XW FALCON GT-HO
Holden’s domination of the 1968 Bathurst 500 affected Ford badly and prompted a steely determination at company HQ in Broadmeadows that such failure would not happen again.
Released in 1969, Ford’s XW GT matched Holden’s GTS350 Monaro in capacity and output, but Ford wanted an edge that would see it carry the day at Bathurst. The ‘Handling Option’ package installed initially on 201 XW GTs added heavier springs, a rear anti-roll bar, stronger tail shaft and an altered final-drive ratio.
Ford’s claimed engine output stayed at 218kW but for ‘improved durability’ the HO used a different camshaft from the standard 351, an alloy inlet manifold and larger 650cfm carburettor. Below the bumper was a metal air-dam which was allegedly there to improve high-speed stability but did a great job of funnelling cool air into the engine bay.
At Bathurst in 1969, Ford fielded three factory GT-HO entries, all running on expensive Goodyear racing tyres. Circulating two seconds a lap faster than the Monaros, the HOs were expected to dominate the race – until tyres began to fail. This supposedly was due to the HO’s excessive wheelspin, but splitting the Monaros that finished 1st and 3rd was 1968 winner Bruce McPhee who was running Michelin radial tyres on his GT-HO.
McPhee recalled many years after the race that he had lost two laps repairing damage from a first-lap multi-car crash, yet at the end of the race, on the same set of ‘Michies’ he had at the start, his GT-HO was just 44 seconds behind the winning Monaro.
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BMW M3 E30
The Bathurst enduro conducted in 1987 was a 1000 like no other. For the first time in its history, the James Hardie-backed event was part of the World Touring Car Championship and dominated by an influx of international teams.
Among them were around a dozen BMW M3s; the chunky two-door that changed everything for BMW in the arena of international motor sport.
BMW had already been campaigning E30 M3s in local events, with Jim Richards some months earlier winning the 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship. Bathurst, though, was a different scenario with the overseas interlopers threatening the supremacy of local JPS cars.
Fastest of the M3 qualifiers was a European car which started 6th, leaving Richards and Tony Longhurst in 12th. However, as the day wore on and with rain plaguing the final laps, Richards’ car climbed to 6th on the road and would officially finish 4th after the Ford Sierras which crossed the line first and second were disqualified for rule infractions.
In 1988, when Peter Brock switched camps to run a Mobil-backed BMW, his was the only M3 to secure a spot in the Top Ten run-offs. Still, luck wasn’t with the M3s and while a car crewed by New Zealander Trevor Crowe and local Peter Janson secured 4th place, it was the only M3 from four entered to finish the race.
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CHRYSLER CHARGER E49
Chrysler’s short-wheelbase, two-door Charger emerged in 1971 as an astonishingly clever concept. In basic form, the Charger offered stylish transport for around the price of a Valiant sedan. Then for the cost of a V8 Regal, a lucky few were able to buy the fastest and most exclusive Charger of all – the R/T E49.
These cars with their triple-carburettor 4.3-litre engines had been seen at Bathurst in 1971 but were hampered by an unsuitable three-speed gearbox. In 1972 the triple-carb Charger was back, this time with a more competitive four-speed transmission.
The GT-HO Phase 3 which had won the year before was back as well, along with a more powerful version of Holden’s LJ XJ-1 Torana. However, its engine was a litre smaller than the Charger’s and giving away 66kW to the Chrysler.
Six E49s were entered for the 1972 Bathurst 500; the last of the events to be run under Imperial measurement. In qualifying the fastest Charger was 3.3 seconds off the pace of Allan Moffat’s GT-HO and a second slower than Peter Brock’s Torana, but the team felt their cars’ ability to lap at sustained pace would become apparent as the race progressed.
In the rain that afflicted that year’s 500, Brock in the sure-footed Torana did best, followed by Ford driver John French in 2nd place then the first of the fuel-hungry Chargers, two laps behind the Torana.
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CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28
Had Chevrolet thought to fit its Z28 Camaro with rear disc brakes as standard, rather than offering them as options, we likely would not be seeing an American car in this list.
When 1974 Bathurst 1000 winner, Kevin Bartlett, went looking for a car to race in 1979, he knew that braking would be a problem for the heavy Camaro, but ‘KB’ was up for the fight. Bartlett’s blue Camaro needed first to shed 200kg just to ‘make the weight’ for Group C. Then Bartlett would spend two years fighting motor-sport officialdom before being allowed to replace the near useless rear drums with discs.
On debut at Bathurst in 1979, the two Camaros entered had a horror start and neither finished. The following year was little better, although Bartlett’s car did sit on pole position. Then came ‘Hardies Heroes’ in 1981, where the 10 fastest cars battled for pole on a rain-soaked track and Bartlett produced an inspired demonstration of wet-weather car control. Again, he would start first and again luck would fail him when involved in a multi-car crash that ended the race early.
The year 1982 brought the Camaro’s best chance of outright glory, with all-disc brakes in place and Colin Bond as co-driver. All looked good for Bartlett as he matched the pace of front-runners Peter Brock and Dick Johnson but on Lap 27 a composite wheel split, deflating a rear tyre and sending the Camaro sliding on its roof into a concrete wall.
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NISSAN BLUEBIRD TURBO
Australia never saw the Bluebird Turbo in new-car salesrooms, but that didn’t stop Nissan trying to promote its drab family version via a fire-breathing, Group C adaptation.
While resembling in some ways our 2.0-litre Bluebird, the Japanese 910 version was very different, with a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine and independent rear suspension. In competition form as developed in Japan by Nissan, the 910 featured dry sump lubrication with an oil tank fitted low down in the boot to help with weight distribution.
The Turbo Bluebird’s first Bathurst appearance came in 1981 and did nothing except demonstrate how utterly unsuited Japanese-spec cars were to Australia’s most demanding race.
Local input leading up to the 1982 event produced a car that qualified third fastest for Japanese ace, Masahiro Hasemi. It also brought rally specialist George Fury to prominence with the tenth quickest time. The following year saw Fury as Nissan’s lead driver and qualifying his Bluebird second fastest with a 2.17 lap time, but was unable to finish the race. In 1984, Fury and the Bluebird were back and the air temperature perfect for a one-lap ‘screamer’. Taking advantage of the frigid air, Fury sent the Nissan howling across the Mountain in a record 2.13.84 secs; 0.45 better than Brock in his V8 Commodore could achieve.
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