READER RESTO

PROTOTYPE BROCK RALLY CAR, AND YOU COULD OWN IT

Back in 1995, the decision had been made to run a round-Australia rally – an idea that had waxed and waned in this country from the early fifties. The whole idea originally gained traction in the mind of the public with the REDeX-sponsored rallies of the 1950s. Those original events of 1953-54-55 are legendary and raised car rallying from some back-blocks activity followed by a few hardy enthusiasts, to front page news in the daily newspapers.

Through all of them, there was one name that was a consistent thread – Shepheard. Reg Shepheard was the Australian holder of the REDeX franchise, and an enthusiastic sponsor of the events. His son George not only saw them, but became a pivotal player in the 1979 rally, for which he built the Commodores that famously placed 1-2-3.

He returned in 1995 to build another fleet of Commodore rally cars for Holden, with Peter Brock, Ed Ordynski and Ross Dunkerton as the drivers.

Over two decades down the track, George found himself on the tools again, restoring the original VR Commodore test mule, which he’s just completed, and it’s now for sale. This was the machine Peter Brock tested over several months before the event – he actually raced another car.

The prototype emerged after being hidden in a shed for over 18 years, and that was after a completely unsympathetic driver “thrashed the arse off it”, according to George, and did some unwarranted though repairable damage.

But before we get into the resto itself, let’s have a look at what this test mule, and the cars that followed, consisted of.

Once he got the call from Holden, George attended the