By 1972, Australia’s big three manufacturers — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler — were in the middle of a no-holds-barred war for Bathurst production car competition supremacy. There was a clear, lucrative link between Motorsport — particularly Bathurst success — and vehicle sales, not to mention bragging rights. Because of this, the manufacturers were embroiled in a three-way heavyweight brawl to be king of the mountain at the annual endurance event.
Holden set the ball rolling in 1963 when it released its limited run S4 version of the EH. This was the first year Australia’s major production car endurance event was held at Mount Panorama on the outskirts of the small town of Bathurst. Since its inception, the 500-mile event had previously been held at the sweeping Philip Island venue.
The 1963 race would also be televised throughout, no doubt providing Holden some added motivation to win the event. To counter, Ford lined up four hurriedly prepared Cortina GTs. In fact, the S4s fell by the wayside and the Cortinas won as they did the following year. Then Ford competitions manager Harry Firth produced a limited run of hot Cortinas to stave off any would be challengers. Called the GT500, they were designed to win the 1965 event, which they duly did.
For a car to be eligible for Bathurst, the manufacturer had to produce at least 100 identical locally produced units, or 250, if imported. But after Ford’s dominance of the ’65 event, the ARDC raised the minimum number of units to 250, regardless of their origin, deeming the GT500 ineligible for the ’66 event, which was famously won by Rauno Aaltonen and Bob Holden in a Mini Cooper.
The Monaro and the Falcon GT
Ford then upped the ante, coming out all guns blazing in 1967 with its family sized V8-powered Falcon XR GT. Seven of the big Fords started the event, dominating both the practice and the race, its lazy 289ci V8 ideally suited to the steep up-hill climb and long straights. Ford was expecting a repeat performance the following year with its 302ci Falcon XT GT, but it was Holden, after a couple of years on the sidelines, which came up trumps with its fabulous new two-door 327ci HK Monaro GTS. The handsome Monaro, with its swooping lines, both looked the part, and performed superbly.
Ford was caught off guard. The new Monaro was released just weeks before the Bathurst enduro and with smaller engines, the Falcons were both out-qualified and out-raced. Embarrassed, Ford hit back hard, releasing the impressive new Falcon XW GT-HO (High-Output) in August 1969. The HO was a much-improved GT and its intention was quite clear. Its engine size had leaped to 351ci and it produced 300 horsepower. The bonnet scoop (ducting air to the brake master cylinder) and wild side stripes were carried over from the GT. A front spoiler was also attached, but it was beneath the skin where the HO was race-focused.
Holden was not resting on its laurels. The same month it released the new HT Monaro GTS 350. The increase in engine size to 350ci gave the big coupe added power, but come Bathurst, the Falcons looked like sure winners. Just six Monaros GTS 350s lined up against an astonishing 14 GT-HOs and the Fords dominated practice. It was only a question of which Ford would win. However, Ford’s confidence lasted just half a lap as a massive first-lap pile up eliminated several cars. The Fords that escaped the carnage didn’t fare much better, with most of them shredding rear tyres or suffering from punctures as the race wore on. Incredibly, despite the odds, Colin Bond and Tony Roberts bought their Monaro home first, leaving Ford with a bloodied nose and wounded pride.
The response was the Falcon XW GT-HO Phase II. This was an evolution of the original GT-HO (now known as Phase I), whereas Holden went completely the opposite way. Rather than continue with the Monaro, it stepped down to the new mid-sized Vauxhall-based Torana LC GTR fitted with the 186ci straight six-cylinder engine codenamed XU-1. Whereas the Falcon boasted power and straight-line speed, the Torana was nimble, economical and easy on tyres and brakes.
Chrysler finally decided to dip a toe in with its boxy Valiant Pacer and the screaming 245ci Hemi six-cylinder engine, but it would be another 12 months before Chrysler became a force at the mountain.
The Torana and the Charger
At Bathurst 1970, Ford finally redeemed itself with emerging Ford hero, Canadian born Allan Moffat, taking pole position and winning the race without a co-driver. The first Torana was third, the first Pacer fourth. For 1971, Ford knew it would have a battle maintaining its dominance, with Holden improving upon the already potent little XU-1, while Chrysler released an R/T (Road and Track) variant of the gorgeous new two-door Charger. With a 265ci straight six, triple 45 DCOE side draught carburettors and brilliant handling, the Charger E38 R/T was a strong package — its only weakness being its three-speed gearbox. Ford’s answer, of course, was the Falcon GT-HO Phase III, which Moffat drove to score his second win in a row at the mountain.
Without doubt, these would be fast cars, on road or track. All three manufacturers were charging full-steam-ahead
And so, come 1972, both Holden and Chrysler knew they needed more power, while Ford knew it needed more of everything. Harry Firth (now at Holden) proposed fitting a 308ci V8 into the Torana, which Holden did. A handful of cars were built and one even raced, proving the massive potential this package had. Chrysler was rumoured to be doing the same: a shipment of 340ci V8s were ordered from the US to be fitted to the Charger. Ford released its new XA model range in 1972 and three cars — four-door models curiously — were prepared for competition.
For any of these cars to be eligible for competition, a minimum of 200 identical units would have to be produced. Without doubt, these would be fast cars, on road or track. All three manufacturers were charging full-steam-ahead in their quest for competition supremacy. This was an innocent time when powerful road cars slid around on skinny cross-ply tyres with minimal brakes and there were no open-road speed limits.
The super car controversy
Then motoring writer Evan Green approached NSW Transport Minister Milton Morris for his thoughts on the proposed ‘supercars’ being built by Australia’s big three manufacturers for a story he was writing for the Sun-Herald newspaper. Morris’ reaction, along with the ensuing negative headline stories, had all three manufacturers suddenly reversing at full speed, falling over themselves to vigorously deny any such cars were even being considered. Predictably, all three projects were scrapped and all three manufacturers cut back on their motorsport involvement. Nothing like this had happened before and none of them knew how to deal with the negative backlash they were receiving.
All three manufacturers were represented at Bathurst 1972, but this was not the race it might have been. Ford reverted back to the old XY GT-HO Phase III; Holden the six cylinder XU-1, now fitted with a 202ci engine; and Chrysler improved upon its E38 Charger, now with a little more power from its six-cylinder engine and four-speed gearbox. Moffat once again sat on pole, but with rain persisting throughout the early part of the race, rising Holden star Peter Brock took his first Bathurst victory.
Despite the scare of ’72, both Ford and Holden were keen to continue reaping the rewards gained from Bathurst success, but both knew they would need to be a little less obvious about their intentions. It was no longer acceptable for a responsible car manufacturer to encourage speed. To keep the manufacturers involved, CAMS changed the regulations for 1973 to Group C, ensuring manufacturers would no longer need to go to such lengths to build a race-winning production road car. Group C provided many freedoms in areas such as wheels, suspension and engine parts. But the manufacturer would still be required to produce a rapid road car with the right ingredients to become a race winner.
Although Moffat won the 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship in a Falcon XY GT-HO, he won Bathurst in a new Falcon XA GT hardtop. Then Ford pulled the plug on its direct motorsport involvement. Holden was still involved and would continue to be, but the long-standing worldwide GM ‘no racing’ policy should now looked like it was being enforced.
Despite the Holden Dealer Team fronting as the factory team, as it had done for several seasons, Holden could ill afford another super car scandal and in future would become very secretive about its race-bred specials. So when the new SLR/5000 L34 became available in limited numbers to Holden dealers, potential buyers had to prove they were capable of handling the car by bringing their CAMS competition licence with them.
Still reeling from the super car scare, Holden made sure its latest race-focused road rocket would not fall into the clutches of the unskilled. But this over protective policy even carried through to the media and motoring scribes had a hellish time trying to get hold of one to test. As Wheels magazine wrote: “Of course, the policy is grossly unfair. The company has built L34s by the hundred for the sole purpose of doing well on race tracks for the great image it engenders (and for the publicity it denies your rival), yet it is apparently unwilling to face any adverse consequences of the action. From where we stand, that’s an unfair attitude.”
