Articles by David Burrell

With this year's running of the Indianapolis 500 it will be 50 years since a front engined, Offenhauser powered race car last won the world's biggest motor sports event. And the guy who profoundly influenced that outcome was Sir Jack Brabham.In 1961 Sir Jack took a rear engine Cooper Climax to the famed oval. No one gave him much of a chance, and many derided the Cooper as toy-like.By comparison with the big, long, sleek Indy roadsters, with their radical left-offset Offenhauser power plants, the Cooper was a small, spindly and fragile thing.And if an engine hanging out of the back was not enough of a challenge to existing Indy orthodoxy, then the fact it was not powered by an Offenhauser really got everyone talking.You see, Offenhauser engines dominated American oval tracks and for as long as anyone cared to remember the sound of racing was "Offy, Offy, and Offy"The unitary construction of the motor (it had no separate cylinder head) meant it was not vulnerable to head gasket or cylinder stud problems. Accordingly, car owners could run higher compression levels than what was achievable with other motors of the day.It was the power plant you had to have to win at Indy and that was the accepted wisdom until Jack arrived.Brabham did not win at Indy that year. He finished ninth. AJ Foyt won. But Jack showed the way of the future and it wasn't front engined and it wasn't Offy powered.In 1963 Ford combined with Colin Chapman's Team Lotus, Jim Clark and Dan Gurney ( who would go on to drive for Brabham) to qualify two fast, rear-engined cars, running Ford's new 260 cubic inch V8. Clark ran second to Parnelli Jones and gave roadster owners and drivers a BIG fright.Chapman and Clark returned in 1964. It was to be a dark year in Indy history. Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald, in two the "new fangled" rear engine cars, died in a turn four crash which became a raging inferno. You can see the horror of it all on YouTube by entering ‘indy1964'.Clark exited on lap 47 with a collapsed left rear suspension and AJ Foyt won. Officials knew the writing was on the wall for the roadsters. As soon as the podium festivities were over they rolled Foyt's  Sheraton-Thompson Special straight into the Indy Museum.It is the only Indy winner in the museum to not have been restored. It made a recent appearance at the Amelia Island Concourse de Elegance and the stone chips and oil sprays are still plainly visible on its handcrafted panels.Clark and Chapman won in 1965. A front engine roadster never saw success at Indianapolis again. By 1967 even the venerable Offenhauser engine was in a rear engined car and Johnny Rutherford gave the iconic engine its last win in 1976.Jim Clark, Dan Gurney, Colin Chapman and Sir Jack Brabham, they changed motor racing as we know it.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au

TV and film companies are just starting to realise vehicles that have appeared on screen can be worth big money.

If ever a car has penetrated the psyche of the young Australian male, then the Holden Sandman panel van and utility ranks right at the top. Combining youth, freedom, power, sun, surf and sex, the Sandman had it all. There was nothing subtle about a Sandman when it hit the streets in 1974. Its bright primary colours and Sandman decals screamed out a warning to fathers that their daughters might not be safe. It was a sales success right from the get-go. Years later it was immortalised in a postage stamp.Its genesis came when Holden’s product planners noticed the ever increasing sales of V8 panel vans and utilities to younger customers. At the same time Holden’s design department, led by Leo Pruneau, had watched the increasing trend of customised panel van interiors and wild exterior paint jobs. You and I know them as "shaggin waggins" Leo tells the story: "During the HQ model run I asked Peter Arcadipane to do some decals for us and some long side stripes. We put Monaro front guards on a Belmont panel van, blacked out the headlight surrounds, added a Monaro GTS steering wheel and stood back as they flew out of the dealerships."Based on that experience, Leo and his team picked the brains of some van customisers. "We found they wanted a van with a Monaro GTS sports interior with bucker seats, a wide choice of engines and transmissions and a bare bones panel van section out the back. That was because everyone wanted to customise the back themselves, with stereos, carpet, mirrors and a mattress. So that was what we did with the HJ onwards" remembers Leo."We also put a huge Sandman decal across the tailgate. In fact, when we showed it to the directors they just looked and shook their heads and asked if we were really serious," says Leo. "You bet we are" he told them.Leo also wanted to have a mattress as an official Holden option. The then CEO said NO to that idea. But Leo did get a tent to cover the rear tailgate on the options list. The advertising folks did not hold back either. "Suddenly your car becomes your personal pleasure machine" said the brochure. "Lean, lithe and ready to go" shouted the print advertisements. It was a toss-up if they were describing the car or the occupants because none of the advertisements seemed to contain a fully clothed person over the age of 21. Ford and Chrysler quickly followed with their Sundowner and Drifter respectively, but the Sandman always topped the sales charts. When the HZ ceased production in 1980, so too the Sandman. These days a Sandman from the 1970s are prized classics. Original and tidy V8 manuals go for upwards of $25,000.

Patrick Harrison bought his 1977 Triumph 2500 TC (for twin carburettors) for just $1500 and now uses it as his daily driver.Patrick was originally looking for a late seventies Valiant. "I drove a few of them but they seemed heavy and I was not impressed." he says. Then, as always seems to happen with classic cars, he saw an advertisement for the Triumph and discovered it was just in the next suburb."It was a three owner car and was originally delivered in South Australia. It was in average condition for its age. The basics were ok , the engine had no issues  and the red exterior paint work was good , however the owner had done a number of  minor repairs and liked to use blutack as a bonding material ", Patrick reflects.During the next three months, Patrick and his father gave it a complete going over, which also saw the suspension and interior replaced. "I bought a complete interior for only $100 and added the venetian blinds to the rear window "Patrick says proudly." I could not have done it without my father's help " he adds.The Triumph Club of Victoria provided plenty of advice and encouragement during the restoration, particularly in sourcing parts and information. "I'm their youngest member," says Patrick.Initially released in the UK in late 1963 in two litre form, the Triumph 2000 was a prestige six cylinder car  aimed right at the mid-level manager market. Boasting independent rear suspension, power front disc brakes, a wood panelled dashboard, high quality seat trim and styling by Italian Giovanni Michelotti the Triumph was an immediate success. Later upgrades included the 75kW 2.5 litre six and refreshed front and rear styling.Patrick's car has a four speed manual transmission and the rare power steering option. "It drives just like a 21st century car" says Patrick. "I've never had any mechanical problems with it".Back in the day, Australian assembly of Triumphs was undertaken by Australian Motor Industries (AMI) in Melbourne. AMI also produced Toyotas, Mercedes Benz and the American Ramblers. Patrick's car is likely to be one of the last 2500TCs to have gone down the line, as production ceased in 1978.With its look-at-me red livery the car draws attention. "I've had numerous amounts of people stop and talk to me. Some have even offer me cash on the spot for the car", Patrick told Carsguide. He's not selling but he is considering his next classic. "I've been thinking about getting a Stag," he says.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

Look at any photo of a Minor in a village or country-side setting and you cannot but think "England, 1950s".And so it is with Lance Blanch's 1957 Morris Minor utility. His beautifully restored car is a reminder of a quieter and gentler time, when a Sunday drive was a pleasure, not a fight along clogged roads.Lance's ute has been in his family since 1960. His parents bought it from a tradie who was upsizing to an Austin A40 ute. "We lived in a country town and they needed a ute to haul stuff around ", explains Lance.Lance learnt to drive in the car and his mother drove it all the time until just two weeks before her death in 1995. "After she died the Morris came to me and I kept it garaged for a few years. I then decided to give it a full restoration and it was back on the road in 2009", says Lance.The car has been regularly serviced all its life and when the restoration started the care taken of it over the years paid dividends. "It only had a little bit of surface rust and there was no rust in the frame at all" Lance says. Even so, Lance took the car back to bare metal and rebuilt it.Lance ensures he drives it at least once a week and it always attracts attention. "Lots of people come up to me and ask about the car. It seems everyone has either owned a Morrie or knew someone who did" he says.The car has its original number plates, original engine and steering wheel. The wood inlayed dashboard does make a concession to technology, with a CD player now in place of the old transistor car radio. Recognising the need for safety, Lance has installed seat belts ,high backed bucket seats and front disc brakes.Lance is a constant promoter of Morris Minors and is active in the Queensland Morris Minor Club. "We've been able to organise a display day at the RAAF's Amberley air base Heritage Centre on May 18th ", he says. "The RAAF has offered us the opportunity to have our cars displayed alongside all of their histrionic airplanes including  Sabre, Mirage and F111 fighter jets, Sioux and Iroquois helicopters".This rare opportunity has already enticed 50+ cars to enter the event. All of the Minor variants will be represented: two and four door sedans, convertible, Traveller station wagons and, of course, Lance's utility.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

He called his car the Scarab (after an Egyptian beetle) and being a very successful aeronautical engineer Stout designed his multi-purpose vehicle as if it was an airplane.For the 1930’s the Scarab was light years ahead of conventional automobile design and construction. It did away with a full frame chassis and separate body. Instead, it was the first vehicle to feature tubular aluminium space-frame construction and four-wheel independent suspension. The aircraft-like body had flush glass and hidden hinges to reduce wind resistance. There were no running boards and the mudguards were incorporated into the body.To ensure maximum interior room, the engine was rear mounted. Stout chose a flathead V8 Ford because of its compact size and high horsepower for the times. The brakes were hydraulic (Ford only moved from mechanically activated brakes in 1939!). The floor was flat and the interior boasted a dust filter to ensure pollen-free motoring, ambient lighting, heating controlled via thermostat and power door locks. The leather seats that could be repositioned to fit around a table. Entry was through the front doors or sliding side doors.You will not be surprised to hear that all of this innovation and luxury came at a cost. The $5,000 price tag was ten times that of a basic Chevrolet or Ford and you could get a used Model T Ford for under $100. And then there was the styling! Those of a kind nature called it quirky. Most labelled it ugly.Stout had planned to produce about 100 Scarabs a year. Trouble was that in the middle of the Great Depression, with almost 20% unemployment in the USA, very few people could justify its sky high price and even fewer like the styling. Consequently, only nine Scarabs were ever built, each with a slightly different interior layout.Five Scarabs are known to survive today. A running example is on show at the Owls Head Auto Museum in Maine, USA. It also achieved a cult status in the Australian developed video game “LA Noire” as one of the “hidden” cars gamers can find and use. Stout died in 1956. His credo was "Simplicate. Add lightness".David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au

As the successor to the XA model, with its 'coke bottle' shape and raked windscreen, the stylists at Ford gave it a Mustang Mach 1 inspired front end and grille. The result was a car that looked lean, muscular and fast.Frank Hileay has owned his black V8 XB Ute from when he bought it new, on 10th October 1974. Since then he's driven it 400,000km and, according to Frank, "it has not missed a beat in all those years".Frank signed the deal at the now closed Holmes Ford dealership in Melbourne. He selected the Falcon 500 trim level and the GS Rally pack, which gave him two air scoops stretching down the bonnet, gold GS stripes, additional driving lights, the GT dashboard and twelve slot wheels. He then added the five litre V8 (302 cubic inches) and automatic transmission."I had to wait six weeks for it to be delivered, because back then black was not a common colour" says Frank. The Ute cost $4,400 and he still has the original sales receipt showing the car is a factory ordered GS.The patina of age is starting to show on the Ute's paint and chrome but this does not deter Frank from driving it almost every day. "I've used it in my roofing contracting business since new, and it has never let me down. It drives as good as anything else available today and it has never been in an accident", says Frank.The car always attracts attention. "People come up to me and ask if it is for sale and tell me to call them if I ever intend selling", confides Frank. So, would he sell it? "No way" is his quick and forthright answer.Ford pioneered the market in aggressively combing style, comfort and work space in Utilities, particularly with the XB. This appealed directly to the growing group of tradespeople who wanted more than a poverty pack work vehicle. The stylish design came from using the front doors and frameless windows of the two door Falcon hardtop rather than the more upright, pillared sedan doors. The massive rear cargo tray comes from the Ute to sitting on the longer Fairlane wheelbase.The XB range was a big success for Ford. They sold 212,000 units during its almost three year production run and it helped move them ever closer to Holden in the sales race.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

And with good reason, because the LH is the second last Holden to be fully conceived, engineered, designed and built in Australia. The VE Commodore was the last. Styled by Leo Pruneau and his team, the mid-sized Torana package appealed to a broad cross section of consumers. It was one of the few cars in the world specifically designed for four, six and eight cylinder motors.Lowest on the model hierarchy was the four cylinder poverty pack. In the middle were the sixes and a few creature comforts. At the top, more race car than street machine, sat the awesome SLR 5000 with the L34 V8 option pumping out nearly 250kW. That was big power in the mid 1970s.That Leo Pruneau styled the LH Torana provides a wonderful serendipity. For it was Leo who, ten years earlier, styled the Vauxhall Viva which morphed into Australia's first Torana. Leo spoke to Carsguide about designing the LH. "We got the right shape very early in the program and it was consistent with General Motors design language at the time. If you look at the Chevrolet Vega and Vauxhall Ventora you can see the similarities, particularly around the grille and side view", he says.Leo also confided that the grille was originally planned to be bigger and bisected by a much thinner chrome bumper bar, similar to the Vega. "We could not achieve that look because the body engineers did not like it, so we compromised with a smaller opening under a wider bumper bar."The dash board was also a result of corporate consensus. Pruneau's team had styled a sculptured, rounded facia, but Holden was eager to gain exports. That meant the dashboard had to accommodate left and right hand drive configurations. A flat symmetrical facia was the easiest and cheapest to make and that's what went into production.A station wagon and two door coupe were also planned for the LH range. The wagon never got beyond the prototype stage. The two door was redesigned into a hatchback and made it on to the market in 1976. The LH Torana has an enduring appeal in the classic car market. Entry level examples can be had for under $10,000 while original SLR 5000s go for over $60,000.In 2004 Holden resurrected the Torana name and dimensions as a four door hatchback concept car. It makes you wonder if instead of spending a billion dollars on developing an upsized, longer, heavier Commodore, they'd spent it on a new mid-sized Torana they might not be downsizing the organisation now.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au

It is low, long, wide and the interior is as big as all outdoors. It is softly sprung, and rides elegantly over potholes and speedhumps. Power steering eases the task of negotiating the blue car through traffic. Power drum brakes attempt to retard progress. The regulation V8, a mammoth 6.4 litre unit, powers the rear wheels through a 'CruisOmatic' transmission.Peter has owned the Ford for 43 years and it is his daily driver. The Galaxie's first few years on the roads are a bit of a mystery. There is a legend that someone attempted to drive the car off the end of the Frankston pier in Melbourne. Whatever the Ford's early life, it first came into Peter's orbit when the second owner, the son of a mate, inserted the car under a truck. The young guy lost interest in fixing it so Peter obtained the car, gave it the once over and has been driving it ever since.Inside the Galaxie there is easily room for six adults. Eight can fit in if they are good friends. The futuristic dashboard is a glittering array of bright diecast fittings and sharp knobs set against an emerald blue steel facia. The steering wheel is deeply dished, as was the style in 1963.The horn rim stretches two thirds of the way around the inside of the wheel. You cannot miss it.Peter's Galaxie is distinguished by its continental tyre kit at the rear of the car. Constructed by Peter's son Frank, a decade ago, the distinctive addition draws comments where ever the car is parked. Frank is also in the process of restoring a '63 Galaxie convertible. When it is finished it will be black with a red interior.The 1963 Galaxie is a rare automobile in Australia. Very few were imported and converted right hand drive by Ford. Peter and Frank believe that their Galaxie is only one of seven or eight sold by Ford in 1963. Ford in the USA used the '63 Galaxie (and Lotus Cortina) to spearhead its return to global motorsport under the evocative banner of 'Total Performance'.They created a fast back coupe, gave it a 7 litre V8, had Holman and Moody work their magic on the motor and suspension and started winning on road and oval tracks. Drivers such as Sir Jack Brabham, Dan Gurney, Jim Clark, Fred Lorenzen, Jack Sears and Sir Gawaine Baillie all spent time in a Galaxie. A couple of '63s found their way out to Australia. Len Lukey, Lex Davidson and Norm Beechey manhandled them around our tracks. It must have been an awesome sight!David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

Way back in February 1968, when Brian Jolly's next door neighbour rolled up in a brand new V8 HK Holden Kingswood, little did Brian know that 46 years later the same car would reside in his driveway. "It's my baby," says Brian of the pristine, metallic blue sedan.Built in the Dandenong factory the car is a perfect example of Holden's efforts to retain market leadership by offering increasingly affluent buyers a longer, lower and wider car featuring a bedazzling array of factory options and all wrapped in a swaggering new shape.Holden's advertising blitz urged buyers to indulge themselves and "personalise" their new car. The choices were formidable : power steering, power windows, four engines (three sixes and the 5.0-litre V8), drum or disc brakes, bench or bucket seats, automatic or manual transmissions (three and four speed), five interior and 10 exterior colours, white wall or redline tyres, airconditioning, venetian blinds (yes!!!) and the list went on and on.Adding to all of that, the upmarket Premier shouted out its prestige and difference with four headlights, metallic paint and a formal, Cadillac-style roof line. It is no wonder that Holden claimed they could make one million HKs and no two would be the same.Brian's neighbour wholeheartedly embraced the idea of creating his own HK. "He ordered it from the Reg Hunt dealership and was very particular about what he wanted," remembers Brian."What he wanted was a Kingswood with the 5.0-litre V8, powerglide automatic, power steering, front bucket seats with the centre arm rest, power disc brakes and the heater from the Premier."This combination makes Brian's car very rare because most Kingswoods came with the three litre six cylinder engine and bench seats. Brian drives the car almost every day. "I've had it for eight years. When my neighbour decided to stop driving in 2004 he asked if I'd like to buy it, but on the condition I call it 'baby'," admits Brian. And that's what he continues to call it."I spent four years restoring the body and bringing it back to new. The interior was much easier. It was in showroom condition, thanks to my neighbour using sheep skin seat covers from day one," says Brian.  The effort has paid off. The car has been a multiple trophy winner at Holden car shows since 2010.On the road the HK cruises with no effort at all. The V8 is totally under stressed and the disc brakes and power steering make for easy driving in 21st Century traffic.HK Holden's are fabulous first time classics. They are not expensive and, because Holden built 199,039 of them, parts are easy to find.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au