Ford Sierra RS Cosworth/RS500

[Steve Holmes]

8823

Its interesting how we often remember the time and place, and what we were doing, the first time we set eyes on a significant car. For me, it was January 1987, I was on holiday with my family, we were visiting a Ford dealership, as my father likes to do on holiday, and I wandered up to the showroom and peered through the window. And right there, sat a sparkling new Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, in Moonstone Blue.

Anyone with even the remotest interest in motorsport in the mid-1980s knew about the new Sierra Cosworth Ford had developed for Group A Touring Car racing. At a time when turbo-charging in road cars was becoming very popular as a marketing tool, Ford went the whole-hog with the Cosworth. This was a car developed not to be a big seller on dealership showroom floors, but to homologate the Sierra for motor racing. The DOHC turbo-charged motor may have been one of the key ingredients that would set the Sierra for domination in Group A over the coming years, but it was a combination of the slippery curvaceous body work and that outrageous rear wing that were the subject of so much excitement on the cars release.

At a time when car design was still dominated by straight lines, where a designers favourite tool was a set-square, the Sierra, with its new jelly mold shape, was considered just a little too different for car buyers on its release in 1982, and took some time to gain acceptance. Remember, the Sierra was the replacement for the square-edged MkV Cortina! In 1986, when the Cosworth, which was built around the budget model 4-window Sierra hatch, was released, it was a revelation. Amazingly, it was 25 years ago I first saw that example in the Ford dealers showroom, yet, even today, the “flying rice bubble” still looks fresh and modern.

The Sierra Cosworth motor was based around the ubiquitous 1993cc Pinto block, onto which was fit a Cosworth designed DOHC alloy head. A Garrett T3 turbo-charger was added, along with Weber-Marelli computerised electronic fuel-injection. In standard form, this pushed the Sierra, with its low-drag body, to a top speed of just over 150mph, a staggering figure for what was, essentially, a modestly priced family hatch-back!

The Sierra Cosworth made its Group A race debut in early 1987. Examples were built up by racers in Britain, Europe, and Australia that year, but on the large, early showings were disappointing. Rudy Eggenberger, who’d raced the turbo-charged Volvo 240T in the 1985, and turbo-charged Sierra XR4 Ti in the 1986 ETCC, was really the first to grasp a balance of speed and reliability from the car, as he ran a team of beautiful black Texaco sponsored Cosworths in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship. Others really struggled.

The arrival of the RS500, of which only 500 cars were produced, addressed many of the original Cosworths issues, with the addition of a thicker walled cylinder block, and larger Garrett T31/T04 turbo-charger. Outwardly, the RS500 was distinguishable due to its additional front spoiler, larger front openings, and small lips added to the rear wing and deck lid. The RS500 was homologated on 1 August, 1987.

The Eggenberger cars dominated race results in the WTCC as the season wore on, while others, such as Andy Rouse, struggled. While often the measure of the Eggenberger cars on pace, Rouse rarely finished a race, having run the majority of WTCC races. He ran a limited campaign in the BTCC, where he fared much better. In Australia, Dick Johnson had a miserable season, with his two cars struggling throughout, with a rare highlight being his race win in Round 5 of the ATCC. In fact, Johnsons win was the first for the Sierra Cosworth, anywhere in the world.

The Eggenberger cars initially won the 1987 WTCC, but later had their Bathurst results stripped, on the basis their front wheel arches were illegal, which demoted Eggenberger driver Klaus Ludwig from 1st, to 2nd in the championship, one point behind BMW M3 driver Roberto Ravaglia. Ford did, however, win the manufacturers championship.

By 1988, most teams had gained a good understanding of the RS500, and were tapping greater potential from it, and it was from 1988 that the Sierra became the dominant force in touring car racing everywhere. Rouse and Johnsons teams dominated their respective championship race results, although Rouse lost out on the BTCC to Frank Sytners class winning BMW M3. The WTCC was scrapped after just one season, so Eggenberger concentrated on the ETCC instead, although again the class system worked against them, despite dominating the races.

There were really three significant races held during the reign of the Sierra; Bathurst WTCC 1987, Calder WTCC 1987, Silverstone TT 1988. These are the only occasions where the Eggenberger, Rouse, and Johnson cars met. At Bathurst, Johnson had a miserable time, with his two cars qualifying 9th and 10th, but were both out of the race within three laps. In fact, Andrew Miedecke in his OXO Supercube sponsored car, had a very good run at Bathurst, battling at the front in the early laps, and proving by far the best of the Australian Sierras after a very quiet season. Rouse, who teamed with Allan Moffat for the Australian races, as Moffat was looking to race Rouse built cars in Australia, was fast in the race, taking it to the Eggenberger cars, but retired on lap 31 with transmission failure. Before their exclusion, the Texaco Sierras finished 1st and 2nd, and were comfortably ahead of Peter Brocks Holden Commodore.

At Calder, the Eggenberger cars qualified at the front, and Steve Soper/Pierre Dieudonne in the second car won the race after the #1 Ludwig/Niedzwiedz car was struck with driveline issues, but still finished 12th, and gained points for being the 5th car eligible for WTCC points. Again the DJR cars had a bad time, with Johnson not even making the top ten in qualifying, although the second car did well to qualify 4th. But this car retired on lap 25, while Johnsons car finished well down in 13th, seven laps behind Soper/Dieudonne. After qualifying 5th, the Rouse/Moffat car retired on lap 21 with head gasket failure, and this car was not seen again in the WTCC.

With Johnson having had such a miserable time, and feeling his team had not shown what they were truly capable of against the Northern Hemiphere teams, Johnson took his car to Silverstone in 1988, with new team mate John Bowe, who’d replaced Greg Hansford. This was the Tourist Trophy event, and the only time both the Rouse and Eggenberger cars would be racing together. With Johnson now dominating in Australia, and having had his special 9” diff homologated for the RS500, this would be the final time these three teams would meet.

In qualifying, the Johnson car dominated, while now Rouse was also faster than Eggenbergers cars. Although he qualified 4th, Rouse soon moved ahead of the Texaco cars, but was no match for the pace of Johnsons Australian Sierra, which comfortable drew away, and even when it was brought back to the pack during a Safety-Car period, quickly drove away again. But Johnson didn’t win. He was heavily delayed with water-pump failure, and finished eight laps down on the winning Rouse Sierra, but he’d proven his point. Sadly, these three teams never met again.

The Sierra RS500 became the only real option for teams wanting to compete in Touring Car racing, and the success of Eggenberger, Rouse, and Johnson in their respective championships prompted a flourish of orders to build customer cars. But several teams and drivers went on to enjoy success of some sort driving RS500s in their respective championships over the next few seasons, and Group A grids were heavily populated in favour of the Sierra, no matter where it raced.

In many ways, the dominance of the RS500 brought about the downfall of Group A. Races became processional and predictable, and a far cry from the excitement and broad manufacturer involvement of 1985 and 1986. But as a race car, and as a road car, the Sierra RS Cosworth and RS500 was truly a special machine.

[kiwi285]

They were great cars and we had a chance to see them in operation here in NZ. We might be a small country, but we have several of the original RS500's here including at least one Eggenberger car still in period colour scheme.

[Steve Holmes]

Robbie Francevic was really impressive in the Wolf Racing built RS500. He was a top contender at Bathurst in 1990 teamed with Gianfranco Brancatelli, and this pair were also very quick at the Wellington Street race, leading the race until Branca collided with Chris Lambdens Commodore while lapping him and the Sierra was out. The fiery Italian Brancatelli then had a major meltdown on national tv!

8833

[Steve Holmes]

The dominance of the RS500 in Australia was at its peak in 1989 and 1990. At Bathurst in '89, 9 of the 10 cars in the Top Ten shootout were Sierras, and the following year it was 8 out of the 10. Of course, in 1990, all the Sierra teams charged off and battled hard for the lead, and all wore each other out, leaving Win Percy and Allan Grice to take the win in the highly un-fancied Holden Commodore. That was the first Bathurst win for the newly formed Holden Racing Team!

[conrod]

With Johnson having had such a miserable time, and feeling his team had not shown what they were truly capable of against the Northern Hemiphere teams, Johnson took his car to Silverstone in 1988, with new team mate John Bowe, who’d replaced Greg Hansford. This was the Tourist Trophy event, and the only time both the Rouse and Eggenberger cars would be racing together. With Johnson now dominating in Australia, and having had his special 9” diff homologated for the RS500, this would be the final time these three teams would meet.

In qualifying, the Johnson car dominated, while now Rouse was also faster than Eggenbergers cars. Although he qualified 4th, Rouse soon moved ahead of the Texaco cars, but was no match for the pace of Johnsons Australian Sierra, which comfortable drew away, and even when it was brought back to the pack during a Safety-Car period, quickly drove away again. But Johnson didn’t win. He was heavily delayed with water-pump failure, and finished eight laps down on the winning Rouse Sierra, but he’d proven his point. Sadly, these three teams never met again.



I heard an interesting story a couple of years ago about this race, from an ex-Johnson team member. The Johnson car was very fast at the TT, and to the casual observer this looked to be due to having a lot more straightline power than the other competitors. The car did not actually have any "vapour lock" problems, as was claimed, nor any other problem for that matter! It was strategically "withdrawn" from the race, the team claiming "vapour lock" as the issue. The real reason was that the turbo exhaust housing had been cut open and ported extensively, and welded back together. This was said be worth as much as 50hp on these engines. If the car had won, it would have been subject to a check over by the scrutineers, and they may have discovered this "anomaly". The whole point of the exercise was to prove that he (Johnson) built the fastest 500's in the world, and by the time the car was withdrawn nobody was in doubt of that;)

[superford]

Oh how I loved the RS500's - Here is a great quality 29 minute highlight clip of that 1988 Silverstone race. Do take the time to have a look;


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ofV9WzPqz0

[superford]

And while I'm at it, here is a cracking duel between Andy Rouse and Steve Soper at Brands;


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxFjyMUWLF8

[pallmall]

Here are a few RS Cosworth photos from the 1988 BTCC at Oulton Park, Good Friday, April 1st. Cold and damp, and I think the first round of that seasons championship.
8 Jerry Mahoney
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC004Quicke-mailview.jpg

16 karl Jones
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC005Quicke-mailview.jpg

22 Andy Rouse
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC014Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC011Standarde-mailview.jpg

20. Graham Hathaway
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC012Standarde-mailview.jpg

[pallmall]

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC019Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC020Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC022Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC023Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC027Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC029Quicke-mailview.jpg

15 listerine car is Graham Goode, 14 mike Newman, 5 Tim Harvey.

[pallmall]

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC038Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC028Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC025Quicke-mailview.jpg

[conrod]

The yellow car with "Soans" on the bonnet belonged to Graham Hathaway. I used to work for him a couple of years after this.

[pallmall]

Thanks, small world, especially the motor sport world.

BMW Festival January 2012.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/034Standarde-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/146Standarde-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/263Standarde-mailview.jpg

[pallmall]

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/370Standarde-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/231Standarde-mailview.jpg


http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/515Standarde-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/234Standarde-mailview.jpg

[shellsport]

Robbie Francevic was really impressive in the Wolf Racing built RS500. He was a top contender at Bathurst in 1990 teamed with Gianfranco Brancatelli, and this pair were also very quick at the Wellington Street race, leading the race until Branca collided with Chris Lambdens Commodore while lapping him and the Sierra was out. The fiery Italian Brancatelli then had a major meltdown on national tv!

8833

A friend of mine purchased a new Texaco black RS500 whilst on an OE circa 87 , I spoke to him a couple of days ago regarding its welfare assuring me it was fine with 14000 miles on the dial . I recall removing the rusted front resonators from it years ago and road testing ( just to make sure it wasn,t too noisy ) possibly the most original example on our fair planet and the only one of these engines that has never had a teardown !

[superford]

Thanks for posting up those fantastic photos pallmall!!!

Do you or anyone else know what's the current story with the ex Petch Whittakers RS500 - does Petch still own it? It still looks in very good condition - From memory the last time that car raced was in the 1992 Nissan Mobil Series with Greg Murphy & Kayne Scott -which they won I think.

[shellsport]

The Ex Kevin Waldock Playscape example in the hands of Brett Stevens ?

[conrod]

Thanks for posting up those fantastic photos pallmall!!!

Do you or anyone else know what's the current story with the ex Petch Whittakers RS500 - does Petch still own it? It still looks in very good condition - From memory the last time that car raced was in the 1992 Nissan Mobil Series with Greg Murphy & Kayne Scott -which they won I think.

Mark sold the car a couple of years ago to Andy Greenslade in Tauranga, who ran it at the BMW Festival at HD earlier this year, the first race since the NM500 1992! It is basically as it last raced, and unrestored. As you correctly stated, Kayne Scott and Greg Murphy did drive the car in 1992, but it did not win. I think top 6 placings in both Wellington and Puke was as good as it got.

[superford]

Mark sold the car a couple of years ago to Andy Greenslade in Tauranga, who ran it at the BMW Festival at HD earlier this year, the first race since the NM500 1992! It is basically as it last raced, and unrestored. As you correctly stated, Kayne Scott and Greg Murphy did drive the car in 1992, but it did not win. I think top 6 placings in both Wellington and Puke was as good as it got.

Thanks for that conrod - I've long wondered about that car. I'd so love to see footage of the Wellington race when Brancatelli stormed off and then had the big crash. Yes I knew Greg & Kayne hadn't actually placed all that well in each of the two races, but I have this vague recollection that everyone that did well in Wellington did lousy at Puke and thus the 'series' win went to Greg & Kayne. I do concede the years may have got the better of me.....

Does anyone know what ended up happening to the ex Brock RS500 that was purchased by Bruce Miles after the 1991 series? Was this the car that Peter Champion sought for his quite incredible collection of Brock cars? This car was another fantastic looker especially with the DJR wheels painted white.

[conrod]

Thanks for that conrod - I've long wondered about that car. I'd so love to see footage of the Wellington race when Brancatelli stormed off and then had the big crash. Yes I knew Greg & Kayne hadn't actually placed all that well in each of the two races, but I have this vague recollection that everyone that did well in Wellington did lousy at Puke and thus the 'series' win went to Greg & Kayne. I do concede the years may have got the better of me.....

Does anyone know what ended up happening to the ex Brock RS500 that was purchased by Bruce Miles after the 1991 series? Was this the car that Peter Champion sought for his quite incredible collection of Brock cars? This car was another fantastic looker especially with the DJR wheels painted white.

At the 1992 race Paul Radisich was driving the DJR Sierra with a guy Michael Preston. They did quite well at Wellington, finishing second. They qualified second at Puke, and Radisich probably had a good shot at the win, except Preston was very slow, and pretty much killed their chances. They finished third I think, behind Brock/Cros and the winning M3 of Pirro/Winkelhock. This was enough to give them the series win. The Schnitzer car of Pirro/Winkelhock had led Wellington most of the race, then blew an engine, handing the win to Longhurst/Morris. Then Longhurst/Morris were looking good for the series win, lying secoond at Puke, and their engine blew with only 6 laps to go.

The Brancatelli crash was 1990 I think? The ex Brock car you are talking about ended up back in England I think,and was changed back to its original Rouse colours.

Conrad

[RSZWEI]

Does anyone know what ended up happening to the ex Brock RS500 that was purchased by Bruce Miles after the 1991 series? Was this the car that Peter Champion sought for his quite incredible collection of Brock cars? This car was another fantastic looker especially with the DJR wheels painted white.

I believe I have an old 1995 NZ Autocar magazine that has an ad of this car for sale.
I think I was told it ended back in the UK repainted in its original Andy Rouse livery.

[RSZWEI]

The Brock Cosworth for sale in the Feb 1995 issue of Autocar:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/Golfboy666gti/48cb10bc.jpg

I would hate to think what its worth now.

[conrod]

The Brock Cosworth for sale in the Feb 1995 issue of Autocar:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/Golfboy666gti/48cb10bc.jpg

I would hate to think what its worth now.

I know the guy who bought it and took it to the UK (he is a Kiwi who was living in UK) It was for sale for ages, and I think he paid a lot less than asking price! I can remember good RS500's being sold for around the £20K mark in the UK in the early nineties. The E30 M3's were a similar proposition. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?

Conrad

[superford]

Thanks for all that great info Conrad - much appreciated. I've attached a few other shots of the discussed cars;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/ax001001_edited.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/u026_edited.jpg

The Whittakers Car;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/u011_edited.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/t046_edited.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/t034_edited.jpg

[superford]

I've also wondered what happened to the Andrew Bagnall Cossy; Anyone know?

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/u042_edited.jpg

[Steve Holmes]

I hadn't realised that Brocks car was the 1988 Rouse car. I always just assumed it was a Rouse customer car. In fact, Brock had at least two Cosworths, and possibly even three. He ran two cars in both 1989 and '90. Must have been depressing to then end up back in a Commodore in 1991. The reasons given for the switch at the time were the costs of running the Sierras.

[RSZWEI]

Heres some more pics: http://www.rs500cosworth.com/6.html

[RSZWEI]

I hadn't realised that Brocks car was the 1988 Rouse car. I always just assumed it was a Rouse customer car. In fact, Brock had at least two Cosworths, and possibly even three. He ran two cars in both 1989 and '90. Must have been depressing to then end up back in a Commodore in 1991. The reasons given for the switch at the time were the costs of running the Sierras.

I think he may have had 3.
I for one loved Brock back in a Commodore. The VN sounded amazing reving to 9,000RPM, and his Bathurst Top Ten shoot out lap was spectacular (if a setup cock up).

I dont think Brock ever ran a Ford sticker on his Cosworths.

[Steve Holmes]

I don't think there would have been a single person sad to see Brock return to Holden, but it must have been difficult for him to do, given how competitive the Sierras were, even with CAMS introducing a series of handicaps to try and stifle their performance.

So I take it then all the Brock Sierras were Rouse cars? Can anyone confirm what the histories of his othe cars were prior to his ownership? Were they ex-Rouse race cars, or brand new customer cars?

[Steve Holmes]

Here are a few RS Cosworth photos from the 1988 BTCC at Oulton Park, Good Friday, April 1st. Cold and damp, and I think the first round of that seasons championship.
8 Jerry Mahoney
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC004Quicke-mailview.jpg

16 karl Jones
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC005Quicke-mailview.jpg

22 Andy Rouse
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC014Quicke-mailview.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC011Standarde-mailview.jpg

20. Graham Hathaway
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/Checraft/1%20GPA%20Touring%20Cars/OultonParkBTCC012Standarde-mailview.jpg

These photos are fantastic! Thanks for posting them Gavin. Several of the earlier privateer Sierras were far less developed than the front running cars, with teams running on much smaller budgets, but its really great to see these cars. Just out of interest, the Mahony car would be ex-Rouse???

[pallmall]

I think there is quite a large thread about the RS500 and their histories on the TNF forum. Short of attempting to unearh my great stack of Autosport magazines from the back of my storage container I can't really add any more to the photos I posted. Certainly some of the UK cars were run on minimal budgets compared to the factory supported teams, much more so in the following seasons. There were also a large number of Sierra Cosworths being run in the production saloon races in the UK at the same time.

[TonyG]

Borrowed from the Passionford website which has a fairly comprehensive listing of what Sierra chassis was built by whom;
North Yorkshire RS Spares
10K+ Poster!!



Default
Info given to me By Andy Lloyd , owner of DJR 1


DICK JOHNSON SIERRA’S HISTORY




Dick Johnson Racing built 6 Sierras. The first 2 were built for the start of the 87 ATCC.

DJR 1 a RHD car driven by Dick Johnson.

DJR 2 a LHD car driven by Gregg Hansford.

For the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000, Calder 500 and Wellington 500 Johnson and Hansford were paired in the DJR 1 car with Neville Crichton and Charlie O'Brien in DJR 2 at the Australian rounds and Crichton and team manager Neal Lowe at Wellington. Although following the failure of their own car before the race Johnson and Hansford ended up sharing DJR 2 with Crichton at Sandown. DJR 2 wasn't raced by DJR after 87 and was sold at some point to Robb Gravett.

DJR 1 was raced by John Bowe in the 88 ATCC and by John Smith and Alfie Costanzo at the Sandown 500. The pair were due to share the car at Bathurst, but following the early demise of the other 2 cars, Bowe and Johnson commandeered the car from Smith after the 1st stint and the car eventually finished, second. It too was then sold to Robb Gravett.

DJR3 was built up for Johnson at the beginning of 88. After winning the ATCC this car was air freighted over to the UK for Johnson and Bowe to race at the Silverstone TT. It was then freighted back for Bathurst appearing as the # 28 Robb Gravett / Neville Crichton car, although it was driven off the line by Bowe but died during the 1st stint.

DJR 4 was debuted at the 88 Sandown 500 by Johnson and Bowe who again raced it at Bathurst. For the 89 ATCC DJR3 was raced by Bowe, DJR4 by Johnson.

DJR 5 was debuted at the 89 Sandown 500 by Johnson and Bowe who also it used at Bathurst. DJR4 was raced by Jeff Allam and Gravett. For the 90 ATCC DJR 4 was raced by Bowe and DJR 5 by Johnson. DJR 3 was sold to Ray Lintott and raced in the 90 ATCC in Valvoline colours as # 12.

DJR 6 was debuted at the 90 Sandown 500 by Johnson and Bowe who also raced it at Bathurst. DJR 5 was raced by Allam and Paul Radisich, while DJR 4 was the spare and used during the opening day of practice, being raced later that year at the Eastern Creek 500 and Wellington 500 by Johnson and Bowe.

Johnson stayed with DJR 5 for the 91 ATCC, while Bowe raced DJR 6 for the 1st few races while DJR 4 was refurbished. At Bathurst DJR entered all 3 of its Sierras, DJR 6 for Johnson and Bowe, DJR 5 for Radisich and Terry Shiel and DJR 4 which had been sold to Mark Petch, but as part of the agreement was run by DJR as # 19 with Kiwis Kayne Scott and Gregg Taylor. DJR 3 was also raced by Lintott and Tony Scott. DJR 4 was entered by Mark Petch Motorsport in the Wellington and Pukehoke 500s but driven by Johnson and Bowe.

For the 92 ATCC Bowe raced DJR 5 and Johnson DJR 6. For Sandown and Bathurst Johnson and Bowe teamed in DJR 5, with Shiel and Greg Crick racing DJR 6. The last DJR Sierra appearance was by Bowe at the Adelaide Grand Prix in DJR 5 in November 92.

As mentioned DJR 4 was sold to New Zealand and converted to a Sports Sedan, DJR 5 the 89 Bathurst winner and 90 and 92 runner up was retained by DJR and appeared on track at the Melbourne Grand Prix a year or two ago. One of the others was being raced as a Sports Sedan in Shell colours in the mid 90's.

Link to Forum here. http://passionford.com/forum/general-car-related-discussion/417387-the-missing-dick-johnson-rs500-race-car-resto-thread-started-3.html

[TonyG]

Car in #20 is the ex DJR 1 car.

[TonyG]

History of Aussie Sierras in this link;
http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114111

ARE RSC 0188
Andy Rouse's 1988 BTCC Kaliber RS500 - TT Winner sharing with Alain Ferte and sold onto Peter Brock for use in 1989 ATCC (TBC)
NOTE: If this is Rouse's 88 Kaliber car then it is the car driven by Peter Brock for most of 1989 ATCC. However, it was not this car that was re-shelled, it was the other ex-Rouse Mobil Sierra that may have been re-shelled. This was the car Robb Gravett drove in 1988 in ICS colours; possibly Pete Hall's car from the year before?

3rd car was built here.

[conrod]

Car in #20 is the ex DJR 1 car.

If you mean the yellow Graham Hathaway car, no its not. That was a a UK built car, but I don't know any other history of it. You will notice 4 stud wheels, the DJR cars were centrelock. That was Grahams first 500, he sold this car and bought the DJR car from Trakstar, I think it was the car Gravett won the 1990 BTCC in. I was working for Graham at this time. The DJR car had all of the Australian parts fitted, like the Harrop 9" rear axle, and was quite original apart from the paint job.

Conrad

[TonyG]

Cheers Conrod. My mistake. I did not even notice the wheels.

[Steve Holmes]

As mentioned DJR 4 was sold to New Zealand and converted to a Sports Sedan


So did this car stay in NZ and become a sports sedan, or was it returned to Aus to become a sports sedan?

[Steve Holmes]

So what was the history of the Moffat cars then? I think they were Eggenberger cars? Moffat joined forces with Rouse in a couple of WTCC races in 1987, but this wasn't successful, and he then bought Eggenberger cars (or a single car to begin with?) in 1988. Were Moffats cars Eggenberger customer cars or ex-racing team cars?

[Haga]

All of the DJR cars are accounted for.

The only car which is not in period spec is DJR2 which was converted to RHD (was originally LHD) and then turned into a rally car in UK. This car has recently resurfaced and is being restored.

From my dodgy memory:

DJR1 Andy Lloyd - UK
DJR2 Ian Goff - UK (Under restoration)
DJR3 Holmes Family
DJR4 Bowden collection
DJR5 Bowden collection
DJR6 Chris Stillwell
Promo car? in Tasmania Motoring Museum

I donot beleive the DJR4 sport sedan story is correct. As the photos of DJR4 show it to be very period looking.

If Chris/Dan Bowden are reading this they can probably confirm that they have #4 and history.

[Haga]

DJR6 ad:

http://www.ecurieinvestments.com.au/djr-group-sierra

[Haga]

DJR2 Resto Thread:

http://passionford.com/forum/restorations-rebuilds-and-projects/418247-reastoration-of-djr-2-dick-johnsons-rs-500-the-bodywork-gets-started.html

Contacted Dan Bowden and he responded:

"We have 4 and 5. we bought it from NZ and it was never a sports sedan, it was as it finished racing there, still in the shell livery.. Its a pretty well know story! But it ran in the all comers series, but was not modified"

[rogered]

So did this car stay in NZ and become a sports sedan, or was it returned to Aus to become a sports sedan?
Yeah im pretty sure that bits wrong. farily sure it was never a sports sedan, in this country at least

[superford]

So what was the history of the Moffat cars then? I think they were Eggenberger cars? Moffat joined forces with Rouse in a couple of WTCC races in 1987, but this wasn't successful, and he then bought Eggenberger cars (or a single car to begin with?) in 1988. Were Moffats cars Eggenberger customer cars or ex-racing team cars?

The 1987 Bathurst and Calder ANZ RS500 was a Rouse car easily identified by being Right Hand Drive. The following year Moffat bought an Eggenberger car out and contested a handful of ATCC races, the Sandown 500 (shown below) and Bathurst. I've read somewhere talk that this first car was originally a Texaco car with some indicating the black roll cage as evidence although I don't think anyone has really confirmed this. For 89, 90, 91 and 92 Moffat ran two full spec Eggenberger customer cars. One of the two cars was said to have only have 4 entries in it's CAMS log book - 4 Bathursts in a row.

1987 Bathurst - Rouse car;
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/we11_edited.jpg

1988 Sandown 500;
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/st16_edited.jpg

I've stolen a quote from another forum from what appears to be the owner of the 1988 car:

Greetings from Down Under guys. I'm on the hunt for any pics from the 1989 Intertec Fuji 500. In particular pics of the winning RS500 - the Allan Moffat Racing ANZ Sierra #39. This car was the very first Eggenberger 'customer' chassis, raced as #9 in Australia with Klaus Niedzwiedz employed as lead driver at Bathurst in 1988.

The 1989 Fuji 500 is significant as it was Moffat's last race & was done on his 50th Birthday but little, if anything of the race was reported in oz. I'm fortunate to know Allan personally & he speaks fondly of this race, even explaining the choice of race #39 (born 1939) & that he always told himself he would not be "one of those 50 year old race drivers"........he stuck to his word & went out a winner!

I think this is that #9 car;
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/sierra22.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/sierra21.jpg

and this is the #10 car;
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/SDC11596.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/SDC11595.jpg

The #10 car has been doing laps as recently as the 2012 Melborne F1 support races. I don't think the #9 car has been out since the Group A days. The #9 Rouse ANZ car is also in Aussie and is regularly seen doing the Group A races at classic events.

That's about as much as I know - but I'm sure there are others out there that know a whole lot more!!!

[Haga]

More car info and some good period pics:

http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114111

[zakspeed65]

Hi Superford,

The white RS500 seen photographed inside a house is in fact the ANZ 10 car and the same car that you mention had 4 Bathurst entries in its CAMS book, I think the ANZ 9 car the Fuji 500 race winner is still owner by B Miles???.

See photos FYI.

Cheers.

[superford]

Thanks for that zakspeed65 - I wasn't really sure. You suggest that #9 may be owned by B Miles of NZ fame?? Regardless I hope to see this car in action again one day soon.

I had the pleasure of having a good look over the Texaco RS500 when passing through Pahiatua last year when it was on display in the Hoffman Ford Showroom. Oh to be able to take it for a squirt!!!

Here is another of that series of snaps of ANZ #10;
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/sierra20.jpg

[Steve Holmes]

From memory Moffat didn't race his Sierras much at all, he mostly focused on the big events, Bathurst, and a couple of the lead-up races.

[Steve Holmes]

Here are a couple of publicity pics from the 2012 Silverstone Classic http://www.silverstoneclassic.com/ where there will be a big celebration of the BTCC during the 1980s and early '90s. I always thought the Tim Harvey Labatts colour scheme was the nicest looking of all the Sierras. Note the number of Australian cars in these pics; One of the DJR cars, and an ex-Brock car, which itself was possibly ex-Rouse. Was the Chris Hodgetts car ex-DJR?

8940

8941

[conrod]

Hi Steve, the Hodgetts car was built by Brooklyn Ford I believe. Def. not a DJR car. I might be over there at end of July, so will try to get to that race meeting if I am. Apparently 1200 entrants there last year - it is HUGE!

Conrad

http://www.silverstoneclassic.com/Content/Event-Info/2/

[markec]

8961896089628963

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks for that info Conrad. Good to know. Who was Brooklyn Ford.

Just out of interest, did DJR supply all the Sierras raced by Rob Gravett, or did Gravett end up building his own at some stage? I seem to recall he may have built his own prior to buying his first DJR car?

[conrod]

Thanks for that info Conrad. Good to know. Who was Brooklyn Ford.

Just out of interest, did DJR supply all the Sierras raced by Rob Gravett, or did Gravett end up building his own at some stage? I seem to recall he may have built his own prior to buying his first DJR car?

My understanding is that Gravett had just the one DJR car, and the rest ot the Trakstar cars were UK built. Brooklyn Ford was a Ford dealer, and I believe they did a lot of tuning of Cossies back in the day.

Conrad

[faminz]

heres a few more I took at the 87 street race.

9081
9082
9083

[mark.silcock]

Does anyone know if any of the current RS500's that race in NZ are based in Canterbury?

[Steve Holmes]

Mark, there used to be a few of them in Canterbury. I know several years ago there was a DJR and Brock car there, but not sure whats there now.

[Steve Holmes]

heres a few more I took at the 87 street race.

9081
9082
9083

These are awesome photos Brett. Man I just loved those cars! Its amazing how standard looking the interiors are. I took a look inside one of the Eggenberger cars a couple of years ago at a historic event. For some reason I expected it to look like the inside of the space shuttle, but it was extremely basic, save for a few additional knobs. I was almost disappointed! These cars just seemed SO high-tech when they first appeared.

[Steve Holmes]

Couple of great shots here by Warwick Clayton of the Rouse XR4i. What a pretty car this was. I believe this was its debut NZ race, the 1986 Wellington Street Race.

14079

14080

[Haga]

Making some progress.....decals next.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/P1010009.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/P1010009.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Wow! What is the history of this car?

[Art Markus]

Some time around 1987/88 I was at my desk at Cars and Car Conversions magazine when I fielded a phone call from a former colleague who had crossed to the dark side and was working as a public relations consultant. "I have a client", he explained, "who has the fastest Sierra in Europe!" My heart sank. This was the height of the Sierra Cosworth tuning era, and every tuner in Britain was claiming that his latest effort was the fastest and most powerful yet. Because of Ford's commendably strict durability requirements for all of its production vehicles (from memory, every vehicle had to be capable of driving for a minimum of 24 hours at full throttle, regardless of whether it was a 150mph Sierra RS Cosworth or a 950cc Fiesta), the Cossie was under-stressed in standard form and could easily accept substantial performance upgrades, often achieved with little more than a modified 'chip' in the ECU. By such means 240bhp was achieved with some ease, a substantial increase on the standard car's 204bhp (sorry guys, I am not very good at these new-fangled kW thingies). With some mechanical upgrades: better head gaskets; bigger turbocharger; bigger intercoolers; higher-flowing injectors etc, even greater outputs were achievable, still with impressive durability and reliability. But this lead to a horsepower race, such that in time it seemed that every tuning company and BTCC race team in the UK, and many more in Europe, were offering performance upgrades for the Cossie. And every week it seemed that one or other was trying to top the others with more and more (advertised) horsepower.

Without the ability to verify every claim we - the editorial staff at CCC - had become skeptical and frankly, a little tired of these claims as more and more preposterous figures were bandied about. Hence my rather 'ho hum, not another one' response to my former colleague's invitation to feature his client's car. However when he explained that this was no ordinary tuned Sierra but a Pro Stock dragster, I took a somewhat keener interest. "It's got 1800 horsepower", he averred. "It does the standing quarter mile in under 9 seconds. It is the fastest Door Slammer in Europe, and he wants you to test it!"

That's how I came to be at Santa Pod with a staff photographer a few days later when a huge vehicle transporter bearing a Hauser Race Cars logo rolled in. The two crew team members with the car proceeded to open up the rear of the transporter and unload the vehicle within. When it was still on the tail lift I looked up at it, and as it was slowly lowered to ground level it started to dawn on me that I might have bitten off a bit more than I could chew.

I should explain here that while I wasn't over-endowed with self-confidence, by that time I had done quite a bit of racing in the UK and had enjoyed a bit of success. I had also track tested a number of pretty quick cars, and when it came to a driving challenge I was pretty much up for anything. Or thought I was. But I was definitely having second thoughts about this. This was clearly a serious and highly specialized bit of kit, and not the sort of thing you just grab the keys for with a cheerful "Gizza go, mister', jump in and tear up the road. Hey, I wasn't scared right? Just a little… well, apprehensive…

Then the owner/driver Geoff Hauser arrived, and after we had exchanged the usual pleasantries, it quickly became apparent that he was of much the same opinion! It seemed that my erstwhile colleague had been a little economical with the truth, and that there was no possibility of anyone other than Geoff himself, a hugely experienced drag racer and professional car builder (and a hell of a nice guy too, I came to realize), taking the wheel. However, a track test is not a track test unless you actually get to drive, right? And as always, we were under pressure to deliver a feature for the next issue of the magazine, with no time to reschedule or tee up an alternative. I had been stitched up.

I sought out the PR man and gave him the benefit of my opinion.

I felt a little better, but my dilemma remained: how the hell were we supposed to do a track test when the owner of the vehicle has no intention of allowing anyone other than himself to drive it? Never mind that: I wasn't too sure I was prepared to drive it myself anyway, at least not without a good deal of instruction, supervision, and practice, for which we had simply had not planned. Anyway, there was no passenger seat and no seat belts, nor any provision for fitting either. So I went back to Geoff and explained the problem. We had pages to fill and deadlines to meet. I told him that I felt we had been misled, through no fault of his, and asked if he could suggest any way out of the mess. "Well, there is something we could do" he replied. "If you are prepared to wedge yourself into the passenger side, we'll do a burnout and a launch and half-pass. It will at least give you a feel for the acceleration and speed". Ulp!

Half an hour later, Geoff having completed a couple of solo test runs, I found myself worming my way in among the tubes of the substantial roll cage in search of a suitable place to sit. Like any serious racing saloon, the roll age is the chassis, so in fact it was proving difficult simply to find a person-sized gap to squeeze in to.
The multiplicity of tubes meant there were plenty of things to hold on to, but equally, plenty of stuff to whack an unrestrained limb in to too. I was especially nervous of the weight of my crash helmet, and the possibility of sustaining whiplash if the acceleration was indeed as fierce as expected.

After a bit of wriggling about, I found a position propped up against the rear bulkhead where I felt I couldn't be hurled backwards, where I had something to hold on to, and where I could use my free arm to provide some support for my helmet. "I must be fucking mad" I thought as I gave Geoff the thumbs-up. He fired up the motor, which set off an incredible racket. But even more noticeable was the vibration, which excited every internal panel and seemed to add to the din. You could feel the torque of that giant bellowing 9-litre V8, the whole vehicle rocking gently on its rear tyres, squidgy as under-inflated balloons, every time he blipped the throttle.

We rolled up to the start-line and Geoff performed the obligatory burnout to warm the tyres, filling the cockpit with acrid smoke. Backing up with the door open largely cleared the cockpit of smoke, but not before I had suffered a coughing fit and streaming eyes. Then creeping forward in tiny increments, in the process known to drag racers as "staging", we were ready.

We had access to all of Santa Pod's facilities, so we used the 'Christmas Tree" as though we were in a proper drag race: pre-stage, stage, watch for the amber lights and GO! Although I was prepared to be amazed (and holding on for dear life!) nothing could prepare me for the sheer violence of the launch. Even though I was braced, my back slammed in to the bulkhead behind me knocking some of the wind out of me, and I was glad of the restraining arm behind my head taking the additional weight of my helmet. With no discernible wheelspin, and no clutch slip, it was like being launched by a giant invisible rubber band. One moment we were sitting on the start line and the next second we were flying down the strip at rapidly-increasing speed. At half-track and about 130mph, Geoff lifted off and we coasted the rest of the way, braking gently to a halt without needing to deploy the parachute required when slowing from 190-odd mph.

An amazing experience. A Boeing 737 in take-off mode has enough acceleration to pin you back in your seat, but the initial launch is distinctly leisurely as the tremendous thrust developed by the jet engines strives to overcome the inertia of all that weight at rest. In a similar way, almost everything else I have driven or ridden in is traction-limited, and takes a little coaxing to get off the line . This thing seemed to defy the normal laws of physics.

As we rolled to a halt I was very glad to unravel myself from all those tubes and set foot on terra firma again; glad to have had the experience; glad to have survived. And to be honest, I was glad not to have had to drive the Sierra myself! It was without a doubt the riskiest thing I did in my time with CCC, but (having survived!) it remains a memory to treasure. Curious isn't it: the life-experiences where you've overcome obstacles, confronted fears… and survived… are the ones that remain in the memory longest.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, awesome story! I don't really know what the rules are in Pro Stock, but obviously he was allowed to fit a V8 in place of the turbo 4, or was he using the South African V8 Sierra as his reasoning for the repower? Did the car still look like a Sierra Cosworth, or had the outer shell been so severely massaged it was hard to tell?

[conrod]

Great story Art! That brings back some memories for me. I was 20 years old at that time,an avid reader of CCC,(it was a great read back then) and you could say a bit of a Ford nut:) I loved the Cossies, and can remember the horsepower claims getting bigger and bigger all the time , BBR always seemed to be there or thereabouts in the "wild claims dept." In the early 1990's I ended up working in the UK for about 3 years on Cossies (building rally and race cars at Spooner Engineering) and that time holds many good memories for me:)

Conrad

[Steve Holmes]

When I was living in London in the early 1990s, I was desperately trying to save up enough money to buy a Sierra Cosworth (I was 21 when I arrived in London in 1992) with which to ship back to New Zealand when I left, and sell it for a huge profit back home. When new in 1987, Cosworths were few and far between in NZ, with asking prices of approx NZ$120,000, which was insane money at the time.

But when I was in the UK, 3 door Cosworths could be had for as little as 5 thousand quid then, and a 4 door Saphire Cosworth was even cheaper. I couldn't quite muster enough to both buy the car and bring it home, so gave up on the idea. But by the time I'd returned to NZ in late 1994, it appeared everyone else had had the same idea. There were heaps of them. The fact I couldn't ship one home was probably a blessing in disguise. But I still think sometimes I'd like to own one.

[conrod]

I can remember the $120K being asked for the Cossies here! And in the UK they were paying £15995 for a new one! Bring back the bad old days!
I had a similar story to you Steve. Looks like I am only a couple of years older than you, and back then the Escort Cosworth had just been released (1992) I saw a way of buying one cheaply, and did manage to get it back to NZ. I also built a mental spec. 400hp+ 2.3 engine while over there and shipped that back too. I sold it many years later, and still at a small profit (after blowing the big engine up and going back to a "small" 2.0) I think I have owned 4 or 5 Cossies since, and still think they are great cars. If I was in the market again I would try to find a nice unmolested 3 door, either an original Cosworth or an RS500, I think they will be the ones to put away under a cover and watch the value skyrocket:)

Conrad

[Art Markus]

Hi Steve,

Good question. It really had me scratching my head, and I'm embarrassed to say I can't remember the body style with absolute certainty. However the picture that comes into my mind is actually the six-light body of the XR4Ti, sold as the Merkur in the States ( so that another thing the PR guy lied about!). I have a vague recollection that the rules required the body to be based on a four-door 'shell. The bodyshell was a reasonably accurate facsimile, albeit looking rather odd due to the very different stance: skinny little front wheels tucked way up into the front arches, and monster rear tyres on a narrowed Ford 9-inch axle so the tyres appeared to be almost meeting in the middle, the combination giving the car a pronounced rake.

The car also had the giant air box perched on the bonnet which is typical of the breed. Again from (dodgy) memory, the engine was a modern (at the time) interpretation of a Chrysler Hemi based on a Milodon block; the rules obviously were pretty liberal, as the V8 swap was perfectly legit. I could probably check most of these details, as I kept sample copies of most issues of CCC, albeit with a few gaps, and we brought them with us when we returned to NZ in 2004, but they have never been unpacked. Maybe one day...

Wracking my brains to remember all this stuff made me realize that hey… it was about 25 year ago. The prodigious feats of memory and recall of many of the Roaring Season's contributors blows me away. My respects, guys. Love reading everyones' stories.

Art Markus

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Art, I don't really know what the rules are for this class, but obviously the big Hemi was legal. It may very well be that the cars only have to retain their outer silhouette and wheelbase, and everything else is free. A very cool story. I wonder where the car is now?

[Steve Holmes]

I can remember the $120K being asked for the Cossies here! And in the UK they were paying £15995 for a new one! Bring back the bad old days!
I had a similar story to you Steve. Looks like I am only a couple of years older than you, and back then the Escort Cosworth had just been released (1992) I saw a way of buying one cheaply, and did manage to get it back to NZ. I also built a mental spec. 400hp+ 2.3 engine while over there and shipped that back too. I sold it many years later, and still at a small profit (after blowing the big engine up and going back to a "small" 2.0) I think I have owned 4 or 5 Cossies since, and still think they are great cars. If I was in the market again I would try to find a nice unmolested 3 door, either an original Cosworth or an RS500, I think they will be the ones to put away under a cover and watch the value skyrocket:)

Conrad

Yep, I totally agree Conrad. I've watched the prices creep back up again in the UK. It was really the crippling insurance costs that had pushed the prices so low when I was living there. Cossie's were huge favourites among joy riders at the time. I recall a Topgear tv episode many years ago when the Escort Cossie was still new, and Jeremy Clarkson had one as his personal transport. He said the car cost 19K to buy, and annual insurance was 20K!

[Art Markus]

Conrod, here's a story you, as a devoted Escort Cosworth fan, might like. We usually had road test cars for a week at a time, and the three full-time staff members would take turns at taking them home, going on assignments etc. Over the years CCC had given a huge amount of coverage to Fords of all descriptions, and although we didn't do formal road tests like Autocar or Motor, say, we were always in good standing with Ford's Press Office, often obtaining vehicles for test before most of the other comics.

When the Escort Cosworth arrived, we were among the first to test one. Anyway, I drove it home one night, parked up, and was rummaging about getting my stuff out of the passenger seat when, unseen by me, a police car pulled alongside. When I went to get out, turned around and spotted the jam sandwich alongside I damn near had a cow. My mind was racing as I hastily rewound the last five miles of my drive home, trying to remember if I had inadvertently or deliberately done anything naughty. I couldn't think of a thing, but I was bricking it anyway!

Four coppers levered themselves out of their vehicle and formed a circle around the Cossie as I apprehensively wound down the window. "Is this your car sir? "Yes… er, no" I spluttered. "Well, what I mean is, I don't own it, but it is in my care for now. It belongs to Ford's Press Office, and is on test with a magazine". "Ah, we wondered about that", their spokesman replied. "We often see high performance cars parked here. We thought that might explain it. What's it like then?" he asked as the other three wandered around admiring the Cossie.

I had to explain that I had only driven it the few miles from the office and had not yet had a chance to stretch its legs. "Don't suppose there is any chance you could take us for ride?" "Sure, jump in". (Anything to oblige several of the Met's finest, eh). "Oh, we're on duty; we can't do it now. But we're off in about half-an-hour. Any chance we could come back?"

True to their word, three of the four came back a bit later, and so we went for a little ride down the A3 which passed close by my flat in Wandsworth. I was driving like a bloke who's got three coppers in the car with him when one of them said "We'd like you to forget the fact that you've got three coppers in the car with you". I didn't need any more encouragement. Probably it was just as well the A3 was busy as always, as it meant I couldn't go too crazy. But whenever the traffic allowed I gave it a mighty burst, handily exceeding 100mph a few times, then braking hard to check my speed when the gaps closed. My passengers were having a high old time, egging me on, laughing and shouting. We turned back about Surbiton and I gave it a bit of a squirt on the roundabout and tore back up the A3. By the time I delivered them back to their car we were all giggling like naughty schoolboys. We parted the best of friends. If it hadn't happened, I wouldn't have believed it...

Best wishes,

Art Markus

[conrod]

Hello Art,

great story that:) Those cars were getting stolen all the time, and sold for parts to the rallying and racing fraternity, and probably the reason they decided to check you out! We used to look after a lot of the cars for Boreham, the protoypes and press/test cars mainly. Back then I was so busy working, I didn't stop and take any time to take photos, and really wish I had now. One particular Escort Cossie we did some work on was a jam sandwich! I think it was for the Kent Constabulary, it looked fantastic! I think we fitted a Mountune upgrade to the engine, and a suspension kit if I recall correctly? As if that wasn't wild enough, the boys at Spooners told me that Kent Police had a pair of Gp.B RS200 police cars back in the 1980's! Now that is something you would get to work early for!

You say "returned to NZ" in an earlier post, are you from NZ, or living here?

cheers
Conrad Timms

[Oldfart]

I spotted one of the RS200s parked on one of those "spy spots" on the M25 while trundling along in the work van. I was hoping someone would do something naughty, there must have been someone who obliged as not many minutes later the RS came past, let's say energetically driven! (or was it just time for a thrash?)

[conrod]

A quick google search brought up this:


20050

Pretty sure that is the one we had in at work there.



Conrad

[Rod Grimwood]

Yeah im pretty sure that bits wrong. farily sure it was never a sports sedan, in this country at least


What was this

[seaqnmac27]

In the Paddock at Lakeside

20052

[Frosty5]

What was this

Pretty sure this was the ex-Whittakers Peanut Slab Sierra converted to Sports Sedan mode. Robbie Francevic drove it along with Kayne Scott. Italian Ceramics was a sponsor of the Petch M3 also

[Frosty5]

Pretty sure this was the ex-Whittakers Peanut Slab Sierra converted to Sports Sedan mode. Robbie Francevic drove it along with Kayne Scott. Italian Ceramics was a sponsor of the Petch M3 also

Sorry, senior moment. Andy Greenslade has the Whittakers Sierra.

[rogered]

What was this

hi rod

this thing is the ex crition sunday star xr41 (egginberger), made in to a "cosworth" by petch then morfed to this
the oxton xr41 is missing in action.
correct frosty, the wolf rs500 is as you say

[Rod Grimwood]

hi rod

this thing is the ex crition sunday star xr41 (egginberger), made in to a "cosworth" by petch then morfed to this
the oxton xr41 is missing in action.
correct frosty, the wolf rs500 is as you say

Yea remember it turning up to 'beat' all the Sports Sedans but after a couple of shots disappeared (with tail tucked between legs). It went pretty good but had reliability problems. Maybe a V8 stuck in it would have made it a Sports Sedan.
Wasn't long after that Mr Petch along with couple of others appeared with the Trans Am things and most wandered off or parked their Sports Sedans as the cheque book boys took over.

[Rod Grimwood]

Yea remember it turning up to 'beat' all the Sports Sedans but after a couple of shots disappeared (with tail tucked between legs). It went pretty good but had reliability problems. Maybe a V8 stuck in it would have made it a Sports Sedan.
Wasn't long after that Mr Petch along with couple of others appeared with the Trans Am things and most wandered off or parked their Sports Sedans as the cheque book boys took over.


Manfield. The first of the invasion. Start of Trans Am, finish of Sports Sedans as we knew them.

[Steve Holmes]

I'm sure this has probably been covered before, but what became of the Eggenberger Crichton XR4i that then became the Croft Cosworth Group A, then the Francevic Sports Sedan?

[kiwi285]

The line up at Lakeside

http://i41.tinypic.com/104q26a.jpg

[Art Markus]

Hi Conrad,

Returned to NZ in 2004 after 25 years in the UK. Was Features Editor of CCC from '85 to '98. More detail in my profile if you're interested. Now living in the motorsports mecca of Wanaka haha. I say that tongue-in-cheek of course, but there is quite a fraternity of petrolheads in Central Otago, with some very interesting machinery tucked away in garages all over the place, and with Highlands Motorsport Park now operational things can only get better.

Best regards,

Art

[superford]

I'm sure this has probably been covered before, but what became of the Eggenberger Crichton XR4i that then became the Croft Cosworth Group A, then the Francevic Sports Sedan?

It showed up on Trademe a few years ago looking like this:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/36050464_full.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/36050464_full.jpg.html)
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/36050517_full.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/36050517_full.jpg.html)
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/36050531_full.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/36050531_full.jpg.html)
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/36295615_full.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/36295615_full.jpg.html)

At this time I think it was sold to some fella named Conrod??

[superford]

Then only a few weeks back I saw it again on TradeMe - this time only the flared guards were for sale. It sounds like the resto back to Eggenberger spec is under way. It hadn't changed much;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/275137033.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/275137033.jpg.html)
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/275137058.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/275137058.jpg.html)

[superford]

However, I liked it best looking like this;

Photo credit to the kind sole who uploaded it to Flickr - where I found it a few years back.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/Jan1111.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/Jan1111.jpg.html)

[conrod]

At this time I think it was sold to some fella named Conrod??

That would be me, but no I didn't buy it, a good friend of mine did. I advertised the panels on trademe, as they were not required and just taking up a lot of space. Over the few years my friend has owned it we have managed to find a lot of the original Gp.A parts that had become scattered to the wind. The long Getrag bellhousing, all of the original bumpers and mouldings (still with stickers from the Eggenberger/Crichton days!) and a race engine (one from the Rouse car I believe)We also paid a visit to Mark Petch's workshops, and rummaged through a lot of boxes and came up with a bunch of parts/spares for this car. We have nearly all of the major/hard to find parts for the car now, and we will strip the car to a bare bodyshell in the next few months, and the restoration can begin.
It will be restored back to Gp.A spec. and probably to this livery that it ran in Wellington/Pukekohe with. Hard to believe it is the same car as the pic above!:)

Conrad

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g196/conrod1/Pukekohe1987.jpg (http://s56.photobucket.com/user/conrod1/media/Pukekohe1987.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, this is great! So its being restored to the Crichton XR4i spec then, not the Croft Cosworth? Just out of interest, did this car race in Europe before being bought by Crichton? I seem to recall it first appeared in Crichton's hands just before the Cosworth's were due to arrive on the scene, which I found odd at the time. I wondered why Crichton didn't wait and buy a Cosworth.

[conrod]

HI Steve, yes it does seem odd, as when the Cosworth arrived in 1987 it pretty much made this car obsolete. One of the articles I read stated the Crichton was going to buy a Cossie in 1987, but that never happened.

This car was Steve Soper's car for the second half of the 1986 ETCC season as far as we can tell, the pic below is taken at Donington 1986.At this point Eggenberger were building and running the cars, with backing from Ford, so this was essentially a "works" entry. It was always intended as a development year, to sort the handling and chassis, for the arrival of the Cosworth engine in 1987. So although it played a significant part in the development of the Cossie, it was a particularly quick car in its own right towards the end of the 1986 season, winning the last round in Estoril, and was quickest in qually at Brno earlier in the season, Soper being clocked at 300kph!

It did not have a particularly successful history in NZ as an RS500, or Thundersaloon for that matter, and for us it was pretty much a no brainer to restore it back to the original Gp.A XR4Ti spec. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for racing the car here and overseas, and the car will probably retain the most value in this form.

Would anyone have a pic of the car when Garry Croft drove it? It was a Gp.A RS500 at this point (1988-89 NZ season) and I think Husqvarna colours, white with stripes I think.

Conrad

20140

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Conrad, yes I think you and I must have read similar articles on the car when Crichton first bought it. He only intended that it be an interim car, until a new Cosworth arrived, but as you said, the Cosworth never did actually come. My recollection was that Crichton's plans were quite big at the time.

This is a grotty photo I snapped of the car with a cheap camera at Manfeild when raced by Croft. My scanner isn't up to much either, so you won't get much joy from this. Note the Wolf Racing wheels, which I assume were spares from the Francevic car. You're right, it didn't do a lot in either Crichton or Croft's hands, but at this Manfeild event, Croft pulled out and passed Francevic down the back straight and drove away. So it had the odd good performance.

One thing I do recall about it was that the nose sat much lower to the ground than the Francevic car, the ride height was more of a 'rake'.

20141

[conrod]

Thanks for the pic Steve, I think thats the first time I have ever seen it in that guise!

Looks pretty convincing too! At some point the ali cage was removed and Ron Mcmillan fitted a steel cage, which remains to this day. The mounting points for the original ali cage are still there though. We will have to replace the cage anyway, as the rules have changed, and all paperwork for the car is missing.

cheers Conrad

[Steve Holmes]

Yeah, it does look convincing. It wasn't until someone on here mentioned the car was the ex-Crichton Eggenberger XR4 that I had any idea it wasn't a Cosworth! And I was probably a little critical when I said it didn't do a lot in either Crichton or Croft's hands. As a Cossie, with Croft driving, it actually went pretty well. It wasn't usually as fast as the Francevic car, but then again, I assume it was 'Cosworthed' using spares that Petch had from running the other car.

[conrod]

I spoke to Mark Petch about it, he said that they had so many spares when they bought the car from Walter Wolf, it was easy to do. I don't think the car lacked for anything mechanically, it appears to have all of the RS500 updated parts such as the huge mag trailing arms with relocated mounting points, brakes, suspension, etc. So in theory at least, it should have been as good as the other car. The rest would come down to how well it was set up,how well it was driven, and how high the boost was wound up, such was the way of these old cars:)

The values of Gp.A RS500's have skyrocketed in recent years, and the XR4Ti was a way for my friend to get into a proper Gp.A car for sensible money. There is also the fun of discovering its history,"finding" missing parts and the rebuild itself, if you enjoy that sort of thing. (and we do!)

[Steve Holmes]

Conrad, when looking for this photo, I stumbled upon a couple I took of Andrew Bagnall's version, which I thought looked fantastic when it had its TV3 sponsorship. Who built this car? Was it Wolf? It wore Wolf wheels in the photo. And where is it now?

[conrod]

Do you mean Andrew Bagnall's RS500? I think it was built in Australia by Ross Stone from new parts, not sure where it ended up though, I think back in Aus? It got a bit beaten up at Wellington one year when it had a close encounter with a wall:(

[Steve Holmes]

Yes thats the one Conrod, his RS500. I think from memory he ran as team mate to Andrew Meidecke in the ATCC, maybe in 1989?

[conrod]

I think Miedecke drove it at Wellington with him too. I have it on one of my videos. White/dark blue with TV3 logo, and running either DJR wheels or Wolf/Ronals depending on what got bolted on:) Looked quite sharp!

just found it here:


I've also wondered what happened to the Andrew Bagnall Cossy; Anyone know?

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/u042_edited.jpg

[CAMD]

I don't know where you heard that story because it is not correct.
I work for DJR in those days and built all the engines, not turbo housings were ever cut in half and modified (No need).
These story's get around because people can't understand where our power came from.
At the Silverstone TT the water pump did fail (Only pump failure we ever had) but the car did finish the race after being delayed in the pits to have the water replenished. If we had had that problem whilst racing in Australia, we had the equipment to replenish the water in seconds, and would of still be able to win that race.
I Know because I was there

[conrod]

I don't know where you heard that story because it is not correct.
I work for DJR in those days and built all the engines, not turbo housings were ever cut in half and modified (No need).
These story's get around because people can't understand where our power came from.
At the Silverstone TT the water pump did fail (Only pump failure we ever had) but the car did finish the race after being delayed in the pits to have the water replenished. If we had had that problem whilst racing in Australia, we had the equipment to replenish the water in seconds, and would of still be able to win that race.
I Know because I was there

Thanks for that, although you didn't quote the message you were responding to, I suspect it was the comment I made sometime earlier. It was told to me by someone claiming he worked for DJR back then, obviously it was a load of BS!

[Haga]

Silverstone TT race:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ofV9WzPqz0&feature=share

[superford]

The Bagnall car within the Meidecke Motorsport prior to Bathurst 89; Photo credit unknown;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/MeideckeMsport89.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/MeideckeMsport89.jpg.html)

Crosby qualified the car for the top 10 shootout - Bagnall drove it in the shootout and crashed it.....

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/89765.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/89765.jpg.html)

A shot I had of the Meidecke Sierra. Nice looking car this one. I think it was absorbed into the Brock Sierra team the following year and then wrecked when he rolled it at Mallala during the ATCC round.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/018.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/018.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, these are great. The yellow RS500 looks like the Kevin Waldock car, which I think was built by Jim Stone?

[conrod]

Wow, these are great. The yellow RS500 looks like the Kevin Waldock car, which I think was built by Jim Stone?

Yes it is, that is the car now owned by Brett Stevens in Motueka. I think "Blast Dynamics" on the side of the transporter was Kevin Waldocks company.

[neale]

Great thread, Im loving the old pics.

The Sierra was the car that got me interested in motorsport. It was in the early 90's There was a Shell service station next door to my primary school. I remember one of Dick Johnsons Sierras being parked out the front as a promo before a race at Oran Park.

That memory has stuck with me & I have been a fan of the Sierra & blue oval ever since.

I don't have any old photos of them back in the day, but here are a couple taken in the last couple of weeks on some car club cruises with the RSOC Australia.

Ok not the real deal, but still a genuine RS500.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1017301_10151781293486264_1766481033_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/404849_10151496718286264_2011836581_n.jpg

Another from last weekends cruise to Bathurst
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/1003870_10151834925876264_797383255_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/534263_10151840055756264_1935395862_n.jpg
[

[Steve Holmes]

Really neat photos there Neale, nice work. The photo on Conrod at Bathurst, were you both moving here, or did you stop to get the shot?

[Steve Holmes]

The Bagnall car within the Meidecke Motorsport prior to Bathurst 89; Photo credit unknown;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/MeideckeMsport89.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/MeideckeMsport89.jpg.html)



So what was the relationship between these three teams that required this photo? It looks like a team photo? I knew the Meidecke and Bagnall cars had teamed up, but had Waldock joined them also?

[neale]

Really neat photos there Neale, nice work. The photo on Conrod at Bathurst, were you both moving here, or did you stop to get the shot?

Thanks Steve, I was standing in the middle of the road while he was driving at me, lucky the speed limit is only 60kph down there at this time of year :D

[superford]

So what was the relationship between these three teams that required this photo? It looks like a team photo? I knew the Meidecke and Bagnall cars had teamed up, but had Waldock joined them also?

Bagnall and Meidecke had been together throughout 88 and 89. Both cars ran under the OXO banner in 88, but this was fairly small in the support department. I was just watching a bit of the 1988 Bathurst race and both of these cars were out before lap 8... Meideckie had Steve Soper with him, and Bagnall had Pierre Dieudonne in his car.

Into 89, Meidecke got some good sponsorship together from Kenwood and like of Blast Dynamics and Motorcraft for a serious assault on the ATCC - it all went bad at Lakeside with the big fire. The replacement car was quick and I think he had some solid results among some pretty good opposition, but at Bathurst when again teamed with Soper, he broke down on the first lap I think.

Anyway, to properly answer your question, I think the Waldock Sierra is there as they shared the Meidecke Motorsport faclities at the time.

[superford]

Here are some more RS500 photos. Again, none are mine - I've just found them on the net over the years and saved them - Sharing them because they're great shots of awesome cars.

The REAL 1987 Bathurst Winner - taken at the WTCC round at the Calder Park Thunderdome;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/079.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/079.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/texaco3.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/texaco3.jpg.html)

[superford]

The 1989 Spa 24 Hour Winner;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/Spa-1989-07-23-001.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/Spa-1989-07-23-001.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/5836573458_722e7a3e35_b.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/5836573458_722e7a3e35_b.jpg.html)

[superford]

That day at the Silverstone TT in 1988:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/Silverstone-1988-09-04-041.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/Silverstone-1988-09-04-041.jpg.html)

[superford]

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/015-1.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/015-1.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/008-1.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/008-1.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/6172801333_aea96d2569_b.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/6172801333_aea96d2569_b.jpg.html)

[superford]

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/peterbrock.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/peterbrock.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/025.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/025.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Fantastic photos! I really loved the Eggenberger cars in the Bastos colours.

I really hated those clunky looking 7-spoke wheels many of the Aussie teams began fitting though. They never appealed to me for some reason.

[conrod]

Fantastic photos! I really loved the Eggenberger cars in the Bastos colours.

I really hated those clunky looking 7-spoke wheels many of the Aussie teams began fitting though. They never appealed to me for some reason.

Same on the Bastos cars, all of them including the M3's in that livery looked great:)

I really LIKE those 7 spoke wheels!! The design mimicked the aftermarket 7 spoke alloy wheels Ford were selling at the time. DJR had them made, I believe to give better brake clearance than the BBS 3 piece wheels. Probably a stiffer design too. They have DJR cast in the front face.

[Steve Holmes]

Yes, it was on the DJR cars I saw them for the first time, and I think of all the cars I saw them on, I thought they looked best of the DJR cars, painted gold. I always preferred and loved the mesh BBS style wheels on the Sierra's, and the Wolf wheels. To me they just looked so much more exotic.

[Haga]

7 spoke DJRs look pretty good with fresh coat of paint. For the trainspotters there were 2 different castings of the DJR rims.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/P1010007.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/P1010007.jpg.html)

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/P1010008.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/P1010008.jpg.html)

[conrod]

7 spoke DJRs look pretty good with fresh coat of paint. For the trainspotters there were 2 different castings of the DJR rims.



NICE!!:) Are the wheels mag or ali? And what is the difference between the castings? Looks like really good brake clearance inside that rim.

[superford]

More Bastos Eggenberger Sierra shots from 89 Spa;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/5833015524_2d87944fea_b.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/5833015524_2d87944fea_b.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/Spa-1989-07-23-002.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/Spa-1989-07-23-002.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/24hSpa-1989-1.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/24hSpa-1989-1.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/24hSpa-1989.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/24hSpa-1989.jpg.html)

[superford]

Missed one other from 89

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/5829228007_f263268797_b.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/5829228007_f263268797_b.jpg.html)

[superford]

And then in 1990 - although this is a guess...

Didn't look quite as awesome as 89 with the extra Castrol logo and stripes...

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/115.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/115.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/116.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/116.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/5_2_24.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/5_2_24.jpg.html)

[Malcolm McLeod]

Bagnall and Meidecke had been together throughout 88 and 89. Both cars ran under the OXO banner in 88, but this was fairly small in the support department. I was just watching a bit of the 1988 Bathurst race and both of these cars were out before lap 8... Meideckie had Steve Soper with him, and Bagnall had Pierre Dieudonne in his car.

Into 89, Meidecke got some good sponsorship together from Kenwood and like of Blast Dynamics and Motorcraft for a serious assault on the ATCC - it all went bad at Lakeside with the big fire. The replacement car was quick and I think he had some solid results among some pretty good opposition, but at Bathurst when again teamed with Soper, he broke down on the first lap I think.

Anyway, to properly answer your question, I think the Waldock Sierra is there as they shared the Meidecke Motorsport faclities at the time.

Kevin Waldock I believed owned Blast Dynamics - he had plans to let off heaps of explosions at various race meetings (shades of Gelignite Jack!) but I'm not sure whether he actually got the chance to...

[Malcolm McLeod]

Speaking of RS500's...
I recall back in the 90's a prominant NZ motorsport personality owed a RS500, and a motor dealer arranged a meeting with him to purchase the car.
However said dealer "kidnapped" motorsport personality, and threatened him with I believe, a syringe.
Dealer got jailed, an accomplice however was found not guilty.
Although I'm not mentioning any names, the "Motorsport Personality" has been involved at top level motorsport in recent years.
I am not mentioning this to slur anyone's name or reputations, I have no axes to grind. It was common knowledge at the time it happened however.

[Haga]

NICE!!:) Are the wheels mag or ali? And what is the difference between the castings? Looks like really good brake clearance inside that rim.

Alloy....more "meat" on rear of spokes on later ones.

[Rod Grimwood]

What happened here, I don't remember this. (yes I know he has crashed, but where, how, who with etc)

I think its a Sierra

Looks pretty messy

[Steve Holmes]

Thats when Dick went Nascar racing. Its either the Calder Thunderdome, or when he ran some selected Nascar events in the US. He was a HUGE hit in the US, because he would talk to tv commentators during the races, something the regular Nascar drivers wouldn't do.

[Rod Grimwood]

Thanks Steve, he was good at publicity alright.

[Malcolm McLeod]

What happened here, I don't remember this. (yes I know he has crashed, but where, how, who with etc)

I think its a Sierra

Looks pretty messy

February 1988 inaugral Calder Park Thunderdome NASCAR meeting. There is a photo of this crash on pages 182-183 in the book "Dick Johnson The real story of a folk hero" that was taken after the first impact, but prior to the one that inflicted the damage to the rear. He didn't finish....
Incidently, the car is a Thunderbird Rod...totally different to a Sierra!!!!!!

[Rod Grimwood]

Could not see the badge Mal, cheers

[John McKechnie]

Could not see the badge Mal, cheers

Thats got to be the absolute BEST reply i have ever come across- take a bow Rod.

[jimdigris]

re the 88 Silverstone TT, one angry man with "egg" on his face (hint hint) stormed down pit row and had a few angry words with the Johnson team (in English, despite him always pretending to the media he didnt speak it) to which a certain Kiwi who was running the Johnson team replied with "no bad feelings Rudi, we will even sell you one of our diffs" (dicky's team had homoligated the harrop developed diff based on the trusty ford 9", which was a heap cheaper and simpler to run than the hi-tech official Ford unit)

[Robert Bailey]

those Moffat cars must still be very strong in the bodies...considering how little they raced.

[Steve Holmes]

How many cars did Moffat buy off Eggenberger? Was it 2?

Also, did Moffat ever actually buy the RS500 he shared with Andy Rouse in the Australian rounds of the WTCC?

[jimdigris]

Pretty sure that the Rouse car returned to the U.K, Moff only leased it. All his future Sierra's were Eggenbergers with the lot. Moff cause quite an eye opener getting an eggenberger car because up until that point Eggenberger had refused to do a "customer car" for anyone, Moff must had has pretty influential connections. Moff must have been jinxed though, Rouse had never had a Getrag break before Bathurst, and the next couple of years his cars were in a position to win Bathurst but each time was struck down with terrible bad luck. Remember the head gasket blowing after the very long period under the safety car when his car was a lap up on everyone including eventual winner Longhurst? I really felt for him that day. And on the 88 race, the result could have been entirely different if only LP had listened to the privateers in practise that the rocker studs were faulty and if only he hadnt given walkinshaw a drive who thrashed it!

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Jim, yes this was my vague recollection of the Moffat/Rouse match up in 1987. The car was supposed to continue on to New Zealand following the two Aussie rounds, but the pin was pulled before this happened.

[jimdigris]

It was a long time ago and my memory is a bit scratchy so Im not 100% on this but Im reasonably confident the car did not go to NZ for the WTTC round at Wellington after Calder, but it did go to Mt Fuji. I cant recall why Rouse didnt go to Wellington, it was the only round of the WTTC he didnt compete in. At Mt Fuji the car was back to the Andy Rouse team, not A. Moffat Enterprises or whatever the name was for the team at Bathurst and Calder. IIRC Rouse came second at Mt Fuji and was only becuse he was punted into a big spin by a brakeless local car which flat spotted his tyres and he had to have an extra pit stop which effectively handed the race to Ludwig/Niedzwiedz. Moff definately was not there, Rouse's co-driver was a local Japanese driver, I cant remember his name. I think I read in Auto Action that the car was sold to a Japanese team after Mt Fuji, but returned to the U.K some time later, I dont know if the deal fell through or not, I seem to recall it was raced in Japan in 89 though but Im not quite sure

[Terry S]

It was a long time ago and my memory is a bit scratchy so Im not 100% on this but Im reasonably confident the car did not go to NZ for the WTTC round at Wellington after Calder, but it did go to Mt Fuji. I cant recall why Rouse didnt go to Wellington, it was the only round of the WTTC he didnt compete in. At Mt Fuji the car was back to the Andy Rouse team, not A. Moffat Enterprises or whatever the name was for the team at Bathurst and Calder. IIRC Rouse came second at Mt Fuji and was only becuse he was punted into a big spin by a brakeless local car which flat spotted his tyres and he had to have an extra pit stop which effectively handed the race to Ludwig/Niedzwiedz. Moff definately was not there, Rouse's co-driver was a local Japanese driver, I cant remember his name. I think I read in Auto Action that the car was sold to a Japanese team after Mt Fuji, but returned to the U.K some time later, I dont know if the deal fell through or not, I seem to recall it was raced in Japan in 89 though but Im not quite sure

To complete the loop on Moffat and Sierras, fed up with Rouse after 1987, in 1988 he managed to buy an Eggenberger Sierra. Rumoured to have cost AUD 300,000, a heck of a lot of money for the time.
He did not take it to Mt Fuji that year, but did in 1989 when teamed with Klaus Niedzwiedz he won the race. This turned out to be his last race as he quietly retired. A great honour to win your last race. The race was 2 days after his fiftieth birthday.
For further info Google Allan Moffat and open the Wikipedia site.

For a very interesting comment on Andy Rouse I quote from Mick Webb who was Moffat's chief mechanic at the time:
"I was sent to England to do the deal with Rouse. I got a hell of a shock when I arrived at his workshop in Warwickshire. Anyone who has been on a tour of our top V8 teams will know how clinical the workshops are. Even in those days we tried to keep Moffat's workshop as clinical as we could, but Andy's workshop was the complete opposite. I remember walking into the workshop and thinking I have never seen so much garbage in my life. I had been to Heidelberg Motor Wreckers (Melbourne) before and I think Heidelberg Motor Wreckers was tidier. There were so many car parts - engines, gearboxes, you name it - spread all over this little four or five car garage. There was absolute shit everywhere and I thought "What have I done?"
I remember getting on the phone to Moffat that night saying "I think we have made a mistake".
At Bathurst it would have been a successful campaign if the car had been more reliable. We later learnt that the gearbox was an old unit, and there were a few other faulty things so the car wasn't up to the job"

It's very interesting to get an honest alternative view on things.

[Steve Holmes]

Hey Terry, thats a great quote from Mick Webb! Very interesting. In hindsight, Rouse did come good in 1988, and beyond, and he enjoyed a very popular victory at the Silverstone TT in 1988 when he finally beat the Eggenberger cars, by being both fast and reliable.

[Steve Holmes]

It was a long time ago and my memory is a bit scratchy so Im not 100% on this but Im reasonably confident the car did not go to NZ for the WTTC round at Wellington after Calder, but it did go to Mt Fuji. I cant recall why Rouse didnt go to Wellington, it was the only round of the WTTC he didnt compete in. At Mt Fuji the car was back to the Andy Rouse team, not A. Moffat Enterprises or whatever the name was for the team at Bathurst and Calder. IIRC Rouse came second at Mt Fuji and was only becuse he was punted into a big spin by a brakeless local car which flat spotted his tyres and he had to have an extra pit stop which effectively handed the race to Ludwig/Niedzwiedz. Moff definately was not there, Rouse's co-driver was a local Japanese driver, I cant remember his name. I think I read in Auto Action that the car was sold to a Japanese team after Mt Fuji, but returned to the U.K some time later, I dont know if the deal fell through or not, I seem to recall it was raced in Japan in 89 though but Im not quite sure

Yes thats right Jim, no Rouse/Moffat for Wellington. Looking back at the end of the season on his 1987 experience with Rouse, you could see why Moffat moved mountains to buy an Eggenberger car in 1988. Of the Asia/Pacific WTCC races, the two Eggenberger cars finished 1st and 2nd at Bathurst (later dq), 1st and 12th at Calder, 1st and 3rd at Wellington, 1st and 5th at Fuji. Meanwhile, the Rouse car failed to reach the finish in either Aussie race, didn't appear at Wellington, and finished 2nd at Fuji. To be fair, the Rouse car was FAST, but unreliable.

[Milan Fistonic]

Looking for something else and came across this shot of the Peanut Slab Sierra at Pukekohe.

20744

[RSZWEI]

Here are some more RS500 photos. Again, none are mine - I've just found them on the net over the years and saved them - Sharing them because they're great shots of awesome cars.

The REAL 1987 Bathurst Winner - taken at the WTCC round at the Calder Park Thunderdome;

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/079.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/079.jpg.html)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h319/superfordpix/texaco3.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/superfordpix/media/texaco3.jpg.html)

The real cheats you mean?
The Europeans werent very good at playing with a straight bat in the 1987 WTCC were they? Light weight M3's, dodgey fuel and wheel arches on the Cosworths . . .

[Steve Holmes]

The general consensus within the various factory camps seemed to be that if everyone was cheating, nobody was gaining an advantage. It was really only the Bathurst WTCC race which really brought it to a head.

[conrod]

It was Frank Gardner who placed the protest against the Eggenberger cars, nobody else would do it (probably because they were all cheating too!) For 1988 Gardner switched from the M3 to the RS500, and found it extraordinarily difficult to buy parts from Ford to built his race cars;)

[jimdigris]

I had been to Heidelberg Motor Wreckers (Melbourne) before and I think Heidelberg Motor Wreckers was tidier.

I once made a trip to the very same wreckers in the early 90s to pick up some pistons for a 351 a friend was rebuilding on the cheap so he could sell it. There was not one square inch anywhere where there was concrete that wasnt swimming in old sump oil and mud. And old bloke led me out to a back corner of the main shed and said take my pick, as he pointed at about 50 44 gallon drums full of old pistons, luckily they had the engine type painted on the side of the drum. the place was like you see in the movies with rednecks cutting up stuff with oxy right next to fuel cans and gas cylinders! I had also been in Mick Webbs engine centre six years early when he was selling rebuilt 351s to the street community and Ive seen grubbier hospitals so I know what Mick means

[Steve Holmes]

Out of interest, what became of the RS500 raced by Ray Lintott in Valvoline colours? I believe this was a former DJR team car? Has it since been restored back to DJR livery?

[Haga]

Hi Steve

This is the last listing I read of DJR car owners:


DJR1 Andy Lloyd - UK
DJR2 Ian Goff - UK (Under restoration)
DJR3 Holmes Family
DJR4 Bowden collection
DJR5 Bowden collection
DJR6 Chris Stillwell
Promo car? in Tasmania Motoring Museum

I read (a couple of years ago) that DJR3, the ex Lintott car was being restored. Never seen any recent photos of it. I think it was still in QLD?

[Haga]

Re: the Promo? car in Tassie Museum, here is a pic of it.

It seems to have "knockoff" wheels and a cage but the rest of car looks standard (standard Sierra bonnet, mirrors, wipers, no fuel dump fittings etc). My guess it is a promo car?

Maybe Ellis has some info as it is in his neck of the woods...

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/081-2005.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/081-2005.jpg.html)

[Ellis]

Its still in museum
When next in I'll get a bit more info

[Terry S]

I see that on V8 supercars.com.au their Saturday sleuthing bit is looking for ex Moffat Sierras.
They say may be Bruce Miles in NZ. So should be someone here who can respond

[Steve Holmes]

I'm sure one of those cars is in the UK now Terry?

[Steve Holmes]

Re: the Promo? car in Tassie Museum, here is a pic of it.

It seems to have "knockoff" wheels and a cage but the rest of car looks standard (standard Sierra bonnet, mirrors, wipers, no fuel dump fittings etc). My guess it is a promo car?

Maybe Ellis has some info as it is in his neck of the woods...

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/081-2005.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/081-2005.jpg.html)

Interesting car. Its been fitted with a rollcage. I wonder why they went to this much trouble for a promo car?

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Steve

This is the last listing I read of DJR car owners:


DJR1 Andy Lloyd - UK
DJR2 Ian Goff - UK (Under restoration)
DJR3 Holmes Family
DJR4 Bowden collection
DJR5 Bowden collection
DJR6 Chris Stillwell
Promo car? in Tasmania Motoring Museum

I read (a couple of years ago) that DJR3, the ex Lintott car was being restored. Never seen any recent photos of it. I think it was still in QLD?

Thanks, this is great info. The two cars in the UK, are they presented as DJR Shell cars, or were they raced by someone in the UK in the era? Didn't Rob Gravett have a couple of DJR cars?

[Haga]

DJR1 and 2 went to Rob Gravett

DJR1 (now-ish)

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/DJR12005Donington.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/DJR12005Donington.jpg.html)

DJR 2 (early this year)

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/DJR2Resto006.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/DJR2Resto006.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Brilliant photos. Where is the first photo taken? Also, why is DJR 2 white?

[Haga]

Brilliant photos. Where is the first photo taken? Also, why is DJR 2 white?

The note on my DJR1 photo says Donington 2005.

DJR2's history is a bit of a mystery. It last racecar use was as a tarmac rally car. The owner must have been extremely happy to find out it was a DJR car. It appears to have lost all/a lot of its GroupA parts along the way.

Also as a DJR car it was originally LHD.....it is now RHD.

Pic of it as tarmac rally car:

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/DJR2003.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/DJR2003.jpg.html)

[jimdigris]

am I the only one here who thinks a crime has been committed? :(

[Steve Holmes]

The note on my DJR1 photo says Donington 2005.

DJR2's history is a bit of a mystery. It last racecar use was as a tarmac rally car. The owner must have been extremely happy to find out it was a DJR car. It appears to have lost all/a lot of its GroupA parts along the way.

Also as a DJR car it was originally LHD.....it is now RHD.

Pic of it as tarmac rally car:

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/DJR2003.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/DJR2003.jpg.html)

Thanks again for this. I'm really scratching my head over why the car was changed around so much. Its the paint that I find the most surprising. Race cars were/are just tools, built to perform a job. While many get repainted on the outside as new owners and sponsors come along, the interiors and engines bays usually remain in their original colour. The Bryan Sala Sierra is a good example of this, being an ex-B&H car. Sala painted the outside white and red, but the interior and engine bay remained in B&H yellow, as stripped every last nut and bolt to repaint the interior/engine bay etc is not something most teams worry about. As long as it looks good on the outside. So its interesting DJR 2 was fully stripped back and repainted white, including interior and engine bay. Its amazing, without guys like you who keep a check on all the different chassis', I'd never have guessed that this was once a DJR Group A car racing in Aus!

[928]

you can lose a lot of weight by stripping all the paint off (depending on how many repaints the car has had) and you also get to repair all the cracks and remove all the bog. updates to the chassis are easy and covered by new paint.
something for all you overweight race ca owners to think about next winter.

[Steve Holmes]

Yep, that is a very good point! ^ ^

[Steve Holmes]

Here is the RS500 Chris Bowden was racing at the 2013 Australian Muscle Car Masters.

21556

[Steve Holmes]

Some of the RS500s running (and expiring) at the 2013 Silverstone Classic. The Labatt's colour scheme is still my favourite on a Sierra.

21557

21558

21559

21560

[CobraV8]

When these guys were racing at the Wellington street race I was lucky enough to get a press pass (dad worked for tvnz and put race cams in). As well as meeting Dick Johnson, and some others I walked around bits of the track that only the press were allowed in, and got some good shots with my cheapo camera. I will dig them out and scan them over the weekend.

[neale]

I just saw this on the Bowdens facebook page:


From a photoshoot yesterday with Dick Johnson and John Bowe at Lakeside. Look out for the upcoming article in unique cars magazine.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1233980_10151600754350741_122899324_n.jpg


Heres another pic of their growing collection of DJR sierras

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/64821_280760862054098_991165326_n.jpg

[neale]

Here is a bit more info on DJR 1

http://www.v8supercars.com.au/news/saturday-sleuthing-dick-s-shell-sierra

Although not long after this article was written DJR 1 had a little accident

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/28740_391161097662760_2023853265_n.jpg

[Ellis]

[QUOTE=Haga;33640]Re: the Promo? car in Tassie Museum, here is a pic of it.

It seems to have "knockoff" wheels and a cage but the rest of car looks standard (standard Sierra bonnet, mirrors, wipers, no fuel dump fittings etc). My guess it is a promo car?

Maybe Ellis has some info as it is in his neck of the woods...



Talked to Museum today 24/9

Owned by Shell
Std Sierra engine
May have raced ....and not in Australia
Used as Promo car by DJR

I'll ask JB when I see him next if he knows more

[Haga]

Eliis...great work....thanks for the effort.

[Ellis]

Eliis...great work....thanks for the effort.

[QUOTE=Haga;33640]Re: the Promo? car in Tassie Museum, here is a pic of it.

It seems to have "knockoff" wheels and a cage but the rest of car looks standard (standard Sierra bonnet, mirrors, wipers, no fuel dump fittings etc). My guess it is a promo car?

Maybe Ellis has some info as it is in his neck of the woods...



Talked to Museum today 24/9

Owned by Shell
Std Sierra engine
May have raced ....and not in Australia
Used as Promo car by DJR

I'll ask JB when I see him next if he knows more



Just off phone to JB....25/9/13

Car has no race history whatsoever
Built up as merchandising car only
Exhaust tube roll caging...etc etc

[jimdigris]

Murray Carter's gorgeous black road registered (NSW Australia) Sierra. I offered to test it for him as his race car was lacking speed, but strangely he declined my offer :rolleyes:

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/2594/xzd1.jpg

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/7629/4pju.jpg

[jimdigris]

The first outing of Allan Moffat's brand new Rudi Eggenberger built Sierra RS500. Surprised everyone when he appeared, not many knew he had one!

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/7797/fkdw.jpg

[Robert Bailey]

I think by the time AM got his RS500,he had already sold his transporter?

Some of the time the RS500 was towed on a open trailer?

[jimdigris]

It arrived at Wanneroo Western Australia on a trailer, but I dont know if it crossed the Nullarbor like that or in a transporter, I can't remember :(

[Terry S]

It arrived at Wanneroo Western Australia on a trailer, but I dont know if it crossed the Nullarbor like that or in a transporter, I can't remember :(

I remember him at Amaroo (can't remember the date) he had it on a trailer behind a rental van.
I believe they had an accident on the way back to Melbourne with the car and trailer rolling

[Haga]

Bathurst next weekend so I thought I would post a pic.

Car just back from signwriters...1992 Bathurst livery. Still a lot of work to do but at least it looks the part now.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/28092013320.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/28092013320.jpg.html)

[conrod]

Bathurst next weekend so I thought I would post a pic.

Car just back from signwriters...1992 Bathurst livery. Still a lot of work to do but at least it looks the part now.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/28092013320.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/28092013320.jpg.html)

Stunning job, well done!!! What events is Brett going to run it in? Would be a great fit in the Historic Touring Car class, as they allow replicas, and that is certainly one of the better ones!

Conrad

[Haga]

Stunning job, well done!!! What events is Brett going to run it in? Would be a great fit in the Historic Touring Car class, as they allow replicas, and that is certainly one of the better ones!

Conrad

Hi Conrad....it will be tidy, basically look like a car that has raced all its life but been maintained. Definitely nowhere near the standard of your masterpiece!!

In regards to what event Brett is running.......he is not interested in driving it!! Basically the deal is that he is building a new car and has no time with building that plus business and family commitments. So his words to me were "you build it, you drive it". So the car has been in my shed and I have been doing or organising all the work on it. He has the majority of the parts and I just go around to his workshop and grab the bits I require.

At the moment I am behind schedule as I hoped to have it running at the Whittakers Meeting @ Manfeild. Now hoping for early next year. Will need to do a few low key test days to sort it..and driver!!

Only plan to do a few meetings per year....Whittakers, Festival, maybe SI Cromwell Easter etc.....nothing serious....more about having a road trip and a few beers with the boys!!

[conrod]

Only plan to do a few meetings per year....Whittakers, Festival, maybe SI Cromwell Easter etc.....nothing serious....more about having a road trip and a few beers with the boys!!

Sounds good, most of the guys racing in the Historic Touring Cars have that same attitude too :) I am only doing a few meetings a year in mine too, no point wearing it all out! I am going to do the Lady Wigram meeting in 4 weeks, then festival, then Skope Classic,(Ruapuna, Levels, Invercargill) then to OZ for Phillip Island Classic. PM me if you want to do any of these meetings, I can probably help to get a deal on shipping or free entries etc.

Conrad

[Steve Holmes]

The first outing of Allan Moffat's brand new Rudi Eggenberger built Sierra RS500. Surprised everyone when he appeared, not many knew he had one!

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/7797/fkdw.jpg

Wow, great photo Jim. I vaguely recall he qualified well first time out, but was very slow off the line.

[Steve Holmes]

Bathurst next weekend so I thought I would post a pic.

Car just back from signwriters...1992 Bathurst livery. Still a lot of work to do but at least it looks the part now.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/28092013320.jpg (http://s571.photobucket.com/user/hagaxagt/media/28092013320.jpg.html)

That is cool!

[neale]

Some great pics, I'm loving this thread.
Does anyone know what happened to Murray Carters road car, is it still in the country??


& this looks amazing, it would be great to see on the track
http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss152/hagaxagt/28092013320.jpg

[neale]

Here are a couple of pics from a track day I went to the other weekend, its a replica but it is a genuine RS500 & looks the part.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1380594_632256690129454_1112588300_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1380706_632256713462785_1531096058_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1378707_632257286796061_257977171_n.jpg

[mark.silcock]

Great thread about a great car!

Does anyone have any interviews or quotes from the drivers describing what they were like to drive? I think I remember the Rat saying it was the hardest car he has ever driven but cant find anything to back that up.

Cheers
Mark

[librules]

There's no doubt they required a delicate right foot. I remember watching Wayne Park (a very experienced driver in a variety of vehicles) at the Dandenong Rd Corner (Sandown) in the 2nd Peter Jackson Sierra. He couldn't help spinning the rears up big time, much more so than the faster Sierras in front of him.

Here's a recent contribution from Unique Cars magazine on the DJ/JB Sierra combo.

http://www.uniquecarsmag.com.au/news-and-reviews/article/articleid/86029.aspx

There is an link to a video in the article which is also worth watching.

[501racer]

Andrew Bagnall and Graeme Crosby 1989 RS500 Group A car with Gullivers Travel / TV3 / Wynns sponsorship built by Ross Stone at Meidecke Motorsport found . I have this car in Aust , it was sold as a shell with parts by Meidecke and converted to a PRC rally car. It is being returned to gp A spec. Do you have any of its history ? Ronal wheels required . Neville 0412676734