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Bathurst Beauties
The annual Bathurst 1000 race ranks as Australian motor sport's equivalent of the Melbourne Cup. Once television began beaming The Mountain's triumphs and tragedies into the nation's living rooms, people who normally did not display the slightest interest in motor sport sat entranced by the on-screen action. With such levels of awareness, the 'Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday' potential of the event became obvious and any manufacturer with a vaguely competent vehicle clamoured to be involved.
From its inception in 1963 as a 500-mile race until the adoption in 1993 of a strict Holden versus Ford format, Bathurst fields featured an immense variety of makes and models – most of them without a snowflake's hope in hell of outright honours. The battles fought for class honours were as frantic as those contested by the V8-powered front-runners and often more entertaining.
Manipulation of regulations and eligibility criteria during The Great Race's first three decades of existence lavished stardom on a few brands and dashed the hopes of others. The Mini Cooper S that dominated Class C from 1965-69 – taking outright victory in 1966 – was virtually eliminated from contention by being lumped into a price-based class against the likes of XU-1 Toranas and twin-cam Escorts before returning as a Class A winner in 1974 and '75.
Owning a model that won a race during the event's early years has become expensive. The GT and GTHO Falcons, Monaros and Toranas that dominated the 500-mile and 1000km races between 1967 and 1979 are difficult to find and of late have been the subject of soaring values. However, there exists an array of other models that competed with honour and sometimes glory that fit within the confines of most budgets.
Against a backdrop of five high-profile Bathurst contenders and their fortunate owners, we've pinpointed another 30 models that enjoyed varying levels of success during the course of three very different decades. They provide almost anyone with the opportunity to own a Bathurst Beauty.
IN THE BEGINNING – THE '60s
The race that transferred in 1963 from Phillip Island to Mount Panorama was initially dominated by four-cylinder models, and then rushed headlong into the Ford v Holden confrontation that was to become the event's focus. This was the era of the privateer; a time when anyone with a car, CAMS licence and a few mates to act as pit-crew could be part of the action.
ALFA ROMEO 1600GTV: Bathurst 1967 is remembered for the Falcon GT's debut but first and second in Class E were a pair of Alfa Romeos that gave away three-litres in capacity and were beaten for outright honours by less than a lap.
CHRYSLER VC VALIANT V8: pictures of VC V8s in competition don't show the 'Bank Manager On Board' stickers but a pair of these low-flying brakeless missiles circulated reliably in 1966 for a class win.
DATSUN 1000: lightness and durability gave the 1000 a pair of Class A wins during the late 1960s. The cute little coupe wasn't raced, is a prettier than the sedan and a little easier to find.
DATSUN 1600: these boxy little sedans were pretty hot stuff in 1968, with talk of specially prepared cars hitting 160km/h on Conrod Straight and winning their class until 1970. Early Dattos with 'clap-hands' wipers are twice the price of later models.
FORD CORTINA GT: built as transport for English salesmen, the Mark 1 Cortina proved to be a gutsy little racing car. The GT version won Bathurst in 1963 and '64 and made arch rival Holden look pretty stupid, yet is still surprisingly cheap.
FORD FALCON XR GT: Bathurst's first real backroom brawl erupted over which GT was entitled to victory in 1967. Harry Firth and Fred Gibson eventually cashed the cheque. Despite its historic win, the all-gold XR GT remains underrated and affordable.
HOLDEN EH S4: the wheels (literally) fell off Holden's attempt to win the first Bathurst 500 in 1963. All but one had problems and that car finished second to Bob Jane's 1.5-litre Ford Cortina. Only 120 were made and they rate among the most collectable of Holdens.
MORRIS COOPER S: a good little car will beat a good big car if there are enough of them and in 1966 16 Cooper S Minis started the Bathurst 500, ten of them finished and Rauno Aaltonen/Bob Holden won outright. Early Australian-built cars are very collectable and difficult to find.
STUDEBAKER LARK: until the Falcon GT stole their thunder, Larks usually led Bathurst for a few laps before the brake fluid boiled. The Lark's best result was in 1964 – first and second in class just two laps behind the winning Cortina.
TOYOTA COROLLA: Corollas like the ones that battled their way to the top of the tiddler class in 1968 and '69 have mostly disappeared and that's a shame because they are tough little beasties and more fun than 1970s models.
VAUXHALL VIVA: the chunky English Viva came here in 1964 as Holden's first small car and dominated Class A in the 500. Lots were sold after that, few survive and $3000 buys a beauty.
FROM SERIES PRODUCTION TO IMPROVED – THE '70s
It took nothing more than a newspaper article to end the golden age of Bathurst competition. With manufacturers effectively banned from building Bathurst specials for public sale, the era of Improved Production arrived in 1973. The rule change was accompanied by adoption of the metric system that extended the race distance from 500-miles to 1000km.
ALFA ROMEO 2000GTV: while the four-cylinder, 105 series Alfas had lost their shot at outright contention they scored four class wins between 1973 and '77. Finding a good one today isn't difficult but beware of rust.
CHRYSLER VALIANT PACER: the VG Pacers that ran at Bathurst in 1970 didn't win the race or even their class but they scared GM-H into building a vastly better Torana. Pick of the Pacers are '4bbl' versions that are good for 210km/h
DATSUN 1200 COUPE: you are unlikely to find one of the five-speed 1200s that were specially imported and won their class a couple of times during the mid '70s. Four-speed coupes appear occasionally and represent cheap buying.
FORD CAPRI V6: a class structure that would have pitted the Capri against XU-1 Toranas kept Ford's V6 away from Bathurst until the mid '70s. After that they were consistent class winners and scored a best result of fifth outright.
FORD ESCORT RS2000: these are not the Cortina-engined cars that Ford assembled here in the early '80s but special German-built imports. They dominated Bathurst's Class B during the late 1970s but only 25 were imported.
HOLDEN TORANA GTR XU-1: and we have a winner! After two years of getting flogged by V8 Falcons and having to fend off pesky Pacers, Peter Brock and a wet Mount Panorama combined in 1972 for the XU-1's only Bathurst victory. They might have won again in 1973 but ran out of fuel.
HOLDEN GEMINI: while Brocky was out setting a record for the biggest winning margin in Bathurst history, the 1.6-litre class of 1979 was being over-run by Geminis. Even 25 years later, they survive in decent quantities and are amazingly cheap.
MAZDA 1300: another dreary looking shoebox that, with genius driver Johnny Leffler at the wheel, won Class A in 1971. Price considerations dictated the Bathurst cars were sedans but today the pretty 1300 coupe is the one to buy.
MAZDA RX3: a decade before Allan Moffat tried to win outright in an RX7, the RX3 coupes were out there keeping Capris and Alfas honest. Finding an original and unmodified RX3 is today difficult and expensive.
TOYOTA CELICA: Celicas had been considered sissy until car dealer Peter Williamson won his class in 1979. Williamson's Celica was a twin cam but you'll still buy a good 'Mustang-back' RA23 model for $6000.
BRUTES TO BEAUTIES – THE '80s
By 1980, the battle of Group C touring car racing was a Falcon v Commodore affair, with a couple of Camaros tossed in for good measure. At Bathurst, Brock and Commodore dominated but the advent of Group A rules brought some astonishing changes. Suddenly there were half a dozen makes challenging for outright victory. Jaguar recorded its only win and prominent teams passed up their V8s in favour of 2.0-litre turbos.
BMW M3: E30 Series M3s weren't sold officially in Australia and those that are available will be private imports. Class B at Bathurst 1987 and '88 were swamped with M3s and the cars finished fourth outright in both races.
BMW 635CSI: the lovely-looking Six series lost out to Jaguar by a whisker in 1985 and ran sixth the following year. Most local cars are autos but finding a five-speed magnifies the enjoyment.
CHEVROLET CAMARO: Kevin Bartlett's best chance of winning Bathurst in a Camaro came to zilch in 1982 when a wheel rim split and put the big Chev on its roof. To find a racing Camaro today, try the speedway.
FORD SIERRA COSWORTH: the Sierra gained grudging acceptance via 1988 and '89 Bathurst 1000 wins. Road-going Sierras aren't common in Australia and most that came were once owned by Dick Johnson.
HDT COMMODORE VH GROUP THREE: almost nothing could stop Peter Brock winning Bathurst in the early '80s or selling cars to fund his race team. Road-going versions are nothing spectacular yet HDT enthusiasts will pay $25,000 for a good VH.
JAGUAR XJS: Tom Walkinshaw's mega-quid effort to win Bathurst 1985 would have come unstuck if not for the determination of former Ford hero John Goss. Still quick and cheap to buy but the fuel bills would bankrupt Billy Gates.
MAZDA RX7: Ford enthusiasts were horrified when Allan Moffat turned Japanese and began racing a rotary. It nearly worked too, with Moff finishing third at Bathurst in 1983. Lots of early RX7s still exist – some with Daytona body kits just like the Group C racers.
MITSUBISHI STARION: the wedge-shaped Starion finished an amazing fifth outright in 1987 but they are virtually ignored in the market. Good Starions sell for less than $7000.
NISSAN SKYLINE GTS-T: with an astonishing display of wet-track driving, Glenn Seton took second place at Bathurst 1987 in an R31 series Skyline turbo two-door. Plenty have been imported in the years since and nice examples cost less than $10,000.
TOYOTA COROLLA TWIN-CAM: Corollas were unbackable favourites for baby-car success at Bathurst during the late 1980s. The cars raced were mostly special imports so the closest you'll find in a road-going version is the 100kW 1.6 hatch sold from 1987-89.
VOLVO 242 TURBO: just for the record, New Zealander Robbie Francevic (Robbie who?) won the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship, but problems blunted the Volvo turbos' Bathurst challenge. The race cars were special imports and never sold here.
http://uniquecars.carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/portal/alias__uniquecarsau/tabID__203009/ArticleID__7094/DesktopDefault.aspx
The annual Bathurst 1000 race ranks as Australian motor sport's equivalent of the Melbourne Cup. Once television began beaming The Mountain's triumphs and tragedies into the nation's living rooms, people who normally did not display the slightest interest in motor sport sat entranced by the on-screen action. With such levels of awareness, the 'Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday' potential of the event became obvious and any manufacturer with a vaguely competent vehicle clamoured to be involved.
From its inception in 1963 as a 500-mile race until the adoption in 1993 of a strict Holden versus Ford format, Bathurst fields featured an immense variety of makes and models – most of them without a snowflake's hope in hell of outright honours. The battles fought for class honours were as frantic as those contested by the V8-powered front-runners and often more entertaining.
Manipulation of regulations and eligibility criteria during The Great Race's first three decades of existence lavished stardom on a few brands and dashed the hopes of others. The Mini Cooper S that dominated Class C from 1965-69 – taking outright victory in 1966 – was virtually eliminated from contention by being lumped into a price-based class against the likes of XU-1 Toranas and twin-cam Escorts before returning as a Class A winner in 1974 and '75.
Owning a model that won a race during the event's early years has become expensive. The GT and GTHO Falcons, Monaros and Toranas that dominated the 500-mile and 1000km races between 1967 and 1979 are difficult to find and of late have been the subject of soaring values. However, there exists an array of other models that competed with honour and sometimes glory that fit within the confines of most budgets.
Against a backdrop of five high-profile Bathurst contenders and their fortunate owners, we've pinpointed another 30 models that enjoyed varying levels of success during the course of three very different decades. They provide almost anyone with the opportunity to own a Bathurst Beauty.
IN THE BEGINNING – THE '60s
The race that transferred in 1963 from Phillip Island to Mount Panorama was initially dominated by four-cylinder models, and then rushed headlong into the Ford v Holden confrontation that was to become the event's focus. This was the era of the privateer; a time when anyone with a car, CAMS licence and a few mates to act as pit-crew could be part of the action.
ALFA ROMEO 1600GTV: Bathurst 1967 is remembered for the Falcon GT's debut but first and second in Class E were a pair of Alfa Romeos that gave away three-litres in capacity and were beaten for outright honours by less than a lap.
CHRYSLER VC VALIANT V8: pictures of VC V8s in competition don't show the 'Bank Manager On Board' stickers but a pair of these low-flying brakeless missiles circulated reliably in 1966 for a class win.
DATSUN 1000: lightness and durability gave the 1000 a pair of Class A wins during the late 1960s. The cute little coupe wasn't raced, is a prettier than the sedan and a little easier to find.
DATSUN 1600: these boxy little sedans were pretty hot stuff in 1968, with talk of specially prepared cars hitting 160km/h on Conrod Straight and winning their class until 1970. Early Dattos with 'clap-hands' wipers are twice the price of later models.
FORD CORTINA GT: built as transport for English salesmen, the Mark 1 Cortina proved to be a gutsy little racing car. The GT version won Bathurst in 1963 and '64 and made arch rival Holden look pretty stupid, yet is still surprisingly cheap.
FORD FALCON XR GT: Bathurst's first real backroom brawl erupted over which GT was entitled to victory in 1967. Harry Firth and Fred Gibson eventually cashed the cheque. Despite its historic win, the all-gold XR GT remains underrated and affordable.
HOLDEN EH S4: the wheels (literally) fell off Holden's attempt to win the first Bathurst 500 in 1963. All but one had problems and that car finished second to Bob Jane's 1.5-litre Ford Cortina. Only 120 were made and they rate among the most collectable of Holdens.
MORRIS COOPER S: a good little car will beat a good big car if there are enough of them and in 1966 16 Cooper S Minis started the Bathurst 500, ten of them finished and Rauno Aaltonen/Bob Holden won outright. Early Australian-built cars are very collectable and difficult to find.
STUDEBAKER LARK: until the Falcon GT stole their thunder, Larks usually led Bathurst for a few laps before the brake fluid boiled. The Lark's best result was in 1964 – first and second in class just two laps behind the winning Cortina.
TOYOTA COROLLA: Corollas like the ones that battled their way to the top of the tiddler class in 1968 and '69 have mostly disappeared and that's a shame because they are tough little beasties and more fun than 1970s models.
VAUXHALL VIVA: the chunky English Viva came here in 1964 as Holden's first small car and dominated Class A in the 500. Lots were sold after that, few survive and $3000 buys a beauty.
FROM SERIES PRODUCTION TO IMPROVED – THE '70s
It took nothing more than a newspaper article to end the golden age of Bathurst competition. With manufacturers effectively banned from building Bathurst specials for public sale, the era of Improved Production arrived in 1973. The rule change was accompanied by adoption of the metric system that extended the race distance from 500-miles to 1000km.
ALFA ROMEO 2000GTV: while the four-cylinder, 105 series Alfas had lost their shot at outright contention they scored four class wins between 1973 and '77. Finding a good one today isn't difficult but beware of rust.
CHRYSLER VALIANT PACER: the VG Pacers that ran at Bathurst in 1970 didn't win the race or even their class but they scared GM-H into building a vastly better Torana. Pick of the Pacers are '4bbl' versions that are good for 210km/h
DATSUN 1200 COUPE: you are unlikely to find one of the five-speed 1200s that were specially imported and won their class a couple of times during the mid '70s. Four-speed coupes appear occasionally and represent cheap buying.
FORD CAPRI V6: a class structure that would have pitted the Capri against XU-1 Toranas kept Ford's V6 away from Bathurst until the mid '70s. After that they were consistent class winners and scored a best result of fifth outright.
FORD ESCORT RS2000: these are not the Cortina-engined cars that Ford assembled here in the early '80s but special German-built imports. They dominated Bathurst's Class B during the late 1970s but only 25 were imported.
HOLDEN TORANA GTR XU-1: and we have a winner! After two years of getting flogged by V8 Falcons and having to fend off pesky Pacers, Peter Brock and a wet Mount Panorama combined in 1972 for the XU-1's only Bathurst victory. They might have won again in 1973 but ran out of fuel.
HOLDEN GEMINI: while Brocky was out setting a record for the biggest winning margin in Bathurst history, the 1.6-litre class of 1979 was being over-run by Geminis. Even 25 years later, they survive in decent quantities and are amazingly cheap.
MAZDA 1300: another dreary looking shoebox that, with genius driver Johnny Leffler at the wheel, won Class A in 1971. Price considerations dictated the Bathurst cars were sedans but today the pretty 1300 coupe is the one to buy.
MAZDA RX3: a decade before Allan Moffat tried to win outright in an RX7, the RX3 coupes were out there keeping Capris and Alfas honest. Finding an original and unmodified RX3 is today difficult and expensive.
TOYOTA CELICA: Celicas had been considered sissy until car dealer Peter Williamson won his class in 1979. Williamson's Celica was a twin cam but you'll still buy a good 'Mustang-back' RA23 model for $6000.
BRUTES TO BEAUTIES – THE '80s
By 1980, the battle of Group C touring car racing was a Falcon v Commodore affair, with a couple of Camaros tossed in for good measure. At Bathurst, Brock and Commodore dominated but the advent of Group A rules brought some astonishing changes. Suddenly there were half a dozen makes challenging for outright victory. Jaguar recorded its only win and prominent teams passed up their V8s in favour of 2.0-litre turbos.
BMW M3: E30 Series M3s weren't sold officially in Australia and those that are available will be private imports. Class B at Bathurst 1987 and '88 were swamped with M3s and the cars finished fourth outright in both races.
BMW 635CSI: the lovely-looking Six series lost out to Jaguar by a whisker in 1985 and ran sixth the following year. Most local cars are autos but finding a five-speed magnifies the enjoyment.
CHEVROLET CAMARO: Kevin Bartlett's best chance of winning Bathurst in a Camaro came to zilch in 1982 when a wheel rim split and put the big Chev on its roof. To find a racing Camaro today, try the speedway.
FORD SIERRA COSWORTH: the Sierra gained grudging acceptance via 1988 and '89 Bathurst 1000 wins. Road-going Sierras aren't common in Australia and most that came were once owned by Dick Johnson.
HDT COMMODORE VH GROUP THREE: almost nothing could stop Peter Brock winning Bathurst in the early '80s or selling cars to fund his race team. Road-going versions are nothing spectacular yet HDT enthusiasts will pay $25,000 for a good VH.
JAGUAR XJS: Tom Walkinshaw's mega-quid effort to win Bathurst 1985 would have come unstuck if not for the determination of former Ford hero John Goss. Still quick and cheap to buy but the fuel bills would bankrupt Billy Gates.
MAZDA RX7: Ford enthusiasts were horrified when Allan Moffat turned Japanese and began racing a rotary. It nearly worked too, with Moff finishing third at Bathurst in 1983. Lots of early RX7s still exist – some with Daytona body kits just like the Group C racers.
MITSUBISHI STARION: the wedge-shaped Starion finished an amazing fifth outright in 1987 but they are virtually ignored in the market. Good Starions sell for less than $7000.
NISSAN SKYLINE GTS-T: with an astonishing display of wet-track driving, Glenn Seton took second place at Bathurst 1987 in an R31 series Skyline turbo two-door. Plenty have been imported in the years since and nice examples cost less than $10,000.
TOYOTA COROLLA TWIN-CAM: Corollas were unbackable favourites for baby-car success at Bathurst during the late 1980s. The cars raced were mostly special imports so the closest you'll find in a road-going version is the 100kW 1.6 hatch sold from 1987-89.
VOLVO 242 TURBO: just for the record, New Zealander Robbie Francevic (Robbie who?) won the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship, but problems blunted the Volvo turbos' Bathurst challenge. The race cars were special imports and never sold here.
http://uniquecars.carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/portal/alias__uniquecarsau/tabID__203009/ArticleID__7094/DesktopDefault.aspx