Holden HDT Commodore 1983 News

Racing legend Peter Brock drove many race cars in his long and successful career. And with his passing late last year, the value of his classics increased dramatically. So it's not surprising that what could be the most important car of his life, where he first began his racing passion, has been valued at a massive $400,000. Or is it surprising?It's not a vehicle from the muscle car family and there's no V8 power under the bonnet. The only race track it's been on was a self-made dirt course on the Brock family farm.It has no brakes and has been sitting in pieces for more than 50 years.But now, the 1929 Austin 7, the car where the racing legend learned to drive at the age of 12, is driveable once again.After six months of hard work, restorer Peter Denman has returned the car from Brock's childhood to its original form.As a friend of Brock's and with his wife as the director of the Peter Brock Foundation, Denman put his hand up for the job.He used four photographs that were taken at the time by Brock's older brother Neil, to help in the restoration process.The photographs of the engine, chassis and rear end allowed him to recreate the car as closely as possible.“The car was remarkably complete except for a few items,” he says.“The original engine was on it and the chassis was the original. It needed quite a bit of cutting rust out and so forth.”Denman says that despite its small size, there was considerable work involved, including a rebuild on the front and rear ends, the gearbox and repairing the engine.The engine was in a poor state and was split in half, so Denman had to call on the Austin 7 club to help weld it together so the original engine could remain in the car.Another obstacle Denman faced was the flooring. As the original had rotted away, he used wood Peter had collected to make his own furniture in recent years.Brock's younger brother, Lewis Brock, last weekend re-enacted the image of Brock racing around the family farm in his first car.He says the image of Peter and his dad working on the car is etched in his memory.“I won't forget it, all the boys were involved in varying degrees, but it was Peter's car. He did the work on it,” he says.Lewis fondly recalls Peter getting into trouble from their mother for cutting the body of the car with an axe. He says she was more concerned about the damage to the axe.Lewis believes he and Peter were the only two to have driven the car as youngsters and the one time he got behind the wheel, he ended up in a palm tree.“I was struggling to get my legs down to the pedals,” he says.Lewis says his brother had to fine-tune his skills of going down through the gears and putting it into a slide in order to stop.Brock drove the car until he was 16. Although many decades have passed, Lewis says the noise of the engine is still identical from their childhood.“It's fabulous,” he says. “When we started the engine, my uncle Sandy was there ... we looked at each other when the car fired up and said that's the same noise.”Both Lewis and Denman describe it as interesting to drive, Denman claiming it feels like a “rocket ship”. “It only weighs probably 200kg.“It's very, very low to the ground, it's something that you couldn't describe,” he says.Lewis is concerned over the lack of brakes and says he won't be driving it again until brakes are installed.The previous owner bought the car from Sandy Brock 45 years ago and had it sitting in the roof of his factory for most of that time. About 10 years ago he discovered it was Brock's first car.Lewis says Brock knew about the car, but didn't have any plans to reclaim it. But after Brock's death last year, the owner decided to sell it and it was purchased and donated to the Peter Brock Foundation by a supporter.“Peter would be rapt,” Lewis says. “He would think it was a hoot and he was probably sitting on the back axle watching me drive it. That's what it felt like.”If Brock's history was taken out of the picture, Denman says the car would be worth a lot less.“The car itself is probably worth $2000 if you wanted to buy one, for the chassis, the engine, that's what you'd pay,” he says. “It's the history of the car, the car is complete.”The Peter Brock Foundation will now display the car at different shows and racetracks around the country and it's likely to end up in a museum.“When Peter signed signatures he'd put on posters `follow your dreams',” Lewis says.“That's where it started for him, he turned it into something to hone his skills in.”And Lewis says Peter would want everyone to see it. While this might have been his first, there are many more cars where Brock mastered his driving skills. According to the fans and collectors, Brock would have raced more than 100 cars during his time on the track. The most valued and important of those would have been his victories at Bathurst.Queenslander Peter Champion has a collection of 32 Brock cars, both ones he raced and road registered models.He's collected the cars over the past 15 years and believes they would be worth between $6 million and $7 million.The collection includes a replica of the Austin A30 Brock raced in 1967, a project Brock's step-son James Brock completed for Champion. The first Bathurst car Brock raced, the 1969 Monaro is also in the collection, as well as the 1974 L34 Torana and the 1982, 1983 and 1984 Bathurst-winning Commodores.He also has the Ford Sierra and the 2002 Motorola-sponsored Commodore that he raced at Bathurst. And Champion this week said he and his team are currently rebuilding the car that claimed Brock's life.“I'm guessing they're worth from half a million to a million each, that's what people say. I don't get involved, they're not for sale.”As Brock's friend, navigator and competitor, Champion wants to share his collection from Brock's career with the public.“I'm building a museum which I have been doing for a number of years. Peter was involved in with me for quite a few years. A lot of the personal stuff, he gave to it,” Champion says.“The reason he was an icon was because he always had time for people, he always stood there and signed autographs, he stayed well after dark.”Champion says the museum should be opened in Queensland by the end of the year.Fellow Queenslander, David Bowden, has his own slice of Brock history. He owns the Bathurst-winning A9X Torana's from 1978 and 1979, as well as Brock's 1987 VL Commodore. He says that although the value of the cars has increased with Brock's passing, Bowden's not comfortable talking about what they're worth.“It's so hard, he was such a good mate to everyone, that I hate talking about things like that,” he says.The value is not important, Bowden says, as he wouldn't consider selling them at this stage. He says he's spent too much money building up his collection to sell them.“I don't expect to jump on for a quick profit,” says Bowden, who often sends his cars to Bathurst so the public can see them.“Brocky” did his last hot lap at Bathurst in the 1979 A9X Torana. Where are they now? Brock's classic cars 1967 Austin A30 original lost, replica owned by Peter Champion1969 Monaro (Bathurst third place) owned by Peter Champion1972 XU-1 Torana (Bathurst winner) owned by Glen Amos1973-74 XU-1 Torana sold last year for $500,000 to an anonymous Melbourne buyer1974 L34 Torana owned by Peter Champion1975 Torana (Bathurst winner) lost1978 A9X Torana (Bathurst winner) owned by David Bowden1979 A9X Torana (Bathurst winner) owned by David Bowden1979 Commodore (Round Australia trial winner) owned by Holden1980 Commodore (Bathurst winner) claimed to be owned by Rowan Harmon1982-83 VH Commodore (Bathurst winner) owned by Peter Champion1983 VH Commodore (Bathurst car) owned by Peter Champion1984 VK Commodores (Bathurst winner and third) owned by Peter Champion and the Bathurst Museum1986 Commodore Spa 24-Hour Race owned by Peter Champion1987 VL Commodore (Bathurst winner) owned by David Bowden1988 BMW (Bathurst car) unknown1989-1990 Ford Sierra owned by Peter Champion2003 Monaro 24-hour race winner owned by Rob Sherrard2006 Daytona Coupe owned by Peter Champion 

The Peter Brock Trophy will be presented by Brock's brother Phil to the winner of the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday, the sterling silver perpetual award a lasting memory of Peter Perfect at the racing circuit where he carved his remarkable reputation. The nine-times Bathurst winner died in a rallying accident in WA last month. The slim line cup mounted on polished hardwood, produced by Hardy Brothers Jewellers, took over 200 hours to construct and was only completed yesterday before being chartered into Bathurst and unveiled today. Inscribed with the words "King of the Mountain", the 2.5kg and 50cm tall trophy will become one of Australian sport's most coveted prizes for many years to come. "It will be around hopefully a lot longer than most of the people in this room," said V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane. "In future years there will be two mini replicas, just like the Melbourne Cup has done, for the winners of this race. "It will be one of the great trophies of motor sport in the world. "It's got a base insurance value of $75,000, but after this week it's priceless." Stuart Bishop, CEO of Hardy Brothers Jewellers, endured many sleepless nights over the past three weeks designing and manufacturing the Peter Brock Trophy. "It was created in less than three weeks, we usually take two to three months to produce the Melbourne Cup," said Bishop. "It was finished yesterday morning, the last finishing touches ... it was tight, very tight. "I actually had to charter a plane to get here quick enough. "It's an absolutely fantastic honour that we have been able to and were asked to produce this trophy." Cochrane said the trophy was a fitting and lasting memory of the sport's biggest champion. "It is truly a piece of work, absolutely magnificent and a fitting testament to the great life and legacy that Peter Brock has left us with." AAP

Skaife, who succeeded Brock as Holden's No.1 driver, has found it difficult to accept the death of his mentor and idol in a West Australian rally crash last month. But a Bathurst weekend without the undisputed King of the Mountain will highlight the huge hole Brock's death has left. "More than anything else this weekend, the finality of it is more real," Skaife said. "It's probably now more at the forefront of our minds than it has been, even with the funeral and the memorial service. "There was an air then that you hadn't really accepted it yet. But when we get to Bathurst and there's such a traditional King of the Mountain status that he had here and so many fans have been up and spoken to us about the same thing, 'I can't believe it, Peter's not here'. "It's the first race meeting without him. It's very strange, it's quite a difficult thing." Even in death, Peter Brock dominates the atmosphere at the Bathurst 1000 this year as much as he did on his way to nine victories from 1972 to 1987, including six wins in seven years. The most popular figure in Australian motorsport will be remembered with a vacant place on the front row of the grid, eight of his nine winning cars taking a lap of the Mount Panorama circuit, a homily, a minute's silence, a video tribute and the inaugural Peter Brock Trophy for the winner of Sunday's race. And then there are the tens of thousands of tributes inscribed by fans on the wall at the newly named Brock Skyline, the highest point of the mountain circuit which overlooks the track Brock ruled for two decades. The tributes range from the spiritual: "Lord, Motorsport is our religion, Holden is our God, Brocky was our messiah, Watch over us disciples" and "God has gone to heaven" to the regal "Brocky Still King Always", "Only One King", the contemporary "The Only Australian Idol", the blokey "Onya Mate, Brocky RIP" and even the confused "Brooky". Brisbane man Darrell McGrath, however, has made the most personal of permanent tributes, with a tattoo of Brock covering his entire back. "My back's a tribute to the king," McGrath said. "The man meant the world to me." Even if all the tributes and emotion overshadow the race itself, Ford driver Jason Bright believed it was only right that Brock's legacy dominated the first event without him. "It's not going to be an easy event, but rightly so," Bright said. "It's a major loss for Australian sport, the Australian public and Australian motorsport especially. It deserves to have this respect. "But at the same time, Brocky would just be saying get out there and do it and not worry about him. "It's going to be a tough weekend emotionally for a lot of people." AAP

There were black bonnets and the body of a blank silver VZ Commodore in pit lane at Bathurst, with moving personal tributes on banners around the track. The bonnets are a mark of respect at the Holden Racing Team, Brock's home for much of his racing career and his most memorable victories. Fans are being invited to sign the silver Commodore this weekend in a tribute to their hero. It has been supplied by Holden Special Vehicles and will eventually be housed in a museum, perhaps with most of the Holden classic collection at Norwell in Queensland. Brock was the talking point yesterday, even though the V8 Supercars are hitting the track this morning to begin the fight for Australian motor sport's biggest prize. "Being at Bathurst brings a lot of the Brock aura back to the fraternity," driver Mark Skaife said yesterday. "Everywhere you go, up on the hill, there are notes from people and best wishes from people who want to pay their homage to Brock. "Almost every question today has been about what the event means with Peter here. So it's very much at the front of our minds. "Apart from the funeral and the memorial at Sandown it has been hard to rationalise. But now we're here it is front of mind." Still, Skaife is at Bathurst to race and he and co-driver Garth Tander are one of the top choices for the great race, alongside Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup in the best of the Falcons. "When you climb on board you have a job to do," Skaife said. "There is a lot of tribute stuff that will be happening just before the start, but it is our job. And Brock wouldn't want it any other way. "He wouldn't want it to be an obituary. He would want it to be a motor race."

Peter Brock's daughter Alexandra said her father was fallible. Bev Brock, the mother of his two children, said he had betrayed her when he left her for another woman. The man himself said he was a provocateur. But to the thousands of fans at the Bathurst 1000 this weekend, the late Peter Brock will be revered as the King of the Mountain, Peter Perfect. The dignitaries and politicians paid their respects to Brock at his state funeral in Melbourne last month and 10,000 of his heartland fans honoured the 61-year-old at Sandown raceway three days later. It's Bathurst's turn this weekend. Mt Panorama is where the legend was born and grew and the mountain is where it will be celebrated with the most vigour. Following Brock's death in a West Australian rally crash on September 8, New Zealand driver Jason Richards lamented the huge hole his passing would leave at Bathurst. ``It just won't be Bathurst without Brock,'' Richards said. But Brock will be inescapable this weekend. Rarely silent and not known for their piety, this year's expected Bathurst crowd of 60,000 will hear a homily for Brock from V8 Supercars chaplain Gary Coleman on Sunday followed by a minute's silence. Before the race, big screens around the track will show a video montage of Brock's near 40-year career. Like an empty chair at the dinner table, there will still be a place for him on the track - the front row of the grid will be left vacant. His cars will still crest the mountain - the nine Holdens in which he won the race, from the 1972 Torana to the 1987 Commodore, will be driven on a tribute lap. And his name is now indelibly linked to the race and not just in the record books - the winner will receive the newly commissioned Peter Brock Trophy. With so much emphasis on paying homage, dual winner Rick Kelly, one of the favourites to be the first name on the $75,000 trophy, acknowledges the shadow Brock casts over Bathurst 2006. ``To win it this year would be quite special,'' Kelly said. ``There's going to be a lot of emotion up at the mountain this year with the passing of Brocky and knowing what he's done for that event and motor sport in general in Australia. ``We have to be a little bit careful we don't let that get in the way of winning the race. ``We've all been touched by Peter and his achievements so it will be tough to keep that out of our minds and go up there and do the job.'' V8 Supercars Australia chief Wayne Cattach said this weekend's Bathurst tributes were the most appropriate way to farewell the first superstar of Australian domestic motor racing. ``The most befitting place for a tribute is Bathurst,'' Cattach said at the time of Brock's death. ``He forged his name in motor sport on that mountain, I think the fans will come to expect something special and we will provide that.'' Bathurst council will also provide a permanent memorial with plans to erect a statue of the man who built his first race car in a chookshed. He made such a name for himself driving that Austin A30 in sports car events, he was invited by Holden to drive in the Bathurst 500 in 1969. Thus began an unparalleled career in domestic motorsport and an enduring place in the hearts of Australian motorheads. But even those who didn't know their twin cam shaft from their carby knew Peter Brock. He earned the Peter Perfect tag as much for his persona off the track as for his nine Bathurst wins and three touring car triumphs. He was the rockstar of the sport - married to a former Miss Australia, charismatic, good looking, drove fast cars, won lots of trophies. Every bloke liked him and plenty of women fancied him. The women were a weakness, but he had many strengths. Mark Skaife, Brock's successor as Holden's No.1 driver, said he was ``someone we all aspired to be.'' ``He had flair, he had a flamboyance, he had determination and he had creativity.'' But he was also well grounded and humble - the sort of bloke the lads camped out on Mt Panorama could relate to. He was always happy to stay behind and sign autographs and was generous with his time and advice to young drivers. AAP

Investigator Alun Mills said finding a cause of the tragedy has been made harder by the fact Brock's highly skilled driving showed little variation at critical stages. Brock's braking, acceleration and use of gears - among other indicators - were remarkably similar at comparable places throughout the Targa West Rally stage outside Perth. Sen-Constable Mills, of West Australia's major crash investigation section, said Brock took corners similar to that on which he died within a 1km/h range of speed. "It's not like he's gone into the other corners at 40km/h and done this one (the fatal corner) at 80km/h," he said. Sen-Constable Mills said the exact cause may never be known and his office may need to present the coroner with a range of scenarios. "It's like a computer driving the car. You're trying to find something that's not normal in his driving and it's not there," Sen-Constable Mills said. The case shapes as one of Australia's most detailed crash investigations. Data from the high-powered coupe's black box recorder, which logged every performance indicator, is still being retrieved as investigators try to get a more precise picture of what happened. Video footage shot from within and outside the Daytona on September 8 is also being utilised. Police are yet to receive the results of a survey they did of the corner where Brock lost control and slammed into a tree. Sen-Constable Mills said the survey's detailed recording may help find answers to why Brock crashed at a speed at which he safely negotiated other corners.

But James Brock, 30, believes dealing with the public outpouring of emotion for his legendary father has helped him cope with his family's shock loss. James Brock today announced he would pilot his dad's 1984 Bathurst 1000-winning Holden Commodore around the Gold Coast street circuit before the October 21 V8 Supercar support race during the Indy program. Peter Brock, 61, died when his racing car crashed in the Targa West rally near Perth on September 8. James Brock was touched that he had been asked to complete the tribute but admitted it would be "eerie" getting behind the wheel of a car his dad made famous. "There may be some slight apprehension on my behalf in having to confront quite a few people who want to extend their condolences," he said. "I'm a bit more of a private person than he was so that's something that I am not particularly looking forward to. "I'm sure it will (be eerie) ... it's all nice and comfortable and then you get in there look at the thousands of people around you and see how much emotion they have ... but it's an honour." James Brock will also be competing in the V8 Ute series as part of the support program for the October 19-22 Indy event. He also completed a lap at the recent Australian Motorcycle GP in the LJ Torana XU-1 Peter Brock took to three Australian Touring Car championships. He will do it again when he leads nine vehicles in which Brock tasted Bathurst 1000 success as part of a huge tribute at the October 5-8 Mount Panorama endurance race. Peter Brock earned the moniker "King of the Mountain" thanks to his record nine Bathurst 1000 victories and six pole positions at Mount Panorama. "It's difficult, obviously it (Brock's passing) is still fairly recent," James Brock said. "There's still some personal stuff you've got to deal with. "But the support people have shown around the country and across the world has made it a lot more easier. "Even events like this (Indy) has forced me to confront it, deal with it - it all helps. "There will be a few tears I'm sure up there at Bathurst so hopefully at Indy the mood would have lightened and it will be more of a celebration." Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today did not rule out following the lead of Adelaide re-naming a section of its V8 Supercar street circuit in Brock's honour and erecting a permanent memorial at the Indy track. "I wouldn't rule anything out. But we haven't discussed that and wouldn't do that without talking to the (Brock) family," he said. James Brock also welcomed the Bathurst Regional Council's suggestion to erect a statue of his father at Mount Panorama.

CARSguide reader Adam Pawlowski let us know that he was keen to share his YBROCK plated ute with other fans, so he is the inaugural entrant. Send us your favourite memorabilia and we'll preserve it in our Peter Brock Memorabilia gallery. Keep your files under 2MB, which means you'll need a compression program such as Winzip. You can send as many pieces as you'd like to: feedback@NOSPAMcarsguide.com.au. Remove NOSPAM from that email address. We get a bit of spam here, so we ask that you put in the subject line Peter Brock Memorabilia, otherwise it might get lost and not featured on the site. Also tell us your favourite Brocky moment at Mount Panorama. Click on the Feedback to the side and let rip.

About 10,000 people today packed the raceway where Brock, killed in a rally in Western Australia two weeks ago, won nine Endurance classics.They heard from contempories including teammate John Harvey and team owner Fred Gibson, as well as from Mark Skaife, the five-time Supercar champion.Ford driver Allan Moffet, who was Brock's major rival in race tracks around the country during the 1970s, choked back tears as he spoke of his friendship with the Holden legend.Skaife, who inherited Brock's leading role in the Holden team, described the nine-times Bathurst champion as a driver who had an amazing ability."He had flair, flamboyance, determination and creativity," Skaife said.As part of the tributes, Brock's son James drove a lap of honour in a replica of his father's Austin A30, in which he first sprang to prominence.As the Austin crossed the line, Brock's daughter Alexandra waved the chequered flag.

Federal MP Fran Bailey led the tributes this morning after family and friends gathered at St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and hundreds of fans poured into nearby Federation Square for a live broadcast of the service. She said "Peter was down to Earth, a straight-shooter", who cared deeply about his local community, the environment and Indigenous issues and had "an almost self-deprecating sense of humour". "Peter's incredible success as a racing legend was integral to his public persona, but Peter was a man of many dimensions," she said. "Live life to the full, make it happen but always give something back to others" was his philosophy. "Many of us will remember him for his enthusastic kindness." Former Collingwood footballer Peter Daicos told the congregation: "I loved his humour, he made you feel at home whenever you were around him. "He was my idol, but he was everyone's friend. (I want to) thank him for being so real." Race commentator and former touring car driver Neil Compton said Brock didn't like funerals. "Peter absolutely hated funerals and the halo of sadness that hovered over them. "There was absolutely no room for misery or the negative in Peter's world, so we'd all better straighten up right now." He said the racing star was "life-enhancing" and "life was better for having Peter as a part of it". "He was truly a man of the people. Fans he generated 30 years ago kept coming back. He spent hours signing autographs and chatting, particularly with young fans. "But Peter Perfect was not perfect actually. He was human and he had human feelings." "He found it easy to engage with fans, but sometimes found it hard to express himself, even to his family." Mr Compton told Brock's children that their father was enormously proud of them, even if he wasn't always able to tell them. Hundreds of fans who could not get into the service, filled nearby Federation Square for the live broadcast. Holden's trademark red and black was dotted among the crowd, and many of the mourners carried flowers. Sporting luminaries and politicians joined Brock's partner Julie Bamford, former partner Bev Brock and other family members inside the cathedral for the 11am service, which was shown live on TV. A new Holden VZ Statesman hearse adorned with BROCKY number plates provided by a fan delivered Brock's coffin to the cathedral earlier this morning. The coffin was draped in the Australian flag and decorated with Australian native flowers. Brock was killed when the car he was driving hit a tree during the Targa West rally near Perth on September 8.