1979 Repco Reliability Trial

[@gusman8195]

I was lucky enough to speak to Peter brock at the check point at port Hedland WA . I will never forget it or him he was and still is my racing car hero, RIP .

[@svenmartin840]

I remember watching this on television. When I was on vacation in Australia in 1979 it was fantastic. I wonder if they still do it today. It would be interesting if they did

[@ldnwholesale8552]

They will never do another like that one. Speeds were high and so was exhaustion for both cars and crews. More so smaller teams who had to do most of the work them selves. There was one in 95 but a far calmer event where the teams actually got some sleep. Won by Ed Ordinski again in a Commodore. One in 98 won by Bruce Garland in a Holden Jackaroo.

[@VincentNajger1]

I really miss this Australia. It's the Australia I grew up in. Born Mt Isa mid 70s...first 4 years in Karumba and then Cairns and all over the Great Barrier Reef.... I couldn't have asked for a more awesome childhood.

[@BradGryphonn]

I was lucky enough to spend most of my early years travelling with parents around outback Australia following dad's work. I am still a wanderer.

[@jimcockburn4652]

Don't we who are old enough to remember this era and back to the fifties have seen so mush change, rural power and black top roads are good for outback people but have impact on outback culture.

[@returnofthenative]

Me too, miss it sorely. 70 now, retired desert truckie WA, & btw, I knew Isa in the 70s. & the snake pit at Boyd's.

[@michaelfraser5723]

IT'S OVER, VINCE, OVER. MINING AND ISLAM TAKE OVER

[@BradGryphonn]

@@michaelfraser5723 "...mining and Islam take over..." Geez, mate, you're all kinds of special.

[@ronanrogers4127]

Drew Morphett narrated, I knew it the second I heard his distinctive voice…RIP you legend

[@ldnwholesale8552]

The Ovlovs are about the same size as a Commodore with far less power!! Fairly tough cars though. Cortinas a little smaller and a little less tough. I spent over 24 hours on the Adelaide control, that after rallycrossing on the Sunday! Teams varied. Ford, HDT, even the Portman crew had a big cast who whipped the crews off to a bed. Others, Larry Perkins in his VW especially laid the seats back and went to sleep in the car. And Larry still has that car recently renovated at Cowangie! HDT were the best organised with all sorts of 'consumeables' at every major stop. Shocks, springs, gearboxes, diffs, brakes were replaced. And their service vehicles carried all of these parts as well. The engines were in effect 202 XU1 engines Bondys Cortinas suffered from a lack of prep, reputedly a rush to build the cars. And the Cortinas were not as strong a car to start with. Though not terrible either. It seems they were a somewhat more standard car. Stones on the road?? Stonies cartoon summed it up that they had GMH part numbers!

[@jerryweirdspeed]

Wait a minute? Are you saying there was cheating in motorsports? How could they! Nah, seriously. Thank you for the insights :D

[@Phil-ww1dv]

What a beautiful country Australia is.

[@abitdazed]

As encapsulated as I was by this co-driver's dedication and ability to stay awake for days drug free giving no instruction for hours at a time I realized that from about 44:20 I simply couldn't follow what he was saying. I repeated the segment many, many times and even used subtitles. I even tried other languages. I just can't understand him. I will continue my endeavor so you don't have to. Wish me luck

[@ray.shoesmith]

I was 10 when this was going on and remember it clearly. It was in the paper every day. Repco got more mileage out of that trial than any advertising campaign they could have ever conceived.

[@blackdoublezero]

smokin, drinkin & BBQ'in

[@southerndiy1]

Love the opening shot and sound of the 202 with triple SUs 🔥

[@KenOath1234]

takes me back to the GTRXu1 days

[@gemcruiser6082]

I was living in Coober Pedy for both the 1977 London to Sydney and this 1979 Repco Reliability. It was great watching all that machinery being pushed near their limits. I also found it interesting in this video that the Stanza was still snapping it's axle tube just to the right of the differential. We had towed two out of four pre-release test vehicles with the same failure

[@grahamwallis5771]

The Stanza had an A9X diff and axle assembly.

[@duncanyourmate2433]

Many forget , thanks for memories , and that two great Peugeot pilots , gave their All , RIP ,

[@wheezymate5922]

My Grandpa was in Car 103. Dr Jim Caudle

[@davidwelch6796]

A brilliant film of an incredibly tough event. I take my hat off to all the driving crews, service crews, admin staff and, not least, the film crews.

[@davidholder3207]

The wife and I with our 4 kids where at the Melbourne showgrounds to see the start. We then drove to watch the first competitive forest stage. I competed against Geoff Portman in rallies whilst a member of Melton Motor Sport Club. Wonderfull days.

[@Van_Der_Lay_Industries]

I picked up a copy of the results of this race in an op shop. It was released just after the rally was finished and includes results for every stage. All hand typed too!

[@peternagel-er7ly]

I remember the Holdens overtaking me on the federal highway at Lake George. Bumper to bumper traffic. They flew past on blind corners. The funniest part was the support cars. Two Sandman wagons right up their arse going just as hard.

[@Sheeny127]

Heading towards Goulburn or Canberra? Either way that’s spectacular

[@peternagel-er7ly]

@@Sheeny127 On their way to Canberra. It was of course the old road and from memory the lake was so full that spray from wind driven waves was adding to the atmosphere.

[@garrygraham]

And each Sandman had a spare Commodore in the back 🤣🤣

[@peternagel-er7ly]

@@garrygraham that’s true. Pretty sure that the roof turret and A pillars made the whole trip!

[@garrygraham]

@@peternagel-er7ly yep, and that's only because they didn't roll it. Otherwise they would have had to cut up one of the Sandmans..🤣 The Portman Stanza was rolled twice and still finished!

[@brianlove8413]

It is a pity that they didn't at least show all of the vehicles at some stage. I crewed for an FJ Holden 207 entry, Jim Reinders and John Lewis from Dandenong, we were in a Mk2 Escort PV loaded to the hilt, flogged the poor little thing around to keep up! Certainly an experience, all those years ago!

[@FelixRigg]

Really fascinating. Thanks for posting.

[@timmy74712345]

Thank you

[@todaywefly4370]

I was just finishing my apprenticeship with the Ford dealer in Mount Isa during this and got to work on one of the Cortinas. We replaced the engine and it was disqualified.

[@Lizardking.420]

Been looking for this for so long thank you ❤❤

[@Dico6]

38:31 - SHAY GAP SHEILAS. Classic.

[@rjl110919581]

GREAT VIDEO TO WATCH AS STILL NO CHANCE TO AUSTRALIA ROADS FROM 1979 TO 2024 ARE HARD TO DRIVING TODAY

[@bunky8077]

Now people seem to think they need a 4WD to take their kids to school...

[@mad-FrenchS203]

Station wagons and saloons, grew up in them. Never perfect but convenient and efficient.

[@jerryweirdspeed]

Helmets are for track racers! Back then. :D

[@meth47471]

Small and Mid-sized sedans traversing rural Australia??? How has it come to be, that everyone now needs a fully equipped SUV to navigate suburban shopping car park?

[@trackdusty]

Gone soft.

[@person.X.]

Marketing and innate pretentiousness.

[@alistairmills7608]

I remember when this came through Melbourne the Final Leg. I was there.

[@maggotiser]

Remember it clearly , worked at United motors at the time . Had a VB with a 202 XU1 and WW Stromberg on it for ease of tune . Was in the pit crew for the Adelaide stage . We serviced it in the bush around Blanchetown and the Barrossa . Usual front struts , reinforced with a bit of of angle iron welded in to stop them bending . Middle of the night all piled in some support vehicle .Finally failed - interstate ,wrong plugs fitted at a GMH dealer !

[@trevorp6951]

Good old Aussie angle iron. After learning to fly looking at a affordable aircraft I could buy ,found a nice craft,but weak suspension.Aussie solution, Angle iron. Became a mod .🍺

[@nzsaltflatsracer8054]

Wearing T-shirt & stubbies racing in cars without all safety shit. Now I have a seven point harness in a form fitting seat, arm restraints, leg restraints, SFI-20 fire suit, HANS device, head sock & a helmet the size of a pumpkin!

[@BIGSMOKE-bl2lq]

Less likely to die if you crash

[@seanduffield2971]

Wow, Prince Leonard!!!!

[@1tufhk]

I done this in real life with my Vk turbo Ls commodore. We entred a charity rally full send. The most powerful charity bash ever built.

[@fingerprint5511]

When Australians didn't sound like Yanks.

[@Dico6]

Back when the ABC was worth watching.

[@060racing8]

20:54 Falcon jumps the start

[@BuiltToRace_com]

Exhaustion Trial actually

[@ranter7100]

I feel Repco has gone backwards bigtime If I was in that race today I'd have never started because Repco are incapable of providing the correct peace of kit.

[@richardw64]

Why would you be surprised the GM teams won? They had spare parts shipped in with a team of mechanics.

[@bradwilliams1691]

They had more than that - this was a complete set up for Holden. In the factory block where I worked there was a sign writer who had the contract for all Marlboro advertising in Australia. In the months leading up to this event, Larry & Dennis' workshop had at least 50-60 commodores through being painted in marlboro livery, they told me straight out that the Holden dealer team were sending out three brand new cars every day. Rigged from the get go.

[@craig3916]

@@bradwilliams1691 utter rubbish. even today the logistics alone of that stupidity would be impossibile, 45 years ago - not happerning mate. wrap your fingers back round the stubby cooler ..

[@trackdusty]

@@craig3916 Hahaha. Yes, he's dreamin'.

[@logsie3918]

That is what my dad said Holden was rebuilding this car at different stages of the race and and full support crews following along whoch gave them an unfair advantage

[@returnofthenative]

I like Olden, him my favourite.

[@lesklower7281]

That was good enjoyed this video and been a Toyota an excellent finish for the Toyota Celica and also the winner Peter Brock

[@crystalzues4712]

Back when Repco was a good company.

[@gikku3]

locking the door with a key, @43.33 it's the little things you forget.

[@logsie3918]

My dad was in the race as a navigator for his team that completed the race in a celica

[@ranjitsian5481]

Nice 👍

[@Paisly17]

Narrated by the late Drew Morphett 😢

[@kentlaxfors421]

Is there any rally like this today around australia ??

[@alistairmills7608]

Was that How many tires have you done Answer 30 or 50 or something. (Meaning theyd had between 20 and 50 flat tyres in tge Citroen ?

[@flickdatbean]

Go Stanza! The winner by far

[@stephenmoutafis5587]

I have a question. How much manpower extra tools equipment spares.backup cars did it take to gift peter brock and holden the event .how far from stock..The xu1 bathurst prep motor put out 190 hp plus at the rear wheels

[@weppanx]

In the only shot of the under bonnet of the Commodore ,IT looked like 2 Carby's.. Two big FO sized air filters. But they were all able to buy or cheat what they wanted. Brock got busted or that later on.

[@garycook8220]

They were able to do a lot. I saw the Rx7 in prep. Totally seam welded

[@fastinradfordable]

If they took away GPS Do you think any of the racers today could make it round?

[@klano8443]

Holden where replacing whole back axles and complete suspension that's not reliability , i bet holden where flogging how reliable they where what crap.

[@bradwilliams1691]

This was a complete set up for Holden. In the factory block where I worked there was a sign writer who had the contract for all Marlboro advertising in Australia. In the months leading up to this event, Larry & Dennis' workshop had at least 50-60 commodores through being painted in marlboro livery, they told me straight out that the Holden dealer team were sending out three brand new cars every day. Rigged from the get go.

[@ronanrogers4127]

do you mean were instead of where?

[@klano8443]

@@ronanrogers4127 were

[@Timberstuff]

You guys wouldn't be Ford guys by any chance Just saying

[@fieldy25]

@@Timberstuff sounds about right

[@VineV-Dutch]

... And then, there was the Dakar since 1979. A race in which you can possibly die. As some legends did. Don't remember this Reece being that hardcore and drivers dedicated to the cause.

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

This should be redone in today's world... But no race prepped cars, it's gotta be available from the factory to the showroom.

[@ladanivadriver1578]

I'd watch that 👍

[@davidporeilly1]

Not many countries where you can drive 20,000 km around.

[@ronanrogers4127]

True. It’s incredible to think Russia’s perimeter is 58,000 km. I’ve been to Siberia…you wouldn’t want to drive around Russia, most of it is impassable

[@martywright1979]

How’s the crash helmets back then looks like a work site safety helmet if anyone had one on to begin with

[@kevinhamling1963]

I never knew that Brock's car was running a 6 cylinder with triple carbies. I always just assumed it was a V8. ✌️ Peace.

[@joereedsmith1531]

All day I see 200k 4WDS driving past with those stupid plastic rescue boards that never get used. They should watch this video.

[@Darren...son4634]

5his is awesome

[@rezablade1375]

Awesome

[@BradCollier-zn2uc]

Miss u Peter. What a tough rally

[@robertwallace7315]

Would like to drive in this race, all the way around the island of Australia

[@jimcockburn4652]

For any people who live on properties close to a rally route or on the rally route to charge to pull a car out of a bog is not a common thing. The opposite has been my experience.

[@bradwilliams1691]

This was a complete set up for Holden. In the factory block where I worked there was a sign writer who had the contract for all Marlboro advertising in Australia. In the months leading up to this event, Larry & Dennis' workshop had at least 50-60 commodores through being painted in marlboro livery, they told me straight out that the Holden dealer team were sending out three brand new cars every day. Rigged from the get go.

[@greggreen1025]

Yeah right and the moon landinga were faked in that same workshop.

[@355sle]

What a load of BS mate, how would they have smuggled new cars in every day with all the press coverage, helicopters & not to mention the other competitors , locals ect. Even under the cloak of darkness it could never of logically happened.

[@neilringram]

Plus they were scrutinised every day. They had to have the same chassis and engine block number otherwise they would be disqualified

[@bradwilliams1691]

@@neilringram Neither yourself or 355sle have any idea as to the power Holden had over the motorsports authorities. Whatever HDT wanted - they got! Neither CAMS or V-8 supercars would ever allow Ford - or any other manufacturer - to dominate motorsports in Australia. End of thread.

[@355sle]

@@bradwilliams1691 Are you implying they liked , Football , Meatpies , Kangaroos & Holden Cars ? Or do you just wear tin foil hats ?

[@chrisnewman7281]

Back when Australia was a the worlds best kept secret

[@frankyork5808]

The only time to judge any car is in its era. Or against cars from its era. To try and find the best M5 of the last 30 years will be challenging and subjective.

[@matchismo]

Is it cool to swear here?

[@VincentNajger1]

So few overweight people!

[@DeanMehrtens]

Typical Holden they rebuilt the whole car along the way and then try call it reliable…. What a joke but much like Peter brocks Bathurst wins in his team mates car that was a dozen laps down. Fake advertising…

[@bradwilliams1691]

This was a complete set up for Holden. In the factory block where I worked there was a sign writer who had the contract for all Marlboro advertising in Australia. In the months leading up to this event, Larry & Dennis' workshop had at least 50-60 commodores through being painted in marlboro livery, they told me straight out that the Holden dealer team were sending out three brand new cars every day. Rigged from the get go.

[@todaywefly4370]

@@bradwilliams1691. Ford wasn’t much better. I got to work on one of those Cortinas and it was in no way a standard TE. And they still only managed to get the one home.

[@bradwilliams1691]

@@todaywefly4370 Being a blue oval guy, I'll be the first to admit that running with the Cortina was not a very sound choice.

[@todaywefly4370]

@@bradwilliams1691 yep. That front end just wasn’t up to it. That engine I took out had an alloy head 2 years before the Falcon got it and the rear axle was a 9” on leafs. Not exactly a Cortina hey.

[@derekmorwood5583]

Um that wasn't a Porsche 914, it was a 911.

[@h-j.k.8971]

Not a 912?

[@Scalihoo]

@@h-j.k.8971 looked like the 912 4 cyl. yup..

[@1knightinbangkok946]

The good old days when there was no racial garbage acknowledging traditional owners etc...

[@picnz1]

I'm guessing you lost hrs of sleep conjuring up a comment like that!

[@ronanrogers4127]

@@picnz1I’m of indigenous descent, Nyungar tribe near Perth, and I can’t stand all that crap too, no one in my family can…get the government to focus on really closing the gap, that’ll do me

[@trackdusty]

@@ronanrogers4127 Better still, get the Abors. to try to do it themselves.

[@peternagel-er7ly]

@@ronanrogers4127 Nice to hear a voice of reason. I often wonder what the ‘gap’ really represents. I was involved in a mining project in the Tennant Creek area. The mining company wanted to inject some value into the local community. Build some things that would really help. The local land council said to me, and I quote: “no mate just give us the cash and my mob will sort it”. The project went elsewhere.

[@chrisbennett1045]

👍👍👍👍👍too true. Well done

[@anthonycavalliotis8736]

People looked different then.

[@Nozinbonsai]

Repco and reliability 😅 not any more all from G.U.D in China now.

[@daviddwight5745]

These days you’d have run out of de-merits before Adelaide 😢

[@jfv65]

Nice euro cars: Citroen CX, Peugeot 504, Volvo 242GT, Porsche 911 and 924, Ford Cortina (aka Taunus) That RX7 is not really an ideal rally car.

[@Dallas-Nyberg]

Yep... those were the days.... no EV's, Hybrids or Internet navigation...it was simply a matter of "No guts, no glory".... back when cars were made to last.

[@alch3myau]

Noice.

[@Phil-ww1dv]

Blimey.

[@mht525]

What no helmets......

[@anthonyjohnson100]

I was born in December of 1979 and I was reincarnated from a racer. Maybe this was the race that killed him who is now me.

[@maakamakana7007]

no crash helmuts and roll cages in them days

[@jefftheaussie2225]

Didn’t you see the roll bar?

[@barrythomas6429]

They don't build them like they use to..

[@michaelfraser5723]

AND WILD ANIMALS; DON'T FORGET THE ANIMALS

[@dalewarriorofthesea3998]

Grandma's Axe It's only had 5 handles an 2 heads

[@davidneale5821]

When manufacturers get 8nto motor sports, it ruins it for me.

[@stephenmoutafis5587]

It was all about the manufacturer

[@andrewnorgrove6487]

The things peter brock did to win !!!

[@GrahamH-zm3uq]

Fuel shortages thank god the politicians sorted that out and constructed massive fuel bunkers under ground all over Australia so fuel will always be available an at a reasonable cost for future generations GOD BLESS THEM

[@Danger_Mouse_00]

Australia has only 3 weeks worth of fuel if we don't get any. How is that suitable? 🙄

[@harryshaw3760]

Any penalty for a crook hair cut ?

[@watsisbuttndo829]

No, it was compulsory.

[@DeanMehrtens]

Typical Holden they rebuilt the whole car along the way and then try call it reliable…. What a joke but much like Peter brocks Bathurst wins in his team mates car that was a dozen laps down. Fake advertising… 4 hour lead??? Yeah I’m a car that’s still new.. first place should go to who ever made least amount of repairs. It is a reliability challenge after all not who can bolt on the most new bits. You lose Holden. Go the datsun😂

[@bradwilliams1691]

This was a complete set up for Holden. In the factory block where I worked there was a sign writer who had the contract for all Marlboro advertising in Australia. In the months leading up to this event, Larry & Dennis' workshop had at least 50-60 commodores through being painted in marlboro livery, they told me straight out that the Holden dealer team were sending out three brand new cars every day. Rigged from the get go. As far as I'm concerned George Fury should've won, especially considering that his Datsun Stanza was being held together with chewing gum & baling wire.

[@istp1967]

Those cars would crap allover any modern SUV!!

[@Muddicker]

No helmets laugh out load

[@Darren...son4634]

SHUT THE GATE

[@DarrenBoxhall]

Commodores can barely spin the wheels hahaha

[@billmago7991]

See, all you need to travel around Australia is an old Commodore

[@ApparentlySomeon]

Yes, I see says the blind man.

[@JC-zg4xe]

Dont forget the full pit crew, 2 backup vans with spare parts and another whole Commodore lol

[@jefftheaussie2225]

@@JC-zg4xeI spose they were HZ vans, they were a lot tougher than the Commodores and carrying a lot more weight too and they had to keep up. Why would anyone criticise Holden for taking it seriously.