Comments by "John D" (@johnd8892) on "IWrocker" channel.

  1. The largest fires recorded were the fires of 6th of February 1851 when 25% of Victoria was burnt including a million sheep but much less population then so only twelve people recorded as dying. The causes and the history of this and other fire events not taught much these days. Does not fit in with the global warming ideas so ignored by current distorted narratives.
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  2. G'day Ian. There is a little known amazing American Revolutionary war connection of Mt Kosciuszko : https://youtu.be/FwrFXdc5kCg Includes how to really pronounce it. Also highly regarded for his Polish-Lithuanian significance, so the mountain was named after him by the explorer Strzelecki. The monument not too far from Ian.
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  3. The FF and Interceptor both started with the 383 motor in 1966/67. 440 only in the Interceptor later in the seventies.
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  4. Gday ian. The truck you paused on at 8:10 is a Bedford TK produced by the General Motors British truck make Bedford. The TK was introduced about 1962 ( I know find out it was 1960) with the TK meaning Tilt Kab. For servicing the whole cab including seats and controls titled forwards giving great access to the motor. These were very popular in Australia and sold as the truck arm of Holden. The manager engineer who successfully set up the Bedford truck arm of Vauxhall around 1930 was Sir Laurence Hartnett. His capabilities so impressed General Motors that they sent him to Australia to run General Motors Holden. Or more specifically to eirher close it down or make a go of it. This was in the mid thirties when the Holden body building company was severely impacted by the depression. He was very impressed by the capabilities of the staff and turned the company around. This turn around was further accellerated by their wartime production of huge amounts of non car production . This put them ten years ahead in capabilities after a year or two. His next major milestone was to get the production of the first unique Holden cars off the ground with the strong business case he put to GM management in Detroit. So the Father of Bedford trucks was also the Father of Holden cars. Holden soon emerging as the most profitable on investment if any GM division for a decade or so. There is a documentary on the Holden story the goes into the detail if his contribution.
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  5. The Captiva and other Daewoo cars rebadged as Holden's is a big part of why Holden has ceased as a company in my option and a few others.
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  6. We started with the US Legends cars but added the late forties early fifties Holden bodies to them. Later on the went to near current Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon V8 supercar bodies.. A good series but struggled for exposure in recent years. The Surfers Paradise support race you saw had to be around twenty years ago. Edit : I now see it is much newer.
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  7. Good list. Except at 10:10 I would say a 57 Chev four door. Edit meant to say 56 but a phone typo.
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  8. Yes, licorice gives you a good run for your money.
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  9. This first VF 1969 Pacer used the 225 slant six. Next model Pacer went 245 hemi. Shannon's have detail here ; https://youtu.be/dv-1x1sPiTk Some get confused with the next hemi model.
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  10. G'day Ian. A young kid in Australia put together this good vid summary of the VW Kombi culture in Australia: https://youtu.be/Yp95LqFmO44 There is even a Kombi Road in Clayton Victoria where the Australian made VWs were manufactured at the peak of VW popularity here in the sixties . In 1960 VW even outsold Ford here and only outsold by Holden. VW lost popularity after 1966 so the factory I think made Datsuns and Volvo cars eventually being the base for the higher performance Holden Special Vehicles. Might now be converting handfuls of expensive US full size pick up trucks to right hand drive.
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  11. Togs for swimwear was a widespread description in my youth here in Victoria. Heard the use from Queensland just recently wrt Australian swim team.
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  12. Mark Larkham a great commentator backed up by his previous racing abilities , of course driving in THE race, as well as team owner and developer. Wikipedia has more on him.
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  13. A motoring YouTuber Hubnut took several months holiday in NZ and Australia largely to drive all the cars seldom seen outside these two countries or being easier to access a huge range in NZ. Eg the Wil you commented on near the end : https://youtu.be/rDxiT2EO_OM He drove around NZ in a cheap old AU Falcon. He liked it so much that when his channel did well he re purchased the Falcon Fairmont and imported it to the UK for far more than he paid for it.
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  14. Wikipedia search confirms it was beaten in all but one race it entered. Best result was a team 1,2 in the 1976 Swedish GP So not quite unbeatable but very interesting.
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  15. I think one of the first things Cate Blanchett worked on in her early years before she went on to much bigger things.
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  16. An Australian pioneering motorcycle movie from 1974 was Stone. Lots of Kawasaki 900 machines in it. A summary of the film better than I could possibly do : https://youtu.be/UWp5hJMegXQ Lots of connections with later films.
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  17. My club started just labelling a slotted box "Donation Appreciated' and ended up with quite a few $50 notes as well as gold coins. Even more money than previous years fixed $2 with someone saddled with taking the money and making change. No issues with someone too poor or tight with money either. Most obviously appreciated what we put on.
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  18. Car at 9:17 is the British Ford Lotus Cortina mk 2 from 1966 to 1970. Double overhead cam Lotus head used so still fast today. In Australia the more basic earlier GT and GT 500 Cortinas with pushrod engines won the first three Bathurst 500 events in 1963 64 and 65. Australian built first race specials Beating V8 Studebaker and Dodge Phoenix cars with crap brakes and high fuel consumption needing many pit stops. Even the EH Holden six cylinder cars lost out to the Ford Cortinas. Took the bigger engined Morris mini Cooper S to beat them in 1966 once the race special GT500 big fuel tank race special Cortinas were banned and the minis had their problems sorted out. The Cooper S then took the first nine places in 1966. The small blue car was the later Clubman version of the Mini. Nothing to do with the recent BMW mini, just using a highly regarded name.
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  19. The right hand drive Mustangs in 1966 were converted with great difficulty at the Ford factory in Australia. Shannons story : https://youtu.be/svo0flmsgaw
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  20. The early eighties Falcon had the 351 Cleveland motor as an option, but cast at the Geelong Ford engine plant in Australia. There might be some markings on the Geelong cast improved engine blocks that show their origin. That was after US Ford gave up on the Cleveland and sent the tooling to Australia. Australia also made a 302 version of the Cleveland which is unique to Australia. Called the 4.9 litre here and preferred by many not wanting the extra expense of the 351 5.8. Although most Falcons sold here were six cylinder cars with the V8 take up only peaking at 30% for the 1972 XA model. All other Falcon models had less Cleveland V8s used or not available at all. I understand that most late production De Tomaso Pantera mid engined Italian supercars had the Australian cast engine blocks. That company were most upset when they found that Ford Australia ceased production of the V8 and destroyed the tooling.
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  21. His team being the first to fly across the Pacific Ocean in the late twenties under severe difficulties was a huge achievement.
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  22. Was the first with constant all wheel drive in 1966 as opposed to the primitive off road selectable four wheel drives like Jeeps and Land Rovers etc.
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  23. Another vote for Jack Brabham being best. Triple world champion and in his own car for one of them in 1966 with an Australian built world beating Repco engine he organised. Team mate Denny Hulme won in 67 because Jack kept the less tested new parts for himself. Otherwise he could have won in 67 too. Bad luck in a few races stopped him being World F1 champ again in 1970. Alan Jones mainly lucked into driving the great Williams car in 1980, although a good driver he never achieved what Jack did any very likely no one ever will.
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  24. The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, setting trends and creating the modern retail model that stores follow worldwide today. But the name was not registered or trademarked in Australia and many other countries. So local unconnected businesses using the name and ideas were set up. Morphed later to concentrate on supermarkets. Safeway in Victoria may have had a similar idea but was taken over by Woolworths and renamed as late as the 2000s or so without asking customers what they thought. I still call it Safeway often. Coles also started with the five and dime idea but the sixties offshoot supermarkets soon dominated and Coles like to give everyone the idea that they have been grocery stores for over a hundred years.
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  25. Most supermarkets and even Kmart and Bunnings are open until 9 or 10pm. What closes are local small cafes chasing work break related business.
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  26. Although the full race is 161 laps, co driver relief has been mandated for near fifty years. Enforced limits on how long a driver is allowed to continually drive has set back many teams when miscalculated. Only safe way given the physical stress of the cars and pace these days.
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  27.  @mick1535  There was a late fifties addition of lanes in a way. My understanding is that lanes 7 and 8 were added for car use in the late fifties by removing trams from the bridge. These lanes formerly dedicated to trams then became available for use by road traffic.
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  28. There are the Federal Police but much lower profile. Airports seem to be their main patch.
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  29. Good to see this. Maybe in response to my loved comment a few months back with a few links. Even as an Australian I have to admit New Zealand leaves us for dead for variety. Not sure how they afford to keep all the types going. Even in the fifties and sixties NZ had import laws encouraging many different models from a parent company. Helped out the Rootes group with Hillman cars but also Humber, Singer, Sunbeam and even Commer badged versions of the same car.
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  30. From Wikipedia : The Ford Falcon (AU) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon constructed on the new at the time EA169 platform, and was replaced by the updated BA series. Full size for us anyway.
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  31. Weird fun fact. The first cheerleaders were all Men and remained so for many years. https://youtu.be/0ve0VCE8fw0
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  32. Moffat here no where near race speed. Just a filming run with a cameraman in the week prior to the race when the road was in public use. Hence the 1960 Holden's parked doing sight seeing. Still driving faster than anyone else would do.
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  33.  @kaypotter2867  yes the Chrysler 265 Hemi. In ultimate E49 form with triple Weber carbs it made 302 HP off the showroom floor.
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  34. A great vid on the late Peter Williamson and his racing acheivmemts : https://youtu.be/UOdpiftLytM
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  35. Quite a history of the Violet Crumble. Developed very early by the Hoadley company in South Melbourne when it had a thriving manufacturing base. The hygroscopic nature of honeycomb led Hoadley to eventually dip his bars in chocolate, to keep the honeycomb dry and crunchy. Thus, in 1913, the Violet Crumble bar was created. Took a few years to establish a market presence but by 1929 the success may have influenced Fry's in the UK to develop Crunchie. A not as good copy perhaps? Lots of upheavals in the last 50 years had Cadbury taking over lots of companies and changing recipes and dumping products with new niche companies bringing better versions back.
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  36. Smaller ones got a bit popular too. The Gemini based Sandpiper and the Ford escort based Sundowner : https://youtu.be/nedG3_RUHAs Smaller purchase price and fuel consumption.
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  37. Duststorms not just in the desert. Even Melbourne experienced at least one that I remember. Happened after a long drought then hit days and high winds. A week or two later very deadly bushfires from similar conditions : https://youtu.be/n5BZkVLIBsE I remember being in my city high rise office job when it suddenly became like night with the dust.
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  38. So how did you convert the US colour TV from the US colour standard of NTSC to the Australian PAL standard?
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  39. G'day Ian. Towing using cars was common in Australia too. Needed to make sure the caravan or trailer being towed was not too heavy and so on the small side. This kept Australian production Holden, Falcon and Valiant cars in production as being better able to cope with towing. A film from about 1949 Victoria, before the Holden cars became common , with lots of towing by cars for summer holidays : https://youtu.be/EJBtElrbdtw Early colour film insight to a different era we have evolved from.
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  40. A VW Beetle 1200 in stock form won the Bathurst 500 in 1963, but only in class A for the least expensive cars. Beat the mini 850 in the class on the last corner of the last lap as the supposedly better handling Mini rolled. Was number 54 and looking like Herbie the Love Bug which was 53, yet several years before. Maybe Bathurst was the inspiration for Herbie.
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  41. The little green car at 5:45 or so is an Austin of England A30 from the mid fifties. These came with a sub 1 litre engine of around 30 hp and handled fairly well for the time, so the low power did not upset them too much. In the later sixties a young Peter Brock got his hands on a cheap old one and set about making it a fast Sports Sedan race car by fitting a 2.8 litre Holden six cylinder motor in it from a wrecked Holden . So giving it about five times the power of a standard car. Peter did so well in driving the over powered race special that he got selected by the Holden Dealer team as a new driver. A driver that team manager Harry Firth believed could develop into a race driver. Harry Firth reasoned that if he could win races with such a difficult to drive home built special he must have the right stuff for a dealer team driver. Recently a replica of the original Brock Austin/Holden special has been made and raced : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcf-FgGWkZM&t=100s
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  42. A very useful service surprisingly used by my extended family. More of the history of the service here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxset-GFh1Q Gives more of the early background.
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  43. Although the earlier model Barinas from Suzuki and then Vauxhall/Opel had a much better reputation before the Barina became a rebadged Daewoo.
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  44. The Victoria state Census did count the indigenous population until taken over by the Commonwealth at Federation. Some areas of the Inland were not explored until the 1960s when some tribes had first contact.
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  45. The Volvo 145 and 245 station wagons seemed to be a favoured car. Would feel far less safe in some of the front wheel drive hatchbacks also in this.
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  46. Actually this very special, one of seven made, Kar Kraft car was given to Alan Moffat by Ford Mo Co and then air freighted in to Australia. Moff was in tears when he heard the news. As he described on a documentary about his racing career. Ford saw a commercial advantage to Australian sales for one of these very special Kar Kraft cars to be racing in Australia rather than just being another on the grid of Trans Am for a lower rated US driver. Alan Moffat being highly regarded by Ford Australia at the time. The US driver who was originally supposed to get the car was not happy, so the story goes. But Ford were paying for these very special , but semi standard looking, cars. A very high win ratio, I recall 67%, with Moff driving this car. Even beat the Bob Jane ZL1 Camaro sometimes when that was sprung on the scene here later on. Our rules allowed a seven litre engine for a while. Later it was on display at a Ford dealer in New Zealand while racing there. The story was local NZ driver, Jim Richards, went in there, with the help of his local Ford dealer mates, in the dead of night and recorded and learnt from all the special suspension, body and engine parts that made these cars perform so much better than other Mustangs on the grid at the time. Or so Alan Moffat said in the doco.
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  47. Melbourne only bigger using a seldom used urbanised area definition that Dan Andrews latched onto. Would Dan try to mislead us? Try searching for australian bureau of statistics capital city populations to see the more commonly used definition over the past fifty years.
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  48. This is the VF 225 slant six original Pacer unless an engine upgrade is allowed. So even more impressive. Shannon's detail here ; https://youtu.be/dv-1x1sPiTk Common confusion of the first slant six Pacer and the next model hemi powered ones. Amazing that no one remembered this is a smaller slant six.
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  49. Stopped being Fiat connected more than 30 years ago. VW now.
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  50. The landmark Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock Based around the mystery story there about 1900. Worth a look if you can.
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