits.”

After leaving Scotch College in Melbourne, Thomson started an electrical apprenticeship and in his spare time, purchased and refurbished or updated twenty-one motorcycles prior to his twenty-first birthday. During that time he tinkered on Royal Enfield, BSA, Ariel, Triumph and several other British makes before shouting himself a second-hand Vincent Rapide for his twenty-first.

“In 1952 I purchased my first bike,

a 1938 Ariel 350 Red Hunter that had been sitting in a farmer’s shed for a considerable time. I convinced my father that if I bought it for £15 and got it going I would sell it and make a profit. That appealed to him and from then on I never kept a bike, as I would sell one to get, and improve, the next one.”

During 1953, he competed in local mud scrambles near Shepparton, conducted by the Goulburn Valley Motorcycle Club on a 1948 Ariel Red Hunter before making his tarmac road racing debut aboard a Velocette 350 Mac at Victoria Park, Ballarat in 1956.

“Looking back, I appreciate those formative years buying, selling and racing bikes as it was my introduction into the MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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Bryan’s collection includes Japanese, Italian and English bikes but does not extend to US brands.

motor industry, involving cars, then trucks and also motorsport.

“After several seasons of racing bikes, I became interested in car racing and purchased an Austin Healey 100/4 BN1 sports car in 1958 and raced it at the Barjarg circuit, near Benalla. I got married in ’63 and had started a truck business, so my total commitment was to servicing

Having made his tarmac road racing debut aboard a Velocette 350 Mac at Victoria Park in 1956, naturally a Velocette is part of the collection.

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the mortgage and the bank finances associated with the dealership, leaving no time for motorcycles.”

Nearly thirty years after he stopped racing and tinkering with bikes, Bryan started to accumulate his outstanding collection of motorcycles as a result of a telephone call from a local Toyota dealer.

“A buyer wanted to trade a Ducati 860

GT in on a car and the dealer principal had no idea about the bike and its value.

I got some information on the Ducati and ended up purchasing it, and then promptly rode it to Bathurst for the 1984 race meeting.”

This pilgrimage wasn’t the first time he’d ridden to The Mount, having initially done so some three decades earlier.

“Some mates and I travelled to the Bathurst races in the ’50s. It was a long ride on my ’48 Triumph and similar machines, and you could not purchase fuel on weekends because petrol stations were closed, so we would carry 20-litre drums of fuel strapped to the pillion seat to ensure that we got to Bathurst and back home.

“On those trips we would sleep in haysheds or whatever else was available.

The introduction of slot fuel pumps was a great thing for motorcyclists. By simply feeding in a number of two shilling coins you could purchase petrol day and night, providing of course that you had a pocket full of ‘two-bob’ pieces.”

By the ’80s, Thomson’s trucking business was established and he again started touring to the Bathurst races, only to find that his Ducati could not

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Bryan’s pristine 1982 Ducati 900 Super Sports Mike Hailwood Replica Mk1 turned up in Shepparton.

keep pace with his mate’s recently purchased Kawasaki Z1R. Thomson’s competitive nature came to the fore and he purchased a Suzuki 1000 Katana to ensure that he was the leader of the pack, only to see his mate update to a Honda 1100RR that he still owns today, with a mere 1300km on the speedometer.

Another two-wheeled treasure in Bryan’s collection is a 1976 Suzuki RE5 rotary-powered motorcycle, which was originally purchased by his brother after the price had been heavily discounted to ensure the sale. When Bryan’s brother wanted to trade up, he was not offered a fair price, so money changed hands between the brothers and it was added to Bryan’s ever-increasing collection.

Picking a collection favourite is a difficult task, though a rare bike made by Lord Hesketh – of Formula 1 fame – is definitely towards the top of the list.

“In 1986 I attended an auction in England and there was a Hesketh motorcycle for sale, it really appealed to me as I thought it resembled how a modern day Vincent bike would look like. It was passed in and I asked the auctioneer what reserve was on it – the

“SOME MATES AND I TRAVELLED TO THE BATHURST RACES IN THE ’50S. IT WAS A LONG RIDE AND YOU COULD NOT PURCHASE FUEL ON WEEKENDS BECAUSE PETROL STATIONS WERE CLOSED, SO WE WOULD CARRY 20-LITRE DRUMS OF FUEL STRAPPED TO THE PILLION SEAT TO ENSURE THAT WE GOT TO BATHURST AND BACK HOME” reserve was £5,000.

“We had been living there for nine months and I had shipped six Jaguar XJ6s back to Australia and there was 100 per cent import duty on them, and I didn’t know if motorcycles attracted import duty. I contacted Bill Gibson, from Gibson Freight, and he advised there was no duty on bikes but by the time I got back to the auctioneer, the Hesketh had been sold.”

“Seven years later I received a fax from Sotheby’s Auctions to say another Hesketh would be on offer at a forthcoming Stafford auction, and it was the first Hesket V1000 built with all associated paperwork. I promptly said to my wife, Lorel, that we better make another trip to England,” Bryan laughed.

“The bike’s first owner was Eddie Faulkner, president of the Hesketh Owners Club, who originally purchased it in February 1982 and it came with the Vampire touring fairing and panniers, etc.

I was fortunate to acquire it for £7000.

“Purchasing the Hesketh was quite pleasing, as I had always grown up admiring and then working on a variety of English manufactured motorcycles; in fact I have never to this day ridden a Harley Davidson, as I had no interest in American bikes.”

Of course, Ducatis also remain a favourite.

“In 1995 the Ducati 916, with its V-Twin engine, was introduced and anybody with red blood flowing through them had to have one. Then there was a MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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Thommo’s bikes are more than just museum pieces; all of them are regularly ridden.

pristine 1982 Ducati 900 Super Sports Mike Hailwood Replica Mk1 turn up in Shepparton, so they were both added to the collection, plus a reasonably late-model Ducati Multistrada.

“Joining them is a Honda CB750, the most popular bike of its time when the British motorcycle industry was going into decline in the early ’70s. Another significant Honda bike is the six-cylinder CBX1000 Super Sport, which was one of the true performance Superbikes.

“Sitting near them is the first bike that I raced – the Velocette 350. Tuning genius, Phil Irving, did all of the suspension work on it (while) my race preparation was running it with aluminium mudguards and removing the headlight.”

Throughout the years, Bryan (now aged 80), has shown no sign of slowing down – in fact, he said has ridden more kilometres since retiring from work than he ever did in his younger years.

“In 1981 we rode through the Himalayas for three weeks on Royal Enfields and then in 2002 we flew to Bolivia and spent two weeks with Ferris Wheels Motorcycle Safaris, traversing the Andes.

“Two years later, five of us rode the Simpson Crossing after a reconnaissance trip to Birdsville and Big Red on a BMW 52

R1150 GS. In sandy conditions, it was like being on the Queen Mary, so I updated to a more suitable Suzuki DRZ 400E for the Simpson Crossing.

“I used the Suzuki in the ’05 ten-day Wild Boar Ride out of Balloon, NSW, where we covered 3000km of the 4500km event on tracks through large farms.

“Other enjoyable return rides from Melbourne included a run to Darwin for the Ulysses Rum Jungle event, and several years later, to Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia for the ’07 Australian Safari, where we

followed the action as spectators.

“During 2014 we rode in the Lions Road TT on closed roads from Beaudesert in Southern Queensland to near Kyogle in Northern New South Wales with around 250 other motorcyclists.

“Internationally, I took in the 2007 Isle of Man Mad Sunday event, where riders do laps of the world famous TT road course. It was good fun riding the 1150 GS on the TT course, however seven bikes ended up in hedges. They were mad, as there is no speed limit and some of them ran out of talent.

A 1976 Suzuki RE5 rotary.

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LORD, WHAT A BIKE! HESKETH MOTORCYCLES V-TWIN 1000 LORD HESKETH is well-known in motor racing circles as the man behind the Hesketh Racing Formula 1 team.

Notably, Hesketh Racing was the last privateer team to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix when flamboyant British racer James Hunt won the 1975 Dutch GP. In 1980, Lord Hesketh also established Hesketh Motorcycles, which developed bikes at his private Easton Neston estate in England.

“Hesketh was peeved that his friends were mainly riding BMW, Ducati, Honda and other Japanese makes of motorcycles as there were no British manufactured bikes for them to ride.

He thought it would be patriotic if he could produce a high quality English motorcycle,” explained Bryan.

“Hesketh went to his F1 engineers and technical folk, who were not used to cutting corners, with a clean sheet of paper and asked them to create a luxury sports machine. He had been in long running dialogue with Rover, who had originally produced motorcycles, as he never intended to run the production side of the bikes, apart from constructing the prototype.

“Rover had indicated they would manufacture the new motorcycle, but a credit squeeze and restrictions placed on them by the British Leyland Group, prevented it from happening.

“The prototype was launched at the

1980 Earls Court Motorcycle Show, where it was marketed for a price of £5,000 and where one hundred deposits of £1,000 were taken,” added Bryan. “Hesketh built a brand-new factory with plans to build 50 bikes a year initially, and 50 a week when in full production. By the time they had manufactured 140 motorcycles in late 1982, the banks closed the doors.

“It was the first British motorcycle to have four-valves and double overhead camshafts, plus an electronic ignition system, Astralite wheels and other industry leading innovations. Weslake manufactured the V-twin 1000 engine and Cosworth were responsible for the cylinder heads.

“Mick Broom, the chief engineer, advised me that they had a few issues with the original engine. The rear cylinder used to get too hot, plus the pistons were changed several times.

Originally Hepolite pistons were utilised and they used to nip up, so they machined the pistons and installed

Teflon buttons in the piston skirts but unfortunately that exercise was not successful.

“Then they introduced EN9, where nine modifications were carried out on the bikes that had already been delivered to owners. An oil cooler was installed to overcome the cylinder

overheating problem, plus Mahle pistons were fitted and a number of other development items carried out.

“The Hesketh V-twin is not as strong as the Ducati equivalent up top but it is down low, so it is a nice touring bike – in fact, it’s lovely to ride.

When I purchased the Hesketh Vampire it had 2300 miles on the odometer and now it has around 4600. I have attended the All British Motorcycle Rally in Castlemaine several times, plus ridden it to a number of other motorcycle events.”

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S S O G N JOHthe FORD years Words GLENIS LINDLEY Photos AUTOPICS.AND GLENIS LINDLEY

THE ONLY DRIVER TO CLAIM VICTORY IN AUSTRALIA’S TWO MOST PRESTIGIOUS EVENTS, THE BATHURST 1000 AND THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX, JOHN GOSS WAS A HERO TO A LEGION OF FORD FANS BEFORE CROSSING OVER TO JAGUAR.

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ue to this motor racing legend’s association with the 1985 Bathurstwinning Jaguar factory team, some people may tend to forget that John Goss was initially a long-term Ford privateer.

Born in Melbourne and raised in Tasmania, Goss has been a Sydney-sider for years, although he continues to own property on the ‘Apple Isle’, along with a farm in the southern highlands of New

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JOHN GOSS – the FORD years

South Wales.

His first Bathurst triumph came more than 40 years ago as a popular privateer driving a Falcon XA GT hardtop.

Another feather in the Goss cap, is the fact that his was the first team to develop and race that particular breed of Ford – the Falcon XA GT – getting the jump on the factory team.

Though he began racing with an FJ Holden, Goss established himself as a highly-respected Ford touring car competitor in the ’60s and ’70s, but he also

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Brock chases Goss out of Sandown’s Dandenong Road corner in 1973.

Goss flat out at Oran Park in the Matich F5000 during 1977.

Below: Bathurst '76 in the XB GT Falcon

Goss teamed with Frenchman Henri Pescarolo for the 1979 Bathurst 1000.

designed, built and raced his own sports car, the Tornado Ford.

“I based this car on the famous Ford GT40 and Chaparral design concept, and it was an interesting car to drive,” stated Goss. “I was very fond of that car.

It was simple, but stylish. I had so much satisfaction building it, then racing it successfully,” he declared.

He competed on the mainland in the Australian Sports Car Championship under the ‘John Goss Racing’ banner, with his team largely self-funded.

Goss' Tornado Ford was based on the famous Ford GT40 and Chaparral design concepts.

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His open wheel racing days (Formula Ford to Formula 5000), also covered such events as the Tasman Series and the Australian Grand Prix, all carefully planned on a limited budget.

It soon became apparent, however, that in Australia, the motor racing future lay in touring car racing, not open wheel categories. As Goss gradually show-cased himself as a driver of considerable potential, he attracted the support of Max McLeod, a prominent Sydney Ford dealer, and so his touring car career was kick-started in earnest.

Having made his Bathurst debut in 1969 for McLeod Ford (XW Falcon GT-HO) – the one with the distinctive yellow/black chequered windscreen – Goss remained loyal to the ‘big bangers’ throughout the ’70s.

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It wasn’t exactly an encouraging start to what would become a very successful career, as that year, his co-driver Denis Cribbin crashed the car at Forrest Elbow. The next year, in an upgraded Falcon GT-HO Phase 2, driving with Bob Skelton, Goss set the fastest lap time of the Bathurst race and enjoyed a top-ten finish as the third Ford home.

Then came a Falcon GT-HO Phase 3 in 1972, where he qualified alongside a similar works GT-HO of Ford factory front-man, Allan Moffat. But neither Moffat nor Goss would take the honours in that water-logged race. Emerging Holden star, Peter Brock in his little Torana, took the chequered flag, with

Queenslander John French the first Ford driver home, claiming second place.

When Group C (modified) Touring Cars replaced Series Production in 1973, Goss raced his XA GT Hardtop but Bathurst victory still eluded him, even though he recorded his only Bathurst pole, out-qualifying Brock’s GTR XU-1 Torana.

Goss (co-driving with Kevin Bartlett) further showed the car’s potential by

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“BROCK AND MOFFAT WERE WITH FACTORY TEAMS, AND VIRTUALLY ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS JUMP IN AND DRIVE THE CARS. THEY STAYED AT FANCY HOTELS AND HAD ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME, PLUS A FULL COMPLEMENT OF REGULAR PIT CREW AND TEAM MEMBERS FOR SUPPORT. I DID THINGS THE BEST WAY I COULD – MOST OF THE DEVELOPMENT I DID MYSELF, WITH LIMITED FUNDS, PLUS I ONLY HAD A HANDFUL OF LOYAL HELPERS”

again recording the fastest lap during the race, but a crash caused damage to the front end, which later resulted in retirement.

Moffat, sharing his car with Ian (Pete) Geoghegan, made sure of victory that year, while Brock and Doug Chivas (Torana XU-1) finished second.

“You must remember that drivers like Peter (Brock) and Allan (Moffat) were with factory teams, and virtually all they had to do was jump in and drive the cars,” explained Goss, recalling some of the earlier struggles that privateers encountered.

“They stayed at fancy motels/hotels and had all the comforts of home, plus a full compliment of regular pit crew and team members for support. I didn’t have a team manager, so the decisions were left to me,” he remembered.

“I did things the best way I could – most of the development I did myself, with limited funds, plus I only had a handful of loyal helpers. We were unlucky not to win that year (1973) – but we made our presence felt.”

A year later, Goss returned in the same car, the obvious difference being his formerly yellow Falcon was now painted Goss blue, and he chose the same co-driver – open-wheel rival, Kevin Bartlett. ‘KB’ was also seeking a tin-top career following his major crash during the Tasman Series in New Zealand, when he suffered multiple fractures.

“KB was a very capable driver, and I had talked him into driving with me initially, so it was good to team up again,” declared Goss.

Still suffering the effects of his horrendous crash, Bartlett too was thrilled. “It was a pretty rough old day, but the best result of my touring car career,” he said.

With no crashes or mechanical failures this time, they had splashed their way to an impressive, long-awaited victory, albeit in the (former) longest Bathurst race in history – 7 hours: 52:43 secs. (The recent, amazing 2014 epic lasted nearly eight hours!)

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Goss, with his renowned reputation for expanding simple conversations into prolonged, eloquent discussions, was jokingly accused by some journalists of ‘taking nearly as long as the race, to make his trophy-acceptance speech on the podium’. That’s the type of entertaining, but determined character Goss was.

Another of his signature trademarks was that he usually wore a scarf when driving. As he happily explained, “I did a lot of travelling in my day on Pan American World Airways (better known as Pan Am) before its collapse.

The hostesses gave me scarves as little souvenirs, and I used them when racing.”

The stories don’t stop there. In the days when solo stints were permitted, (before the introduction of the compulsory two-driver rule), many drivers carried sandwiches in the consoles to keep them going during the long race.

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“I filled my console with ice then added some grapes. That sustained me,” Goss said. “I also rigged up a fresh-air duct to avoid the effects of carbon monoxide in the cabin.

“Another little trick was to bind the steering wheel with tape to give it more grip,” added Goss, a man noted for his ingenuity.

The Goss legacy long continued, with Ford Australia acknowledging his 1974 victory with the release in 1975, of a commemorative, limited edition model based on the XB Falcon Hardtop 500 – the John Goss Special (which has since become a collector’s item).

For the technically minded, it featured a 302 Cleveland V8 engine, 12-slot steel road wheels, plus a GS Rally Pack and a host of other options and features like front and rear spoilers. The colour choice was Apollo Blue or Emerald Fire (green)

metallic, offset against the dominant Polar White body.

Dealers (like McLeod Ford, with its ‘Track Pack’) further enhanced the basic JGS model with ‘optional extra’ versions of their own. While the number of John Goss Specials produced remains a mystery, the initial build was said to be 400 units.

When these sold immediately, a discrete second run of cars was authorized, but Goss himself believes the number did not exceed 1000.

During his Ford years, because of limited funding, Bathurst was the big priority, so not many ATCC rounds were contested. But the likeable, somewhat extraverted driver – with his reputation as ‘a man of many words’ – let his driving do the talking whenever he could.

Despite limited funds, Goss contested and won the 1972 South Pacific Touring

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Goss was a privateer who lac ked the resources of factory-backe d teams.

Goss leading the bunch into Sandown’s Dandenong Road corner in 1973.

THERE WERE SO MANY CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME. I DID THE (SOUTH PACIFIC TOURING) SERIES VIRTUALLY

BY MYSELF – TOWED THE RACE CAR UP AND DOWN TO ALL THE ROUNDS WITHOUT A MECHANIC – JUST ME Series, (previously known as Tasman Touring), beating top-ranked drivers like Moffat, Colin Bond and Brock. This was held annually from 1970 to 1975 in conjunction with the international Tasman Series. Tracks included Surfers Paradise, Warwick Farm, Sandown and (from 1972) Adelaide International Raceway.

“There were so many challenges to overcome. I did the (South Pacific Touring) Series virtually by myself – towed the race car up and down to all the rounds without a mechanic – just me,” he said.

That year, 1972, Goss recorded victory

One of his cars, the 1975 XB GT Coupe, earned a slice of history in an unexpected way. Ford star Moffat’s brand new transporter and GT Falcon Hardtop, en route to Adelaide International Raceway for the 1976 ATCC round, caught fire in the Sandown 250 in his GT-HO Phase in the Adelaide Hills, leaving Moffat 3, but he couldn’t cap off this good year distraught at the loss of his truck, car with victory in the Hardie Ferodo 500. and spares. Goss kindly offered his own Goss points out, that with a few recently rebuilt Falcon to his arch rival, exceptions (the major one being in 1985 who subsequently recorded victory. as part of the JRA/ Walkinshaw Jaguar Moffat then also drove this loan car at campaign) he owned most of the cars he the following Lakeside round, keeping raced – unlike the majority of professional him in contention for the title, which drivers of that era. he eventually clinched in his own new “Yes, I did receive some good ‘Project Phoenix’ XB GT. Had it not sponsorship, especially from Max been for Goss’s generosity, his second (McLeod), Shell and Citizen, but having championship wouldn’t have become to purchase my car then prepare and reality. maintain it was a costly exercise. That’s Later, that same car (in 1977) as part why I had to be so selective as to where of an expanded two-car team for Goss, and when I raced,” Goss explained. was driven at Bathurst by a very famous MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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Aboard Glenn Seton’s Ford Sierra RS 500 during the 1989 Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst.

Below: Goss’ first competed at Bathurst in 1969, driving a GT-HO Falcon with Denis Cribbin.

F1 triple champion, Sir Jack Brabham and his son Geoff, running in the top five before a rocker problem dropped them back in the pack (eighteenth place).

For Goss, other later Tooheys 1000 appearances came with Glenn Seton Racing in 1989 in a Ford Sierra RS500, but that was a troubled race.

With his Ford days behind him, the final Bathurst appearance was 1990, partnering Phil Ward in a works Mercedes-Benz 190E/16. They won their class, and finished twelfth outright.

“That of course didn’t equate to the prestige and personal satisfaction that came from the two previous outright

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victories,” Goss admitted.

Retirement from motor racing marked another Goss chapter.

He returned to some former outside interests, including aviation and boating, which have long been part of his intriguing life.

A recent tribute to Goss (as voted by fans) is having a road in the Bathurst campground named in his honour – Goss Avenue – joining the likes of Brock, Moffat, Dick Johnson, Jim Richards, plus

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the good life STAR QUALITY

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ENJOY A STRAWBERRY BLONDE

I was given the opportunity to taste a new drink sensation from Zeven Lemon in Sydney called “Strawberry Blonde”. I say drink sensation, as on inspection I jumped to an immediate conclusion that this was going to be a beer with a strawberry flavouring. How wrong could I be – but first here is my taste take on “Strawberry Blonde”.

Poured into a chilled glass, I could see that this brew did indeed have a beautiful rosy hue to it, but not a false colour – very natural and – yes – strawberry! The flavour was full, fresh and zesty with just a hint of strawberry but definitely no sickly sweetness.

The riddle was being solved – Zeven Lemon has blended beer and cider to create a light, crisp and delicious flavoured ale called “Strawberry Blonde”.

I found it a good ‘party in hot weather’ drink, ideal to have indoors or by the pool. It really was a thirst quencher and hit the spot for me on a hot steamy night. Visit: zevenlemon.com.au 62

HOT TEES FOR COOL DUDES

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John Anthony is Prodijee Magazine Men’s Lifestyle editor www.prodijee.com

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GET YOUR KICKS…

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6 6 e t Rou IT’S KNOWN AS THE MOTHER ROAD OR THE MAIN STREET OF AMERICA AND WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL HIGHWAYS WITHIN THE US HIGHWAY SYSTEM. BUT TODAY THE FAMOUS ROUTE 66 IS A MUST-DO TOURIST ATTRACTION RATHER THAN A MAJOR CROSS-COUNTRY THOROUGHFARE.

E

Words CAROL SHERIDAN

stablished in November, 1926, Route 66 became one of the most famous roads in America.

Covering 3945km (2448 miles), it ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending at Santa Monica in California.

There are two ways to explore Route 66 – simply book the flights, accommodation and rental car yourself and run to your own schedule, or book with an experienced Australian-based, fully guided self-drive tour company, like Route 66 Tours, and let them do all the hard work for you.

While both are great options, if it’s your first time

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driving in the US, I highly recommend travelling with a tour company, as driving in some US cities, on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car, can be intimidating. And as you’ll be driving through some remote countryside, it’s reassuring to know you’re travelling in a group, led by experienced tour operators who have travelled the road many times over. You can also be assured that you won’t miss out on experiencing the best Route 66 has to offer. With decades of experience, Route

66 Tours know where the best attractions, food and accommodation are located.

If you wish to do a self-tour then preparation is key because you will have difficulty finding the road on regular maps or satellite navigation systems, as it has been bypassed by interstate highways.

Start by deciding if you want to travel the whole distance – Chicago to Santa Monica, and in which direction you want to go. Your choice here can depend on a few things, time of year being one of them.

Keep in mind that you will be travelling through forest areas that can be very cool, almost freezing in the colder months, and deserts that can come

close to cooking you in the hotter months.

Convertible cars are very popular rental options for people travelling the route, but keep in mind – you probably won’t want the roof down and the wind blowing through your hair in either the desert or the snow. This is something to also consider if you are travelling the road on a motorcycle, which is another very popular mode of transportation.

You will find that there are many vehicle rental companies from which to choose, but keep in mind, when you pick up a car from one location and drop it at another, particularly when that secondary location is on the other side of the country, you will be charged a fee. This amount varies from company to company, so do

MOTORSPORT LEGENDS

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your research on this fee as well as the rental, mileage and insurance costs.

Most people tend to drive east to west, Chicago to Santa Monica, but consider going the other way as some rental companies are happy for you to ‘return’ their car to Chicago and will waive, or reduce, that one way fee.

Pre-booking your accommodation will keep you on schedule, but it usually doesn’t allow you the freedom of spending half a day rummaging through a general store for historic treasures.

If time isn’t an issue for you, ‘wing it’ for your lodgings; you might just find that old saloon door hotel that will offer you a comfy bed and breakfast for a very reasonable price.

You can be guaranteed this sort of accommodation is not something you will find in regular accommodation guide books.

Travelling Route 66 is all about the experience. The road is bad in many places; cracked, bumpy and often non-existent.

In many sections you are really close to major highways, so you can always cut across to them to quickly take you to the next town if time has slipped away from you while you have been fossicking around in vintage buildings.

You will travel through Indian reservations, pass (or visit) one of the few remaining

drive-in theatres in the country, experience scenery and terrain so unlike anything you will see in Australia. You will pass through towns that were long ago deserted and left derelict as the faster pace of life left them behind. You will stop at towns where residents have relished in their history and turned, what could have become ghost towns, into thriving tourist destinations.

You can also eat in roadside diners, visit museums, general stores and specific tourist attractions. Above all, you will get the chance to experience a part of US history.

But what is it you are actually going to see travelling The Mother Road? Kitsch, and lots of it!

One of the first examples of Kitsch you’ll see when starting your tour from

Chicago is the Gemini Giant (named after the Gemini space program), a landmark statue on the eastern entrance to Wilmington, Illinois. Standing outside the Launching Pad Drive-In restaurant, the 30-foot tall statue is one of many giant Muffler Man advertising props found throughout the US in the ’60s.

In Springfield, Missouri, you can see a monument to Red’s Giant Hamburg, which is thought to be the world’s first drive-through restaurant.

The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, also rates highly on the kitsch list. It’s an art installation – boring do I hear you say? Think again.

It’s one of the most popular

tourist attractions along Route 66, it’s where 10 graffitied Cadillacs are semi buried, nose down, in the ground. It’s where you can set free your inner artist and spray graffiti to your heart’s content.

Big is always best, isn’t it? In the US everything is bigger and better, but if you are looking for a giant milk bottle, you will find it in Oklahoma City. It sits as a crowning glory to a tiny triangular building – you can’t miss it.

Historic neon signs still glow on old Route 66 through Albuquerque (New Mexico), which is now known as Central Avenue. Alongside the vintage signs, you’ll see new versions put up by businesses that are continuing the aesthetic traditions of old Route 66, adorning their shops with bright, buzzing neon.

The famous Route 66 continues to guide visitors through Albuquerque,

Photos THE NATIONAL HISTORIC ROUTE 66 FEDERATION, WWW.NATIONAL66.ORG AND ROUTE 66 TOURS

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Should you decide to travel the route in its entirety you will pass through eight sta tes and start or finish in Chicago. The off icial end-marker in Chicago is at the entra nce of beautiful Grant Park with the other off icial end-marker being at Santa Monica.

from the volcanoes on the city’s far west side past the Rio Grande Botanical Garden and the Albuquerque Aquarium, through historic Old Town and the Downtown business district.

The road continues eastward through the University of New Mexico and the trendy Nob Hill area, where you’ll find many of the city’s best restaurants, distinctive shops and boutiques.

If homemade hickory furniture, classic cars and Route 66 memorabilia are your thing, you will find heaps of them at the Wigwam Village Motel #6 in Holbrook, Arizona. Yes, you read that correctly, Wigwam and Motel in the same sentence. A place where you can sleep in a teepee!

History is one of the reasons many people want to travel this famous route, and part of this history is soda fountains, classic cars and cowboys. Not far from the Grand Canyon a small town, Williams, Arizona, is where this nostalgia and spirit of the bygone era lives on. This wonderful town offers you the opportunity to shop for custom leather goods and 66

western collectibles, and you can have lessons in fast-drawing and bull-whipping. While you are there, make sure you visit the Pine Country Restaurant where you can get more than 35 different flavoured homemade pies – and from personal experience – they are delicious and huge!

From Williams you can travel via rail in beautifullyrestored cars to the Grand Canyon and be entertained by characters and musicians who bring the Old West to life along the trip.

Here in Australia, bears are something you can see in a zoo, but Bearizona is where you can get up close and

personal with big… BIG black bears (from the safety of your car).

Believe it or not, there is a place you can stop for what are said to be the best steaks and burgers in Seligman – The Roadkill Café.

The restaurant has a great ‘Old West’ atmosphere, heaps of Route 66 memorabilia and roadkill souvenirs.

Further along the route, closer to the Californian border is Oatman, a Wild West town where you can pat, cuddle and feed wild burros (donkeys) which roam the town’s only road. Oatman is often described as a ghost

town, but it supports around 100 people and many burros who love to be hand fed by the tourists. This magical town will keep your camera clicking for hours with its historic buildings and entertainment from ‘gun-fighters’.

If you like tight, winding roads (and we know you do!), the area around Oatman will keep you very happy as you travel through the Black Mountains desert terrain, with many hairpin bends and some pretty crumbly road edges leading to some quite scary drops.

Should you decide to travel the route in its entirety you will pass through eight states and start or finish in Chicago.

The official end-marker in Chicago is at the entrance of beautiful Grant Park with the other official end-marker being at Santa Monica.

Now, there is a little bit of dissention about the exact ending place of Route 66 in California – some say it’s at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard, but others say it’s at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. In 2009, Santa Monica Pier became the official end to the route putting aside other claims of different intersections.

For more information on Route 66 tours visit www. route66tours.com.au

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