Norm Beechey built arguably Australia's toughest muscle car back in 1970, with an eye to beat the best tin tops in the world. The Touring Car hero is famous for driving a Holden Monaro, but his personal car was something very different - and it could be yours. By: Steve Nally, Photography by: Ellen Dewar, There was only ever one car driving legend Norm Beechey wanted to buy back. Languages. A detailed review of Beecheys title winning season and his profound impact in the sport, pick up Auto Action 1799 online or at your local newsagent. Did Lex still race it after shunting the Cooper that year? We just welded them on and cut them off until we were happy. thats one of the very few shots that I've seen of the car . We wanted to do something really special for the retro round, so Brad and I were reminiscing about our time growing up and some of our motorsport heroes; which Norm was most definitely one, he explained. All my cars had bench seats. A Customline being worked for all it's worth at Catalina Park, Katoomba, New South Wales http://motoring.com.au/reviews/2005/classic-and-rare/ford-customline-3292 It had an extremely heavy flywheel, about 1in thick and weighing about 30lb. It also left its mark on Beechey's psyche too. 1964 krdes msterskapet ver ett race, och dr blev Beechey tva p Lakeside. I saw Stormin Norm race the Len Lukey owned red Galaxie at Sandown, many years ago. The Victorian driver broke a few records with his Imp. The greatest source of technical information for the Impala came, naturally, from the States but not from road racers. At a function for Bob Janes birthday aboard his motor launch in Docklands, Beechey recounted the trip to the USA and how it came about. Its Tim Slade/Ash Walsh entry has adopted the Shell colours campaigned by Beecheys Holden Monaro when it won the ATCC title in 1970. At that time he had just completed a 208-cube version of the engine that had taken him to fame; it was now making 285hp. It wasnt that trick; it was just: thrash it to death.. Norm is a phenomenal celebrity influencer. Racing Geoghegan was always tough but very fair. All three of the BJR Commodore's [] The 1973 IsoLele being auctioned by Shannons in its 2022 Autumn Timed Online Auction from May 17 24 comes from long-term ownership by 1970 Australian Touring Car Champion, Norm Beechey and is one of just 285 of the Marcello Gandini of Bertone-designed, American V8 powered 2+2 coupes produced between 1969 and 1974. All Rights Reserved. The 1970 ATCC was all about Beechey and the fabulous HT Monaro GTS 350. Jane was third ahead of defending champion Geoghegan, both in older Mustangs. "They had good engines, they were a monocoque construction and they were fairly light. On that occasion we discussed his time as a driver for HDT, his role as chief engineer at HRT in the early 90s, and his massively successful Harrop Engineering firm. I broke one or two, but essentially they were good. He had most of the say. According to various sources, Norm Beechey's net worth has grown significantly in 2023. "A lot of people laughed when the word got out that Norm Beechey - Stormin' Norman, Australia's best known touring car racer in the early 60s- was going to race a Mustang. Copyright 2023 Wheels Media, a division of Are Media Pty Limited. "Nothing had beaten a Jaguar (for years)," Beechey recalls. Norm won the Australian Touring Car Championship that year when he imported a brand-new Ford Mustang. Discover Norm Beecheys Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Frankly, it was a humble beginning. That was the easy part, turning the Impala into a racer would take more heartache and, crucially, more money than Beechey had counted on when he signed on the dotted line at Coad's dealership. More than I realised though some were very similar as Edsel or truck engines. Surely this had to be a giveaway win to the V8? Added in 24 Hours. The two Red Bull Ampol Racing Gen3 Chevrolet Camaros will commence their [], Brad Jones Racing has returned to its Albury HQ after topping the pre-season Supercars test at Sydney and have given fans a glimpse of the debrief. It was 1970 that saw Beechey launch the car that would be defining not only in his own career but lives in the annals of one of the greatest Touring Cars the country has ever seen. Instead it was just one more demonstration that that FJ, the famous (some still say infamous) Howler of Victorian Ron Harrop, had the goods on all the top V8s of the day. 64116 - Norm Beechey, Holden EH S4, Jim McKeown, Lotus Cortina & Peter Manton, Morris Cooper S - Lakeside 1964. A hundred miles per hour in a forklift can be a bit dangerous.. said he owned the Galaxie. Norman Beechey A factory Imp was imported by Norm Beechey, a top Australian Touring car driver in the sixties. What was the rules in the day? I'm sure it's been posted before, but it belongs here anyway. I got to know Jack Collins, Greg Goddard and Fritz Norton pretty well, buying camshafts, carburettors and manifolds for the EH. Clinic Appointments - Appointments are based on clinical priority. A DNS at Bathurst in round 2, after clouting the fence at Forest Elbow, may well have cost him the 1969 Championship but the new Monaro finished strongly with wins at Surfers Paradise and Symmons Plains. Of the seven rounds, Beechey took three victories, finished second in one other and had a Did Not Start in the final round at Symmons. Beechey won seven of the 31 ATCC rounds that he competed in between 1963 and 1972 and has largely kept a low profile since his retirement. Inicio; Servicios. Just looking again at a You Tube clip of Dennis Obrien driving the 427 coupe at Sandown. It was the first ATCC victory for a V8-engined car and the first of five ATCC titles won by drivers of Ford Mustangs. "It's Norman Beechey," he says. Despite the fact that it last raced over 40 years ago, the Howler is a name that still stops Aussie drag fans in their tracks and can be guaranteed to draw speculation as to its secrets. We could have run a team of cars for that amount. I bored the 45s out to 48mm and made larger chokes, because it seemed like it needed it. The cars were hard to get during their launch year on the USA market but, in inimitable Beechey style, he was soon in the USA jumping the queue thanks to a chance restaurant meeting in Melbourne with Bill Bourke, head of Ford Australia, who wrote Norm a letter of introduction to Ford USA. Lets start by taking you back to November 28, 1971. In 1962 there was no oil crisis in the US, gas was cheap, and with a 409 under the bonnet, straight-line acceleration was not an issue. Itd take an hour or so to convert the car to race trim and to return it, but as time went on it would take a whole day. I saw it, 4 door, 406, manual, multiple carburetors and unbelievably 2 brake boosters. Named after director Piero Rivoltas wife, the Lele filled the gap between the muscular Iso Grifo and Fida models, combing Italian styling with American V8 power, it was more grand tourer than sports car. John, Lex should have learnt from his 1963 Sandown accident that fixing Galaxie's add somewhat to his racing expenses. Terms of Service. Even in 62-68 they had numerous versions of the FEs. Another I know [its co owner worked for me] is a factory 66 7 litre manual car. Quite the same Wikipedia. Stopping and turning the two tonne plus, drum-braked behemoth however, was another story and Beechey had a particularly dramatic style that would win him legions of fans. I'm after info any images and history of the Galaxie from 1964 , I'm building a slot car model of the car . Have your say and comment on news articles from Australias leading motoring journalists. Ad features his Holden HK Monaro GTS race car. 'Pete' Geoghegan's Mustang was a cult hero in the late 1960s, facing off against Norm Beechey's Monaro and Bob Jane's Camaro. Image: Supplied. Must be 4 doors? We often romance about heroes in motor sport. The Holden project was immense, Beechey said. It was a huge luxury car but in that era if you were a bookie, wealthy businessman, or a farmer you had a Pontiac Parisienne, a Buick or a Chev and the Impala wasn't considered big in those days. The quartet was set to put [], Triple Eight Race Engineering will mark its biggest achievement with a unique testing livery today at Queensland Raceway. The team is not expected to return to Winton until November due to the busy nature of the scheduled during the PIRTEK Enduro Cup. Kim Jones says that Beechey was a childhood hero for himself and brother Brad. Shannons estimates this rare, celebrity-owned classic should fetch a price between $90,000 to $110,000. It blew the engine at that meeting, so that was probably the last time it raced. "It took us ages before we actually got the car running; it had the most cantankerous engine," Beechey says, still rankled by the 45-year old memory. Norm wiki profile will be updated soon as we collect Norm Beecheys Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous Racecar driver. Wilberforce despaired at his friend's end and Clarkson aided the king's wife and daughters when they were exiled to England. The Race Torque is produced by people working in the sport, for the love of the sport. We had a four-point harness that held us in place a bit, but I used to grab a cushion off the lounge at home and tuck myself into that. Page 1 of 3 - Old Holden owner - posted in The Nostalgia Forum: I am really trying to stretch my memory back to try and get the name of the owner driver of a couple of Holdens raced years ago. The big Yank had numerous Achilles heels, ones that wouldn't show up on a US interstate. It was drag racers and NASCAR teams that really exploited the big block Chev and Beechey picked up a lot of tricks from direct contact with US racers and tuners. Gurney's car though, is not Beechey's. Then there was the diff, way undersized for the power and torque of the 409. northern cricket league professionals; breaux bridge jail inmates; virtualbox ubuntu failed to start snap daemon; len and brenda credlin BJR has also renumbered its #21 Tim Blanchard/Todd Hazelwood entry to Beecheys #4, with the car carrying the blue Neptune livery from Beecheys Mustang. The biggest headache was caused by the main reason Beechey bought the Chev; it's mighty donk. Initially I started with SUs but I finished with Webers. At the time it was just what you were doing and it didnt seem that big a deal, Ron says of his time running the Howler. Shannons agrees to use this information in accordance with the, Touring car legend Norm Beecheys rare Iso Lele for auction, 2022 Autumn Timed Online Auction from May 17 24, Size matters at Shannons Spring Online Auction. There was a lot of respect between us,. Years later, at work, a guy named Bruce ?? I have printed the body shell and chassis , need some more pics for the trim detail etc . My EH was doing about 14-dead or thereabouts, and they were doing 13.7s and that dropped my jaw. Holden Monaro. he is one of famous Racecar driver with the age 88 years old group. Beechey competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1963 to 1972 winning the title in 1965 driving a Ford Mustang and in 1970 at the wheel of a Holden Monaro. By July 1969 Harrop was second in the 12sec six-cylinder Holden ranks, behind NSWs Brian Keegan. It was just intended as a road car. It will be a real thrill to see them on track, and hopefully on the podium at the end of the 500.. Surely there had to be some demon tricks: hydrazine in the fuel; nitromethane in the windscreen washers squirting into the carbie intakes; nitrous injection hidden inside the radiator hoses; bulk illegal extra cubes from some massive internal block rebuild. Norm and his wife Marg were friends of our parents, as were many competitors from the 70s so it makes the tribute a very personal one for us.. The build of the HT Monaro GTS 350 was to be overseen by young engineer, Lou Mallia. [2] Contents 1 Race summary 2 Results 2.1 Starting grid 2.2 Race 3 Statistics 4 Notes Han r mest knd fr framgngar i ATCC under 1960 och det tidiga 1970-talet. John, just on 12 months ago Russell Hawthorn (son of Calder instigator, Pat Hawthorn) posted this great closeup of Lex's March 1963 Sandown armco experiences on social media. Completing the line-up is the Nick Percat/Macauley Jones car, which pays homage to the Trident-backed Chevrolet Nova raced by Beechey in 1967. N. Beechey / B. Jane Holden FX - Calder 1962 - Printed with a black border and a caption describing the photo. Ken Box was also involved and he was a brilliant engineer.. I don't understand how it came to have that bonnet bulge in Appendix J. Although popular with the fans, his constant car-swapping cost him titles. Motorcycle Insurance, and speed ENV gearbox, with tuning by Jack Wilson of Norm Beechey fame) power output was In the vincinity of 110 bhp. pick up Auto Action 1799 online or at your local newsagent. Ray, As far as I'm aware the first race with Lex driving it was 4 November 1962 Sandown. Beecheys imposing 5.7-litre Chev-powered Monaro remains one of the most significant and popular cars in Australian racing history. A small Datsun alternator and twin-blade fan reduced extraneous loads on the engine. This is an amazing documentary reviewing Norm Beecheys much celebrated 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship win in his famous HT Monaro. But not too many want to ring up and find out the facts. Emergency Proceed to Emergency Department (ED). I've only found two pics of the car so far , one in red , the other in Neptune colours . Norm or Lex Davidson were probably even worse off for tyres. We used to weld metal gussets on the brake shoes to make them stronger." Attached is a link to a youtube video that records the successful year of 1970 when Norm won the Australian Touring Car Championship in his locally built Holden Monaro powered by a 350 Chev. "When I switched to the S4 Holden, Bobby had got his Jaguar going faster and it still dominated; the Jag's reign only finished when I brought the Mustang out in early-1965. Copyright 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Aussie Muscle Cars . 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