Welcome to the Aussie Muscle Car Museum Website
Australia's first dedicated musclecar museum opened late March 2005. For now, take a virtual tour through history as you view road-going examples of the legendary race cars that made put Australia on the world motorsport map. You're in for an exciting journey as you watch the evolution of the Australian musclecar from its inception in the early '60s to the present day.
Creator and collection owner Jeff Bloom has painstakingly combed the entire country, in the process forming the most diverse and largest privately owned collection of Aussie musclecars ever assembled in this country, deliberately choosing unusual colours and options to faithfully recreate the automotive fashion of the day.Whilst keeping very close to their original specification, occasionally Jeff breaks protocol with some non-original 'improvements' (for instance, he has a thing about Falcon hardtops needing very large wheels, particularly rear ones). Please forgive this small indiscretion, where possible all original parts are kept to be one day reunited.
Regardless, arranged in year/model formation together, the cars look breathtaking. This website cannot even come close to recreating the spectacle, but we've done our best through the miracle of technology. Do yourself a favour. Organise with your car club or association to get in and see the collection in the metal and do a guided tour. It's an event not to be missed.
Our website will be regularly updated with new photos, historical information and links to other sites.
with your thoughts, suggestions and comments. We're keen to hear what you have to say. Enjoy the show!
Our thanks of course go to the many individuals who worked tirelessly to make one man's dream a reality: Wayne and Peter from the Very Fast Paintshop who really earned their name getting this motley crew assembled in time for the various photo shoots, Warren from Chris Nessel Spray Painting, Frank from Frank's Body Works, car &part locator/swap meet companion and part time spanner wielder Mark Farry, Ford guru and technical advisor Peter Mellor, Holden guru and technical advisor Ben Stewart, Chrysler guru and technical advisor Mike Fry, Adam and Paul for playing chauffeur and delivery boy when it had all gone past a joke, our web designer extraordinaire Barnaby dePalma, Paul Weekes the intrepid graphic designer and photographer, spannerman Grant Browning, brother Greg Bloom for sorting out Jeff's botched repair attempts, and last but certainly not least Jeff's very understanding and tolerant close friend Rachelle who's no doubt currently being extensively wined and dined to make up for almost 3 years of partial neglect. We salute you all!
P.S. Make sure you check out our One-offs/Odd balls page. It’s actually a list of 22 truly individual vehicles you will most certainly not find anywhere else.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND - AMCM OPEN DAY SUNDAY 21st JUNE 2009 & JULY 19th 2009
Our openings are such a huge success, so we're doing it again! Next Open Day is 21st June 2009 & 19th July 2009
Have a spare 3 ½ hours on Sunday June 21st and July 19th? AMCM is hosting a special grand opening, with even more than the 12 car clubs and 300 - 400 spectators in attendance. We're looking for some special one-off cars for the day, can you help? Last time we featured Build #1 Giocattolo, a 1 of 9 VL Brock Director (with the infamous 'Polariser'), 1 of 10 Leyland Force 7V Hatchback, Bondy's old LJ XU-1 race car (authentic replica), a 1 of 10 'optimised' VS Commodore GTS/R, and more. We'll again be raffling off some car 'goodies', live entertainment and more. Details, email us, or look on our "do the (actual) tour" page.
NEW ARRIVALS
Six Sells
Since the first Falcon GT of 1967, Aussie Ford performance cars were always big V8s. But Ford knew there were enthusiasts with families and budgets, so with performance partner Tickford introduced the mighty XR6 in the EB II series of 1992. It was an instant hit, and continues to sell well to this day. Some even suggest the car singlehandedly kept Ford Australia out of the financial poo. With some minor camshaft tuning, more efficient injection, free flowing exhaust and other minor tweaks, it was always snapping at the heels of its big brother 5 litre XR8. In fact, the later XR6 Turbo and Typhoon had to be seriously detuned to as not to exceed their place in the Ford performance pecking order and blow the XR8 and GT into the weeds. The EF XR6 was a very fine car indeed, with a respectable 170kw on tap, smooth 5 speed T5 box, and optional aggressive 16” alloys and full bodykit and trick recessed quad headlight setup. This is my nephew Greg’s Hot Chili Red manual example, loaned to AMCM until Greg saves his pennies for a new paint job and Typhoon 400+ kw transplant. Noice!
Top Gear covers AMCM
We told you it was coming, now here it is: Top Gear Australia Feb 09 is now in Newsagents, Convenience Stores, Petrol Stations, even Supermarkets, fittingly released on Australia Day. It’s brilliant journalism with fantastic photography, and it’s only out until the end of February. Turn to page 42 for a glorious 6 page full colour spread, then get back onto our site or the phone and book your tour.
The Seat of Power
You’re looking at the world’s only XA Superbird 302 V8 desk (minus the V8 and Superbird). Just before you suffer chronic meltdown, the previous owner assures Jeff that the rest of the car was totalled by an interstate goods train at a dodgy level crossing (or some other similar mishap) and absolutely could not be saved under any circumstance. Literally stumbled across at an All Ford Day swap meet in the condition you see here, Jeff couldn’t resist its allure (once he composed himself). In case you’re interested, it started life as a V8 4 speed Lime Glaze/Jewel Green XA Superbird hardtop, and how holds an amazing number of files, paperclips, press releases, and our special AMCM visitors’ book. Make sure you sign it when you pay us a visit.
Jeff becomes a “Bloody Volvo Driver”
Next time you’re out for a run and you see a bowler hat wearing driver slogging a baby poo brown mid 70s Volvo along the fast lane at 80 clicks – be very careful. Not content with 4 cylinder or V6 power offered by Sweden’s finest, it appears that Sydney based “Lakeside Enterprises” (not in any way connected with the Brisbane based race track) modified about a half dozen of the things when still fairly new, dropping Holden 253 or 308 V8s and Trimatics into their vacant engine bays, slotting in heavy duty radiators and neat twin exhausts… and blowing away GT Falcons and 911 Porsches (OK, so that last statement is a slight exaggeration). This is the very rare 284 GTS – (2 – series 2 Volvo, 8 – no of cylinders, 4 – sedan 4 door, GTS – Holden V8 powered) And it was quite a respectable package, and a very neat fit. Except Volvos of this vintage were considerered a prestigious car when new, and adding a new V8 engine nudged the already expensive sticker price into the “I don’t think so” bracket – which is why only six were built, and Lakeside is remembered more as a race track than a car maker.
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
You gotta give the defunct Leyland corporation top marks for trying. Synonymous with 90% of failed Australian and British cars on the market in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, every now and then it delivered something truly magical. Like the Leyland Mini Clubman GT… and the…. um…. the…. oh, never mind.
The Marina is one of the instantly forgettable examples of Leyland’s stuff-ups of the era. Most cars age and become classics… Leylands just get old.
Then there’s this little beauty. In the early 70s Leyland was keeping a distant eye on the Aussie muscle car wars, and was at one stage – believe it or not – considering dropping their newly developed all alloy P76 4.4 V8 into a specially developed Marina coupe, sticking it up Ford, Chrysler and Holden in the process, for outright Bathurst honours. As a further incentive, Repco took a base P76 V8 donk and developed it for racing, stroking it out to 5 litres, adding fuel injection, roller rockers and more, dubbed the Formula 5000 engine, producing in excess of 400 bhp!! This was developed for racing P76s, but it was decided to fit it into a Marina coupe for racing Bathurst 73/74. Because of Leyland’s industrial strife, failing P76 and other internal haemorhaging, a lone privately entered standard Marina 6 coupe entered Bathurst and made no impact on the big 3 whatsoever….
The car you see below is a “little old man driven to church on Sundays” 4 cylinder auto Marina – but not for long. I’ve already pulled out my tape measure and lined up new Leyland V8 powerhouse…. Watch this space.
Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
In the late 1970s, Isuzu, Holden’s Japanese counterpart, launched the Gemini ZZ/R and ZZ/T, complete with high tech DOHC 1.8 injected 4, close ratio 5 speed, LSD, all wheel discs and more. Australia as usual missed out, until Holden launched the mighty ZZ/Z in the 1983/4 TG series. This sportiest of all Geminis (from memory, I think it was the ONLY official sporty Gemini) sported the mechanical modifications of…. um…. a bog stock standard 1.6, 5 speed, open diff, and… oh, never mind. But it DID have a tacho… woo hoo! And white SL/E alloys… all right! And front and rear spoilers, and nifty guard top rubberized plastic spears curiously called “wind splitters”, shared with VH Brock Commodores. A limited number were made in Asteroid Silver with navy velour/wool blend trim. It wasn’t a ZZ/R, but it was a start. Road testers quickly dubbed the car the Zzzzzzzzzzzzz after experiencing its rather lackluster performance.
Go back 3 years to the TE series, and an aftermarket supplier “CDT” (Country Dealer Team) led by Jim Faneco, tricked up a handful of SL Geminis, featuring neat VC Brock Commodore inspired flares and rear spoiler, 5 speed boxes, Globe Bathurst or Rebel alloys, twin IDF downdraft Webers, extractors, extra instruments and more.
My car is somewhat of a hybrid of the two, with the full CDT kit and wheels but standard ZZ/Z running gear (but not for long). As it is totally against my religion to own a gutless car, the CDT spec engine is on its way… Stay tuned. (get it? Engine – tuned?)
What the?!
Just before you think Jeff has totally gone and lost the plot, check this out. You’re looking at a 12/1973 Leyland Marina GT/4, Leyland’s final attempt at a mid sized muscle car before their Zetland plant went belly up in the post P76 fiasco of late 1974. In every other world market, the Marina was a 1500cc or 1750cc 4 cyl underpowered slug, even the pretty TC (twin carby) Coupe was a gutless 4, but in good ole Aussie we got the mighty 2.6 red six, plus 3 on the floor. The boys at Leyland R & D also developed a 3.3 litre alloy V6 – the one and only Marina V6 prototype still cruises the streets of Mossman, Sydney, even though the RTA wouldn’t allow the car to go into production, nor the 4.4 alloy V8 Marina Leyland engineers proposed. The Marina had a chassis dating back to the old Morrie Minor (archaic in 1973) with torsion bar suspension and no handling to speak of (the UK Marina Club Newsletter is appropriately named “Understeer”!) Brakes weren’t much better, but the 6 did get power front discs.
Back to the GT/4, this was the Marina equivalent of the hamburger with the lot, including 10 thou overbored 2.6 six, twin SU carbs, 4 speed box, TC alloys, full instrument dash, sports wheel, copious black outs and more. Sedans and coupes were available (looking for a coupe if you know where I can find one). Production isn’t known, but it is believed to be VERY low. This thing absolutely hammers in a straight line (apparently quicker than an XU-1 Torana!) but won’t stop or go around corners. This is my recent eBay acquisition from Sydney, complete with non original (but very phat) period 7” x 13” Rebel wheels and low profile Eagers. I actually drove the car with my partner Jane from Sydney airport to AMCM HQ on New Years’ Day and really enjoyed the experience (except for passenger whinging re lack of air conditioning) Now where did I leave my straightjacket?
XD GTHO?
After the XA Falcon GTHO Phase IV was mercilessly hit over the head with a crowbar, by default Ford allowed the GTHO name out into the public domain. Car enthusiast and bodykit builder extraordinaire Bob McWilliam started the companies “Phase Autos” and “HO – Homologated Options”, famously producing the spoilers and bonnet scoop for the XC Cobras, and the trick body kits for the XD Falcon race cars (including Dickie Johnson’s “True Blue” XD that hit ‘the rock’).
Legend has it Bob sat down with a couple of mates over a few beers and reminisced about the good old days and GTs and HOs and how Ford had lost the plot with the new XD ‘ESP’ (that’s European Sports Pack, not Extra Sensory Perception). Wouldn’t it be great to go out and build the car Ford should have if GTHOs were still in production, with full Phase Autos XD bodykit, of course. Presenting… the Homologated Options “Phase 5”.
How it worked is you wandered into your local friendly Ford dealer and took delivery of a new Falcon S Pack, or Fairmont Ghia, or ESP, ran it over to the boys at Phase Autos, and had them ‘trick it up’ for you. McWilliam would happily oblige with any of the following: full flare kit (street or race), deep front spoiler, “Darth Vader” style fully functioning bonnet scoop, “aero fence” bonnet wind splitters, nifty roof spoiler, tall rear deck spoiler (adjustable on race cars), colour matched grille, LTD front guards, 15” Simmons V5 wheels, MOMO 2 spoke wheel, nifty red leather gear boot and knob, Recaro seats, LTD rear head rests, mega sound system, Bilstein shockers, special striping and decals, modified 351 motors, performance exhausts and more. The sky (and cheque book capacity) was the limit.
Modern Motor put one of these things up against a new VC Brock Commodore and the Falcon whipped it good! Production numbers aren’t known, estimates put it at around 22 – 30 units all up, plus separate body kits.
The car you’re looking at received all of the above options ($41,000 sticker price in 1980, base Falcon was $6,500!) plus a Phase 3 spec 350bhp 351, 31 spline 4 speed toploader (Borg Warner Single Rail standard), 31 spline Detroit Locker 9” (Borg Warner 8” LSD standard), purchased from the 2nd owner for a ridiculously cheap price, and one of my top 10 favourite driving cars in the collection!
Top Gear Australia meets the “Fantastic Four”
Recently AMCM was approached by Top Gear magazine about running a feature on the museum and collection. Always happy for free publicity, Jeff pondered their proposal for about 3 ½ seconds before responding “okay”. Photographer Russell Shakespeare (no relation to William) lined up the quartet (XW and XY GT Falcons, XC and BF Cobras), and made sure the old silo was in the background, before manifesting all of his trick photography and lighting gizmos… and making magic (unlike Jeff’s weak attempt featured below). Wander into the newsagents sometime in January for the full article and pics… and remember, you saw it here first. Yes you did.
The Poor Man’s Falcon GT
When Ford and performance partner Tickford reintroduced the Falcon GT in the EB series in 1992, all 265 or so cars were instant sell-outs and collectors’ items. But, being based on the opulent Fairmont Ghia, with full leather trim, climate air, electric everything etc, they were a tad pricey at $62,500 + on roads. [My EB GT has an optional electric sunroof ($2,900) and 6 stack CD shuttle ($3,500!!), bringing the total to nearly $69,000 + on roads… in 1992!!!!) A brand new 2009 FG GT is less than $60,000!
Many enthusiasts wanted all the grunt… without the luxury price tag. Largely the brainchild of the late Howard Marsden, Tickford made a ‘stripped out’ GT in the ED series, which was essentially a cross between an XR8 and a GT. Called the “XR8 Sprint” it featured virtually identical running gear to the EB GT, but without all the weight and performance sapping luxury trimmings. Externally they looked similar to an XR8, but featured a different front and rear spoiler, wheel arch extension ‘ticks’, unique 16” ROH designed alloys (also used on the SVOs), unique bumper paintouts, and special badging. Inside had the GT seats in half leather, half cloth, standard air (not climate control), EB GT MOMO leather wheel with cruise control, and more. Price was just over $45K, and performance was a whisker quicker than a GT. 356 were built, in auto or manual, in 5 sizzling colours. This is my “Polynesian Green” auto example, parked next to my XR6 ute. Don’t they make a lovely couple?
The Aussie Supercar that never was…
1972 was shaping up to be the ultimate year for motorsport fans. Holden was readying its 5 litre V8 LJ GTR XU-2 Torana, Ford was counterattacking with its mighty XA GTHO Phase 4, and Chrysler was keen to unleash its big gun R/T V8 6 Pack Charger. Bathurst would’ve been one hell of a race with all 3 cars serious contenders for outright victory and smashing lap records in the process. Incredibly all 3 were stillborn because of federal government concerns that these ‘170mph bullets on wheels’ would contribute to Australia’s already worrying road toll.
Not wanting to let down Aussie petrol heads, I decided to build my own, with a sexy Metallic Orchid (Pink) GTR XU-2 Torana, Wild Violet GTHO Phase IV Falcon sedan, and this little beauty…. Starting life as a 265 VH Charger 770, it is now a 360 cube 400 horsepower “6 Pack” (ie triple 2 barrel Holley/Carter carburetors on a Plymouth Cuda manifold) V8 R/T, just like Chrysler would’ve built, had it not wimped out (along with Ford and GMH). Gearbox is an imported 833 4 speed, and bringing up the rear is a 9” Dana locker. It has a 35 gallon E38 tank with twin fillers, polished W35 ROH 5 slot alloys, massive vented disc brakes all round, R/T dash and wheel, ‘bumblebee’ stripe, Monza race seats, and the most incredible roll cage you’ve ever seen. Previous owner Michael Grabau from Perth did most of the hard stuff in preparation for the Targa Tasmania, but the project ran out of steam (and funds) before it could be completed. Franks Body Works in Northgate applied the top coat of Electric Blue, and ain’t she a beauty!
AMCM visits SCG
Recently on a US “Route 66” tour Jeff called in to our sponsor “Surf City Garage” in Huntington Beach, California and met founder Tim Miller, a man with equal enthusiasm for muscle cars on the other side of the Atlantic. Tim runs a construction company building shopping complexes, and has passionately assembled a collection of some 150+ American muscle cars, including no fewer than 43 Pontiac GTOs!! Tim also has an impressive array of ‘garagernalia” including neon signs, dealership metal signs, petrol bowsers, oil containers and more, plus period motorcycles and accessories. He keeps the lot clean with his own special “Surf City Garage” cleaning products, now available down under. We use it on all cars in AMCM and it’s great stuff. To arrange a sample, contact distributor Jeff Richardson (0437)773289 – till him we sent you.
Holden’s ‘baby’ muscle car
Early in 1967 and way before the HK Monaro GTS 327 of July 1968, Holden launched its first small car, the HB Torana. A kissing cousin of the English Vauxhall Viva, the Torana was offered with a cooking four pot of 1200cc capacity, good for about 59bhp. To commemorate Sir Jack Brabham winning the Formula 1 championship in 1966, GM launched a sporty version of the Torana and Viva, simply called the “Brabham”. Initially an option pack, around 1% of Series 1 HB Toranas (about 180) were fitted with the Brabham touches of twin 1 ¼” SU carbs and special manifold, sports air cleaners, wooden gearknob with Brabham logo, black bonnet stripe and taillight panel, and “wide” 12” x 4” rims with red wall tyres, and guard badges. Power discs were offered too. Power was up to a “sensational” 79bhp, but the cars were not all that quick, and Sir Jack opened a Ford dealership in 1969 and started modifying XW, XY and XA Falcons, Fairmonts and GTs instead. This model started as a Silver Mink with white roof and black interior example, but has been retrofitted with Globe Bathurst mags. In time, it will be restored back to correct specification.
Brabham Update
Trawling eBay recently I found this little gem in Noosa. It’s a little old grandma genuine 15,000 mile from new HB Torana coupe still wearing original Pharaoh Gold paint and 100% rust free! This car was parked up in a mechanics workshop in 1976 and sat untouched for 32 years!!! All the good bits from the gold car are being transferred across as we speak. This shell is UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE.
Haulin’ parts in style
Fresh off eBay and into the AMCM stables is one bitchin XC ute. We’re talking full house GS 351 4 speed 9” disc rear on LPG, new motor barely run in and begging to be turned into a Cobra lookalike with matching logo and signage as featured on our F350 car transporter. This will soon take the place of my trusty XG XR6 ute (see cars for sale page). Special thanks to Sarah and Scott from Super Cruz for doing the deal!
Mini on Steroids!
1966 was a very good year. For starters, it’s when I was born. Secondly, it was the year Minis blitzed the field at Bathurst (Armstrong 500), occupying no fewer than the top NINE positions at race end (the 10th place getter was a Valiant which finished 6 laps behind the winner), and third, it’s when this little beauty rolled off the production line. Originally a diminutive little Morris 850, this baby animal has morphed into what you see here, a turbo charged 1400cc Metro motored rocket. Not much of the original car remains… let’s see, we have the aforementioned cabin boost adjustable turbo, a new fiberglass bonnet and bootlid, Williams race harness, massive fiberglass flares covering equally massive 13” x 7” Minilite style mags and 50 series tyres, 2 ½ mandrel bend straight through exhaust, period Mountney wheel, blow off valve, twin tanks and a heap of stuff I haven’t discovered yet. Another eBay special, this little beauty hails from Margaret River WA (diametrically the furthest point from Brisbane in Australia). If ever there was a Mini muscle car, this would be it!
Mini on Steroids part 2!
After the previous Mini, this car may seem a bit tame, but here goes. It’s a 1973 Clubman GT reshelled into a Clubman body. So you’ve got all the good Cooper S Mk2 running gear including 1275 bored to 1330 motor, Weber 45mm sidedraft carby, disc brake front end, big flares (not shown in photo), straight through exhaust, 12” Superlites and more. You gotta love it!
The R/T you have when you’re not having an R/T.
After Chrysler’s withdrawal from motor racing Bathurst ’72 (Doug Chivas & Damon Beck came 3rd in a Charger E49), performance became a dirty word at Tonsley Park. A 56 model lineup in the VH series was drastically reduced to 18 in the VJ. Of interest to Chrysler muscle car lovers was the loss of the mighty R/T. Yet they did offer an “A54” option on the Charger XL, which featured the 265 and 4 speed, W35 ROH 5 slot mags, 3 spoke sports wheel, flip cap, machine turned dash and funky strobe stripes, and some lairy 70s colours. There was another box worth ticking, too. “E48” brought a trio of magnificent Weber carbies, just like those featured on E38s and E49s. Though only receiving a standard camshaft and small tank, it was the nearest thing to a VJ R/T you could purchase off the showroom floor. My example is a survivor 2 owner car rescued from a wrecking yard, and looks fantastic in Sunfire Yellow with black trim, with the full complement of options. Rock on!
The best Falcon never to be called a GT
Ford lost the plot in 1976 when it killed off the GT, again in 1982 when it killed off the V8. The reintroduction of the EB GT in 1992 was a step in the right direction, but it would take another 10 years before the GT would become a regular production model, instead of an ‘anniversary special’. So, for the unloved AU series, Tickford came up with the inventive names of “TE50” and “TS50” – yeah, I have no idea what they mean, either. TE50 was based on the AU Fairmont, the TS50 on the Fairmont Ghia (kind of like a BA GT and GT-P).
Available in 3 series, the T1 had a 200kw 5 litre Windsor, the T2 was upgraded to 220kw, and the T3 had a hand built ‘stroker’ 5.6 litre pushing out 250kw. Testers at the time raved about all three, but went totally nuts about the T3, especially with the optional Brembo brakes. My car is a fully loaded T2 TE50 in Hot Chili Red with 2 tone red and black leather, handbuilt 220kw Synergy motor, 5 speed T5G, 18” Azzuro wheels, electric sunroof, performance brakes, 6 stack CD, cool Tickford mesh grille and more. It’s a great package and very fun to throw around. It’s not a GT, but it’s up there.
Dark Days
It was 1988, and for Ford, the performance cupboard was bare. In the Falcon you had a choice between an injected 6…. and an injected 6. To save the shame and embarrassment of being even further publicly flogged by GMH, a couple of aftermarket boys put up their hands to do their best to get an EA Falcon to up and party. One of them was one Peter Brock esq (read the Oddballs and One-offs page to learn more about the Brock Falcon), the other Mick Webb, long time Allan Moffatt engine builder… not that he had much to do with the engine in this model. To the standard 3.9 OHC 6, Webb added his signature Genie headers and a more free flowing exhaust – that was it. Handling was courtesy of lowered Bilstein suspension and fatter sway bars, then came subtle front and rear spoilers, unique grille, ROH designed 16” SVO alloys, MOMO wheel, two tone paint, colour matched door handles, and a splash of SVO logos. Webbie even made a turbo manual EA SVO that briefly became Australia’s fastest car (it even beat a stroked Brock VL Director!) but Ford got all wobbly and wouldn’t offer a warranty on a turbo car. Wimps! A few dozen of the garden variety SVOs were sold – most performance buyers bought HSVs instead. This Monza Red example was procured from eBay from a neighbouring suburb (owner Adrian even delivered it free in exchange for a tour of the museum – thanks, mate!) and is a stock auto S pack with all SVO accessories intact. The body kit appears to be from an EB Tickford… ..if anyone knows what it is, you have my number!
AMCM takes delivery of “new” shop truck/transporter
The long anticipated muscle car transporter has arrived and is ready for duty! The design brief: buy something from the era (mid 70s) that a race car team would have used in the day, put a ‘real’ motor in it (351 V8), put it on LPG so you don’t have to take on the national debt to pay for the fuel, paint it white, trick it up with authentic Aussie Muscle Car Museum signage and website details, add a bit of chrome and period “bling”, and use it to take vehicles to car shows, swap meets, muscle car events and other assorted duties. Ain’t she a beauty?
It’s a 1976 Ford F350 banana back (4.5m tray) with 351 on gas, 4 speed toploader, dual rear wheels, (and can be driven on a regular licence) and screams “get the hell out of my way” when it pulls up in your rear view mirror. Trainspotters will notice the front end has been upgraded to a 1979 “Louisville”, which has not just been done for cosmetics. You see, on the drive up from its previous home in Geelong VIC, my driver Eddie had an altercation with a kangaroo and the old front end is somewhere near Moree! All is fixed now.
She’s already been put to good use bringing up a genuine XC GS 4 speed ute from Mildura, and passed the test with flying colours (except for the kangaroo). The XC is currently being readied as the AMCM shop ute/parts chaser, and will be painted up in XC Cobra livery. Watch this space. And if you do see the AMCM F350 at a show near you, come over and say Hi.
Have your say: Should I paint the F350 up as a Cobra too?? Tell me what you think.
Pray that he’s still out there
Trawling eBay the other day for a cheap XA to build as a Phase IV replica, I came across this little beauty. Aussie movie buffs will recognise this as a replica of one of the 3 MFP pursuit vehicles from Mad Max 1. One was Mad Max Rockatansky’s car, (a 351 FMX ex Victorian highway patrol car) one was the “Big Bopper” XB (the one that crashed through the caravan and totaled a Mazda Bongo in the first 5 minutes of the film), and the other was the “March Hare” XA (a 6 cyl ex taxi on its last legs before being involved in a rollover whilst pursuing the “Night Rider” bad guy in the stolen HQ Monaro). My car started life as a Jewel Green with parchment trim and vinyl roof (yes it’s still on the car!) 6 cyl column auto XA Fairmont, it has the authentic Sunraysia wheels, correct MFP signage and paintwork, even working lights and sirens! Makes you wanna go out and chase bad guys…
I bought it to do the Phase IV conversion but my girlfriend says I should leave it how it is…. What do you reckon?
Peter Brock’s Darkest Hour
What does a bloke do when he falls from grace with Australia’s own carmaker after a long and fulfilling racing and car building career spanning two decades? Easy. He predelivers Russian Lada pussbuckets, then names a version after himself. Yes folks, sometimes fact is truly stranger than fiction. You’re looking at a Brock Lada. (don’t believe me? Look at the badge on the hatch and the sticker on the engine). What was he thinking?
Mid 1988 Brockie took up residence in Lada HQ in Melbourne, and Australian complied (translated: rebuilt them into closer towards what they should’ve been in the first place) hundreds of the things. Well, a bloke has to make an honest living somehow. The “Brockified” Samara received 13” Delta alloys, side skirts, rear spoiler, single slot Brock grille (squint hard enough and it you can see a slight resemblance with the old VK Group A ‘letterbox’ variety), colour matched bumpers, 4 spoke SAAS leather sports wheel, and the aforementioned hatch badge and engine rocker cover sticker. No one knows (or cares) how many were built, but the ultimate collectible is the Brock Lada Convertible (aka ‘the skip’). Apparently, there’s a couple of dozen out there, I just couldn’t be bothered to go to all that trouble of finding one. Don’t worry Brockie, mate, we’re all allowed to have a bad day.
Another XC for the collection
I must have a thing for XC GXLs. This is the 5th I’ve owned in as many years. Hot on the heels of my Modena Green 351 GXL, I’ve now snapped up a “T-code” (that means 351 4V), with FMX Tbar auto and 9 inch disc rear, effectively the nearest thing to an XB GT for a tiny tiny fraction of the price. It’s a very pretty shade of orange called “Flame” and was ordered (thankfully) without the rust promoting vinyl roof. Rust proofed from new, but it is an XC, so there is a small smattering of rust around the vehicle, but exceptional considering it was left in a paddock for 8 years! I gave her a quick polish with my new sponsor Surf City Garage’s brilliant Carnubia Wax, and threw on some trick Dragway 6” and 8” alloys, and it really. transformed the old girl.
VN Group A ‘donation’ rounds out the set
As luck would have it, I had sourced 3 of the 4 Group A Commodores (VK, VL HDT. VL HSV ‘Walkinshaw’) and had given up buying a genuine VN Group A because of the stupid prices they’re now fetching. Reluctantly I purchased a VN SS 5 litre manual, that already had most of the kit fitted (you can see it on the cars for sale page) did some minor fettling and put it alongside the genuine examples. Then I received an email from Tracie and Gary at Alice Springs wanting some temporary lodging for their immaculate genuine VN Group A.
3 weeks later the car was at the Port of Brisbane, now it sits alongside its siblings looking very proud. As it should. These things run the 215kw 4 bolt roller rockered twin throttle bodied V8, 6 speed ZF trans (the 1st Australian car to do so), 17” alloys (ditto), trick wind tunnel tested bodykit and so much more. Experts consider them the Phase 3 of the 90s. Thanks Tracie & Gary!
EB XR8 SVO Mick Webb of Melbourne’s “Special Vehicle Operations” apparently made 2 specially modified EB Series 1 XR8s, and this little beauty is 1 of the 2. Finished in two tone white over silver, the SVO features ROH made 16” wheels with “SVO” reversed lettering on one spoke (same wheels as used on the XR8 Sprint), lowered rerated suspension, tweaked 200kw motor (faster than my EB GT manual), recalibrated 4 speed BW auto, MOMO SVO logo wheel, SVO front and rear lip spoiler, SVO garnish panel on boot mould, SVO logo on tacho, modified exhaust. Mick Webb certainly knows how to make a quality product, but the SVO is still largely unknown in muscle car circles, even though Mick used to build Allan Moffatt’s race engines in the 70s, and is still active in the modification game today.
XC GXL. Although already an owner of a clean GXL, I sold it to buy this one recently off eBay because I just LOOOOVE the colour “Modena Green”, plus it’s got a grunty stout 351 and matching driveline. The Weld wheels I picked up for a great price from the Toowoomba Swap Meet, thanks to muscle car nut and petrol head Steve Wright. Thanks Steve! Love your work.
VN SS Group A (replica). Hindsight is a wonderful thing. If I had a bit more of it I would have bought a magic VN Group A a couple of years ago when you could pick up a nice car for $25,000, instead of deciding I want one now and paying $80,000! The next best thing, this car started life as a manual 5 litre SS, then was given a Group A body kit, shiny coat of Durif Red, 17” wheels, MOMO wheel, and decals. I had a set of correct wheels lined up on eBay, but the vendor got all narky and pulled out of the deal. Anyone know where I can find some genuine VN Group A 17” alloys???
VG Pacer E31 Track Pack. When was the last time you saw one of these? Joy and Rod from the Gold Coast saw the AMCM site and told me they wanted to sell, so I wasted no time securing the car. Heavily modified with a 4 barrel E49 spec 265 (reportedly good for 12s), 4 speed single rail, LSD, 3 spoke Charger wheel, reshaped front seats and let’s not forget the HUGE J42 35 gallon tank with quick release cap, this thing’s got ‘tuff race car’ written all over it.
BFII GT Cobra. I’ve saved the best for last. After announcing the impending release of 400 individually numbered Cobra sedans and 100 utes at Bathurst 2007, the whole lot were snapped up in one day. Lucky I got in quick to secure mine, 302 kw quad cam V8, 6 speed ZF auto, Brembos, leather, 19” alloys, R spec suspension, the whole enchilada. Like the “GTC08” (GTCOB) personalised plates? Father and son look great together, both are build #343. I will be registering the XC later in the year. Reserve the pair for your wedding or special event!
Coming soon! Lovely old VJ Charger 265 4 speed E48 in Sunfire Yellow, A54 pack. For those who don’t know, the A54 is a replacement for the R/T discontinued at the end of the VH model run. It featured the W35 ROH 5 slot alloys, 3 spoke R/T /770 steering wheel, machine turned full instrument dash, flip fuel cap, special striping and more. This thing sat in a country wreckers untouched for about 15 years and should be an easy restoration. Just bought a brand new set of triple 45 DCOE Webers, linkages, manifold etc to fit up. Will be a stunning car when finished. Pics on their way soon.
WANTED! YOUR OLD MUSCLE CAR PROJECT, DEAD OR ALIVE. HOLDEN. FORD. CHRYSLER. ANY CONDITION!
CALL JEFF (0403) 59 1133
356 Falcon ED XR8 Sprint in Polynesian Green (these things run the EB GT 200kw motor and running gear in the lighter XR8 shell), Green Jade XC GXL complete with factory sunroof and big feet, stunning Guards Red Porsche Boxster (Jeff’s everyday car), classy Mick Webb Falcon SVO, tidy original XF 25th anniversary Falcon now sporting 351 V8 motorvation , and currently a couple of other nice cars under negotiation. Watch this space.
Congratulations to Jeff’s niece Cassey and husband Greg who got married this year. Greg’s a bit of a car nut (it runs in both families) and has asked Jeff to provide very stylish tough transportation to the church, in the form of matching XT, XW and XY GTs (refer “about Jeff” page for pics). Jeff already transported Cassey and Greg in style to their high school formal at Dreamworld a few years ago in his EL GT (and the paparazzi went nuts!) Congratulations!!
AMCM has just scored a stunning Phantom (black) HSV GTS Coupe, fully loaded with the 300kw Calloway Corvette motor, 6 speed manual, Hydratrak diff, massive Harrop brakes and signature 19” 5 spoke alloys, this one build #224. We’ll have to organise a shootout between it and Jeff’s equally stunning Blueprint 290kw BA GT.
Lakeside back on track to reopen 2008/9 ...
Stop Press! AMCM discovers HSV!!
It was bound to happen sooner or later. After years of procrastination, Jeff has finally succumbed to the inevitable… he started buying HSVs in early September, starting with a nice SV Racing Green VN SV5000, build #141 of 356, closely followed by an Anthracite (charcoal) VP GTS, complete with roller rockered 200kw 4 bolt Group A motor, #27 of 128, and just now a Diablo Red VT GTS, all 220kw of her, VT GTS is build #226 of 399, we also have a VR GTS in Alaskan White, 5.7 stroker V8 with 6 speed manual transmission, build #109 of 277. We’ve recently also sourced the ultimate HSV: a stunning GTS-R from Sydney, a very welcome addition to the HSV and AMCM fleet The Holden lineup is being rearranged to accommodate the new additions, all in strict model order of course.
AMCM gets its first donation.. err, loan!
Andrew Sheath from Wollongong, south of Sydney is a great believer in the AMCM cause, so he emailed us with news that his very special “blue meanie” VK HDT Group A would be loaned to us to display with our other Brock Commodores. Joining a VC HDT, VH & VK Group 3s, VK LM5000 and VL Group A, Andrew’s car will be a very welcome addition to the fleet (you’re a deadset champion, mate), especially given its interesting history. Apparently the original shell was destroyed in a roll over, and the car was rebuilt into none other than Allan Grice’s old race shell. The ID tag is stamped “HDT RACE” and the provenance has been verified by HDT in Revesby! Now that’s surely gotta be worth a visit to the museum by itself!
More Pictures
We also have a range of rare Aussie Muscle for sale. Check out our CARS4SALE page.