Gibson Gt-r

[Sydneykid]

Steering racks on the early VL Walkinshaw Commodores. They got rubbed out of the results for that.

Although if you were big at JRA I would be interested to hear your comment on the inflatable fuel bladder story that appeared in the current edition of motorsport news (Not the online one, the one at the news stand).

Also were the Group A 3.5 L Rovers actually any good?

Oh and how the 87 VL that Walkinshaw built compared to Larry's example.

And, and, and.....

I worked at JRA, so I don't know anything about Walkinshaw's other cars, so let's stick to that. If you check the Bathurst results you will find that both cars ran shorter distances between pit stops on their tanks than the competion. Which if they were running oversized tanks would not have been the case. If you have the 1985 video, then please check the length of the pit stops, you will find that the fuel refilling is very similar timing to the other cars. Which would not be the case if the tanks were of larger capacity, hence taking longer to fill. The cars did have a 6/7 litre reserve, a warning light came on on the dash when they fuel level got that low, the driver them switched to the reserve, I can't remember what the switching method was, if I ever knew it. I never saw any more than the legal amount of fuel put in the cars from Wednesday to Sunday. The refueling rig was calibrated and they used scales to measure the fuel put in at every pit stop, my maths is good enough to do the sums on the SG of the fuel used.

The Rovers were good cars, nicely prepared, very well balanced, with great handling and brakes. They just lacked capacity, torque really, which at Bathurst is primary. We did a press day at Oran Park and Percy whipped in a few laps at close to lap record pace. The long climb up the mountain really hurt them, but on a handling circuit they were rapid.

Cheers

Gary

[PHaT MR30]

This could be the one..

http://www.imagehosting.com/show.php/15024...poster.jpg.html

this link no longer works

[Jetwreck]

I worked at JRA, so I don't know anything about Walkinshaw's other cars, so let's stick to that. If you check the Bathurst results you will find that both cars ran shorter distances between pit stops on their tanks than the competion. Which if they were running oversized tanks would not have been the case. If you have the 1985 video, then please check the length of the pit stops, you will find that the fuel refilling is very similar timing to the other cars. Which would not be the case if the tanks were of larger capacity, hence taking longer to fill. The cars did have a 6/7 litre reserve, a warning light came on on the dash when they fuel level got that low, the driver them switched to the reserve, I can't remember what the switching method was, if I ever knew it. I never saw any more than the legal amount of fuel put in the cars from Wednesday to Sunday. The refueling rig was calibrated and they used scales to measure the fuel put in at every pit stop, my maths is good enough to do the sums on the SG of the fuel used.

The Rovers were good cars, nicely prepared, very well balanced, with great handling and brakes. They just lacked capacity, torque really, which at Bathurst is primary. We did a press day at Oran Park and Percy whipped in a few laps at close to lap record pace. The long climb up the mountain really hurt them, but on a handling circuit they were rapid.

Cheers

Gary

What ever happened to the pink rover?

Edited January 31, 2008 by Jetwreck

[djr81]

I worked at JRA, so I don't know anything about Walkinshaw's other cars, so let's stick to that. If you check the Bathurst results you will find that both cars ran shorter distances between pit stops on their tanks than the competion. Which if they were running oversized tanks would not have been the case. If you have the 1985 video, then please check the length of the pit stops, you will find that the fuel refilling is very similar timing to the other cars. Which would not be the case if the tanks were of larger capacity, hence taking longer to fill. The cars did have a 6/7 litre reserve, a warning light came on on the dash when they fuel level got that low, the driver them switched to the reserve, I can't remember what the switching method was, if I ever knew it. I never saw any more than the legal amount of fuel put in the cars from Wednesday to Sunday. The refueling rig was calibrated and they used scales to measure the fuel put in at every pit stop, my maths is good enough to do the sums on the SG of the fuel used.

The Rovers were good cars, nicely prepared, very well balanced, with great handling and brakes. They just lacked capacity, torque really, which at Bathurst is primary. We did a press day at Oran Park and Percy whipped in a few laps at close to lap record pace. The long climb up the mountain really hurt them, but on a handling circuit they were rapid.

Cheers

Gary

I'll have a look at the video. From memory most teams were still hoiking fuel churns at that stage?

Oh and what really claimed the lead car. Never believed the horseshit about it ingesting headlight glass...

[djr81]

Little birdy told me a Rover will be back and racing soon!!! Gay color though....lol

What the Slako/Leeds(?) hot pink number????

[Jetwreck]

What the Slako/Leeds(?) hot pink number????

Damn...I did an edit...you got to it before I hit update. I think thats it....pretty sure it was white or red before that...Alf Barbagallo.

Edited January 31, 2008 by Jetwreck

[Sydneykid]

I'll have a look at the video. From memory most teams were still hoiking fuel churns at that stage?

From memory 1984 (Rovers) was churns and 1985 (Jags) was an overhead rig, no maybe we didn't use overhead rigs until the BMW's. Too many Bathursts ago, 1,000's and 12 Hour races to remember, maybe time I got the video out again myself. When they were used, the churns were filled from 44's, which were on scales to record their usage. My pit job was crunching numbers, TWR had their own technicians, no Aussies got to touch the cars much at all.

Oh and what really claimed the lead car. Never believed the horseshit about it ingesting headlight glass...

The #1car was Percy and Walkinshaw, finished 3rd

The #3 Car was Goss and Hahne, finished 1st

The #2 car was Soper and Allem, it swallowed the glass.

The foam air filters were directly behind the headlights, one on each side, so it is possible that the broken headlight (reflector) punctured the filter and got sucked in. There were pieces of glass and reflector that fell on the pit garage flooor under the car when it came back. The car went back to the UK untouched, I never saw it with the bonnet open, so I don't know the real story if it was any different. We got a couple of drivers drunk during the celebrations, as you do, but we couldn't get anything contrary out of them. I have seen Gossy a number times over the years and he sticks to the corporate line, maybe that's all he knows as well.

Cheers

Gary

[djr81]

We got a couple of drivers drunk during the celebrations, as you do, but we couldn't get anything contrary out of them. I have seen Gossy a number times over the years and he sticks to the corporate line, maybe that's all he knows as well.

You had to get Gossy pissed to get him to talk? How did you ever get him to shut up?

He's alright. Deserved his Bathurst wins no end.

[Marlin]

Awww, all this talk of Rover SD1's is making me all nostalgic!

My old man had a special order black 5 speed back in '84/85 that he had Asquith & Johnston stroke and cam. Me being a lil' 9 year old thought dad's car was just the best thing ever, and looking back, it was a good car, probably less issues with that car than any either he or I have ever owned!

Few years back I seriously toyed with building a quick one, but realised that on my budget it meant turfing most of the Rover stuff and fitting Holden gear, so I dropped the plan, built a 32 gtr instead.

End sobby-eyed rant gents, my apologies.

[ajrichar]

Try here:

http://www.autopics.com.au/cache/item-2638...c.html?cache=no

Thanks mate!!!!

Great pics on this thread, great discussion.

I also picked up the new mag with the GIO GT-R on the cover. It's great seeing these cars back out on the track to enjoy all over again. I enjoyed the article too (error on engine capacity notwithstanding). However, it seems (quite understandably but unfortunately) that Jim Richards' podium outburst is the one point journalists seem to fixate on. Not the fact that that the race was run in possibly the most atrocious conditions to hit the Mountain on race day; that the world lost a champion in Denny Hulme; that it was essentially the last true Group A Bathurst.... All of these are landmark, but the overriding story seems to be Jim's deserved reply to a bunch of knuckle dragging oxygen thieves. It's a shame the race isn't remembered for more than that.....

[Roy]

I remember the race as the one that Neil on Wheels woudl have won with Anders had the race not been stopped

[Sydneykid]

Awww, all this talk of Rover SD1's is making me all nostalgic!

My old man had a special order black 5 speed back in '84/85 that he had Asquith & Johnston stroke and cam. Me being a lil' 9 year old thought dad's car was just the best thing ever, and looking back, it was a good car, probably less issues with that car than any either he or I have ever owned!

Few years back I seriously toyed with building a quick one, but realised that on my budget it meant turfing most of the Rover stuff and fitting Holden gear, so I dropped the plan, built a 32 gtr instead.

End sobby-eyed rant gents, my apologies.

You would enjoy this one then. It was a red manual with 16 x 8 Simmons gold 3 piece wheels and a 5 litre with the twin throttle bodies off the Group A Vittesse. The 5 litre was the all alloy P76 block, with a forged crank, rods and pistons from the Formula 5000 engine run that was built for the Ansett Elfin (later Anset Charger). It made ~375 hp at the wheels on the Town & Country dyno at Hornsby. I drove it from Warwick to Ipswich and it hardly got below 200 kph all the way. Nice car that one, I didn't like giving it up.

Cheers

Gary

[Marlin]

Oh Gary, now you've done it..... where is this car now? I want it!

[djr81]

lol...I totally agree with all of your statement accept one. I don't have any problem with any Groups A....I do however have major issue's with the V8 Supercars though.....yawn...boring!!

Hey tell me one thing if you know on the B & H Sierra's. In 87 & 88 they were right hand drive. Then in 89 & 90 they were left hand drive. Does this mean that the 87 & 88 cars were built locally and the 89 & 90 car's were from the German Group A series?

OK I dug out an old Bathurst year book & the following were the circumstances:

1. In 1987 There were no B & H Sierras- Frank Gardner ran the JPS M3's that year. The following year (1988) Brock ran the BMW's after his bust up with Holden.

2. They took two Sierras to Bathurst in 1988. Only one ran in the race - winning it as it happens. The left hand drive car sat in the garage and wasn't used in the race. The right hand drive car was the race car. It was the same one that ran the ATCC in white for Longhurst.

3. The two 88 cars were not German. The annual desribes the race winner as "A Don Smith shell fitted out with a kit of components from Andy Rouse" The car was built in Sydney before being shipped North. It was rebuilt before that years Sandown 500.

4. Some bloke called Campbell Little did the engines.

5. Frank Gardner's name was mud in Europe at Ford because his name went on the joint protest that rubbed out the Texaco cars in 1987. So Tomas Mezera was used as an intermediary to buy alot of the parts they needed.

6. I wouldn't expect that latter cars were anything other than locally built.

[floody]

Someone was asking about TV cameras... These are the Grice/Percy ETCC/BTCC R31, but theres some nice clear frontal pics of the camera setup which was in use over there - possibly similar to here.

Edited February 1, 2008 by floody

[ajrichar]

Someone was asking about TV cameras... These are the Grice/Percy ETCC/BTCC R31, but theres some nice clear frontal pics of the camera setup which was in use over there - possibly similar to here.

That was me. Thanks so much for the pictures. I thought the Aussie racecams may have bene larger cameras, but in the absence of any evidence to that, this is fantastic. Thanks!!!!

[Roy]

Also, that was a Nismo Japan car so the cage woudl most likely have been different to the GMS cars? Still good find.

I have to say, Win Percy coul dbe my fav driver along with Ol Thomas Mezera. I just loved how they went about their racing

[floody]

Also, that was a Nismo Japan car so the cage woudl most likely have been different to the GMS cars? Still good find.

Oh absolutely, most likely different; but possibly there wouldn't have been a massive variance in camera tech then, plus perhaps as now there was an FIA spec for the housing etc...So its probably a reasonable illustrative example.

[Roy]

Why i love Win...some vids of the pics above

[sh@un]

the R32 must have been a revelation when it was released in 1989.

it pisses me off when people compare the earlier GTR's to more modern performance cars without realising how revolutionary they must have been at the time of their release.

The GT-R completely wiped the floor with it's competitors when released, and for less money too- i.e 964 model Porsche 911, Ferrari 348, Lotus Esprit.

History repeats.