Comments by "John D" (@johnd8892) on "American Reacts to Peter Brock 1979 | Last Lap in the A9X - Bathurst" video.

  1. One of the most memorable events in Bathurst history. Even my mother was cheering at the time. Bathurst converting my Mother to a once a year race fan like many in Australia. Peter Brock driving the legendary Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback to first place ahead of another seven Toranas filling places one to eight. Last Bathurst for Torana with rule changes next year. The the Peter Williamson Toyota Celica next but a long way back. The heavy Falcon hardtops were even further behind as by this time they were outclassed the lighter Toranas as was the single Camaro that failed to finish. Alan Moffat Falcon failed to finish. Maybe karma from being helped in qualifying by some murky rule application to help him out. Torana was one of the few cars sold with four , six or eight cylinder engine options.
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  2. He died in a replica of a Cobra Daytona Coupe as originally designed by American Peter Brock. How spooky is that. Search Pete Brock Cobra Daytona on Youtube.
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  3. When released, the SLR 5000 was too fragile for racing, especially the original back axle. On release of the SLR 5000 few Holden teams ran it, sticking with the Torana XU-1, for quite a while until some of the problems were improved on but not completely sorted out. There are some detailed youtube videos around with people from the time spelling out the problems. Alan Grice was forced to run one by his sponsor but explained he had to baby the car so the back axle would not break. I went to the Sandown 500 around 1974 expecting to see the SLR 5000 but none to be seen. These issues were the reason for the major upgrade of the A9X versions with a completely different much stronger rear end.
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  4. The LH model had big problems in racing. Took until the latet LX model with A9X options to make it really good for racing. This is Peter Brock driving the legendary Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback to first place ahead of another seven Toranas filling places up to ninth place Toyota Celica.
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  5. This was notable as an Australian designed 308 cui 5044 cc V8. But not the only Australian designed V8.' The Repco V8 F1 and sports racing motors that in the Brabham F1 car won the 1966 and 1967 F1 Championship for Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme. All built in Richmond Vic then Maidstone Vic in suburban Melbourne. As well as the 3 litre ones F1 version there were 2.5 litre and I think a 4 litre Can Am sports car version. Another version raced at Indy for a while. The first ones were radically modified Oldsmobile 215 cui blocks fiited with overhead cams annd dry sumps. After identifying what could be done better with this motor, a new design was drawn up and cast locally. Jack Brabham won the 1959, 1960 and 1966 World Championship for Formula 1. The 1966 win made him the only driver to win an F1 championship in a car of his own make. Around this time Brabham made the greatest number of racing cars of any manufacturer at the time..
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  6. For this race Peter had as his co driver one of the best , being Jim Richards. Jim could easily drive at the pace needed and not damage the car.
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  7. Searching the Torana club site they say (with extra explanations by me) : Only 405 A9X Toranas were produced for sale to the public and these consisted of 305 four-door sedans and 100 two-door hatches. (the road going ones) ...There were an additional 52 GMP&A (General Motors Parts and Accessories) body shells specifically produced for competition made up of 11 sedans and 41 hatches. (It was from these body shells most racing teams would build almost all of the race cars with all the racing modifications and deletions allowed by the rules).
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  8.  @IWrocker  Peter driving the Daytona replica before the crash. And how it impacted the event in 2006 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcVPToyoTaY
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  9. The A9X cars were street legal if not modified too much for racing. Needed to be street legal to qualify for the race, but the race allowed a few more mods like exhaust and roll cages etc.
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  10. Torana club says : "Only 405 A9X Toranas were produced for sale to the public and these consisted of 305 four-door sedans and 100 two-door hatches." These were the road legal ones with the A9X option pack.
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  11. Peter Brock as a race commentator in the 1999 race, but for the competing 2 litre race series that soon after lost out to the less variety of the Holden vs Ford V,8 only series. https://youtu.be/epFrt2Lt_qQ Peters son racing in this. A lot of coverage so not suggest a review just what else ran and in the wet.
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  12. Little known about that car is it ran a 3.3 litre XU-1 motor since it was lighter and parts easier to get anywhere in the outback. Still plenty of power for off road. Even though the XU-1 had been out of production for years.
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  13.  @Nathan-ry3yu  LX series arrived in February 1976. UC was the last in 1978 but no V8 options or race history. All the teams rapidly went LX with the A9X stronger running gear option and the fragile LH dumped. UC became a four cylinder Sunbird when the Commodore arrived. So quite a few years racing the 1976 model LX.
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  14. I seem to remember that the limit was always 0.05 % BAC in Victoria. Especially when Peter Brock started using the number. He was very active on the road safety front and gave a talk at my University in Melbourne around 1973.
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  15.  @peterolsen9131  Peter Brock was using 05 well before the states outside Victoria changed to 0.05%. Like you said Qld still 0.08% in 81, while he Peter was using it here in 1979. To quote his Wikipedia Brock worked with the Victorian authorities promoting the campaign against drunk driving. The most obvious sign of this association was the race car number 05 which related to the 0.05% blood alcohol limit in Victoria, which he utilised constantly from the mid-1970s. Most cars he raced in, regardless of the motor racing division, bore this number, including the car in which he died. So before any of the changes, Peter being from Victoria would have been most aware and supportive of the 0.05% BAC limit well before the later changes you spoke about. Doubt you could find anything from Peter Brock promoting a 0.08% limit. Chronology important.
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  16. Started as 5,044 cc (308 cu in) (1969–1985), so this one here Later 5 litre racing limits came in so 4,987 cc (304 cu in) (1985–2000) According to Wikipedia.
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  17. Australian design 308 with major differences to the Chev. Location of parts designed to suit right hand drive better for a start.
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  18. The slower 2ltr 4 cylinder Toyota Celica of Peter Williamson came ninth, beating all the Ford Falcons and the single Chevrolet Camaro that year. Tenth was a two litre Alfa. So not quite so slow, but more reliable than the heavy Falcon Coupes by then.
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  19. Apart from the Repco V8 F1 and sports racing motors that won the 1966 and 1967 F1 Championship for Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme. All built in Ricmond Vic then Maidstone Vic in suburban Melbourne. As well as the 3 litre ones there were 2.5 litre and I think a 4 litre Can Am sports car version. Another version raced at Indy for a while.
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  20. Nope. Aussie built 308. Check Wikipedia for Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback.
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  21.  @norsehall309  came across comments from one that said it was a cheater motor, stroked out a bit, so maybe more than the allowed production 308.
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  22. Typo? Biggest six was a 202. V8 was a 308.
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  23. 308. Just over five litres.
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  24. The early Monaro race cars went 327 then 350 Chevs, but this middle era until into the nineties it was the 308 then 304 Australian made Holden engines. From then on Chevrolet motors in Holden road cars then all the race cars gradually went with them. Larry Perkins was the last to run a Holden engine in the V8 series.
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