The Lakeside Reunion - Dick Johnson & the Tru Blu XD Falcon

[@thebigw3377]

Love the man love the car. That's Australia right there

[@cliffroberts5074]

i love this guy, he's stayed true to the logo and fought well, and this vid gives me gooseys. hat off to the man.

[@johnbrooks9523]

True to the logo? Not quite. Tricky built the fastest TORANAS in the world & won a string of championships in them before he switched "LOGOs". Tricky was THE QLD HOLDEN GURU. I've set a few of his amazing achievements out here in the comments... enjoy.

[@squeek5810]

He was one of the greatest racing car drivers.

[@davidewhite69]

how great does that 351 sound! really miss that sound, totally different to the current supercar v8 sounds

[@robertmcfarlane3598]

What a bloke what a legend race champion hero go mate send it

[@sugarnads]

I wasnt either a ford or holden guy...but i freaking loved that falcon...

[@joshy351]

Just awesome! Tru Blu is easly the toughest Falcons ever! Makes me proud to say I own a blue XD too.

[@kimmiller8841]

You nailed it with the music! all good.

[@maxrockatanksyOG]

Tru blu & Greens Tuf; 2 of the greatest tpuring cars ever built

[@glensgraphix]

That XD never look so good. It looks better now then when Dick raced it. I don't remember seeing the rims shine as much as they do now :) Well done to the Bowdens for keeping these cars in top condition and loving them like they were part of the their family!

[@velocityjet1884]

That's just an icon of motorsports.......fantastic tribute to the man and machine !

[@wertpollwert]

Truly a beautiful video. Is a great tribute to this man for his many fans from all era`s.

[@Don-zl1ey]

Love to see this car run at Bathurst

[@leeenfieldsmle]

Arguably the greatest race of Dick's career was at this track against Brockie in the early eighties, which he won along with the ATTC for that year. It was a fierce contest and Dick praised Peter for his skill and professionalism in never touching him throughout the race. I wonder if he could see the ghost of 05 when he was taking the old girl through her paces around his favourite track again. The sound of that 351 Cleveland flying down that main straight certainly takes me back to those wonderful Lakeside days. BTW I was the one who got him the TAA sponsorship after he hit the rock, and it is great to see it on Tru Blu still. She never looked as good as she does today. Well done Bowdens.

[@willallan77]

So glad to have been old enough to appreciate the hayday of Bathurst with real drivers and real cars......

[@svenomick5857]

They are great cars love DJR and Bowden’s look after the cars great a real Credit.

[@trik1pony]

I grew up in the 70s and 80s Absolutely loved DJ and his Falcons, was lucky enough to meet him and do a few laps around Sandown in Mazdz MPS 3 of all things When he was an ambassador for Mazdacars , He was so lovely to meet ,and absolute Gentleman of the sport.

[@paulwallis1366]

Bradman street I believe. That 351 breathing and snarling , just a symphony of pistons. Love this car. The XE was even more exciting.

[@marklowe7431]

Very emotional even as just a fan

[@formulafish1536]

Well done to the Bowdens on doing such an amazing job looking after the legendary cars of the sport!! I'd love to see teh 8's return to Lakeside!

[@PUNCHARD800ftlb]

what an absolute gem in aussie racing history

[@TheJeepman1983]

Music to my ears

[@wipout1]

love that interior!

[@markgaldes1885]

I think this car changed me from a Holden man to a Ford man. Love this car.

[@ISCDesignArchitect]

Ex police interceptor with XC engine hand built by the legend Dj himself.

[@maddog789]

It was the revolutionary aerodynamics that made those Falcons great

[@geoffsteele9674]

Use to go to lKe side yo see. Tru blu and. Dickie johnson and number 17 on the track a great sight indeed. Miss that track and dickie johnson. The best ever. 😊. Geoff steele. 17//10/23. Now im 76 but car 17 still is the best sight at bathurst win or not djr are sill the best out fit. Look out 2024. Go ford mustang and 17 😅😊😮😢😊❤🎉

[@Reaper4367]

used to love going to lakeside. cars, trucks and APC's. It helped put Petrie on the map.

[@LawrenceTheKiwiBryant]

I remember that machine parked up in his old Acacia Ridge shop outside of Brisbane. Worked on the first of the V8 Super Tourers in 92 and the Sierra's part time. I got canned by Dick because I was always telling him and Neil Lowe the V8 Falcon was going to be ruled illegal because of how modified it was......Well that first car was ruled illegal, Neil Lowe got canned, Ross Stone(Sierra Crew Chief at the time) brought his brother in to build the next V8 Super Tourer, that one crashed at the Nissan Mobil 500 and Dick got his ass handed to him by Shell Oil.......Oh the stories of the drama at Dicks shop in 93 are epic!!

[@MJTAUTOMOTIVE]

Lawrence Bryant . They were never called a V8 super tourer. It was still the ATCC when the V8 rules came in for 1993. Cheers.

[@LawrenceTheKiwiBryant]

Minor over sight.

[@LawrenceTheKiwiBryant]

Mark Thomas you are correct. It was a long time ago. Thank you though for the correction.

[@chrismckenna7308]

I live across the lake from lakeside race way Love the v8's . Tru blu is my favorite all time race car. 351 grrrrrrrllllll

[@TheIronEmpire]

Great! Now I’m gonna have to build an XD 😏

[@patricknolan1096]

Fabulous❤

[@blairo15]

Grouse! One of the toughest cars ever made!

[@trishave5639]

Still love the XD

[@MXRiderFiftyTwo]

Love the square Falcons of the 80's

[@robertgrant1837]

I remember when my uncle bought that car of Dick Johnson as he was a mate and neighbor of his and raced it for some time. not sure how long before my uncle sold it

[@BowdensOwn]

And Alf did really well in it too! Dick bought it back from a him a few years later. :)

[@blakevonsanden1099]

NOTHING LIKE A CLEVO!!! GO THA XD!!!!

[@nicholasjohnson6724]

I agree, the Cleve 351 was just awesome!

[@johnbrooks9523]

@@nicholasjohnson6724 I agree... The Clevo is the best boat mooring ever unleashed on the unsuspecting public. One day I'll write a book entitled: The most blown up engines in Australian Motor Racing History. Even a Grey Motor has a better race reputation than the caveman Clevo. Don't take my word for it... Look at how many Falcons Blew their Clevos to smitherines just at Bathurst alone. Then add Sandown & Phillip Island & Surfers Paradise and and and... Hundreds of them snapped like big dumb carrots.

[@aidanfeighery6634]

Love those wheels! What are they - also, size and backspacing measurements? Tyre sizes too? Anyone? Thanks!

[@fishfinderish]

History, history moreso.

[@ISCDesignArchitect]

Little boy to mum: “mum- what’s a car?” Mum to son,: “ THIS, my boy, is a car”

[@johnbrooks9523]

Most serious Ford Fans would cringe and shudder & bust the tacho on their disbelief meters if they were told about Tricky's earlier motorsport achievements in Holdens. So, let's give 'em the juice! Tricky started at Lakeside in a fairly harmless FJ. Then he progressed to an EH. That EH went rather well. Tricky did his own 179, made his own manifolding & grafted a set of Jag Triple 2" SUs onto it & got fairly well mobile. Now for the really juicy part... Tricky was based in QLD, Harry Firth had been working for FoMoCo & Holden was racing Monaros & about to unleash a very interesting & potentially rapid little gadget called a GTR. No one had ever heard of an XU1... Such things had never been thought of. TRICKY was based at Woollongabba where he ran his little servo & everyone around knew Tricky could turn a snail into an absolute screamer. So good ol' John Zupp got the early advice in 1969 that his Holden dealership at Mt Gravatt, a few miles up the road from Tricky's workshop was going to recieve stocks of these new Holden Torana GTR baby rockets. Zupp had the forethought to realise that a dinky little LC Coupe with some "Tricky Magic" built into a Holden 6 could be a big promotional weapon for his busy Holden Dealership on Logan Road and decided he'd go motor racing with Tricky. Zupp got a very early order in for a Shiny new GTR. If it wasn't the very first one in QLD, it was definitely the second. That GTR went straight to Tricky. Tricky has never been known for wasting time or mucking around... He pulled all the hot bits out of the engine bay in the EH & stuffed 'em into the GTR in about 90 seconds... That very early GTR hit Lakeside in a big hurry & Tricky soon had every man & his dog standing around scratching their heads since none of them could catch that little GTR with Tricky coming out of Hungry in it with about a foot of daylight under the left hand front wheel. Zupps were pretty happy with their investment & eventually Tricky had several Toranas at his disposal including an ex Firth/Tate HDT GROUP C LJ previously pedalled around Bathurst by Harry's best steerers... The funny thing was... Once Tricky got hold of that thing & got it sorted, a race prepped GROUP C 351 XA HARDTOP was flat out catching it. It was the same for other victims in L34s who thought it was safe to cross the border into QLD and show up at Lakeside... Tricky just led them all on a merry chase! I don't have the history books in front of me. But, I'm pretty sure it is safe to say: Tricky had the fastest Toranas in QLD for around 5 years. I know he took the odd one to Bathurst but those forays didn't pan out. If I remember correctly... Tricky won the Queensland Touring Car Chamionship in 6 CYLINDER TORANAS for around 5 years!... And those titles at some point overlapped the introduction of 308 powered L34s! Tricky built insanely fast Toranas long before Holden or the Holden Dealer Team & he didn't have an XU1 as a platform... only a 2 barrell GTR & as an Improved Production car, it was only permitted to run a 161!!! which was the biggest engine available even in a GTR & that didn't change until the XU1 was released many months later. So, Tricky was the fastest Holden campaigner in QLD for years. He made GT Falcons and 6Pack Chargers look slow & dumb. It was a terrible loss for us Holden fans to lose a brilliantly successful Holden campaigner of Tricky's calibre to the Ford camp. He wasn't just a driver like Big Pete, Brock & Loundes... Tricky was an innovator, a master craftsman, a gun engineer, a brilliant engine developer, a guru on suspension, steering geometry & brakes & his reputation was so damn good he attracted other local gurus like Ron Richards & Ivan Tighe to make family cars with production engines go insanely fast. Luckily for us Holden Nuts, Tricky did his same magic on Fords truck motor Clevos and persevered where others like Moff had given up. The big ol' Clevo is one heavy lump of an engine and getting one to hang together for a Thousand Ks under severe conditions has proven too big an ask for many devoted engine builders. Tricky proved to the world that even a Clevo could rev to 7500, make huge torque & big horsepower lap after lap & NOT blow itself to Kingdom Come as had happened so many times before. If it wasn't for Tricky in XDs & XEs putting on such a strong show, Formula Torana would have just morphed into Formula Commodore & that would have been about as exciting as endless Ford Laser Racing. I am deeply in debt to one Mr Dick Johnson (Tricky). He turned on some of the best motor racing I have ever seen. His achievements in making bulky heavy Falcons outrun big dollar Commodores & Camaros & all others who tried to race him are sublime & monumental. Just hearing a DJR CLEVO blast down Conrod or up Mountain Straight, through Griffins & on up to the Cutting is spine tingling. Seeing a DJR FALCON twitch through the Kink at Lakeside at full noise in top as it blows Geminis & Corollas off the road in Group C makes your hair stand on end. Thanks TRICKY! We owe you... You blew our minds whilst your opposition blew their engines... LEGENDARY!

[@alancure8841]

I'm a Holden fan but there's something about the XD falcon it was a great looking car and fast very tough looking

[@keithlatimer6758]

give Scotty Mac a drive in it :)

[@boskomarkoski1503]

This is a bygone era that will be etched in Australian motorsport folklaw. Dick Johnson & the Blue Oval/Ford had people on the edge of their seats watching Johnson running the Falcon to its full potential down Conrod straight. They don't say the good old says for nothing that's for sure.

[@jamesconnell1558]

What’s the song name? Perfect addition to the xd

[@brentholmes4248]

What is the music in this video?

[@warrenheslip6786]

beautiful crisp v8 ford.

[@camilobermudez6683]

this guys don't drive as fast as they use to back in the day, still it looks pretty damn fast. Badass

[@barbraabsalom4531]

DJ is about 60 years old here , he has hip & other issues , no power steering & probably speed limits set down for parade lapping , you do can do better ?

[@davos4wdadventures]

Epic

[@georgeherceg1419]

Bowden advertisement says tested on animals for there products during this video?? Do they mean cars as animals Or animal’s as animals?? Just found that odd

[@BowdensOwn]

Have had a rigorous testing program on all our beasts in the shed for a couple of decades now: www.bowdensown.com.au/tested-animals

[@richardcunningham5540]

Gives you goosebumps - still. Still reckon Greens-Tuf was better looking than Tru-Blu. All legendary. I even miss the Group A stuff. I wish Supercars would die and we could go back to proper racing.

[@narellecox5430]

When cars were real!

[@dazza027]

You got that Wynns sticker just right...

[@brianhoffman4861]

So no valve bounce at 150000revs. And no pistons through the window

[@dazmac159]

yeah mate, all our seats get smaller as we get older!

[@longarbyenslb4231]

Who made the roll cage? I like how it's installed with all the trim and how it goes through the dash, because if I bought one as a road car I would still want a roll cage in there. Great video!

[@BowdensOwn]

Dick Johnson Racing made it back in 1981....

[@johnbrooks9523]

@@BowdensOwn The dear old XD had a seriously tinny & floppy body shell. However, if anyone had the smarts to stiffen one up with an aluminium alloy Group C cage, it would have been Tricky. There'd be some, erm "points if interest" in THAT cage.

[@davidr2830]

D.J.R. "SUPREMACY"!

[@chriswhittall1956]

is this the car that hit the rock ?

[@BowdensOwn]

No mate, this the 2nd car that won Bathurst in 81, as well as the 81 and 82 championships.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Dick should be able to be really on the pace on his favorite track.

[@jeffwilliams742]

Would love to have seen peter brock and dick Johnson head to head that would have been awesome

[@barneyda351]

FORD at its best

[@sandybrisbane4167]

Lakeside needs to be renamed Dick Johnson raceway

[@troyfitzmaurice6834]

It wod hav been a hand ful

[@chuckselvage3157]

Don't Fuck with a Ford

[@markshaggy7914]

Box fords are pretty crap in general, but this is a beast, I must admit.

[@kevinward4714]

Note that there is no power steering(thats when real men raced motor cars).

[@justaname1862]

Compared to the Sierra...it was Slow, Was to Heavy and Wouldnt Stop!!!

[@johnbrooks9523]

... and they were such brittle, feeble, plastic dogs of things, no Australian Ford dealer would stock one... even though they were RH drive! However, they get 10 out of 10 for making a noise so similar to a fart in a jar. Ford went with rebadging Mazda 626s & flogged 'em here as Telstars because a 626 was a REAL car & not a chintzed up muppet mobile. There's a whole lot more to life than a million miles an hour and źzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... BANG, which is what Sierras are remembered for & why thousands of old Falcons still exist & the only place you'll see a Sierra is in some millionaires grid spot.

[@barbraabsalom4531]

& he still beat Brocky at the very same raceway in that “ slow , heavy & cant stop falcon “ , that tells you something about a man who built race cars in the garage of his Queensland home . DJ was a genius at getting every last drop of performance , reliability , the best out of the suspension , brakes & getting the weight of the car down as close as possible to the minimum legal race weight , I believe that tru blu 2 had titanium control arms from the USA & it was much lighter than other competitors xd’s . He built championship winning cars in Holden ( qld championships , something that another commenter had to remind us lifetime ford supporters of ) & of course Ford platforms exclusively afterwards .

[@michaeljohnbrown6367]

Get rid of the music so can ear car

[@BowdensOwn]

Needed to say this 10 years ago mate....