1983 BATHURST 1000 Hardies Heroes

[@divad23]

The livery of all of these cars is incredible

[@barryspicer6782]

Memories of the Group C Big Bangers. Those were the days !!!

[@chrispotterp8105]

So sad this is the end of a wonderful era and I’m sad too see the end of the falcons,mt panorama Bathurst will never be the same rip v8 supercars

[@dj17q]

That green mean mutha was really screaming up the mountain. What a shame it all fell apart at Forrest Elbow. If I remember it right, Johnson was a tenth quicker than eventual pole sitter Brockie right up to the old Castrol Tower. RIP Falcon 1960 - 2016

[@GC8WRX_EJ207]

@@captainkaos754 The XE sedan had 4 link rear suspension with coil springs if I remember correctly.

[@sanctuaryism]

don't talk too loud... my 2007 XR8 can hear outside lol...

[@darrenparkinson4576]

I cut all that John Sands Commodore to pieces only a few years after Bob Morris put it in the top 10. I still have all the pictures of the gas-axe work.

[@CJ-xk7vs]

Dick Johnson ...What a Legend

[@NoTaboos]

He's only a legend in the primary school playground.

[@MrBlewvane]

Those old Falcons were tough cars, it took them all night to buff the scratches out so Dick could race.

[@captainkaos754]

They were no stronger than anything else out there on the day. Six inches back from where the tree struck and Johnson would’ve been dead. The whole car had to be rebuilt overnight with the help of the tafe apprentices. The simple fact was Johnson thought he could cut lap times better than Brocks but the vk was at the time equal to If not better than ANY touring car in the world and had only been built no long before Bathurst. Johnson’s xe was knobbled up to keep ford fans happy but was constantly breaking gearboxes and had other reliability issues.

[@simonkevnorris]

I'm fairly sure that it was a replacement car and not the original #17.

[@mundullasa223]

@@simonkevnorris you're right Simon. The car raced by Johnson and Bartlett was acquired from Andrew Harris. Fun fact, the green paint was still wet when it left the pits to do a "shake down" lap before the start of the race.

[@mundullasa223]

@@captainkaos754 the Commodore in this race is a VH, not a VK.

[@simonkevnorris]

@@mundullasa223 Yes, I remember watching the interview on TV before the race started. The interviewer mentioned that the paint work was wet after he'd touched it.

[@PUNCHARD800ftlb]

what a vid thanks for posting

[@yommmrr]

that 05 VH was one of the sexiest race cars ever

[@Sidewinder1999]

Yeah completely agree, the '84 VK gets most of the attention (and it was sexy too), but I have a real soft spot for the '83 VH.

[@garymarquett7989]

Group C was Real motor sport not like today's rubbish

[@markc1456]

💯💪

[@ryanschacht_]

Don’t think I have ever heard anything more accurate in my life buddy👍🏻👍🏻

[@ryanschacht_]

Group C was the real bangers. Real tough pure Australian made Motorsport

[@saltydog888]

We’re all stuck in the past for a good reason

[@Brasznb59]

After Johnsons crash plenty of people got souvenirs of the Greens Tuff Falcon, i watched them rebuild the donor falcon with the bits they salvaged from the crashed car, took all night and finished paint just before the race, it was never going to be competitive but they got the sponsors name on telly , i think that was the ultimate aim.Dick used all his nine lives in that crash, lucky the car was built correctly.

[@barryphillips7327]

Too Dick Johnson,s credit the team worked ALL night, they got another body shell, i think one of the other Ford teams had a spare body shell, DJR worked ALL night and by morning it was ready looking as new with the other cars components. It competed in the race, but i,m not sure how it did.

[@uncletrev71]

D.N.F. From memory the engine was suffering from low oil pressure.

[@mattvaughan7245]

Andrew Harris sold his falcon to Ross Palmer ( Palmer Tube Mills ) … They repainted it and stuck Dicks running gear in the car overnight .. There is a epic photo of Evan Green leaning against the car in his bright red Channel 7 blazer .. and coming away green .. The big shit storm was the car that was bought to replace The Harris car was a commodore … partly sponsored by a Ford dealership !!!!!! It sat on the grid with ford badges etc …. It finished 10th … Dick DNF

[@mundullasa223]

@@mattvaughan7245 yes, and Harris won rookie of the Year. Nice.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

They took another competitors entry, Andrew Harris and put Andrew into another entry that was for sale. A lot of work to try and recreate Dicks car from another car not as well developed and it was a compromise. And then the engine went sour.

[@barryphillips7327]

@@ldnwholesale8552 Andrew Harris was put a Commodore, DJR did their best with the limited time they had, i forget exactly what stopped the car, IF he had not wrecked the other car, i think his chances in the race would have been reasonably good! Still we never know eh.

[@blumie006]

Some still have the back seats in them now that's racing

[@tedsmith6137]

The sad part about Johnson's crash is that the tires at the end on the concrete wall, which broke the steering, were not there for the safety of the touring cars, They are on the start of the wall to protect cars competing on the Esses Hillclimb, which starts outside the BLCC rooms and heads back up through Forrest's Elbow, ending at the crest of Skyline. Had they been removed for the 1000km race, then the incident may have been no more than some scraped bodywork.

[@dws84]

Haha yeah, Dick was a loveable character, but not a great driver haha.

[@marklowe7431]

Geez Johnson squeezed every bit of speed out of that car.

[@darrylmackie9184]

And his shoot out time was ?

[@bumpstart]

the green falcon was running nos in qualifying engine. the cage was pressurised and leaking when responders arrived

[@RtB68]

...and the pyramids were built by aliens. Dickhead.

[@DMT267]

DJ was a very lucky man that day.

[@dlampy3023]

Is there a better sound than a good Aussie v8?

[@marklowe7431]

These may not have been the most advanced or fastest cars but as a spectator the best to watch.

[@simonkevnorris]

The sound of a Ferrari F1 V12 shrieking around Monza and Spa in the early 1990s was something else as well. I left Perth in 1989 and the Sierras were a bit muted.

[@NoTaboos]

Yes. A slut having multiple orgasms.

[@Westozzie-m8i]

That's the real Bathurst! On the limit. Run what ever model car. Real character's real cars.

[@rhino7735]

Dick Johnsons green number 7 in the trees was my first memory of Bathurst 1000

[@OzRetrocomp]

I love how Bob Morris was sponsored by John Sands and Sega Computors. That tells me nobody had heard of Sega back then, and that computers were so confusing that nobody at John Sands knew how to spell "computer" despite selling the things! lol

[@Holden308]

Interesting that they didn't show Warren Cullen's lap.

[@ryanschacht_]

10:22 10:44 10:56 11:08 one of my favourite moments

[@NoTaboos]

Winfield 25s.

[@shadowgaming6660]

What's with all the cuts in the footage?

[@Lone-Wolf-66]

DJ dodged a bullet right there.

[@ponyexpress4843]

was there that year my first Bathurst

[@waynejohnson9993]

BROCKY THE MAN.......THE KING................WE MISS YOU PETE...........

[@0Zolrender0]

The track looks so different without the Chase there.

[@theotherwayofstopping4717]

Anyone have a 1983 Sega "Computor"?

[@woosha10]

Johnson’s car was out of control sliding everywhere

[@Goober-o3n]

Edge of adhesion...that's when your at 11tenths....going beyond the limits of the car...the fastest you can be...he wasn't out of control....

[@ivanjulian2532]

I'm pretty certain every single panel on Johnson's car was bent after his epic shut.

[@markc1456]

No rx7s in top 10 shootout that year🤔

[@jadesmith6823]

Robert Morris 🇦🇺❤️

[@yoesomite2199]

tell me why I loved those cars back in the day ..... and for some reason I just cant get into the V8 super cars of today. they were rudimentary , but they were so relatable ....

[@alanjm1234]

Because they were road cars made into race cars. The Fords came out of the Ford factory, the Holdens out of the Holden factory, etc. The things they race today never saw a car factory. They're purpose built race cars with plastic bodies clipped on.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Mike has it wrong,, Skippy was the fastest Tasmanian dairy farmer, Furious Goerge was the fastest farmer!!

[@Steveaustin007]

Just listen to the 351 work…..

[@Kwaka28]

Gotta like dick, would have been a big effort trying to keep that huge falcon on the road..so glad he kept driving, that was one of the worst accident ever at Bathurst..thanks for the memories DJ..

[@victorgrech1136]

are we going to see EV's racing at Bathurst oh yeah they would have to charge 10 times haha

[@saltydog888]

Battery swap

[@victorgrech1136]

@@saltydog888 every driver has ten cars to complete one race

[@saltydog888]

@@victorgrech1136 battery swap

[@robertcameron2808]

The supercar officials today are rubbish a stupid penalty for anything ruined the racing for the paying public yes the group c where great much more action than these equal cars go and have a real go like Russell ingal

[@Joe-dt4pm]

Ah was a rock on the road 😂