Classic Rally Car regs: a dog's breakfast?

[Frank York]

Originally Posted by Frank York

George........build the Galant (Andy Cowan replica gets my vote).

Ahhhhhh.........nicely sideways.......

[bob moore]

Originally Posted by Roger ROY

Bob,
that waterloo wreckers car looks suspiciously like one of my old Galants or part of it, whats the history? and your Torrie pickie is posted elsewhere)
Roger

Roger, the Waterloo Wreckers car was the ultimate "Formula Gabriel" Galant. Around 1976/77 Chris Gabriel, an ACT rally champion, came up with the idea of installing complete LA Lancer front ends in Galants, to overcome the inherent weakness of the Galant front suspension. Chris also came up with the idea of fitting top trailing arms to the rear axle, and Panhard rods. All of this was legit under Group G (almost everything was legit under Group G!)

Chris helped me convert my red Galant in 1978, after I'd tried and abandoned Lancers (including fitting turrets, trailing arms and Panhard rods to tame the rear end.) Charlie Bell had a similar-specification Galant, hence "Formula Gabriel".

I had assumed that these modifications (plus fitting a 1700cc 4G35) would exclude me from the Southern Cross but, in 1978, ASCC extended the eligibility rules to include FIA Group 5 (i.e. "prototypes"). And it turned out that Group 5 accommodated everything I'd done to the red Galant. The first photo above was taken in the '78 Cross.

Regrettably I made a slight mistake on the second night of the Cross. We were able to fix the worst of the damage, and finish 11th outright, but the shell was unwell.

This led me to buy a poo-brown, little-old-lady one-owner car, which was built up to Gabriel-specification from the start. It was a fabulous car - essentially the red car re-shelled. Then, in one of life's little bite-you-in-the-bum moments, I decided that I should grow up (I was all of 35), focus on my family, and retire. So I sold the car to Greg Harmey, who organised the Waterloo Wreckers sponsorship and the Lancer Turbo colour scheme (hence the second photo), and had quite a successful run in it.

So it's actually not me who missed the apex in the second photo, but Greg. However, you could argue that it was an apex-missing-incident of mine in the red car that led to the creation of the brown car.

So, if your old Galant was a brown GA with Lancer front end (including struts), curved Mazda RX2 trailing arms, a Gemini Panhard rod, Alfa rear discs, 7" circular Cibie headlights, a 4G35 running Dell'Ortos (not Webers), and an LA Lancer power booster/master cylinder, guess where it came from . If you need more information, let me know. Do you still have it?

[Roger ROY]

Nice but not mine, mine did look very similar from the front, dunno what hapened to mine, Ive seen a few parts around so I spose it got parted out, could be on a farm somewhere under a tree with yours checked out the Torana photo yet?

[George Pile]

Mine had the Lancer front end,booster and master cyl fitted to it as well as a 4G35 with Solexes on a Lynx manifold,GSR Lancer extractors. I sold it to Jim "mudflaps"Whites brother in law and lost track of it.
Wouldn't mind finding it again tho

[bob moore]

Originally Posted by Roger ROY

checked out the Torana photo yet?

Thanks, Roger. Sadly, I don't think it is mine, which had very little signwriting, and black-and-white number plates. The one in your photo seems to have black-and-yellow plates.

[Michael Bramble]

Originally Posted by George Pile

Where does this ,eave me with my Galant build?
I have the car (which my mother is driving around at present while I straighten up and respray her VZ Crumpledoor ,heaps of period engine and running gear bits and a lot of time on my hands.
I haven't driven competively ,or even been a car club member for almost 30 years and don't want to put countless hours and dollars into something I cannot use.
Am I better off canning the project and building a Pinto engined Mk11 Esky or LA lancer?

George
Go the Galant, you don't want to have to wear gloves working on a Escort. You will get germs from a ford product.
Some photos.

Regards Michael
Motorsport Memories Australia
www.torquenpower.com

[George Pile]

Michael
Seeing that pic of Pauls Colt brought back some memories. My mate and I had a play on the way to herons creek one afternoon up through the old highway from Bulladehla. he was surprised that I only had a bog standard 1400 in mine at the time. He had me on the hills,but I stayed with him on the bends.

[George Pile]

I might not be able to go ahead with my Galant unless I find the lowlife that stole my good bits.

[Mike Morris]

Originally Posted by Roger ROY

Nice but not mine, mine did look very similar from the front, dunno what hapened to mine, Ive seen a few parts around so I spose it got parted out, could be on a farm somewhere under a tree with yours checked out the Torana photo yet?

Hey Roger

I thought you trashed that car on Warks, despite having 2 x navigators to tell you where to go!!!!

[Roger ROY]

nah that was Galant mk1 that I demolished, the car there is Galant Mk2 (with a better cage)