Alan Moffat finesses his big, powerful ‘works’ HO Falcon around the tight, technically demanding confines of Sydney’s Warwick Farm February 15 1970…
This will be a support race for the ‘Warwick Farm 100’ F5000 Tasman series round, am intrigued to know who won this ‘Series Production’ encounter. Perhaps a Holden Torana GTR-XU1, WF more suited to the nimble but powerful 3 litre/186cid Holden 6 than the 5.7 litre/351 cid V8 ‘Big Henry’?
Moffat won the ‘South Pacific Touring Car Championship’ series conducted over the four Australian Tasman events but i wonder if he won this round?
Photo Credit…
Doug Eagar
primotipo... 
Colin Bond won the round driving a Holden Monaro GTS350. The series was the 1970 Tasman Touring Series, (rather than the “South Pacific Touring Car Championship”) contested over three rounds, at Surfers Paradise, Warwick Farm and Sandown. Moffat won the series and Ford won the Manufacturers Trophy.
I should have mentioned that the GTHO Phase 2 was not put into production until June 1970, so this would be a “Phase 1”.
Thanks Rob, appreciate the corrections and additional information, raises a couple of questions;
.what were the main differences between the phase 1 and 2 HO’s, both ‘Windsors’ weren’t they?
.when did the HDT start using the XU-1 as their primary weapon as against the big ‘Munro’
Happy New Year!
Mark
The Phase 1 had the Windsor but the Phase 2 used the Clevland 351. I’m not sure exactly where and when during 1970 the HDT debuted the GTR XU-1 but its first major event would have been the 1970 Sandown Three Hour 250.
According to Harry Firth (as quoted in Australian Muscle Car magazine Issue 29), the XU-1 made its track debut in a touring car race at Warwick Farm on 6 September 1970. Driven by Colin Bond, it won the race.
Interesting Rob, didn’t realise it was that late.
Whilst at Uni in the mid-70’s I helped a mate with an FF, his tow car was an LJ-XU1. I drove it quite a bit bit both with and without the Bowin on its trailer and thought it a fantastic car. Great size, bags of torque, good brakes and a nice gearbox, the only thing wrong with it was it wasn’t a Ford! All too soon it was replaced by an XA Ute which was a better tow car but not quite the same at all.
My only experience of an HO was driving a mates car for a day on an FPV Magazine shoot in 2002, when the Phase 2 was 30+ years old, so the context was not the same as the XU1 which was driven ‘in period’. I thought the engine was great but the Top- loader pretty ‘orrible, the front suspension was doing one thing, the rear another and the seat a different thing again so I can’t say I really enjoyed the drive.
But a fantastic car; what Marvin, Gibson, Goss, French et al did in them was amazing.
I drove a few Chargers in period but only ‘poverty packs’ not the ducks-guts E38 or 49, in many ways one of these may have been the nicest ‘roadie’ of the lot.
Great shame Chrysler pulled the pin from the race program when they did, the spec, with the 4 speed box was about where it needed to be at that stage…
Mark