Cop that 2

Firstly, love the magazine. Have every copy bar the first couple. Fantastic story on the XB Falcon pursuit car from the ACT.

I have been the proud owner of an ex-NSW Police XE 351 Falcon for approximately 12 years and have been restoring it for five years.

I was also interested to note that the article suggested there’s a network of police car collectors. I would be interested in finding out more. Do they have a website or forum?

Please find attached some photos of my car. I originally didn’t know much about HWP cars or that mine was one. I bought it to do up as a street machine; lucky I found out what it is. Some research and confirmation from Ford put me on the path I’m now on. Any help would be most appreciated. Jamie Dicker speedy.351@hotmail.com ED: Jamie, we’ve taken the liberty of printing your email address so other owners of old police cars can contact you. We’re not aware of any formal network, so sorry if we overstated things.

Cop that 3

Having eagerly read all those previous articles on classic police cars and now the ACT XB Falcon story in AMC #73, one thing is obvious. While there is sometimes an ‘us and them’ attitude with police and car owners, you can see in the good old days that many police officers were closet motoring enthusiasts. After all, cars got modified and remained as sleepers so that the unsuspecting motorist wouldn’t know!

I also own an ex-QPF XB Falcon as original as the day it was delivered to the Queensland Police. Straight six, bench seat, column auto(C4), sunvisors, quarter glass windows, etc.

It’s looking a bit sad at the moment but it will be revived soon - I hope! Sam Costanzo From Facebook

Racing paradise

Your article on Surfers Paradise International Raceway in issue #73 brought back some memories. In 1966 my wife and I drove up from Sydney in our Triumph TR3A to watch the inaugural 12 Hour sportscar race. We were able to park our car on the hill overlooking the start of the main straight and slept in the car on Saturday night, which was not easy.

About 4am a red two-door mid-engined V8 Falcon arrived from Brisbane, running in the engine on the way. It was unregistered but given the nod by the police. It ran up and down the road outside the track doing its final tuning and making lots of noise.

There were many unusual cars entered, including the Barry Seton and Charlie Smith

‘Morris Sports’, which was a Mini Moke with a Cooper S engine. It had an ‘aero screen’ instead of the huge normal windscreen.

I think it was Alan Hamilton’s Porsche that would come to the first corner at the end of the straight, spin and resume many times during the day. The open P2 Ferrari was running well until all its electrics cooked and that ended its run.

The McKay 250LM Ferrari and the Ford GT40 ran well all day.

The GT40 lap score charts showed them running one more lap than the control tower scorers so they cruised along all day thinking they were ahead of the Ferrari. They were extremely unhappy when, at the end of the race, the Ferrari was awarded the win.

SPIR was a great track and like all the others that have gone, have not been replaced with more or better race tracks. NSW, with a huge increase in population, is a disgrace with only one track in Sydney. Let’s hope some of proposed new tracks near Sydney actually happen. Warren Martin Email ED: It’s disturbing, Warren, that none of the six to eight circuit proposals touted in the last decade, nationally, have come to fruition. Or, to our knowledge, even been rubber-stamped.

Baskerville: 56 not out

Issue #73 featured a great ‘Sacred Sites’ article on Surfers Paradise International Raceway, which unfortunately is another piece of Australian motorsport history lost from our grasp.

One track from a similar era is the scene of a major fundraising effort to ensure its long-term future, thus avoiding a similar fate. Baskerville Raceway in Tasmania’s south was established in 1958 by the Hobart Sporting Car Club and is Australia’s oldest continually run track.

It is owned by Motorsports Tasmania Pty Ltd, the same owners as the more widely known Symmons Plains Raceway in the north of the state. Motorsports Tasmania was created in October 2000 to take over ownership of Baskerville Raceway when the HSCC was struggling financially to stay afloat under increasing debt. With its Motorsports Tasmania shareholders being many Tasmanian motoring clubs and individual enthusiasts, it’s a model that will see the tracks remain under secure ownership for many years to come. However, maintaining two fully functional racetracks with a state-wide population of around 500,000 will always be challenging for the owners.

It is with this challenge in mind that a foundation was established in June 2013 to raise $600,000 to refurbish the ageing facilities at Baskerville Raceway, and ultimately resurface the entire race track. The Tasmanian motorsport community has got behind this concept and after less than 12 months into the proposed five-year fundraising plan, $159,000 has been raised towards our goal so far.

The October Baskerville Historic race meeting is the centrepiece of our fundraising efforts, which to date has also been well supported by raffles, individual and club donations, car shows, memorabilia auctions, you name it!

Baskerville Raceway has such a massive history and would appeal to the majority of your readers. We unashamedly refer to it as the best little racetrack in Australia. Yet it’s not well known to the majority of mainland enthusiasts. In the 1970s and ’80s there were some huge Touring Car and Sports Sedan events held at Baskerville that created so much history.

Jim Richards’ first race in Australia with the Sidchrome Mustang and Peter Brock’s last race in a Torana before moving to the Commodore were both at Baskerville.

The outright lap record of 50.16 around the 2.01km track was established in 1982 by Tasmanian John Bowe behind the wheel of a Ralt RT4 and still stands today!

Prior to the Symmons Plains round of this year’s V8 Supercar series, we were treated to a visit to Baskerville by Mark Winterbottom, Jamie Whincup and David Reynolds to help promote our fundraising efforts. It was great for some of the current crop (and Mark Skaife) to see firsthand what our great little track has to offer.

I look forward to your readers hearing reference to Baskerville Raceway for many years to come. If your readers would like to support our efforts, donations can be made through www.baskervillefoundation.com.au or visit our facebook page (thebaskervillefoundation) to see how we are progressing. Peter Killick Chairman Baskerville Foundation

Demonstration sport

Iwould like to respond to the article in issue #73 by ‘Chris Davidson’ in relation to the Australian 5.0 Litre Touring Cars demonstration event at the Phillip Island Historic meeting in March.

All drivers that were involved with the demonstrations were well aware that the category

was classified as a demonstration event. Demonstrations are normally run behind Safety Car at a designated speed. The Victorian Historic Racing Register acquired a permit from CAMS to enable us to run with no Safety Car. Part of the agreement for us to run this way was that there would be no passing in corners – only in a straight or where the driver in front clearly lets the driver behind go.

The Association has had nothing but positive feedback from event management, drivers, owners, officials and fans. We would like to continue to support historic racing and the VHRR and associated promoters where we can.

But in doing so we do not wish to do it in a way that will be detrimental to our club’s longterm future by doing things without the correct guidelines and rules put in place.

We are working with CAMS and associated parties to enable the Australian 5.0 Litre Touring Cars to get the historic recognition they deserve. It brings a whole new spectator and fan to historic meetings, which can only be beneficial for all parties. We will continue to do it in small steps and ensure the future of these cars is protected in the correct way.

The Association thanks the VHRR and promoters for the opportunity for us to bring these cars back on track to the historic community where they are appreciated for their history.

We will be running race-type formats at the upcoming Winton Festival of Speed in August. Troy Kelly President Australian 5 Litre Touring Car Association

Bill thrill

I’d been thinking for some time, ‘Why doesn’t someone do a piece on Bill Tuckey?’. Then, I pick up the latest AMC, which had a great article on a legend. The first car magazine I ever bought was Wheels March 1965. Still have it. Been a Tuckey fan ever since and his Bathurst books were something I looked forward to every year.

I can’t remember when I clicked that he and Quints were one and the same but it doesn’t matter – both gave me much reading pleasure over the years.

Sad to hear of his health problems but great to see him get the recognition he deserves. Glenn Flinkenberg New Zealand

No, don’t apologise

After reading the story about the Volvo and the BMW being muscle cars, don’t feel you have to apologise.

Those cars are just as important to our muscle car history as any V8 built in this country or imported from the USA or England. Remember the Mustangs, Camaros and Jaguars and the many other early makes (and engine sizes) that competed in Oz during the early days before the battles between Holden and Ford began?

Remember the days when the four-cylinder Ford Cosworths dominated the racing field in the days of Amaroo and Oran Park. They deserve to be included just as much as the V8s and the big six engines. They did beat them during their time and any car that competed in the holy grail of Bathurst and won deserves a mention.

To that end, I would like to see a return of the class similar to the BTCC or the ETCC. They provide great door-to-door racing and would suit a number of our shorter race tracks. Please don’t discard them as not being a muscle car.

In other forms of muscle-related sports they have heavyweight, middle-weight and light-weight classes. Perhaps you could add a middle and light weight class to Australian Muscle Car and provide some more stories on some of the four and six-cylinder heroes of the past. Tony Stephens Email ED: We couldn’t have said it any better, Tony, than your assertion that “in other forms of musclerelated sports they have heavyweight, middleweight and light-weight classes.” Stay tuned.

This just in from South Africa

Good day to you and thank you for such a great magazine that you have put together! Obviously us South African motor-heads do not have the great spares availability like you have, but we can really say that we are capable of turning some heads when we have a car ‘suped-up’, as we call it!

I just thought of sending you a couple of pictures of the car of an elderly person I met.

The day I met him, he told me it was the first time in 37 years that he has started up his ‘beast’. He couldn’t enjoy her because of some neck operation he had. He was wheelchair bound. Wow, I couldn’t believe what I saw! To think he still had his home-made number plate of the old South Africa on it!

He told me he bought for R700.00. I had a look on the clocks – original 63,000 miles.

Obviously I’ve heard that you guys would do anything to get hold of one South African Holden.

Shhccht, I think if one Aussie could see this car he would most probably end up with a handbrake turn in his pants!

Keep well! Anton Van Rensburg South Africa ED: Thanks, Anton, for the pics and for your entertaining turn of phrase. Handbrake turn in his pants... that’s gold.